Huang Rong from The Return of the Condor Heroes: Brother Jing, let's get a divorce.

Ever since the Thirteen Protectors received Yang Guo's gold bars, they have been working extremely hard.

They appeared silently in every corner of the Quanzhen Sect, but no one could discover their true identities.

The air in the abandoned woodshed on the back hill smelled musty.

Li Zhiqing held a pair of red-hot tongs in his hand, black smoke still rising from the tip. He stood in front of a wooden stake, his face fierce.

A fat Taoist priest was tied to a wooden stake. This man was Manager Sun, who was in charge of purchasing supplies for the Quanzhen Sect.

He usually flaunted his power within the sect and often cut back on the rations of the lower-ranking disciples.

Last night, Steward Sun drank a couple of sips of rice wine and started cursing Yang Guo for the new rules he had set, saying that the brat had cut off his source of income.

Li Zhiqing, who was squatting in the corner, overheard this.

Li Zhiqing was just looking for someone to take action against and establish his authority, so he immediately called his twelve brothers, put a sack over Steward Sun's head, and carried it to this dilapidated woodshed overnight.

"Li Zhiqing! You lowly scoundrel who carries water and chops wood! I'm your senior brother! If you dare to tie me up, the disciplinary hall will skin you alive tomorrow!" Sun Zhiguang shouted loudly as soon as the rag in his mouth was ripped off.

Li Zhiqing ignored him completely, took a step forward, and pressed the fire tongs in his hand directly onto Steward Sun's thigh.

The smell of burning flesh instantly filled the woodshed. Manager Sun let out a pig-like scream, the veins on his forehead bulging, and his whole body convulsing violently.

"Senior Brother Sun, fortunes change. You used to live a life of luxury while we brothers ate moldy steamed buns. Now, the Sect Leader has assigned us to handle matters in the inner hall, and this woodshed is where you'll be disclosing your secrets." Li Zhiqing removed the fire tongs, his tone quite calm.

The twelve brothers beside him held sticks in their hands, their eyes red. They had long been fed up with the arrogance of these managers, and now that Yang Guo was backing them up, they were incredibly audacious.

Li Zhiqing waved the instruments of torture in front of Steward Sun.

"We brothers have known all about your petty dealings for a long time. You take three ounces of rice for every pound you buy from the villagers down the mountain. And that's not all; you're also secretly corresponding with people down the mountain, even writing down the times of our Quanzhen Sect's troop rotations and selling them for money." Li Zhiqing put away the gold bars and raised the fire tongs again. "Tell me, where are the account books and letters?"

Manager Sun trembled in pain, his mental defenses completely crumbling as he stared at the red-hot iron pillar. He knew that these lower-ranking disciples were capable of anything when pushed to the limit.

"Under... under the third blue brick under my bed," Steward Sun said weakly.

Li Zhiqing tilted his head, and his two brothers immediately ran out to get the evidence.

Half an hour later, an account book and a thick stack of letters were placed in front of Li Zhiqing. He glanced at them, and although he couldn't read many characters, he knew that this matter was extremely important and definitely a great achievement.

"Gag him, break one of his legs, and watch him here." After giving the orders, Li Zhiqing stuffed the evidence into his pocket and turned to leave.

At midday, the sun was quite dazzling.

In the sect leader's courtyard, Lu Wushuang sat cross-legged on a bluestone slab, circulating the "Yi Jin Duan Gu Pian" (a traditional Chinese medicine exercise). After Xiaolongnu's morning treatment of her with cold energy, the meridians in her left leg were completely unobstructed.

Now she can even walk around the yard twice without straining, and the soreness in her left leg is not as noticeable as before.

This made her extremely grateful to Yang Guo and Xiaolongnü.

Very light footsteps came from outside the courtyard gate. Li Zhiqing peeked inside, his face beaming with smiles.

Lu Wushuang opened her eyes, stopped circulating her internal energy, stood up, and patted the dust off her clothes.

"Who are you looking for?" Lu Wushuang walked to the courtyard gate and looked Li Zhiqing up and down. She recognized him; Yang Guo had received them in the side room yesterday.

