Secret rendezvous

Chu Liang gazed at the young marquis, who had suddenly softened, and couldn’t help but marvel to himself—the Malice Dispelling Spell, though cunning, was truly effective. Yet the spell’s effect would only last for a while; by tomorrow the young marquis would surely regain his senses, and who knew what resentment he might harbor then. But once a matter had passed, it was over; there was little the young marquis could do to him afterward.

To keep his secret, he had to let the young marquis bear this injustice for now.

Xue Lingxue, too, watched the young marquis silently shoulder the blame without saying a word. As the musician who had played, she knew perfectly well that the sandalwood guqin could not have been a fake, and felt a deep pang as the string snapped. But at the root of it, the string had broken because she had decided to test Chu Liang. That test seemed to have stirred something strange within him, leading to this incident.

From the trial just now, she realized Chu Liang’s own cultivation was not high, but there seemed to be some hidden force within him—perhaps the true reason he could unleash such a powerful sword technique.

In the cultivation world, it was not uncommon to carry secrets—she herself had some. Having glimpsed a bit of Chu Liang’s mystery by chance, Xue Lingxue already felt she had overstepped; to expose it in public would be far too much.

So she remained silent, letting the others speculate as they pleased, even as things turned against the young marquis. To protect Chu Liang, the young marquis would have to suffer this injustice.

And so, the young marquis retook his seat, feeling deeply wronged. After all, he had gifted a guqin in good faith, yet now everyone looked at him as if he were a fraud. It was hard not to feel aggrieved—but curiously, he could not muster any anger; all his feelings turned into this deep sense of unfairness.

Xue Lingxue, having injured her finger, bowed gracefully to the guests before leaving the stage to tend to her wound. In truth, for cultivators, such an injury was of little consequence—it would heal on its own soon enough. She was simply taking the chance to withdraw.

Everyone understood this; although the inner disciples of the Southern Music House came to entertain guests and warm up for the coming tour, no one expected them to behave like ordinary musicians or actors, circulating with wine and greeting each guest, much less performing again for the most distinguished. After her performance, even had she not been hurt, Xue Lingxue would at most sit briefly to dine, then find a pretext to leave.

In fact, it was only after Xue Lingxue’s departure that the banquet seemed to truly begin. The dignitaries of Southgate City began to mingle, toasting each other and making merry.

Chu Liang glanced over at Lin Bei, who was already rubbing shoulders with the city’s elite, and helplessly pulled him aside.

“What’s up?” Lin Bei grinned. “I was just about to go network some more.”

“Don’t forget why we’re here,” Chu Liang whispered. “Find a chance to ask the young marquis about Miss Xiao Yu’s sister.”

“Why don’t you ask him yourself?” Lin Bei looked puzzled.

“I can’t.” Chu Liang shook his head, watching the young marquis’ figure leaving the hall. “After what happened during the performance, he might hold a grudge.”

“But he just spoke to you so calmly. Seems like he has a pretty good temper,” Lin Bei replied.

“A good temper doesn’t mean it will last…” Chu Liang was unsure how long the Malice Dispelling Spell would work, and thought it best not to risk it.

“All right, I’ll see what I can find out,” Lin Bei said, waving his hand, and hurried off after Xia An.

…

The young marquis, Xia An, exited the banquet hall, with Master Lu—the man in black—following closely behind.

Outside, a house servant from the marquis’s estate hurried over as soon as he spotted Xia An. “Young Marquis, there’s trouble in the ship’s hold!”

“What’s happened?” Xia An asked.

“The woman you had Master Lu bring over yesterday—she’s escaped!” the servant whispered urgently.

“Escaped?” Xia An’s brows knitted. “How could a lone woman slip out of a tightly guarded hold?”

“She’s no ordinary woman—she’s a demon! She freed all the women in the hold; thankfully, we had enough guards to recapture them quickly. But that demoness is still at large. Right now, a team of martial artists is pursuing her down the Qin’nan River.”

“This incident in the hold must not get out. She must be caught—alive or dead!” Xia An said through gritted teeth.

“Yes, sir…” The servant could only nod.

Xia An turned to Master Lu. “I have to meet the East Whale Gang again shortly. Go back and oversee things yourself—I can’t trust anyone else with this.”

“Yes, sir.”

Without another word, Master Lu’s figure flickered and vanished into the night.

After he left, Xia An continued on, turning through a courtyard and into a pavilion hidden among trees and shrubs, where he sat down.

It wasn’t long before a burly man entered the courtyard—the very same Xue Hu of the East Whale Gang whom Xia An had met two days prior. He had blended into the banquet tonight, using the festivity as cover for their rendezvous. With the gang under scrutiny of late, it was safer than meeting privately and drawing suspicion.

“Young Marquis,” Xue Hu greeted with a bow.

Their last meeting had not ended on pleasant terms—negotiations fell through, and Xia An had walked out, leaving Xue Hu alone. Still, at least he hadn’t overturned the table, so Xue Hu maintained his courtesy.

“Brother Xue, I hope you have been well,” Xia An greeted with a smile, as if the previous unpleasantness had never happened. “About what I mentioned last time—has Hall Master Cheng come to a decision?”

“I conveyed your words exactly. Hall Master Cheng says that, though business continues, after this shipment we must pause for a month or two before discussing anything further. Xu Bashan’s daughter is currently leading a crackdown on us—the risk is too high to give her any opening.”

“If it’s only a short pause, we have no objection,” Xia An nodded. “After all, it takes us time to prepare goods anyway—we can simply stockpile more.”

“Thank you for your understanding,” Xue Hu replied, then asked, “When shall we arrange the next shipment?”

“On the night of Xue Lingxue’s concert tour,” Xia An said. “All eyes in the city will be on the villa—our riverboats will be most concealed then.”

“Excellent,” Xue Hu nodded, wasting no time on pleasantries as he turned to leave.

Suddenly, a faint noise caught his ear from the woods. His gaze sharpened instantly, murderous intent flaring as he barked, “Who’s there?”

Whoosh—

Almost before his words had faded, he pounced like a leopard, arriving in an instant. As a core member of the East Whale Gang and a hardened martial expert, his presence exuded a chilling aura, making the very grasses and trees around him seem to quail.

He found, beneath a tree, a thick-browed, bright-eyed youth, drunkenly clutching his pants with a look of terror.

The boy shook his head, sobered up a bit, and shouted at Xue Hu, “What do you want? Haven’t you ever seen someone taking a leak?!”