Chapter 1079 - 903: If Only the Senior Would Lend a Hand

The reasonableness of words is only one aspect; the important thing is whether there is a willingness to accept them.

Yu Xuanbing doesn't actually want to hear too much philosophy, he just wants Shi Chun to give a guarantee, and if Shi Chun gives it, that's enough.

The reason is simple. If you break your promise, I also have something in my hand that can bring you down.

Therefore, after receiving the guarantee, he didn't consider much else. After all, he had already used a Secret Technique to quietly inspect before coming here and could be said to have immediately decided: "Okay, arrange a suitable identity for my family of three to settle under your care."

Is it decided just like that? Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang exchanged glances again, surprised by how smoothly things went without any hurdles, which felt a bit unfamiliar, as both had grown accustomed to the hardships and twists of life.

However, Shi Chun did not rush to agree, nodding and saying: "This is easy, but as I've said before, only when Dingnan Prefecture is under my control can your safety be guaranteed. I need to know exactly what mysterious assassination activities the seniors are involved in, to avoid being killed without knowing how it happened."

Knowing that until he makes things clear, he won't feel at ease, Yu Xuanbing thought for a moment and calmly revealed: "Lei Ying from the Gong family connected with the 'Blood Shadow Pavilion' to hire an assassin, and the 'Blood Shadow Pavilion' sent a female assassin named 'Red Rouge' to assassinate you..."

"Red Rouge?" Wu Jinliang was shocked and said: "Isn't she that assassin in the Cultivation World who is known never to fail, the one who likes to draw a blood mark on the target's face after finishing?"

This assassin is quite famous, not only he, but Shi Chun also heard of her, just never expected to be connected with her, and be regarded so highly by someone, the commission must be pricey.

"She is said never to fail, but it seems she failed here with you." Yu Xuanbing stared at Shi Chun with a bit of scrutiny, "You are fine, but 'Red Rouge' disappeared without a trace, and 'Blood Shadow Pavilion' couldn't reach her, not knowing what's going on."

Shi Chun keenly caught the key point, "The senior knows about the internal situation of 'Blood Shadow Pavilion'? Is there a connection between the senior and 'Blood Shadow Pavilion'?"

Wu Jinliang also suddenly realized, this one is claimed to be the number one assassin, and 'Blood Shadow Pavilion' is an assassin organization, what could be the connection between the two?

Yu Xuanbing intentionally downplayed it, "Just happened to discover it."

Alright, since he didn't want to say more, Shi Chun, even knowing there's something more to it, didn't press him, instead, changed the subject, "I happen to be an official of the Heavenly Court, how did Lei Ying manage not to disguise their identity when hiring an assassin to kill me?"

This apparently hit a sore spot for Yu Xuanbing, who hesitated for quite a while before saying: "'Blood Shadow Pavilion' utilized the opportunity of employer contact to trace back the employer's identity. As you said, you are an official of the Heavenly Court, normally no one dares to act against you without authorization, if you are assassinated, the Heavenly Court wouldn't easily let it go without finding out the culprit, it would be easy to cause a big investigation, that's why killing you costs a lot, according to 'Blood Shadow Pavilion's' judgment, spending such a huge amount of money, doing such a major thing, it's unlikely that Lei Ying, as a servant, would act on personal grievances, it's very likely to be instructed by his master, Gong Shaoci."

Wu Jinliang showed suspicious eyes, "Chun Tian, going to such lengths to hire an assassin organization to kill you, is Gong Shaoci crazy? How did you provoke him to make him go to such lengths?"

Shi Chun was also puzzled, and said: "Even if there is some disagreement with him, it was just that failed deal twenty years ago, when we met before, we were still courteous, sat together eating and drinking, even if he didn't like me, it wouldn't come to sabotaging me behind my back... If it's the higher-ups of the Gong family, then there's even less reason, I haven't even seen them face to face, if they want to kill me, there are plenty of people willing to do it for them, no need to hire an assassin organization, if it was really Lei Ying, then it is indeed likely that Gong Shaoci is behind it, but why would he do such a thing?"

Again, he is now an official of the Heavenly Court, and not a low rank at that, how could Gong Shaoci not know the severe consequences if such an act were exposed?

To this, Yu Xuanbing offered no explanation, mainly because he couldn't figure it out either.

Leaving another unknown aside, Shi Chun asked again: "Senior, didn't you say you no longer wish to associate with us? Why go through the trouble of sending a message warning us?"

Yu Xuanbing thought again and explained: "Not just to you, I sent the same secret letter to the Four Great Royal Courts."

"..." Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang were both dumbfounded, completely unable to understand why he would do such a thing, if it weren't for the other's own words, no one would have guessed such a move.

So the two almost spoke in unison, "Why?"

Yu Xuanbing countered, "Your mount Shi Chun's ability to see the tan gold vein rumors are raging, what I heard is different from others, I first learned of the failed assassination, then the furor over the mount's ability to see the vein emerged."

Shi and Wu suddenly understood the implication, it looked like someone hired an assassin, failed, then took another step.

Anyone from Yu Xuanbing's perspective would probably think the same, yet Shi Chun still had his doubts, "But Gong Shaoci didn't know that my mount could see the tan gold vein…" saying this he suddenly thought of Miao Dingyi.

Miao Dingyi knew, and Miao Dingyi's daughter, Miao Yilan, had an engagement with Gong Shaoci, could it be that Miao Dingyi accidentally spilled the beans in front of his daughter, and Gong Shaoci learned of the rumors from Miao Yilan?

