The Path of the Martial Arts BOSS
Chapter 97 - 94: Meeting

Chapter 97: Chapter 94: Meeting

Qing Yu walked alone on the streets of Divine Capital, holding a black wood box.

Feng Jiu had been intercepted at the city gates earlier and was invited to a banquet. The person extending the invitation was also a Prince, the Tenth Prince, Feng Jue.

Eighth Prince Feng Qiwu, being a disciple of the Mountain River Academy’s Dean and a talented scholar and warrior, held too great an advantage. Any prince aspiring to the supreme throne of Northern Zhou fervently supported Feng Jiu, and the Tenth Prince certainly wouldn’t be the last.

However, according to Qing Yu, this Tenth Prince was no match for the Sixth Prince. The Sixth Prince, a man of proud disposition, would humble himself and seek favor from Feng Jiu, whom he had previously disregarded, whenever necessary. He would leverage the bonds of brotherhood to garner emotional appeal.

Compared to that, the Tenth Prince—who, by status, should address Feng Jiu as ’Brother’—only sent a servant to block Feng Jiu at the city gate and bluntly asked for this ’Brother’ to visit him. Truly capable of maintaining his stature but failing to lower his pride. With such lack of tact, the throne was out of reach.

Feng Jiu agreed to attend the banquet, not to ingratiate himself with the Tenth Prince, but to challenge him sharply from the moral and fraternal standpoint. There was no choice; even at the cost of considerable effort with little gain, he had to maintain his public image. Moreover, this move—though sure to offend the Tenth Prince—would vastly improve his reputation, letting everyone in the Divine Capital know of Feng Jiu’s redefined persona.

Thus, Feng Jiu went to teach his brother a lesson.

The black wood box he carried had been a gift from the Sixth Prince to Feng Jiu, promised almost a month ago: the Blood Spirit Ginseng. To maintain his noble gentleman’s image, Feng Jiu had stubbornly refused it twice.

Only today, leveraging their freshly improved relations and under the guise of fraternal affection, the Sixth Prince adamantly pressed the ginseng, considered a ’Heavenly material and earth treasure’, into Feng Jiu’s visibly reluctant hands. Subsequently, Feng Jiu handed it over to Qing Yu.

Recalling the pained expression on Feng Jiu’s face when he handed over the ginseng, Qing Yu couldn’t help but chuckle.

Suddenly, Qing Yu’s ears twitched as a whisper carried by the wind reached him: "Songhe Inn, Room Three."

The voice, as if right beside his ear, was clear and distinct. Qing Yu recognized it; it was the voice of Chasing Wind Divine Constable, Lu Qifeng, signaling clearly, "Songhe Inn, Room Three, go see him."

Summoned by his direct superior, he had no choice but to comply.

············

"Mr. Lu." As Qing Yu entered, he saw Lu Qifeng leisurely sipping tea.

Sitting idly by the door wasn’t a flattering look for a superior, seemingly waiting in agony for a subordinate. However, another person beside Lu Qifeng wasn’t in such a leisurely mood.

"Daoist Qingyu, it’s been a long time, or rather, should it be our first meeting?" Luo Yan said with a smirk.

"Lord Luo," Qing Yu replied with a wry smile, apologizing, "My apologies."

Qing Yu and Luo Yan had crossed paths several times before, but Qing Yu had never shown his face.

When Zhang Qingfeng was ambushed in the streets, Qing Yu wore a mask. When Luo Yan approached him that night, Qing Yu stayed hidden in shadow, unseen. And when Luo Yan attacked the City Lord Mansion last time, Qing Yu simply sent a substitute. To say he made a fool of Luo Yan would be an overstatement, but indeed, he showed no sincerity and thoroughly tricked him. This was why Qing Yu apologized immediately upon meeting.

"How is it that you’re still not willing to show your true face? So ashamed to be seen?" Luo Yan coldly said.

Qing Yu touched his own face and responded, "This... I apologize, Lord Luo. It’s just a habit of disguise, and I didn’t have time to adjust yet. Forgive me!"

Saying this, Qing Yu lowered his head, rubbed his face a few times with his hands, and when he lifted his head again, he looked two to three years younger, and significantly different from before.

"It’s truly marvelous..." Luo Yan said in surprise as he watched Qing Yu unveil a new appearance, chuckling, "Who would have thought, your true face is quite pleasing to look at!"

"Lord Luo should have seen this face before. My substitute looks exactly like me," Qing Yu said.

"That’s different..." Luo Yan shook his head.

The same face, on Qing Yu’s substitute, felt like a mask, lifeless, akin to a finely made mechanical man. Yet, on its rightful owner, it bore a pure and natural air, not like an imitation.

"Alright," Lu Qifeng put down his tea cup and spoke, "Qing Yu, how is your progress on your side?"

Qing Yu replied, "Sir, at the Mountain River Academy, ordinary scholars are busy with their studies and have no time for extraneous activities. Moreover, as per the investigations of your servant over many days, the specific texts are all within the Guardian Pavilion. However, this Guardian Pavilion is not accessible to non-core scholars. Ordinary scholars can only enter the first floor of the Guardian Pavilion with Mr. Wen Su’s permission, and are allowed to consult the texts for two hours."

"As for the core disciples..." Qing Yu said with a wry smile, "Sir, the ’Heavenly Principle Inner Saint Method’ you bestowed can perfectly mimic the Confucian ’Vast Righteous Qi’. But, having become a core disciple and often entering the mountain-top academy for lessons, with lectures potentially given by the Dean or Mountain Master Meng, your servant truly lacks confidence in deceiving the discerning eyes of Mountain Master Meng."

"Your servant has been in the academy for many days without any gains, please forgive my incompetence!"

"Hmm," Lu Qifeng’s face showed no anger, as if he had anticipated such a situation, "You’ve been in school for less than a month, and to have discovered the Guardian Pavilion is commendable already. Although the Six Gates are already aware of the Guardian Pavilion, your ability to find this out so quickly shows you have indeed put effort into the investigation. I will not blame you."

"The spies from the Six Gates who went to the Mountain River Academy might feel suppressed by the academy’s environment, but given their sternly trained psychological resilience, surviving a month is no issue. Among these spies, those who could find out about the Guardian Pavilion within a month are few. Daoist Qingyu’s progress in discovering the Guardian Pavilion within a month is astonishing indeed," Luo Yan added with a smile on the side.

From his demeanor, he had set aside his slight grudges against Qing Yu.

"Lord Luo flatters me."

Qing Yu heaved a sigh of relief inwardly, knowing this hurdle was now behind him.

In reality, over this month, Qing Yu had either been attending classes or holed up in his room studying Yin Yang family texts. The news about the Guardian Pavilion came from Feng Jiu. For a new student, such information would be hard to acquire, but for Feng Jiu, a core disciple who had been at the academy for a year, it was effortlessly obtained.

The information acquired from Feng Jiu was substantial, and Qing Yu estimated that he could continue to ’fish’ for quite some time.

"The main reason for calling you here is that I have been exposed, and it’s known that I am currently in Northern Zhou. From now on, Luo Yan will stay here and contact you. If Luo Yan is not available and there’s an urgent message, you can leave a message at the Yunlai Inn."

"Luo Yan and you have interacted several times and are relatively familiar with each other. You two should be able to cooperate effectively and accomplish the mission," Mr. Lu said, looking at Qing Yu and Luo Yan.

Qing Yu and Luo Yan both responded solemnly, "Your subordinates will surely live up to Divine Constable Sir’s great expectations!"

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