That Young Master Chen, a man brimming with Noble Righteous Qi, was grooming a fox demon maid's tail in an inn?
Rather than believe that, Qin Heng would rather believe he had taken the wrong medicine when leaving the house this morning and was hallucinating.
He stood outside the door questioning his existence for quite a while before placing his hand back onto the doorknob.
I must have opened the door the wrong way just now. Starting over will fix it!
Creak.
The room door opened once more.
“Knowing where to stop leads to goodness...”
By the window, Chen Ning paced meditatively, reading poetry and literature with earnest diligence.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the room, Qing Yan was gently combing her hair before a bronze mirror. Her face, devoid of makeup, was as delicate and radiant as early spring blossoms emerging from melting snow.
Upon seeing Qin Heng, Chen Ning set down his book at once and greeted him warmly.
“Brother Qin Heng, long time no see.”
“Haha, not seeing Young Master Chen for three days has made me miss you dearly as well.”
Qin Heng burst into hearty laughter immediately.
Just as he thought, he had merely opened the door the wrong way earlier!
No, wait, how could I deceive myself like this?!
In the end, Qin Heng could not bring himself to live in denial. With an embarrassed expression, he asked:
“Young Master Chen, perhaps my eyes played tricks on me... Could it be that Miss Qing Yan’s true form is actually... a fox demon?”
“How could that be? Brother Qin Heng probably didn't eat breakfast this morning and hallucinated from hunger.”
“But I clearly saw what looked like a tail behind Miss Qing Yan...”
“That is a special fetish of mine.”
Chen Ning patted Qin Heng on the shoulder and emphasized once more:
“That is a special fetish of mine.”
Qin Heng: “...”
He seemed to recall hearing about a peculiar preference known as a “demon-girl” complex.
Its specific manifestation was dressing one’s partner up to look like a female demon.
Most crucially...
Under Chen Ning’s gaze, Qin Heng felt an inexplicable illusion that if he brought this up one more time, he would surely die on the spot.
Thus, he tactfully changed the subject right away.
“In truth, I came looking for Brother Chen today for two matters. The first concerns the pseudo-gods in the Imperial Capital.”
Qin Heng cupped his fists respectfully toward Chen Ning:
“Many thanks, Brother Chen. Over the past two days, I took my men to investigate every single temple across the entire Imperial Capital. We have confirmed that all twelve pseudo-gods in the Imperial Capital have been completely slain by Brother Chen.”
Saying so, Qin Heng brought out a massive wooden chest from behind him.
Opening the chest revealed a full one thousand taels of silver resting inside.
“This is the bounty issued by the Demon Suppression Division after confirming those pseudo-gods were indeed demon creatures. In addition, this is my personal expression of gratitude to Brother Chen.”
Qin Heng placed another fifty taels of gold on top of the chest.
In this world, the exchange rate between gold and silver was roughly one to ten.
In other words, this chest contained a staggering one thousand five hundred taels of silver!
Now, let alone paying rent, buying the entire inn would not be a problem.
“Since this is your sincere intention, I will not decline.”
“Of course! If Brother Chen didn't accept this silver, I'm afraid guilt would keep me awake all night.”
Qin Heng then presented the stack of documents:
“Furthermore, the other matter Brother Chen entrusted to me has also been resolved. These are the locations of all the pseudo-god temples. They are recorded in great detail; Brother Chen will know where they are with just a single glance.”
“Mm, thank you.”
Chen Ning took the documents.
Although Qin Heng’s combat power could not be considered strong, he handled affairs cleanly and efficiently.
With the general locations of the pseudo-god temples, he could probably absorb the merit within the temples directly.
“Who are you, and why are you sneaking around nearby?”
“Trying to flee?”
“Confining One's Steps.”
“Bind!”
Right at that moment, the sounds of Confucian techniques clashing echoed from downstairs of the inn.
The battle concluded before long.
Soon, Murong Yu knocked on the room door.
“Young Master Chen, when I came to find you, I suddenly noticed this person warily spying near the inn, so I took action and captured him.”
Murong Yu threw the person he was holding directly onto the floor.
This person wore light armor with a dagger at his waist, appearing to be a martial artist skilled in lightness techniques.
In fact, while conversing with Qin Heng earlier, Chen Ning had already noticed an unfamiliar aura lingering near the inn.
However, because he felt that this faint aura posed no real threat, he had temporarily ignored it.
“This armor... How could this be? Prince Qian has actually returned so quickly!”
“Prince Qian?”
Seeing this martial artist, Qin Heng’s expression shifted abruptly.
“Yes, that is the master of Prince Qian Manor... Qian Wuhao. Over the years, Prince Qian Manor has been thoroughly corrupt from top to bottom. Qian Wenyao committed countless acts of murder, arson, and forcing decent women into prostitution. The reason Prince Qian Manor could remain untouched all this time was precisely because of this prince. Qian Wuhao became a Master at the age of twenty and reached the Grandmaster Realm at thirty-six. Now in his twilight years, he has forged ahead even further into the Martial Dao Golden Core Realm, having single-handedly annihilated neighboring barbarian nations on multiple occasions with unmatched valor. I thought Qian Wuhao was guarding the border and wouldn't return for a long time. I never expected him to come back so quickly. Perhaps... it is because he heard the news of Qian Wenyao’s death.”
Qin Heng had a grave look on his face.
The reason he had not executed Qian Wenyao earlier for colluding with demons was precisely out of fear of Qian Wuhao.
Now that Qian Wuhao had rushed all the way back from the border, he was likely here to demand accountability.
From the moment he led troops into the Qian Manor, Qin Heng had long prepared himself to disregard his own life and death.
Yet Qian Wuhao’s target this time was likely Chen Ning, who had killed his son with his own hands.
No matter how unimaginably strong Chen Ning was, there was no way he could contend against a Martial Dao Golden Core expert like Qian Wuhao, who had tempered his body on the battlefield for over forty years!
“Haha, afraid now? But it's already too late! You dared to make a move against Qian Manor, and this man personally killed the young master. The Prince will repay this enmity a hundredfold; not a single person present today will escape!”
Right at that moment, the martial artist lying on the ground burst into arrogant laughter.
“The young master is speaking; don't cause trouble.”
Qing Yan puffed out her cheeks in dissatisfaction, crouched down, and stuffed a handkerchief straight into his mouth.
“You wretched wench, how dare you!”
The martial artist let out muffled whimpers, but following an extraordinarily pleasant, delicate fragrance, the will to fight quickly drained from his eyes.
“Qian Wuhao? I seem to have heard of this person's reputation before as well. If I were to face him, even if I exhausted all my Confucian techniques, I'm afraid it would be difficult to put up a fight.”
Even Murong Yu did not dare take it lightly, proposing:
“Young Master Chen, why not hide inside Water Cloud Academy with me for this period? No matter how rampant this person is, with the Sub-Saint present, he would never dare barge into the academy.”
“There's no need.”
Not only was there not the slightest hint of worry on Chen Ning's face, but he also appeared full of fighting spirit.
He turned around and asked, “What realm did you say Qian Wuhao was in just now?”
“Fourth-Rank Martial Dao Golden Core.”
“Can a Martial Dao Golden Core take a beating?”
“Huh?”
Qin Heng was taken aback:
“That's a peak Martial Dao Golden Core, an existence bordering the Third-Rank Martial Dao Nascent Soul. Of course he can take a beating!”
“As long as he can take a beating, I'm relieved.”
Chen Ning bumped his fists together, his fighting spirit soaring at this very moment!
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