We're practicing all martial arts, so why did you switch to easy mode?

Chapter 111 Fusion of the Blood Shadow Blade, Two Blade Shadows, Iron Shirt Advances Again
"Mr. Lu, please, please don't do it..."

He Chong rushed over and stood in front of He Yuan, fearing that Su Chen would kill He Yuan with a single blow.

"Do you have anything else to say?" Su Chen stopped and stared at He Yuan.

Upon hearing this, He Yuan looked ashamed and sighed, "I was wrong in this matter, and I am willing to bear the consequences. But please, Mr. Lu, let Chong'er go. He is innocent. Besides, it was my willful change of route that had nothing to do with him!"

“No…” He Chong shook his head, his voice choked with emotion, then knelt before Su Chen, pleading, “Mr. Lu, please, please spare my father…”

Su Chen gave He Chong a deep look, but didn't answer. He then turned his gaze to He Yuan and said indifferently:
"You should be grateful you have such a good son. If he hadn't stopped you, even if the Blood Blade Sect hadn't killed you, I wouldn't have let you go!"

Upon hearing this, He Chong was taken aback, then realized what he meant and kowtowed, saying, "Thank you, Mr. Lu."

He Yuan quickly bowed and thanked him, saying, "Thank you, Mr. Lu, for sparing my life."

Su Chen accepted their thanks without hesitation. He had actually arrived long ago, but had not shown himself.

He had witnessed their argument. If He Chong's words hadn't impressed him somewhat, he would never have intervened when the Blood Blade Sect Master made his move. He would have simply waited until He Yuan died to save He Chong, then taken the money and left.

Fortunately, He Yuan was not blinded by profit and eventually changed his mind. Therefore, Su Chen only made him suffer a little before rescuing the two of them and killing the Blood Blade Sect Master in the process.

Ignoring the tenderness between the father and son, Su Chen shifted his gaze to the Blood Blade Sect Master, then approached him, rummaged around for a while, and found over a hundred taels of silver in his pocket before finding nothing else.

"I've discovered that the higher a person's status, the less cash they carry when they go out!"

Unwilling to give up, Su Chen searched again, but to no avail. He shook his head slightly, sighed, and put the money into his pocket.

Although they managed to extort relatively little money from the Blood Blade Sect Master, they still managed to extort several hundred taels of silver from the other Blood Blade Sect disciples.

Overall, this trip wasn't a loss, especially considering that there's still 40% of the Hunyuan Sect's remaining assets.

"Mr. Lu, is this what you're looking for?"

Just then, He Chong's voice came from not far away. He was standing beside a pile of broken blades, pointing to the ground as he spoke.

Su Chen walked over with a puzzled look on his face, and looked in the direction the finger was pointing. His pupils immediately contracted slightly.

Among these shattered blades, a small piece of parchment was folded inside, seemingly hidden within the precious sword, which was revealed after the sword broke.

"When did you find out?" Su Chen looked at He Chong with some surprise. If the other party hadn't reminded him, he might not have noticed it.

He Chong scratched his head and chuckled, "I noticed it before, but I didn't pay attention to it at the time. I suddenly remembered it just now when I saw Mr. Lu looking for something."

As he spoke, he bent down, picked up the parchment, blew off the sawdust, and handed it to Su Chen without even looking at it.

Su Chen was increasingly pleased with this clever young man, but he still asked, "Aren't you interested in this?"

“I’m interested, but this is Mr. Lu’s spoils of war and rightfully belongs to him,” He Chong said seriously.

Su Chen nodded slightly, took the parchment, and examined it carefully.

He Yuan came to He Chong, and the two waited quietly without disturbing Su Chen.

After a long while, Su Chen tossed the parchment to He Chong and said, "You're much better at handling people than your father, so I'll give this to you."

Hearing this, He Yuan, who was standing to the side, was not embarrassed at all, but instead showed a gratified smile.

He Chong was flattered and waved his hand to refuse, but Su Chen said, "I don't have the habit of taking back what I give away."

"Thank you, Mr. Lu!" Helpless, He Chong could only put the parchment away and express his gratitude.

He Yuan stepped forward, presented a small box with both hands, and said respectfully, "Mr. Lu, this is the remaining payment. Please accept it."

"Ok!"

Taking the small box, Su Chen opened it and, upon seeing the Qi and Blood Pills and silver coins inside, couldn't help but ask, "20 Qi and Blood Pills and 30,000 taels of silver notes? We agreed on this amount, didn't we?"

