Qi IV had been waiting outside the Chao Mansion. Seeing that Ning Que had finally appeared, he let out a sigh of relief and led him into the mansion, whispering the latest situation along the way.
It was already late at night, but the hall of the Chao Mansion was still brightly lit. Several people sat silently in the hall, and the atmosphere was somewhat depressing. When they looked at the Old Master sitting at the head of the table, they would always have a gentle smile on their faces, but the smile seemed a little forced.
Qi IV led Ning Que into the hall. Everyone stood up, cupped their fists, bowed, and introduced themselves.
"Chang San, Chang Siwei."
"Liu Wu, Liu Si."
"Fei Liu, Fei Jingwei."
"Chen VII."
The people in the Chao Mansion today were all former leaders of the Fish-dragon Gang. After the Spring Breeze Pavilion case, their identities were exposed, and they could only leave the Fish-dragon Gang and return to the imperial court. Now, they had important positions in the Valiant Cavalry Battalion and the Bodyguard Office. Everyone was gathered here for that matter.
Before Chao Xiaoshu left Chang 'an, he had specially brought his brothers to Lin 47th Street to let Ning Que meet them. Ning Que knew the identity of these people. From the perspective of the secret guards, they were considered colleagues, so it was not strange for them to appear here.
Chang San and the others looked at Ning Que with a complicated expression.
Before Chao Xiaoshu left, he had vaguely intended to entrust them and the Fish-dragon Gang to Ning Que, but Ning Que did not accept. They had always been puzzled about this, and did not understand why Chao Xiaoshu trusted him so much. However, two years had passed in a flash, and Ning Que had long become a celebrity in Chang 'an. Only then did they realize that Second Brother Chao had long seen through this man's extraordinary abilities.
"This is Old Master Chao." Qi IV introduced.
Ning Que looked at the white-haired old man, who had a worried expression on his face. For some reason, he felt a little annoyed. He frowned and said, "He should not travel far with his parents around, but he does travel happily and freely."
Old Master Chao sighed and explained for his son, "In the beginning, I wanted him to take the scholarly exams, and then I wanted him to seek an official position. I've restrained him for half his life. Now that he finally has a chance to get rid of all this, let him go."
Ning Que was slightly taken aback. He did not expect Old Master Chao to be so open-minded. He also thought about how Chao Xiaoshu had been the Emperor of the underworld in Chang 'an for many years. Old Master Chao, who came from a family of scholars, did not care about him at all. He thought that Old Master Chao was a smart person who had ideas but was not good at giving them.
After figuring this out, he no longer had to hide from the old man. He looked at the people around him and said, "I have interrogated the South Jin Kingdom sword master. Second Brother Chao must have fought with Liu Bai."
There was a burst of exclamations in the hall. Chang Siwei's face was full of worry. They had gone through thick and thin with Chao Xiaoshu for many years and had a kind of almost foolish confidence in him. However, when they heard that the person who attacked was really the Sage of Sword, Liu Bai, they could not help but feel shocked and at a loss.
The Sage was the most powerful man in the world. Of of. Of Of Chao Xiaoshu., and was, and Hao. of. of Chao. of of. Ch.
Ning Que said, "Liu Yiqing doesn't know the exact result of that battle. Chao Xiaoshu's sword was taken away, so he must have been seriously injured. But we don't know where he is now."
Qi IV scratched his head and said in a distressed tone, "With Second Brother Chao's personality, he definitely wouldn't do something so stupid. What we need to confirm now is how serious his injuries are. Is he hiding in a small village or is he imprisoned by the South Jin Kingdom? "
"Not in the Sword Pavilion."
Ning Que looked at the crowd and said, "Liu Yiqing would not dare to lie about this, because the Academy will keep him imprisoned until we find Chao Xiaoshu. Besides, the Academy has already sent a letter to the Sword Garret to ask Liu Bai."
Although the people present used to be famous in the underworld of Chang 'an and were now important figures in the imperial court, they did not know much about the world of cultivators and did not know how to deal with it. When they heard Ning Que's words and knew that the Academy would personally come forward, they immediately felt relieved.
Chang San added, "His Majesty also knows about this. Tomorrow, he will write an official letter to the king of the South Jin Kingdom to ask for Chao Xiaoshu. I think the people of the South Jin Kingdom will consider it carefully."
Chen VII had been standing silently in the corner, hiding behind the crowd. It seemed that he was not used to being seen by so many people. Suddenly, he said, "I think there is something wrong with this."
Everyone looked at him, including Ning Que.
Ning Que had noticed that when everyone introduced themselves, only Chen VII did not. At the same time, he remembered the description of the Fish-dragon Gang in Chang 'an's Jianghu world. Chang III was cold, Qi IV was ruthless, Liu V was vicious, Fei VI was vicious, and Chen VII was sinister.
How sinister was Chen VII?
"The Sage of Sword, Liu Bai, attacked Second Brother Chao probably because he was eager to hunt, or because he wanted to suppress the Tang Empire's momentum, or because Second Brother Chao ate a grain from the Sword Garret."
Chen VII lowered his head and spoke slowly as if he could not feel the crowd's gaze. Although what he said was funny, his voice was as gloomy as a mouse in the shadows.
"That is not important."
"The important thing is, why did Liu Yiqing challenge the Academy? Why did he take Second Brother Chao's sword, and why did he want everyone to know about this? "
"I am not a cultivator, and I don't know what cultivators usually think. But I think that if cultivators are still human, then their way of thinking is no different from us ordinary people."
