Li Qingshan was stern. He felt like he had still ended up underestimating this woman. She was not an ornament who used her body to climb upwards, nor was she a deviant with a twisted heart. Even someone like Zhuo Zhibo who considered himself rather clever could not match her sharp judgement.
“What do you want? Is that all you wanted to say to me after waiting here? Or do you want something from me?” He squinted his eyes. This was not the first time Qian Rongzhi had stirred his killing intent, but she would always manage to avoid crossing the line, giving him no reason to kill her. What about this time? Would it be an exception this time?
Qian Rongzhi smiled sweetly in response to Li Qingshan’s string of questions. “Did you know that the Sect of Clouds of Rain is utterly determined to obtain that child by your side? You have no idea what the Aspect of Heavenly Fragrance and Beauty is worth to the Sect of Clouds and Rain. The sect master has already personally given an order to obtain the child, even if it involves falling out with the Scarlet Wolf commander Hua Chengzan.”
“And then?” Li Qingshan’s eyes narrowed. The Sect of Clouds and Rain was actually willing to go so far for the sake of Xiao An!
“And then it’s impossible for you to hand over the child either, right? The reason why I’ve been sent back here is to monitor this. If Zhuo Zhibo isn’t capable of obtaining the child for the Sect of Clouds and Rain, even more powerful people will immediately be mobilised. If that fails as well, then the four grannies of the Sect of Clouds and Rain, or even the vice sect master and sect master, will come to Jiaping! I don’t know if this piece of information is useful to you or not.”
Li Qingshan did not deny that. If he were blocked by a group of masters within Jiaping city without any preparations, he would basically be done for. Qian Rongzhi’s information was extremely important to him.
“Why are you telling me this? Haven’t you joined the Sect of Clouds and Rain already?”
“The Sect of Clouds and Rain.” Qian Rongzhi sneered slightly in disdain. She walked over while swinging her hips in a flirtatious manner. She wrapped her arms around Li Qingshan’s neck and pressed her entire body against him. Her soft chest pressed against Li Qingshan’s, gently massaging against him. “That’s because I like you more!”
Li Qingshan, however, became even more cautious. All regular Qi Practitioners would be extremely careful, like they were treading on thin ice, whenever they joined a decent sect. There were not a lot of people who showed as much contempt as her. This was not arrogance born from ignorance, but because she possessed lofty ambitions right from the beginning. This was a form of arrogance that ran as deep as her bones. Li Qingshan had been no different in the past.
When she pressed against him, a sticky, sickly-sweet coldness from her soft, warm body prevented him from becoming aroused. Qian Rongzhi basically experienced the same thing as him. The raging sense of violence inside Li Qingshan made her feel danger beyond her control.
As a result, despite being alone and making intimate contact, they struggled to develop any feelings for each other. There was only an unbearable sense of danger and coldness.
Li Qingshan said indifferently, “Move.”
Qian Rongzhi took a step back and tidied her hair. “Forget it. What a clueless man.”
“Remuneration.” Li Qingshan fished out several items from his Hundred Treasures pouch, which included the Pills of Passion and the Pills of Calming he had obtained from Zhao Liangqing, as well as his mid grade spiritual artifact flying sword and the Minor Method of Clouds and Rain. He did not need any of them, aside from the flying sword.
Qian Rongzhi smiled with her lips closed. “I like generous men.” She accepted the items. She flipped through the Minor Method of Clouds and Rain first. When she reached a certain page, her eyes suddenly lit up before she tossed the flying sword back to Li Qingshan. “But I’m not stingy either. You have no use for the other items, so I’ll be taking them.”
A mid grade spiritual artifact that regular Qi Practitioners only dreamt of possessing was actually being tossed around by two weaker Qi Practitioners carelessly.
Li Qingshan said, “Then farewell.” Since he had received the news, he could not remain in Jiaping city any longer. Otherwise, he would basically be waiting to be caught. A large sect had mobilised everyone they had, regardless of the costs. He had no confidence that he could oppose them, nor was there a need for him to oppose them. With the tremendous amount of resources he now possessed, finding a place to enter secluded cultivation and increasing his strength would be the correct choice to make.
As long as he became powerful enough, the Sect of Clouds and Rain would obviously cease to pose any trouble to him.
Qian Rongzhi said, “Hold on. Do you want the hundred treasures pouch of a sixth layer Qi Practitioner?”
Li Qingshan asked, “Where?”
Qian Rongzhi said, “It’s right in Jiaping city. The new master of the Parlour of Clouds and Rain is a senior brother of mine. The sect master’s original plan was for him to come for you if Zhuo Zhibo failed to capture the child.” Her true intentions were finally revealed now.
“He’s the son of the vice sect master. He likes raping innocent women. If he sees anyone pretty on the streets, he’ll definitely pay a visit to their homes at night. He uses his abilities as a Qi Practitioner to do whatever he wants.”
Li Qingshan questioned, “And the Hawkwolf Guard of Clear River city won’t do anything about it?”
“It’s very difficult for regular women to resist the tricks of the Sect of Clouds and Rain, and there’s quite a few who end up being enchanted by him, while the strong-willed care for their own reputation. It’s not something that can’t be solved with some threats and then some bribes of silver. If no one reports it, no one will investigate it either. Obviously, nothing definite will come up.”
Li Qingshan asked, “You want me to help you kill him?”
“No. I want you to help me capture him alive. There’s quite a lot of good stuff in his hundred treasures pouch. That’ll all go to you. I only want the cultivation method and pills of the Sect of Clouds and Rain that you can’t use, alright?” Qian Rongzhi requested cordially.