The price negotiated by the two parties was 90% of the wealth of Hunyuan Sect. Previously, they had given 20 Qi and Blood Pills and 20,000 taels of silver, which was already half of Hunyuan Sect's assets. Now, the number of Qi and Blood Pills remained the same, and an additional 10,000 taels of silver was given, which clearly exceeded the amount agreed upon by both parties.

"The extra money is Mr. He's way of apologizing to Mr. Lu. If it weren't for Mr. Lu, my son and I would have lost our lives. This money is just a small token of our apologies, and we hope Mr. Lu will accept it," He Yuan explained with a smile.

"Okay, I'll accept it." Su Chen didn't mind and accepted the money and the Qi and Blood Pill.

Both of them smiled when Su Chen accepted the gift.

Su Chen looked at the two and asked, "Now that the Blood Blade Sect members have been dealt with, are you still planning to leave?"

Upon hearing this, He Yuan nodded: "I've been staying in Dafeng City for so long, I'm already tired of it. This is a good opportunity to take Chong'er away from the hustle and bustle."

"Alright, then I won't try to persuade you anymore. I hope you have a safe journey!"

"Thank you Mr. Lu!"

The two bowed again to thank Su Chen.

A moment later, when the two looked up, Su Chen was nowhere to be seen at the end of the road.

"Father, where do we go next?" He Chong asked blankly, turning his gaze away.

“This road leads to Yunzhou, so why don’t we go to Qinghe City instead?” He Yuan said after thinking for a moment, then looked at He Chong, “By the way, what was that thing Mr. Lu just gave you?”

He Chong took out a parchment, opened it, and murmured, "Blood Shadow Blade Technique!"

……

After bidding farewell to He Yuan and his son, Su Chen rushed back to the city without stopping and finally entered the city before curfew.

Back home, Su Chen shook off his fatigue and placed his earnings from the evening on the table.

This trip was quite fruitful.

Not to mention the twenty Qi and Blood Pills, the money alone amounted to more than 50,000 taels of silver. In addition, there was a sword technique that Su Chen coveted.

The Blood Shadow Blade Technique on the parchment not only records the complete set of moves, but also the related methods for cultivating internal strength. In other words, it is a blade technique for cultivating internal strength that meets the requirements of the character panel.

"In terms of speed alone, apart from the speed at the moment of drawing the sword, the other moves of the sword-drawing technique are not as powerful as the Blood Shadow Sword Technique. The Blood Shadow Sword Technique is not only fast, but also has very tricky moves. Combined with force, even I have some difficulty resisting it!"

In terms of strength, there is no doubt that he overwhelmed the Blood Blade Sect Master, but the opponent managed to fight him to a draw by relying on his tricky Blood Shadow Blade Technique.

Although it involved some trickery, it was enough to demonstrate the power of the Blood Shadow Blade Technique. However, at this moment, this powerful Blood Shadow Blade Technique belonged to him.

"Just a few hundred taels, nothing much. Check the interface, top up, and activate easy mode!"

The extravagant Su Chen silently recited this in his mind with the air of a nouveau riche, and a moment later, a notification sounded on the panel:
[Easy Mode Activated: Swing your sword fifty times to master the Blood Shadow Sword Technique to a minor level.]

Picking up a steel sword he had brought back from the Blood Blade Sect disciple on his way back to the city, Su Chen began to swing the sword, finishing in less than five minutes with fifty swings.

Su Chen didn't stop, but continued to recharge, activated the easy mode, and then swung his sword to recharge...

The panel sounded the fourth time the easy mode was activated:

[Easy Mode Activated: Swing your sword 500 times to master the Blood Shadow Sword Technique.]

After five hundred strikes, all the moves of the Blood Shadow Blade were memorized and became instinctive, allowing him to use them passively without conscious effort.

"Alright, next is to fuse the Blood Shadow Blade. I really wonder what kind of changes the Blood Shadow Blade will bring after the Sword Drawing Technique is fused with it. I'm really looking forward to it!" Su Chen muttered to himself with anticipation.

Without hesitation, recharge in one go, and then wait for the panel to display the message:
[Easy Mode Activated: Swing your sword 200 times to reach the second level of the sword-drawing technique.]

The number of sword swings was less than the number of times Su Chen practiced the Blood Shadow Blade to its limit. In about ten minutes, Su Chen completed the task of swinging the sword two hundred times.

The panel refreshes quickly:

[Martial Arts: ...Sword Drawing Technique (Second Tier 1%)]

[Easy Mode: ...Sword Drawing Technique (300 taels + any Ultimate Power-Entering Sword Technique/time)]

The sword-drawing technique has reached its second level!

