The Dawn’s Gate Sect was neither big nor small in the Central Plains martial arts circle. The leader, Zhao Xiang, was well-known for having a loud voice, and could talk to everyone he saw like a brother, as if he had a friendship with everyone in the world. It was not surprising that such a person would be targeted by the Baifu Sect.

“Uncle Zhao.” Chang Xiaoqiu knocked on the door and asked politely, “May I come in?”

Zhao Xiang opened the door. At this time, there were no guests in the room, and there were only two hot cups of tea on the table. He asked: “What is it?”

“Just now, someone rushed to knock on my door, and then left in a hurry,” Chang Xiaoqiu said. “I was worried that something had happened, so I came over to check.”

“It’s alright, come in.” Zhao Xiang had no doubts about this explanation. He knew that with Chang Xiaoqiu’s martial arts, it was absolutely impossible for him to slip out of his window and return to the next room in such a short period of time, so he only judged the abnormal noise as some kind of animal.

The room door was closed.

In another room, Liu Xian’an asked: “Does the prince think that Chang Xiaoqiu can convince the other party?”

Liang Shu said: “It should be fine. It’s only a meal, and Chang Xiaoqiu can be regarded as a member of the Baifu Sect at present. If Zhao Xiang still wants to ask for money from Chang Wanli, it won’t be too unsightly on the surface.”

The two waited for a short period of time before Chang Xiaoqiu returned. Sure enough, Zhao Xiang did not refuse his request, but only said that he must obey the rules during the banquet and not talk or wander around.

His face was flushed, as if something major had been accomplished. He stood upright as if waiting for His Royal Highness Xiao Wang to assign him a new task, and actively asked: “Is there anything I should say at the banquet?”

“No need, so as not to alert the enemy,” Liang Shu said. “This lord will go with you.”

Chang Xiaoqiu became increasingly excited, so much so that Liu Xian’an wanted to give him two needles, so that the young man would not pass out due to excessive emotion. But Chang Xiaoqiu was not willing to have his attention diverted, and just continued to gaze at Liang Shu with blazing zeal. If not for the wrong timing and half-dead father back home wanting to cultivate to immortality, he wanted to talk endlessly about his grand dreams and immediately ride a fast horse to the Northwest and become a long sword piercing the clouds to guard the country’s border.

He was excited to this extent into the evening.

Liu Xian’an did not go along, but waited for the two of them at the inn. After a while, a guard of Xiao Wang Palace reported that a carriage had picked up Zhao Xiang and Chang Xiaoqiu and brought them to Yang Manor in the north of the city.

“Yang Manor?”

“Yes. After making some inquiries, we found that the owner of the manor is named Yang Yao, a well known jade merchant in the city. He goes to Cuili City to sell goods now and then, and his business is very big. Aside from Zhao Xiang, the guests attending the banquet tonight all drove carriages out from various inns, and the rough estimate is that there are about twenty to thirty people.”

Twenty or thirty people could already be regarded as a large banquet.

At this time, Yang Manor was already decorated with lamps and festoons, and there were many guests.

Chang Xiaoqiu followed Zhao Xiang inside. The banquet was not in the front hall, but down one corridor and then another, and then they entered a dark, empty room with no windows at all. The two came late, and when they were seated, there were already more than a dozen people at the banquet. However, they didn’t converse with one another, and only sat quietly, looking at people from the corners of their eyes and sizing them up.

Chang Xiaoqiu gazed around for a moment, and then quickly looked away. This room was tightly guarded, and he didn’t know if the prince could follow him in, but even if he couldn’t follow, this did not affect his brave and invincible image of His Royal Highness Xiao Wang. Chang Xiaoqiu sat with his back straight, with a sense of having a mission to accomplish, because if the prince didn’t follow him in, then the rest was up to him!

“Cough.” Someone coughed from the next chair, and the group immediately became quieter. At this time, an old man wearing brocade robes walked out slowly. It was Yang Yao, the owner of Yang Manor. It stood to reason that he was just a merchant, a lord who had no status no matter how rich he was. Presently, he looked as dignified as an emperor, and everyone had to stand up and salute him.

“Greeting Holy Envoy Yang!”

“Dispense with the courtesies, everyone, sit down.” Yang Yao raised his hand. “Since you were invited to come here, you must have contributed to the growth of my teachings. You are one of us, and you need not be restrained.”

Chang Xiaoqiu sat back down on his chair. The dishes were all well-prepared, with a rich and fragrant aroma, but few people ate and no one spoke. He thought to himself, what are you all doing here? Sitting here hurts my ass. “Holy Envoy Yang” at the head seat began to speak again, talking about the teachings of the Baifu Sect in a vain and boring way. After talking nonsense for a long time about sisters and brothers loving one another, he finally got to the point and asked everyone at the banquet to remove their disguises and show their true selves to the others.

As soon as these words were uttered, the scene immediately became a little more uneasy and oppressive. As Liu Xian’an had guessed before, since they chose to cover their faces, it meant that each was a person of status in the Central Plains. The Baifu Sect was presently classified as a cult by the Imperial court. If others knew who they were…..they were a little hesitant, and nobody wanted to go first.

 But Chang Xiaoqiu was very straightforward. He had long wanted to see what kinds of fools believed in that greedy and twisted holy lady. So he slapped the table and stood up, tore the mask from his face, and raised his arms with a shout of, “Baifu Buddha Mother, save the common people!” He was proactive and pious. Zhao Xiang couldn’t even stop him if he tried, and sat aside to stare angrily.

