Chapter 155 Unexpected Changes

After writing another list and asking Liu Lang to bring the medicinal herbs back, Chen Yi sent Wang Ji and Zhang Dabao back.

Then, he withdrew his Xuanwu aura and listened intently to the sounds around him.

After confirming that the people around him were all civilians, he slowly performed a set of Bengyue Fist.

Not for cultivation, but just to stretch my muscles and bones.

At this moment, the sky outside was still overcast.

However, the lightning and thunder stopped, and the rain was much lighter than before.

A series of ticking sounds filled the not-so-large house.

Some of the sounds are the rain falling on the roof tiles, while others are the sounds of water accumulating on the eaves and dripping onto the stone slabs.

It added a touch of life to the surrounding tranquility.

Chen Yi, however, did not notice any of this, and the sounds did not even reach his ears.

He practiced the Bengyue Fist in the dimly lit room while pondering what to do next.

The Liu family of Jingzhou wields considerable power.

Even though the Xiao family is fearless, they do not want to easily clash with the Liu family.

vice versa.

The Liu family naturally dared not openly deal with the Xiao family.

Just like when the Liu family came, they didn't dare to use the name Xinglinzhai, but instead opened Linglanxuan.

The purpose was merely to test the waters.

It was not only a test of the Xiao family's situation, but also a test of Liu Hong of Shu Prefecture.

It's just one in the light and one in the dark.

If Liu Jing hadn't come knocking, the closure of Linglanxuan would have meant the end of the Liu family's probing in Jingzhou, and there wouldn't have been any further developments.

The end of the trial does not mean there will be no follow-up.

Therefore, Baicaotang should continue to operate and become a major support for the Xiao family.

However, on the surface, it would be best for Baicaotang to only cooperate with the Xiao family in Shuzhou Prefecture. In other prefectures and counties, the Xiao family should remain hidden.

"Xiao Wan'er probably can't make that decision; I reckon the old master will also have to get involved."

Chen Yi deduced that by this point, he knew that the only influence the Liu family could exert on the Xiao family in Shu Prefecture was left by Liu Hong, the Left Provincial Governor.

I thought about it.

For the time being, he still stuck to his original idea and tried to have Yang Ye stand in front of him.

It may be necessary to go through some twists and turns.

"Then there are those hidden guards."

As Chen Yi pondered these thoughts, his mind gradually relaxed, but his fist techniques became increasingly fierce.

After mastering the martial arts style, he also mastered the Collapse Mountain Fist and Hundred Flower Palm, making them far more powerful than before.

Especially the Mountain Collapse Fist.

After mastering the essence of martial arts, every move can overwhelm the opponent with its power.

In addition, his foundation is solid and his strength has reached the level of elephant force. Martial artists whose cultivation is inferior to his cannot even withstand a single punch.

The Hundred Flowers Palm, on the other hand, is more agile, and its fist intent is mainly based on dexterity and versatility.

With a single palm strike, the attack was both real and feinted, making it impossible to discern the direction from which the attack was coming.

With these two elements combined, he could handle any martial artist at the lower three ranks.

That is, facing the middle three ranks.

It should be said that he has the ability to fight against a martial artist at the sixth rank.

Just like Cui Qingwu that night.

Even if someone's cultivation level is a whole realm higher than his, they can still escape when their Dao realm is inferior.

However, if the opponent reaches the fifth rank and has achieved great success in the Dao realm, he will be no match for them at all.

At this moment, Chen Yi's ears twitched slightly as he heard undisguised footsteps not far from the door.

He immediately stopped practicing, calmed his mind, and used the Xuanwu Concealing Breath Technique to hide his internal energy.

Soon, the sound of footsteps grew louder as they approached.

Liu Lang, dressed in a straw raincoat and bamboo hat, pushed open the door and entered, with a long knife hanging at his waist and a dozen or so herb packets in his hand.

He glanced at Chen Yi, who was seated at the head of the table, placed the medicine packet beside him, and bowed with clasped hands.

"We meet again, Mr. Chen."

Chen Yi nodded slightly and waved for him to sit down and speak.

Liu Lang, without any hesitation, sat down next to him and said with a smile:

"If you hadn't come today, I would have had Manager Wang contact you."

Chen Yi's heart stirred slightly, and he asked, "Is there any progress on that matter?"

"You could say he has some features, I suppose."

Then Liu Lang told Chen Yi everything he had done the night before.

This includes the "worship of docks, gods, Buddhas, and evil spirits" in the Shu Prefecture, as well as the Black Tooth from "Mingyue Tower".

Judging from what he said, Mingyue Tower is similar to an intelligence organization. It is not considered a righteous sect in the martial arts world, nor can it be simply classified as an evil sect.

At this point, Liu Lang paused, a strange look on his face, and said:

"Originally, I wanted to go all the way and have Black Tooth find some people to go to the three towns, but I didn't expect that other people would contact him and want to burn down the three towns."

"And the offer was very high. Although Black Tooth didn't say it outright, I guess it was worth ten thousand taels of gold."

Chen Yi frowned slightly, noting down the names of Black Fang and Bright Moon Tower as he asked, "When did this happen?"

"It must have been the night before last."

The night before last... the Hidden Guards?

But could the hidden guards produce ten thousand taels of gold?

You should know that 10,000 taels of gold is roughly equivalent to 100,000 taels of silver, which is something that ordinary people simply cannot afford.

Even if you tie Xiao Dongchen and Ge Laosan together, there's no way they can get it out.

Unless Cui Qingwu takes action.

But that's not right either.

The Hidden Guards are people from the imperial court, and they have their own rules, subordinates, and power.

They wouldn't have entrusted such a secretive matter as "burning down the summer grain in three towns" to someone else.

