Chasing after her husband? Is it even possible to win him back?

Is it all for the sake of the nation?

Lian Cai looked at his friend, who was already determined to die, and sighed inwardly. However, he did not expect that this moment of relaxation would be seized by Number Three, who struck him three times in a row. One punch deflected the horizontal blade, another punch landed on his chest, and the last punch, "Arhat Resists the Cauldron," sent Lian Cai back several feet.

Lian Cai coughed up a mouthful of blood, and looking into his former friend's calm eyes, he was instantly enraged. "Again!"

Number Three did not answer, turned around, and charged at Zuo Zhishuang again.

Number Three, who was determined to die, knew the importance of playing the part completely. He had a purpose in mind, so it would be unwise for him to fight Lian Cai to the death.

He had to choose the wisest course of action.

Chapter 51. What is the purpose of Xu Guo?

The battle between two Earth Profound Realm cultivators can already be considered earth-shattering.

Nearly a quarter of the main buildings of the workshop, which was built against the mountain, collapsed. Large areas of the mountain on which the workshop was based also collapsed due to the mutual attacks between Lian Cai and No. 3, exposing the intricate network of roads inside the mountain.

As the sun set, Zuo Feichen looked at the workshop, which was nearly a third destroyed, and his eyes twitched. The Sword Manor Master sighed deeply, "Well, with guests coming and going today, this state has probably already been seen by others..."

Zuo Feichen was silent for a moment, then asked, "Zhishuang, and those two from Baidi City, how are they?"

“Miss’s cultivation is not deep; she was only knocked unconscious by the sonic attack and is fine. On the contrary, the two young ladies from Baidi City have more serious internal injuries,” Zuo Jin replied softly.

"Is there any arrangement for the offering?" Zuo Feichen was about to offer medicine, but changed his mind at the last minute.

"Young Master Chu...did not arrange these trivial matters. He seems to be entertaining Lian Cai, the one with the bronze fang beast."

"Go to the storeroom and find a bottle of Grade 6 pills to send to those two in Baidi City. No matter what, they were injured because of Zhi Shuang. Also, mention to the people in Baidi City that Chu Xunfeng is currently busy dealing with the Bronze Fang Beast and cannot visit them immediately."

"How about letting Young Master handle this?"

"Okay." Zuo Feichen nodded slightly.

At the same time, it was enshrined in the courtyard.

Chu Xunfeng carried the teapot, poured a cup of pale green tea into an earthenware cup, and pushed it towards the man sitting opposite him.

Lian Cai held the ceramic cup, stroking its rough, sand-like surface, and inhaled the mellow aroma that filled the air. After a long silence, he finally spoke, "Thank you."

Chu Xunfeng picked up his cup, took a sip of tea, and said, "It seems that killing your former colleague was a big blow to you."

Lian Cai raised his gaze and glanced at Chu Xunfeng. "If the same thing happened to Young Master Chu, would you be happy to sing a song of joy?"

"If he is truly a traitor, then he was never on the same path as me from the beginning. The so-called camaraderie between colleagues can only be discarded as an act. If I were to kill him, I would at most sigh three times, mourn for a moment, and then sweep everything about this person into the dustbin of memory." Chu Xunfeng spoke indifferently, but his words were indeed pointed and difficult to ignore in Lian Cai's ears.

“Young Master Chu is truly heartless.” Lian Cai picked up his teacup, tilted his head back, and drank the tea in one gulp, as if he were drinking alcohol.

"..." Chu Xunfeng raised his eyes and glanced at Lian Cai. "Lord Lian is quite the romantic."

It seemed like a sharp retort, but it sent a chill down Lian Cai's spine. The middle-aged man slowly raised his eyes, staring intently at Chu Xunfeng's calm face. "What did you see?"

"Lord Lian is a sentimental man. Tonight, he might hide in bed, bury his face in the blankets, and shed a few tears." Chu Xunfeng did not give a direct response. He simply picked up his teacup and, as if offering a toast, gave Lian Cai a slight sip.

"Do you think I'm a three-year-old?" Lian Cai curled his lip. He didn't care about Chu Xunfeng's teasing, but now that the truth of the matter had been seen through, he didn't plan to pretend anymore.

Lian Cai leaned slightly forward, resting his body on the table, pressing down on Chu Xunfeng. "There are some things you know you can and can't do. Number Three is already dead..."

"Lord Lian, there's no need to say more." Chu Xunfeng raised his hand. "As the saying goes, even a rabbit can kick an eagle when cornered. Unfortunately, in terms of strength, the Bronze Beast is the eagle, while my Longquan Sword Manor is the rabbit. If the rabbit angers the eagle... that would be a catastrophe."

Lian Cai remained silent for a long time without replying. He simply finished the cup of tea that Chu Xunfeng had poured for him, put down the cup, and said, "The tea is good. If we could not be rivals, I think we would have a lot in common."