Su Chen's face lit up with joy, and his hand holding the steel knife trembled slightly, as if he had resonated with the knife in his hand.

After a while, he calmed down a bit and came to the courtyard. Even though it was late at night, Su Chen was still not sleepy at all.

Drawing the sword, swinging it, slashing down, and sheathing it—the entire sequence of movements was fluid and seamless.

As a user, Su Chen saw something different in it and had a more personal feeling about it.

"With one slash, two sword shadows were created, as if I had slashed twice at once. Both the power and speed were doubled compared to before."

Su Chen stared blankly at the steel knife in his hand, a hint of surprise in his eyes.

The second level of sword-drawing technique truly surprised him in terms of its power.

The two sword shadows, in particular, gave him a sense of disbelief.

Even though you only swung your sword once, in the eyes of the enemy, it appeared as two strikes, and even two strikes stacked on top of each other, doubling the power.

If one is not careful, even if one blocks the first blade shadow, one will be killed by the second blade shadow due to a moment of carelessness.

Such a move is simply a deadly weapon that can kill with a single blow!
"This strike, let alone the Blood Blade Sect Master, even I, without having cultivated the Blood Shadow Blade Technique, might not be able to escape unscathed. It's truly terrifying. Fortunately, this is my move. The one who's troubled is my enemy, not me, hahaha..."

Su Chen chuckled softly, then continued testing tirelessly.

Towards the end of the test, he focused his energy on the blade, wanting to see how powerful the sword-drawing technique would be with the added energy.

……

In a secluded courtyard, the wind rustled the leaves, accompanied by a high-pitched scream that echoed through the air.

Not far away, a ghostly figure approached from afar. In just a few steps, he arrived at the entrance of the villa. When he heard the hysterical screams inside, he stopped and stood at the door, waiting quietly.

After an unknown amount of time, the screams turned into screeching, and the screeching turned into screams of agony. Finally, a hoarse voice rang out from inside the courtyard: "Come in!"

The dark figure slowly opened the door, walked in, head bowed, not even glancing at the woman who had died tragically beside him, and knelt on one knee, saying:

"Reporting to the Dharma King, Protector Chang has sent word that the Blood Blade Sect failed in their mission, allowing the Hunyuan Sect to escape. Moreover... all the Blood Blade Sect disciples, including the sect leader, are dead!"

"Hmm?" Upon hearing this, the tall man, who had just finished dressing, frowned and asked, "Do you know who did it?"

"Guardian Changyuan is investigating!" the shadowy figure replied.

"If I can't find out, I'll make him come to me with his head in his hands."

The tall man replied indifferently, then turned and left without even glancing at the shadowy figure.

outside the city.

A pigeon flapped its wings and landed on the shoulder of a man dressed in gray.
After taking the note off the carrier pigeon and opening it, Chang Yuan sneered, then shifted his gaze to a bloodied and mangled corpse.

It was the corpse of the Blood Blade Sect Master!

"The blood at the wound is black? That means the knife was poisoned!"
Huh? The knife wounds are different from those of other Blood Blade Sect disciples. Are they from two different people, or does the other person have two knives?

"I don't recall ever seeing a knife capable of creating such a wound before; it must be a custom-made knife!"

As he examined the Blood Blade Sect Master's injuries, Chang Yuan meticulously analyzed the situation.

After observing for a while, he sighed, "Unfortunately, there are still too few clues to deduce the other party's identity. We only know that he is a master of the knife. As for whether it is one person or two, it seems that we can only start the investigation from the Hunyuan Sect."

After checking again to make sure everything was correct, he got up again, took out a bottle of powder from his pocket, and sprinkled it on the corpse of the Blood Blade Sect Master.

With a hissing sound, the corpse of the Blood Blade Sect Master quickly turned into blood, seeping into the soil and revealing his stark white bones.

After doing all this, Chang Yuan turned into a gust of wind and disappeared into the night.

……

The next day, Su Chen slept in late, a rare occurrence, and didn't get up until the sun was high in the sky.

I cultivated too late last night, and after several battles with the Blood Blade Sect, I was inevitably exhausted. I only felt a little better after resting for a night.

After getting up and washing up, Su Chen found a nearby breakfast stall and had a big meal.

By the time we got back to our lodgings, it was already noon.

