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

Yang Guo stood on the banks of the Han River, letting the river wind whip his robes.

After Huang Rong left, he did not rush to leave.

The opportunity of the Dali Duan family's One-Finger Divine Skill is certainly important, but Dali is a long way away, with high mountains and long rivers.

He sat cross-legged on a blue stone by the river, circulating the Qiankun Technique to sense his own meridians.

The innate yang energy circulates through the twelve meridians, and when it reaches the Tanzhong acupoint, it stagnates slightly and then finds it difficult to rise further.

The peak of the initial stage of innate constitution.

He's been trying to break through this barrier for over half a month, and each time he's just a hair's breadth away from success.

Although the Nine-Turn Reversal Pill was potent, causing his internal energy to surge, his foundation was ultimately built up through this process, and his meridians could not keep up with the rate of increase in true energy.

Forcibly breaking through the barriers can damage the meridians at best, and disrupt the flow of vital energy at worst.

If you want to go further, it will take at least several years to achieve your goal through meditation and practice alone.

Yang Guo finished his practice and opened his eyes.

A small boat is slowly sailing westward on the river. The fisherman at the bow is wearing a straw hat, so his face cannot be seen.

He didn't look at the boat; instead, his gaze crossed the river and looked towards the mountains to the southwest.

Not far outside Xiangyang City, there is a superb location.

Sword Tomb.

The legacy left behind by Dugu Qiubai.

Not only does it contain the Xuan Tie Heavy Sword, but it also contains a rare venomous snake called the Pusi Qu Snake.

This snake feeds on Ganoderma lucidum and other medicinal herbs found deep in the mountains and forests. Its gallbladder contains extremely potent medicinal properties, which are remarkably effective in clearing the meridians and strengthening the muscles and bones.

Compared to external forces stimulating the growth of internal energy, the medicinal effects of snake gall are much gentler and do not harm the foundation.

In the original novel, Yang Guo's physique was modified by snake gall, which enabled him to cultivate the Xuan Tie Sword Technique amidst the ocean tides.

First, I went to the Sword Tomb to retrieve the snake gall and the Xuan Tie Heavy Sword, and then raised my internal strength and external skills to the next level.

With sufficient confidence, he then went to the Duan family in Dali to seek a breakthrough in the One-Finger Divine Skill.

This is the safest approach.

But before that, we need to clean up the mess in Xiangyang City.

Yang Guo untied the reins from the willow tree and mounted his horse.

With a squeeze of its legs, the red horse galloped along the official road toward the gates of Xiangyang.

……

In the afternoon, the streets of Xiangyang were bustling with people.

Yang Guo dismounted at the South Gate, but instead of returning to the Marshal's Mansion, he led his horse slowly along the street and turned into an alley in the west of the city.

After walking two streets, a three-story restaurant appeared at the end of the alley.

Fujulou.

The gold paint on the signboard had mostly peeled off, and the entrance was deserted, with not even a waiter trying to attract customers. This restaurant had been in Xiangyang for over a decade, but since it wasn't located on the main street and the food was mediocre, it should have gone out of business long ago.

But it has always been open, and it has never lacked money.

Yang Guo tossed the reins to the groom who was dozing at the door and strode into the main hall.

The hall was dimly lit, with a few scattered tables of diners, all eating alone, each occupying a corner and not exchanging a word. Most diners in this kind of restaurant are probably not really there to eat.

The shopkeeper behind the counter was a fat man, fiddling with an abacus.

Hearing footsteps, he looked up, his pupils contracted sharply, and then he lowered his head, the abacus beads clicking loudly, as if trying to minimize his presence.

Yang Guo looked straight ahead and went straight up the stairs without glancing to the side.

The wooden stairs creaked underfoot. On the second floor, four men in tight-fitting clothes were waiting in the corridor, their waists bulging with short blades tucked inside.

The four men, who had been holding their sword hilts and looking wary, changed their expressions when they saw that it was Yang Guo coming upstairs. They whispered something, and the four men stepped back to the sides and stood at their feet.

Yang Guo walked through them and stopped in front of the innermost private room, the "Top Class" room, and pushed the door open to enter.

A strong smell of blood hit me.

Two corpses lay on the ground, their throats cut open by a sharp weapon, blood flowing everywhere. The expensive Western Region carpet was soaked through, and felt slightly sticky underfoot.

Lu Wushuang sat in the main seat directly opposite the door.

She wore a light blue fitted outfit cinched at the waist, and her hair was neatly tied in a ponytail. A willow-leaf scimitar lay horizontally on the table, the bloodstains on the blade darkened and untouched.

