Chapter 184 - 127: Martial Arts Examination

In the Inner Court, Zhang Xiang, Cao Tianlong, and Cao Dilong were eating together, and all of them were shocked when Li Chang’an suddenly threw a woman onto the floor.

Zhang Xiang stood up, walked over, and scrutinized the tightly bound Ran Qingqiu.

Although she had no Cultivation, she was still worldly and knowledgeable.

After getting a clear look at Ran Qingqiu’s bewitchingly beautiful face, she was clearly startled. She quickly retreated a few steps and clutched her heaving chest, stammering, "This... Is this the Demon Sect’s Saintess, Ran Qingqiu? Was she the one who killed your master?"

She had recognized Ran Qingqiu.

And it was precisely because she recognized her that she was so terrified.

Li Chang’an nodded. "How do you want to deal with her?"

Zhang Xiang’s expression turned grim.

Under normal circumstances, she would have wanted nothing more than to see this murderer torn to shreds.

But the person before them was a Saintess of the Demon Sect—and not just any Saintess, but Ran Qingqiu, who was rumored to be the Sect Leader’s absolute favorite.

If they actually did that, the Sect Leader of the Demon Sect would certainly not let the matter rest.

It would bring immense trouble upon the Cao Family and Li Chang’an.

...

Being thrown so roughly to the ground by Li Chang’an, Ran Qingqiu felt a flicker of panic in her heart.

As one of the six great Saintesses of the Demon Sect, she was accustomed to being the center of attention wherever she went; she had never experienced being treated like a common prisoner.

But now, she was completely at their mercy.

No matter how indignant Ran Qingqiu felt, she forced herself to bear it.

Seeing Zhang Xiang’s face shifting between pale and ashen with indecision, Ran Qingqiu hurriedly spoke up. "I was the one who killed him, but the grudge wasn’t mine. Sun Zhaorui of the Mountain City Sun Family paid a fortune to hire me. If you want revenge, I can make him pay with his life!"

As a Demon Sect Disciple, Ran Qingqiu’s moral compass was clearly flexible.

Now, seeing Zhang Xiang hesitate, she quickly tried to deflect their hatred onto the Mountain City Sun Family.

Sure enough, her words worked. Upon hearing that Sun Zhaorui had hired the killer, Zhang Xiang began to tremble with rage. "That animal, Sun Zhaorui! Our family took such good care of him! He was the one who cried and begged to become a disciple, and in the end, he does something like this?"

At the mention of Sun Zhaorui’s name, both Cao Tianlong and Cao Dilong’s faces filled with resentment.

They had gotten along quite well with Sun Zhaorui and never imagined that their father’s senior disciple would be the one to stab the Cao Family in the back.

Li Chang’an was also a little surprised.

In this day and age, a master was practically a second father.

It was why Li Chang’an, as a disciple, had been able to take over the Martial Champion’s Mansion.

Although there was some gossip about it, the most people could do was question whether Li Chang’an was taking advantage of a family with no heirs; no one questioned whether he had the right to do so.

For Sun Zhaorui to turn his back on his master and hire the Demon Sect to commit murder—if word of such a thing got out, people would curse his name for the rest of his life.

’Under these circumstances, for Sun Zhaorui to still dare to do such a thing, he must have been truly flying into a rage out of shame, ready to disregard any and all consequences.’

’Thinking about it, it kind of made sense.’

’Sun Zhaorui had trained at the Martial Champion’s Mansion for many years and should have been the senior disciple. But Cao Shu not only stripped him of the title, he also planned to pass his ultimate techniques to an outsider.’

’On top of that, he had fought me and lost.’

’It was no wonder he finally resorted to hiring a killer.’

Of course, just because Li Chang’an could understand Sun Zhaorui’s motivation didn’t mean he condoned his methods. He turned to look at Zhang Xiang and said, "Madam Zhang, I will go to Mountain City shortly. I’ll wipe out the Sun Family and bring Sun Zhaorui back!"

Zhang Xiang snapped back to her senses at his words and quickly shook her head. "Chang’an, your heart is in the right place, but you’re still too young. Why don’t we wait until you’re a little older!"

Seeing that Li Chang’an didn’t seem to have given up on going to Mountain City to find the Sun Family, Ran Qingqiu, still lying on the floor, let her eyes dart about before speaking up. "Mountain City is now the site of one of my Demon Sect’s branch headquarters. If you go after the Sun Family by yourself, you’ll definitely be swarmed by my sect..."

"How about this? You let me go, and within three days of my return, I’ll have Sun Zhaorui’s head delivered to your doorstep!"

"What do you say to that? You can achieve your goal without lifting a finger. Just consider it my apology and atonement for what happened with Champion Scholar Cao!"

Her plan was simple: escape Li Chang’an’s control and get back to the Demon Sect as quickly as possible. Everything else could wait.

As for whether she would fulfill her end of the bargain?

For her, killing Sun Zhaorui would be laughably easy.

There was no reason for her to break the agreement.

But Li Chang’an wasn’t about to let her get her way so easily. He snorted coldly. "Heh, do you think I don’t know what you’re scheming? You would indeed bring me Sun Zhaorui’s head, but you’d also bring a horde of Demon Sect Disciples to level the Champion Scholar’s Mansion."

Ran Qingqiu pouted, unable to hide her guilty conscience.

Nearby, Zhang Xiang, after a long silence, finally sighed. "Chang’an, you should be the one to decide. I don’t understand these things, so I won’t get involved."

She paused, then closed her eyes and continued, "But if you’re thinking of killing her, I urge you to think very carefully before you act. Your master is already dead, but this big family of ours still has to go on living..."

After saying this, Zhang Xiang, clearly in a terrible mood, put down her chopsticks and left the room.

Cao Tianlong and Cao Dilong shot Ran Qingqiu a hateful glare, but said nothing more before they too put down their chopsticks and left.

They wanted revenge, to be sure.

But even with their enemy right in front of them, they didn’t dare make a move.