White-Robed Chief

A person suddenly appeared before them while the two of them were still speaking. Chu Li stood in front of the women and greeted them with a grin before he joined them at the table.

The two women were dressed in spotless white tunics, and as his eyes swept over them, their gorgeous faces seemed to give off a warm glow under the bright lighting so they looked like two white jade statues. One of them was staring at him with a calm and cool gaze while the other had a deep and thoughtful gaze.

“Indeed, bad guys live long,” Xiao Shi said and pursed her lips into a smile. “You’re always up to no good, so you won’t die that easily.”

Chu Li shook his head as he burst out laughing.

Xiao Qi said, “The Emperor has ordered a worldwide manhunt and offered a handsome reward. Did you disguise yourself as Du Feng?”

Chu Li nodded.

Xiao Shi looked puzzled as she asked, “Why must you disguise yourself as Du Feng? Wouldn’t it have been easier to cover your face? You could have just used a stranger’s face too.”

“I did it to make things more interesting,” Chu Li replied.

Xiao Qi frowned and glared at him in disapproval. “What about Snow Lunar Pavilion? If the Emperor lashes out at Snow Lunar Pavilion, the entire faction will get wiped out!”

Chu Li laughed and replied, “Don’t worry. The situation won’t become that serious. I’ve revealed my identity as a disciple of Heavenly Demonic Sect. The Emperor knows that very well in his heart since he has chased me all the way there and got driven off by Heavenly Demonic Sect.”

“What if he still decides to take his anger out on them?” Xiao Qi huffed.

Xiao Shi asked, “What are you up to now?”

Chu Li smiled but did not reply.

Xiao Qi took a deep breath. The way her chest rose and fell dramatically attracted Chu Li’s gaze.

Xiao Shi chuckled lightly. “Are you two husband and wife going to have a falling-out over this?”

Chu Li shook his head in resignation as he had not planned on saying anything more at first. However, since they insisted on knowing, he decided to just be frank with them. In any case, he knew that he would have to tell them sooner or later. So he said, “Don’t worry. No matter how angry the Emperor gets, he won’t take his anger out on Snow Lunar Pavilion right now. I’ve already shifted his attention to Heavenly Demonic Sect, so it’s unlikely that he would lash out at them.”

“That’s not the only reason though, right?” Xiao Qi huffed.

Chu Li asked, “Do you know Senior Shen is in love with someone?”

Xiao Qi frowned at him before she slowly nodded.

Shen Yinghu was both Xiao Qi’s master and aunt, and she had always seemed rather depressed and moody. Clearly, someone had broken her heart.

Xiao Qi did not know who exactly Shen Yinghu was in love with since no one from Snow Lunar Pavilion had ever mentioned who this person was. None of them dared to mention anything about this person because it seemed like they were afraid of making Shen Yinghu sad. Nonetheless, they had been acting rather strange about it too.

Xiao Qi had always been more focused on cultivating the Regal Sword Scripture, so she had never paid much attention to this matter. She also did not dare to ask Shen Yinghu about it in case her aunt became even more depressed.

Xiao Shi asked, “Chu Li, do you know who it is?”

“I can guess who it is, and I’m pretty sure I have the right answer,” Chu Li replied.

Xiao Shi was astounded. “Don’t tell me it’s the Emperor?”

Xiao Qi frowned and shook her head. “It can’t be.”

Chu Li chuckled and asked, “Why not? The Emperor must have been a good-looking and charming man when he was young. His martial arts skills were also quite strong when he explored the martial arts world. It shouldn’t be surprising if Senior Shen fell for him, right?”

Shen Yinghu once mentioned that the person she was in love with was dead, and Chu Li had initially believed it to be true. Later on, he finally found out the truth after seeing her a few more times.

Women were the best liars and were even capable of deceiving themselves sometimes.

“How is that possible?” Xiao Qi shook her head.

Xiao Shi replied, “Younger Sister, it’s not exactly impossible.”

Chu Li grinned from ear to ear as he said, “We shouldn’t gossip too much about our seniors’ personal affairs.”

Xiao Qi frowned at him. She then exhaled sharply as she asked, “Are you sure?”

Chu Li nodded while smiling.

Xiao Shi chuckled. “Well, that’s interesting. No wonder she often stares blankly in the Imperial House’s direction.”

“… Bring along Senior Shen the next time you enter the palace. You’ll be able to see for yourself whether or not it’s true,” Chu Li replied with a chuckle

“Don’t fool around!” Xiao Qi said anxiously.

No one else knew about this. Given her aunt’s temperament, it would be hard to tell what Shen Yinghu might do if they stirred up any trouble.

“Chu Li, you’re way too mischievous!” Xiao Shi wagged her finger at him.

