Chapter 2

Several black umbrellas carefully escorted the woman in the white dress for dozens of steps, and she boarded a waiting carriage.

The young man who came out of the collapsed oil shop had been staring at the woman in the white dress all along. Only after she lifted the curtain and sat inside did he exclaim, "So beautiful."

The black-clothed sword master, who had fallen to the ground not far in front of him, finally came to his senses. Thinking of the profound meaning contained in the three short words of the woman in the white dress, a great joy and a numbing shock filled his body.

"Beautiful?"

Then he began to savor the words of the young man behind him. The beauty of the Night Chief was beyond doubt, but for a national giant like her, a cultivator who could only be looked up to, describing her appearance as merely "beautiful" seemed almost a desecration.

The sound of hooves rose, and the carriage carrying the female chief of the Great Qin Dynasty instantly disappeared into the misty rain.

Most of the black-clothed sword masters also vanished quickly and silently from the streets, just as they had come.

The streets, which had been blurred by the rain, finally awoke completely. More and more people came out of their homes to see what had happened, but in a few breaths, the sound of countless metal weapons hitting the ground drowned out the rain and thunder.

In an instant, the surging chariots formed iron walls, blocking their view.

"Your name is Ding Ning, and you work at the Wutongluo Wine Shop? Why did you come here to buy oil?"

Under a makeshift rain shelter, a slightly bald, middle-aged, slightly plump official handed a dry cloth to the young man, who was almost drenched, and asked.

The official looked very kind, and because he had rushed, his forehead was even sweating, giving him a more ordinary appearance. However, most of the officials and soldiers around him deliberately kept a certain distance from him, because any discerning person in Changling knew he was Mo Qinggong.

One of the most experienced "hounds" of the Imperial Capital Supervision.

"Hound" was definitely not a term of praise, but it carried many meanings. Besides being fierce and having a keen sense of smell, it often meant having enough subordinates and a powerful patron. The best way to deal with such a difficult and untouchable "hound" was to keep a respectful distance.

Just as at this moment, he had just arrived, still out of breath, but he already had dozens of case files in his hand, one of which detailed the identity of the young man in front of him, who was somewhat suspicious.

The young man named Ding Ning did not realize the terrifying nature of the seemingly easy-going, slightly plump middle-aged official. While using the dry cloth given by Mo Qinggong to wipe the mud and water from his face, he curiously examined the tiger-head patterned chariots and the wolf-patterned sword handles of the green-armored swordsmen on the chariots. He did not answer Mo Qinggong's question immediately but instead asked, "Is this the tiger and wolf army of our Great Qin?"

Mo Qinggong wiped the sweat from his forehead and replied, "Exactly."

"Who exactly lived in that small courtyard?" After rubbing off the dust and mud from his face, Ding Ning, who looked even more refined and spirited, said seriously, "To go to such lengths?"

Mo Qinggong found Ding Ning increasingly interesting. The calm aura around him infected him, making him calmer, and his eyes gradually showed a hint of interest.

"Have you heard of the Sword Furnace?" He did not get angry but asked with a kind face.

"The Sword Furnace of the State of Zhao?" Ding Ning was somewhat lost in thought.

"Exactly." Mo Qinggong looked at him kindly and said patiently, "Since the start of the war between our Great Qin Dynasty and the State of Zhao, people have realized that the strongest cultivation place in Zhao is not the Qingyang Sword Tower, but that seemingly ordinary blacksmith shop. The eight true disciples of the Sword Furnace are all capable of slaughtering a city with a single sword. The State of Zhao has been destroyed by our dynasty for thirteen years, but the remnants of the Sword Furnace are still a thorn in our throat. If not removed, we cannot rest easy. The one executed today is the seventh disciple of the Sword Furnace, Zhao Zhan."

"No wonder..." Ding Ning looked through the gap in the chariot at the small courtyard that had been completely destroyed, where many cultivators were carefully searching every corner, and said thoughtfully.

Mo Qinggong smiled slightly, "Now do you understand why I asked you those trivial questions at the beginning?"

