Chapter 213: Dangerous

“Even if there is a conflict, with the combined strength of you and me, we don’t have to be afraid of Song Qingshu.” The Thin Venerable on the side snorted coldly. Although he had shrunk in size due to the effect of Leopard Embryo Tendon Severing Pills a few years ago, he still had 70% to 80% of his original strength intact, and he was considered one of the top experts in the Mystic Dragon Cult. 

Except for their Cult Master Hong Antong and his wife who rarely took any actions, the two venerables had the highest martial arts skills in the entire cult. Amongst the distinguished Five Dragon Envoys, except for the Green Dragon Envoy Xu Xueting, he didn’t find the martial arts of the others worth his notice. 

So, he thought that no matter how high Song Qingshu’s martial arts were, he was, after all, only a young man. They had brought so many masters from the Mystic Dragon Cult on this mission, so naturally there was no need to worry about anything.

“Thin Monk, don’t forget the purpose of our mission, and don’t make any extra moves.” Su Quan coldly snorted, and everyone in the scene became silent, and the term “Scorpion Beauty” flashed in their hearts. 

Although the Cult Master’s wife was charming and beautiful, everyone knew that she was really ruthless. In recent years, in order to eradicate the dissidents, many of their old brothers in the cult had been killed by her for various reasons. In the hearts of the Mystic Dragon Cult, Hong Antong was scary, but this woman was no different.

Only Thin Monk flashed a stern look and said in his heart, ‘This time, I must find an opportunity to kill Fukang’an and avenge Jianning.’ _{(G: Thin Monk is Mao Dongzhu’s lover and Princess Jianning’s real father.)}

It turned out that Jianning was the daughter between the Thin Monk and the fake empress dowager Mao Dongzhu. When he learned that Jianning had been violated by Fukang’an in Shanhaiguan, and she had committed suicide due to the humiliation, he almost burst out in rage. So this time when the Mystic Dragon Cult sent a master to Shengjing, he was more proactive than anyone else. Of course, no one in the cult knew about his relationship with Jianning, so no one was aware of his abnormality.

“Madame, are we not searching for the ‘Sutra of Forty-two Chapters’?” Lu Gaoxuan cautiously asked.

“Naturally, I want to search for it. I am determined to get the part of ‘Sutra of Forty-two Chapters’ in Hongli’s hand, but we have to first find out what plans Hongli has against my Mystic Dragon Cult.” Looking at Song Qingshu’s back, Su Quan became lost in thought,  ‘Wei Xiaobao found two parts of the sutra before, but the whereabouts of the rest of the sutra is unknown. I think that little fox may have hidden one or two parts elsewhere. I heard that Song Qingshu was incharge of his belongings. Could it be…’

While the members of the Mystic Dragon Cult secretly spied on Song Qingshu, they never would have expected that their every move had already fallen into the eyes of another group.

“Master Su, there are no guards around Song Qingshu now, should we do something?” The person who spoke was a young man with an elegant and noble bearing.

“I don’t think it’s the right time yet. At this moment, the members of the Mystic Dragon Cult are also nearby, and we don’t know what their aim is. If they intervene, we will be in trouble.” A girl in a heroic bearic frowned and said. She had a tall figure, and slender legs which elevated the youthful and sultry figure of its owner. Unlike the gentleness of Jiangnan women, she had the energetic and wild beauty of northern women.

The person they respectfully talked to was a middle-aged man wearing a ghost mask. Although his appearance couldn’t be seen, the white hair on his temples made him look extremely attractive. He must have been a very attractive and handsome man when he was young.

“Qi’er, Xian’er, you two are the most outstanding martial arts masters of the younger generation of our Liao Imperial family, but you have little experience in the wulin. This time, I brought you to Shengjing not only to gain experience.” The ghost-masked man stood up from the couch , looked at Song Qingshu in the distance, shook his head, “The people of the Mystic Dragon Cult are only secondary, our primary purpose is to hinder Hongli. If we take action now, Hongli will become cautious, and it will not result in our desired situation.”

It turned out that Xiao Feng, the king of the Southern state of Liao, led his army to fight with Wu Sangui, the King of Pingxi of the Qing Dynasty. Although Wu Sangui was most likely to be defeated in the end, he was still a famous general after all. 

So, in order to cooperate with Xiao Feng’s actions, the Liao Imperial Court sent three martial arts masters to secretly sneak into Shengjing, assassinate Kangxi’s imperial envoy, and put the blame on Prince Bao (Hongli). So that the conflict between the two would completely break out, and they would be unable to pay attention to Wu Sangui.

The young man among the three was Yelu Qi, the son of the Prince of Dongdan of the Liao Empire, and the girl was Yelu Nanxian, the daughter of the Prince of Cheng’an County. The two were the top young martial art masters in the royal lineage. As for this ghost-masked man, he was actually the current Chief of the Hidden Secret Service, the most mysterious organization in the Liao Empire.

“Then according to Lord Su’s opinion, when should we start?” Yelu Nanxian subconsciously didn’t like the mysterious man in front of her. The Hidden Secret Service was in charge of the secrets of the imperial family, starting from the first chief Yelu Xiu, and all the previous chiefs. As a member of the Yelu imperial family, she didn’t understand why they would give the position of the chief to a Han Chinese. Even the members of the imperial family only knew that his name was Su Yin and his martial arts was unfathomable. Everything else about him was unclear.

“One word, wait.” Su Yin stood with his hands behind his back, vaguely showing the air of a grandmaster.

“May I know who is superior and who is inferior in terms of martial arts, Master Su or the Great King of the Southern State?” Feeling the momentum on his body, Yelu Qi thought in his heart.

