Martial Cultivator

Chen Chao glanced at Song Lian. Song Lian immediately turned his head away. He was a boorish man, and he had even needed Chen Chao’s help to marry his own wife, so how would he know how to deal with this sort of thing?

Moreover, when he looked at Li You, she indeed... still possessed considerable charm.

Who wouldn’t feel some pity for her?

Unexpectedly, Li You soon laughed. “I know that Your Excellency stands higher and naturally sees farther. We only need to obey orders and act accordingly. Your Excellency certainly cannot be wrong.”

This left Chen Chao somewhat melancholy. Women were already difficult to deal with, and this woman was deliberately acting this way, making her even harder to deal with.

However, after Chen Chao gave a light cough, he looked toward Yue Xin and said, “Tell me about the situation.”

This trip through Qingshan Prefecture and onward to Ying Prefecture was not for sightseeing.

Yue Xin nodded and said, “We already began investigating while Your Excellency was still in the Northern Frontier. The fact that Luoshui Mountain was able to produce concrete evidence was also because clues first emerged on the Ying Prefecture side. When Your Excellency rushed to Qingshan Prefecture, we made some new breakthroughs and narrowed it down to a certain target.”

Chen Chao nodded. “As for the deeper matters, I’ve already asked Infatuation Daoist Temple to help.”

Yue Xin asked without hesitation, “Your Excellency isn’t afraid that Infatuation Daoist Temple is actually the biggest traitor of all?”

That single word, “traitor,” instantly pulled Chen Chao’s thoughts back. Back then, no one in the Wei Family had ever thought they were traitors either. After all, they were one of the two pillars of the dynasty. But who could have expected that in the end, the biggest traitor of all would be the Wei Family?

What if the current Infatuation Daoist Temple was the one colluding with the demon race?

Chen Chao soon shook his head. “Those daoists may not necessarily care about the lives of ordinary commoners, but there are certain other things they will care about.”

As the orthodox lineage of Daoism, and even the leader of Daoism, how could they possibly allow themselves to bear the infamy of being spies for the demon race? Such a thing could not be explained to their successive ancestors, nor could it be explained to those who came after them. Most importantly, they could not do such a thing in the present.

Chen Chao narrowed his eyes and smiled. “Besides, these eyes of mine won’t misjudge people.”

In truth, they could misjudge people too. It was just that while others might make a mistake, A’yue would not.

Yue Xin glanced at Li You, somewhat worried, but the latter merely shook her head and said seriously, “Your Excellency really is unlikely to make a mistake.”

Only then did Yue Xin feel somewhat reassured. Before she had yet to independently oversee a prefecture, she had actually been Li You’s deputy. During those years, although the two seemed to have a superior-subordinate relationship, in reality they were as close as sisters.

So in many matters, when Li You spoke, Yue Xin would believe her unconditionally.

Yue Xin said, “That sect is called Autumn Sound. Among the various sects in Ying Prefecture, it can rank among the top ten. It is said that there are two cultivators at the end of Nepenthe stationed in the mountains.”

Chen Chao raised an eyebrow. “There are so many at the end of Nepenthe nowadays?”

One had to know that in earlier years, a cultivator at the end of Nepenthe was an extraordinary figure in the world. Who would dare face their edge directly?

Song Lian added, “Those two were extremely famous figures among itinerant cultivators in their early years. They reached the Nepenthe Realm long ago, and the two had an excellent relationship. That was why they joined forces to establish the Autumn Sound Sect.”

After the Morning Dew Sect established its sect in Ying Prefecture, the other cultivators and sects alike began rushing to develop this prefecture, where there had originally been no sects from outside the realm.

But now that Great Liang had the final say, the mountain peaks where their sects were located were all leased from the imperial court. The imperial court collected rent every year, bringing in large sums of skygold coins.

Of course, the imperial court also kept a very strict watch over this. Some cultivators with poor reputations ordinarily had no way of obtaining a mountain peak from the imperial court.

As for whether they would forcibly establish sects, there was actually no need to think much about it.

In these past few years, there was probably no cultivator who would dare act that way anymore.

Chen Chao shook his head and said, “It should be the demon race’s doing. But such a thing is actually quite reasonable. After all, being able to let someone take one more step forward means being able to live for many more years. For that, selling out one’s country is well worth it.”

Song Lian’s expression was strange as he said, “The Autumn Sound Sect has been on good terms with the imperial court these past two years, and their relationship is extremely close. Before, they even took the initiative to help the local prefectural government with a major matter. Otherwise, the imperial court would not have handed some of the businesses by the coast over to them.”

Chen Chao smiled. “With this relationship, it becomes even easier to spy on military affairs.”

