Chapter 48: Chapter 48: 3-Insect 7-Flower Pill

“Have you forgotten your place? If Lingyu Palace hadn’t been kind enough to take you in, there would be no Pharmacist Zhao today. You’d have died on the side of the road long ago, your bones rotted to dust, with not even a scrap left behind.”

The newcomer was dressed in the clothes of a Cyan Yuan Sect Servant Disciple. These were Servant Disciples the Cyan Yuan Sect recruited in Taiyu City to handle miscellaneous tasks.

These Servant Disciples went through a rigorous selection process, yet there were still moles from other sects among them.

The man before him was one of them.

“Steward Qian, this disciple has never forgotten the Sect’s kindness. But you know my current situation. I can feel someone watching me in secret these days. If I’m discovered now, it could ruin the Sect Leader’s plan.”

Zhao Qiyang said hurriedly.

He was a mole sent by Lingyu Palace to the Cyan Yuan Sect. Before leaving Lingyu Palace, he had been dosed with a special slow-acting poison, the Three Insects and Seven Flowers Pill. Only Lingyu Palace’s special Antidote could stop the poison from spreading.

The formulation of this poison varied; different “Three Insects and Seven Flowers” were used, requiring different Antidotes. With over a thousand possible combinations, one had to know the exact “Three Insects and Seven Flowers” they had ingested to create the Antidote, making it unimaginably difficult to cure.

Someone would deliver the antidote to these moles every month. This method was to prevent them from betraying Lingyu Palace.

“Ruin the plan? That’s ridiculous. Your dear brother, Zhao Ziqing, personally destroyed an entire intelligence network within the Cyan Yuan Sect. If he hadn’t been so reckless and eager for glory, acting on his own, how could the network we worked so hard to build have been discovered by the Cyan Yuan Sect?”

“Your brother is a traitor to Lingyu Palace. He got what he deserved. As his brother, you should atone for his recklessness and make up for Lingyu Palace’s losses.”

“Not go after that Yang Chan and cause trouble for yourself.”

As an External Refining Expert from Lingyu Palace, Qian Tu was specially assigned to manage these moles hidden within the Cyan Yuan Sect.

He had come this time not only to give a new mission but also to put Zhao Qiyang in his place.

As a mole in the Cyan Yuan Sect, he needed to act with discretion and not follow in his brother’s footsteps, lest he interfere with Lingyu Palace’s grand plan.

“This disciple understands.”

Zhao Qiyang replied quickly.

“The Sect has a new mission for you. You are to investigate the movements of the Cyan Yuan Sect’s Lü Zhenghai. He just arrived in Taiyu City and may be planning to move against Lingyu Palace. If you investigate his itinerary, you can also atone for Zhao Ziqing’s transgressions.”

Qian Tu glanced at Zhao Qiyang as he laid out the new mission.

“Before I came, I made a special check. There’s no one monitoring you anymore. You should be safe for a while. Once you complete this mission, the Antidote and Cultivation Resources sent next month will be doubled.”

“As for that newly promoted Pharmacist, Yang Chan, whom you want to deal with, the Sect will find an opportunity to act. We’ll take his life to avenge the disciples who were exposed.”

After reprimanding him, Qian Tu promised many rewards—the very things Zhao Qiyang needed most and wanted to do most. This was his way of keeping him in line.

Zhao Qiyang was a Pharmacist within the Cyan Yuan Sect, making him far more valuable than the others. Naturally, they wouldn’t give up on him easily.

Qian Tu was well-practiced in this method of delivering a slap followed by a sweet reward; he had clearly done it often.

The way they treated these undercover disciples in the Cyan Yuan Sect was naturally different from others. After a mission was completed, they would be given rewards to ensure these moles could keep going.

“Thank you, Steward Qian. This disciple will not let the Sect down. Tomorrow, I will investigate Lü Zhenghai’s movements. The Sect can then set up an ambush and eliminate a future threat.”

Zhao Qiyang felt a bit more at ease knowing that no one from the Cyan Yuan Sect was monitoring him anymore. At least he was safe for now.

Although he wanted to kill Yang Chan, he hated the Cyan Yuan Sect even more. If he could get one of the Cyan Yuan Sect’s Inner Refining Elders killed, he would be more than happy to do so.

In any sect, experts at the Inner Refining Grandmaster Level were a cornerstone of its foundation. Losing even one would be a painful blow for a long time. Given a chance to deal with such a figure, Zhao Qiyang would certainly not let it pass.

“Good. Once you have the information, send it back to me using the usual method.”

Seeing this, Qian Tu nodded in satisfaction.

Although he was displeased with Zhao Qiyang’s fixation on Yang Chan—otherwise, he wouldn’t have waited so long to come and give him a mission—Zhao Qiyang’s attitude toward the Cyan Yuan Sect hadn’t changed. He was still filled with hatred.

That was excellent. These moles had to be constantly observed. If any sign of betrayal was discovered, they had to be completely eliminated, leaving no loose ends.

Controlling them with poison was effective, but not always foolproof. Some methods of torture could make life worse than death, causing a person to break and betray the Sect.

If such a situation arose, they would be eliminated preemptively.

The late Zhao Ziqing had been one such case. They had arranged for his elimination, but inside the Cyan Yuan Sect’s Law Enforcement Hall, their methods were not only useless, but they also lost quite a few of their own people in the process. The fallout implicated even more people, leading to the entire network of moles hidden in the Cyan Yuan Sect being uprooted.

A major failure like that could only be allowed to happen once. If he discovered that Zhao Qiyang was at risk of being exposed, or showed any signs of betraying Lingyu Palace, he would personally send Zhao Qiyang on his way to prevent another Zhao Ziqing incident.

After all, the two were brothers. It was entirely possible they would commit the same foolish mistake.

For now, though, Zhao Qiyang’s performance was acceptable.

Qian Tu left, moving quickly. He didn’t stay in Zhao Qiyang’s room for long.

’This guy really is up to something.’

Yang Chan watched the back of the man called Steward Qian as he left, and everything clicked into place.

It was just as he’d expected—related to the incident with Zhao Ziqing and the others.

’I always try to get along with people. If someone has it out for me for no apparent reason, then they’re obviously the one with the problem, not me.’

’I wonder who this Steward Qian is?’

Yang Chan only glanced at the man’s back and didn’t look closely, but he memorized his voice.

The reason he didn’t look longer was to avoid being noticed if the man had a powerful Spiritual Sense. People with a strong Spiritual Sense can feel when they are being watched, which would expose his presence.

It was just like how he could sense it when Zhao Qiyang stared at his back. Though, that was mostly an ability from his Tai Chi Health Cultivation Skill, which allowed him to perceive danger.

This Steward Qian was likely quite strong. If the man discovered him, he would be in some danger. And although he had an escape route prepared, Yang Chan still didn’t want to take the risk.

In any case, he had found the problem. He just needed to quietly report it to an Elder or someone similar. Why should he risk his own neck?

Although he hadn’t gotten a clear look at this Steward Qian’s face, he had memorized his build and voice. The man was also wearing the uniform of a Cyan Yuan Sect Servant Disciple. He just needed to find a reasonable opportunity to confirm his identity. Why risk being discovered now? There was little to gain from it.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep