Demon Sword Sect’s Undercover
Chapter 193 - 193 192 Linjing Assassination 5 Extra for 6000 votes

193: Chapter 192 Linjing Assassination 5 [Extra for 6000 votes] 193: Chapter 192 Linjing Assassination 5 [Extra for 6000 votes] Upon reaching the high platform, he produced ten Soul Beads, eliciting a burst of laughter from the audience below; the host had rather oversold them, as these were items commonly left behind by Soul Ghosts on the Jinxiu Continent, except they generally weren’t found with ordinary Soul Ghosts.

It required the elimination of a wandering or fierce ghost to yield such items.

But to bring out ten at once was already a lot, especially in Anhe Country, where gathering ten was no easy feat.

The host was shameless, utterly unfazed, a quality necessary for a successful businessman.

“Soul Beads, essential intermediaries for making Artifact Puppets, Wooden Puppets, and Magic Beasts!

When crafted with a Soul Bead infused, one can obtain basic control capabilities and rudimentary intelligence.

Additionally, they’re a rare and significant boost for cultivators practicing Soul Skills, especially if their Divine Soul is injured; it’s said they possess some healing effects.

Useful or not, it’s all in one’s perspective; what is poison to one, may be Immortal Wine to another.

A set of ten, not sold separately, starting price two hundred Spirit Stones!”

Below, there was dead silence.

To be frank, the starting bid of two hundred Spirit Stones was somewhat inflated.

Although these items were rare in shops due to their perishability, with prior reservation, one had the chance to obtain them; a maximum bid of a hundred Spirit Stones would be the limit, even at an auction, one shouldn’t be so exploitative.

“Pay attention!

Among the ten is a Ghostly Pearl, and I needn’t elaborate on what that signifies; two hundred Spirit Stones, does anyone have a bid?”

The host had overestimated his own appeal.

Perhaps it had been too long since he’d last taken charge, causing his control over the situation to lose the easy mastery of the past, and he felt somewhat frustrated.

He needed to find a way out of this predicament.

As he was fully concentrated on looking for an opportunity, a familiar call came from beside him,

“Gu Xiqiao?”

Reacting instinctively, Gu Xiqiao turned his head, just to see a flash of sword light descending from the sky!

“Ah, too late!”

It was too late for anything; he understood everything now.

It was a vengeance from Miao Gao Town, the unforgiving might of a Quanzhen Sword Cultivator!

Blood splashes three feet high, merchants beware when selling elixirs; where the sword falls, wandering souls depart, all in the name of justice.

“Quanzhen Sect’s Yu Zhengxing, punishing the leading villain for the false elixir scourge!”

With a flick of his wrist, dozens of treasures and several thousand Spirit Stones rained down on the audience, while he leapt up, swiftly crossing the hall with just the sound of muffled groans from guards, his figure already far away.

It was only now that the crowd below realized what had happened.

Their slow reaction couldn’t solely be blamed on them, as the whole incident had unfolded incredibly abruptly.

From the seller’s inquiry to drawing the sword and striking simultaneously, the message was clear; it wasn’t a matter of whether the victim was Gu Xiqiao or not, the first move was deadly courtesy.

Then came that somewhat equivocal claim from Quanzhen Sect’s Yu Zhengxing, which clarified the assailant’s affiliation.

This was no minor, dismissible force, but the chief of the Demon Sect in the Southwest, a source of countless evils!

Without some power and support, these lonely souls and loose cultivators wouldn’t dare to provoke a great Sect lightly.

Of course, lastly, there were the valuables fluttering down.

The auction was about to fall through, and one would have to reclaim their goods; one couldn’t lose both lady and troops, right?

All of this transpired concurrently, leaving very few who dared to give chase, and those were the businessmen.

They couldn’t all leave, as their presence was required to maintain order amidst the chaos.

“My Fire Stone!”

“Don’t you dare snatch the Spirit Stones!”

A complete mess!

By the time some semblance of control was regained, where was the culprit to be found?

Someone shouted, “Seal the courtyard, fetch the venerable elder!

Report to the Dao Mansion!”

People continued to shout, “Young Master Sanbiao has gone after him, has anyone seen him?”