After leaving those words, Lian Cai got up and left.

Not long after Lian Cai left, Ao Hanli came out of the room behind Chu Xunfeng. "What did Lian Cai mean by what he just said?"

"What do you think?" Chu Xunfeng took a new cup and filled Ao Hanli's cup with tea.

"It seems to mean exactly what it says, wanting to be friends with you?" Ao Hanli sat down, stretched, and relaxed her tense body. It was actually quite dangerous for Chu Xunfeng to meet Lian Cai in private, so she had no choice but to come and put up a good show for Chu Xunfeng.

“Perhaps…” Chu Xunfeng remained noncommittal about Ao Hanli’s answer, but after a brief pause, he continued to delve into the question Ao Hanli had raised, “On the other hand, he probably doesn’t want to be my opponent anymore.”

Ao Hanli quite agreed with Chu Xunfeng's words. After all, since entering Lancang City, there had been a lot of trouble, including the ghost clan, the ghost soldiers, Baidi City, Longquan Sword Manor, and the bronze beast.

Chu Xunfeng, however, was able to find a thread in these events, gradually unraveling everything and ultimately hindering all the things the Bronze Beast wanted to do, thus shifting the control of the entire affair back from the Bronze Beast to the Longquan Sword Manor.

To protect its image and maintain its relationship with the imperial court and the cultivation world, the bronze beast even had to find a scapegoat to take the blame and shirk responsibility...

"Won't that judge Lian hold you accountable for that No. 3 thing?" Ao Hanli suddenly asked.

Chu Xunfeng was taken aback, not because of Ao Hanli's question, which seemed nonsensical to him, but because... it was a question Ao Hanli had asked before this one.

"I see... that's what that sentence meant." Chu Xunfeng's eyes flickered slightly, but he quickly fell silent for a few seconds, muttering to himself, "No, that shouldn't be possible..."

"What? What do you know?" Ao Hanli looked at the thoughtful young man who kept muttering to himself, and was very curious.

"You reminded me. You just asked if the death of Judge Lian in Case Number Three would be blamed on me, and then you asked at the beginning, and Judge Lian said that if I weren't his opponent, we could have a lot in common..."

Ao Hanli was just a little slow and her thinking wasn't divergent enough, but that didn't mean she was stupid. She found Chu Xunfeng's actions somewhat unbelievable. "Really? He would betray the Bronze Fang Beast to be your friend?"

"Well, I don't know." Chu Xunfeng raised his hand and touched his chin. He turned his gaze to Ao Hanli's face, pondered for a few seconds, and then looked away. "Forget it, there's no use thinking about it now. Maybe he just said it casually, or maybe it's not as exaggerated as we think."

Ao Hanli also agreed with Chu Xunfeng's words after calming down. After all, saying that Lian Cai would betray the Bronze Fang Beast was really too exaggerated, so exaggerated that the two of them found it unbelievable.

However, after leaving the residence, Lian Cai, who was being led away from Longquan Sword Manor by the sword attendant, kept muttering one sentence.

Everything for the sake of the nation?

What was Xu Guo's purpose then?

Was Xu Kingdom acting for the emperor's sake...?

Chapter 52, Dark Star Pavilion, Silver Star

The inner gate of Longquan Sword Manor, the guest room area.

Chu Xunfeng led Ao Hanli to the guest room door as the sun set. The White Emperor City disciples guarding the door smiled when they saw Chu Xunfeng.

Chu Xunfeng had some impression of the gatekeeper disciple. When he became Xu Jiujing's disciple in front of the Sword Pavilion in Baidi City, the woman in front of him also left some impression on him. She was Jiang Shu's eldest disciple.

"Senior sister, how are Miss and Senior Sister Yao doing?" Chu Xunfeng asked, cupping his hands in a fist salute.

"Thanks to the pills you sent, Junior Brother, they only have some internal injuries. They'll recover after taking the pills and recuperating for a while." The woman smiled slightly at Chu Xunfeng. "They should be meditating now. If you want to see them, Junior Brother, you'll probably have to wait a while."

"No need." Chu Xunfeng shook his head. "It's good to know they're alright. As for meeting them... there's no rush."

"I'll tell them you were here." The senior sister, whose name was unknown, winked at Chu Xunfeng, who then politely bowed and took his leave.

Not far from the guest room, Chu Xunfeng and the Dragon Girl were suddenly stopped by a sword servant from the Dragon Spring Sword Manor. "Master, the Manor Lord has invited you to his presence."

"Something's wrong right now?" Chu Xunfeng frowned slightly. He pondered for a few seconds but couldn't figure it out. He could only reply to the sword servant, "I understand. I'll be right there."

