Daoqi Huangcheng

Chapter 20. Discovery
Early morning, the capital city, southern suburbs
The fog lingered, permeating the woods, causing even the falling morning light to diffuse and form a thin mist.

Leaves have begun to fall in the misty light, rustling and lingering as they drift away, making a soft, dreamy sound.

Sitting in the carriage, Que He felt that one sentence was very true: True gold is not afraid of being refined by fire; the more it is refined, the more its dazzling brilliance will be revealed.

He suddenly felt a little grateful to Song Chen; if it weren't for Song Chen, he wouldn't have grown up.

Now, he looked at the two confidants on the throne. These two confidants were people he met while drinking at a restaurant. They were members of the Yu family, but because they understood him, they were willing to become a bridge between him and the Yu family.

What could the Yu family possibly have that would be of interest to the He family?
It was entirely his personal charisma that bridged the gap between his family.

Ta-ta-ta.
Que He's expression was gloomy as he slowly tapped his fingers on the windowsill.

He didn't need to look to know that he must be incredibly wise now.

He muttered, "Song Chen is a fool. If he had stayed a few more days, I, the patriarch, would have had a hard time making a move. Now that he's gone, humph, when he returns next time, the Crane Manor will no longer be under his control."

On the imperial throne, a close friend smiled and said, "The young tiger of the Tsuru family has finally awakened."

“Brother Le understands me best,” Que He said in a deep voice. “Indeed, now that I am awake, I am the true master of the He family. It is time for the lowly people in the mud to recognize their place again.”

He clenched his fists tightly and said sternly, "You lowly servant, ungrateful and treacherous, even dares to deceive your master! If I didn't still need you, hmph!"

Que He had just finished humming when he suddenly felt his body lose control.

The carriage came to a sudden stop, and then the carriage overturned forward.

He cried out in pain and rolled forward, his head slamming against the side wall with a loud thud.

Then, he suddenly heard a rapid, dense sound of footsteps approaching from both sides.

His eyes widened, and his heart raced.

Before I could react, a crisp sound came from the direction of the driver's seat.

That was the sound of swords clashing!
He was startled and hurriedly lifted the curtain to look outside, only to see five masked men in black wielding knives fighting with his two trusted guards.

Que He mustered his courage and declared loudly, "I am from the Que family, Crane Clan!"

Before he could finish speaking, he saw one of the masked men look at him with bloodthirsty and ferocious eyes.

Que He shuddered in fright, completely forgetting about being the head of the family.

His mind went blank, and he instinctively shrank back, pulled the curtain closed again, and then curled up in the corner, at a loss.

Around the carriage, two guards were Jin state assassins, one named Le Gui and the other Le Quan.

The two were brothers and had previously served as guards in the Yu family. Now that they had caught a fat fish, it was natural for them to take over. After the Yu family sent a cultivator to arrange a marriage between the Yu family and the eldest lady of the He family, they would become his assistants, helping to control the He family and then using the He family as pawns to play a role in future plans.

Everything went so smoothly.

Except now.

Neither Le Gui nor Le Quan understood who was making the move.

The elite members of the forging gang roared in hoarse voices, "They're obviously rich, rob them!"

Le Gui sneered and said, "So you're just a petty thief."

The blacksmiths were all skilled iron-wielding men, strong and powerful. They had previously worked for Wang Xiongchuan in shady dealings, so their attacks were naturally ruthless. Thus, every strike was both powerful and deadly.

The knife whistled through the air.

Bang!
The wooden beams of the carriage were cut down.

Le Quan glanced at the broken wooden beam and suddenly said, "Brother, they're not robbing us, they're going to kill us."

Le Gui frowned, forced back two men in black with a single sword strike, and said sternly, "Which gang are you from? State yourselves."

The men from the forging gang exchanged glances. The two men in black in front looked as if they were about to speak, while two others took the opportunity to quietly rush over, reaching into their waistbands and pulling out soft swords.

The soft sword, like a snake, twisted and swayed, and sped towards Le Gui.

But in the next instant, Le Gui spun and swung his longsword, and suddenly a transparent aura appeared on it.

The soft sword struck as if it had hit a block of iron. The two attackers' hands went numb, and they lost their focus. When they came to their senses, they saw a figure rushing towards them like the wind.

"Uh"

The two men clutched each other's necks and collapsed.

On the other side, Le Quan also stopped holding back, his expression revealing anger, and a glint of sword light suddenly appeared on the blade of his sword.

brush!
Another elite member of the forging gang has fallen to the ground.

The remaining two elite blacksmiths stared in astonishment at this scene. One of them murmured, "Qi cannot leave the body; this is human Qi. You...you..."

Those who can absorb the earth's energy are cultivators.

Those who can absorb the energy of others can serve as Immortal Guards, and are top-notch masters in the martial arts world.

The Le brothers' swords emitted a sword light, which, though short, was a manifestation of their inner energy.