…

In the dead of night, two silhouettes leaped from roof to roof, chasing each other through the darkness.

Before solving this issue, Hou Niao knew he could not run any further.

Beyond West City lay the territory of the Daoist Palace, thick with cultivators.

How many Upper Cultivators might there be, and whence could he flee?

In mid-leap, he suddenly turned back, his longsword slicing through the air like a whip, aiming directly at his pursuer’s head; the follower was laughably naive, wearing a hood as well, but his response was strong.

Surprisingly, it wasn’t a spell but a longsword just like his own,

Both plunged from the rooftops into the air, their longswords clashing thrice like lightning before they landed.

Hou Niao’s longsword had found its way to his opponent’s neck, and he growled lowly,

“Gu Weixin!

I was entrusted by Uncle Yu of Miao Gao to come and execute the treacherous merchant, Gu Xiqiao.

What about you?

Are you planning to abet the villain?”

Withdrawing his longsword, he turned and strode away, “Follow me again, and I shall surely kill you!

Return to Jin City to accept your punishment, unless you wish to forsake Quanzhen!”

The cultivator left behind stared numbly at his longsword, beads of blood dripping from his neck, murmuring to himself:

“Is the gap really that wide?

To be defeated in three moves?”

He tore off his hood, stomped his foot in frustration, and turned to leave; not back to the Gu household but heading straight out of the city.

He couldn’t stay here any longer; he must hurry back to Shan Country.

He was none other than Gu Weixin, an Anhe Country native who had crossed paths with Hou Niao during the entrance assessment, and a member of the Quanzhen Sect’s Anhe Compatriots.

This time, he had taken leave from the sect to visit relatives in Three Rivers Prefecture.

After staying in his hometown for a while, he received an invitation to Linjing City from none other than his treacherous merchant uncle, Gu Xiqiao.

He was oblivious to the specific reasons but noticed his uncle’s strange behavior, who often asked him peculiar questions, such as how the Quanzhen Sect punished those who committed crimes.

He hadn’t understood the meaning behind these questions until now.

Although he was still in the dark about the exact nature of his uncle’s crimes in Miao Gao, the fact that Yu Zhengxing would send someone to pursue and assassinate him meant the matter was certainly no trifle.

And as for the identity of this pursuer, he had guessed it as accurately as the man had called out his own whereabouts.

It was Hou Niao, the butcher of Suqiu, and since Yinling was just next to Miao Gao Town and he was also from Anhe, it made sense for Yu Zhengxing to send him.

He couldn’t return home and pretend nothing had happened.

The Dao Mansion of Linjing City wouldn’t let him off lightly either.

Even if they didn’t take drastic actions, a thorough investigation would be inevitable.

Should he respond or not?

Would the Quanzhen Sect take responsibility for him or not?

The troubles were numerous, leaving only the option of escape.

Such a relative, indeed beyond words; and this Hou Niao didn’t give an ounce of face, as if those standing before him were not humans but huge rats.

Gu Weixin left Linjing City with his mind in a fog, trying to figure out how to explain everything he did at the auction.

He was bewitched.

Why had he felt compelled to follow?

Knowing that a Quanzhen disciple was handling affairs, wouldn’t it have been better to pretend ignorance?

The incident had unfolded so suddenly that he had lost all sense of composure, marking a failed visit to his relatives.

Inside Linjing City, as he had imagined, chaos reigned; the death of a Bridge Connection cultivator wasn’t a big deal.

Although the Anhe Daoist tended to handle things calmly, conflicts were not unheard of.

However, if it involved the Quanzhen Sect enforcing its own laws, that was an entirely different matter.

It showed too much disrespect!

After much turmoil, the Dao Mansion of Linjing took control of the situation, with Daoists setting out in every direction.

The only way to save face was to capture the murderer and then negotiate with the Quanzhen Sect.

This was also the reason for Gu Weixin’s flight.

He knew well the nature of the Daoist Sects, who could easily twist truth into falsehood and innocence into guilt.

Alas.

…

The wind blew as a Taoist arrived in Linjing City.

Where shall I wander next, with my sword slicing through the autumn sky?