Chapter 472 - 454: A Great Catch?

Su Yu immediately activated his Celestial Thunder Step, his body blurring into an afterimage as he shot forward.

However, a graceful figure was even closer. She swept past like a soaring bird at an astonishing speed, arriving before Su Yu.

"SWISH! SWISH! SWISH!"

In an instant, the long saber in her hand flashed three times. The arcs of light swept through the air like a crisp breeze scattering autumn leaves, slicing the dozens of falling logs into several pieces.

"BANG!"

The woman spun in midair and lashed out with another kick, precisely sending the severed logs flying. With a great rumble, they crashed onto the distant riverbed.

At that moment, the dozen or so river workers below, who had been frozen in terror, snapped out of it and hurriedly kowtowed in gratitude.

"Thank you for saving our lives, My Lady!"

"Our lady is as kind as she is beautiful, a living saint..."

A glint flashed in Su Yu’s eyes. ’Liu Wu’s speed just now was astonishing,’ he thought. ’It could almost compare to my Celestial Thunder Step.’

’It’s not quite as fast, but it could definitely rival a weaker cultivator in the Profound Bone Realm!’

He flashed forward, appearing before the workers. His Divine Sense swept over the suspension bridge’s connection points. Finding no signs of man-made damage, he concluded it likely wasn’t the work of the Black Lotus Sect.

Nevertheless, he called out in a loud voice, "Cui Wanhe! Feng Ting! Take some men and inspect all the machinery, as well as the completed sections of the project. See if there are any other problems!"

"Yes, Sir!"

"As you command, Sir!"

Seeing Cui Wanhe and Feng Ting accept their orders and dispatch people to begin the inspection, Su Yu nodded and turned to Liu Wu, who was standing beside him.

"Commander Liu, thank you for your timely intervention just now."

Liu Wu smiled faintly, revealing two small, sharp canines. "You’re too kind, Commander Su. It was my duty. Besides, with the speed you showed, you would have arrived in time even if I hadn’t intervened."

Her gaze was intense as she looked at Su Yu, and a flicker of fighting spirit ignited in her eyes.

"Commander Su, I thought you were just an ordinary cultivator at the Tiger Tendon Realm, but I never expected you to possess such speed. It seems the rumors of you defeating Tiemu Chuan weren’t baseless after all. How about we have a little sparring match?"

Su Yu just smiled. He didn’t want to explain further, nor did he have any desire to actually spar with her. He made it a rule not to do things that offered no benefit and could easily offend someone.

"Commander Liu, I received some intelligence last night concerning the Black Lotus Sect. I need to find Commander Shi to discuss it."

"The Black Lotus Sect?"

Liu Wu’s expression instantly changed. "In that case," she said immediately, "let’s head into the Inner City at once!"

...

The two of them entered the Inner City and proceeded along the Celestial Mirror River.

Su Yu continuously swept his Divine Sense across the Celestial Mirror River. The canal was extremely wide, and its volume of water was staggering.

At that moment, a grand treasure ship, well over a hundred feet long, was sailing on the water’s surface, heading toward the Black Water River.

’If the Black Lotus Sect really were to sabotage the Celestial Mirror River,’ he mused, ’they would only need to breach the levees on both banks to cause immense destruction.’

’Guarding the entire length of the Celestial Mirror River would require a tremendous amount of manpower and resources.’

"We’re here. Let’s go in."

The two arrived at an office of the Water Management Bureau by the Celestial Mirror River. Shi Yueshan was an extremely meticulous man; ever since accepting this assignment, he had moved his base of operations to the bureau.

After entering, they found Shi Yueshan’s office.

He was intently studying a survey map of the river channel. When he saw the two of them enter together, his expression grew solemn. "Commander Su, Commander Liu, is there some urgent matter?"

Su Yu wasted no time. "Yes, it’s urgent," he said directly. "I need to inform you both. I received intelligence last night that the Black Lotus Sect is targeting the Celestial Mirror River!"

"What?!"

Shock flashed across Shi Yueshan’s dark-tanned face. He quickly stood, rolled up the survey map, and placed it in a holder on the side of his desk.

Then, he carefully wiped his desk with his sleeve before saying urgently, "Commander Su, please, tell me the details!"

Su Yu nodded and proceeded to explain in detail the Black Lotus Sect’s plot to sabotage the river dredging project, also including his own speculations on the matter.

