In a dimly lit secret chamber beneath the Juyuan Inn in Tongzhou City, candlelight flickered, casting several shadows upon the walls.
A burly man with a full, bushy beard, short hair, and a brown short shirt slammed his hand on the table, his expression furious. "This is outrageous! What kind of scoundrel committed such a bloody crime and framed us for it! The Jing'an Guard and those gullible commoners who believe the rumors are idiots. Doesn't everyone know our Holy Sect never kills the innocent indiscriminately?"
He was the inn's cook.
The inn's accountant, a slender middle-aged man with crystal glasses and a long goatee, sighed. "But in the eyes of many commoners, the Mo Mansion wasn't innocent. It makes it look even more like we did it."
A young man in his early twenties, dressed as an attendant, spoke helplessly from a corner. "The Jing'an Guard is already convinced we're the culprits. We can't just go and catch the real murderer, then hand them over to the Jing'an Guard to prove our innocence, can we? That would be a double win for them."
"But we can't just do nothing," said another man dressed as an attendant. "If we let the Jing'an Guard keep investigating so strictly, not only will it be inconvenient for our people to move around, but it will also cause a lot of trouble for the city's residents."
Finally, everyone turned to look at the middle-aged man at the head of the table who had yet to speak. He was slightly plump, dressed in fine clothes, and had a kindly face. He was the inn's Shopkeeper.
He was also the Vice Squad Leader of the Profound Yellow Sect's Tongzhou Branch.
"We certainly don't need to prove our innocence to the Jing'an Guard, but we can't just obediently take the fall after being framed." The Shopkeeper paused for a moment in thought before continuing, "Also, the Squad Leader said that the Kaiyang Saint Heir will soon be arriving in Tongzhou. We must quell this matter before he gets here. Otherwise, with the Jing'an Guard enforcing a lockdown, we can't afford the consequences if the Saint Heir's identity is exposed."
"The Kaiyang Saint Heir? Why would he come to our Tongzhou Branch?" The others were all shocked and uncertain.
Every Sect Leader of the Profound Yellow Sect has had seven disciples: Dubhe, Merak, Phecda, Megrez, Vega, Kaiyang, and Yaoguang. They are all either a Saint Heir or a Saintess of the sect.
Their strength isn't necessarily the greatest, but they represent the Sect Leader, wielding immense influence and holding a very high status.
"I don't know either." The Shopkeeper shook his head and continued, "Starting today, mobilize everyone to secretly investigate the real culprit behind the Mo Mansion massacre. Once we find them, first make them pay the price for diverting disaster onto us, then toss them to the Jing'an Guard to settle the situation."
He didn't want to help the Jing'an Guard, but with the Saint Heir's imminent arrival, he had to create a safe environment for him.
"As you command!" the group replied in unison.
...............…
Pei Shaoqing was reading the Demon Race diary in his hands.
It was quite interesting at first. The diary's author had meticulously recorded his daily cultivation life and amusing anecdotes.
He was able to glean a lot of information from between the lines.
For example, over two thousand years ago, the Jiuzhou Land was truly abundant with Spiritual Qi, teeming with demons and overrun by Cultivators. The Celestial Demon Palace was the strongest power of the Demon Race, the Jing Kingdom was the strongest power of the Human Race, and the two sides had fought many great wars... and so on.
Reading all this gave him the same satisfying thrill as reading a novel.
But as he continued to read, his expression soured.
"Jiuzhou Calendar, Year 529, 7th month, 6th day. I've fallen in love with a girl. She's a Cat Demon, and she's so... juicy. I couldn't help but stare at her all day. She glanced at me once. I'm sure she likes me too. Went home tonight and jerked off once. Fell into a sweet sleep, dreaming of her."
"Jiuzhou Calendar, Year 529, 7th month, 7th day. I saw her personally feeding a senior brother, a Tiger Demon. She's so gentle and virtuous. He must be her little brother, right? It's only natural that I couldn't hold back tonight. Twice. Starting tomorrow, I'll abstain from worldly pleasures!"
"Jiuzhou Calendar, Year 529, 7th month, 8th day. This is the third day since I fell in love with her. I finally worked up the courage to confess my love. She told me to get lost. She must be afraid of holding back my cultivation, that's why she rejected me. How considerate of her! I'm not abstaining today. So I cranked one out."
"Fuck!" Pei Shaoqing flipped through several more pages, unable to take any more. 'What the hell? How did this turn into a simp's diary?'
'Damn it, this is pissing me off. I can't read any more of this.'
He flipped directly to the last few entries. He discovered that the diary's author was only at the Qi Cultivation Eighth Layer when he died. As for the cause of death, the final entry mentioned he was going down the mountain for training the next day. He probably ran into trouble and died, leaving the story with a trash ending.
