Chapter 455 - 398: The Curtain Falls

Chapter 455: Chapter 398: The Curtain Falls

But when Jiang Nanyue heard the Silk Lady’s piercing command, she didn’t strike. Instead, she held Chen Shouyue tight, tapped her feet, and shot backward, moving far out of the Silk Lady’s potential attack range.

"Jiang Nanyue, are you betraying the Holy Sect?!"

The Silk Lady witnessed this, a mixture of shock and rage flooding her.

She couldn’t believe it. ’How dare Jiang Nanyue defy my command?! To stab me in the back at such a critical moment!’

A sense of despair—mixed with absurdity, rage, and a bone-chilling cold—instantly seized her heart.

And in that instant.

"Break!"

The Qiankun Ruyi Staff in Chen Li’s hand erupted with black light as its power poured forth.

Wherever it passed, the seemingly indestructible and impenetrable silver threads snapped and shattered.

The lengths of White Silk shooting toward him were swept by the staff and shattered inch by inch.

"No...!"

The Silk Lady shrieked and retreated hastily, recalling the broken threads to form layers of defense in front of her.

Chen Li’s figure passed through the rain of shattered threads and appeared before her.

It was the same brutally simple strike, crashing down from above.

PFFT!

The flimsy wall of silk was pierced.

Like a kite with a snapped string, the Silk Lady was sent flying high into the air, tracing an arc before crashing heavily to the ground several dozen yards away.

"Cough, cough..."

She struggled to get up, only to cough up several mouthfuls of blood.

Her gown was torn and her hair disheveled. She was a wretched sight.

Her physical body had been severely injured. While not completely crippled like the Dust-Cleaning Slave, she had lost most of her combat strength.

"I... I’ll fight you to the death!"

The Silk Lady had gone completely mad.

"If I’m going to die, I’m taking someone with me!"

With a piercing shriek, her Primordial Spirit struggled free. She abandoned her grievously wounded body without hesitation, transforming into a streak of light and charging recklessly toward Jiang Nanyue and Chen Shouyue in the distance.

She knew she was no match for Chen Li, so she unleashed all her final despair and resentment upon his daughter.

As long as she could reach them before Chen Li stopped her, even a simple Primordial Spirit collision would be enough to obliterate the unconscious Chen Shouyue’s soul.

However, she was fast, but someone else was faster... and far more unexpected.

The instant the Silk Lady’s Primordial Spirit left her body, Jiang Nanyue held Chen Shouyue tight and shot toward Chen Li.

"Jiang Nanyue! What in the world are you doing?!"

The Silk Lady’s Primordial Spirit was frantic, a mixture of shock and rage.

She couldn’t comprehend Jiang Nanyue’s actions at all.

’If she won’t help me now, does she really think this man will spare her after he’s finished me off?!’

’No! Wait! Could it be... she already betrayed the Holy Sect and sided with that man?’

But she had no time to ponder her questions.

A finger had already, silently, tapped her Primordial Spirit.

Silent Extinction Finger.

Her Primordial Spirit fluctuated violently, twisting and dimming before being sealed by golden runes. Finally, it was reduced to a faint speck of golden light that sank back into her distant body.

The light in the eyes of her body, which had not yet lost consciousness, was now completely extinguished.

Everything returned to silence.

Chen Li put away his Qiankun Ruyi Staff, and the terrifying pressure dissipated along with it.

He turned, his gaze falling on Jiang Nanyue, who had brought Chen Shouyue to his side.

Chen Li’s gaze was calm, but Jiang Nanyue felt as if she could barely breathe. She hurriedly bowed and said, "Your servant greets you, Master."

Chen Li glanced at his unconscious daughter, and the coldness in his eyes lessened slightly. "Why didn’t you send a message?"

Jiang Nanyue explained, "Master, it was not for lack of trying. Everything happened too suddenly. Both the Silk Lady and the Dust-Cleaning Slave are Grandmaster Guiyuans. From the moment they arrived, your servant’s every move was under their watch. I couldn’t find a single opportunity to send a message. Your servant... was frantic, but I was helpless. I beg for your understanding, Master, and ask you to forgive my negligence."