Li Zhiqing quickly bowed, clasped his hands in a fist and palm salute, his attitude extremely polite: "Greetings, Miss Lu. I am Li Zhiqing, an errand boy from the inner hall. I have discovered something important and have come specifically to report to the sect leader. I would be grateful if Miss Lu could be lenient with me."

Li Zhiqing was an extremely intelligent man. He knew that besides the sect leader, the only other person in this courtyard was this young woman. Someone close to the sect leader held a very high position; calling her "Miss Lu" was an insult to his own status. In a sense, she was the sect leader's bedmate.

Lu Wushuang felt quite pleased to be called "Miss Lu" by him. In the past, people in the martial arts world called her Cripple or Little Girl.

"The master is taking a nap inside. You stay here and don't move. I'll go in and ask." Lu Wushuang turned and walked towards the main house, pushed open the door and went inside.

The room was dimly lit. Yang Guo was sprawled out on the bed, fast asleep.

Lu Wushuang walked to the bedside, looked at Yang Guo sleeping sprawled out, and couldn't help but smile. She reached out and gently nudged Yang Guo's shoulder twice.

"Master, wake up. There's a Taoist priest named Li Zhiqing outside looking for you. He says he has something important to report." Lu Wushuang's voice was very soft.

Yang Guo groggily opened his eyes and let out a reluctant mutter. He turned over, lying on his back, and rubbed his aching lower back with both hands.

"These guys, they can't even let us have some peace and quiet in the middle of the day." Yang Guo yawned widely. "Did he say what was wrong?"

Lu Wushuang took a hot towel from the side and wiped Yang Guo's face. "He didn't say anything in detail. Judging from his sweaty appearance, he's still waiting at the door. Would Master like to get up and greet him?"

Yang Guo closed his eyes, his mind racing. Li Zhiqing and his gang had just received the money and were probably eager to implicate someone and gain credit. This trivial matter was nothing more than finding incriminating evidence against some supervisor for embezzlement and bribery.

If a sect leader like him had to do even such trivial matters personally, he would be exhausted.

Yang Guo opened his eyes and looked at Lu Wushuang standing by the bed. The girl looked even better today; her pale yellow dress made her face look radiant.

"Wushuang, go handle it," Yang Guo said directly.

Lu Wushuang froze, the towel in her hand hanging in mid-air: "Me? Master, I can't do it. I'm not even a disciple of the Quanzhen Sect, why would they listen to me?"

"If I say you can do it, then you can do it." Yang Guo sat up, took out a sect leader token made of black iron from a hidden compartment by the bedside, and stuffed it directly into Lu Wushou's hands.

The token felt heavy in my hand, with the two large characters "Double Ninth Festival" engraved on it.

"You're my personal envoy now. With this warrant, Li Zhiqing and the others will be at your beck and call." Yang Guo looked into Lu Wushuang's eyes, his tone extremely casual. "Go out and tell Li Zhiqing that no matter who they catch, confiscate all the money they've embezzled. As for the people, break their legs and throw them down the mountain. Don't bother me with anything."

Lu Wushuang held the token in both hands, her heart pounding.

She understood all too well the weight of this token. Yang Guo had entrusted her with the power of life and death; he was establishing his authority over her in front of thousands of members of the Quanzhen Sect, giving her backing.

"What if that person is not convinced and tries to pressure me with their seniority?" Lu Wushuang was still somewhat unsure.

"Trying to intimidate you with your seniority? Just slap him across the face!" Yang Guo lay back down on the bed, pulled the blanket over his head, and said, "Anyone who dares to fight back, let Li Zhiqing and his men beat them to death. I'll take responsibility if anything happens. Go on, go on, don't disturb my sleep."

Lu Wushuang looked at Yang Guo wrapped in the quilt, her eyes slightly warming. She gripped the token in her hand tightly, turned around, and strode out of the main house.

As Lu Wushuang approached the courtyard gate, her entire demeanor changed.

She completely suppressed her original inferiority and timidity, replacing them with the fiery and bold spirit of a chivalrous woman from the martial arts world.

