Translator: yikaii Editor: yikaii

Tang Yuansheng, male, 102 years old, at the Nascent Soul stage of cultivation, currently holds the position of Inspector for the Undying Sect.

Upon receiving a message from Helmsman Chu to come earlier, he decided to advance his schedule. He first arrived at Qinghuai County, which is only separated by one mountain from Yanjiang County.

Crossing this mountain, well reach the location Little Chu mentioned. (TL Note: I dont think Ive explained it before but in chinese, little + their surname is a way you can address someone and its a term of endearment. Its usually used by seniors to their juniors.)

Hm? Suddenly, Tang Yuansheng sensed a peculiar fluctuation of aura, What is this aura?

Following the sensation, he arrived at a stable in a posthouse. Inside the stable, an old horse with dragon scales on its forehead and a brown mare were nestled together, appearing to have a deep affection for each other.

A stable boy brought a bundle of selected forage and placed it in the manger, but the old horse glanced at it disdainfully, showing no interest in eating.

Seeing the old horses reaction, the stable boy muttered under his breath, The white horse left, and so quickly it got along with a new one?

As if understanding human speech, the old horse glared at the stable boy, who didnt dare to provoke this exotic beast and quickly ran away.

The premium forage that the old horses owner had stored here was long gone. After the premium feed was finished, and there was no sign from the horses owner, the posthouse owner speculated whether something had happened to them or if they had died, especially since the owner had gone to Song Mountain.

After the premium feed was finished, the posthouse owner had the stable boy feed it other forages. If the owner didnt show up, they planned to use the old horse to cover the feed costs.

However, the old horse turned its nose up at the posthouses feed, not eating a single bite, and this continued for a month.

The posthouse owner felt a chill down his spine. This old horse was definitely not a simple exotic beast with scales on its forehead but a high-level demon beast that had reached the state of avoiding grains!

Exotic beasts are a species between demon beasts and wild beasts. They have demon beast bloodlines, but the bloodline is too diluted, lacking the ability to mobilize the bloodline power, showing some ancestral traits like growing scales, fur, horns, etc. Their bodies are stronger than wild beasts, but only to a limited extent.

Tang Yuansheng was overjoyed to see the old horse, as it was a rare dragon horse, although he was unsure about the purity of its bloodline.

If I hadnt accidentally visited the vast eastern seas, I wouldnt have recognized it. Tang Yuansheng was quite excited, as this was an unexpected fortune.

Dragon horses are extremely rare, and to find one in the stable of a remote county was surely due to its owner not recognizing its value, and the dragon horse not yet awakened, hence it was covered in dust here.

As a Nascent Soul stage powerhouse, I have always lacked a suitable mount. This must be an opportunity gifted to me by the Undying Being for my devotion!

After praying to the Undying Being for a moment, Tang Yuansheng leaped into the stable.

The old horse looked back at Tang Yuansheng but ignored him, continuing to be affectionate with the brown mare.

Poor dragon horse, unaware of its noble identity, falling in love with a mortal horse. Come with me, and I will show you how powerful you really are!

Tang Yuansheng reached out his golden hand, intending to take the old horse away. The old horse kicked back with its hooves, breaking Tang Yuanshengs arm. Tang Yuansheng felt a tightness in his chest and spat out a mouthful of blood, his aura instantly weakened.

He looked at the old horse in horror, his excitement replaced by endless fear, and turned to run.

There must be a powerful being playing in the mortal world living here, keeping the dragon horse as a common horse in the stable!

His actions just now could not have been hidden from the powerful being playing in the mortal world. He hurriedly ran, hoping the other would spare his life for his ignorance!

The old horse neighed proudly, boasting of its strength to the mare.

After Tang Yuansheng had fled for a while and saw no powerful being capturing him back, he knew the other had not cared about his actions.

Wow! He spat out another mouthful of blood and found a secluded place to sit in meditation, consuming medicinal pills to recover from his injuries.

Those two kicks had severely damaged his vitality.

When he opened his eyes again, he heard a rumbling noise from the other side of the mountain, as if a huge object had fallen.

Is it already night? Tang Yuansheng was surprised to see the sky had darkened, not expecting his recovery to take an entire day.

