She is Jianxiu

Chapter 1396 Zhang Erba Steals the Horse

Qi Zheng strolled out, and could still smell a faint medicinal fragrance at the tip of her nose. She knew that although the pharmacy was not large, the pills it produced were of good quality, no wonder the business was so booming.

However, in Dingxian City, relying solely on one's abilities is clearly not a sustainable path. From the information she gathered, she knew that Jiao Lianji, the manager of the pharmacy, was a servant of the Jiao family, one of the nine families and fourteen branches in the city. Therefore, this pharmacy was actually one of the many businesses owned by the Jiao family.

These disciples of Zhaoyan had only been in the city for less than ten days, and their immediate priority was to quickly ascertain the distribution of power within the city. The Jiao family had a long history, and there were already two cultivators who had reached the Divine Realm, one of whom was a disciple of a powerful figure. Their position in Dingxian City was quite secure.

Although Elder Zhao Chun personally led the entry into the city, the established families and sects that had been rooted there for thousands of years didn't take it seriously. For over a hundred years, the relationship between sect cultivators and independent cultivators in the city had been ambiguous, and the situation in the southern region hadn't collapsed too much only because Dingxian City supplied resources to the surrounding areas. Zhao Chun was indeed powerful, but the affairs of Dingxian City had always been led by three Void Realm cultivators. If this were to be completely overturned, not only would the independent cultivators in the city complain, but each sect would also have to consider the consequences.

Therefore, the Jiao family patriarch was not in a hurry, and even planned to fan the flames to give it a push.

It remains to be seen how Zhao Chun will handle this.

Qi Zheng's eyelids twitched, and she saw the woman in yellow standing next to Jiao Lianji. This woman was beautiful, but her face was a little pale. Just by sensing her aura, she could tell that she seemed to be injured. Her aura was a little weak and feeble, and she was very restless.

Jiao Lianji also turned around, raised his sleeves and bowed, sighing, "I'm sorry to have amused you, fellow Daoist. This fellow Daoist Wan Ruzhen is an elder of the Wan family in Fangting Ridge outside the city. Her elders had a past relationship with me, but now they have suddenly encountered difficulties and do not know what to do, so they have come here for help."

He then said to Wan Ruzhen, "Fellow Daoist Wan, this Fellow Daoist Qi Zheng is a disciple of the Zhaoyan Immortal Sect. He entered the city three days ago and has already taken over the patrol duties of my Dingxian City."

Upon hearing that he was a disciple of Zhaoyan, Wan Ruzhen was secretly surprised. With her cultivation level, she was only able to come into contact with the Jiao family because an elder in her family had offered her a spiritual herb, which saved a genius in the Jiao clan who was supposed to die young. This allowed her to smooth things over and do business in Dingxian City. She never expected to see a disciple of a celestial sect in this pharmacy.

She secretly sized up Qi Zheng, worried that such a small matter wouldn't catch the other party's eye, but the shrewdness she had accumulated over the years of trading still made her vaguely sense something.

The disciples of Zhaoyan entered the city ten days ago and have now taken over the patrol duties.

Is it really just a simple matter of patrolling?
Jiao Lianji, as a servant, never acted without his master's permission, yet he failed to appear at the agreed-upon location yesterday...

Wan Ruzhen broke out in a cold sweat, but Qi Zheng had already nodded and said, "I see."

Her eyes, though slightly dark, were sharp and bright, as if she had seen through something. A faint smile played on her lips as she asked, "You are, after all, a True Infant cultivator. I wonder what trouble you have that you would seek out Fellow Daoist Jiao?"

Wan Ruzhen hesitated slightly, but since she had already been put on the spot, she had no choice but to tell the story of the stolen rock-scaled horse.

“Those two rock-scaled horses were bought by my Wan family at great expense and have been trained for many years. Such a thing has never happened before. If someone else hadn’t used some tricks, they would never have been able to break free on their own.”

Jiao Lianji sighed repeatedly and frowned, saying, "It was my oversight. Yesterday, the master's men came to inspect the shop and found that several long-stocked spiritual herbs in the storeroom had lost their medicinal properties. They were questioned and I couldn't get away, so I thought I would meet with Fellow Daoist Wan today. But I didn't expect the thief to be so bold as to strike at this time!" Qi Zheng chuckled inwardly, knowing that Jiao Lianji's words couldn't stand much scrutiny. However, since they, as law enforcement disciples, entered the city, they hadn't had a chance to establish their authority. If this was a good opportunity, they might as well report it to Commander Xie first. Presumably, the person who dared to steal the Rock Scale Horse in front of the Jiao family was no ordinary person.

He then said, “Although my disciples came here to investigate the whereabouts of the strange people, Dingxian City is a transportation hub connecting various places. In this era of great calamity, we have a responsibility to help all sides. We cannot lose order and cause these small-town cultivators to be afraid to come and go here.”

"Wait a moment, I'll go back and ask my superiors today, and I'll tell you the result tomorrow."

Wan Ruzhen dared not utter a single complaint and quickly nodded, saying, "If Fellow Daoist Qi is willing to step forward, I will be eternally grateful."

Qi Zheng nodded, then said to Jiao Lianji, "Fellow Daoist Jiao, as for the Celestial Human Sect member you mentioned, I will investigate carefully after I arrive to see if it is true. If this person appears again in the future, I will trouble you to keep a close eye on him."

Compared to the loss of Wanjia's horse, the fact that the Tianren Sect members had appeared at the pharmacy was of utmost importance. Jie Feixuan was very concerned about this and had specifically asked her to come over this morning to inquire about the situation.

Jiao Lianji readily agreed and politely saw Qi Zheng out. Looking back at Wan Ruzhen's increasingly worried face, he wasn't too worried. He confidently said, "Fellow Daoist Wan, please rest assured. These immortal disciples all entered the city with that Great Dao Leader. No matter how powerful the bandits are, they certainly won't dare to mess with us."

Undercurrents were swirling within Dingxian City, but the Tai Sui that Jiao Lianji spoke of remained secluded and did not emerge.

Jie Feixuan had only met with her disciple Qin Yuke once, and all she received was the phrase "act according to circumstances." At this time, the three Void Realm cultivators had not yet made a move, and only a few scattered forces among the nine families and fourteen factions had sent invitations to Zhao Chun. Although these enforcement disciples, since entering the city, had been ordered by Zhao Chun to take on patrol and defense duties under the guise of investigating the Heavenly Human Sect, the forces within the city had shown little interest; everything was far too calm…

Therefore, after receiving Qi Zheng's report, Jie Feixuan, although he saw through some of the Jiao family's plans, also felt that this was an excellent opportunity.

“The current situation has reached a stalemate, and we need a variable to break it. This variable is not only necessary for us, but also something the Jiao family has no choice but to do.” After a moment’s consideration, Xie Feixuan had already made up his mind.

Qi Zheng received a positive reply and her face immediately lit up. However, when she went to find Wan Ruzhen the next day, the other party's already pale face was even more gruesome than the day before.

Unbeknownst to her, when she came to Jiao Lianji for help yesterday, the younger members of the clan had prepared the medicinal herbs to sell to their old customers, as was their custom. However, on their way back, they saw someone riding a rock-scaled horse swaggering through the market. So they took out the spirit rope used to tether the two rock-scaled horses to see if they would sense anything.

Unfortunately, this angered the other party, and the two men holding the spirit rope were beaten to death on the spot.

If the younger generation of the Wan family hadn't been selling goods separately, I'm afraid even more people would have died!

Qi Zheng pursed her lips, knowing that this matter could no longer be resolved peacefully.