West City Restaurant.

Thirteenth Lord did not drink, but bought a lot of alcohol and had Ying Wuji carry it out. They found a willow tree and sat down.

Ying Wuji gave a thumbs up and said, "Thirteenth Lord, you really know how to enjoy your drinks!"

Thirteenth Lord raised an eyebrow and said, "Drinking distracts me."

Ying Wuji complained, "But you... hey hey hey! Even if you don't drink, you shouldn't waste it! You're wasting food..."

Ying Wuji looked at Thirteenth Lord pouring the high-quality rice wine onto the tree, feeling a bit annoyed. This old man, doesn't he feel embarrassed to have no quirks at his age?

After pouring the wine, Thirteenth Lord turned to Ying Wuji and said, "Pour yours too!"

Ying Wuji smirked and said, "If we pour both of these big jars, the roots of this tree will probably catch fire!"

"If the tree burns, it burns."

"If the tree dies, it can be replanted. If a person dies, everything is lost!"

"..."

Ying Wuji didn't know how to argue, so he poured out the entire jar of wine.

Drinking again, and talking about death and trees, it was hard for people not to believe that Thirteenth Lord had a story behind him.

Perhaps Thirteenth Lord wanted to remind himself not to slack off because of drinking, using this method.

But this willow tree was really unlucky.

Ying Wuji wanted to ask Thirteenth Lord about the story behind it, but seeing that Thirteenth Lord had no intention of speaking, he didn't want to spoil the mood.

Thirteenth Lord remained silent in front of the willow tree for a long time, as if mourning. He seemed like a withered tree.

When all the wine on the ground had seeped into the soil, he turned around and said, "Let's go!"

Ying Wuji asked, "Where are we going?"

Thirteenth Lord stretched lazily and said, "Of course, to solve the case!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Ying Wuji suddenly heard the sound of swords trembling. Then he felt his wrist being held tightly, and he was forcefully pulled somewhere.

Everything spun around.

When everything calmed down, he found himself in a room.

To be precise, he was on the beam of a room.

Ying Wuji: "..."

What kind of spell is this?

He couldn't help but look down and saw Xun Zhiyin anxiously pacing back and forth. Every step he took would reopen his wounds, causing him great pain. But he didn't stop walking, as if only by doing so could he ease his inner anxiety.

This...

Is this where Xun Zhiyin is being held captive?

Ying Wuji was shocked. This spell was too ruthless, instant teleportation?

He looked at Thirteenth Lord and wanted to ask for clarification, but he was worried about alerting the enemy.

"Don't worry, he can't hear you!"

"This..."

Ying Wuji looked at the talisman in Thirteenth Lord's hand. It seemed to have the function of blocking sound and sight. He couldn't help but ask, "What kind of spell is this?"

Thirteenth Lord shook his head and said, "I'm just an ordinary warrior, how would I know any spells?"

"Then..."

"It's just that the sword is too fast and it cuts through space!"

"..."

Ying Wuji was speechless. This was even more outrageous than a spell!

He smirked and said, "Thirteenth Lord! Actually, we don't need to stake out here. Xun Zhiyin's behavior has already shown that he has someone behind him, but he doesn't dare to speak. As long as he dies, someone will naturally bring us the killer."

Thirteenth Lord coldly snorted, "I just want to see who dares to cause trouble right under my nose!"

Ying Wuji could only nod, this old man's desire to win was extraordinary.

He stopped talking and quietly watched the scene below.

Xun Zhiyin continued to pace back and forth, reopening his wounds. But the pain seemed far less than his inner panic.

Finally, the door was pushed open and Gongsun Di walked in with a cold expression.

Xun Zhiyin hurriedly greeted him, "Sir Gongsun!"

"Sir Gongsun?"

Gongsun Di's expression turned cold and he said, "Xun, you dare to assassinate our young master. Xun Zhiyin, you really have the guts. What else are you not capable of in this world?"

