Rumble rumble!

Another few claps of thunder.

With a bang, the door was suddenly and violently pushed open from the outside, and several people wearing Six Gates official uniforms barged in. The leader was dressed in blue, indicating his status as a Fifth Grade Blue-clad Captain.

The originally somewhat noisy inn suddenly fell silent.

A Fifth Grade Martial Artist is a rare sight in the martial world, let alone one who is a Blue-clad Captain of Six Gates.

As is well known, the martial cultivation level of Six Gates personnel does not necessarily correspond with their grade. In fact, most Fifth Grade Captains are at the Fourth Grade Cultivation level.

Cheng Ruiwu and Junior Sister Lu instantly became alert.

Encountering such a figure in a remote inn is not a good sign.

There is a blatant rule within Six Gates: If you get too close to aristocratic families or sects, you won’t get promoted. The more you go against them, the faster you rise.

Because Six Gates is the court’s weapon to balance local powers.

Family backgrounds like that of Cheng Ruiwu, a noble Martial Dao family that hasn’t produced a Third Grade master, often get a warning from elders when traveling: Be wary of Six Gates people.

If caught by Six Gates doing something wrong and punished, it would be a tremendous loss of face.

Sure enough, the Blue-clad Captain’s gaze swept over to them with deep malice in his eyes.

He shouted loudly, "Six Gates is currently capturing a wanted criminal. Everyone take out your documents and travel permits; I will check them one by one."

Here they come!

Cheng Ruiwu and Junior Sister Lu’s hearts clenched; checking travel permits is the most common tactic. If you can’t produce one, it provides a reason to provoke trouble.

Fortunately, they were well-prepared this time with all the necessary documents.

They calmly took out their respective travel permits.

...

The Blue-clad Captain seemed to notice their actions but didn’t approach them directly; instead, he started checking other people’s travel permits first.

"Where is your travel permit? Why aren’t you taking it out?"

When checking a merchant, a constable from Six Gates noticed he was empty-handed and sternly shouted, with his hand already on the hilt of his saber.

This shout immediately drew everyone’s attention.

Cheng Ruiwu recognized this person as the merchant who had just been spreading tales of the "Mad Saber," prompting a sense of suspicion: the actions of these Six Gates people indeed seemed like they were hunting a wanted criminal...

The "merchant" did not panic, calmly saying, "I’m not the person you’re looking for. Don’t waste your time with me."

The Blue-clad Captain sneered, "Whether you are or not, the truth will come out in jail."

With that, he unsheathed his saber, and his subordinates also drew their swords.

In an instant, bystanders scattered to avoid getting caught in the chaos.

The merchant’s eyes flashed with anger as he cursed, "Fools!"

The Blue-clad Captain already launched his attack; as soon as the long saber was out, everyone felt a chilling sword aura. Even from afar, there was a stinging sensation as if their skin was being cut open.

Indeed, he is Fourth Grade!

Cheng Ruiwu watched as cold sweat broke out in his palms; just this one saber showed that this person’s strength was not inferior to his grandfather’s.

The merchant also made his move, hands flipping out to reveal a short knife that transformed into a flurry of blade light.

Is he actually Fifth Grade?

Cheng Ruiwu was shocked; every aspect of the man’s demeanor and attire screamed of a common merchant, who would have thought he was a Fifth Grade master?

Earlier, his sister had even threatened to kill him; luckily, the man didn’t take offense, or it would have been trouble.

"This person is disguised as a merchant; there must be a motive."

As this thought crossed his mind, he saw the Blue-clad Captain injure the merchant with one saber stroke, placing the saber across his throat and capturing him alive.

There is still a big difference between the Fifth and Fourth Grades. Only two moves and he was captured alive.

Two Cyan Robe Patrol Envoys came forward, cuffing the merchant’s hands and feet, and took out a Dragon-locking Needle to seal his vital energy point.

Cheng Ruiwu and Junior Sister Lu watched with eyelids twitching; with these measures, the Fifth Grade merchant’s prowess was instantly suppressed, leaving him powerless to resist.

Dragon-locking Needle is a tool Six Gates specifically uses to handle True Qi Realm criminals; once inserted into the body, one’s True Qi can no longer be utilized, extremely vicious. It strikes fear in the martial world.

The merchant was full of rage, still shouting, "I told you, you’ve caught the wrong person."

The Blue-clad Captain sheathed his saber, pulled over a chair, and sat down, speaking, "You say we caught the wrong person, then tell us your name, sect, and why you are acting so suspiciously. A dignified Fifth Grade, why pretend to be a merchant?"

Everyone in the inn perked up their ears; they were just as curious about this question.

By now, the sky had darkened, and the lighting dimmed.

The shop assistant waited until the fight was over, then brought out a candle to light the lamps on the wall.

...