Li Qingshan sank into his thoughts. As expected, this woman wanted something with how generously she behaved. She actually wanted to use his hands to finish off a senior from her sect. However, the Sect of Clouds and Rain had always been his enemy. He had already made up his mind about personally killing the West Gate Granny. Since he was going to be on the run, he might as well do this first. This was a request that he could not turn down.
Qian Rongzhi said, “On the way here, he constantly told me about how he wanted to try the woman with the Aspect of Heavenly Fragrance of Beauty, even if it were just a tiny part of her.”
Li Qingshan raised his head and red light flashed through his eyes. “Oh? I’d like to see him try!”
The lanterns were snuffed out and Qian Rongzhi left the residence. She saw Xiao An in the dark, and she immediately became stunned. “This child’s… so pure!” What she was looking at was not the Aspect of Heavenly Fragrance and Beauty, but the wondrous sense of purity. Probably only someone like her who had gone through so much before could sense that so deeply. She could not help but extend her hand over, wanting to touch Xiao An’s face, but she stopped herself, as if she was afraid that her own filthiness would contaminate the purity.
Xiao An extended her hand and touched the back of Qian Rongzhi’s hand. This woman who had allowed her to comprehend the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty did not seem to bear any ill intentions towards her.
Qian Rongzhi’s hand shrank back slightly like she had become extremely flattered. Afterwards, she smiled. “It’s no wonder that you refuse to hand her over. Even I would be willing to fall out with anybody for her sake.”
Li Qingshan said, “You’re willing to fall out with anyone for the sake of your own interests in the first place.”
Qian Rongzhi asked, “And what’s wrong with that?”
Li Qingshan said nothing.
……
As they walked through the gloomy streets and alleyways, Li Qingshan and Qian Rongzhi stuck very closely together. He did not believe in this silver-tongued woman completely. He was worried that the four grannies of the Sect of Clouds and Rain would ambush him the moment he set foot in the Parlour of Clouds and Rain. He had to maintain a certain distance so that he could finish her off in a single strike.
Xiao An and the Iron Plate corpse tailed far behind, ready to reinforce Li Qingshan at any time.
The Parlour of Clouds and Rain in the distance glowed with gentle lantern light. It had already been repurchased by the Sect of Clouds and Rain, and it was being reorganised right now. It would open up once again soon. He listened closely the entire time and discovered that Qian Rongzhi’s heartbeat and breathing were very steady the entire time. It had not become frantic.
“You don’t actually have to be so cautious of me. Why would I do something that brings me no benefit? If the Sect of Clouds and Rain kills you, I’ll probably get nothing from your possessions. When you serve someone as a dog, all you get is scraps of meat that they cast aside. However, I prefer large chunks and fresh.” Qian Rongzhi licked her lips.
Li Qingshan secretly admitted that he would never have to worry about her ever developing some great, heroic mentality, risking her life for the sake of the Sect of Clouds and Rain by turning herself into bait.
Qian Rongzhi continued, “Actually, if Qian Yannian had been willing to make me the leader of the family, I wouldn’t have destroyed the Qian family.” In order to magnify her personal interests and benefits, even revenge and hatred were nothing. “However, I would suck the Qian family dry of their value, and then I would find those people one by one and torture them to death slowly.” She seemed to be venting a certain type of gloominess that she could not tell anyone else through her crazy laughter. It was exactly because Li Qingshan had seen through her that she no longer needed to try and hide it.
They arrived at the Parlour of Clouds and Rain.
Li Qingshan erased all of his aura and took a step into the darkness. There were no ambushes or encirclements. The parlour was pitch-black. Only the women at the ceiling continued to dance.
Qian Rongzhi was intrigued. He was clearly right beside her, but she failed to sense him at all unless she looked at him. Just this ability to conceal his aura was enough to determine victory against enemies. It was perfect for assassinations.
Climbing to the top floor of the parlour, Li Qingshan sensed a powerful aura that was actually no worse than Zhuo Zhibo’s. He became cautious.
Qian Rongzhi shot a glance at Li Qingshan before pushing and entering through the door.
Li Qingshan heard the indecent voice of a young man. “Junior sister, you’re here. Do you miss your senior brother?”
Qian Rongzhi’s voice was rather cold. “Don’t go too far, senior brother.” However, her coquettish voice only stimulated men’s desire for dominance.
The man said, “I’ll show you just how far I can go!” There was a ruffle of clothing, followed by sounds of hugging and kissing.
“Senior brother, let me go!” Qian Rongzhi put up some fake resistance. She hugged the man, spun around, and turned towards the open door. Excitement flickered through her eyes.
Li Qingshan stepped on the thick carpet and entered silently. However, no matter how thick the carpet was, it would still produce a sound. It was enough to fool regular people, but it could not fool the ears of a sixth layer Qi Practitioner.
Just when the man wanted to turn around, Qian Rongzhi’s lips attacked. His mind wavered slightly, and his reactions were slowed down by a single beat. By the time he heard the whistling of wind from behind, it was already too late.
Li Qingshan crossed several meters in a single step and stuck a low grade Immobilisation talisman on his back. He had found it in Zhuo Zhibo’s hundred treasures pouch. It was specially prepared for capturing Qi Practitioners alive so that they could be brought back and interrogated.
The talisman let out a ring of light that covered the man’s body. He immediately stiffened up on the spot, like he was covered in a layer of invisible ice. He was surprised at first, before becoming enraged. He mobilised all of his true qi to smash through the invisible ice barrier. After all, it was only a low grade talisman. It probably could only last for a single instant against sixth layer Qi Practitioners, but that was enough.
Li Qingshan struck like lightning. He grabbed the joints of the man’s arms, but a layer of true qi flowed out naturally to protect him. He felt like he had grabbed a tough, rubber tube, preventing him from unleashing his strength.