A gaunt old man knelt before the table, his forehead pressed against the ground, his back slumped low, and his shoulders trembling.

Lu Wushuang was flipping through a booklet when she heard the door open. She stopped what she was doing and looked up.

Upon recognizing Yang Guo, she closed the booklet, stood up, walked around the table, and respectfully performed a curtsy in front of him.

"My lord, you've arrived."

His tone was respectful, a stark contrast to the ruthless killer he had just been.

Yang Guo nodded, walked around the corpse on the ground, and sat down in the main seat. The smell of blood was so strong it was almost bitter. He frowned and reached out to open the window.

A draft swept in, dispersing some of the stale air.

"How did it go?" Yang Guo asked.

Lu Wushuang walked to his side, bent down slightly, and lowered her voice.

"Of the seventy-two leaders on the roster, fifty-nine have arrived today. Of the thirteen who were absent, seven left the city, and six claimed illness and did not show up."

"How's this batch that arrived?"

"Most of them were fairly honest. Three of them, relying on their connections, tried to use their seniority to get away with it. Wushuang explained the rules to them, but two of them, the two on the ground, didn't listen."

When Lu Wushuang said this, her tone was flat, as if she were talking about how many baskets of steamed buns the shop had sold that day.

Yang Guo glanced at the corpse on the ground.

Both were robust middle-aged men with calloused hands, indicating they had practiced external martial arts. However, the wound on their throats was clean and swift, a single, fatal cut, leaving no trace of a second incision.

Lu Wushuang's swordsmanship has indeed improved considerably.

"Write down those six who claim to be sick," Yang Guo said.

"I've already noted it down." Lu Wushuang pulled a slip of paper from her sleeve and placed it in front of Yang Guo.

Yang Guo glanced at the name, put it into his pocket, and then his gaze fell on the kneeling, gaunt old man.

"Is this Sun Laosan?"

Lu Wushuang nodded: "He has been in charge of the secret agents' finances and accounts for more than ten years."

"Sun Laosan," Yang Guo said.

The sound wasn't loud, but the old man kneeling on the ground shuddered and suddenly raised his head.

"I'm here! I'm here!" Old Man Sun replied repeatedly, his face beaming with smiles, sweat trickling down his forehead and wrinkles.

This old man had been operating in Xiangyang City for over a decade, with deeply entrenched connections between the underworld and the legitimate world.

He originally thought that the Quanzhen Sect was just sending someone to go through the motions and say a few words to get rid of him.

Who would have thought this little brat would be so ruthless, resorting to knives at the slightest provocation? His two most capable guards couldn't even last a single move against her.

Now that the main culprit has arrived, Old Man Sun knows exactly what's going on. If he dares to try anything funny at Fujulou today, he won't be able to leave here alive.

"The ledger," Yang Guo said, uttering only two words.

Sun Laosan dared not delay. Trembling, he took out three account books from his pocket, raised them high above his head, shuffled a few steps on his knees, and placed them on the table.

Lu Wushuang took it, flipped through it, and only after confirming that all the pages were complete did she place it in front of Yang Guo.

Yang Guo opened the first book.

The characters were written in tiny, dense characters, and the details were meticulous. The monthly turnover of the three rice shops in the east of the city, the secret profit sharing of the cloth shop in the south of the city, and the freight commission at the dock—every transaction was recorded with a date and the person who handled it.

Roughly calculated, these overt transactions alone bring in two to three thousand taels of silver every month. Having maintained Mongol spies for over a decade, all this money comes from within Xiangyang city itself.

It's like taking money from the people of Xiangyang to support the dogs of the Mongols.

Yang Guo remained unperturbed and continued flipping through the second book.

My fingers stopped halfway through flipping through the pages.

This ledger doesn't record business transactions. Several batches of grain and medicinal herbs are sold monthly through Fujiulou's channels to black market merchants at 30% below market price. The proceeds ultimately all go to the same place.

The private treasury of Lü Wende, the garrison commander of Xiangyang.

Yang glanced at a couple more pages, closed the ledger, and tapped his fingers lightly twice on the table.

"Old Sun, you're quite thoughtful."

Sun Laosan's forehead was sweating even more profusely, but after so many years in the business world, he still had the ability to read people's expressions. He could tell that there was no murderous intent in Yang Guo's tone, so he mustered up his courage and spoke.

"Master, please be aware that I dare not deceive you. Lord Lü has embezzled military funds, and the amount of silver he has handled is no less than 100,000 taels. If this matter is exposed, it will be a crime punishable by the confiscation of property and the extermination of one's entire family. If I do not keep a record, Lord Lü may turn his back on me one day, and I will die without a burial place."

