Martial Arts Crossover: It All Started with Hijacking Li Canghai

The carriage curtain fell, and Xiaoyuer cracked his whip in front.

"Giddy up! Ladies, buckle up, let's go!"

With wheels rolling, the two carriages, escorted by Du Sha and Li Dazui, sped away along the official road down the mountain, raising a cloud of yellow dust, and soon disappeared around the bend in the mountain road.

After watching for a while, the gentle expression on Qin Han's face gradually faded.

He wasn't worried about Xiaolongnu's safety. Although Wanwan was usually unruly, she was meticulous when it came to serious matters, and her Heavenly Demon Technique was close to that of a Grandmaster.

With Xiaolongnu's own swordsmanship and her two henchmen, Du Sha and Li Dazui, she could do whatever she wanted as long as she didn't encounter any old monsters on the Heavenly Ranking.

What he needs to consider now is how to take advantage of this great victory to completely assimilate Shandong and turn it into a springboard for the Qin's northern expedition.

Qin Han turned around, preparing to return to the Hall of Gathering Righteousness to examine the sand table.

He had barely taken half a step when he saw Lianxing standing a few steps away, looking at him.

Ajiu and Su Kui had already gone back to the inner hall to handle official business, while Lin Pingzhi escorted Qin Han for a while. At this moment, only Lianxing remained at the gate of the village.

She placed her hands together in front of her, her fingers unconsciously clutching the hem of her long, flowing dress. Her lips moved as if she wanted to say something.

Qin Han exposed everything about himself in front of Lianxing, naturally not wanting the Second Palace Mistress to leave. Seeing her like this, he stopped his steps to return to his room.

"Second Palace Master, do you perhaps wish to return to Embroidered Jade Valley?"

Lianxing felt her thoughts were seen through, and her fair cheeks flushed slightly. She subconsciously took a small step back, and her left leg was no longer lame at all.

She looked up to meet Qin Han's gaze and shook her head: "Your Highness has done Lianxing a great favor. Although Lianxing is not a gentleman who keeps his promises, she would not repay kindness with enmity or simply walk away."

She hesitated for a moment, but then finally spoke the words that had been on her mind.

"Back then... back then, before that Saintess Lan left the Yihua Palace, she came to see me alone once."

Qin Han became interested and took two steps toward her.

"What does she want with you? It can't be that she sees your exceptional talent and wants to take you on as her apprentice, can it?"

Lianxing sensed the teasing in his words, and her ears burned. Having spent the last two days in the Golden Snake Camp and observed how the women around him interacted, she gradually came to understand this man's temperament.

On the surface, he appears domineering and frivolous, but in reality, as long as you don't cross his bottom line, he is much more reasonable than most so-called righteous sects in the martial arts world.

Even that arrogant Yin Gui Sect enchantress could act childish in front of him.

"The Holy Maiden Lan did see the hidden injury on my left foot back then, but she did not say she wanted to take me as her disciple."

Lianxing recalled the details from more than 20 years ago.

"She received a letter from Jiangnan at that time, and her expression was very unpleasant."

"The night before she left, she gave me half a white jade lotus pendant, saying that if she did not return to Yihua Palace to retrieve the pendant within three years, it would mean that she was no longer alive."

"She asked me to keep the other half of the jade pendant for her. If I ever meet a young woman with similar features who is holding the other half of the jade pendant, I should return it to her."

Qin Han's brow twitched. What's the point of saying this now that Lianxing has left if she didn't say anything earlier?

"A jade pendant? Long'er doesn't have one."

"She grew up in the ancient tomb. When Granny Sun brought her in, she left no keepsakes except a change of clothes in her swaddling clothes."

Lianxing sighed softly.

"That's why I didn't dare to speak in front of Miss Long just now."

"Not long after the Saintess Lan left, my sister Yaoyue accidentally discovered the half of the jade pendant that I had hidden in my room."

"At that time, my sister was frustrated because she was stuck on the seventh level of Mingyu Gong, and she was also angry that Saintess Lan left without giving her a proper fight. In a fit of anger, she crushed the half of the white jade lotus pendant."

At this point, Lianxing glanced at Qin Han cautiously, afraid that he would take his anger out on her and Yaoyue.

"Although the jade pendant was broken, when I secretly pieced the broken pieces together later, I found a tiny piece of parchment hidden in the pendant's inner layer."

"There were no words on it, only a very strange topographical map, with the words 'Taihu Lake' and 'Mantuo Villa' written next to it in small characters."

Taihu Lake? Mantuo Villa?

Qin Han paused for a moment, then quickly connected the words in his mind.

Mantuo Manor is Li Qingluo's territory, Yu Yan's hometown!

Back when Lin Ruhai was an official in Jiangnan, it was only about a hundred miles away by water from Mantuo Villa.

Lan Shengnu gave birth to Xiaolongnu while pregnant with Lin Ruhai's child in Zhongnan Mountain, but was then assassinated. Why is the location of Mantuo Villa marked among her belongings?

Moreover, Wang Yuyan had already been brought into the Lin'an Palace, and the beautiful woman Li Qingluo had also been given a house outside Lin'an to live in. She was now managing the Sutra Repository.

Qin Han touched the stubble on his chin; this was an unexpected clue.

Xiaolongnu went to the White Lotus Sect's headquarters primarily to gather its followers; investigating her old enemies was just a side effect.

If there really are any core secrets hidden in Mantuo Manor, it would be much easier than searching the White Lotus Sect headquarters. After all, Taihu Lake is now the inner lake of Great Qin, and sending someone to dig up every inch of Mantuo Manor would be a simple matter.

"Where is that parchment now?" Qin Han asked.

Lianxing answered honestly.

"It's still in the secret compartment of my bedchamber in Xiuyu Valley. If Your Highness needs it, Lianxing can write a letter."

"Have your men sneak into Embroidered Jade Valley and retrieve the method to open the light and dark grid."

She didn't mention going back to retrieve it herself. Firstly, she knew that having seen so many of Qin Han's secrets, he wouldn't let her leave easily. Secondly, if she went back to Yihua Palace now and faced Yaoyue, who was in a bad mood, she really wouldn't know how to explain her healed left foot.

Qin Han glanced at her, clearly seeing through her fear of Yaoyue.

"No rush. We'll have to go to Xiuyu Valley sooner or later. Your sister was quick last time. Once the situation in Shandong stabilizes, I'll personally accompany you back to Yihua Palace and pick up the things while we're at it."

Lianxing's heart skipped a beat. Was he really going to personally accompany her back to Yihua Palace?

Given this man's style of doing things, once he goes to Xiuyu Valley, how could my sister possibly be a match for him? Wouldn't Yihua Palace then become the backyard of his Golden Snake Camp?

Her mind was in turmoil; she was worried about Yaoyue, yet deep down, a secret hope arose that she dared not even think about...

If my older sister is also arrested, will she no longer be able to control me like before?

Just as Lianxing was lost in thought, a series of hurried footsteps came from the mountain path in the distance.

Lin Pingzhi, who was in charge of seeing off Xiaolongnu and her party, was rushing down the mountain, leaving a trail of afterimages on the mountain path. In just a few breaths, he arrived at the gate of the village.

Lin Pingzhi knelt on one knee and raised a section of bamboo tube with both hands.

"My lord! We just received an urgent secret report from the Sihai Chamber of Commerce in Jinan."