"Commanders, while we can’t be certain if this intelligence is genuine, we cannot afford to be unprepared. This is especially true for the Hanging Mirror Gate. If it’s actually destroyed, the waters of the Celestial Mirror River will instantly surge into the Outer City’s waterways, causing a catastrophic flood!"

Liu Wu nodded, adding, "Regardless of whether Commander Su’s intelligence is true or false, we must take it seriously. For the next few days, I will lead my people to guard all the construction sites around the clock!"

Shi Yueshan nodded as well. "I will report this to Master Jin at once and ask for his instructions and arrangements!"

"Good. We will wait here for news."

After Shi Yueshan left, Liu Wu plopped down in his chair with a mischievous grin. With feigned carelessness, she deliberately messed up the impeccably arranged maps and documents on his desk.

Su Yu pretended not to notice, though he could already imagine Shi Yueshan’s mental breakdown upon his return.

"Commander Su, you’ve already broken through to the Jiao Tendon Realm, haven’t you?"

"I heard that Chen Ling girl gave you her bell. Is that true?"

Liu Wu was clearly the restless type, trying to strike up a conversation with Su Yu.

But Su Yu just sat calmly to the side, minding his own business as he poured and sipped his tea.

He had figured her out. This Liu Wu had a flighty, mischievous personality. The moment official business was concluded, she started looking for trouble.

Fortunately, she was also formidably powerful and reliable when it came to her duties.

"Hey, hey, Commander Su, you’re even more of a mute than Shi Yueshan. Going on a mission with you two is so dull."

"By the way, do you know what it means for Chen Ling to give you that bell?"

Liu Wu’s figure flashed, and she appeared before Su Yu in a gust of fragrant wind. Her eyes gleamed with a thirst for gossip. "Well? Do you know?" she said with a grin. "You’re from the Outer City, so you probably don’t understand the significance."

"Does the bell have some special meaning?"

Hearing this, Su Yu’s heart skipped a beat. ’Is this going to be some kind of trouble?’

’Li Jingxuan and the others never mentioned anything, so it probably isn’t anything dangerous.’

"Eh? You really don’t know?" The fire of gossip blazed in Liu Wu’s bright, limpid eyes. With a SWISH, her figure flashed to appear right in front of Su Yu.

She leaned in, peering into his eyes, a mischievous smile playing on her lips. "The man who holds that bell," she said, clearly enjoying the drama, "is a candidate to become the Chen Family’s prized son-in-law."

"Chen Ling is one of my best friends. I know her—she’s never given that bell to anyone before. You’re the first."

"Prized son-in-law?"

Su Yu’s heart sank. ’I’m in deep trouble!’

He quickly replayed every interaction he’d had with Chen Ling. A moment later, he couldn’t help but press a hand to his forehead and let out a wry laugh.

’I never should have snatched that bell from her.’

’But why didn’t she just say so? If she’d told me, I would have returned it to her long ago.’

The next moment, he reached into his robes, in truth retrieving the bell from his Sumeru Mustard Seed.

"JINGLE JINGLE JINGLE..."

Su Yu handed it to Liu Wu. "Commander Liu, since you and Chen Ling are such good friends, I’ll have to ask you for a favor. Please return this bell to her."

"Huh? Why are you reacting like this?"

A look of confusion appeared in Liu Wu’s eyes. "But that’s a chance to be the Chen Family’s prized son-in-law! Shouldn’t you be overjoyed?"

"Oh, maybe you don’t know about the Chen Family. In Black Stone City, they’re a powerful and prosperous family, second only to the three great clans. And they’re in the most profitable business there is: medicinal herbs."

"If you married Chen Ling, would you ever lack for Martial Arts Resources? You’d have a great chance of breaking through to the Divine Storage Realm!"

Su Yu simply shook his head. "You jest, Commander Liu. I already have a wife, and I have no desire to be some ’prized son-in-law.’"

Hearing this, Liu Wu grew even more curious. ’This Su Yu is really different,’ she thought. ’He’s nothing like the other young prodigies I’ve met in the Inner City.’

She couldn’t resist circling him, looking him up and down.

"Other than being a bit handsome, there’s nothing that special about you. You’re already at the Muscle Forging Realm; isn’t it perfectly normal to have three wives and four concubines?"

"Or is that just an excuse? You don’t actually care about the Chen Family at all?"