After resting for a while, Su Chen took out the Qi and Blood Pill and fell into deep thought:
"Right now I have a total of twenty-eight Qi and Blood Pills, which is not enough to improve either Iron Shirt or Hunyuan Gong. Both require thirty Qi and Blood Pills to improve."

However, the current focus is not on whether it can be improved, since I can use Boiling Blood Powder to make up for the lack of Qi and Blood Pills. The problem now is which one to improve.

Iron Shirt can enhance my strength, and it will undoubtedly improve my power. Although Hunyuan Gong cannot directly improve my power like the former, it can relieve my worries.

Moreover, if I upgrade the Hunyuan Gong one more time, I can completely fuse all the forces together, combining them into one. At that time, my strength will also indirectly increase, although it certainly won't be as much as upgrading the Iron Shirt skill alone!

After thinking it over, Su Chen had an idea. "I'll wait until next time to improve my Hunyuan Gong. After all, the conflict of energy in my body has just eased, and it shouldn't erupt in the short term. I'll improve my Iron Shirt first to enhance my strength, and then improve my Hunyuan Gong later!"

As soon as he thought of it, he acted on it. With Su Chen's mind in control, the increase in the number of Qi and Blood Pills naturally fell into the 'Iron Shirt' category, starting from zero and increasing slowly and orderly.

For several days in a row, Su Chen stayed at home and rarely went out. He was immersed in preparing and taking medicine every day and could not extricate himself from it.

The Iron Shirt technique was progressing steadily. Su Chen did not deliberately speed it up, but instead pushed forward according to the daily dosage of three Qi and Blood Pills.

In addition, he would brew two doses of Boiling Blood Powder every day, intending to replace the remaining two Qi and Blood Pills with Boiling Blood Powder.

The rest of the time, Su Chen immersed himself in medical skills and became obsessed with improving the mind-controlling powder.

Su Chen had previously modified the Bewitching Powder, but as his strength increased and his opponents became more powerful, it became less effective.

The mind-control powder, which only works on martial artists practicing internal energy, is clearly not enough.

Last night, the Blood Blade Sect Master was a prime example. After being hit by the mind-controlling powder, he only hesitated for a moment before realizing what was happening.

This is enough to show that the mind-control powder is not very effective for practitioners of internal organ martial arts.

If the Blood Blade Sect Master were stronger, this level of mind-controlling powder would probably be completely ineffective.

Therefore, Su Chen planned to take advantage of this time to improve the mind-control powder.

Su Chen hadn't held out much hope, since even with improvements, his current skill level might not meet his expectations.

However, during the improvement process, Su Chen had a sudden inspiration and thought of the poison that the Blood Blade Sect Master had given him before. Although it had no effect on him, it provided him with a slight inspiration.

With this inspiration, Su Chen studied medical texts and experimented continuously, finally completing the improvement of the third-generation Bewitching Powder. Because it was a success by chance, even Su Chen did not have an antidote.

To test the effects of the mind-controlling powder, he took out a small amount, diluted it with a bowl of water, and found a stray dog ​​by the roadside. He then forcefully fed the powder to the dog, which slept for three days and three nights after drinking it. The dog was nearly starved to death, but was eventually saved by Su Chen.

With the help of this stray dog, Su Chen began to try to research the antidote. Since he had done research before, Su Chen was quite experienced and spent three days developing the antidote.

That evening, Su Chen took a small amount of the mind-altering powder to test its effects. He could feel discomfort in his internal organs, but he couldn't stop it. Moreover, his brain became drowsy after five minutes.

Fortunately, he took the antidote in time and woke up from this state. However, what he did not expect was that the third-generation mind-altering powder seemed to have an additional function, which was to make him hiccup.

Half an hour passed before he stopped hiccuping. He was in a bad state and his face looked a little pale. Fortunately, through this experiment, he confirmed the efficacy of the third-generation mind-altering powder.

"For those who practice internal organ martial arts, in small cases, it takes effect within five minutes, but in larger cases, it takes even less time. It is also accompanied by the side effect of prolonged hiccups, and afterwards, they will feel somewhat tired!"

……

During the time that Su Chen improved the Bewitching Powder.

Xuan Shui Sect, Xuan Fu Academy.

A rotting corpse lay in the yard, swarming with flies and bedbugs, and a foul stench filled the air.

“Headmaster, Yu Xian has been dead for about half a month. I found him on a road leading to the black market. The murderer should be a swordsman,” a disciple of the Xuanfu Academy said.

The head of the Xuanfu Academy frowned as he looked at Yu Xian's corpse, his face clearly showing displeasure. This was not only because Yu Xian had been dead for half a month before being discovered, but also because someone actually dared to kill someone from the Xuanshui Sect.

