Chapter 427 - 266: But That’s the Dragon Spear
Chapter 427: Chapter 266: But That’s the Dragon Spear
Xue Duanyun’s heart stirred. "Brother Liu, I wonder if you would allow us to see those notes?"
Hearing this, Zhang Sanhu and Zhang Sihu also looked at Liu Lang, their curiosity piqued.
After all, they had received their orders alongside Liu Lang and had personally witnessed the handsome young Boss Chen Yu write the two notes.
Naturally, they were incredibly curious about what was written on them.
Seeing the looks on their faces, Liu Lang thought for a moment before complying, taking out both notes and handing them over.
As he did, he added with a smile, "The boss is a master strategist. When he sets his mind to something, he never comes out on the losing end."
Xue Duanyun listened to his praise for Boss Chen Yu while reading the notes in his hand.
The content was brief and simple, but every line exuded the writer’s absolute certainty.
After finishing, he passed the notes to his two junior brothers beside him and said thoughtfully,
"We naturally believe what you say, Brother Liu. It’s just..."
"How exactly did Boss Chen deduce all of this for today?"
Although he claimed to believe Liu Lang, he was actually half-convinced and half-skeptical.
After all, the contents of the notes were stated with such certainty, as if... as if Boss Chen had orchestrated these events himself.
Liu Lang was taken aback for a moment. He pointed to himself and said, dumbfounded, "Brother Xue, you give me too much credit."
"If I could deduce things like that, I never would have come to Shu State."
’If I had known I’d run into so many freakishly talented powerhouses here, there’s no way I would have come at this time.’
’I would have at least waited until my Saber Dao broke through to the Perfection Realm.’
"You three... you just haven’t been at Hundred Herbs Hall long enough."
"Once you’ve been here for a while, you’ll understand just how formidable he is."
At this, Liu Lang looked at the three of them, then leaned in and continued in a deliberately mysterious, low voice,
"I’m sure you’ve heard about the murders that happened a few days ago."
Xue Duanyun’s interest was piqued. "Are you referring to what happened here in the West Market? The incident with the Poshisu Country horse bandits?"
"That’s right."
"I don’t mind telling you, our boss is actually—the ’Dragon Spear,’ Liu Wu!"
"It’s him?!"
Xue Duanyun was stunned, as were Zhang Sanhu and Zhang Sihu.
The three of them then turned to Liu Lang. "Then, that... that would make you the ’Sword Madman’ of the Northern Desert, wouldn’t it?"
Seeing the expressions on their faces, Liu Lang nodded, quite pleased with himself.
"The one and only."
But as soon as he said it, a pang of regret hit him.
’After all, I revealed ’Liu Wu’s’ identity to Xue Duanyun and the others on my own. I haven’t even told ’Chen Yu’ yet!’
But on second thought, he comforted himself.
’The boss probably won’t blame me.’
’Since he had these guys work with me, he must have been prepared for them to find out his identity.’
’Yes, that’s right...’
Of course, Xue Duanyun and the others were oblivious to these internal calculations.
They just stared at Liu Lang in astonishment.
A man’s reputation precedes him.
Forget about "Dragon Spear" Liu Wu.
The "Sword Madman of the Northern Desert," Liu Lang, alone was a figure they had to look up to.
And this was the "Dragon Spear" they were talking about.
—The legendary figure from the Jianghu whose Spear Dao was said to have reached the Perfection Realm.
It was impossible for them not to be shocked.
After a long moment, Xue Duanyun finally came to his senses. He shook his head with a wry smile. "So the boss is ’Dragon Spear’ Liu Wu. We were truly blind to not recognize a great man in our midst."
Zhang Sanhu nodded in agreement. "I really didn’t expect that."
"I always thought that for ’Liu Wu’s’ Spear Dao Realm to be so terrifying, he must be a Jianghu senior who has cultivated for many years. I never imagined he’d be so young."
Zhang Sihu scratched his head. "He looks even younger than me, doesn’t he?"
Hearing this, Xue Duanyun was filled with a sense of admiration.
It was true he was from the Celestial Sect, but aside from a few Sect elders, Xie Tingyun was the most talented and had the highest cultivation among his peers.
But even Xie Tingyun was a far cry from "Liu Wu."
What did that say about him, a second-rate Wandering Martial Artist whose Sword Dao was only at Minor Success?
"Junior Brothers, do not be disrespectful."
"Even if Boss Chen is young, his cultivation is not low. He is still our senior."
"Yes, Senior Brother."
"Understood..."
Seeing this, Liu Lang couldn’t help but add a warning. "I revealed all this without the boss’s permission."
"I hope you three will keep it a secret for now. We can talk more after I’ve asked the boss."
Xue Duanyun nodded. "You’re too kind, Senior Sword Madman. You don’t need to remind us; we will keep our lips sealed."
Zhang Sanhu and Zhang Sihu chimed in with their own promises.
