The entire sect is obsessed with love, but I'm the only one who's truly insane.

In the Wushang Sect Library, Lin Du sat by the window, quietly watching the chessboard in front of him.

Yuan Ye and Yan Qing walked one after the other, each carrying a booklet and sheet music respectively, but neither of them looked at them.

"I have no problem with that, but Junior Uncle, you're so busy, are you also responsible for liaison with the Liangchen Chamber of Commerce?"

Lin Du picked up a black chess piece. "No, it's just that I was afraid you wouldn't be able to tell the difference."

Yuan Ye sighed, "Junior Uncle, I'm over thirty. In the Great Zhou Dynasty, I could be a grandfather by the time I'm over thirty! There's no need to be so worried."

"That works too." Lin Du knew his own problem: he had too much of a desire to control the whole situation and didn't fully trust other people's intelligence.

But there's a saying: if you can't lead a team, you'll just have to work yourself to death.

Lin Du decided to trust at least once the person he and his second senior brother had painstakingly trained; at least Yuan Ye was not without his own cunning.

"Tell me immediately if you receive any orders from Foxyou or any orders related to Fusifang."

Lin Du placed a black piece, followed by a white piece. "The people of Fusifang all have a divine imprint on them. They rarely ask outsiders for help, and even if they do, they do so discreetly, probably without directly stating it."

"Fox You is in Fusifang's territory. Even if he doesn't go to the brothel for a day, it will be reported. Although he severed his father-son relationship in front of the Third Master that day, it's hard to say whether it will arouse suspicion again."

"So if there are any irregularities in those business orders, call me immediately. Fox You's cultivation level isn't high, although he's quite clever. But in the cultivation world, there's no law. Suspecting someone and killing them is common."

Yuan Ye nodded, "No problem, leave it to me, Uncle-Master, don't worry!"

Lin Du looked at Yan Qing, who was eager to try, and said, "Speak your mind."

"Junior Uncle, there's something I've looked into." Yan Qing opened his notebook. "The craftsman we met in the valley that day admitted that he used to be a member of the Jiang family, that he has a daughter and a wife, and that his daughter is skilled with a knife. I have some doubts about that."

"So I used some connections to ask around. More than 80 years ago, Jiang Lirong of the Jiang family was expelled from the family. Before that, because Jiang Lirong didn't have much talent for cultivation and his cultivation level was not high, the family gave him few resources. His wife's family was unable to make up for the deficit after giving birth, so she fell seriously ill. The family lived in dire straits and in the end, they didn't even have the money to hire a doctor."

"When a family servant went to deliver medicine, he found that Jiang Lirong had cut open his wife's body. He thought that Jiang Lirong had gone so far as to be heartless and crazy, so he immediately called for help. The Jiang family felt that this son could not be kept and therefore expelled him from the family."

Lin Du had already made up his mind, but Yan Qing was not yet finished speaking.

"Later, I focused my questioning on Jiang Lirong's daughter," Yan Qing shook her head, "and guess what?"

Lin Du glanced at him with a half-smile, and Yan Qing immediately abandoned his suspenseful intentions. "I asked, and the daughter's name is Jiang Yan, the 'Yan' in 'repulsive.'"

"Because her father passed away and her mother also died of illness, some elders in the Jiang family felt that the little girl was born to bring misfortune to her parents and was therefore repulsive. So in the end, Jiang Yan ended up squeezing into the kitchen and begging for food by doing odd jobs."

Yan Qing frowned slightly as she spoke, probably feeling that the Jiang family, such a large and prestigious family, was too unrefined. "Then one winter, Jiang Yan disappeared from the Jiang family. It seems that a direct descendant saw Jiang Yan in the kitchen and thought she was stealing spiritual food. He insisted that she was as unfit as her father and kicked her out."

The chess piece clicked onto the board. "Is it truly tedious, or is it the kind of 'tireless' enjoyment of learning?"

"Perhaps Jiang Lirong only wanted to express one thing and that would be enough?" Lin Du lowered his eyes. "How could any parent name their child something they dislike? Even if they really didn't like it?"

Yan Qing thought for a moment and said, "That makes sense. If I were Jiang Lirong, seeing how much my wife would lose to have a child, I would definitely think that we shouldn't have any more children, this one is enough."

Lin Du smiled. Even if her parents in her previous life didn't like her, they still named her Du, the Du of ferry crossing, hoping to guide their son. At least it sounds nice, doesn't it?