This is undoubtedly a huge provocation against the Xuan Shui Sect!
"Go and fetch He Qiu from the Xuan Sha Academy!" the head of the Xuan Fu Academy said calmly, and the disciple acknowledged and withdrew.

A quarter of an hour later, a handsome man walked in, greeted the head of the Xuanfu Academy with clasped hands, and said, "Head of the Academy, Pengyu!"

The head of the Xuanfu Academy nodded, pointed at Yu Xian's corpse, and said, "He Qiu, you are a disciple of the Xuansha Academy who is proficient in criminal investigation. I have something I need you to investigate."

"Who is this person?" He Qiu had already seen Yu Xian's corpse, but he did not recognize the other party's identity, so he couldn't help but ask.

"This is Yu Xian, a steward of my Xuanfu Academy. He was murdered by villains while out purchasing supplies half a month ago. Your task is to find the murderer and bring him to justice!" the head of the Xuanfu Academy said coldly. He Qiu frowned slightly upon hearing this, and after thinking for a moment, said, "This disciple will do his best in this matter. However, Steward Yu's death was only discovered half a month ago, and many clues have been lost. I'm afraid this disciple may not be able to find the murderer in a short time."

"It's alright, take your time. I only have one request: you must find the murderer!"

Sensing the killing intent in the words of the head of the Xuanfu Academy, He Qiu nodded solemnly: "Yes!"

"Here are three bottles of Profound Origin Pills. If you find them, you will be richly rewarded!"

The head of the Xuanfu Academy nodded in satisfaction and took out three bottles of Xuan Yuan Pills from his pocket.

He Qiu's face lit up with joy as she accepted the pill: "Thank you, Headmaster!"

He Qiu, having left the Xuan Shui Sect, rushed to Qingxi Town. According to the information obtained from the Xuan Fu Academy, this was the last place Yu Xian had ever been.

Using her identity as a disciple of the Xuan Sha Academy, He Qiu quickly obtained Yu Xian's whereabouts that day and carefully examined them several times.

He Qiu frowned. There was nothing suspicious about this travel information.

Afterwards, he went to the place where Yu Xian died to investigate, but returned empty-handed.

He went to the black market again, but still came up empty-handed, which led him to vaguely suspect that Yu Xian was killed because he had encountered robbers.

However, this greatly expands the pool of potential suspects.

Who knows if the bandits outside Dafeng City are real bandits? They might just be some martial artists from inside the city in disguise.

Left with no other choice, he expanded the scope of his investigation, compiling all of Yu Xian's movements and contacts over the past month, and sure enough, he discovered some clues.

A few days before Yu Xian died, another person mysteriously disappeared. This person was one of Yu Xian's subordinates, who specialized in handling Yu Xian's unclean affairs.

The appearance of this clue was like a beacon in the darkness, guiding He Qiu's investigation.

Through He Qiu's tireless investigation, following the clues, he finally found some leads.

at the same time.

On the other side, on the eleventh day after Su Chen consumed the Qi and Blood Pills, his Iron Shirt skill progress was finally maxed out, and Su Chen activated the easy mode:
[Easy Mode Activated: Take a warm bath for forty minutes to train your Iron Shirt skill to level four.]

Having anticipated this, Su Chen took off his clothes and entered the bathtub after hearing the prompt. Forty minutes later, he successfully advanced to the fourth level of Iron Shirt.

Su Chen was already used to the increase in strength, but after a general feeling of it, he shifted his attention to another change that surprised him.

Su Chen could clearly sense that his breathing had become extremely smooth and long.

With each breath, the lungs expand, inhaling fresh air and exhaling stale air; with each inhalation and exhalation, the body feels more comfortable.

This feeling is most pronounced at the beginning, as if some impurities accumulated in the lungs are being gradually removed by one's own strength, making the entire lungs clear and transparent.

Although the effect weakened afterward, one could still feel the slow and steady changes in the lungs if one paid close attention.

This indicates that the lungs are constantly changing.

"So this is what it means to temper internal organs!"

Su Chen sighed, having gained a more direct understanding of the Refining Internal Organs realm.

But then, he looked puzzled: "Why is it only the lungs that are changing? Is Iron Shirt specifically designed to temper the lungs?"

Su Chen was somewhat unsure, so he closed his eyes and sensed it for a while, eventually arriving at the same conclusion.