Ning Que nodded and said, "I can prove that."
Chen VII slowly raised his head, and his small eyes shone with a dim light. "Liu Bai is the most powerful man in the world, so he cannot be an idiot. It is possible for him to send his own brother to humiliate the Academy. Even if he loses, he can use the Academy to sharpen his brother's cultivation. It is also possible for him to punish Second Brother Chao and you for the disciple who died in the hands of the two of you in Spring Breeze Pavilion two years ago. But I don't think he will think that it is feasible to take Second Brother Chao's sword and make you think that Second Brother Chao is dead, so that his own brother will become blind. "
Ning Que was silent. He recalled the battle at the side gate of the Academy and confirmed that what Chen VII said made sense. If he had not seen Chao Xiaoshu's sword in Liu Yiqing's hand, he would not have chosen to attack so fiercely. It was not good for him to blind the Sage of Sword, Liu Bai's brother.
"If I were Liu Bai, I would first defeat Second Brother Chao, who had entered the Knowing Destiny State, and then let my brother defeat Ning Que. That would be enough to make up for what happened in Spring Breeze Pavilion. There is no need for me to make the Academy and the Tang Empire a mortal enemy."
Chen VII continued softly, "According to the intelligence of the bodyguard office, when you entered the Second floor of the Academy, your name immediately spread throughout the cultivation world. Even though we are not cultivators, we all know that your name is in the Tomes of Arcane, and many details of the Spring Breeze Pavilion case have also been spread."
"The natural speed of transmission of information is definitely not that fast. At that time, there was already someone behind the scenes adding fuel to the fire. They wanted the Sword Garret of South Jin Kingdom to focus on Second Brother Chao and you. Then I believe that there was also someone behind these two incidents. Liu Yiqing holding Second Brother Chao's sword is one of them."
Chen VII looked at everyone calmly and said, "There is only one place in the world that has the ability and courage to provoke the relationship between the Tang Academy and the Sword Garret of South Jin Kingdom, and also has the right to benefit from this matter. That is the West-Hill Divine Palace."
…
…
Outside the capital of South Jin Kingdom.
There was an ancient black and white pavilion on the cliff. It was called the Sword Garret.
The building of the Sword Garret led into the cliff. It was a big, quiet cave. The top of the cave reached the peak, and sunlight shone through. At the bottom of the cave, there was a green pond and a thatched hut. It was like a small world of its own.
Liu Bai sat in his own small world and looked at the fine bubbles spurting out by the blind fish in the green pond. He slowly reached out and pushed his long hair behind his back. He asked indifferently, "Who can give me an explanation?"
The news of Liu Yiqing's defeat in the Academy and his blindness had already spread to the South Jin Kingdom. Along with this news came two letters from the Tang Empire.
One of the letters was written by the Tang Emperor himself, and it was now in the bedchamber of the King of South Jin Kingdom. The King was extremely angry, but also extremely helpless.
The other letter was written by an old woman in the Academy. It was now quietly placed beside Liu Bai's legs. The seal had been cut, and he had probably already read it.
Beside the green pond, more than ten important second-generation disciples of the Sword Garret knelt. When they heard their master's question, they lowered their heads in silence and did not know how to answer.
Liu Yiqing had been defeated in a direct challenge. How could they explain this?
Liu Bai looked at the green pond in front of him and said expressionlessly, "My own brother has become a blind man. Who can give me an explanation for this?"
A disciple of the Sword Garret said indignantly, "The Academy is too ruthless. We must …"
"Must what? Revenge? Why do we need revenge? "
Liu Bai said coldly, "Swordsmanship is about the spirit and boldness of advancing forward. Since I wanted him to defeat and kill Ning Que, then it was natural that he would be defeated and killed by Ning Que. Moreover, I wanted him to go to the Academy to seek defeat so that he could cleanse his sword heart. "
The disciples were shocked speechless. Only then did they realize that their master had already expected Liu Yiqing to lose.
Liu Bai glanced at the letter beside him and said in a cold voice, "I just don't understand. I asked Yiqing to cleanse his own sword, but why did he bring Chao Xiaoshu's sword?"
Everything about the Sage of Sword, Liu Bai, was a sword, whether it was his loose black hair, the belt around his waist, the slightly swaying sleeves, his eyes, his back view, or his voice.
When his voice became colder, the disciples of the Sword Garret beside the pond seemed to see a divine sword slowly being pulled out of the ice. Their eyes were pierced by the sharp sword style and they began to tear up immediately.
The disciples were terrified and kneeled on the ground, trembling and not daring to say a word.
Liu Bai slowly turned around and looked at the disciples beside the pond coldly. He said, "My brother is an idiot in everything except Swordsmanship. Because of his idiocy, he didn't even think of a way to provoke Ning Que with Chao Xiaoshu's sword. Then who helped him think of it?"
There was dead silence in the cliff cave behind the Sword Garret.
After a long time, one of the disciples who was kneeling beside the pond slowly straightened up. Then he stood up and took two steps towards the pond. He bowed deeply but did not speak.
Liu Bai looked at this disciple and said coldly, "Is the Judicial Department better than the Sword Garret?"
…
…
(There is one more chapter. It was written before 11: 30.) (To be continued. If you like this work, please come to Qidian.Com to vote for me. Your support is my greatest motivation.)
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