Chen Li listened quietly, enveloping her with his Power of the Primordial Spirit to judge the truth of her words.

After a long moment, Chen Li finally spoke five simple words.

"Don’t let it happen again."

Jiang Nanyue felt as if she’d been granted a royal pardon. "Thank you for your mercy, Master! Your servant will remember!"

Chen Li stepped forward and took the unconscious Chen Shouyue from Jiang Nanyue’s arms.

He placed two fingers gently on his daughter’s wrist, channeling Primordial Qi into her body to carefully inspect her condition.

Jiang Nanyue added in a low voice, "Rest assured, Master. Although the Third Young Miss is unconscious, her life is not in danger, and she hasn’t been poisoned. I took the opportunity to swap the poison. What she took was just an ordinary Elixir.

"However, when she was abducted, the Dust-Cleaning Slave did shatter several of her meridians. Her Divine Sense was also damaged. She will need to be carefully nursed back to health to recover."

Chen Li remained silent, circulating his Primordial Qi through his daughter’s body for several Cycles to assess all her injuries.

It was just as Jiang Nanyue had said: several of her meridians were ruptured, but there were no signs of poison.

He felt a measure of relief. He drew a wisp of Primordial Qi—cultivated from the Five Grains Spirit Nurturing Technique—from the Tuo Dragon Pearl and channeled it into his daughter’s heart meridian to protect her life force.

"These two," Chen Li began, "what are their positions in the Xiang Sect? And why did they come to Jiangzhou?"

Jiang Nanyue answered respectfully, "Master, the woman in the gown is called the Silk Lady. She is ranked fifth among the Twelve Celestial Fragrances and was once the top Courtesan in Kyoto. She oversees the selection, training, and discipline of all female members of the sect.

"The eunuch is known as the Dust-Cleaning Slave, ranked seventh among the Twelve Celestial Fragrances. He is mainly in charge of the sect’s businesses, such as its brothels, gambling dens, and brokerages, managing the stewards, guards, and enforcers.

"They came to Jiangzhou together under the Sect Leader’s urgent orders to procure at least 100,000 bolts of high-quality silk. As for its specific purpose, your servant’s status is too low to know."

"One hundred thousand bolts of silk... quite an appetite."

Chen Li raised an eyebrow. "Why come after my Chen Family?"

Jiang Nanyue gave a wry smile and explained, "You may not be aware, Master. There is almost no silk left in circulation on the Jiangzhou market. Throughout all of Jiangzhou, only the Silk Shops under your family’s name still have some stock for sale.

"Furthermore, the Chen Family has not submitted its tribute quota to the Textile Bureau. While this isn’t common knowledge, it’s not difficult for an interested party to discover. Given the urgency of their mission, the Xiang Sect naturally set their sights on the Chen Family."

’So that’s how it is.’

Chen Li nodded. This had been a ploy he’d set in motion, but he hadn’t expected the Xiang Sect to be the first to lose their patience.

He snorted coldly and said no more.

Reading his expression, Jiang Nanyue lowered her voice and asked, "Master, should your servant dispose of these two...?"

Chen Li glanced at her and shook his head. "I still have a use for them."

Jiang Nanyue asked no more questions and simply replied obediently, "Yes, your servant understands."

She paused, as if remembering something, and her expression turned serious. She lowered her voice. "Master, there is one more thing to report. The Duke of England, Xu State Governor, and the old Patriarch of the Cao Family, Junior Minister Cao, will be heading to Jiangzhou soon. I expect them to arrive within the next few days."

Chen Li’s brow furrowed.

He already knew from Gao Changhe that the Duke of England and the Xu State Governor were coming together, and he had a plan for that.

But the man from the Cao Family was coming as well?

That was unexpected.

Gao Changhe’s report hadn’t mentioned him.

Chen Li frowned. "Why is he coming?"