You should know that this is Shuzhou, the capital city of Shuzhou where the Xiao family is located.

Even if Black Fang is secretive, it's impossible for him to keep his actions a secret from the Xiao family in such a chaotic place.

After much thought, Chen Yi still didn't believe that the Hidden Guards would do such a thing through Black Fang.

Perhaps there is someone else?

Who could it be?

A prominent family from Shu Prefecture, or perhaps the Liu family from Jing Prefecture?

Unable to come up with a solution, Chen Yi asked, "Anything else?"

Liu Lang grinned and said, "Black Fang invited me to join this deal."

"Huh? You didn't tell him about faking the burning of the three towns?"

"It's a good thing I didn't tell him, otherwise he definitely wouldn't have revealed so much."

"Don't let his reputation as a heretic fool you; he's extremely trustworthy when it comes to business. Otherwise, the Liu family wouldn't have chosen him as an intermediary and hired me and the people from the Illusionary Sound Sect."

After listening and understanding some of what was going on, Chen Yi pondered and asked, "So, did you agree?"

Liu Lang shook his head: "I dare not get involved in this mess without your permission."

"You should know that this deal is extremely dangerous. Whether it succeeds or fails, it will attract Xiao Jinghong's attention. If she gets angry, she will find me no matter where I run to."

A flicker of surprise crossed Chen Yi's mind. "She can leave Shu Prefecture at will?"

“Ordinary military officers would not be suitable, but she…”

Liu Lang paused, not finishing his sentence, "Please don't ask me anymore, I dare not say."

"If you have the chance, you should ask her yourself."

Chen Yi glanced at him sideways, "What if I insist on knowing?"

Liu Lang opened his mouth, then smiled bitterly and said, "It really won't work."

"Even if you make that request, I can't gossip about it behind your back."

Upon hearing this, Chen Yi secretly raised an eyebrow. Did his wife have a secret he didn't know about?

After thinking for a moment, he didn't make things difficult for Liu Lang anymore, and instead said:

"In that case, you will agree to Black Fang's request for now and find out who ordered this."

Liu Lang breathed a slight sigh of relief, as if losing his head was less frightening than Xiao Jinghong.

"Is this the second thing?"

"Calculate."

"Also, I remember you said before that you would repay Xiao Jinghong for sparing your life?"

"I see, you mean..."

Seeing that he had realized what was happening, Chen Yi nodded and said, "Find a way to secretly pass this on to the Xiao family."

"This is the third thing I want you to do."

To everyone's surprise, Liu Lang shook his head, "One thing at a time."

"If the message was sent to the Xiao family, then it cannot be attributed to you."

Chen Yi chuckled: "You are quite principled and trustworthy."

"A person cannot stand without integrity. Don't look at me as someone who has done a lot of ridiculous things while traveling around. I will always keep my promises to others."

"In that case, consider it as you doing two things for me."

"good."

Chen Yi then asked about some other things.

For example, who among the evil and heretical sects hiding in Shu Prefecture is most likely to get involved?

"I am new to Shuzhou and don't know much about the affairs of the martial world here, but I think not many evil spirits would dare to stay here."

"not much?"

"Boss, didn't you know? There are mountain tribes in the Shu Prefecture."

Liu Lang scratched his head and said, "Don't be fooled by the fact that that old woman from the mountain doesn't leave the mountain for a long time; there are few people from either the righteous or evil paths who dare to cause trouble under her nose."

"Even the Illusionary Sound Sect, when they came to plunder the Xiao family's medicinal herbs, came and went in a hurry, not daring to stay any longer."

"Only low-class people could hide in Shu Prefecture. Even if those powerful old monsters came, they wouldn't dare to make any moves, for fear of breaking Granny Shan's rules."

Grandma Mountain.

After repeating it several times, Chen Yi finally came to understand her formidable reputation.

No wonder the lady only punished the tiger girl slightly when she poisoned the guards of the Marquis's mansion and acted so recklessly.

After thinking for a moment, Chen Yi gave Liu Lang a few more instructions and then let him leave.

After the person left.

Chen Yi waited a while before changing his clothes, removing the disguise from his face, and returning to the Xiao family with an oil-paper umbrella.

Along the way, the rain was heavy and the wind was strong.

The stalls in the West Market were already empty, and there were few pedestrians, only some people in the shops on both sides.

For example, tailor shops, taverns, and inns.

Chen Yi didn't look around much, only taking in the surroundings of the tailor shop before disappearing into the rain.

On his way back, he was still thinking about the hidden guards and the mastermind behind the burning of the three towns.

Who could it be?

Even after Chen Yi returned to Chunhe Garden, he still couldn't figure it out.

We can only pin our hopes on Liu Lang and see if he can get any clues from Hei Ya.

Just then, Xiaodie ran up to him, taking the medicinal herbs from his hand as she said:

"Young master, you're finally back! Miss has come to ask about you three times already."

"Oh, what did you say?"

"It seems that quite a few people came to visit this afternoon, not only the young lady, but also the master sent people to inquire about your whereabouts."

Chen Yi understood, and pursed his lips: "Close the door and refuse visitors, just say I'm sick."

"ah?"

"Just reply to my older sister like this."

It's clear that because of the academy incident, some people have set their sights on the Xiao family.

But how could he possibly give in?

With so many students, just annotating calligraphy practice books would exhaust him.

He thought Xiaodie would be back soon so he could have dinner and prepare for tonight's events.

To everyone's surprise, after waiting for quite a while, not only did Xiao Die return, but Xiao Wan'er also came along.

Cui'er and Juan'er, who were behind them, brought over some medicinal soup.

"Brother-in-law, I heard you're sick?"

"..."

Xiaodie, what did you say?

(End of this chapter)