Xun Zhiyin was almost in tears and said, "Sir, I didn't do it!"

Gongsun Di sneered, "You didn't? Then explain where the list of suspects came from."

Xun Zhiyin quickly explained, "I don't know either! Maybe the young master was right. There must be someone with extremely strong cultivation who infiltrated and overheard our conversation."

Gongsun Di laughed disdainfully, "Leave that explanation to the inspector!"

Xun Zhiyin fell silent. If he explained to Thirteenth Lord, wouldn't that be the same as slapping Thirteenth Lord's face?

Even someone as powerful as Iron Bull was cautious when hiding in the embassy, afraid of being noticed by Thirteenth Lord.

Even entering and leaving the embassy required using his own carriage, and he had set up an expensive concealment formation inside the carriage.

Could it be explained?

No way to explain!

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He only knew that the assassination case was planned by Iron Bull, but he didn't expect himself to be an accomplice!

What should he do?

If he didn't speak out, he probably wouldn't be able to escape punishment.

But if he spoke out, not only would he be held accountable by Ying Wuque's faction, but Iron Bull might not spare him either.

Even if he could survive, he would definitely be expelled from the Xun family when he returned to Kingdom Qian. Being demoted to a commoner would be considered lenient. If he was arbitrarily enslaved for any reason, then he would truly be better off dead.

Seeing his appearance, Gongsun Di's expression became even colder. He said without any sympathy, "Young Master Wuji will be back in two days. Think about it carefully during these two days!"

After speaking, he left the room and ordered the people outside, "Be on high alert! Don't let a fly in except for the food I bring him!"

"Yes!"In the room.

Xun Zhiyin's face was pale and defeated, as if he had lost his loved ones.

On the beam.

Ying Wuji couldn't help but smack his lips. This little brother is really pitiful. It seems that he has been manipulated by someone behind the scenes.

But it's also his own fault for his death. These kind of opportunistic people should all die!

But when will that be?

He turned his head, wanting to chat with Thirteenth Brother, but Thirteenth Brother had already closed his eyes and entered a state of meditation, so he had no choice but to sit down as well.

And so, several hours passed peacefully.

Around the hour of Hai, most of the people in the embassy had fallen asleep.

Thirteenth Brother, who had been in meditation for a long time, suddenly opened his eyes. "They're here!"

Ying Wuji was puzzled. "How do you know?"

Thirteenth Brother sneered. "There is a sense sweeping through the embassy! It's very subtle, no wonder it could evade my detection!"

As soon as he finished speaking, there were a few faint muffled sounds outside the door, and then there was no other sound.

Only Gongsun Di made a sound. "What...uh..."

Ying Wuji: "..."

So this is a master!

Indeed, whether or not one has reached the stage of rebirth is like the difference between heaven and earth.

Gongsun Di's essence and energy had even reached the twelfth level, but in front of this person, he only had the opportunity to say one word.

"Squeak!"

The door opened.

After seeing the figure of Tieniu clearly, Xun Zhiyin inside finally reacted and became excited. "Envoy! Envoy! You finally came, I haven't said anything! Please take me away quickly, I won't stay in Kingdom Li, nor return to Kingdom Qian. I promise to hide my identity for the rest of my life and never reveal your secret."

Tieniu looked at him mockingly. "Oh? Xun Zhiyin, can you really keep your mouth shut?"

Xun Zhiyin nodded his head vigorously like a chick pecking at rice. "I will definitely keep my mouth shut!"

"I naturally believe in you, Xun Zhiyin!"

Tieniu paused. "But I still want to ask, Xun Zhiyin, do you think it's because you're good at keeping secrets, or because dead men can't talk?"

Xun Zhiyin's pupils contracted, and amidst his despair, a feeling of anger spread. "Tieniu! I didn't betray you because of Young Master Wuque. Are you going to repay kindness with enmity? Just wait and see, I will...ugh..."