Pei Shaoqing's mood instantly improved. 'Serves him right, the dumbass. Wasting his cultivation with his head full of women and his dick. Good riddance!'
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK! Just then, a knock came at the door.
Pei Shaoqing set the diary down. "Come in."
Gongsun Yi pushed the door open and entered. "Young Master."
"Find an opportunity to kill County Magistrate Wang in the next few days. Make it clean," Pei Shaoqing said, getting straight to the point.
He didn't hold grudges; he preferred to settle them as quickly as possible. County Magistrate Wang had colluded with Hundred Households Commander Zheng to harm him. He was just asking for death!
Killing him now would be the perfect opportunity to pin it on the Profound Yellow Sect.
After all, the Profound Yellow Sect had a prior record of killing a County Magistrate.
If he didn't still need Hundred Households Commander Zheng to take the fall and use his head to claim credit, he would have had Gongsun Yi kill him too.
"Ah!" Gongsun Yi looked up in astonishment.
'A Court official is telling me to kill another Court official?'
But Pei Shaoqing didn't explain. "Get it done."
"Yes!" Gongsun Yi could only comply. But he didn't leave right away. Instead, he said, "Young Master, there is one more thing to report. Lan'Er has agreed to stay. However, my humble wife also wishes to stay for a while to take care of her."
'Oh, an unexpected double blessing!'
'Though he didn't make a habit of coveting his subordinates' wives, having such a beautiful woman around just to look at was a treat for the eyes.'
'And with two hostages in hand, he felt even more secure.'
Pei Shaoqing said with a half-smile, "I suppose Miss Zhao thinks I'm some kind of lecher, so Lady Gongsun is staying because she's worried, is that it? Is Sect Leader Gongsun really that comfortable leaving his wife with a debauchee like me?"
"You must be joking, Young Master. What kind of woman is beyond your reach? Why would you ever take an interest in my humble wife's fading beauty?" Gongsun Yi replied, his expression unchanged.
Pei Shaoqing narrowed his eyes slightly.
He didn't believe that Gongsun Yi was unaware of how beautiful his wife was. Nor did he believe that Gongsun Yi couldn't see his own lecherous nature. Yet, Gongsun Yi was still comfortable leaving his wife here and could even remain so composed in the face of his rather offensive words.
'Either he's exceptionally calculating, or he just doesn't care that much about his wife. There must be something else he values more.'
'Interesting.'
"If she wants to stay, then let her. Lady Gongsun staying just means setting out an extra pair of chopsticks at mealtimes."
Gongsun Yi immediately said, "Thank you, Young Master."
He took in Pei Shaoqing's reaction and thought his junior sister was truly overthinking things. 'How could Young Master Pei be interested in an older, married woman like her? It's obvious that only a young maiden in the flower of her youth like Lan'Er could attract him.'
'But what if Pei Shaoqing really did take a fancy to my junior sister…'
Gongsun Yi pictured it... and froze halfway through the thought. He suddenly realized that the very fact he could even begin to imagine such a thing meant he didn't mind it that much. He didn't feel that his junior sister was someone who could not be defiled.
'Otherwise, he wouldn't even be able to think about it.'
'How could this be?'
'My junior sister is supposed to be the person I care about most!'
For the first time, he felt lost, his thoughts in turmoil.
"By the way, relay a message to County Magistrate Wang for me. Tell him it's a pity he won't be able to drink to my success when I catch the real culprit of the Mo Mansion massacre. Also, tell him I will eradicate the Profound Sect rebels in Tongzhou to avenge him." Pei Shaoqing frowned as he watched him space out, his tone sharpening slightly.
Gongsun Yi snapped back to his senses and replied, "Yes!"
Although he didn't know what grudge Pei Shaoqing held against County Magistrate Wang, he had no desire to pry into the details.
As a veteran of the Jianghu,
he knew full well that the more you know, the faster you die.
"Serve me well. I never treat my own people poorly. When the day comes for you to leave, I will have a generous gift prepared for you," Pei Shaoqing said earnestly.
Gongsun Yi immediately pledged his loyalty. "Please rest assured, Young Master. As long as you can help me revitalize the Iron Sword Sect, I will not hesitate to go through fire and water for you!"
Pei Shaoqing understood now. In Gongsun Yi's heart, his beloved wife and apprentice both ranked below his obsession with revitalizing his Sect.
'Now that I know his bottom line, he'll be easy to control.'
He waved his hand, dismissing him.
After Gongsun Yi left, Pei Shaoqing no longer had the heart to read the simp's diary. He decided to take a stroll through Tongzhou at night.
He decided to ask Xie Qingwu to go with him.