“I had no choice—this is an emergency. I had to come to find you. Do you know what Ye Jiuge told Dongfang Yao after her return?” Su Junqing asked.
He’d racked his brains to win over Zhang Peng, spending money and using magic on him. He would only use this pawn as a last resort.
But right now, Brother Jiang had been killed, and Liu Yunfei was missing. He was starting to feel slightly anxious.
“They are still having a secret meeting in the tearoom. Other than Li Zijun, the others could not enter the place.” When Zhang Peng mentioned Li Zijun, jealousy flashed in his handsome face.
He regarded himself as being on par with Li Zijun, whether in terms of cultivation level, character, or pill production mastery.
Unfortunately for him, Great Master Dongfang favored Li Zijun. He’d not only accepted him as a Final Disciple, but he’d also entrusted him with the Medicine Refinery Hall.
Zhang Peng has spent more than twenty years in the Medicine Refinery Hall. He had invested himself mentally and physically. However, he was forced to remain a mere Nominal Disciple. His status would be lower than Li Zijun’s for eternity. This upset him.
“As long as you find out everything about their next move, Li Zijun won’t stay alive for long. Then, you will be the highest-ranking disciple in Medicine Refinery Hall.” Su Junqing dangled a carrot in front of him.
He made use of Zhang Peng’s hatred of Li Zijun to gain his support.
“Alright. As soon as I have some news, I will inform you.” Zhang Peng nodded before returning to the Medicine Refinery Hall.
At that moment, Ye Jiuge was in discussions with Dongfang Yao and Li Zijun in the tearoom about how they would deal with the Black Magic Practitioners from the Bloodthirsty Sect.
She told Dongfang Yao and Li Zijun everything she knew about the Bloodthirsty Sect, including their standard tactics.
“From what I can infer from your words, the Bloodthirsty Patriarch keeps stirring up trouble in the Medicine Refinery City because he wants to use me as a Medicinal Ingredient?” Dongfang Yao asked, raising an eyebrow.
“That’s right.” Ye Jiuge nodded.
“This Bloodthirsty Patriarch has the audacity even to consider this!” Dongfang Yao smiled coldly.
He had been a famous figure for a very long time, so he had the power to do as he wished in the Lei Kingdom. He was considered a prominent member of society.
Being treated as a Medicinal Ingredient by a Black Magic Practitioner was incredibly insulting.
“This ruthless Bloodthirsty Patriarch has many tricks up his sleeve. Great Master Dongfang, you should never let your guard down,” Ye Jiuge advised with a solemn face.
“Hmph. If he approaches me personally, I will still feel some fear. Since he’s sent a few Black Magic Practitioners to take me down, he must look down on me!”
Dongfang Yao was really furious. He turned to Li Zijun and said, “I want you to circulate my order. I will offer a bounty of one thousand gold ingots for any leads that can help us crack down on Black Magic Practitioners and a bounty of ten thousand gold ingots for anyone who brings their heads to me. Then, I want you to dispatch every guard in Medicine Refinery City to hunt and eliminate these Black Magic Practitioners from the Bloodthirsty sect.”
“Yes.” Li Zijun nodded forcefully. Then, he asked with slight hesitance, “What should we do with the Crown Prince and Su Junqing?”
“Leave them for now. Send someone over to keep a close eye on them. Once I exterminate this scum from Bloodthirsty Sect, I will personally bring this foolish idiot, Dongfang Jianming, back to the Capital so that his father can punish him,” Dongfang Yao answered fiercely.
How had the Dongfang Clan ended up nurturing such a muddle-head? He could not believe that the Crown Prince had conspired with Black Magic Practitioners. The Crown Prince must have hated the thought of living a long life.
“Noted.” Li Zijun nodded gravely.
Ye Jiuge furrowed her brow. She disagreed: “Great Master, Su Junqing is a very cunning and immoral man. He has many tricks up his sleeve. If we do not take measures against him, I am afraid that it will be a mistake to let him off. I think that it would better for us to just imprison him now.”
If they could expose Su Junqing’s identity as a Black Magic Practitioner immediately, that would be fantastic.
That way, they would not need to be worried about him using his Mental Manipulation to cause problems for them.
“I know what I am doing. You do not need to say more.” Dongfang Yao shook his head.