Jiang Nanyue said, "Your servant doesn’t know the specific reason. However, according to the Cao Family’s eldest son, the Jiangzhou Textile Bureau could only muster 800,000 bolts of silk this year, leaving them 200,000 short... For all three to come at this time, it must be related to this matter."

"Silk again..."

A cold glint flashed in Chen Li’s eyes.

"I don’t know what’s been going on these past two years, but everyone is after silk. On the market, a single thread is hard to come by."

Jiang Nanyue sighed softly. "Even the girls at the Wangyou Inn have mostly switched to cotton dresses this year, cutting back on silk again and again. The establishment has closed down now. Master..."

She looked up at Chen Li pleadingly. "The silk on this ship... I wonder if you could spare some for your servant to handle this emergency? As for the price, I would never dare to let you take a loss."

"How much do you want?" Chen Li asked.

Jiang Nanyue hadn’t seemed to expect him to agree so readily. She hesitated for a moment before saying cautiously, "Five thousand bolts. To solve this pressing need, your servant would be eternally grateful."

Chen Li glanced at her and said calmly, "You can take all thirty thousand bolts on the ship back to Jiangzhou later."

He had made a great show of shipping this silk out with the help of the Escort Agency precisely to divert attention.

His daughter’s kidnapping had been a wake-up call.

The silk held by the Chen Family had likely already been targeted by various factions. Rather than passively waiting to deal with their schemes, it was better to proactively "lose" it and extinguish the ambitions of certain people.

"All of it?!"

Jiang Nanyue looked up, stunned, thinking she must have misheard.

Immense joy washed over her, and a radiant smile bloomed on her face as she hurriedly performed a deep curtsy. "Your servant thanks you for the reward, Master!"

"When did I say it was a reward?"

Chen Li glanced at her. "The money must be delivered in full. Not a single coin less. And you are not to sell it."

Jiang Nanyue nodded joyfully, a sweet smile on her face. "Of course. The fact that you’re willing to sell the silk to your servant is already a tremendous kindness. As for the silver coins, Nanyue wouldn’t dare be short a single coin. I will have it delivered to the residence as soon as possible..."

But before she could finish, Chen Li added, "In a few days, I’ll be sending another forty thousand bolts of silk. Rent a warehouse for it in advance."

"Master, what are you planning?"

Jiang Nanyue was shocked. ’Seventy thousand bolts of silk... that’s no small amount. Especially in the current market, its sudden appearance would immediately incite a scramble among the major factions.’

"You’ll know when the time comes."

Chen Li didn’t explain, simply telling Jiang Nanyue to take his daughter, Shouyue, to the inn first.

After Jiang Nanyue had left, Chen Li began to tie up the loose ends.

Chen Li walked over to the Dust-Cleaning Slave and the Silk Lady, striking several of their vital acupoints to completely seal their meridians.

Then, he picked them up, one in each hand, and tossed them into the back of his carriage, which was parked in the inn’s rear courtyard.

Afterward, he sat down cross-legged and closed his eyes.

His Primordial Spirit left his body, hovered beneath the night sky, and formed a Hand Seal.

A Dream of Millet Porridge!

The battle at the riverside dock had caused quite a commotion, and the nearby commoners and tugmen must have witnessed it.

Unlike martial artists, the Divine Sense of ordinary people is inherently weak.

This allowed Chen Li to cast this Skill over a large area.

A wave from his Divine Soul washed over the area. The eyes of the tugmen and workers near the dock—who had been scared out of their wits by the night’s events—as well as the boatmen on the Treasure Ship, gradually grew vacant and dazed before they all fell into a dream.

A few moments later, Chen Li’s Primordial Spirit returned to his body, and he slowly opened his eyes.

After briefly regulating his breathing, he rose and walked toward the inn.

He had Jiang Nanyue place his still-unconscious daughter on the soft cushions inside the carriage and cover her with a thin blanket.

"Hya."

The old horse gave a low whinny, and Chen Li drove the carriage away.

An hour later, the Treasure Ship on the Lishui River turned around and sailed toward Jiangzhou City, soon disappearing into the deep night and fog.