Chapter Ninety-One: Hidden Affairs (Please vote!)

“Grand Minister, Grand Minister! The young master has stopped moving!”

The man in black robes lifted one leg and kicked the servant aside at once. His hands did not slow, and he reached down and pulled the dark object straight out of the leg it had pierced.

It shot out with great force, slamming into the rafters, then spinning once as it rained drops of blood before falling.

Now Zhou Yi could see clearly: it was not an arrow at all, but a tree branch carved into the shape of one, with a few feathers stuck to the tail. No wonder he had failed to notice it earlier.

Yet as the branch flew, Zhou Yi could distinctly sense a ripple of wood-element power upon it. It was not that the branch itself was some kind of spiritual stone; rather, as it trembled, that ripple gradually weakened.

In an instant, Zhou Yi was intrigued. How had this been done?

If such a method were possible, could one simply take a bow and arrow, coat it with the absorbed properties of a spirit stone, and use it as a tremendously powerful weapon?

While he was thinking, the black-robed minister was already bending over as if manipulating something. Zhou Yi happened to be looking from behind, and by now the bleeding seemed to have stopped; it looked as though he had indeed staunched the wound for the young city lord.

The servant who had been kicked dared not speak again. Clutching his motionless right leg, he hurriedly forced himself into a proper kneeling position.

The black-robed minister turned and looked down at the servant on the floor.

“Have someone come in and clean this up. Bring water for washing, then give him some hot soup. That will keep him from dying.”

The underling hurried off at a trot, and the room was left with only the black-robed minister and the unconscious youth.

Zhou Yi blinked. Was this minister planning to steal something and send everyone away?

Just then, Sophia moved closer. Zhou Yi quickly raised a finger, for the gap was tiny and he dared not probe further. The dangerous aura from that person was terrifying; even the slightest contact made Zhou Yi feel as though he could not breathe.

Sophia glanced over without making any other move, then frowned as if deep in thought. Zhou Yi saw it clearly: could it be that she knew this minister?

She noticed Zhou Yi’s questioning look, but only shook her head slightly and offered no explanation.

Sounds came from the doorway as many servants entered in a file, cleaned the room, bandaged the city lord’s young master, and brought water. The black-robed minister washed his hands, sat to one side, and had the food placed on the table.

With another wave of his hand, all the servants in the room withdrew.

The black-robed minister stared straight ahead, picked up the branch, and examined it carefully. Then, suddenly, his movements stopped, and he looked in the direction where Zhou Yi and the others were hiding.

“Since you are here, come in. Must I invite you myself?”

Zhou Yi jolted in fear, but he reacted quickly. Grabbing Sophia’s wrist, he covered her mouth. She did not understand at first, then after a brief pause she realized he meant for her to hold her breath.

She nodded at once, and only then did Zhou Yi release her. Those with greater power could sense the breath of others nearby. Since Zhou Yi and Sophia had been crouching there all along, and had held their breath and focused their minds, the black-robed minister had not discovered them.

After a moment, a woman’s voice sounded, and then she floated lightly into the room like a snowflake falling in winter, feather-soft and utterly silent.

She wore a dress of tender green, fairy-like and innocent at a glance, but Zhou Yi knew her ability was by no means to be underestimated.

“I never expected the city lord’s household in Wan State City to be so generous as to invite the minister himself to treat a patient. It seems I have come at the wrong time?”

The black-robed minister could not be seen clearly, but he waved a hand toward the woman, and the branch settled firmly into her grasp.

“You talk too much. Your tricks have not improved in the least. Speak: why did you injure him?”

The woman gathered her hair and cast a sidelong glance at the black-robed minister with all the charm in the world, yet she did not dare approach him. She merely leaned against a chair.

“This city lord’s young master is lecherous to the core. He laid hands on someone he should never have touched. I was only carrying out another’s commission and doing my duty to the trust placed in me. I did not expect the minister to protect him. In that case, I have nothing more to say. The lesson has already been given, so I shall take my leave.”

Her concession was spoken so softly, and with such a trace of regret, that Zhou Yi was drawn in by it. At that moment, Sophia pinched the soft flesh at his side.