Tieniu's movements were too fast.

He didn't even have a chance to react. With a light tap on his chest, his heart was shattered.

His body slowly fell to the ground, blood continuously pouring out of his mouth.

At first, it was like a fountain of blood, but when the fountain stopped, it turned into blood foam, and Xun Zhiyin's eyes also lost their luster.

He died just like that, in the hands of the envoy who he once saw as a guide to a bright future.

Tieniu glanced at the corpse as if it were trash.

However, at this moment, a voice exploded in the dark night.

"Your Heart-Crushing Palm technique is not bad, but your technique is a bit unskilled. It's going to be difficult to frame the Han family!"

"Who are you!"

Tieniu shivered, feeling a chill all over his body. He had never seen the appearance of the other person, but he could guess that this was the supervisor in the embassy.

In an instant, he understood many things and his expression became even more desperate. "Are you using me as bait?"

"Baiting is useless!"

Ying Wuji looked at him disdainfully. "If you openly assassinated me...no, if you directly assassinated me, I would still respect you as a man. But you, you actually used that Poison on the prostitute, you're truly despicable!"

"Ying Wuji, didn't you go to investigate the case?"

Tieniu's eyes widened in horror. He had never seen the appearance of the other person, but he could guess that this was the supervisor in the embassy.

In an instant, he understood many things and his expression became even more desperate. "Are you using me as bait?"

"Baiting is useless!"

Ying Wuji looked at him disdainfully. "If you openly assassinated me...no, if you directly assassinated me, I would still respect you as a man. But you, you actually used that Poison on the prostitute, you're truly despicable!"

"Ying Wuji, didn't you go to investigate the case?"

Tieniu's eyes widened in horror. "Who are you? There's no one like you in Kingdom Qian."

Tieniu had no intention of explaining. His expression became cold, and he disappeared instantly, thanks to the power of the Invisible technique from the Seventy-Two Earthly Fiendish Techniques.

But this forced invisibility effect was slightly inferior. After all, there was still a trace of energy that Thirteenth Brother caught, and he immediately struck out with a palm, causing a burst of qi to break through the air.

With a muffled sound, Tieniu's figure was forcibly revealed, crashing heavily into the wall.

He knelt on the ground, spitting out blood in large mouthfuls.

Thirteenth Brother clenched his hand in mid-air, and Tieniu's body was uncontrollably drawn towards him.

He looked at Tieniu. "Your true qi is mixed, it seems that you have practiced many techniques. Even this obscure Han family's Heart-Crushing Palm, you know it. I'm afraid you have done a lot of evil under someone else's name, right?"

Tieniu: "..."

Thirteenth Brother: "How can someone as cunning and ruthless as you exist by Young Master Wuque's side?"

Tieniu: "..."

Thirteenth Brother: "This Young Master Wuque, I'm afraid his background is not as pure as the rumors say, right?"

Tieniu: "..."

Thirteenth Brother became a little angry. "Speak!"

Ying Wuji reminded from the side, "Thirteenth Brother, he's already dead!"

"What!"

Thirteenth Brother's expression changed, and he immediately checked Tieniu's breath. Indeed, there was no more breath, and his heart and dantian were completely silent.

Ying Wuji was dumbfounded. "My Thirteenth Brother! We haven't asked anything yet, why did you kill him..."

"Nonsense!"Thirteenth Lord was angry: "I acted with restraint, even sealing his true energy. He couldn't die and had no chance to commit suicide!"

Ying Wuji sneered: "Then how did he die?"

Thirteenth Lord fell silent for a moment, then suddenly reached out his finger and scratched Iron Bull's head.

"Splash..."

The body scattered, turning into blood and remains all over the ground.

Ying Wuji's face turned pale and he couldn't help but vomit.

Thirteenth Lord's face looked grim: "This person's methods are really sinister. He even made a blood puppet!"

Ying Wuji asked with disgust: "Blood puppet? What is that? A clone?"

