At night, Wen Chaoshen y on the bed, while A Shui rested by the bedside with a fire basin. She told Wen Chaoshen that she wasn't used to sleeping in a bed, a habit she had developed over the years.

  The two had known each other for some time, and Wen Chaoshen had a general understanding of A Shui's temperament, so he didn't try to persuade her otherwise and y down contentedly.

  Although the bed was hard, it was still more comfortable than the floor of the abandoned temple. Before long, he fell into a deep sleep.

  In the courtyard next door, Madam Lü stood under the moonlight, gazing at the loquat tree with a distant look in her eyes.

  "Why so sentimental in the middle of the night?"

  Lü Zhiming appeared behind her at some point, the edges of his thin clothing fluttering in the cold wind. Madam Lü turned around in surprise and saw a streak of white at Lü Zhiming's temple. She thought it was newly grown white hair and reached out to brush it with a pained expression, only to find it was just snow.

  "Some reluctance."

  She sighed softly and, after hesitating for a long time, recounted how Ma Huan had found her.

  Madam Lü wore a look of guilt. The vows of their wedding thirty years ago still echoed in her ears; she had promised Lü Zhiming that after marriage, she would no longer be involved in the affairs of the Martial World. Yet now, she was about to break her vow with her own hands.

  After recounting everything, she was prepared for her husband's reproach, but to her surprise, Lü Zhiming merely squeezed her shoulder gently and said in a warm voice:

  "If an old friend seeks your help, then help them. It's just a simple debt of gratitude; if it needs to be repaid, then repay it. What's so hard to admit?"

  Madam Lü looked up, her expression complex as she gazed at Lü Zhiming, her lips bitter in the snow:

  "I once promised you..."

  Her words were full of apology, but before she could finish, Lü Zhiming's gentle voice interrupted her.

  "I forgot."

  Su Yixian was taken aback, and after a moment, she heard Lü Zhiming in front of her say:

  "I'm not a deity. Thirty years is a long time; how could I remember everything?"

  "The world is vast. If you feel weary, it's good to go out and explore. Staying in one pce for too long can be stifling."

  In the wind and snow, she suddenly embraced the person in front of her tightly. After a long time, the other person blew gently, and the snowfkes on her head scattered lightly.

  "Go back to the room and rest, my dear."

  "The snow is getting heavy."

  ...

  North of the county city, Xingwang Mountain.

  A man in a white night suit and a bamboo hat moved like a phantom, carrying a corpse swiftly through the night, faster than a flying bird, almost invisible. He reached a makeshift inn and tavern deep in the snow-covered mountains, where lights were bright, and the sounds of drinking games could be faintly heard.

  The man in the bamboo hat slowed his steps, and as he reached the outside of the building, the sounds of drinking games inside instantly vanished, becoming deathly silent.

  He raised his hand and knocked gently on the door, saying:

  "Boss Zhu, Fifteen's body has been found, killed with a single blow."

  A zy voice came from inside:

  "Did you bring the body back?"

  The man in the bamboo hat replied:

  "Brought it back."

  "The person who buried the body wasn't very professional, and the snow hasn't been as heavy these past few days, so it wasn't hard to find."

  Creak—

  The door opened, and a young man with a face as fair as jade stepped out, his complexion rosy, as if he had drunk a lot.

  His attire was different from the men in white night suits inside and outside the house. He wore a wide-sleeved white brocade robe with the unique dragon pattern of the Qi Kingdom's royal family, exuding the aura of a superior.

  This man was Zhu Baiyu, one of the three chief instructors of the White Dragon Guards.

  He was the most mysterious instructor of the White Dragon Guards, rarely appearing in the Martial World. Many had heard his name but never seen him.

  Few knew what he looked like or how profound his martial arts were. The world only knew him as a master of hidden weapons and poisons, whose 'Three-Inch Immortal' in his sleeve had sin no fewer than a hundred notorious vilins in the Martial World.

  These vilins were formidable and infamous, wreaking havoc in the Martial World with their high martial skills, only to have their lives taken by this reaper in an unremarkable pce and time.

  Zhu Baiyu shook his sleeves, his right thumb's nail lightly scraping his brow as he tried to sober up, his tone still tinged with drunkenness:

  "Thirteen, come, take a look at the body."

  The man called Thirteen adjusted the already frozen stiff body and pced it in front of Zhu Baiyu.

  The tter squatted down, carefully examining the body, running his fingers over the wound sshed diagonally from the neck. Another masked person in white appeared behind him at some point, petite in stature, with an Adam's apple, but speaking in a seductive female voice:

  "Tsk tsk, to be hacked into this state, what a grudge..."

  Thirteen said:

  "Fifteen's martial arts were better than mine, ranking moderately in the Dragon Chant Realm, skilled with a sword, yet he was cut down like this with one strike... Boss Zhu, who exactly is that woman from Wind City?"

  Zhu Baiyu stroked his chin, his tone unusually cold.

  "Don't ask what you shouldn't."

  "Matters concerning her are troublesome, very troublesome."

  "As for the grudge... heh, surviving that city, how could she not have a big grudge?"

  "The news from Wind City is still sealed off. It's the first time the higher-ups have been so serious, even General Long Bufei was armed. The incident in Wind City is said to involve some significant figures in the royal family, and until it's crified, we can only keep stalling with King Zhao."

  "Fifteen was sharp-tongued and impatient. I advised him not to go, but he didn't listen... She's not one to kill indiscriminately. For Fifteen to be cut down like this, he must have said something he shouldn't have."

  The white-cd person behind Zhu Baiyu reached out with delicate hands to massage his shoulders, speaking softly:

  "How about I go talk to her? I'm sweet-talking and surely won't upset her..."

  Zhu Baiyu chuckled:

  "Little Seven, your sweet talk is no match for her fast bde... Let's not disturb her for now. Our main task here is to investigate Liu Jinshi's matter."

  "We received a secret report that two months ago, a letter was sent from Kuhai County to Zhao Kingdom. To enter Zhao Kingdom's border, it requires at least a county magistrate's seal and documents from Qi Kingdom."

  "I originally pnned to ask Liu Jinshi about this, but he died before I got there. I can't believe there's nothing fishy about it."

  Little Seven narrowed her charming eyes, her gentle voice carrying a hint of killing intent:

  "Kuhai County is such a poor and remote pce that even fugitives usually avoid it. Yet suddenly, so many experts from Wangchuan appeared... and that Chun Qiong, I investigated a few days ago, has no past achievements or titles, yet suddenly received an official document appointing him as magistrate here. It's truly intriguing."

  kant202323