Chu Li said, “However, this matter isn’t over yet. We need to rush back to Fairy’s Capital as soon as possible. Someone has to stabilize the situation at King An’s Imperial Residence right now… My Lady, you should go back as soon as you can.”

“Sure.” As Xiao Shi stretched her body, her graceful curves were prominent and visible. Then, she smiled brightly and said, “Now that King An is gone, it feels like King An’s Imperial Residence has become my own home. Everything feels different now!”

Chu Li said, “That place will become your home from now on, my Lady.”

“Sigh… But it seems kind of dull, given that he’s dead,” Xiao Shi muttered while she shook her head. “We could’ve slowly tortured him to death instead.”

Chu Li shook his head. “The longer we delayed his death, the more problems might arise.”

“Alright then. I’ll begin my journey tomorrow. Both of you should go back as soon as possible too,” Xiao Shi said.

Chu Li nodded.

Xiao Shi glanced at the couple with a faint smile before she shook her head as she left gracefully.

Under Xiao Shi’s gaze, Xiao Qi’s face turned slightly red.

Chu Li chuckled and wrapped an arm around her slender waist before they vanished instantly, bringing her back to her bedchamber.

…

Chu Li and Xiao Qi traveled on horseback and took the main road as they began their journey. They had ridden over thirty miles at a stretch after leaving Adjacent Town.

That evening, they made their way into a big city.

The city was bustling and lively as it was crowded with people and horses as well as carriages.

The two of them led their horses to an inn before they went to a restaurant. They found themselves a table by a window, so they could observe the scenery outside the window and enjoy the noise and excitement of the city.

By then, the evening lights had been lit. Chu Li and Xiao Qi were seated on the third floor of the restaurant and they saw many other customers who were on the same floor as them having a good time.

After Chu Li took a small sip of wine, he sighed pleasantly.

At that moment, he was supposed to be someone who had been crippled of his martial arts. He had completely concealed his Heavenly Demonic Power using the Life and Death Scripture, so it seemed as though he no longer possessed the Heavenly Demonic Power. There was no trace of Heavenly Demonic Power energy detected in his body. Thus, Chu Li looked like an ordinary person.

“Sigh… This is too infuriating!” Someone put down their cup and sighed loudly. “Don’t you agree? We have Du Feng of the South and Chu Li of the North, but it is said that Chu Li has been forced by the Emperor to cripple his martial arts and guard the Imperial Mausoleum while Du Feng has killed a Prince and is being hunted down by the Emperor. Our top figures from the younger generation of the Ji Dynasty’s martial artists have all been destroyed!”

“Keep your voice down!”

“Like hell. This is serious business. Why can’t I talk about it?”

“Don’t get yourself into trouble. Look at the situation right now. If you defend Du Feng, you’re going to get into trouble and be accused of colluding with the enemy!”

“Was I wrong though? Nonetheless, Chu Li is lucky to have been able to marry a beautiful woman despite having been crippled of his martial arts. This is the third lady of the Yi Public House we’re talking about. I heard that she is a rare beauty who looks as lovely as a fairy!”

“Are you jealous?”

“How can any man not feel jealous? She has never left him even though his martial arts have been crippled. One can hardly find another woman like her in the world. If I can find a woman as kind and beautiful as her, I’ll die without any regrets!”

“We’re all envious of him. Chu Li is indeed quite lucky.”

“Compared to him, Du Feng is far from being lucky. However, I really admire him for his courage. He even has the nerve to kill a Prince. I heard King An had quite a good reputation though.”

“There’s no right and wrong when it comes to personal grudges.”

“Well, the Emperor is pretty extreme with his response too. His son has been killed, and he is conducting a worldwide manhunt to catch the killer. This is too humiliating. It seems like the Imperial Household is getting worse with each generation!”

“Shut up!” an angry voice shouted.

Two black-robed men slammed their hands on their table and stood up.

The person who had been talking loudly earlier was a tall and burly young man with a round face. His big eyes and bushy eyebrows made him seemed like a rough-mannered person. When he saw how rude those two black-robed men were, he rolled his eyes. “Who do you think you are? What are you trying to do here?”

“We’re the secret guardians from the Secret Guardians Hall!” the two black-robed men replied grimly. “We suspect that you’re colluding with Du Feng!”

“Humph, I don’t even know Du Feng personally. Can’t I even express my own opinion on the matter?”

“We’ll know for sure whether or not you know Du Feng personally after interrogating you. Let’s go!” The two black-robed men asked coldly, “We don’t have to do this by force, do we?”

“I refuse to go with you!” the tall and burly young man yelled. “You people of the Secret Guardians Hall are being too unreasonable!”

“If you don’t come with us, we won’t be as polite when we take you away by force!” The two black-robed men gave off a faint killing intent as they pressed their hands on the hilts of their swords and took a step forward while they narrowed their eyes.