Chapter 702: To the Black Abyss

Xinping Town.

Shenxiao Association’s secret base.

In the hall of the backyard, candlelight flickered, occasionally dimming or brightening. At the center of the hall, a dark golden chair was covered with a white tiger skin.

On the tiger skin, a man in his fifties sat solemnly, his face gloomy, exuding a terrifying aura.

The air in the hall seemed to have frozen.

There were three assassination attempts on the Crown Prince, each one employing increasingly stronger forces, yet all three failed, with heavy losses on this occasion.

This was the revival force of the Carefree Palace, yet no results were seen before losing nearly half of it.

Past efforts had never encountered such setbacks; it seems things are regressing with age.

Four or five people were seated below.

There was the Tianyuan expert who fought Mr. Qin, standing on either side of the man on the tiger chair with Lingxiao, like a pair of guardian warriors.

Three people stood below, their hands hanging low.

Go Xiong, Ruan Qingyao, and the previous Mr. Lian.

Mr. Lian was obviously of higher status than Go Xiong and Ruan Qingyao, standing at the front. The three faced the man in the main seat, heads bowed, not daring to breathe loudly.

“Where is Hongniang?”

“Reporting to Foster Father, Hongniang is investigating the mastermind behind our three failed assassination attempts and hasn’t returned yet,” Mr. Lian explained, his head lowered.

“Qingyao, you explain, what exactly went wrong with this mission?” The middle-aged man lifted his gaze, a piercing look shooting towards Ruan Qingyao, who stood below Mr. Lian, and asked.

“Reporting to Master, Qingyao thinks someone secretly assisted the Crown Prince, and this person is hidden in the dark. We still don’t know their true identity.”

“Are you saying there’s someone behind the Crown Prince?”

“Qingyao doesn’t know, but our operations in the capital have always been smooth, yet in Dongshan we keep encountering setbacks. This is Qingyao’s hypothesis…”

“Could it be Pei Jian?” Go Xiong said.

“It can’t be Pei Jian; we know all too well who surrounds Pei Jian,” Mr. Lian denied directly.

“In Dongshan, besides Pei Jian, who else would help the Crown Prince, and who would have the power to command Fahai and Helian Wanwan?”

“This…”

“It’s Lin Miao!” Suddenly, a middle-aged woman in a bright red robe came walking in from outside; in just a few breaths, she reached the hall.

“Hongniang greets the Marquis!”

“No need for formalities, Hongniang. You’re late; have you brought this marquis good news?” The man lifted his head with authority, looking at the approaching woman with a voluptuous figure, an egg-shaped face, alluring and inherently charming.

“Marquis, Hongniang investigated; this past year, Lin Miao has gained a reputation in Dongshan. After passing the physician’s exam, he became the youngest physician, later applying for the ‘Innate Saint’s Trial.’ In less than half a year, he gained the national physician’s qualification and was recognized by the physician Fu Qingzhu for assisting Pei Jian in uncovering the Huang Family’s private arms-crafting case, then was rewarded by the court.”

“Is Hongniang speaking of Lin Miao, who once had conflicts with Marquis Lingyang’s fifth son and is known as Mr. Lin in Dongshan?”

“Mr. Lin?”

“That’s what people in Dongshan call him…” Go Xiong’s heart trembled, making a bashful sound.

Hmm!

The man on the tiger skin, called “Marquis” by Hongniang, snorted coldly, clearly displeased with Go Xiong’s tone of praising the enemy.

“This Lin Miao has a close relationship with Su Family’s disciple, Su Chen, and seemingly saved Su Chen’s mother, Bai Feng. Also, the equine plague at the Su Family’s Horse Field should be his doing; he has close ties with the Su Family and Snow Mountain Sect. The Su Family and Snow Mountain Sect’s business of colorless glassware in the capital of the Great Yue Country, Jinling, is probably his doing. Snow Mountain Sect has even presented a pair of stunning twins to him as concubines, and the master of these twin concubines is exactly Helian Wanwan. Last year, the Crown Prince Zhao Yuanze came to Dongshan secretly, also to find this Lin Miao…”

“What was he looking for Lin Miao for?”

“The Crown Prince has been without a son for many years. Lin Miao is known in Dongshan as ‘Mr. Lin the Child-Bringer’; naturally, the Crown Prince came to him for a son.”

“So the Crown Prince knew Lin Miao early on and has close relations with him?”

“It seems so. Furthermore, Fahai has close ties with the Lin family, and Fahai’s disciple calls Lin Miao ‘Uncle Master.’ The Crown Prince hadn’t previously met Fahai or Helian Wanwan and had no relations. A Tianyuan expert’s pride is such that not even the emperor’s face would move him, yet he appeared time and again at the Crown Prince’s side, saving him at crucial moments. Who could accomplish such feats? Only this Mr. Lin could!” Hongniang recounted eloquently.

“So it really is this kid making trouble!”

“Moreover, our nectar was exposed for containing addictive Yinghua; it should be his doing. His side holds a woman, Shi Yin, who became addicted to Xiaoyao Powder and nearly died; he saved her himself. Now she’s become the chief shopkeeper of Lin Family’s Huaye Tower…”

“Damn it, a mere physician ruined our great plans. Foster father, let me go; I will certainly kill this person!” A hint of ferocity appeared on Mr. Lian’s face as he spoke viciously.

“I’m afraid Prince Lian might not be able to,” Hongniang gently sneered.

“What do you mean?”

“Besides being a physician, this Mr. Lin possesses considerable martial arts skills. Moreover, he has the backing of two Snow Mountain Sect disciples; killing him won’t be easy.”

“Just two women from Snow Mountain Sect, could they be in the Meridian Passage Realm?”