My Gentle and Pure Sect Leader Husband - Chapter 84

Lu Xiaofeng discovered that ever since a little girl who made clinking sounds when she walked appeared beside Hua Manlou, the cases he handled had become somewhat indescribably stifling.

It wasn’t that there was anything unpleasant during the case investigations, or that the little girl was meddlesome—he still hadn’t figured out the depth of this little girl’s martial arts, and she could always pull Hua Manlou to appear at the most opportune moments, either blocking Huo Xiu who was trying to escape, or capturing Jin Jiuling whom he had failed to catch.

Rather, ever since this little girl appeared, every case Lu Xiaofeng handled ultimately benefited the Jinyiwei in the cleanup.

Oh, sometimes Divine Marquis Zhuge’s mansion also made appearances.

Perhaps he should thank this little girl for her obvious disdain toward the Liu Shanmen—she never thought to call the Liu Shanmen for such profitable cleanup work. Otherwise, Lu Xiaofeng would truly have become the vanguard running around the martial world to help the court confiscate property and gather money.

—Though he wasn’t far from that now.

In the case of the Great Jinpeng Dynasty, there truly wasn’t any treasure from the Great Great Jinpeng Dynasty, but that old miser Huo Xiu certainly had some!

The Qingyi Tower had practically hollowed out an entire mountain, filled with gold, silver, and treasures that Huo Xiu had accumulated from various places throughout his lifetime. When the little girl called for people to transport everything to the capital, Lu Xiaofeng stood on a nearby rooftop with his hands behind his back, watching in a daze.

However, Lu Xiaofeng never touched such wealth. When he needed money, he had his own channels. If it were simply Huo Xiu’s ill-gotten gains, taking a couple of items wouldn’t matter, but touching the court’s property would leave a stench on his hands.

Not long after this case ended, Master Ku Gua’s vegetarian feast opened.

Lu Xiaofeng had previously promised Hua Manlou he would take him to taste Master Ku Gua’s vegetarian cuisine. The little girl—who still hadn’t told him her surname or given name, only asking him to call her Xiao Ling—naturally followed along. (TL: “Little Bell”)

This following along didn’t matter much, but Lu Xiaofeng found himself labeled by Master Ku Gua and the Liu Shanmen’s Jin Jiuling with the troublesome task of “investigating and capturing the Embroidered Flower Thief.”

Usually, Lu Xiaofeng was accustomed to being entangled in troubles, and would accept such tasks after extorting some good wine and food from friends. But now…

He glanced at the little girl beside Hua Manlou, whose expression was innocent and naive, and somehow, a chill ran up his spine.

….

Very well, Lu Xiaofeng confirmed that his ominous premonition was not unfounded at all.

He should indeed trust the intuition that had saved his life countless times at the edge of death.

“This time, investigating to the end, it’s another friend of Brother Lu…” the little girl said, looking at the stolen money confiscated from Jin Jiuling’s residence with a thoughtful, suddenly enlightened, and slightly tempted expression.

Although not as shocking as what Huo Xiu had possessed, Jin Jiuling was still someone who cultivated refinement. His house wasn’t large, but he had quite a few precious antiques that, when converted, would be worth considerable money.

If they could use this in reverse…

The little girl in her bright, lively dress skipped over to Lu Xiaofeng and bent down to ask him as he sat cross-legged against the wall in solitary reflection. “Brother Lu, do you have any particularly wealthy friends?”

Lu Xiaofeng, being clever and quick to draw inferences, chuckled and unceremoniously pointed toward Hua Manlou, who was gently waving his fan under a distant tree. “Xiao Ling, do you think there are any heroes in this martial world wealthier than those surnamed Hua?”

The little girl’s favoritism was completely unreasonable. “Brother Ah Lou doesn’t count. Who’s the second wealthiest?”

This time Lu Xiaofeng truly thought very seriously for a long while before saying, “The City Lord of Baiyun City and the Master of Wanmei Manor—choose one?”

The little girl obviously knew who these two people were and immediately rolled her eyes at Lu Xiaofeng.