Yang Yao laughed and applauded: “Good, good, little brother, that’s very good! What is your name, which sect do you come from?”

“I am the young head of the Wanli Escort Bureau, Chang Xiaoqiu!”

“It turns out to be the young head of an escort bureau. Heroes truly do come from the youth, how refreshing!” Yang Yao glanced around the table. “What about the rest of you?”

“…….”

There was no way to hide. After a dead silence, a second person removed his mask. 

Then a third.

Then a fourth.

More and more faces appeared, and Chang Xiaoqiu looked at them one by one, inwardly surprised. He had originally thought that his father had been stimulated, and the Baifu Sect took advantage of that, but among the group of people attending the banquet tonight, there were many leaders of great sects. How had even these people lost their minds? They had entered the water and were willing to be commanded and controlled by this old man surnamed Yang. If he said to take off the mask, they would take off the mask……when it came to controlling people’s hearts, cults really had skill.

“Good, hahahaha!” Yang Yao laughed again. “After seeing one another’s true faces, you will truly be regarded as my Baifu disciples in the future! Come!”

As soon as he clapped his hands, one of his subordinates immediately brought a large jug of wine. After opening it, Yang Yao didn’t pour it for everyone, but took a dagger and cut his finger, sprinkling blood into the wine. “Now it is your turn.”

Starting from the first chair, the disciples held the wine and cut their hands to bleed. Chang Xiaoqiu did as commanded, with an ominous premonition in his heart. This stuff couldn’t be for drinking……right?

It really was for drinking.

After everyone had mixed in their blood, the light red wine was poured into each of their cups. The candlelight danced, making the shadows on the walls look like some kind of hideous beasts.

Chang Xiaoqiu picked up the wine cup. It was like holding a cup of thick syrup scooped up from hell, overwhelming his stomach, and he really wanted to run away on the spot.

His hands trembled slightly, and his fingers were pale.

“Baifu Buddha Mother, save the common people!”

His ears were full of people’s shouts.

. . . . . . 

The night was already very deep.

The brazier in the room was a bit hot, but Liu Xian’an didn’t feel sleepy, so he went out to get some fresh air. The entire back courtyard was surrounded by people from Xiao Wang Palace, so it was extremely quiet. He had just found a chair to sit in when two people suddenly dropped down from the wall. When one of them landed, he staggered to the corner of the wall and vomited desperately. Inside the room, A-Ning was shocked and ran out to see what had happened.

Liu Xian’an asked: “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing happened, he just ate something unclean.” Liang Shu said, “Go and pour him something to wash his mouth.”

A-Ning made a sound of acknowledgement and hurriedly helped Chang Xiaoqiu to the room. Liu Xian’an asked further: “What did he eat? It looks as if there were poisonous insects at that banquet.”

“I’m afraid it wasn’t as good as poisonous insects.” Liang Shu gave him a rough summary of what had happened that night. “He just gritted his teeth and drank it, without letting the others see any abnormalities.”

“Who were the people at the banquet?”

“All of them were from the jianghu, similar to Zhao Xiang, and many were of higher status than him.”

Liang Shu said: “Before, you and I were still guessing why the Baifu Sect chose a lonely and dangerous peak as the location to worship the saint, but now we have our answer. It turns out that it is not just a test for believers. They bothered to win over such a large number of martial arts practitioners, and it is clear that their next step is to make trouble for the Imperial court.”

Once there was chaos in the Central Plains jianghu, it would obviously be more serious than chaos in a town or city. Liu Xian’an asked: “Then what is the prince’s next plan?”

Liang Shu said: “We’ll go and meet that holy Baifu maiden who confuses people’s hearts first.”

Liu Xian’an reminded: “But this time, if the prince still wants to follow in secret, I’m afraid it will be tricky.”

He tugged Liang Shu by the sleeve into the room, where there was a map spread out on the table. “Just now, I was studying the terrain of White Crown. It is a lone peak, like a writing brush stuck into the flat ground. There are only two climbing paths, and if the Baifu Sect people have the slightest bit of brains, they will have them guarded. The prince can only go up the mountain from here.”

Liang Shu asked: “Here won’t work?”

“It might, but it will be dangerous.” Liu Xian’an frowned. “The poisonous miasma and forest of thorns at the top of White Crown are all located at this area, and even animals find it extremely difficult to climb.”

Liang Shu pondered for a moment: “Actually, it may not be necessary to go up this way.”

Liu Xian’an looked at the map again: “But there is no other way.”

Liang Shu moved his face closer: “Give me a kiss, and afterward I’ll tell you where the path is.”

Second Young Master Liu was very unrestrained in this respect, because he himself wanted to kiss him very much and it could not be considered a disadvantage. Thus, he simply kissed him twice and asked: “Where is the path?”

Liang Shu, however, was tickled by this sensation of a dragonfly touching the water lightly, and grabbed this person to have him sit on his lap, needing to hold him before he could say anything. Liu Xian’an couldn’t sit still for a moment, and wrapped one arm around his shoulders and braced one hand against the table. He looked up just in time to see Chang Xiaoqiu come in, and asked him: “Young Head Escort Chang, are you feeling better?”

Chang Xiaoqiu had just been through a round of vomiting, and was very weak. His mind was not clear, and he just let out a flimsy “En” and moved a chair over to sit down, looking at the two cordially.

He didn’t see anything improper about the ambiguous sitting postures of His Royal Highness Xiao Wang and the miracle doctor.

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Chapter Seventy-Six << Table of Contents >> Chapter Seventy-Eight