Zhou Yi shuddered and turned to her. Sophia tilted her chin toward the woman in green and made a slashing gesture across her own neck.

He did not fully understand at first, but as he watched further, he instantly grasped Sophia’s meaning, for the woman in green had already begun removing her outer robe. A pale shoulder was exposed as she twisted delicately toward the black-robed minister.

Stopping beside the minister’s leg and not advancing further, she lifted both hands to cling to his leg.

Sophia’s interruption had already put Zhou Yi on guard, yet even so, the sight made his breath catch and his heart pound wildly.

He understood at once: the woman in green was using something akin to an enchantment, trying to seduce the black-robed minister.

In modern times, let alone a woman’s bare shoulder, even a narrow waist and long legs were common sights; what adult man had never seen such things?

And yet that woman in green, with only a few simple gestures, made even the ordinarily detached Zhou Yi feel his blood surge. Such a method might be underhanded, but it was immensely deadly.

The black-robed minister lifted a hand and tipped the woman’s chin up. Looking at her eyes, limpid with seduction, he merely laughed twice. Then, with a turn of his wrist, he had already clamped his hand around her throat.

A chilling aura burst forth in an instant.

Zhou Yi gripped the roof tiles and struggled to steady his trembling body. Beside him, Sophia fared no better; she too clenched her teeth and endured the crushing pressure and discomfort.

“Heh. Who gave you the audacity to use seduction arts on me? What a foolish woman. You are a wood-element practitioner, and instead of properly cultivating your techniques, you resort to a sneak attack with such a vulgar trick. Tell me, how should I deal with you?”

By now the woman in green had lost all her former composure. She clutched at the black-robed minister’s hand, trying desperately to break free, but how could she? Every movement was futile.

The black-robed minister seemed to loosen his grip slightly, and the woman in green began coughing uncontrollably. This time she knelt meekly before him.

“Minister, please see clearly. Ye Qing only admires the minister and absolutely means nothing else...”

The black-robed minister released her and cut her off.

“I dislike nonsense. Tell me the truth: who ordered you here?”

The woman in green was filled with panic. Gone was all her earlier coquettishness. She straightened her clothes, knelt before the black-robed minister, and hurriedly kowtowed three times.

“Minister, Ye Qing is not lying. You may awaken the city lord’s young master, Wu Wencai, and confront him. Half a month ago, he went to Yung Prefecture City and brought back a woman, then violated her and confined her in the rear courtyard.

“Terrified by the ordeal, the woman lost her mind. Though she was rescued, she could no longer be healed. Her father is Xu Shiqing, the grand elder of Green City Mountain. He ordered us to investigate and make the culprit pay the price.

“That is why we set up the formation on the wasteland. We would not dare to cause trouble in Wan State City. We only waited for Wu Wencai to go out, and unexpectedly he cooperated, taking a group of men out hunting. That was when I shot him.

“Minister, please see clearly. We only wanted to punish him; we never intended to take his life. Coming here now, I merely wished to see whether he was in danger and to retrieve the spirit wood.”

The woman in green spoke with tears streaming down her face, and to Zhou Yi it was nearly impeccable. He naturally knew she was trying to exonerate herself, yet the black-robed minister did not move an inch.

“Finished?”

Seeing the minister’s reaction, the woman in green hurriedly nodded and wiped her tears with her sleeve.

“That is exactly how it happened. Ye Qing only came to see how badly Wu Wencai was injured. If I had wanted to kill him, I would have thrown out poison powder before even entering. Would that not have been far safer?”

Those words had their effect, and the black-robed minister gave a slight nod.

“At dawn, bring that deranged woman here and I will take a look. Now take your spirit wood and get out immediately. I cannot promise I will not change my mind in the next moment.”

The woman in green flinched. She quickly picked up the branch lying on the floor, bowed perfunctorily to the black-robed minister, then stepped back twice and looked up.

“Whether it is Wu Wencai or the city lord who learned that we had brought people here, all the inns in the city were searched by evening. It will be too difficult to enter the city lord’s mansion after dawn. If the minister does not mind, could we move outside the city instead? The person is waiting out there.”

The black-robed minister rose and swept his sleeve toward the woman in green. A cloud of black mist enveloped the two of them.

“Lead the way!”