"Although other internal organs have also been strengthened to varying degrees, none of them are as effective as the lungs. It seems that Iron Shirt has the best tempering effect on the lungs."

In addition, Su Chen also discovered some flaws, namely that as the strength increased, the speed at which the strength circulated within the body slowed down.

This is not a problem of control, but rather that the amount of force limits the speed of the force itself. Even if Su Chen continues to accelerate, he cannot reach the limit speed he had before his advancement.

Of course, this does not mean that his strength has declined. On the contrary, because of the increase in his power, Su Chen's strength has also become stronger.

"In actual combat, this slight slowdown has little impact, especially since I have a high concentration of internal energy, so it can be ignored. However, it might have some impact on tempering, since the flow rate is slower, so tempering will also be relatively slower."

Su Chen pondered for a moment and quickly came up with a solution: "If I remember correctly, the Profound Origin Technique can increase the speed of energy circulation. If there is an opportunity in the future, I can consider this aspect."

After getting out of the bathtub, Su Chen put on his clothes and went to the courtyard, intending to familiarize himself with and test his strength.

Strength is different from martial arts techniques; after each improvement, it takes a period of time to adapt.

……

Shengfu.

"Master Hong, I've come here to inquire about someone," He Qiu said after exchanging pleasantries with Hong Risheng for a moment.

Hong Risheng nodded and said, "Go ahead."

He Qiu asked, "May I ask, Hall Master Hong, do you know 'Su Chen'?"

Upon hearing this, Hong Risheng fell into a brief moment of contemplation, seemingly pondering the origin of the name.

At this moment, Hong Chen reminded him, "Father, this Su Chen is the guy who sent the letter to Mother."

After Hong Chen said that, Hong Risheng quickly remembered Su Chen's identity. He asked curiously, "This person visited my wife some time ago, but hasn't appeared since. What do you want with him?"

"To be honest, I suspect this person is related to a case of a Xuan Shui Sect disciple's disappearance, so I want to find him and bring him back to the Xuan Shui Sect for questioning." Upon hearing this, He Qiu understood the relationship between Su Chen and Hong Risheng, and without beating around the bush, she got straight to the point.

“Brother Heqiu, you may have come to the wrong place. This fellow hasn’t appeared at the manor since his last visit,” Hong Chen replied with a smile.

These words made He Qiu frown. Although her suspicions about Su Chen deepened, the clues ended there.

After pondering for a moment, he stood up and said, "In that case, I will trouble Hall Master Hong. If this person reappears, please inform me in time. I would be extremely grateful!"

"Ok!"

After sending He Qiu away, Hong Chen went to find Hong Risheng.

"Father, what did Su Chen do that involved the Xuan Shui Sect and prompted them to send He Qiu to investigate?" Hong Chen had long heard of He Qiu's reputation and was increasingly curious about what Su Chen had done.

Hong Risheng knew more, so he said, "Some time ago, a deacon of the Xuan Shui Sect was killed, so He Qiu was sent to investigate."

"This country bumpkin Su Chen has this strength?" Hong Chen asked in surprise. The stewards of the Xuan Shui Sect are at least at the Refining Internal Organs Realm.

He had long known that Su Chen was merely Hong Ming's disciple. Hong Ming never reached the level of internal strength in his entire life, and his disciple Su Chen was at most a martial artist who practiced internal strength.

With such strength, how could he possibly kill a steward of the Xuan Shui Sect? He even began to suspect that He Qiu might have been investigating in the wrong direction.

Hong Risheng did not answer, but asked in return: "During this time, secretly send people to investigate Su Chen's whereabouts, and at the same time keep a close eye on your mother's movements."

"Father, you don't suspect Mother, do you?" Upon hearing this, Hong Chen immediately realized what was going on.

Hong Risheng remained noncommittal. Qin Xue treated Su Chen as her own nephew. If Su Chen really did something wrong and came to Qin Xue for help, she might very well protect him secretly.

After leaving Sheng Mansion, He Qiu fell into deep thought.

"This Su Chen has only been in Dafeng City for a short time. Apart from going to Xuanshui Sect to participate in the assessment, he has hardly left the city. The only person he visited in the city was Hong Risheng, but now he has disappeared without a trace. It seems that even if he is not the murderer, he must know the inside story."

Thinking of this, He Qiu glanced back at the Sheng Mansion, her expression shifting slightly, "And making someone disappear without a trace isn't something just anyone can do..."

Although Hong Risheng and Hong Chen denied any connection with Su Chen, He Qiu felt it was an attempt to cover up the truth, which only strengthened his belief that Su Chen's disappearance was related to Hong Risheng.