Ding Ning nodded seriously, "With such a major enemy hiding here, all nearby people must be thoroughly investigated, especially someone like me who does not usually live here."

Mo Qinggong nodded in approval, "Then you can answer my previous question now?"

Ding Ning smiled, "Actually, the oil shop on our side hasn't been doing business for the past two days, so I had to come here nearby. I didn't expect to be delayed by a heavy rain, and even less did I expect to encounter such an event."

Mo Qinggong was silent for a moment, then casually grabbed an umbrella from beside him and handed it to Ding Ning, "Since that's the case, you can leave now."

Ding Ning was somewhat surprised and asked with bright eyes, "That simple?"

"Do you not want to leave? Don't cause trouble for yourself!" Mo Qinggong scolded, half amused and half angry, waving his hand to signal the young man to leave quickly.

"Then your umbrella?"

"If I don't take it, it's yours."

...

Watching Ding Ning's back, Mo Qinggong's expression gradually turned cold. After a moment of contemplation, he called out to the rain shelter behind him, "Bring Qin Huaishu over!"

A thin, young man in a green robe soon entered the makeshift rain shelter.

Mo Qinggong looked up slightly, watching the young man who had walked to him. His fingers lightly tapped on the case file in front of him, tapping more than ten times before he asked slowly, "This young man named Ding Ning from Wutongluo, this file is yours, do you remember?"

The thin young man stood respectfully with his head lowered, not humbly or arrogantly, "Yes."

Mo Qinggong gave him a cold look and said sternly, "According to this file, his and his aunt's background can be said to be extremely clean, but the key is, why did you make such a file in the first place?"

The thin young man seemed to have anticipated this question and answered without hesitation, "This young man is undoubtedly a Qin person, and his ancestors' origins are very clear. The reason I made this investigation file is that the Fang Hou's residence had contact with him, and they specially invited Fang Xiumu to see him."

Mo Qinggong was taken aback, "The Fang Hou's residence?"

The thin young man nodded, "After his parents died of illness when he was young, he was taken care of by his aunt. His aunt runs a wine shop in Wutongluo, which, though small, is very famous. People from the Fang Hou's residence bought wine from this shop and, perhaps because they thought this boy had some potential, specially invited Fang Xiumu to see him."

Mo Qinggong frowned slightly, and his fingers unconsciously tapped on the file again.

"What happened later?" He pondered for a moment and asked.

The thin young man answered seriously, "After Fang Xiumu saw him, the Fang Hou's residence never had any further contact with him. I deduced that Fang Xiumu must have thought he was not suitable to become a cultivator. Moreover, this boy's background is low and his origins are beyond doubt, so I only made a file and stored it, without further investigation."

Mo Qinggong's eyes showed approval for the first time, "You did well."

The thin young man's expression did not change, and he said steadily, "I just did my duty."

Mo Qinggong thought for a moment and asked, "Can the wine from a small wine shop in a place like Wutongluo be good enough for the Fang Hou's residence?"

The thin young man shook his head, "The reason his aunt's wine shop is famous is because she is extremely beautiful."

Mo Qinggong was thoroughly surprised.

The thin young man did not raise his head, but a faint smile appeared at the corner of his mouth, thinking that if the adult had really seen that woman, he would be even more astonished.

Mo Qinggong smiled self-mockingly and then looked at the thin young man seriously, saying softly, "This time, when the Lingxu Sword Sect opens its gates, I have put you on the recommendation list."

"Adult!"

The thin young man, who had been maintaining a respectful and steady demeanor, trembled violently as if struck by lightning, and let out an involuntary exclamation.

Mo Qinggong's expression did not change much. He patted the young man's shoulder and said slowly, "Before you go to the Lingxu Sword Sect to cultivate, do me one last favor. Help me verify his and his surroundings' backgrounds again, and find out what Fang Xiumu's judgment on him was."

...

All the streets and alleys in Changling, as Zhao Zhan said, were straight and perpendicular, and even the corner towers were evenly distributed throughout the city.

At the corner tower closest to Mo Qinggong's rain shelter, behind the curtain of rain, there was a wisteria chair. An old man in plain, simple clothes sat on it, his sparse white hair hanging down like roots.