Having recovered somewhat, he was no longer in danger, so he crossed Song Mountain to the site where the flying boat had crashed, only to see Helmsman Chu pierced by a sword from Lu Yang, lifeless.

Is this the surprise Little Chu mentioned?

Whether it was a pleasant surprise or not is debatable, but Tang Yuansheng was definitely shocked.

Before coming, the higher-ups of the Undying Sect had instructed him to keep an eye on Lu Yang, Meng Jingzhou, and Barbarian Bone, even providing portraits.

Now, he had no choice but to pay attention.

Who are you! Lu Yang held his sword defensively as he eyed Tang Yuansheng.

Tang Yuansheng looked at Lu Yang with a smile that was not quite a smile: Lu Yang, dare you point your sword at me? I am Tang Yuansheng, the Inspector of the Undying Sect.

Upon learning Tang Yuanshengs identity, Lu Yang signaled to Lan Ting to leave quickly, as Lan Tings presence was difficult to explain to Tang Yuansheng.

So, you are Inspector Tang. Lu Yang became a bit more polite, but still looked at Tang Yuansheng with suspicion, clearly not fully trusting his identity.

Tang Yuansheng did not bother to explain further to Lu Yang and asked, Why did you kill Li Shouyi?

Li Shouyi, the governor of Yanjiang County, was Helmsman Chus real name, which Tang Yuansheng was accustomed to calling him Little Chu.

Lu Yang replied gravely, Because he almost exposed his identity as a follower of the Undying Sect!

Oh? Tang Yuansheng looked at Lu Yang with interest, waiting to hear what kind of explanation he would give.

Suddenly, noises of disturbance came from the foot of the mountain. Fang Qingyun had arrived with a large group to investigate the crash of the flying boat, including physicians for rescue.

Lets leave first! Currently in a weakened state, Tang Yuansheng did not want to encounter the officials and, with a sweep of his sleeve, took Lu Yang and the others away.

Tang Yuansheng led the three of them to the Yanjiang Lodge, the safest place in Yanjiang County.

Now tell me, how did Li Shouyi expose his identity? He was always meticulous in his actions.

Lu Yang revealed everything about the Life-draining Array and said, Helmsman Chu oh no, City Governor Lis plan was impeccable. First, he made Yizhang Hong the scapegoat, then he secretly arranged the Life-draining Array. As long as the small flags were destroyed afterward, there would be no trace left.

Tang Yuansheng nodded. Li Shouyi was always careful, using the very obscure Life-draining Array for this plan, which was flawless.

But an accident still happened. We three opened a barbecue shop here, the best place for gathering local intelligence. We noticed a disciple from the Moon Laurel Immortal Palace passing by. She seemed to be proficient in formations and saw through the Life-draining Talisman on the small flags!

Disciples of the five great immortal gates are untouchable. We were worried that City Governor Lis incident would implicate the entire Undying Sect. We advised him to hide, but he said it was a critical time for him to advance to the Nascent Soul Stage using the Life-draining Array and absolutely could not hide. We had no choice but to kill him before The Great Xia could catch City Governor Li, to eliminate future troubles permanently!

You also noticed the officials just now, right? The leader is the chief bailiff, Fang Qingyun. He brought so many people to prevent the Life-draining Array from activating and to arrest City Governor Li!

Tang Yuansheng nodded, believing Lu Yang and his companions did the right thing. The presence of a disciple from the Moon Laurel Immortal Palace in Yanjiang County was something that could be investigated, and Li Shouyi indeed valued advancing to the Nascent Soul Stage.

Generally, the lodge masters are at the Nascent Soul Stage. Yanjiang County is a small county, so the lodge master was only at the Golden Core Stage. Li Shouyi wanted to be promoted to a more developed areas lodge master, so he must advance to the Nascent Soul Stage now.

The same logic applied to his official status; without sufficient cultivation level, promotions would be fraught with difficulties.

Barbarian Bone was shocked by Lu Yangs story; their plan did not include encountering Tang Yuansheng after killing Helmsman Chu, nor had they considered the reason for the murder. How did Brother Lu come up with such a story on the spot?

Meng Jingzhou quietly gave Lu Yang a thumbs up. The reason Lu Yang came up with was not far off from what he had improvised on the spot.

(End of the chapter)