The Su Clan had established its power firmly in the Capital. Not only that, but they were closely associated with the Crown Prince. If they arrested Su Junqing rashly, it was very likely that he would implicate the Crown Prince and expose him as his ally.
Regardless of how wicked the Crown Prince was, he was still a member of the Dongfang Clan. If his cooperation with the Black Magic Practitioners were made public, the scandal would significantly damage the Dongfang Clan’s reputation. It might even shake the people’s confidence in their authority.
As a part of the Dongfang Clan, he had to consider how this would affect his family.
When Ye Jiuge saw that they had reached an impasse, she did not argue further. Instead, she asked Li Zijun about drawing Liu Yunfei into their trap so that they could capture her.
“Senior Li, you were so well-prepared last night. How did Brother Wan end up injured?”
“Last night, we used the Treasure-hunting Scorpion, which you gave us, to lure her here. However, the woman was indeed powerful. She killed many of our men and wounded Brother Wan. In the end, we could not stop her from leaving. She even snatched the Treasure-hunting Scorpion away from us.”
Li Zijun spoke shamefully with a lowered head.
Because of this, he had gone to his Master and asked him to take charge of the entire situation.
“Liu Yunfei is the Bloodthirsty Patriarch’s Main Disciple, so she must possess many valuable treasures. It is quite normal that you were defeated this time,” Ye Jiuge comforted him kindly.
“Normal my foot!”
Dongfang Yao glared at Li Zijun as he admonished him, “What have I told you in the past? I asked you not to spend all of your time practicing Pill Production Techniques single-mindedly. You should also cultivate your Spiritual Skills at the same time.
“Last night, if not for Wan Ziyang, who took a blow on your behalf, you would have lost your fragile life. Do not assume that if you surround yourself with countless Spiritual Guards that they will be able to protect you completely. In this world, the safest move is to rely on yourself.”
“Master, you are right. I have learned a good lesson. I realized my mistakes now.” Li Zijun bowed hurriedly, showing his repentance.
In the past, he had always thought that he only needed to practice his Pill Production Techniques and excel at them. As long as he hired more guards, he would not have to worry about his safety.
However, those guards had no time even to protect themselves during the big fight last night, much less him. This had shown him the importance of Spiritual Cultivation.
“I shall go and see Brother Wan first.” Ye Jiuge did not want to listen to Dongfang Yao lecturing his disciple, so she stood up to take her leave.
“Let me assign someone to bring you there!” Li Zijun stood up and opened the door. He was about to call an apprentice over when he saw Zhang Peng passing by. He initiated conversation with a question, “Senior Li, is there anything I can help you with?”
“I need an apprentice who can help me guide the Ye Clan’s Eldest Miss to Lofty Mountains Pavilion to see Wan Ziyang,” Li Zijun said in passing.
“I was just about to head to Lofty Mountains Pavilion. If the Ye Clan’s Eldest Miss does not mind, then let me show her the way!” Zhang Peng said with a smile.
“Thank you for your trouble.” Ye Jiuge thought nothing of it. She followed Zhang Peng as they walked to the Lofty Mountains Pavilion.
“Eldest Miss, this time, you have suffered an injustice. I told them that Great Master Yun’s granddaughter would never be the leader of Black Magic Practitioners. They would not believe me. Luckily, you finally managed to clear your name,” Zhang Peng said with righteous indignation.
“It’s all thanks to Great Master Dongfang’s wisdom,” Ye Jiuge replied flatly.
Although Zhang Peng had a clean, handsome appearance, she could not put her finger on why she disliked him.
“Before this, Great Master Dongfang did not have the time to handle this matter as he was in Enclosed Cultivation. Now, he has stepped up to take charge of the whole situation. He will bring those brazen Black Magic Practitioners to justice. When he does, I would like to request that Eldest Miss help us where possible.” Zhang Peng continued to speak with a smile. Yet, his tone was probing.
“You overestimate me. I am merely a helpless lady. I would not dare shoulder such a heavy responsibility.” Ye Jiuge shook her head gently.
“Ye Clan’s Eldest Miss, you are too humble. You are the first person to kill a Black Magic Practitioner. I heard that they are ruthless. Eldest Miss, you must have exerted yourself!”
Zhang Peng kept bringing up the Black Magic Practitioners. He wanted to sniff out some information from Ye Jiuge.
Alas, Ye Jiuge was very tight-lipped. After all that talking, she only replied to him with some superficial words.