Thirteenth Lord snorted coldly: "It's a dark and evil technique. It uses one's own essence as a base and fuses the blood and flesh of animals to create a false body. It's just a puppet, and it consumes a lot of energy. It's a completely despicable and evil technique. This person probably realized that something was wrong a long time ago. He couldn't have gone far after the blood puppet died. Let's chase him!"

After speaking, he drew out his sword and pulled Ying Wuji into the crack.

In the next moment, the two appeared in the night sky.

But when they looked down at the embassy, they didn't find anything unusual.

Ying Wuji was lifted in the air by him and forced a smile: "Thirteenth Lord, the invisibility of the Seventy-Two Arts of Earthshaking is indeed impressive!"

Thirteenth Lord chuckled: "Hehe!"

Ying Wuji smiled and said, "Don't worry! My father has probably already taken action. This person won't be able to hide for long. Let's wait at home."

Thirteenth Lord's face darkened, but he couldn't detect any trace of Iron Bull. It was like finding a needle in a haystack.

So he could only nod.

In the forest a hundred miles away from Jiangcheng.

"Poof!"

Iron Bull spat out a mouthful of blood, his face pale as paper. Killing the blood puppet had already injured his essence, and he wouldn't be able to recover his energy for at least a year or more.

But fortunately, he had escaped, and it seemed that Ying Wuji and the overseer hadn't figured out his identity.

And Xun Zhiyin was dead too!

"Hahaha!"

He couldn't help but laugh, his laughter particularly cheerful and even somewhat sinister.

He didn't expect Ying Wuji to be so cunning. If this person stayed, even if he became the Li King's son-in-law, he would still pose a threat to Ying Wuque.

In this Hundred Family Gathering, he must find an opportunity to kill him!

He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and slowly stood up.

But at this moment, he suddenly felt something warm in his arms.

He took it out and saw a faint light on the communication talisman.

The communication talisman was extremely precious, even in the major aristocratic families. This communication talisman was given to him by Lin Guifei. It could only be used in major events.

"What..."

He hesitated, wondering what major event had happened?

...

One hour ago.

Li King's Palace.

"Clang!"

"Clang!"

"Clang!"

The young man had a cold and stern expression. The hundreds of pounds of mysterious iron sword in his hand felt weightless as he continuously performed basic sword moves, accurately piercing the meteorite target, producing a grating metallic tremor.

The young man had a tall and straight figure, with well-defined muscles all over his body. Although he didn't look particularly burly, he exuded a noble and wild power.

Noble and wild, these two seemingly conflicting qualities were harmonious in him.

The bloodline of Zhuanxu was one of the five ancient emperor bloodlines. Anyone who awakened it would undoubtedly become one of the top powerhouses in the world. Nowadays, the ancient bloodlines had mostly declined, but anyone who awakened them could still be considered a genius.

Ying Wuque's expression was indifferent, not daring to have the slightest slack in his sword moves. But even though his body was strong, the heavy sword in his hand weighed hundreds of pounds. After a thousand or so strikes, his movements began to show slight deformations.

In that moment of deviation.

"Crack!"

The whip fell, leaving a blood mark on his arm, causing him to tremble in pain.

Lin Guifei angrily said, "For the sake of your Zhuanxu bloodline, I have cultivated for twenty years and sacrificed my cultivation! And you, with the abundant resources of the Li King's family, can't even perform a thousand sword strikes. How can you deserve my efforts and be worthy of being your father's son?"

Ying Wuque gritted his teeth and stabbed the meteorite target again.

"Wuque knows his mistake!"

"Crack!"

Another whip fell, and Lin Guifei corrected him, "You should address yourself as 'son' when you're in the palace. You've been back in the royal family for some time now, how can you not even remember the basic etiquette?"

Ying Wuque: "..."

Lin Guifei also felt that she might have gone too far and shook her head, throwing the whip aside. "Forget it! Take a rest for a while!"

