Chapter 128: 120 Vows, Part 2

Zhang Rongfang closed the courtyard door, his face slightly tense.

This time, if it weren’t for his previous experience working in the yamen, he might have been discovered and then pursued by a large contingent of imperial forces.

And then end up being crushed by the combined efforts of the Black Ten Sect and the court.

Only now did he truly understand the benefits of power.

Although he was merely leveraging the strength of the Li family, it was enough to prevent himself from being hunted throughout the city.

With a moment of reflection, he was about to return to his room to rest.

Suddenly, a small Little Red Bird gently landed on the side of the wall, chirping a few times.

Zhang Rongfang looked up and extended his hand.

The little bird immediately flew over and landed on the back of his hand.

After removing the bamboo tube, he carefully poured out the letter and unfolded it to look.

It was information sent from the Golden Wing Pavilion in the provincial city. By continuously exchanging Little Red Birds, it finally reached him here.

Xu Miaotong should have received a copy as well.

The letter was brief, with not many words.

’The items have been received; all operations in Tan Yang City must cease and go completely undercover for a month. Await further instructions. — Red Spirit.’

“They want us to go completely undercover….” Zhang Rongfang deduced the thoughts of the higher-ups at the Golden Wing Pavilion.

This means that the secret scroll silk has been obtained, requiring time to utilize, so to avoid retaliation, all regional branches are instructed to go completely undercover.

Complete undercover means halting all operations, even intelligence exchanges, living as if one never joined the Golden Wing Pavilion, living as usual.

This is what being completely undercover means.

“It seems the acquisition of the secret scroll silk may get leaked. Or rather, it might be impossible to keep it hidden,” Zhang Rongfang speculated.

“Going undercover is fine, I might as well….” Suddenly he recalled last night’s events.

Originally, he kept an empty box at home to see if anyone would actually make a move against him.

Unexpectedly, one test revealed a genuine problem.

Letting the Little Red Bird go, he stopped contemplating further.

After contacting Qingsu, he would find out how his information got leaked last night.

Logically, his public identity was as Zhang Ying, merely a third-rank official, not someone people should be targeting.

Even if people guessed there might be a high-ranking expert behind Zhang Ying, no one should be interested in Zhang Ying’s personal belongings, right?

Zhang Rongfang speculated in his heart.

The operation last night was too rushed; many clues were unattainable, so he would have to wait until later to meet her.

As for the injury on his right hand, such a severe sprain would take at least a month to heal…

“Oh right, the Black Ten Sect’s Snake King coming down to investigate the culprit…. is another problem…”

Zhang Rongfang suddenly remembered that many people in the Black Ten Sect who died were somehow related to him….

Now it’s not whether he wants to go undercover, but that they are looking for him….

The Snake King, a formidable force, far surpassed him….

“What a bother…..”

But then he thought it over and realized he wasn’t exposed; the Black Ten Sect’s matters might lead to suspicions about him, but they weren’t likely to act against him directly.

As long as there’s no evidence implicating him, and with the Li family behind him, and being close to the Wanyan family now too,

he didn’t believe the Black Ten Sect would dare act against a court official over mere suspicion.

In today’s world, if they really dared to act, it would mean opposing the entire Spirit Court.

So he only needed to be cautious about assassination.

*

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*

State Governor Mansion.

Sun Chaoyue carefully placed the tea she held onto her father’s study desk.

“Father, your tea is Dongling Tieguanyin that I brewed personally. Recently your stomach hasn’t been great, so switching to this can better nurture and warm it.”

“You’re thoughtful, Chao Yue, you can go back to your room and rest; I still have matters to discuss with your Uncle Xue.”

Governor Sun gave a gentle smile.

“Yes.” Sun Chaoyue displayed a standard gentle and serene lady’s smile.

“It’s been years, and Chao Yue has grown into a fine young lady. Do you still remember more than ten years ago when I lifted you high, and you ended up peeing all over me?”