Lu Xiaofeng won back a point and laughed heartily.

However, the speaker was unintentional, but the listener was attentive.

Baiyun City… there seemed to be acquaintances of Mother and Father there too.

The little girl lowered her eyes, her pupils rolling as a plan formed in her mind. “Brother Lu… how about we go play overseas?”

Lu Xiaofeng’s face was full of horror: “?”

No way, how exactly was this little girl raised? She dared to seek trouble with anyone?!

Just then, the Jinyiwei conducting the house search discovered something and walked over to the two of them. After hesitating over how to address them, they said expressionlessly, “Miss, we found this.”

The little girl accepted the red fabric the Jinyiwei handed over without any psychological burden, rubbed it with her fingers, and revealed an owl embroidered in the corner.

…An owl.

If he remembered correctly, this was already the third time he had seen this red fabric embroidered with an owl.

Though the previous two times had been on women’s shoes.

“Shangguan Feiyan and the green-robed nun in Luoxia Temple both wore red embroidered shoes with owls.”

Seeing Lu Xiaofeng curiously lean over, the little girl directly stuffed the item into his hands.

“This is an organization called Red Shoes. All its members are women, led by a Old Madam Gongsun who is also the notorious Granny Xiong and Female Butcher in the martial world. This organization is extremely cruel to men—they gather carrying severed parts to compare quantities, and each person has preferred body parts.”

Unexpectedly, Lu Xiaofeng’s expression became very unpleasant after reading.

The little girl immediately had an epiphany and blinked. “No way… Brother Lu, your expression tells me you seem to have slept with more than one?”

“Do you need more detailed intelligence? Like which body part Shangguan Feiyan prefers to cut?”

“…Xue Bing and Ouyang Qing also wore such shoes,” Lu Xiaofeng said with difficulty.

Xue Bing was Lu Xiaofeng’s close female friend who had nearly been killed by Jin Jiuling in this Embroidered Flower Thief case. After Lu Xiaofeng rescued her, he had her escorted back to Shenzhen Manor.

Ouyang Qing was a courtesan from Yiqing Pavilion, but this courtesan was quite capable. Not only had she become a famous beauty during her dozen years in the pleasure quarters, but despite having countless wealthy patrons, she had never lost her virtue. Her skills in perfume-making and disguise were quite mysterious.

As for Shangguan Feiyan, she had been involved with Lu Xiaofeng when she was impersonating Shangguan Danfeng.

Regarding Red Shoes, the Jinyiwei’s investigation had only confirmed that there should be nine women in total. Who could have expected that Lu Xiaofeng’s close female friends alone accounted for three of them? Anyone would marvel at Lu Xiaofeng’s discerning eye for women.

“Oh, I see,” the little girl squatted beside Lu Xiaofeng, propping her cheek with her hand and smiling sweetly. “Then it seems we can’t go overseas after all. We’ll have to let Sister Jing make that trip.”

The familiar chill ran up his spine again. Lu Xiaofeng pressed his entire body against the wall behind him and said warily, “What troublesome scheme are you plotting now?”

“What do you mean scheming?” the little girl pouted in dissatisfaction. “I just want to help Brother Lu clean up some poisonous romantic entanglements, considering how badly women have deceived you~”

“The Jinyiwei are investigating Red Shoes, very seriously and earnestly.”

“Once Red Shoes is truly implicated in that matter, and if the Jinyiwei handle the case with their usual impartiality and justice, I’m afraid both Miss Xue Bing and Miss Ouyang Qing will…”

The little girl didn’t finish her sentence, but her unspoken meaning was crystal clear.

Lu Xiaofeng paused, tugged at his small mustache, and smiled bitterly with lowered head. “Fine, I’ll investigate. But you must give me a direction—where to start investigating and under what pretext?”

The little girl smiled. “The Embroidered Flower Thief stole from the treasury of the Southern Prince’s residence, and didn’t Jin Jiuling introduce Brother Lu to the Prince of Pingnan’s heir? Brother Lu should start investigating from the Prince of Pingnan’s mansion. I have a feeling there might be big surprises.”

He knew that following behind Lu Xiaofeng would definitely yield great rewards. This way, he could also control unnecessary losses, gaining more intelligence and benefits than when the Jinyiwei had previously only cleaned up messes afterward.

Those who don’t know how to make use of others will exhaust themselves to death. Compared to troubling himself, Yan Chuan always preferred troubling others.

Previously, he had read through the case files of several major martial world cases that Mother had handled. It seemed that every so often, the martial world would produce a brilliantly talented hero blessed with extraordinary fortune.

The first Jinyiwei Commander’s chosen one had been Shen Lang, and during Mother’s time it should have been Chu Liuxiang. Now in his time…

The little girl’s gaze toward Lu Xiaofeng became increasingly gentle and kind, innocent and affectionate.

Brother Lu, I’m counting on you from now on!

You must solve cases well.

On the other side, while Yan Chuan was having fun disguised as a girl following Lu Xiaofeng and Hua Manlou and couldn’t spare time for other matters, the little demon king who had inherited eight hundred schemes from each parent and was born full of cunning had new ideas.

He sent a message by carrier pigeon, asking his sister to make a trip overseas to personally see what the current situation of overseas Baiyun City actually was.

—Simply put, to clarify Baiyun City Lord Ye Gucheng’s current stance.

The Prince of Pingnan’s forces frequently appeared at ports and docks, probably with ulterior motives.

The Prince of Pingnan was also a royal family, and he had once competed with the current emperor for the throne. He knew the secrets of the previous dynasty and was even more aware of Baiyun City’s true origins.

On the other side, a girl in red martial attire with a capable bearing jumped down from a ship and surveyed the dim night scenery of Flying Immortal Island’s dock.

A long whip hung at her waist—dark red like jade yet with the scaled texture of interwoven leather, looking extremely sharp.

The girl possessed a coldly beautiful, flawless face with brows like distant mountains and eyes like star rivers. She would have been a beauty pursued by men, but the long whip at her waist made people wary and keep their distance, not daring to harbor improper thoughts.

Su Xiaojing was Su Mengzhen’s daughter. After Su Mengzhen’s death, she had been brought out of the deep valleys of Kunlun Mountain by Yan Hongyin and Yu Luocha and adopted as their daughter.

Later, after the two returned to permanently station in the capital, she single-handedly took on the heavy responsibility of suppressing the Luocha Sect. Though only seventeen or eighteen years old, she was already the established successor of the Luocha Sect.

“Miss Su has traveled far to come here. Please forgive our poor reception. The City Lord has been waiting for some time,” said the maid who came to greet her, holding a palace lantern. She curtsied neither humbly nor arrogantly, stepped aside, and gestured. “Please.”

Su Xiaojing’s gaze swept over the short dagger at the maid’s waist.

This maid had decent footwork—walking on the soft beach, her footprints were very faint. She should be one of the sword attendants beside the Baiyun City Lord.

Su Xiaojing said nothing and silently followed behind the maid. However, when the maid inadvertently turned back to guide the way, she discovered that throughout their journey, only her own shallow footprints remained.

The seaside area of Flying Immortal Island had soft soil that was easy to sink into, yet the red-clothed girl behind her had shoes and dress hem that were clean as new, without a speck of dirt.

She withdrew her gaze, lowered her eyes, and pushed open the city gate of Baiyun City, which was under curfew at night, for Su Xiaojing.

…..

Baiyun City · City Lord’s Mansion

The white-clothed man sitting in the main seat radiated sharp sword energy—undoubtedly Ye Gucheng, the Baiyun City Lord—but the man also dressed in white sitting beside him…

Su Xiaojing didn’t know why, but upon first sight of this person, her hand immediately went to the long whip at her waist.

The white-clothed man paused while lifting his wine cup and looked toward Su Xiaojing.

Those slightly upturned eyes flickered with gentle smile, and upon closer inspection, seemed to carry a trace of alluring attraction.

Su Xiaojing’s fingers tightened, already gripping the whip’s handle.