It's even possible that Hong Risheng protected Su Chen and hid him away.

However, all of this is just He Qiu's speculation, and there is no evidence yet.

"Go back and tell Dean Pengyu about this first."

He Qiu shook her head and walked away.

……

There are three days left until the black market opens at the beginning of the month.

Since both Qi and Blood Pills and Profound Origin Pills were exhausted, Su Chen planned to use the next two days to diligently study medical classics and broaden his knowledge.

Unexpectedly, Zhu Yan came to visit the next afternoon with good news.

"Have you found a way in?" Su Chen invited Zhu Yan inside and asked.

Zhu Yan poured himself a cup of tea, took a sip, and nodded, saying, "Yes, if my benefactor wants to go, you can go now."

"it is good!"

Zhu Yan took Su Chen with him, and Su Chen took the money; the two then set off.

"This is?"

Zhu Yan stopped in front of the gate of a grand mansion. Su Chen looked at the two characters "Cai Mansion" carved in gold on a red background on the gate plaque and asked in confusion.

Zhu Yan smiled and said, "This is where I live, and it's also one of the residences of the leader of the Six Harmonies Gang."

Su Chen nodded without asking any further questions. After entering the mansion, he would occasionally encounter some servants and maids who would stop to greet Zhu Yan, and Zhu Yan would respond to each of them.

Soon, the two entered a courtyard.

"Little Moon."

A woman in a white dress walked towards him. She had delicate features and a tall figure. When she saw Zhu Yan, she smiled sweetly and said, "Brother Zhu!"

Upon hearing this address, Zhu Yan scratched his head and smiled. Before he could speak, Cai Xiaoyue shifted her gaze to Su Chen with a scrutinizing look.

She asked with a smile, "Is this Brother Zhu's friend?"

"Well, Xiaoyue, didn't you say you had a way to sell Qi and Blood Pills? So I brought the person here," Zhu Yan replied.

“Okay, Brother Zhu, you go out and wait a bit, I’ll talk to him about the price.” Cai Xiaoyue said with a smile, and added before finishing, “Don’t worry, Brother Zhu, I won’t let your friend suffer a loss.”

Zhu Yan then walked out of the courtyard with peace of mind.

Seeing Zhu Yan leave, Cai Xiaoyue's smile faded and her expression turned serious. After scrutinizing Su Chen for a moment, she said coldly, "Brother Zhu hasn't been in Dafeng City for long and doesn't have any friends. Who exactly are you? What are your intentions in getting close to Brother Zhu?"

Su Chen: "..."

Seeing Cai Xiaoyue interrogating him like a criminal, Su Chen felt embarrassed for a moment before replying, "I really am Zhu Yan's friend. You can ask him if you don't believe me."

"Impossible! I've never heard of Brother Zhu having any friends in Dafeng City!" Cai Xiaoyue's voice rose slightly, her eyes filled with even more suspicion.

She took a step forward and demanded, "Who exactly are you?"

Faced with Cai Xiaoyue's aggressive questioning, Su Chen couldn't help but smile wryly.

He thought for a moment and said, "I've known Zhu Yan for a long time, but we only met in Dafeng City recently."

"Really? What's your name?"

"Ding Peng!"

After pondering the name for a moment, Cai Xiaoyue's tone softened slightly: "Since you are Brother Zhu's friend, then you are my friend. How many Qi and Blood Pills do you want?"

"The more the merrier!"

Upon hearing this, Cai Xiaoyue glanced at Su Chen in surprise, and then said, "There are only ten this time. If you want more, you'll have to wait until next time."

Ten?

Su Chen thought for a moment and nodded, "That works too."

"Two hundred taels per piece, let's make the deal." Cai Xiaoyue had two celadon bottles brought out, saying, "Five pieces per bottle, ten pieces in total!"

"Alright!" Su Chen took out two thousand taels from his pocket and handed them to Cai Xiaoyue.

The transaction was completed quickly, and Zhu Yan walked in and asked, "My benefactor, how did it go?"

"Benefactor? Isn't he your friend?" Cai Xiaoyue was indignant when she saw Zhu Yan ask Su Chen first, but her expression changed immediately.

Zhu Yan smiled awkwardly: "He's a friend, and also my benefactor."

"So you're Brother Zhu's benefactor! Xiaoyue greets you warmly." As soon as she finished speaking, Cai Xiaoyue bowed gently.

