Chapter 239: Chapter 199: Please, Go to Your Deaths

Lou Yuxue was about to say something harsh when she suddenly felt her entire body go limp.

Not only could she not channel her True Essence, but all her physical strength was gone as well.

"Why... is this happening?"

Lou Yuxue struggled to stay upright for a moment before collapsing to one side, a bewildered look on her face. A faint understanding dawned in her mind: the bastard behind her was responsible.

’He... he even planned for this...’

Just then, Chen Yi spurred his horse forward and swept her into his arms. Without pausing, he grabbed the reins, wheeled the horse around, and gave chase to Liu Lang and the others.

Lou Yuxue leaned weakly against his chest and said feebly, "You... you bastard... When did you drug me?"

Chen Yi replied with a smile, "Before I caught up with Young Master Liu. But you can’t really blame me."

"If you hadn’t tried to run, you wouldn’t have fallen for it."

"Hmph..."

Lou Yuxue let out two weak huffs and turned her head away, clearly not wanting to acknowledge him.

’She had indeed lost miserably this time, but she would never let this go.’

’As long as she was alive, she would make this bastard pay!’

Chen Yi could more or less guess what she was thinking, but he didn’t mind chatting a bit more.

"Can you tell me what the Hidden Guard is?"

"One question, ten percent... ten percent of the silver notes."

"Fine."

"..."

Lou Yuxue gave him a charming eye-roll, clearly not believing he would actually pay up.

"As a member of the Liu Family, how could you have never heard of the Hidden Guard?"

Chen Yi told the truth. "I really haven’t."

"You must have at least heard of the White Tiger Guard, right?"

’White Tiger Guard?’

Chen Yi thought for a moment but couldn’t recall anything.

"I... probably have."

Lou Yuxue shot him a glare that held no menace and said with a hint of resignation:

"The White Tiger Guard is one of the four guards under the Secretariat of our Great Wei Dynasty. We specialize in infiltrating enemy nations and neighboring states, with the duty of inciting defections and provoking disputes."

’So they’re just spies,’ Chen Yi realized.

’But their duties are a bit different from the Jinyi Guard I was picturing.’

"Then what are you doing in Shu State?"

Lou Yuxue leaned limply against him. "That’s not a question for you to ask, nor is it something I would know."

Chen Yi privately pursed his lips. ’He knew that these Silver Banner Officers were only responsible for their own tasks. Even if they suspected their current mission deviated from the White Tiger Guard’s official duties, they wouldn’t dwell on it.’

’It wasn’t wise to press the matter further.’

’After all, the only reason he had spared Liu Si’er, Ge the Third, Lou Yuxue, and the others was to pry more secrets from them.’

’If he revealed too much, he would inevitably alert the higher-ups in the Hidden Guard.’

’If they were replaced, his losses would outweigh his gains.’

Just as Chen Yi was pondering this, Liu Wen’s voice came from up ahead:

"Black Tooth, it’s midnight! Pick up the pace!"

Chen Yi was about to reply when several lines of large, golden text suddenly floated before his eyes:

[Daily Intel · Celestial Level, Lower Grade: At a quarter past one in the morning, Black Tooth of Bright Moon Building will gather a group from the Evil Demonic Dao and, in collaboration with the Great Wei Dynasty’s White Tiger Guard, set fire to the summer grain of three border towns in Shu State. A significant Opportunity can be obtained.]

’Celestial Level!’

Chen Yi’s eyes fixed on those two words.

’Even without this rare "Celestial Tier Opportunity" tonight, he had planned to check on the Three Towns anyway. But he was naturally delighted that such an Opportunity had presented itself.’

After scanning the text and confirming there was nothing else of note, he rode up to Liu Wen’s carriage and said in a cold tone:

"Young Master Liu, please be patient. Once we reach Iron Wall Town, your wish will naturally be granted."

Liu Wen snorted. "It had better be."

"I’ve spent so much silver and even come in person. If your Bright Moon Building can’t get this done, don’t blame me for turning ruthless."

Chen Yi laughed. "In two hours, you can see for yourself when you arrive."

With that, he ignored Liu Wen and spurred his horse forward, shouting to Liu Lang and the others:

"The Financier has given an order! Speed up! We need to reach Iron Wall Town within the hour!"

Upon hearing this, Liu Lang was the first to chime in. "You all heard what Black Tooth said, right? Pick up the pace!"

"I was getting impatient already! Faster, faster, faster! I’m itching to go on a killing spree!"

"Old Ghost Lin, don’t go berserk later. There’s an army of nearly eighty thousand there. If we get surrounded, we’re dead for sure."

"Right, we can’t go deep into the Border Town. We just need to wait outside for our contact to pull out."

"What’s there to be afraid of? With Elder Black Tooth here, you’re worried we can’t escape?"

"I remember Black Tooth was supposed to be heading to Cang Lang Town. Why’d he come back?"

Liu Lang laughed heartily. "He was scared he’d die in Cang Lang Town! What other reason could there be?"

"HAHAHA, so even Elder Black Tooth gets scared sometimes."

"..."

Listening to the conversation of the Evil Demonic Dao members up ahead, a smile touched Chen Yi’s lips. He then activated his Qi Observation Skill to carefully examine their auras.

’Middle Three Grades, Middle Three Grades, still Middle Three Grades... There was even one Evil Demon whose Cultivation had just reached the Sixth Grade Realm.’

’After a full sweep, the one with the highest Cultivation was surprisingly Liu Lang.’

Chen Yi understood. He turned his head and asked, "Black Tooth went to Cang Lang Town?"

But Lou Yuxue didn’t answer his question. Instead, she asked one of her own:

"How much silver did you get from Liu Wen?"

"...You guess."

"I want forty percent."

"Heh. Miss Yuxue, have you ever heard the saying? ’A heart that is never content is like a snake trying to swallow an elephant.’"

Lou Yuxue leaned against him, her head resting on his shoulder. Her breath was warm and fragrant as she said, "Ten percent. Or you and I go our separate ways."

Chen Yi grabbed her by the neck and pulled her upright. He met her gaze for a moment and saw she wasn’t the least bit afraid, seemingly determined to follow through on her threat. He couldn’t help but smile and nod.

"Ten percent it is. We’ll just deduct it from your share of the silver coins. That way, we’re still splitting it fifty-fifty."

Lou Yuxue’s eyes widened, and she stared at him, dumbfounded. "That... that’s also three hundred thousand taels of silver?!"

Chen Yi raised an eyebrow and pushed her back down against him, muttering, "Should’ve told her a smaller number."