The moonlight was like a dream, and his white robes were whiter than snow. A clear aura emanated from the white-robed man's body, clear and untainted.
His eyes were peaceful and serene, always gentle and quiet. When he looked in the direction of the Duke of Qin's estate, his gaze was filled with pity.
He stood there for a long time. By the time the Duke of Qin's estate regained its peace and quiet, there were no more fireworks in the air, but he still didn't leave.
It was as if his mind had wandered off, or he was thinking about something else. Or maybe he was just lingering around and forgetting to leave.
Finally, he heard the sounds of the Duke of Qin's night guards patrolling the area. With a soft sigh, he vanished into thin air.
Since the Nether Clan had already found their way to the Duke of Qin's estate, it was time for him to pay a visit to an old friend he hadn't seen in years.
Night in the capital city was solemn and silent. The white-robed man flitted through the shadows of the streets and alleys that Su Xiaoyu had walked through before.
Chu Tianyin's hideout in Tianning's capital city was hidden within the alleys and streets of the city.
Currently, he was still awake, playing with an exquisitely crafted crossbow in the courtyard.
"It's so late, but you're still up. It looks like my arrival doesn't count as a disturbance," the white-robed man's voice reached Chu Tianyin before he arrived.
Chu Tianyin was so alarmed that he almost dropped the crossbow in his hands. He rose to his feet and scanned his surroundings, but didn't see a single person.
But he knew it was the white-robed man from the Shadow Clan!
"Still not coming out? I've looked for you at least ten times! Why haven't I seen you? "Chu Tianyin demanded.
Last time he and Duanmu Baiye had come to celebrate the emperor's birthday, they'd looked for this fellow as well. Unfortunately, the man refused to see them and didn't reply to any of their letters.
In the past, the Shadow and Nether Clans had worked together to protect the orphan of Western Qin's imperial clan. The Nether Clan's Chu Clan had concealed their identities and followed the Western Zhou emperor. After two generations of hard work, they now controlled half of Western Zhou's military power and gained a firm foothold in the region. Meanwhile, the white-robed man was the only one left of the Shadow Clan. He was still a sickly invalid who relied on medicine to keep himself alive.
Although the two clans hadn't kept in touch much, they were still aware of each other's movements over the years. One thing that Chu Tianyin was very dissatisfied with was that the Chu Clan had never stopped looking for the imperial orphan all these years. However, this Shadow Clan fellow didn't seem to care about this matter at all. He wasn't worried at all.
"Su Xiaoyu from the Duke of Qin's Manor is one of your people, right?"
His deep and magnetic voice sounded especially enchanting in the quiet night. It was a pity that Chu Tianyin wasn't a woman, otherwise he would have fallen in love with it.
Following the sound, he looked towards the roof and saw that the young man in white was already sitting on the roof ridge. Chu Tianyin used his lightness kungfu to fly up. Without saying anything, he actually moved his hands to remove the white-clothed young master's mask.
The white-clothed man seemed to be motionless, but just as Chu Tianyin's hand was about to grab the white veil, he immediately disappeared into thin air. When he reappeared, he was already in the courtyard.
Chu Tianyin chased after him and coldly snorted. "We haven't seen each other in so many years. Why don't you show your face?"
Naturally, Chu Tianyin had seen the white-clothed man's true face before, but he didn't like it when the man came to see him with his face covered. They were supposed to be close allies, but the man's veil gave him a sense of alienation.
The white-clothed man sat down by the stone table and said, "You wouldn't be stupid enough to provoke the Duke of Qin's Manor at a time like this, would you?"
Chu Tianyin had hidden himself in Tianning's capital city for two reasons: one, Han Yunxi. Another, he was Chu Qingge's military advisor behind the scenes. He wanted to help her seize the position of empress, which was ultimately to seize power in Tianning.
When it came to fighting for power, the Duke of Qin's Manor was his strongest and final enemy. But Chu Tianyin wasn't stupid enough to provoke the Duke of Qin at a time like this.
He had sent Su Xiaoyu into the Duke of Qin's estate purely to confirm whether or not Han Yunxi had a phoenix birthmark on her back.
"I mentioned this in my secret letter to you last year. You didn't read it?" Chu Tianyin asked with furrowed brows. He had written this man a letter before coming to Tianning's capital city to mention his suspicions about Han Yunxi.
In front of all the servants, Chu Tianyin was always methodical and calm. However, in front of the white-clothed gentleman, he could not remain calm. He had always hoped that the white-clothed gentleman would help him, but the white-clothed gentleman did not even reply to a single letter.
"How could it be her?" the white-robed man was astonished. "Then did Su Xiaoyu see that birthmark?"
Chu Tianyin's expression turned even uglier. He didn't reply, so the white-robed man asked again, "So, you found the wrong person?"
Chu Tianyin was very gloomy. "Our only clue is gone, and we even lost a servant girl!"
The white-robed man silently exhaled. He had no idea why Su Xiaoyu had given him the wrong information, but this result was worth celebrating.
"What do we do now?" Chu Tianyin asked.
"We'll keep looking. What else can we do?" the white-robed man retorted.
Chu Tianyin grew angry. "Is this the so-called loyalty of your Shadow Clan? Your so-called protection? You've already lost her, but you still have this attitude? "
"Then what kind of attitude should I have? Not looking?" the white-robed man retorted.
Chu Tianyin felt stifled. "You!"