Song Lian fell silent, though there was some anger in his eyes. Unlike Luoshui Mountain, the actions of the Autumn Sound Sect were even more hateful.

After all, they could be considered half of Great Liang’s “insiders.”

Yue Xin suddenly asked, “Your Excellency, why not drag the Morning Dew Sect into this as well?”

Although she was a woman, she had the vision and strategic ability to understand that if the Morning Dew Sect were brought into this matter, then the relationship between the Morning Dew Sect and the imperial court could only become closer, and they would no longer be able to serve the demon race.

After all, the Morning Dew Sect was currently the number one sect in Ying Prefecture. If something happened in Ying Prefecture, it seemed perfectly reasonable for them to step in.

Chen Chao shook his head. “Although my reputation in the foreign lands isn’t very good, I still can’t bring myself to do this sort of thing, forcing a guest to sit at the table and eat.”

“Making things difficult for others, is that something a gentleman would do?”

Chen Chao smiled faintly, and the three of them fell silent.

That was because it was them. If it had been Yu Xiyi here, he would definitely have asked in an extremely exaggerated manner, “How the hell do you look anything like a gentleman?”

Chen Chao smiled and said, “If there’s anything you want to say, just say it directly. There’s no need to hide it. I’m always very open-minded.”

Song Lian remained calm and composed, while the two women both smiled and shook their heads.

Chen Chao said meaningfully, “This time, I want to let them know that there are some things I don’t merely say.”

......

......

The Autumn Sound Sect was not far from the sea, on the highest mountain there.

That mountain was called Yin Mountain.

When it was first established, the Autumn Sound Sect had only a few dozen people and was not large in scale. But with its development over these past few years, the Autumn Sound Sect now had a thousand cultivators and had entered the ranks of the top ten sects in Ying Prefecture.

On top of that, after those two sect masters entered the end of Nepenthe, everyone felt that the Autumn Sound Sect might surpass the Morning Dew Sect in a short period of time and become the number one sect in Ying Prefecture.

The only issue was whether the Autumn Sound Sect could make the imperial court remain neutral.

After all, anyone with the slightest interest knew something about the connection between the Morning Dew Sect and the imperial court.

However, the Autumn Sound Sect’s relationship with the imperial court had also been quite close these past few years. It was unknown whether this was because of this matter, and whether it was something the Autumn Sound Sect had deliberately pursued.

The Autumn Sound Sect had been very busy these past few days, because it happened to be the three-hundredth birthday of their sect master.

Three hundred years old and at the end of Nepenthe, he could not be considered particularly young, but he certainly could not be called old either.

Cultivators generally did not care very much about their birthdays, because they spent years in seclusion. Ordinary people cared greatly about reaching each ten-year milestone, but to them, it seemed to pass in merely the blink of an eye.

But the 300th birthday of the Autumn Sound Sect’s sect master was extremely grand. It was said that invitations had long since been sent throughout Ying Prefecture, reaching the hands of the sect masters of many great sects.

As for the officials of the local prefectural government, they were also among those invited.

It was said that the Autumn Sound Sect’s sect master had even sent an invitation to Divine Capital, delivering it to the Warden Office.

It was simply unknown whether that Lord Warden Commander would give him this much face.

But even if that Lord Warden Commander did not come, the Autumn Sound Sect was destined to become extremely lively in a few days.

After all, all the leaders of the sects throughout Ying Prefecture would be coming here. How could the Autumn Sound Sect possibly not be lively?

......

......

Outside Yin Mountain was a small town, about a hundred miles from Yin Mountain.

Chen Chao, Song Lian, and Yue Xin arrived here.

The three sat down at a teahouse in the small town and ordered a pot of tea.

Song Lian asked, “Why not mobilize people here? You deal with those two, and we’ll deal with the remaining stragglers.”

Chen Chao answered a different question. “The Autumn Sound Sect will be very lively then. Making our move at a time like this seems a little excessive, doesn’t it?”

Song Lian frowned. “People like them deserve to die. How can there be any question of whether it’s excessive or not?”

Yue Xin also said, “Does Your Excellency intend to kill the chicken to warn the monkeys?”

Chen Chao said, “The Autumn Sound Sect certainly won’t be the last one to have ties with the demon race, but compared with the little chicken that was Luoshui Mountain, it is indeed much bigger.”

Song Lian nodded as well. “Letting them see the fate of the Autumn Sound Sect in front of so many people will certainly be enough to strike fear into their hearts.”

“Fine. We’ll go up the mountain together this time.”

Song Lian smiled. “These old bones of mine should get some exercise too.”

Chen Chao shook his head and smiled. “This time, I’m not the main character.”

Yue Xin looked at Chen Chao in surprise.

Chen Chao merely toyed with the invitation in his hand, smiling without saying a word.