Although the little apprentice sister is weak, she can fight

"That mural wasn't left by an ordinary person."

Gu Xu pressed the scimitar in her hand closer to her neck. "Please be more specific."

Cui Hongjin was forced by Gu Xu to lean against the side of the carriage. She raised her eyebrows and looked at Gu Xu, "This is really not a situation for a calm conversation."

"City Lord Cui, you're worrying too much." Mu Jiu spoke calmly, looking at her and smiling, "We are just exchanging courtesy."

Cui Hongjin: “…”

If I had known that the charm words were ineffective against these two people, I should have had them tied up first.

"Your soul technique seems to be a direct descendant of Xiyuan."

Seeing that she was silent, Mu Jiu naturally brought the topic back to the main issue. "When people mention Xiyuan's trickery, most of them think of puppetry and soul magic. However, they don't know that soul magic is not so easy to learn. Even at the peak of Xiyuan's prosperity, there were only three people who could be said to have mastered it."

"One is the high priest of the Xiyuan clan; one is an elder of the Xiyuan clan; and the other is the creator of two Xiyuan tricks and the first patriarch of the Xiyuan clan—Jiang Quechen."

When mentioning this name, Cui Hongjin's indifferent expression obviously changed. Gu Xu took in this subtle change, but he was even more puzzled.

This doesn't make sense. Wasn't the first Xiyuan clan leader betrayed and executed for opposing the war? Logically, he should have died before Xiyuan declared war on the human royal family. If Cui Hongjin truly had learned from Jiang Quechen, he shouldn't be this old now, right? Unless he's using some secret technique to prolong his life? But if you really count, this Bishui City did once belong to Xiyuan territory.

Seeing Cui Hongjin didn't say anything, Mu Jiu seemed to sigh.

"I once heard a secret story that the first Xiyuan clan leader who was executed by slow slicing was actually replaced by another death row inmate. The real Xiyuan clan leader, Jiang Quechen, was rescued by her own brother, the then-high priest of Xiyuan, long before the execution."

"After escaping, Jiang Quechen felt guilty that his own technique had been used by someone to harm lives. Upon hearing that the Xiyuan clan had officially declared war on the royal family, he completely collapsed and desperately rushed back to his clan to try to stop it. Unfortunately, this time, he was labeled a 'traitor' by the Xiyuan elder who instigated the attack and was shot through the heart by thousands of arrows."

"And the place where she stayed briefly after being rescued..."

"Enough." Cui Hongjin seemed unable to listen any longer. She closed her eyes, and her mask was full of fatigue.

"You're right. Jiang Quechen did stay here after he was rescued." Her voice was slow, even a little hoarse.

"She stayed in Bishui City for a month. In that one month, you can't imagine how much she did for us. She even left without recovering from her injuries. Who knew that once she left this time, she would never be able to return."

The last sentence was spoken very softly. Cui Hongjin was silent for a long time after he finished speaking. The carriage became quiet, with only the rhythmic sound of horse hooves outside still ringing.

"Chief Jiang predicted that Bishui City would suffer a drought in the future, so she left behind that stone wall. We don't know how she did it. I remember my father saying that before she left, the chief gave him a yellow talisman and told him to burn it after she died. This way, the people of Bishui City would be safe."

"Yellow paper talisman? Isn't that..." Gu Xu hesitated to speak.

What kind of genius was Jiang Quechen? Without a teacher or a mentor, he could actually draw talismans on his own? And he even knew arithmetic?

Cui Hongjin opened his eyes and glanced at Gu Xu. "I suspected this too, but unfortunately I wasn't born then. My father developed dementia in his later years, and his memories of those years are hazy. I have no idea how the clan leader learned these techniques."

Gu Xu frowned, "But where did you learn these soul techniques?"

"I taught myself." Cui Hongjin didn't care to hide it.

"At that time, the clan leader, betrayed by others, ordered the burning of the secret books that had been brought out. My father felt sorry for it and secretly hid a few pages. I read them when I was young, and I became interested in them. Following the few pages left by the clan leader, I explored them bit by bit, and slowly learned the basics."

Gu Xu couldn't help but twitch the corners of his mouth.

Even the people inside Xiyuan at that time might not have been able to fully understand those secret techniques, but Cui Hongjin was able to comprehend some of them just by relying on a few pieces of paper. If the people of Xiyuan clan knew about this, they would probably not even be able to hold him down in his coffin, right?

"I've pretty much told you what I know."

Gu Xu was silent for a moment, then readily put away his knife. "So, you actually want to use us to trip up the forces of the Fenyan Restaurant and reclaim the mural?"

"Yes." Cui Hongjin sat up straight. "Even if it wasn't for the mural, Chang Xu has repeatedly harmed lives in the territory under my jurisdiction. I absolutely cannot sit idly by. Unfortunately, my ability is limited, and now I have no choice but to cooperate with you two."

"However, after investigating these days, I discovered that there seems to be a force behind Chang Xu supporting him."

......

"Royal family?" Shang Mian's expression flickered as he looked at the secret order he had found from Chang Xu.

"Soaring Dragon Lying on the Clouds" is a seal used exclusively by the human royal family.

"How did he, a restaurant owner in Bishui City, become involved with the human royal family?"

Chang Xu, who had been tied up like a dumpling, sat cross-legged on the ground, with the two maids who had attacked Luo Dai before tied up beside him.

Seeing Shang Mian didn't quite believe it, Chang Xu sneered and said mockingly: "Hehe, little kid, are all you cultivators so naive? If I say this is the handwriting of the Heavenly God, will you still worship it?"

Luo Dai was already looking to kill him because she'd been tricked. Hearing his words, she flew into a rage. She stumbled forward, sword drawn, and was about to strike him. "You bastard, how dare you mention the title of God?! Are you worthy?!"

Li Yue stopped the man at the right time and said a few words of advice, "Don't be angry with him, recover first."

Chang Xu saw someone blocking the fight for him and immediately challenged him with even more pride, "You pretty boy, you want to kill me? Mind your own business first...Ah!! How dare you hit me in the face?!"

Li Yue shook his hands in disdain, looked at Chang Xu grimly, and whispered a threat, "If you say anything useless again, I'll tear your mouth apart."

These words obviously made Chang Xu a lot more obedient. He had just witnessed Li Yue's methods. The two maids next to him were knocked unconscious by Li Yue with a knife and they were still unconscious. He didn't want to suffer the same punishment as them.

Shang Mian ignored Chang Xu's deliberate provocation, but at the moment there were too many things involved, and it seemed that they alone could not piece together the whole thing.

Li Yue placed a talisman on Chang Xu so that he could be controlled and walked. "Go out and meet up with the others first. Their own affairs should be explained to their own people."