Ying Wuque breathed a sigh of relief and gently put the heavy sword back into its scabbard. He worriedly asked, "Mother... Guifei! Do you have something on your mind?"

Before, Lin Guifei was also very strict with him, but today she seemed to be finding fault for no reason.

He was certain that Lin Guifei's mood would be reflected in his training standards.

"It's nothing!"

Lin Guifei was a bit annoyed. Throughout the day, she kept thinking about the scene from this morning.

Her annoyance didn't come from the exorbitant dowry she had arranged for Ying Wuji.

After all, she had already become Ying Yue's beloved concubine, and her son was about to secure the position of Crown Prince. Those precious treasures would come back in the future.

But... Ying Wuji had clearly decided not to come back, so why was she still so anxious?

Lin Guifei couldn't figure it out, but at this moment, she thought of Xun Zhiyin's expression and Ying Wuji's suggestion to "detain and interrogate."

Why did that brat choose such a gentle approach when he could have interrogated him face to face and gained even greater benefits? It wouldn't have been excessive even if he had publicly beheaded Xun Zhiyin. Why did he choose such a soft method?

Wait!

A very bad guess emerged in her mind.

Lin Guifei panicked and quickly took out a key from her pocket, then took out a piece of talisman paper from the iron box.

"A communication talisman?"

Ying Wuque was surprised. "Guifei! Are you trying to contact Uncle? Has something major happened?""Don't call him uncle anymore!"

Consort Lin didn't speak, she directly ordered him to activate the communication talisman.

Ying Wuque's expression darkened, and he could only do as he was told.

A moment later.

The figure of Iron Bull appeared in the illusion.

Ying Wuque was somewhat excited: "Uncle..."

"Shut up!"

Consort Lin sternly stopped him, seeing Iron Bull's severely injured state, her face had turned extremely ugly.

She stared at Iron Bull, her voice trembling slightly with anger: "The list of women from the High-class Brothel, did you give it to the murderer?"

Iron Bull gave a bitter smile and nodded.

Consort Lin was furious: "I told you to suppress Ying Wuji, but I didn't tell you to put him in a deadly situation. Are you trying to kill us both?"

Iron Bull's face stiffened slightly, showing a hint of anger: "You are just too indecisive! As long as Ying Wuji dies, even if King Qian hates you, Wuque is his only son, what can he do to you?"

"So what? Is Ying Wuji dead?"

"He failed!"

Iron Bull was somewhat frustrated: "But don't worry! Xun Zhiyin is already dead, no one knows..."

Consort Lin's voice suddenly became shrill: "Shut up! Do you think His Majesty is as stupid as you? There are people behind Xun Zhiyin, and he dare not say, who else could it be but our people? Once Xun Zhiyin dies, the blame will be on us and we can't shake it off! How blind are you to not see the trap that wolf cub set for you?"

Iron Bull: "......"

His face gradually turned ugly, today his mind was filled with the thought of killing Xun Zhiyin, only now did he understand the reason behind it.

After a long silence, he muttered: "I will take responsibility for my actions, I won't implicate you!"

Consort Lin sneered: "How will you take responsibility?"

"I......"

Iron Bull felt a tightness in his chest, but couldn't come up with a suitable explanation, he could only mutter: "Then you tell me, what should I do?"

Consort Lin stared at him, the anger in her eyes faded a bit, becoming tangled and painful.

After a long, long time, she softly uttered a sentence: "You go back to the embassy, let Ying Wuji do as he pleases!"

"What!"

Ying Wuque was shocked: "Mother! Isn't this sending uncle to his death?"

"Slap!"

A slap fell.

"Shut up!"

Consort Lin scolded angrily, and looked at Iron Bull again: "You go back to the embassy, let Ying Wuji do as he pleases!"

Although she just repeated it, there was no more hesitation in her tone.

(End of the chapter)