As the downpour began, Taoist Yan Song hurried the carriage along before turning onto a narrow path. A short distance later, they arrived at the entrance of a dilapidated temple.
He drove the carriage directly into the courtyard, stopping it under a covered awning to shelter it from the rain. Only then did the horse finally calm down.
The Silk Embroideress was the first to jump down from the carriage. Entering the temple’s main hall, she found it wasn’t very dusty. There were even signs that the area had been tidied. "It seems people co here often."
Bai Ke, perched on her shoulder, said, "This place isn’t far from the main road and the nearby Xiao Yi River. People often co here to rest and shelter from the rain."
"If that’s the case, why was it abandoned?" the Silk Embroideress asked curiously.
Bai Ke shook its head. "I don’t know."
"Because of the turmoil in the Wuhe County Water Mansion thirty years ago, the Xuanwei Divine Sect smashed all the River God Temples afterward," Zhuo Qingyan said as she walked in. "After all these years, they still haven’t been restored."
Realization dawned on the Silk Embroideress. "I’ve heard my grandfather talk about that!"
Taoist Yan Song looked up at the darkening clouds. "It looks like this rain won’t be stopping anyti soon."
The Silk Embroideress looked around, quickly cleared off four places for them to sit, and gestured for the others to take a seat. She was about to gather so of the scattered firewood when Gu Zhao stopped her.
"Our clothes aren’t wet, and it’s not like we’re spending the night. There’s no need for a fire. We can just sit and rest."
"Oh, okay!" The Silk Embroideress nodded. She then found a low table with a chipped corner, propped it up with a stone, and brought so snacks, a small stove, and a kettle from the carriage. "Let’s start a fire anyway. It’s no trouble, and I can boil so water for tea."
Gu Zhao opened his mouth to speak but didn’t stop her.
A mont later, the small stove was lit. The Silk Embroideress put the kettle on it, both to boil water for tea and to provide so warmth.
Gu Zhao turned to Zhuo Qingyan. "You know what happened in Wuhe County?"
Zhuo Qingyan spoke softly. "I don’t know much. I only heard that a River Demon was causing trouble, wanting to sacrifice the lives of everyone in the county. In the end, it was suppressed by a powerful expert, and then the Xuanwei Divine Sect demolished all the River God Prefectures."
"Thinking about it now, it must have been a demon that had reached a certain level of cultivation and wanted to advance further by performing a blood sacrifice of Wuhe County," Zhuo Qingyan surmised.
"Ah!" the Silk Embroideress exclaid in shock. "There must be tens of thousands of people in Wuhe County!"
Zhuo Qingyan nodded and sighed. "Sothing like that. I’m not very clear on the details. I wasn’t dead yet back then, and my mind was completely focused on music. I didn’t pay any attention to news like that."
"By the way, what instrunts do you play? The old woman who lives next door to you said that people living near the Zhuo Family Mansion can sotis hear your singing at night," Gu Zhao asked. "But I’ve never heard anything about you playing an instrunt."
Zhuo Qingyan’s expression was indifferent. "Because I perford a duet with Yuan Wenrui, my family was destroyed. From that day on, I swore I would never again touch the Yaoqin or Dongxiao."
Gu Zhao shook his head. "It wasn’t your fault. The true culprit is Yuan Wenrui. You’re only punishing yourself, while the murderer walks away completely unscathed."
Gu Zhao advised, "Now that we’ve found him, your revenge will co sooner or later. You shouldn’t keep punishing yourself. Just think about it: would your parents want to see you happy, or would they want you to be miserable and dejected?"
Zhuo Qingyan fell silent. She nodded but said nothing more.
Just then, a commotion erupted outside the temple. A group of n surged into the courtyard, parking their carriage. Then, several guards—so holding umbrellas, one carrying a small wooden box—flanked a young man as they entered the main hall. It was none other than Liu Qingfeng, whom they had seen earlier.
When he saw Gu Zhao, and especially Zhuo Qingyan beside him, Liu Qingfeng’s eyes lit up. He imdiately cupped his hands in a salute and said, "To et again like this on the road... it must be fate."
Gu Zhao gave a slight nod in acknowledgnt.
Liu Qingfeng looked displeased but said nothing more.
While Gu Zhao’s group had only a small stove for warmth, Liu Qingfeng’s guards were soaked to the bone. The n hurriedly started a fire to dry their clothes.
After the initial chaos, things finally settled down. Liu Qingfeng took a leather flask from a guard and sauntered over, chuckling. "It’s cold and rainy out. This is Xiangchang Wine, a specialty of Changping Prefecture. Please, have so to warm yourselves."
Taoist Yan Song ignored him and continued sipping his tea. Zhuo Qingyan didn’t even look up.
A glint of annoyance flickered in Liu Qingfeng’s eyes, but he continued, "You don’t seem to be from around Changping Prefecture, friend. I wonder what business brings you here? I’m not one to boast, but around these parts, my na carries so weight."
Gu Zhao sighed and raised his hand.
But before he could snap his fingers, he looked up toward the temple entrance. At the sa mont, Taoist Yan Song and Zhuo Qingyan also turned to look.
The next mont, a man in black appeared in the hall as silently as a phantom.
Gu Zhao studied the newcor. The man wore black robes with silver embroidery, a half-cuirass, and a broadsword at his waist. He carried himself with an air of haughty confidence.
Liu Qingfeng followed their gazes and turned to see the man in black. Far from being afraid, he blurted out, "General Yan, what are you doing here?"
Upon seeing Liu Qingfeng, the man in black’s tense expression relaxed. "There’s trouble brewing around Wuhe County. Your parents knew you might be here, so they made offerings and prayed for to co ensure your safety."
"Huh?" Liu Qingfeng blinked in surprise. "Wuhe County? But I’m on my way there now to audit the accounts."
"I’ll accompany you," the man in black said, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword.
Liu Qingfeng imdiately bead. "With you accompanying , General Yan, I’ll have nothing to worry about, right?"
The man in black nodded arrogantly. "As long as I’m here, you have nothing to fear."
"Thank you, General Yan!" A wave of relief washed over Liu Qingfeng. He spun back around, his friendly smile twisting into a brazen, provocative sneer as he faced Gu Zhao. "My friend?"
Gu Zhao looked up. "What is it?"
Liu Qingfeng chuckled slyly. "I just want to have a couple of drinks with your lovely wife. You don’t mind, do you, friend?"
Zhuo Qingyan’s eyes shifted, and she shot Gu Zhao a sideways glance.
’Is he being this direct?’
Gu Zhao shook his head. He didn’t refuse Liu Qingfeng outright. Instead, he asked softly, "Have you ever considered having killed to silence ?"
"Hahaha!"
Liu Qingfeng thought Gu Zhao was afraid and roared with laughter. "I am the eldest son of the Changping Liu Family! The Changping Prefectural Magistrate is my uncle! I’ve killed plenty of people. If I wanted you dead, I could do it with a wave of my hand. Why would I need a pretext like ’silencing’ you?"
Taoist Yan Song raised an eyebrow in surprise, while Zhuo Qingyan snapped her head up.
Gu Zhao, however, lowered his hand, a broad, happy smile spreading across his face. "You have to admit, this is all so convenient it’s almost as if it were planned."
Liu Qingfeng didn’t understand. "What do you an? Do you know my uncle?"
"We do," Zhuo Qingyan said, rising slowly to her feet. Her voice was flat and cold. "Our hatred for him is as deep as the sea."
The Guard Leader reacted in a flash, drawing his saber. "Protect the young master! Kill them!"
The other four guards scrambled to their feet, drawing their blades with murderous glints in their eyes.
But in the next instant, a sinister wind swept through the hall. The four guards imdiately collapsed. Only the Guard Leader remained standing, his face contorted in agony as he swayed and tried to resist, but he too finally pitched forward onto the ground.
The man in black drew his sword as a shadowy figure erged from behind him. When he saw Zhuo Qingyan, her robes billowing and her eyes like chips of ice, he couldn’t help but cry out, "A hundred-year-old ghost!"
The words had barely left his mouth when Zhuo Qingyan was upon him, striking down with her palm.
The man in black swept his broadsword out to block. The ghost that had erged from his body sidestepped to cast a technique. The man and his bonded ghost, in perfect Harmony, coordinated their movents flawlessly, yet even as they struck, they were rapidly retreating.
"I am a Divine General of the Golden Wind Sect!" the man in black yelled. "Who are you? I ask you to show my King so deference!"
"The Golden Wind Sect?" A sneer touched Zhuo Qingyan’s lips, and the frigid aura around her intensified. "It is precisely the followers of the Golden Wind Sect that I have co to kill!"
...
Although Zhuo Qingyan was no match for the Golden Wind Divine King and had been at a disadvantage against Consort Yu, she possessed a solid century of Dao Practice. She was no weaker than Ren Tianhe, which ant she far surpassed this Golden Wind Divine General.
Even though the man in black resisted with all his might and attempted to flee, Zhuo Qingyan easily finished him and his Harmony-bonded ghost off without any help from Gu Zhao.
Gu Zhao and Taoist Yan Song exchanged a look.
’We didn’t even have to do anything, and we’re still reaping the Evil Qi.’
’Are we considered a party by default, or can we just absorb any ownerless Evil Qi in the vicinity?’
anwhile, having killed the man in black, Zhuo Qingyan retracted her powerful aura. She drifted over to the dumbstruck Liu Qingfeng and said in a ghostly voice, "You were just saying you wanted to have a couple of drinks with ?"
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