"The Chu Clan has eyes and ears all over the world, but they still can't find her, much less a loner like me. Eldest Sir Chu, I only came tonight to give you a warning. The rainbow-colored signal flares have already fallen into the Duke of Qin's hands, so you're on your own now. "
The rainbow-colored signal flares were used exclusively by Western Zhou's imperial family. Chu Tianyin had gotten them from Duanmu Baiye's side. With Long Fei Ye's intelligence, it wasn't impossible for him to suspect the Chu Clan.
Although Long Fei Ye wasn't the master of the 3,000 imperial harem, it'd be difficult for Chu Qingge to survive in the harem if she angered him.
Chu Tianyin had come to help Chu Qingge, but he might end up harming her instead.
The white-robed man prepared to leave as soon as he finished speaking, but Chu Tianyin stopped him. Lowering his voice to a whisper, he said, "Emperor Tianhui's illness or death is all in your hands. If you're willing to help Qingge, what can the Duke of Qin do no matter how powerful he is?"
The white-robed man's warm gaze turned cold at his words. "I'm not interested in matters of the imperial court."
"This isn't just about Tianning's court, but the revival of Western Qin's great cause. You're not interested?" Chu Tianyin asked.
"Reviving Western Qin is a matter for Western Qin's imperial clan, not your Chu Clan's," the white-robed man's tone was still mild, but his drooping eyes were filled with loathing!
What he hated the most was nothing more than recruiting soldiers and fighting for power under the banner of assisting the Imperial Family and reviving the great cause of the Imperial Family.
He wasn't sure if Chu Tianyin was the same, but he was certain that the elders of the Chu Clan all harbored such selfish motives!
Chu Tianyin only felt that the white-robed man couldn't be reasoned with. He was about to retort when the man's figure flashed away.
There were many things he could help with, but the Shadow Clan's protection was only protection. That was all.
Actually, the Shadow Clan had secretly helped Western Qin's infant girl escape from the Nether Clan's custody after she grew up.
The Shadow Clan had always known that the bloodline of Western Qin's imperial clan was in Medicine City's Mu Clan. However, Mu Xin disappeared after having an affair with the remnants of the Poison Sect.
He hadn't been born then, so it was his father who'd lost track of Mu Xin's whereabouts.
It wasn't until Han Yunxi opened the Xuan gold door in the Skypit that he was certain that Han Yunxi was the daughter of Mu Xin and the Poison Sect's young sect leader.
Only the blood of a direct descendant of the Poison Sect could open the Xuan gold door, and only the aura of that blood could subdue the poison beasts.
If not for Chu Tianyin's letter and Han Yunxi's mysterious poison skills, he would never have guessed that the Lady Tianxin he'd seen in his grandfather's consultation as a child was the disguised Lady Mu Xin.
He couldn't do something as private as the birthmark, but he could still do the blood test on the Xuan gold door.
The medical academy director Xi Yubo, who'd led Long Tianmo's relapse, had come to Tianning under his orders. It was also because of Long Tianmo's relapse that Han Yunxi had come to Medical City.
He'd never mentioned any of these things to anyone in the Nether Clan, nor would he ever mention them.
His only regret was that he hadn't expected to run into so many people in the Skypit, much less that Long Fei Ye, Jun Yi Xie, and the rest could see through the Shadow Clan's shadow arts!
He assumed that everything about the Shadow Clan had been buried in the dust of history with the demise of Western Qin's imperial clan.
He had no idea how many people he'd fooled with his excuse of going after the poison beast. At the very least, he began to pay attention to the movements of Jun Yi Xie and the rest, as well as the other descendants of nobles.
Leaving Han Yunxi by Long Fei Ye's side was still the wisest choice for now.
Any faction that wanted to touch her would have to get past the Duke of Qin first.
The Duke of Qin was a man destined to control the world and dominate Cloud Realm Continent. Meanwhile, he was all alone and sickly. No matter how fast he moved, he'd never be faster than death.
A gust of wind stirred up his white robes as he disappeared into the empty streets, leaving behind only heart-wrenching coughs …
Many sleepless nights were filled with sleepless people.
In the imperial palace, Chu Qingge had been suffering from insomnia for multiple nights.
She'd heard from Eunuch Luo that Emperor Tianhui had asked Imperial Physician Gu how long it'd take for them to have intercourse.
She'd been in the palace for two months, but Emperor Tianhui had yet to visit her. It wasn't because she'd fallen out of favor, but because Emperor Tianhui had yet to recover from his illness. All of the imperial physicians had told him not to eat meat, or else … all right, she couldn't imagine it, nor did she want to.
Although the imperial physicians had said they'd keep him under observation for a few more days, she'd managed to escape disaster. Still, she was clear that she'd be doomed in the end.
Sometimes, she'd be impulsive enough to poison Emperor Tianhui to death, but once he died, she'd have no heir. She'd only benefit the crown prince.
A mother's status depended on her son. No matter how much Emperor Tianhui admired her, she still needed a son if she wanted to gain a foothold in the imperial harem! If she wanted a son, she'd have to gain Emperor Tianhui's favor first.
Although she'd sworn to her father that she'd endure humiliation and take the throne of Tianning's empress, she still couldn't help but cry every night.
At times like this, only her hatred for Han Yunxi kept her going. If it wasn't for Han Yunxi, she wouldn't have played the zither so loudly at the empress dowager's birthday banquet to attract Emperor Tianhui's attention, much less enter the palace to investigate Noble Consort Xue's poisoning.
She'd already invited Han Yunxi three times in the name of Noble Consort Xue, but the woman refused to enter the palace even once.
Chu Qingge tossed and turned on her bed, unable to fall asleep. She was about to find her personal mama to discuss how to force Han Yunxi into the palace when Chu Tianyin's secret missive arrived before the two of them had a chance to speak …
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