The man sitting across from Governor Sun laughed and teased.

“Uncle Xue, I’m a grown lady now, please don’t bring up such things, it’s embarrassing.” Sun Chaoyue said helplessly.

“True, my mistake, I should be punished.” The man took an item from his sleeve and handed it over.

“Then, let this be a gift of apology to Chao Yue.”

“Thank you, Uncle.” Sun Chaoyue accepted it gracefully without reservation.

It was a pendant of a Pixiu carved in purple jade.

An emblem of attracting wealth and treasure.

“Ah… after so many years, Ping’Er still often talks about Chao Yue; perhaps we should meet the children of both families soon?” The man suggested whilst admiring Sun Chaoyue.

Under the candlelight, were Zhang Rongfang here, he would immediately recognize.

This man was the Black Ten Sect’s Snake King — Xue Jinghao, with whom he had recently clashed.

“How is Ping’Er’s studies going at Haojin Mountain?” Governor Sun asked warmly.

“Very well, the teachers hold him in high regard. He even formed a small society at the academy, serving as vice president. He’s living quite freely and comfortably.” Xue Jinghao laughed.

“Isn’t that because he has you to support him? With you overseeing things at Shuangfeng, isn’t every major asset of yours flourishing?” Governor Sun pointed out.

“In today’s world, money and power are both indispensable. Otherwise, no one will take you seriously.”

“Let’s not speak of this. You know very well why I came this time, Brother Sun.” The Snake King reigned in his smile and spoke seriously.

“That object was originally used by the higher-ups as bait. The people of the secret sect knew it was a trap, but had no choice but to take the bait. The benefits a Spiritual Vein could bring are too great. Why are you intervening now?” Governor Sun shook his head.

“It’s different this time… this secret scroll…” The Snake King glanced at Sun Chaoyue.

The latter sweetly smiled, gave a courteous bow, and turned to leave.

Once she had left, the Snake King continued.

“This time, the secret scroll is the last two pieces of the puzzle to complete the Yinfu Xisheng Scripture.”

“Yinfu Xisheng Scripture??” Governor Sun’s expression slightly changed, “How reliable is this information?”

“Absolutely true!” Snake King said sternly. “Previously, within the Chasing Moon Saber, the hidden fragments were one of the puzzle pieces of this scripture. Ten statues, ten scroll silks, none are dispensable.”

“…No wonder… No wonder someone lured the maniacs from the two rankings over… Turns out it’s a ploy to fish in troubled waters.” Sun Chaoyue’s face sank into silence.

He deliberately acted as if he was obsessed with money, greedy to the extreme, only knowing how to indulge.

But if others indeed see him as simply a foolish and naive person, they’ll be gravely mistaken.

Once opposing him, underestimating him would lead to the adversary’s absolute ruin.

“The people from the Secret Sect move at the first scent of trouble, now they’ve even attracted the Celestial Maiden from the black list; this small place is truly lively…” Sun Chaoyue chuckled self-mockingly.

“Speaking of which.” Sun Chaoyue paused, “Old Xue, are you here for the Secret Scroll, or for those few in your sect who died?”

“Both probably. Everything was fine before, then suddenly this happened, so I came over along the way.” Snake King nodded.

“Earlier I intended to handle it myself, but after hearing you would come, I waited a bit longer. What’s your plan? I don’t think searching the whole city will yield any clues.” Sun Chaoyue asked solemnly.

“Originally there were no clues, but last night, I got lucky and found one.” Snake King smiled.

He had no leads at first, but last night, unexpectedly, someone came forward claiming to provide valuable clues.

*

*

*

Bang.

The small box was heavily slammed onto the stone in the forest, the bottom collapsed, bouncing to the side.

Zhao Tianming, panting heavily, face flushed red, stood by the stone, eyes bloodshot.

He risked so much to get this box, planning to hand it over to the Secret Sect, but… just this!?