Over the years, her patience had reached perfection under the training of Father and her adoptive parents, but now, after just one glance, she felt the urge to let her thorny vines spread and extend.

—This was her instinctive self-protection when she sensed danger.

But the one giving her this feeling wasn’t the famous Sword Immortal Ye Gucheng, but an unknown man she had never met.

Ye Gucheng raised his eyelids and spoke, breaking the silent standoff between the two. “Miss Su, please sit.”

Su Xiaojing stood in place for a moment before walking over to take a seat, directly facing the man wrapped in white fox fur.

The weather wasn’t cold, yet this person had wrapped himself tightly, but it must be said that the circle of pure white fur did indeed reduce some of the beauty of his features and weaken the danger revealed in his eyes.

Su Xiaojing’s hand never left her whip.

The man smiled slightly, appearing gentle and harmless. “Miss Su need not be so guarded against me. This humble one also spent time in the Luocha Sect in his youth, briefly studying under Master Su. Thanks to Master Su’s careful instruction back then, I became who I am today.”

Another actor.

Su Xiaojing silently concluded.

She had seen too many such people who were duplicitous and loved to act throughout her life. Her adoptive father was like this, and little brother Yan Chuan was the same. However, her family had never harbored ill intentions toward her, but this person across from her was hard to say.

However… studying under Father?

Su Xiaojing suddenly thought of someone.

Someone who had indeed studied at the bamboo building but fled halfway—the only student Father had never considered graduated.

“Gong Jiu?” Su Xiaojing looked at the man across from her, trying to find traces of that former youth in his face.

That King of Taiping’s heir who had been missing for so many years?

But Xiaojing’s impression of Gong Jiu was really too faint—she had only seen him a few times, and after so many years, it was hard to find even half a similarity. Moreover, Xiaojing, being a plant spirit, had a fatal weakness known only to her family.

—She couldn’t recognize people.

Or rather, she couldn’t recognize people by their faces.

She always remembered people by scent and color, or other characteristics. In short, two words… face-blind.

Thinking he had left a deep impression on Little Thorn back then, Gong Jiu nodded with satisfaction, his lips curving up. (TL: Little Thorn=Xiao Jing)

But before he could say anything, Su Xiaojing turned her head toward the silent Ye Gucheng without hesitation. “I wonder if City Lord Ye’s heart has changed after all these years and events?”

Ye Gucheng’s expression was very calm as he handed Su Xiaojing a letter. “Miss Su has been drifting at sea for many days. Why not look at this urgent report that arrived from the Central Plains just two days ago.”

Su Xiaojing took it and opened it, her expression changing.

[Emperor dies suddenly of acute illness, Crown Prince to ascend throne soon]

Ye Gucheng continued, “The Prince of Pingnan once sent people to inquire, wanting the Prince of Pingnan’s heir to study under Ye. Currently, the Prince of Pingnan’s heir is still staying in Baiyun City and hasn’t left.”

Her breathing quickened somewhat. She pressed her lips together, closed the letter, and said, “May this humble one borrow lodging at the City Lord’s mansion for a few days?”

“Certainly,” Ye Gucheng agreed, then said, “Ye’s stance has not changed, but whether this Young Master Jiu is trustworthy, Ye makes no interference.”

Gong Jiu didn’t care about Ye Gucheng’s statement of distancing himself.

In fact, he and Su Xiaojing had arrived on the island one after the other. Though he had spent these years at sea, he had never sought out Ye Gucheng. What could that bit of thin friendship from their youth amount to?

Martial arts practice was interesting, but having reached his current level, martial arts no longer held much attraction. Instead, rebellion and treason—seeing what expression would appear on the Prince of Taiping’s face—that was far more interesting.

But…

Gong Jiu gazed at Su Xiaojing with a smile.

He suddenly felt that the little demon in front of him seemed even more interesting.

Ten years ago he hadn’t managed to capture and possess her, but ten years later…

Young Master Jiu saw the girl looking over with eyes full of wariness and warning, yet still smiled gently and harmlessly.