Seeing this, Zhu Yan was a little stunned. What was going on?
Su Chen looked at the stunned Zhu Yan with a strange expression, shook his head, and said to Cai Xiaoyue, who was bowing, "Miss Cai, you're too kind."

"My benefactor, please just call me Xiaoyue," Cai Xiaoyue quickly said.

"Xiaoyue, you seem a bit strange. Has something happened?" Zhu Yan asked, puzzled.

Cai Xiaoyue's face flushed slightly, then she shook her head and said, "There's nothing strange about it, you're overthinking it!"

"Oh dear, look at you, how can you be so inconsiderate, making your benefactor stand all this time? Benefactor, please sit down." Cai Xiaoyue scolded, then had her maid bring tea and gestured for Su Chen and Zhu Yan to sit down and chat.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Yan smiled awkwardly: "I was confused, my benefactor, please sit down!"

Looking at the two of them, Su Chen felt somewhat superfluous.

"I didn't know you were my benefactor just now, please forgive me. Don't worry, I'll take care of the Qi and Blood Pill!" Cai Xiaoyue got up to pour tea for Su Chen and Zhu Yan. Seeing Zhu Yan get up, she gently called out, "Brother Zhu, please sit down."

Su Chen, who was about to stand up, paused. Cai Xiaoyue blushed slightly upon seeing this, but remained silent.

Zhu Yan spoke up at the opportune moment: "Yes, my benefactor, Xiaoyue is quite remarkable."

The feeling of being superfluous only intensified.

Su Chen took a breath, hesitated, and then asked, "Is there anything else you need, benefactor?"

"There is something that might require your help, Miss Xiaoyue."

“Please speak, my benefactor!” Cai Xiaoyue said, straightening her posture.

Su Chen glanced at Zhu Yan and asked frankly, "May I ask if Miss Xiaoyue has any connections to sell Xuan Yuan Pills?"

"Xuan Yuan Pill?" Cai Xiaoyue paused for a moment, then shook her head, saying, "Xuan Yuan Pill is a secret medicine of the Xuan Shui Sect, and it has never been sold to outsiders. If you want it, my benefactor, you can only join the Xuan Shui Sect. I'm afraid it's not sold anywhere else, and..."

Cai Xiaoyue paused, looked at Su Chen with some suspicion, and continued, "Moreover, only disciples of the Xuan Shui Sect use Xuan Yuan Pills when cultivating. If others use Xuan Yuan Pills, it may have the opposite effect. If you are using them for your own cultivation, you should be cautious."

Upon hearing this, Su Chen suddenly understood, but he remained calm and said, "It's not that I want to use it. A friend of mine asked me to inquire about it. We just didn't know that there was such a reason behind it. Thanks to Miss Xiaoyue's reminder."

"I see!" Cai Xiaoyue said thoughtfully, without paying much attention.

Tapping.

"Dr. Zhu..."

As the group chatted, a series of hurried footsteps approached, followed by a shout.

Zhu Yan stood up and looked behind him. A burly man walked over, bowed to Zhu Yan, and said, "Doctor Zhu, some of our brothers are injured and need your treatment."

“Alright!” Zhu Yan turned to look at Su Chen and said, “My benefactor, I…”

"You go ahead and get busy, it's time for me to head back too," Su Chen said with a smile as he stood up.

“Well then, Brother Zhu, you go ahead with your work. I’ll take my benefactor around for a bit,” Cai Xiaoyue said, standing up.

"Alright, then I'll trouble you, Xiaoyue." After expressing his gratitude, Zhu Yan looked at Su Chen and said, "My benefactor, I'll be right back."

After Zhu Yan left, Cai Xiaoyue said apologetically, "I didn't know that you were Brother Zhu's benefactor just now. I apologize for any offense I may have caused. Please forgive me."

Su Chen knew exactly what Cai Xiaoyue was thinking, but he waved his hand dismissively, which relieved Cai Xiaoyue.

Immediately afterwards, Cai Xiaoyue led Su Chen around the mansion, chatting as they walked, and the vast majority of their conversation revolved around Zhu Yan.

Su Chen also learned from Cai Xiaoyue how Zhu Yan joined the Six Harmonies Gang.

The matter is not complicated. Zhu Yan unintentionally saved Cai Xiaoyue and got to know her. Then, to thank him, Cai Xiaoyue let him join the Liuhe Gang.

After chatting for a while, Cai Xiaoyue suddenly invited, "If my benefactor doesn't mind, why not join the Six Harmonies Gang with Brother Zhu?"

(End of this chapter)