"A name is given by one's parents, but its meaning is given by oneself." Lin Du placed his piece again, then looked up at Yan Qing. "You went to investigate Quan Jiangren's daughter; does that confirm your suspicions?"

"I think this daughter might be the key to the grand feast." Yan Qing closed the booklet. "Especially the Jiang family's secret technique she used that day, I think it's almost certainly true."

Lin Du nodded. "That makes sense."

"And what about us?" Yan Qing remembered that Sheng Yan and Lin Du seemed to have some connection. "Should we tell Sheng Yan that we've found her father?"

Lin Du shook his head. "Don't meddle in other people's business. She knows what she's doing."

"Alright then." Yan Qing regretfully abandoned her idea of ​​selling the information.

Lin Du suddenly had a thought. "Tell me honestly, did you contribute the manuscript to 'Tales of the Central Plains'?"

Yan Qing felt a little guilty. "Is that not allowed?"

"No, that won't do." Lin Du smiled. "That's fine. You can help me write something."

"I only write truthful news!" Yan Qing warned, "Otherwise, the article will be retracted!"

"Who says the news I asked you to write wasn't true?"

Yan Qing met her junior uncle's gaze suspiciously, "Really?"

"Yes!" Lin Du said decisively.

Yan Qing opened the booklet and listened attentively. "Please speak."

The following month, in the sweltering summer heat, there were few pedestrians on the streets, but the teahouses were busier with people drinking loose tea, cooling off, and chatting.

"The new volume of 'Tales of the Central Plains' is out! Hey, have you read it yet?"

"What happened? Which family head has taken a third wife this time, or which noble family's young master has gone missing?"

"Oh, this time the Chronicles of Central Plains has gone all out!"

"How so?"

"This time they've directly exposed one of the Demon Lord's grandest plots!"

"It's said that some heartless person has released demons into Echoing Valley. A coachman even testified to this: that day, he was transporting someone who insisted on paying extra to go to Echoing Valley. Who knew that after arriving at the destination, the passenger turned into a demon right in front of the coachman? What's the difference between this and poisoning!"

"Wow, who has such a black heart!"

"Who else could it be? That Demon Lord is always up to no good! Before, during the Central Plains Grand Competition, he tried to kill our Central Plains genius in front of everyone, but he was chased away by Immortal Venerable Yan Ye. Now he's come up with this evil method, turning living people into demons!"

"Fortunately, the coachman encountered a disciple of the Supreme Sect who was passing by. He was rescued, the demon was killed on the spot, and the demon that had emerged in the valley a few years ago was also eliminated."

"The text says, 'Fierce fire burns through the body of evil spirits, and spiritual snow cleanses the souls of mortals.'"

The man shook his head and sighed, "If someone truly degenerates from human to demon, losing their will and eating human flesh, then that's truly... If you ask me, this Demon Lord is utterly wicked! He's insane! Isn't being a demon himself enough? He's constantly thinking about turning others into demons too! Aren't the people in the Demon Realm enough for him to manage?"

A group of three people happened to pass by outside the teahouse.

"I've bought all the materials Junior Uncle requested. Qi Zhen, is there anything else you want to buy?" Ni Jinxuan turned to look at the person beside her.

Qi Zhen snapped out of her daze, a hint of embarrassment flashing across her delicate face. "I don't need to buy anything."

"I can't keep wearing my senior brother's clothes. Should I go buy some new clothes? I wonder if the twelve different blue outfits that my junior uncle ordered this year are ready yet? I should go check on them."

"No need, senior sister, I don't have any money," Qi Zhen said softly.

Just as Ni Jinxuan was about to suggest using her share, she suddenly caught sight of Yuan Ye's face as he lazily walked behind her. The man silently mouthed, "Don't be a mother to a man."

"Alright then, it's fine. We'll always find a way to make money! We can go out and gain some experience, and if we come across any rare and precious materials, we can sell them."

Ni Jinxuan turned to Yuan Ye and asked, "When are we going down the mountain for some more training?"

"Well, that depends on what Master and Uncle-Master think," Yuan Ye sighed. "After all, now is the time when we need manpower. Who knows when that demon will go crazy again and capture people to reform into demons?"

"Just because you're a turtle doesn't mean the whole world has to crawl on all fours. What kind of logic is that?"

Ni Jinxuan nodded in agreement, "That devil is truly a scoundrel!"

Qi Zhen walked in the shadow of the eaves, and his face twisted for a moment upon hearing this.