For women, age was a taboo after the age of 18.
Su He actually did not have this problem. She was 18 when she died. From then on, her life would forever be fixed at 18 years old. From a certain point of view, even after a thousand years, or even ten thousand years, she would still be 18.
In Yangqiu County, in the old mansion in the county, Li Mu and Su He ate the hotpot that she had been longing for for a long time. Su He did not directly promise him that she would go to Luoyang with him in three months, but she did not reject him either.
She felt guilty for her late parents and wanted to stay here to watch over their graves for a month.
For the past twenty years, Su He had been trapped in the Gulf of Clearwater. What she had experienced the most, besides hatred, was loneliness. In the past, she had often blamed Li Mu for not accompanying her. Li Mu had simply released two female ghosts, one big and one small, to accompany her.
Su He was obviously bored out of her wits. Li Mu ate hotpot with her three times in two days.
On the third day, Mr. Mei and Shangguan Li arrived at Yangqiu County.
The Left Assistant Minister of the Ministry of War came with them. He was under the Empress' orders to escort Shangguan Li and the others back to the Divine Capital.
Most of the Sixth Realm cultivators in the imperial court were senior officials. The Empress' Inner Guard had only been established for a short period of time, so there weren't any cultivators above the Sixth Realm. However, the imperial court had the Consecration Department, which had many independent cultivators recruited by the imperial court. But this operation was top secret. For safety reasons, the Empress still sent the Left Assistant Minister of the Ministry of War.
The Ministry of War and White Deer Institute had always been neutral. They didn't involve themselves in the imperial court. The generals guarded the borders of the Great Zhou. Even if there was a change of regime in the Great Zhou, they wouldn't withdraw their troops. The officials of the Ministry of War were loyal to the current ruler.
This time, when they went to Yingzhou to investigate, they passed by Yunzhong County and met Madam Chu, who was looking for Shangguan Li and the others.
This was the first time that Su He and Mrs. Chu had met. Li Mu was a little worried that they would have a conflict, so he secretly looked in their direction a few times. Seeing that they didn't seem to have any intention of fighting, he gradually relaxed.
In the corner of the courtyard, Mrs. Chu looked at Su He and said apologetically, "Miss Su, I'm sorry. At that time, I only knew that you went missing. I didn't know that you were killed by that beast, Cui Ming …"
Su He shook her head slightly and said, "You were also harmed by Cui Ming. You don't have to apologize to me."
Madam Chu heaved a sigh of relief and said, "I still have to thank you. If it weren't for you, I'm afraid that my soul would have dissipated long ago, and I wouldn't have had the chance to personally take revenge …"
Su He was a little surprised and asked, "Why do you say that?"
Madam Chu said, "Back in the Northern County, in order to take revenge, I became a Ghost General under Chu Jiang Of Gojoseon. Later on, I almost made a big mistake. Originally, I was going to die at the hands of Lord Cui Ming, but Lord Li learned of my old grudge with Cui Ming and spared my life. He brought me to Luoyang to find an opportunity to identify Cui Ming and take revenge on you …"
Su He glanced at Li Mu, who was not far away. Li Mu didn't tell her about these things.
She only knew that Cui Ming was a spy from the Demon Sect and was being hunted down by the Great Zhou court. She didn't know that there were so many twists and turns before this matter.
As for Cui Ming, she didn't tell Li Mu in detail. She only mentioned it twice. When Li Mu woke her up from her deep sleep, Cui Ming was already in front of her, waiting for her to personally take revenge.
Obviously, although Li Mu didn't ask her, he kept this matter in mind.
She looked at Madam Chu and asked, "What exactly happened in between?"
…
Li Mu didn't look in the direction of Su He and Madam Chu anymore. This was because Mr. Mei's stare made her feel a little uneasy.
Mr. Mei looked him up and down. In the end, he couldn't help but ask, "How did you do it?"
Li Mu played dumb and said, "Do what?"
Mr. Mei said, "Don't play dumb with me. You're just a Level Four cultivator. How did you defeat Cui Ming, who was possessed by a Level Six cultivator?"
Li Mu looked in the direction of Su He and said, "This is all thanks to Sister Su. If she didn't possess my body, the avatar of the Lord of Illusions could crush me with one finger."
Mr. Mei glanced at him and said, "Don't give me that. She's just a Level Five cultivator. Do you think it's so easy to make up for the difference of a Level?"
Li Mu thought for a while and said, "Actually, after Cui Ming was possessed, his aura was just a little stronger. In reality, he wasn't that strong. With Sister Su's mana and the Dao techniques that my master taught me, it's not strange that I defeated him …"
Mr. Mei looked at him. It was still uncertain whether Li Mu's "old man" master really existed. This reason wasn't very convincing.
But she couldn't ask anymore. At this time, the assistant minister of the Ministry of War said, "Where is Cui Ming? If we delay, there might be changes. To prevent the Demon Sect from leaking information, I'll search his soul first. Then, I'll immediately send a message to Luoyang to find the spy in the court …"
While Shangguan Li and the others were recuperating in the county office, Cui Ming, whose Primordial Spirit was sealed, was temporarily kept in the Flask Heaven's Space by Li Mu to avoid any accidents.