She hung the sect leader's token on her waist and walked up to Li Zhiqing.

When Li Zhiqing saw the black iron token, his knees buckled and he knelt on the ground in fright.

"Master said that I am in charge of handling this matter. Lead the way to see the person you captured." Lu Wushuang's voice was clear and crisp, without the slightest hesitation.

Li Zhiqing quickly got up and led the way. He knew perfectly well that this Miss Lu had completely risen to prominence and would be an untouchable figure in the Quanzhen Sect from now on.

The two arrived at the abandoned woodshed on the back mountain.

The door to the woodshed was pushed open, and Lu Wushuang walked in, a strong smell of blood hitting her.

Manager Sun was tied to a wooden stake, and the burns on his thighs were still oozing blood. When he saw a young woman in a silk dress enter, he was stunned for a moment, then burst into a tirade of curses.

"Li Zhiqing, you bastard! What are you doing bringing this lame wild girl here! You've let an outsider into the sect's important territory, Uncle Qiu Chuji will not forgive you!" Steward Sun's voice was extremely loud.

Upon hearing the word "lame," Lu Wushuang's eyes instantly turned cold.

She walked up to Steward Sun without a word. With her right hand, she drew a curved dagger from her waist, the back of the blade arcing through the air before slamming it into Steward Sun's mouth.

With a sharp "crack," Manager Sun screamed in agony, spitting out a mouthful of blood mixed with three or four broken teeth that fell to the ground.

The twelve inner disciples in the woodshed gasped in shock.

They never expected that this seemingly delicate girl would be even more ruthless than them.

Lu Wushuang sheathed his scimitar and pointed at Steward Sun: "The Sect Leader has ordered that all the money you embezzled be confiscated and turned over to the public treasury. As for you, break both your legs and throw you out of Zhongnan Mountain."

Manager Sun's mouth was full of blood. Hearing this, he panicked completely and struggled desperately, shaking his head.

Li Zhiqing was very perceptive. He waved his hand, and two of his brothers immediately stepped forward with thick wooden sticks and smashed them down hard on Steward Sun's calves. The sound of bones breaking echoed in the woodshed, and Steward Sun fainted from the pain.

"Special Envoy Lu, these are the account books and letters found in his room. Please take a look." Li Zhiqing changed his form of address and respectfully handed the stack of documents to Lu Wushuang with both hands.

Lu Wushuang took the ledger and casually flipped through a couple of pages. It was filled with detailed records of various expenses and kickbacks. She tossed the ledger to Li Zhiqing: "Search according to the figures in this ledger, not a single penny can be missing."

Then, she picked up the stack of letters.

The envelopes were unsigned and made of ordinary kraft paper. Lu Wushuang tore open the top letter and poured out the paper inside.

A thin piece of parchment floated down, covered with extremely intricate lines. Upon closer inspection, Lu Wushuang realized it was a defense map of Chongyang Palace on Zhongnan Mountain, clearly marking even the times for sentries and patrol shift changes.

What alarmed Lu Wushuang even more was that a piece of black paper fell out of the envelope.

The letter was incomplete, with several crooked characters engraved on the front. Lu Wushuang had seen this kind of script before when he was wandering the martial arts world; it was Mongolian script.

Lu Wushuang's expression changed drastically, and she tightened her grip on the wooden plaque.

She recognized the symbol. A few months ago, when she was wandering in the north with Li Mochou, she had seen an extremely fierce cavalry. Those cavalrymen killed without blinking an eye, leaving nothing but desolation in their wake; the banners they carried bore this image of a flaming bow and arrow.

That was the most elite scout battalion in the Mongol army!

This manager is not only greedy for money, he's actually working for the Mongols! Mongol spies have already infiltrated the Quanzhen Sect.

Lu Wushuang stuffed the letters and wooden plaques into her bosom, turned around and walked out quickly.

"Clean this place up, but don't kill anyone yet. I'm going to see the master!" Lu Wushuang said, then ran out of the woodshed.

This is a huge matter, far beyond the scope of corruption; it concerns the very survival of the entire Quanzhen Sect. She must tell Yang Guo about it immediately.