Behind the old man stood a tall, young man in a yellow robe.

The young man had a refined and gentle face, and his demeanor was calm and warm, the kind of person who easily wins people's favor at first sight. At this moment, his hands rested on the back of the wisteria chair, showing humility and approachability.

"What are you thinking about?"

The old man withdrew his gaze from the distance, smiled slightly, and asked proactively.

The young man in the yellow robe moved his feet lightly, walked to the old man's side, and said respectfully, "Master, since the Night Chief can kill Zhao Zhan alone, it means she has at least crossed the threshold of the middle level of the seventh realm. But I don't understand why, at this moment in Changling, apart from the Night Chief, there are still people who can kill Zhao Zhan alone, why did His Majesty insist on bringing the Night Chief back from her cultivation overseas?"

The old man smiled slightly, stretched out his withered fingers, and pointed to the rain curtain outside the corner tower, "What do you see?"

The young man in the yellow robe focused his gaze, but in the torrential rain, he only saw the straight streets. He answered apologetically, "Disciple is dull, please enlighten me, Master."

"You are looking too close. You only see these streets in front of you, but you don't see the boundaries of Changling." The old man narrowed his eyes and said slowly, "But you should know that this city is the only capital in the world without an outer wall. The reason we don't need a city wall is that every Qin person's sword is the wall."

The young man in the yellow robe's expression became more serious, and he remained silent.

"His Majesty, or Li Xiang, sees much further than you."

The old man looked at the young man in the yellow robe kindly but said somewhat mockingly, "Calling the Night Chief back has at least two purposes. One is that although there are many of our dynasty's strong people in Changling who can kill Zhao Zhan alone, the more who emerge, the more intimidating it is. Although the Night Chief already had a great reputation, most people doubted that she had even entered the seventh realm. Today, the Night Chief's one sword to kill Zhao Zhan will be the loudest thunder in the autumn, making our Changling's invisible wall thicker. The other purpose is that the Night Chief has been cultivating overseas for several years, and we naturally have some doubts, suspecting that the Night Chief is not trusted by His Majesty and is equivalent to being exiled. Now, the Night Chief's sudden return to eliminate evil can only mean that the connection between His Majesty and the Night Chief has always been very close, and rumors and doubts will be dispelled on their own."

"Li Xiang indeed sees much further than me." The young man in the yellow robe sighed lightly.

When he said "Li Xiang," his expression was both admiring and self-reproaching.

"Li Xiang" was a respectful title.

The Great Qin Dynasty had two prime ministers, one surnamed Yan and the other surnamed Li.

These two prime ministers were different in age, appearance, preferences, and strengths, but they were equally mysterious and powerful.

Their mystery and power lay in the fact that most of the city of Changling was under their shadow, and everyone acknowledged that they were powerful cultivators, but no one had seen them in action, and few people had the privilege to see their true faces.

True power... lies in the fact that many people who are already very strong and feared in this world are still their loyal subordinates.

The stronger a person is, the fewer friends they have.

So in Changling, whenever Yan Xiang or Li Xiang was mentioned, the corresponding emotions were often reverence, fear, and resentment, but rarely the genuine admiration in the eyes of the young man in the yellow robe.

"Master's insight is correct. His Majesty has been focusing on cultivation recently, and such matters should be handled by Li Xiang... But with the Lushan Alliance approaching, calling the Night Chief back at this time, he must have more thoughts." After a light sigh, the young man in the yellow robe thought for a moment and continued.

The old man smiled in satisfaction.

In his view, this youngest disciple was not particularly talented, but his character was as straightforward and open as the roads of Changling.

He had no innate hostility towards anyone and always learned from others' strengths.

Such a person, in the turbulent Great Qin Dynasty, would live long and go far.

It's not a problem if he can't see far enough for now. As long as he can go far enough, he will see more than others.

...

The rare heavy rain showed no sign of stopping, and a thin layer of water accumulated on the streets of Changling.

Ding Ning, whose face was now clean but whose clothes were still dirty, was walking through the streets lined with many wutong trees, one step deep and one step shallow.

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