Yang Guo looked at him.

"So what if you kept a copy? If Lü Wende really wanted to silence you, he could send a battalion of soldiers to surround this Fujulou restaurant, and you wouldn't even have a chance to hand over the account book."

Sun Laosan opened his mouth, but couldn't say a word.

He wasn't unaware of this principle, but he simply hadn't dared to think about it deeply.

Yang Guo stopped looking at him, picked up the teacup on the table, and took a sip. The tea had gone cold, but he didn't care.

"From today onwards, all the spies within Xiangyang City will be under the jurisdiction of the Quanzhen Sect's Intelligence Division. Wushuang will personally handle the accounts. Your businesses will continue as usual, and every penny of your monthly income must be reported to Wushuang without fail."

Yang Guo put down his teacup and added, "I will also take over Lü Wende's messy accounts."

Sun Laosan's heart skipped a beat.

The meaning is clear. From this day forward, Lu Wende's weakness belongs to the Quanzhen Sect. Sun Laosan's last trump card for survival is gone.

But he had no choice.

"I understand. I will serve the sect leader wholeheartedly from now on and will never dare to have any disloyal thoughts."

Yang Guo stood up and walked to Sun Laosan.

"Talking is not enough."

Yang Guo extended his right hand, joined his index and middle fingers together, and gently tapped Sun Laosan's chest.

A wisp of true energy emanated from his fingertip, extremely fine and hot, penetrating his skin and flesh, traveling along the meridians for a few breaths, and finally settling near the heart meridian, where it lay dormant.

This is the Yang energy imprint from the Qiankun Jue. After the true energy enters the body, it will entangle with the heart meridian. If no one regularly uses the corresponding methods to resolve it, it will spontaneously erupt after half a month, burning away the meridians around the heart meridian.

Sun Laosan felt a brief heat in his chest, which quickly subsided. He was unfamiliar with martial arts and couldn't sense anything new within his body.

"I've left a strand of true energy in your heart meridian," Yang Guo said calmly as he returned to his seat. "Every two weeks, you must come to see Wushuang, and she will help you resolve it. If you don't come by then, the true energy in your heart meridian will explode."

"No doctor can cure it."

The color drained from Sun Laosan's face little by little, his knees buckled, and he collapsed to the ground.

He had heard of this kind of evil magic that controlled people in the martial arts world, but he only thought it was a rumor. He never expected that it would happen to him today.

"Go and call in all the stewards waiting outside," Yang Guo ordered.

Sun Laosan scrambled out of the private room.

Before long, a dozen or so underlings were led in.

As soon as these people entered the room, they smelled the stench of blood throughout. When they saw the two corpses on the ground, they turned pale and stood in two neat rows, not daring to breathe.

Yang Guo sat in the main seat and didn't say anything unnecessary.

Lu Wushuang took out the roster and called out names one by one, announcing the rules of the Intelligence Division and reassigning the managers of each area.

There were two troublemakers, their eyes darting around as they spoke. Yang Guo didn't argue; he simply stood up, walked over, and pressed a finger on the man's shoulder acupoint. A wisp of true energy flowed in, and the man's shoulder and arm slumped down, unable to be raised again.

"Get out," Yang Guo said.

The man, clutching his broken arm, was deathly pale as he was dragged out of the private room.

None of the remaining people dared to utter a sound.

With this series of methods, the group of spies who had been entrenched in Xiangyang City for more than a decade were completely replaced.

……

By the time everything was finished, it was already dark.

Only Yang Guo and Lu Wushuang remained in the private room. The people downstairs had already carried away the body and replaced the carpet, but a faint smell of blood still lingered in the air.

Lu Wushuang carefully wrapped the three account books in oilcloth, tied them tightly with string, and put them into her personal bag.

She hesitated for a moment before asking, "Husband, are these account books really going to be kept with Wushuang?"

"Um."

"But Lu Wende's secret camp is located here. What if word gets out..."

"That's why I left it with you," Yang Guo interrupted her. "Your martial arts skills are sufficient, and you're meticulous. I don't trust anyone else with it."

Lu Wushuang looked down at the package in her arms and didn't ask any more questions.

Yang Guo walked to her side and put his arm around her waist.

"You're my woman. If I don't keep you here, am I supposed to hand you over to Chief Huang?"

Upon hearing this, Lu Wushuang's tense expression, which had been tense all day, finally relaxed.

She leaned against Yang Guo's chest and looked up at him.

"Rest assured, my lord, Wushuang will keep a close watch on these account books and no one will be able to take them away."