The vendor simply sat cross-legged on the ground, his face full of gloom. He knew that unless he explained clearly, this person from the Six Gates would not let him go.

"I am Xiao Qianhao, a resident of Yellow Stone Commandery, and my father is Xiao Zhiyuan. A month ago, a madman challenged my father at our doorstep, and my father suffered a crushing defeat at his hands. Normally, victory or defeat is common in martial affairs, but this madman spoke wildly. My father, humiliated and enraged, suffered a shock to his heart, which triggered an old injury, and he has been bedridden ever since."

As the vendor recounted the event, his face was filled with hatred. "I was originally in Jiangzhou City. Upon hearing the news, I rushed home. Seeing my father’s miserable state, I vowed to take that madman’s head to my father’s bedside to avenge him. Ten days ago, I finally caught up with that madman and fought him fiercely, injuring him."

"Unfortunately, he still managed to escape by jumping into the water. Thereafter, he vanished without a trace. I had no choice but to resort to this, disguising myself as a vendor, spreading tales of his deeds along the way to track his whereabouts... It’s just that I left too quickly this time and didn’t bring the guidance scroll."

The Blue-uniformed Captain’s face turned somewhat grim upon hearing this. In his experience, this didn’t sound made up. It seemed they had indeed caught the wrong person.

He asked in a deep voice, "The madman you mentioned, is he the Mad Saber who has recently emerged?"

"Yes, that thief."

"Rumor has it he’s only of the Sixth Grade cultivation, yet he managed to escape from you?"

This was the only part that didn’t make sense.

Xiao Qianhao’s expression was somber. "That person’s True Qi is extremely cold and his saber technique is quite formidable, making him difficult to deal with. I was careless and nearly suffered an internal injury."

...

After Cheng Ruiwu and his sister heard this person’s words, their faces were filled with both shock and joy.

They were joyful because they finally got wind of the thief’s traces, and this thief turned out to have more enemies than just their family.

The shock was due to the thief’s strength being far greater than imagined, since he could escape from a Fifth Grade expert.

Even if they found the thief, avenging their sister would likely be difficult.

Then Xiao Qianhao said, "Sir, I have told you everything I know, please release me, so as not to delay your duties."

At this moment, his tone finally softened.

The Blue-uniformed Captain snorted coldly, "Who knows if what you say is true or false? You should come with me to the prison in Yujie City and notify your family to come and fetch you."

"You—"

Xiao Qianhao was torn between shock and anger but was utterly helpless.

...

Cheng Ruiwu, familiar with the manner of the Six Gates, knew this Blue-uniformed Captain was absolutely not going to release him.

If they let him go and it turned out later that there was truly something wrong with this person, he would not escape the charge of negligence.

He felt it was a pity, as this person shared a common enemy with him and could have been an ally.

Just then, a constable suddenly collapsed to the ground, and after one fell, others followed suit.

What happened?

Cheng Ruiwu was puzzled when suddenly he heard the Blue-uniformed Captain shout, "Not good, there’s poison!"

Then, with a series of palm strikes, the invisible True Qi broke through, piercing the door panels, and extinguishing the lamps hanging on the wall.

In an instant, the entire inn went dark.

The wind and rain from outside blew in, sending chills through everyone inside the inn.

The moment Cheng Ruiwu heard "there’s poison," he tried to circulate his True Qi, only to find it stagnated. In shock, he immediately held his breath and took an antidote pill from his chest and swallowed it.

Then, he warned those around him, "Be careful, there’s poison!"

...

Meanwhile, in the back room.

Wang Yumei, in a fit of rage, was about to strike down this rebellious disciple with her palm but suddenly felt her True Qi stagnate and was unable to circulate it.

She was greatly startled, realizing she had been poisoned.

"There’s poison!"

She warned, seating herself on the ground, attempting to expel the poison by working her energy.

Beside her, Xiao Zhuyun’s expression changed drastically, suddenly feeling weak in her limbs and lacking strength. She widened her eyes, looking at Gu Xixi, who sat on the bed unaffected, and trembled as she spoke, "It’s... is it you?" 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

Gu Xixi slowly stood up, looked at the two poisoned, and calmly said, "Yes, it’s me."

She walked up to Wang Yumei, knelt down, and kowtowed three times with a loud bang, "Master, please forgive this unfilial disciple. Your kindness, I will repay in my next life. Consider me as dead now."

After speaking, she stood up, wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes, took the sword from Xiao Zhuyun’s hands, and turned to leave without hesitation.

Wang Yumei, sitting on the ground, trembled, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth, murmured, "Rebellious disciple..."

The helpless and weak Xiao Zhuyun watched her departing figure, her eyes filled with a complex gaze.

Among her many Junior Sisters, Gu Xixi was the most obedient and dutiful, adhering to every word of their master since childhood. She could never have imagined that Gu Xixi would poison her master and herself for a man.

PS: Third update, requesting for monthly votes.