Martial Cultivator

Yun Jianyue came and went in a hurry. From the moment he arrived in the Divine Capital to the moment he left, he had stayed for less than a day in total.

As for Yu Xiyi, after leaving the bamboo house where Chen Chao resided, he spent a great deal of effort persuading Chen Chao to help him request some green bamboo from Sword Qi Mountain. He wanted to find a suitable location in the Divine Capital and build his own bamboo house.

As for the location, that was not an issue.

After all, with a sword immortal like him planning to stay long-term in the Divine Capital, the imperial court certainly would not refuse. Most likely, aside from the imperial palace itself, any place Yu Xiyi set his sights on would undoubtedly have officials ensuring the matter was taken care of.

Chen Chao truly had no way to refuse. After all, he was about to drag Yu Xiyi into a life-and-death struggle, and he felt somewhat guilty about it too. So, in the end, he had no choice but to agree.

After sending Yu Xiyi off, he called over his two disciples to help tidy up. While cleaning, Yu Qingfeng asked, “Master, I just heard Little He say that the young daoist earlier was Yun Jianyue, one of the Twin Pillars of Daoism?”

Chen Chao nodded and added, “He’s already a daoist sage now.”

At that, Chen Chao suddenly called over He Liang. Looking at his young disciple, he asked, “Why didn’t you come out to greet him? Logically speaking, he’s helped you quite a bit.”

He Liang scratched his head. “I heard that our Great Liang doesn’t have a good relationship with the Infatuation Daoist Temple.”

Before Chen Chao could reply, He Liang interjected, “But back in our town, everyone is actually quite grateful to them. Without them around, our lives wouldn’t have been nearly as good.”

Chen Chao ruffled his silly disciple’s hair and smiled. “That’s why everything has two sides, just like people. Someone the whole world sees as a villain might still be kind to their friends from the same village. At that point, the entire world could say they’re bad, could call them evil, but what about those people from that village?”

He Liang listened intently, but he just felt dizzy and could not understand a thing.

Chen Chao smiled and said, “Don’t rush. Think it over carefully. When you figure out the answer, don’t tell me, just keep it in your mind. The next time you encounter something like this, think about it again. If one day you feel that it’s not the case, then go and do something different.”

Although He Liang was still a bit confused, he only felt that his master’s hand was warm. Almost instinctively, he blurted out, “Master, you’re really nice.”

Chen Chao patted his head and chuckled. “You two take a day off. Go explore the Divine Capital, no need to rush back.”

He Liang nodded. Yu Qingfeng grabbed He Liang’s hand and grinned as he said, “Master, give us some money.”

Chen Chao did not refuse. He tossed out a skygold coin. At their age, they still had a childlike nature, it was important to strike a balance between discipline and freedom. If they were kept under too much pressure, it would only backfire.

Once the two disciples had gone far, Xie Nandu, who had been waiting in the distance outside the bamboo house, finally stepped inside.

She had been there for a long time but had simply waited, not in any hurry to enter.

Chen Chao sat under the eaves and smiled. “Since you were already here, why not just come over and listen?”

Xie Nandu replied coolly, “You’re finally taking the initiative to handle some things yourself. Why would I interfere? I’ll just wait for you to take care of it.”

Chen Chao sighed. “It’s exhausting.”

Ever since arriving in the Divine Capital, he had spent years coming and going, stopping and starting, doing countless things. But in truth, no time had ever felt more exhausting than now.

These past days, Chen Chao had been utterly mentally exhausted - a weariness that came from the depths of his soul.

Xie Nandu said nothing. She simply stood up, moved behind Chen Chao, and placed her jade-like hands on his shoulders, gently massaging.

Chen Chao relaxed a little, and a wave of fatigue washed over him.

But he quickly regained his focus, took out the wooden plaque the Xie Family had given him, and asked, “That ancestor of yours, what exactly did he give me?”

Xie Nandu glanced at it. The pressure of her hands remained the same as she calmly said, “The Xie Family’s Patriarch Token. With this, you can command anyone within the Xie Family across the entire Great Liang.”

A simple statement, but both of them knew what it truly meant.

In other words, while the Xie Family ancestor still held power, he had effectively relinquished his authority. Whether that power now rested with Xie Nandu or Chen Chao was unclear.

Chen Chao held the wooden plaque in his hand. It looked light, but in reality, it felt heavy. He asked, “Do you want to keep it, or should I?”

Xie Nandu replied, “Aren’t you the one who has things to do?”

Chen Chao understood and nodded. “Then I’ll hold onto it first. I’ll give it back to you when I return.”

Xie Nandu did not speak, which was as good as agreeing.

“I’ve already convinced your senior brother to stay in the Divine Capital. With Eunuch Li in the palace, along with Song Lian and the others, there shouldn’t be any problems after I leave. But still, keep an eye on things, and let me know if anything comes up.”

With everything on this side settled, Chen Chao only needed to wait for Yun Jianyue’s response. Once he had that, it would be time to act.

Xie Nandu nodded and said softly, “Don’t worry.”

Chen Chao chuckled. “With you here, how could I not be at ease?”

Xie Nandu did not reply, only continued quietly massaging his shoulders.

Chen Chao began to feel drowsy again.

For this genius daughter of the Xie Family to willingly massage someone’s shoulders, there was likely no one else in the world besides Chen Chao who could make it happen.

Before long, Xie Nandu suddenly smiled and said, “Why do I smell a woman’s fragrance on you?”

“Hmm... just now, when I went past... eh, what?!”

Chen Chao had been half-asleep, but upon hearing this, he snapped wide awake.

“What did you just say?”

Chen Chao returned to his senses, his expression instantly tense.

Xie Nandu merely smiled faintly and said nothing.

At that moment, Chen Chao’s mind was racing at full speed. Soon, he forced a laugh and said, “Maybe when I was passing through the streets earlier, some women nearby were wearing heavy perfume?”

Xie Nandu’s hands pressed down just a little harder. She smiled and asked, “Is that really the case?”

Feeling the sudden change in pressure on his shoulders, Chen Chao nodded. “It... should be....”

Xie Nandu let out a soft “Oh,” and Chen Chao finally breathed a sigh of relief.

But just as he was about to relax, Xie Nandu suddenly smiled and said, “So, does that mean what Weng Quan said isn’t true?”

”Weng Quan he... Weng Quan...?!”

Chen Chao’s expression instantly turned extremely ugly, and in his heart, he was cursing non-stop. That damn Weng Quan! He had just told him to keep quiet, yet in less than half a day, he had spilled everything?

Did that bloody punk have a death wish?

“Cough, cough... Maybe he didn’t explain it clearly. Don’t mind him, he’s always been like this, never reliable when he talks...”

Chen Chao forced a laugh as he tried to explain, but the more he spoke, the more guilty he felt.

“So, those rumors about people wanting to marry off their daughters to you as concubines, those aren’t true either? And those letters from young ladies, those never existed?”

Chen Chao let out an ”Ah?” and felt his head go buzz.

At this point, what else could he say?

There was nothing left to say.

After a moment’s thought, Chen Chao forced himself to remain calm and said, “I’ll go find that fellow right now and confront him! I bet he’s slandering me!”

As soon as he finished speaking, Chen Chao sprang up, ready to flee this place of disaster. But in an instant, Xie Nandu grabbed him by the collar and forcefully slammed him back onto the bamboo chair.

“Trying to run? Do you think you can escape?”

Xie Nandu yanked Chen Chao’s collar and began dragging him into the house.

Chen Chao had a look of utter despair.