As long as he was with Su He, after the two of them combined, even if the Demon Sect sent someone of the Elder level, they wouldn't be able to bring Cui Ming back.
Li Mu waved his hand and Cui Ming rolled out of the Flask Heaven's Space.
When he was in Luoyang, he was still the assistant minister of the secretariat and the emperor's son-in-law. Without sufficient evidence, it wasn't easy to search his soul.
Even if Cui Ming was willing, the court had to use gentle methods to search his soul. But because those methods were too gentle, the results were mediocre and couldn't guarantee the results of the soul search.
There was also a violent method to search one's soul. It could forcibly read one's memories and there was no way to hide it. But this violent method caused great damage to the Primordial Spirit and couldn't be recovered. If this method was used on an official in the court just because of suspicion, the order of the Great Zhou court would completely collapse.
But Cui Ming didn't have so many restrictions now.
He was no longer a fourth-rank official, nor was he the emperor's son-in-law. He was going to die anyway. Before he died, even if he was searched into a lunatic or an idiot, no one would have any objections.
The Left Assistant Minister of the Ministry of War glanced at the unconscious Cui Ming. He reached out and pressed his hand on his head.
His palm glowed with a white light. Gradually, Cui Ming's body began to twitch unconsciously. His expression was ferocious and the veins on his forehead bulged. His blood vessels wriggled like earthworms. It was obvious that he was in great pain …
After a while, the Left Assistant Minister of the Ministry of War retracted his hand and said with a solemn expression, "Among the four internal guards, other than the woman you captured, there are four others who have been bewitched by Cui Ming to become spies for the Meizong Sect …"
Mr. Mei said in shock, "There are spies in the Meizong Sect as well?"
The Left Assistant Minister of the Ministry of War nodded and said, "This is just Cui Ming's bewitchment. Who knows how many more spies from the Demon Sect are hidden in the Great Zhou court …"
After searching Cui Ming's soul, they only found four people. It wasn't a lot, but it wasn't out of Li Mu's expectations.
If spies from the Demon Sect were discovered by the court, only death awaited them.
Therefore, they kept their identities as spies a secret.
In order to ensure that their identities weren't leaked, spies didn't know each other in most cases. They could only contact each other through a single line. Different spies didn't know each other's identities.
This method made it so that even if the court found one spy, they couldn't follow the vine to the melon and find more spies.
However, this method also had a fatal flaw.
This reminded Li Mu of the Infernal Affairs. If the spies died, their identities would never be exposed. Not to mention the court, even the Meizong Sect didn't know that they had such a spy in the court. There was a possibility that if the spy went back on his word or realized that he was promoted faster in the court, as long as he killed the spies, he could completely clear his identity and become a good citizen of the Great Zhou. He could even become an important official in the court …
Of course, the benefits of a single line of communication were obvious.
Even if the court caught such an important person like Cui Ming, they could only get rid of a few insignificant people in the internal guards. For the Meizong Sect, it wasn't much of a loss.
Mr. Mei said with a sullen face, "When His Majesty just ascended the throne, we were too careless when we formed the internal guards. This time, when we return to Luoyang, we must completely clean up the internal guards …"
She looked at Li Mu and asked, "You really don't want to go back with us?"
Li Mu shook his head and said, "I've been busy for more than half a year. Let me take a break and spend time with my family …"
Mr. Mei wanted to say that His Majesty also needed someone to accompany him. He was the only one in the Great Zhou who could accompany His Majesty. However, she couldn't say it out loud. She could only say, "His Majesty doesn't have many people who can be used. Try to come back as soon as possible …"
Li Mu nodded and said, "I know, I know …"
Then, he glanced at the unconscious Cui Ming who had been violently soul-searched and asked, "What should we do with him?"
Mrs. Chu walked over from the side and asked, "Can you leave him to me?"
Mr. Mei and Shangguan Li looked at each other and nodded.
Cui Ming was useless now. Bringing him back to Luoyang was also a dead end. He used to be an important official in the court and the emperor's son-in-law. If they brought him back to Luoyang to be executed, everyone would know about it. It would be a loss of face for the court.
Mrs. Chu carried the unconscious Cui Ming into Li Mu's former study and closed the door.
"Ah, what are you doing!"
"Don't come over!"
"Yun 'er, it's all my fault. I beg you to let me go. Let me go. Ah …"
…
In the room, Cui Ming's horrified voice could be heard. At first, he was still able to speak a complete sentence. Later, all that was left was a series of blood-curdling screams …
Shangguan Li and Mr. Mei decisively sealed off their hearing. Li Mu listened to the blood-curdling screams in the room and shuddered. He didn't hesitate to shut off his hearing.
After a while, Mrs. Chu walked out of the room expressionlessly.
Everything in the room was the same as before. It was as if nothing had changed.
However, Cui Ming, who she had just brought in, had completely disappeared.
Li Mu sighed in his heart. He probably wouldn't be able to live in this house in peace in the future. It was a pity that his old house …
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