Just as a smile returned to Liu Lang’s face, he heard Xue Duanyun ask,
"Brother Liu, do my senior sisters know the boss’s identity?"
"Your senior sisters... Xie Tingyun and Shen Huatang?"
Liu Lang shook his head. "They shouldn’t know about this yet."
Xue Duanyun was stunned for a moment. "But our Eldest Senior Sister told us it was the boss’s approval that allowed us to stay at Hundred Herbs Hall."
"How... how could she not know his identity?"
Hearing this, Liu Lang grimaced as if he had a toothache. This time, he truly regretted speaking.
But if he didn’t explain, it would be even worse if these guys ran off and told Xie Tingyun and Shen Huatang.
—He’d probably be run through by Boss Chen’s spear.
After some thought, Liu Lang had no choice but to say, "The boss is doing this for the Xiao Family."
"The Xiao Family?"
"It’s a long story. You just need to know that the Xiao Family is in a difficult situation right now, and the boss doesn’t want to get too involved."
"That’s why he’s hiding his identity and helping the Xiao Family from the shadows."
Hearing this, Xue Duanyun, Zhang Sanhu, and Zhang Sihu exchanged a look, as if they’d all realized something.
"Senior Brother Xue, do you remember what Eldest Senior Sister told us back then?"
"She said Senior Sister Shen wrote a letter asking for help, telling her to hurry to Shu State."
Xue Duanyun nodded. "Eldest Senior Sister and the others are also here to help the Xiao Family."
Hearing this, Zhang Sihu scratched his head and grinned. "So, it seems the boss really is a good person. I was just saying..."
Before he could finish, Zhang Sanhu smacked him.
"What are you talking about? The boss was willing to kill the Poshisu Country horse bandits. There’s no way he’s part of the Evil Demonic Dao."
"Oh..."
Seeing that their doubts were dispelled, Liu Lang finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"Enough talk. This place isn’t safe anymore. Let’s hurry and move the grain to the other residence, just as the boss ordered."
"Alright..."
...
Xiao Family, Spring Lotus Garden.
Chen Yi had no idea that Liu Lang had already sold out one of his disguises.
But even if he did know, he probably wouldn’t have said anything.
It was just as Liu Lang had thought—since he had allowed the Celestial Sect disciples to get involved, he had never intended to hide his identity as "Liu Wu."
At that moment, Chen Yi finished his two-hour cultivation session.
He glanced out the window.
At some point, the dark clouds in the sky had dispersed.
Amidst the countless stars, a crescent moon hung in the night sky, casting down a silvery glow.
Fallen leaves dotted the courtyard, and from time to time, a drop of water would hit one, making a soft PITTER-PATTER sound.
The sound carried far in the silence.
’By my calculations, it’s about time I heard from Lou Yuxue about the grain she promised.’
Chen Yi muttered to himself, then rose without hesitation and changed into a black robe.
He then retrieved a rattan case from under his bed and began to put on a disguise.
He had to admit, Zhang Dabao’s case was full of treasures.
Besides the little trinkets for disguise, it also contained various tools for practicing lockpicking and pickpocketing.
It was a diverse collection with a little bit of everything.
Chen Yi had fiddled with them before, and he had only one assessment: every trade has its master.
Zhang Dabao’s master, "One Finger," was clearly a man of considerable skill.
In no time, Chen Yi had applied two masks to his face: the inner one was for "Chen Yu," and the outer one was for "Liu Wu."
Once he had carefully eliminated any minute flaws on his face, he packed up the rattan case and slipped out of Spring Lotus Garden.
He followed South Street south, all the way to the depths of Yanhua Lane in South City—the Spring Rain Building.
It was now close to the Hour of the Boar.
Except for places like Yanhua Lane, where one went to seek pleasure, most of the surrounding households had already gone to bed.
From time to time, one could even hear sounds like cats in heat.
Chen Yi had no desire to listen to such noise, but as his cultivation and techniques improved, his five senses were far beyond what they used to be.
Even without connecting to the Heaven and Earth’s Spiritual Mechanism, he could hear every movement within a three-li radius.
Nothing to be done about it. After waiting for a moment to confirm there were no unusual movements nearby, Chen Yi zipped onto the roof of the Spring Rain Building and quietly entered a private room.
He looked around, then strained his ears, trying to locate Lou Yuxue.
But before he could find her, the side door was pushed open.
And who should it be but Lou Yuxue?
Their eyes met, both of them a little surprised.
Just as Chen Yi was about to greet her, he saw Lou Yuxue repeatedly giving him meaningful glances, which he found rather strange.
He strained his ears again.
He immediately detected a faint presence outside the private room.
Sure enough, the next moment, the side door opened again.
Standing calmly outside the door was Cui Qingwu, dressed in a simple white gauze dress.
When Chen Yi saw her face, he understood the meaning behind Lou Yuxue’s glances.
His thoughts raced, and he broke into a smile. "Miss Yuxue, Miss Cui, it’s good to see you’re both well."
Cui Qingwu started. "It’s you!?"