An empty box placed so meticulously??

This isn’t just deceiving, is it??!

“No clues from Zhang Ying, but Qingsu keeps going there, surely there’s an issue. The Secret Scroll Silk likely has a handwritten copy, and undoubtedly it’s with Bai Ying.”

“Bai Ying is closely connected with Zhang Ying; this has been confirmed. So what exactly is Bai Ying to Zhang Ying?? Is she his elder?”

He continued to straighten out his logic based on the intelligence he knew.

The Secret Sect’s rigid requirement was for him to hand over clues related to the Secret Scroll.

He had to take this opportunity… to avenge the humiliation and power seizure from back then.

“What if no handwritten copy of the Secret Scroll exists?” Suddenly, Zhao Tianming had this thought.

His expression flickered, pondering constantly.

“Forget it, I can’t do much on my own; I might as well expose that Bai Ying took the Secret Scroll to Golden Wing Pavilion. Then let the Secret Sect and Black Ten Sect cause her trouble.”

Too few clues. He couldn’t handle it alone.

The only way now is to expose Bai Ying.

Let the Secret Sect find out themselves.

A trace of ruthlessness flashed in Zhao Tianming’s eyes. This wasn’t his first time doing something like this.

The previous Bai Ying ended up just like this.

Being the Secret Sect’s undercover agent, he previously leaked information to the Secret Sect, discovered by Bai Ying.

Thus, he secretly brought in Secret Sect’s experts to kill Bai Ying and destroy the corpse.

Now, it’s just a repeat of the same play.

“As for Qingsu, she probably saw the arm guard last night. If suspected… it might be a problem too. Why not go all out…”

He made a firm decision in his heart.

The Zhao family wasn’t insignificant in Tan Yang City, so he couldn’t afford any incidents; once there’s trouble, surely no one in the family’s hundreds of members would survive.

Therefore… for the safety of his family, Bai Ying and Qingsu must die together!

He knew the strength of the Secret Sect’s experts all too well. Having gained initial trust by obtaining the statue from Xiong Wuye, next, as long as he could persuade…

*

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*

Mingjing Palace.

Xu Miaotong walked into Zhang Rongfang’s yard without hesitation, closing the door behind her.

She wrinkled her nose.

“Are you hurt?”

“Yes, internal injuries.” Zhang Rongfang nodded, sitting cross-legged in the center of the yard, not getting up.

The two often exchanged intelligence, which made them relatively familiar by now.

“How is it? How are things on your side? Do you need help?” Xu Miaotong moved to sit cross-legged two meters opposite Zhang Rongfang.

“Did you read the letters from the pavilion?”

“Of course.”

“Just follow what’s written. Now’s definitely not the time to move.” Zhang Rongfang said calmly.

“You made a great contribution this time. Didn’t the upper echelons reward you?” Xu Miaotong asked.

“No mention, nothing in the letters.” Zhang Rongfang was puzzled by this.

“Not even a word?”

“Not a single word.”

Xu Miaotong pondered.

“Looks like… there’s only one possibility.”

“What is it?” Zhang Rongfang disliked playing guessing games.

“Just a hunch, we’ll see in due time; you’ll understand later.” Xu Miaotong smiled, started discussing recent intelligence from Black Eagle.

The two routinely exchanged information for half an hour.

Xu Miaotong then stood to leave.

As she reached the yard’s entrance, she suddenly turned back.

“By the way, is your weight loss method really effective?”

“???” Zhang Rongfang wondered, glanced at Xu Miaotong’s slender waist. “Of course, do you want to lose weight?”

“Hmm, lately I feel my chest is heavier, it’s quite inconvenient for martial arts…” Xu Miaotong expressed slight trouble.

“…..” Zhang Rongfang was speechless.

“Also, make sure to visit Cloud Mist Residence after your undercover operations end.” Xu Miaotong left one last sentence before turning to leave.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep