The Ninth Lady is a rebellious person.

Chapter 355 Know yourself and the enemy
Lang Jiuchuan is not afraid of being enemies with the Rong family. After all, since she entered this body, the cause and effect have been formed, and they will eventually face each other. However, she also has to guard against the Rong family targeting the Lang family and using them to control her.

Therefore, in response to the matter of Cui being cursed by Lu Youan, Lang Jiuchuan used various means to make a big fuss about it, proving that the Xuan Clan really does use mystical arts to harm ordinary people.

She wanted to force the Inspectorate to take this matter seriously and use it as a model to establish their authority. In this way, the Rong family would be forced to abandon Lu Youan, this useless son, and they would also be wary of their reputation and dare not do the same thing again.

As a result, rumors spread throughout Wujing City that the disciples of the Rong clan of the Xuan tribe were using magic to harm people, and that Lu Youan had been imprisoned in the Zhenyu prison set up by the Supervisory Department.

The rumors spread like wildfire, but they didn't seem out of place. After all, Huguo Temple was a place where people came and went, and after the Cui family's incident, there was no deliberate attempt to cover it up. Therefore, everyone thought it was normal for these rumors to appear.

What's wrong? Such a big thing happened, don't you want people to panic and not spread the news?

In this world, there are far more ordinary mortals than sorcerers who know mystical arts. Who knows if you will be the next one to suffer misfortune?
Lang Jiuchuan learned that Lu Youan had been imprisoned in the town prison from Gong Qi at his Wanshi Shop, several days after the day Cui was afflicted by the magic.

"If it weren't for the rampant rumors, you probably would have let this matter go unpunished." Lang Jiuchuan looked at him with a half-smile.

She saw the problems with the Supervisory Department that very day. The newly established department was a battleground between the royal family and the Xuan family, and each side had its own people. As they competed with each other, they would definitely prioritize their own interests.

As for Lu Youan's matter, it concerns the reputation of the Xuan Clan, so privately, people would more or less want to suppress it.

Gong Qi said sullenly, "After all, it's a makeshift team composed of two groups of people, so it will definitely take time to get along. For the time being, they will all be closely aligned with their own side."

Lang Jiuchuan picked up his teacup, took a sip, and said, "So the so-called monitoring of the Xuan Clan will probably end up being a mere formality."

"That depends on how much effort the royal family puts in. Don't worry, if any sorcerers use magic to do evil, they will surely be punished."

Lang Jiuchuan smiled and said, "I'm never worried. Maybe that sorcerer who's causing trouble is me!"

Gong Qi was speechless, thinking to himself that he was quite self-aware, which was very likely!
Lang Jiuchuan stopped pursuing the matter. The final outcome of the Supervisory Department was not something a commoner like her should concern herself with. She was selfish and kept to herself unless it involved her.

"Tell me about the mother of that young master Rong."

Gong Qi turned his head and looked at him: "You're so persistent, what did she do to you?" Thinking of how the Rong family had always claimed that Lang Jiuchuan was destined to die young and that he was possessed by a demon, he rolled his eyes and said jokingly, "Could it be that Madam Rong is your mortal enemy?"

"I injured members of the Rong family one after another, just to learn more about the enemy, to know yourself and your enemy." Lang Jiuchuan handed over a Five Thunder Talisman: "I won't take it for free, this is the payment for buying the information."

Gong Qi: "!" He was a discerning person. Seeing the spiritual energy emanating from the Five Thunder Talisman, he knew its power. He never thought that he, a member of the prestigious Gong family, would be bribed in such a way.

He's not one to resist temptation!
Gong Qi took the Five Thunder Talisman and carefully folded it up. The gentle movements made Lang Jiuchuan's eyelids twitch. It was just a talisman, wasn't it?
"Could it be that the Gong family can't draw the Five Thunder Talisman?"

Gong Qi rolled her eyes at her: "How could that be? Drawing something and mass-producing it are different. Anyone can draw a talisman, but whether it's a spiritual talisman or not is another matter. High-level talismans like the Five Thunder Talisman are even more difficult to draw. Drawing just one consumes a great deal of spiritual power and energy."

Lang Jiuchuan's eyes flickered slightly as he said, "Among the various Xuan clans, there isn't anyone with exceptional spiritual energy who can create a talisman from a mere spark of inspiration?"

Gong Qi shook his head with a wry smile: "Spiritual energy is scarce nowadays, and cultivation is not easy. How can one reach such a high realm? Especially since the Xuan Clan has long since reversed the priorities in their cultivation path, focusing solely on consolidating their position while failing to achieve any real realm. As far as I know, higher-level talismans are extremely precious in several Xuan Clans and are not easily produced because they are difficult to draw."

He folded the talisman and put it into the pouch he always carried, saying, "These days, the Tantai clan has the most high-level talismans."

Lang Jiuchuan was taken aback and said, "But didn't you say that the royal family's bloodline has become turbid in recent years, and that no one with Dao roots has emerged for several years? Is this a stockpile?"

Gong Qi said, "Before Tantai became royalty, the Xuan Clan was the most profound. After becoming royalty, their bloodline became impure, and their spiritual energy decreased year by year, which is strange. But you might not be referring to it as stored-up resources. The ten elders currently served by the royal family have at least fifty years of cultivation, and three of them have reached the Foundation Establishment threshold. Drawing high-level talismans should not be difficult for them. They must have accumulated enough over the years."

"Then the royal family might not be unable to compete with your families. Ten elders with high cultivation, tsk tsk."

Gong Qi shook his head: "Little Jiu, how many people can truly reach the Great Dao of Ascension on the path of cultivation? So-called longevity only applies to the period when spiritual energy is at its peak. People like us can only cultivate longevity, not true immortality. Those senior fellow cultivators who have reached the Foundation Establishment stage can undergo tribulations to reach the Foundation Establishment realm and gain several decades of lifespan. If they cannot, they will be just like ordinary people, and when their time comes, ghosts will come to take them away. This world is not a world of immortal cultivation after all; it is just the mortal realm, and it is the kind of world with scarce spiritual energy."

Lang Jiuchuan looked at him with some surprise: "You're very clear-headed."

"If I'm not clear-headed, am I going to be like those old guys in my clan, dreaming of immortality and trapping myself to death? I'm not that stupid. I'll learn what I need to learn, and make sure I don't waste my time in this mortal world." Gong Qi snorted.

A hint of appreciation appeared in Lang Jiuchuan's eyes. He raised his teacup in a toast and said, "Let's get back to the point. Now that you've taken my talisman, it's time to tell me the message I wanted."

"There's not much to say. Rong Si's wife, Xi Yun, was Rong Si's principal wife. They had a son, Rong Shaozhu, who was found to have Dao roots and was thus made the young master. From then on, she rose in status because of her daughter. But no, she could have risen in status because of her husband. Rong Si also had Dao roots, so he should have been the young master. However, he suddenly lost his cultivation and became crippled, spending his days in a wheelchair." Gong Qi said, "If it weren't for that, the Rong family wouldn't have fallen to the bottom. After all, they had produced Dao roots for three generations, so they had a lineage and wouldn't be like the royal family, which is facing a generational gap."

Lang Jiuchuan narrowed his eyes: "Three generations in a row?"

“Yes, the current head of the Rong family, Rong Yiming, whose Taoist name is Changshan Sanren, is the grandfather of the young master Rong. He must be almost sixty years old this year, right? The fourth master Rong's real name is Rong Qingcang, whose Taoist name is Wuyouzi. However, he no longer cares about worldly affairs and is the only one in the Rong family who truly cultivates in seclusion.” Gong Qi sighed, “Our young master said that if Senior Wuyouzi were the young master of the Rong family, the Rong family would probably not be at the bottom of the Xuan clan.”

(End of this chapter)