Thinking along these lines, it indeed found a logical consistency, but he still needed to confirm with Miao Dingyi, if it really was Gong Shaoci, he would like to see how Miao Dingyi would react knowing his future son-in-law caused such trouble.

To be honest, if Miao Dingyi chose to protect Gong Shaoci without dealing with him, he would have to part ways with Miao Dingyi.

No choice, if Gong Shaoci truly intended to kill him, he couldn't continue to just endure for Miao Dingyi's sake, not for Miao Dingyi, not even for the Empress, it's non-negotiable.

It's a matter of life and wealth, causing him to lose countless wealth, making him lose immense fortune, how could it be a small matter?

As they say, cutting a man's means of livelihood is akin to killing his parents, this enmity has already become irreconcilable, it's now a primary issue he needs to resolve, not just for revenge, but because having a constant threat to his life can't be left unchecked!

Shi Chun temporarily put aside these thoughts and continued to ask, "What do you mean by sending secret messages to both me and the Four Great Royal Courts?"

Yu Xuanbing said, "The original intent was to amplify the situation so that everyone would know someone fabricated rumors to harm you, hoping this would help alleviate your predicament in Yanfu Continent. Who would have thought that despite several hefty stones being thrown into the water, the Four Great Royal Courts remained completely unperturbed, their depths unfathomable? Moreover, it was unexpected that the rumors turned out to be true, that your mount could indeed detect the tan gold vein. In hindsight, the Four Great Royal Courts probably already knew about your mount's ability to see the tan gold vein long before, and everyone was already aware the rumor was true; my actions were unnecessary."

This misunderstanding left Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang at a loss for words, as both knew very well that the Four Great Royal Courts had no prior knowledge that the rumors were true.

It was too complex to explain in a single sentence, so they chose not to explain at all.

Wu Jinliang, however, was curious and asked, "Did the senior only send secret messages to the Four Great Royal Courts and not to the Heavenly Court?"

Yu Xuanbing's gaze flickered briefly before he composed himself and replied, "Hasn't the Heavenly Court already received the message I sent you? I assumed you would make use of it and didn't see the need to do more."

This indeed made sense, and Wu Jinliang nodded with understanding yet remained curious. "If the senior doesn't wish to have dealings with us, why would you help us?"

Yu Xuanbing replied calmly, "Having associated for a time, knowing someone was out to harm you, I couldn't just sit by and watch, so I decided to help you secretly."

Since he intended to establish himself here, he didn't mind doing a favor.

But he chose the wrong people to do a favor for.

If he had offered a more concrete reason, Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang might have trusted him. Presenting himself as a good person was something they would never believe, given their backgrounds. The idea that an assassin was close to those two and hadn't known each other long—what nonsense!

Instead, it instantly led the two skeptics to guess the truth: he was afraid they might eventually get captured and not withstand interrogation, revealing his involvement.

The two exchanged knowing glances but didn't pursue the matter further. Instead, they both feigned gratitude, reciprocating pretense with pretense.

As they saw it, it was about going with the flow, just like in books.

When they had no further questions, Yu Xuanbing raised another concern, "Who could have abducted my wife and daughter?"

Shi Chun said, "It's uncertain. If they weren't enemies you provoked, and if they were truly after Wu Jinliang, we have our guesses. You must know, not everyone can keep up with Wu Jinliang now. He has mastered some transformation Divine Skills. When he came to find you, he transformed his appearance to someone else's. Given his obvious build, it's easy to mislead those tracking him, yet he was still followed… This time, in Yanfu Continent, we discovered something; we uncovered that the Five Great Forces might secretly be nurturing individuals who've cultivated Demon Skills to master the 'Demon Eye' skill. We suspect it is an extension of matters in Yanfu Continent, and someone employed a Demon Eye Cultivator for tracking. We don't know who yet; to find out the truth, we need to investigate."

Yu Xuanbing was very concerned about this and wanted to know the truth. He feared the culprit was unrelated to Shi Chun and his people and worried about other potential parties. Thus, he asked, "How will you investigate?"

Shi Chun said solemnly, "If it's truly the work of a Demon Eye Cultivator who could track Jinliang's energy, it probably was the same Demon Eye Cultivator from before in Yanfu Continent targeting Jinliang. We don't know exactly who, so we'll need to investigate each one."

Yu Xuanbing asked, "Given their status and background, how will you investigate them?"

Shi Chun calmly replied, "Simple, we will just capture them one by one and interrogate them."

"…" Yu Xuanbing was stunned on the spot, thinking it was a joke. Capturing every expert from the five top forces to interrogate, you call that simple?

Realizing the slip of the tongue, Shi Chun quickly added, "With the senior's assistance, given your Divine Skills, it would indeed be simple."

Wu Jinliang broke into a small sweat, thinking about how straightforward operations were these days. Wasn't the approach a bit too crude?

His eyes darted between the two faces.

"…" Yu Xuanbing was speechless for a while before he slowly said, "You're overestimating me, who are these people?"

Boasting was out of the question; assassinating and capturing live targets were two different things. Encountering a real expert scared even him.

Shi Chun shook his head and said, "I don't know."

Even if he knew, he wouldn't specify the number for the time being; ultimately, the number would depend on his needs.

Besides, he truly didn't know.

"…" Yu Xuanbing stared straight at him.

However, Shi Chun turned to Wu Jinliang and said, "Check among those five hundred people, you personally handle this. Regardless if they're from the Heavenly Court or the Four Great Royal Courts, root out all the Demon Eye Cultivators!"

"Rest assured, Master, leave it to me." Wu Jinliang thumped his chest, "I'll get in touch with Li Hongjiu immediately and first identify those on Nanshan's list."