Chapter 33

Qin Sang's face lit up with joy. "Isn't this perfect? Brother Liu might not know, but I just received a message from General Wang Liu outside the city. Due to the difficult mountain roads, he will be delayed for two days. So, let's do as you suggested, send someone to inform General Mu, and follow the plan the day after tomorrow, opening the city gates at dawn the next day."

Seeing Liu Ji and his men become suspicious and uncertain because of his words, Qin Sang secretly sneered in his heart.

The Blood Robe Tower was not a monolithic entity. The head of the Blood Robe Tower, Black Crane Zhenren, had four major subordinates: Elder Yue, Grasshead Immortal, White Scholar, and Red Embroidery Girl. Each of them operated independently and had their own conflicts with one another.

He and Elder Yue only followed the orders of the Princess of Dongyang.

Red Embroidery Girl was the confidant of the Crown Prince. Qin Sang had met Red Embroidery Girl once and suspected that this flirtatious woman was likely the Crown Prince's mistress.

Grasshead Immortal was a direct subordinate of the Third Prince of the Wang family, and also the weakest faction within the Blood Robe Tower. In Qin Sang's view, this was more of a placatory position.

White Scholar was a close confidant of Black Crane Zhenren, and Liu Ji was one of White Scholar's people.

A single sentence revealed that Liu Ji indeed had something to hide. Wang Liu and Liu Ji were colluding, indicating that Black Crane Zhenren was likely aligning with the Crown Prince. This was bad news for the Princess of Dongyang.

In the Dongyang Wang family, there were four princes eligible to inherit the throne. The Crown Prince was a given, and among the other three, the Third Prince was the strongest, but he could not threaten the Crown Prince's position.

However, the Dongyang Wang family had an anomaly: the Princess of Dongyang.

The Princess of Dongyang, originally named Princess Anning, was the eldest daughter of the Dongyang King and the late Empress Consort Feng. After Empress Consort Feng's death, the King, moved by grief, grew even more affectionate towards the Princess of Dongyang.

As the Princess of Dongyang grew older, she displayed extraordinary intelligence, earning the deep favor of the King. The King indulged her in everything, even bestowing her the title of Princess of Dongyang.

The Princess had the support of her late mother's family, making her as powerful as the Crown Prince. However, being a woman, the Crown Prince held the moral high ground, and it was normal for Black Crane Zhenren to align with the Crown Prince.

With the situation still uncertain, all parties began to have their own schemes.

Liu Ji, not suspecting anything, went along with it. "Hall Master Qin is wise. The mountains and forests of Jiangzhou are treacherous, so a delay of one or two days is normal... Please inform General Mu to slow down his march. This way, the timing will be perfect, truly a stroke of luck!"

"This is not urgent," Qin Sang waved his hand. "General Mu is already close. Sending a messenger out of the city tomorrow will be in time. Let's review the plan tonight, and tomorrow you can show me around the county to avoid any confusion."

The curfew in Hening County was strict, and they were unfamiliar faces, so it was not advisable to go out at night.

"Yes!"

...

The next day, Qin Sang and Liu Ji returned to the inn only when it was dark. They had walked around Hening County, mainly inspecting the city defenses and the residences of the county magistrate, Chu Dazhuang, and others. Qin Sang also carefully inquired about their daily movements.

"Stay outside and guard."

Qin Sang instructed Water Monkey and pointed at Liu Ji. "Please, Mr. Liu, bring one person to fetch my token and deliver the message to General Mu outside the city."

Liu Ji hurried away and returned quickly, leading a person to knock on Qin Sang's door.

"Come in and close the door."

The two men gently pushed the door open, turned to close it, and suddenly everything went black as they lost consciousness.

Qin Sang's figure appeared behind Liu Ji, supporting the two bodies and quietly moving them to the inner room. Once the souls were extracted, he began the interrogation.

Liu Ji indeed had connections with Wang Liu, and the order came from White Scholar. Qin Sang sneered, but felt no fear.

He did not aspire to be an official for life and did not care who became the emperor, but the Princess of Dongyang had promised him the qualification to be enfeoffed at Sacred Mountain, so he only had eyes for the Princess.

Over the past year, many of his Blood Robe Tower colleagues had died at his hands. Anyone who stood in his way was killed.

Today, it didn't matter if it was Liu Ji or even White Scholar himself; if they needed to be killed, they would be.

Continuing the interrogation, Liu Ji was relatively honest, and the plan was largely consistent with what he had said earlier, but he did not tell the truth about the whereabouts of his subordinates.

Qin Sang carefully noted down all this information and waited until midnight before changing into night clothes and heading out.

Qin Sang killed Liu Ji's personal attendant with a single palm strike, handed a piece of paper to Water Monkey, and said sternly, "Liu Ji has betrayed us, secretly aligning with the false emperor and attempting to sell us out. I have already killed him. His subordinates are not trustworthy. These are their hiding places. Leave no one alive, and dispose of the bodies cleanly. Meet me at the city gate after you're done."

Zheng Kun and Water Monkey did not say a word and immediately carried out the order.

Qin Sang activated the "Invisible Step" technique and silently approached the county government office.

The county magistrate Li Ji lived in the county government office, and the residence of the brute monk Chu Dazhuang was not far from it. Qin Sang's first target was the brute monk.

The security around the county government office was much tighter than in other areas, but these guards and officials could only prevent ordinary people from entering; they could not detect Qin Sang's presence.

In the large compound, only the brute monk and a few servants lived. Qin Sang easily found the brute monk's quarters. The brute monk's martial arts were not weak, so Qin Sang did not want to take any risks and stopped outside the room.

Just as he was about to release the soul extractor, a long, piercing cry suddenly came from inside the room.

"Who dares to intrude!"

The cry was like a bolt of lightning, making Qin Sang's head buzz. He felt dizzy and disoriented, quickly biting his tongue to regain consciousness. A sense of danger arose in his heart, and he quickly retreated.

In the next moment, Qin Sang felt an overwhelmingly fierce aura surge from the room.

*Boom!*

A fiery red fist shadow shattered the wall, enveloped in scorching and violent energy, rushing straight towards Qin Sang's hiding place. The stone-paved ground was instantly blasted into a deep pit.

Debris flew everywhere, and withered leaves drifted.

True Qi released!

Qin Sang's face changed slightly. Had the brute monk already broken through to the innate realm?

No, there were two people in the room!

An old monk walked out of the broken wall, followed by a tall, muscular fat monk, who was the brute monk Chu Dazhuang.

Qin Sang did not recognize the old monk, but the old monk looked like an ordinary elderly man, with a face full of wrinkles and a withered appearance. However, when Qin Sang faced him, he felt an imminent sense of danger, his hair standing on end.

This withered body contained astonishing power.

Qin Sang had never met anyone who gave him this feeling; even Elder Yue and Bai Jianglan were not as formidable as this old monk.

The brute monk glared at Qin Sang and said coldly, "Master, this person might be a traitor's henchman!"

The brute monk's master, the head of the Luohan Hall of Xuanji Temple, Venerable Yuanjue!

A flash of realization struck Qin Sang. He realized he had kicked a steel plate. Venerable Yuanjue was the top expert of Xuanji Temple, and some speculated that he had already reached the innate realm. Now it seemed this was indeed the case.