Xiao Feng, the king of the Southern state, helped the Liao Emperor Yelu Hongji to pacify the rebellion of the King of Chu, and he took the top place among the thousands of troops. As he achieved great feats and shocked the world, he was also regarded as a hero by the people of the Liao Empire, and Yelu Qi was no exception. 

However, no matter how high Xiao Feng’s martial arts were, he didn’t come from the lineage of the descendant Xiao clan. Yelu Qi, as a member of the imperial family, naturally subconsciously hoped that the imperial family could also produce a master who could match him. Unlike Yelu Nanxian, he knew that the current Emperor was by no means a foolish person. If he let Su Yin take charge of the Hidden Secret Service, then he was definitely a member of the imperial family, but he didn’t know why he had a Han Chinese name.

Song Qingshu naturally didn’t know that there were so many people secretly plotting against him. At this moment, his headache was how to save Xia Qingqing and Tian Guinong, and he was also a little puzzled by Zhang Zhaozhong’s sudden gesture of goodwill.

“I was worried that Lord Song was busy with other matters, so you wouldn’t have the time to come here.” Zhang Zhaozhong was already waiting at the door, and when he saw Song Qingshu, he warmly welcomed him into the mansion.

“Where’s the opera troupe, hurry up and start the show.” Zhang Zhaozhong looked at the housekeeper and instructed.

Song Qingshu was subconsciously startled, and thought, ‘Is this guy trying to trick me with something?’

Zhang Zhaozhong was also a master. He naturally noticed the changes of Song Qingshu’s expression and smiled slightly, “Lord Song is a great master, and you dare to go to a banquet alone. This lower official just feels admiration and wants to befriend him.”

“Befriend me? Lord Zhang is working under Prince Bao, and I work in the imperial court. Speaking of which, you invited me to your residence, would it not bring trouble to you?”Song Qingshu replied.

“Lord Song’s words are very true.” Zhang Zhaozhong, who was Hongli’s subordinate, was very aware that the relationship between Kangxi and Hongli was fraught with swords. So he didn’t take it to heart. “I thought Lord Song might be tired from his journey, so I specially found the most popular opera troupe in Shengjing City to help you relax.”

‘I’ve been used to watching all kinds of blockbusters in my last life. What’s so impressive about a theater group?’ Song Qingshu suddenly felt lost, he really couldn’t understand why the ancients liked watching plays so much, and couldn’t help but hold great sympathy in his heart, ‘What a barren world.’

Song Qingshu had no interest in watching the show, and after a few casual glances, his thoughts began to wander.

“Lord Song, how is this woman on the stage?” Zhang Zhaozhong suddenly asked.

Only then did Song Qingshu clearly see the woman mentioned by Zhang Zhaozhong. She was wearing a pale yellow dress and a light green skirt. She was a beautiful woman in her early twenties. “It’s a pity that she had fallen at such a young age.”

However, he didn’t know Zhang Zhaozhong’s purpose, and he couldn’t understand what he meant by that question.

“It seems that Lord Song has misunderstood. She is not a brothel girl, she is just taking the girls from the troupe around to sell their talent. However, since the Lord has a heart of pity and cherishes jade, this lower official will naturally comply. Hear me, tell her to come over.” Zhang Zhaozhong showed a trace of a smile. He thought that, as Song Qingshu lived in a prosperous place in the capital, he must be too used to enjoying only brothel women, and a woman from the wulin would naturally feel more refreshing.

Song Qingshu saw that he had misunderstood what he meant, and was about to explain, but after thinking about it for a moment, he gave up. It didn’t take long for the woman to come and stand in front of the two of them, “May I know what the two Lords have to say.”

“I’ve heard of the famous name of Sang for a long time. When I saw your performance today, it was indeed really extraordinary. I wonder if we can have the honor of knowing your full name?” Zhang Zhaozhong teased.

Unexpectedly, the other party didn’t have the usual bashfulness of a woman. Instead, she naturally replied, “I’ve made the Lord’s laugh, this one’s surname is Sang, and the given name is Feihong.”

“Sang Feihong?” Song Qingshu became stunned for a moment, and felt quite confused, ‘This name sounds quite familiar. Did she appear in “The Book and the Sword” or “Fox Volant of the Snowy Mountain”? Haah, I can’t remember.’ 

“Sure enough, you live up to your name.” Zhang Zhaozhong said silently, then raised his head and asked, “Miss Sang, you have to work so hard, don’t you feel tired?”

“This one relies on this craft to earn a livelihood, so I don’t dare to feel tired.” Although Sang Feihong was smiling, it was hard to hide her exhaustion.

“Miss Sang, you are a lone woman, so you can’t live in the wulin all your life like this, right? It just so happened that our Lord Song felt great admiration when he saw you. You seem like you’re at just the right age for marriage, why not give yourself to Lord Song, and become his concubine? Lord Song is already a deputy chief of the imperial guards at a young age, and he is also a second-rank official.” Zhang Zhaozhong laughed.

Song Qingshu couldn’t help laughing bitterly, but he didn’t rush to refute the guy. Instead, he was curious to see how Sang Feihong would react.

Hearing Zhang Zhaozhong’s words, Sang Feihong’s expression changed. She had encountered such “offers” over the years, but it was the first time she has encountered such a blatant and direct one. “The Lord must be joking. For now, this one wants to roam free in the wulin and has no plans to marry for the time being.”

“Joking?” Zhang Zhaozhong’s expression turned cold, “Who is joking with you?”

---

Goblin: Patrons, please visit the Patreon page for your advanced chapters.