Le Quan winked and whispered, "Brother, let's keep one alive and interrogate him."

Having said that, he stepped forward, and suddenly he saw a ray of golden light fall from the sky. The golden light curved and blew past his arm.
The entire arm fell off.

A sharp pain suddenly struck, blood gushed out, and Le Quan almost fainted from the pain.

Le Gui, however, saw it clearly and exclaimed in surprise, "A cultivator!!"

The next instant, Le Gui let out a muffled groan without hesitation, gritted his teeth, and swallowed the poison. He then collapsed straight down, his head visibly beginning to ooze green liquid and rapidly decay. Legend has it that the soul resides between the eyebrows, so if the head is destroyed at the moment of death, the body and soul are thrown into chaos, making it impossible for even cultivators to find anything.

Because of the pain, Le Quan reacted a beat slower, but it was not difficult for him to crush the poison hidden in his teeth.

He looked up angrily, wanting to see which cultivator had died.

But in that one glance, he saw Yu Cheng.

Yu Cheng was their superior, and also the official who planned to come to the He family for a marriage alliance.

He was just wondering if the enemy was after Lord Cheng, when he saw Lord Yu.

Yu Cheng was standing in a thin layer of golden mist, drifting down from mid-air.

Le Quan asked, puzzled, "Lord Yu, Lord Yu Cheng, why?"

Yu Cheng looked in Le Gui's direction and said in a deep voice, "Because of him."

Le Quan was increasingly puzzled. Not only was he puzzled, but his mind began to become confused. He could only see Yu Cheng. He said, "You're saying that my elder brother is a traitor? Impossible, absolutely impossible. My elder brother and I were prepared to die for Jin State from the day we joined the Jin State's Death Squad. My elder brother could never be a traitor."

For some reason, he began to ramble on as if he were drunk, revealing all the plans concerning the Crane Mansion.

But as he spoke, the image of Lord Yu Cheng in front of him began to blur.

The fog has lifted.

Golden sunlight streamed down from the sky.

Lord Yu Cheng disappeared and transformed into a man wearing a gray cloak, slightly overweight, with a strange appearance and a stiff expression.

Song Chen's palm fell slightly, and a wisp of breeze came from afar, gliding across the neck of the dazed assassin.

Death squad, die!

Song stood still.

The power he just used was merely an illusion created by the "Marrow-Eating Crane Demon".

This illusion can be used as long as there is water, but the user cannot choose who they transform into.

That day, Lin Ge and two others from the cannon fodder camp saw the marrow-eating crane demon on the desolate pavilion. They saw a beautiful woman, and then they fainted from infatuation.

Today, Jin's loyalist Yue Quan saw Song Chen, who in his eyes became his superior, and then he told him everything.

Song Chen remained standing in the same spot.

He never imagined that the Guo family would be spies from the Jin state, let alone that his casual poke would lead to such a major incident.

For a moment, he was a little dazed.

Song Chen narrowed his eyes and suddenly said, "Come out."

Que He stumbled out of the carriage.

He had heard everything being said outside, and now he appeared extremely distraught and terrified.

Song Chen looked down at him and said, "Are you also a spy from the Great Jin?"

Que He hurriedly said, "No, no, it wasn't me, I..."

Song Chen pretended to recognize him and suddenly asked, "Are you Que Shenyun's son?"

Que Heru grasped at a straw and hurriedly said, "Yes, yes, that's me. You must be the Lord of the Imperial City Guard or the Lord of the Dragon Guard, right?"

Song Chen looked nostalgic and said, "I know Brother Shenyun."

After saying that, he sighed and said, "However, you were also involved in this matter, and I cannot be sure whether you were a spy."

Que He hurriedly kowtowed, kowtowing frantically, repeatedly saying, "I'm not a spy, I'm not a spy!"

Song Chen sighed, "Never mind, Brother Shenyun and I have a friendship."

Immediately, he raised his hand and flicked out two fifty-tael gold ingots and a bag of gold beans.

Gold ingots and gold beans fell in front of Que He.

Song Chen said, "Que He is dead. Let's go south and find a county town."

Que He remained rooted to the spot.

Song Chen said, "Don't even think about going back. If you go back, you'll only cause the entire He family to be wiped out."

If you are a spy, Da Yong will not forgive you; if you are not, Jin will not forgive you. Do you understand?

Que He's nerves were pounding; he had no idea how things had turned out this way.

But he finally understood and said, "I...I understand."

Song Chen glanced at the two remaining elites of the Forging Gang and gave them a slight signal.

The two followed him away.

Song Cheng then gave him two more gold ingots and said, "Go with him. You've gotten yourself involved in something too big. This was a miscalculation on my part. Once you get to the new place, try to send me a letter."

These people who live on the edge are all alone and have no ties, so the two had no choice but to agree.

(End of this chapter)