"What?"
In Courtyard No. 4 of the Heaven-grade at the Pleasant Dwelling Inn, Li Wanchun, clad in a dark green robe stained with a large smudge of dirt, furrowed his brow as he looked at his disciple and daughter who had rushed back.
Although the dirt smeared on him from who-knows-where made Old Man Li look somewhat comical at this moment, there was no doubt from his suddenly darkened face that Li Wanchun was currently filled with doubt and rage.
"It's the absolute truth, Master! That's really what Martial Nephew said. And from the look of it, he wasn't joking either. Master... Martial Nephew couldn't actually be involved with a demonic cult like the Changle Palace, could he?"
Looking at Xiao Heng's genuinely earnest expression, Li Wanchun's brow furrowed tightly as a dark look flashed through his eyes.
What in the world was going on?
Didn't that stinky brat just come yesterday to show off his monstrous, demonic-level alchemy skills? Didn't he display a freakish talent so absurd that even the Patriarch of the Medicine King Valley would crawl out of his grave to take him as a disciple?
How on earth had he inexplicably gotten entangled with some demonic cult today?
He let out a long breath:
"If it really involves the demonic cult, that would indeed be troublesome. However, that stinky brat isn't a fool; there's no reason for him to do something so thankless! Could it be... he was bewildered and controlled by some secret art of those demonic heretics from Changle Palace? If I remember correctly, the Changle Palace heretics are most adept in such methods!"
At this thought, Li Wanchun suddenly stood up and declared:
"No, this old man must go see for himself!"
If it were anyone else, he wouldn't care as much. But this stinky brat's talent was practically his future hope—or rather, the future hope of the entire Medicine King Valley.
No matter what, even if he had to throw away his old face and prestige, he had to protect this boy.
Besides, as to whether this stinky brat was truly involved with the demonic cult, Li Wanchun also felt there was something fishy about the whole matter.
With that thought in mind, a dark glint flashed in the depths of Li Wanchun's eyes.
His temper was indeed quite good, and he possessed ample magnanimity, but that didn't mean he lacked a spine.
Ever since he arrived in the Jiangnan region, nothing had gone smoothly for him; it had been one frustrating mess after another. He had suffered slight setbacks both when dealing with Fourteenth Young Lady and when facing Cui Jianxing.
Now, just when something good had finally come along, the damn court officials were stirring up trouble again?
If that stinky brat truly couldn't clear himself of ties with the Changle Palace, so be it—he would figure out a way and call upon his connections when the time came.
But if the boy was innocent, and that guy named Cui was just spouting nonsense to mess with him, then don't blame him for not showing respect to that old geezer named Yang!
Did they really think he had lived seventy or eighty years for nothing? Did they truly believe that he, the Immortal of Everlasting Spring, was just an ordinary physician?
...
"Oh? If it isn't Protector Zhang!"
Long Qingyu sat behind the writing desk, seemingly in quite a good mood. After all, when she went out last night, she had received news that her master would also be coming over in a few days.
Speaking of which, she hadn't seen her master in several years.
When she saw the approaching figure, Long Qingyu felt no major emotional waves. In fact, she seemed to have already anticipated the purpose of the visit. Before Zhang Xuelan could speak, she smiled and said:
"Rest assured, regarding the matter of your Golden Dragon Trading Company's fleet, I have already seen to it. When the time comes, you can take..."
However, this time, before Long Qingyu could finish her sentence, Zhang Xuelan cut her off directly:
"Fourteenth Young Lady, it's not about that matter! It's urgent—it's about Young Master Chen!"
"Hmm?" Long Qingyu's brow furrowed. "What happened?"
"It's like this..."
Word for word, Zhang Xuelan repeated everything she had just heard back to Long Qingyu.
"What?!"
The exact same two words echoed once more within Crouching Dragon Ward.
Long Qingyu stared at Zhang Xuelan before her, her brows knit tight. "Is this true?"
Zhang Xuelan looked panicked and nervous: "Fourteenth Young Lady, no matter who I might deceive, I would never dare lie to you! Young Master Chen just left with Divine Detective Yan—every word I said is true!"
Long Qingyu's expression instantly darkened, a surge of killing intent surfacing in her eyes:
"Those lapdogs who don't know what's good for them... do they really think I'm afraid of them?"
In an instant, a surging phantom image of an azure dragon coiled around her, leaving Zhang Xuelan without even the courage to look up.
Her heart was filled with horror. There had long been rumors that Fourteenth Young Lady possessed peerless combat power; back when she was in the Interior Scenery Realm, she had slain an Innate cultivator. She was a rare powerhouse capable of fighting above her realm even at higher cultivation stages.
Looking at her now, the rumors were indeed true!
Thinking of this, Zhang Xuelan's mind settled slightly. Fortunately, for the moment, both of their interests were aligned.
Without even thinking or asking another question, Long Qingyu moved. The desk in front of her burst apart instantly, unable to impede her footsteps in the slightest:
"I knew that little bitch from the Six Doors was no good!"
"Fourteenth Young Lady, what are you..."
Long Qingyu ignored Zhang Xuelan's inquiry. To her, Zhang Xuelan was not a character worthy of much attention anyway.
However, the moment her feet stepped out of the study, a figure rapidly approached.
Clearly, her completely unsuppressed eruption of True Qi fluctuations was hardly difficult to detect.
Likewise, the person bold enough to come check on the situation while Long Qingyu was bursting with True Qi was none other than...
Long Wuxie.
"Qingyu, what are you doing..."
Before Long Wuxie could even finish his sentence, Long Qingyu seemed to suddenly realize something. The azure dragon phantom vanished from her original spot in an instant, and she appeared directly in front of Long Wuxie, her azure dragon pupils locking onto him:
"Did you play tricks behind the scenes?"
"Huh?"
Long Wuxie opened his mouth, looking in utter confusion at Long Qingyu, who was dripping with killing intent.
What?
Long Wuxie was completely bewildered.
Long Qingyu narrowed her eyes:
"My little brother was taken away by the Six Doors and questioned by that guy named Cui about having ties to that demonic cult, the Changle Palace. Was it your doing? Killing with a borrowed knife? What benefits did Lu Lianshan give you?"
At these words, Long Wuxie was stunned for a moment: "What? That kid has ties to the Changle Palace? And he was taken away by the Six Doors? He won't be subjected to soul-snatching interrogation, will he?"
Seeing that Long Wuxie wasn't even pretending anymore, Long Qingyu's brow furrowed slightly.
From the looks of it, it had nothing to do with this guy?
However, before Long Qingyu could speak, Long Wuxie, having just figured out what had happened, hastily shouted:
"Then what are we standing around for? Let's go, quickly!"
That's right! At this moment, Long Wuxie was even more anxious than Long Qingyu, and this anxiety was completely devoid of pretense.
He was genuinely panicking!
Damn it! If that kid blabbed about Princess Huanhua's matter under interrogation, everything would be completely ruined!
At this moment, for the first time ever, the actions and goals of the brother and sister were shockingly aligned.