Ao Hanli had been idly following Chu Xunfeng when she saw him heading towards the main hall of the inner sect. She followed, but the sword attendant stopped her. Under their strange gazes, he added, "The master is waiting for you in the study, and... the master instructed that you go alone."

Chu Xunfeng frowned slightly, but he still chose to believe in Zuo Feichen's stance and character, nodding slightly and gesturing to Ao Hanli with his eyes.

The Dragon Girl nodded slightly, and under the watchful eyes of the sword attendant, she turned and walked towards Chu Xunfeng's residence.

Meanwhile, Chu Xunfeng quickly went to Zuo Feichen's study. However, Chu Xunfeng was cautious when he arrived at the study and activated the system.

[There are two people in the study. One is Zuo Feichen, a sword cultivator at the Heavenly Profound Realm, and the other is... wait, this person's name is not yet known.]

Chu Xunfeng paused for a moment, then continued walking towards the study. He knew the system wouldn't disappoint him.

[The activity of this individual has been detected thirty-five days ago. The individual identifies themselves as Yin Chen of the Dark Star Pavilion.]

Chu Xunfeng suddenly stopped in front of the study door. The young man frowned, his mind racing as he searched his memory for any clues that could prove the connection between Longquan Sword Manor and Dark Star Pavilion.

On the surface, he hadn't found any clues, but... from the moment he met Zuo Feichen, the master of Longquan Sword Manor trusted him almost unconditionally, which was the biggest flaw.

He was just too arrogant, so he didn't think about those things at all. After all, they were all in the same boat, and Chu Xunfeng never wanted to doubt his allies' stance unless absolutely necessary.

"I'd like to see what your Dark Star Pavilion is planning to do." Chu Xunfeng squinted and knocked on the study door. With Zuo Feichen's response, he pushed the door open and entered, his gaze sweeping into the study.

Zuo Feichen sat behind the desk, while Yin Chen, wearing a silver mask and shrouded in a black robe, stood behind Zuo Feichen. Beneath the mask, his dark, gleaming eyes were fixed on Chu Xunfeng, who was standing at the door.

"Master Zuo, and... Lord Yin Chen of Dark Star Pavilion." Just like dozens of days ago, when Chu Xunfeng was first brought to this study by Zuo Shaojun, the young man walked to the desk, pulled out a chair, sat down, raised his eyes, and swept them over the middle-aged man sitting opposite him and the black-robed man with his head covered.

"You don't seem surprised?" Zuo Feichen didn't speak; it was Yin Chen, who was standing behind him, who spoke.

Chu Xunfeng glanced at Yin Chen, “Longquan Sword Manor is related to Dark Star Pavilion... This should indeed surprise me, but I was already surprised when I was outside the door.”

Yin Chen shrugged. "Alright, whatever you do, we've seen everything you did in Lancang City. We have to admit, you did a very good job, a very, very good job. You manipulated people's hearts, you played with schemes and tactics. From beginning to end, you never considered using force. Why?"

“Once force is used, the situation will escalate rapidly, starting with Longquan Sword Manor, then involving Baidi City, and what will it eventually become? Will everyone really lead their disciples to fight the court to the death? Will they drag Xu Kingdom down together, and then hand over Yan Kingdom to become the final winner?” Chu Xunfeng glanced at Yin Chen, then turned his gaze to Zuo Feichen. “Besides, I don’t think Longquan Sword Manor’s strength on paper is a match for the Bronze Fang Beast. Our only chance of winning is to make the opponent hesitate to act.”

"Your thinking is very clear." Yin Chen nodded slightly. "But now that you're standing on this stage, have you thought about your fate?"

Chu Xunfeng was silent for a moment. He raised his head and looked at Yin Chen, who seemed to be patiently guiding him. "It seems that the Dark Star Pavilion has brought me some bad news?"

Yin Chen's eyes flickered. He watched Chu Xunfeng, whose thought process had bypassed his own pre-set steps and gone straight to the result. He inwardly praised, "It seems you really did consider that you are a member of the Chu family in Liucheng, Bianzhou, and the nominal son of Chu Lingyu. Chu Lingyu committed the crime of deceiving the emperor, which was punishable by the extermination of his entire clan..."

"Fortunately, I'm just being listed as a wanted criminal, not the worst outcome I had imagined." Chu Xunfeng said indifferently, even having the mood to make a sarcastic remark.

"What's the worst possible outcome you've guessed?" Yin Chen stared at Chu Xunfeng.

"Being targeted by the bronze beast, they've mobilized eight top masters, four famous constables, and three commanders to lay a net around me. They're bound to take my head and vent the emperor's anger." Chu Xunfeng said, leaning back in his chair and looking up at the ceiling beam of the study. His tone was serene.

"You think too highly of yourself." Yin Chen couldn't help but complain as he looked at Chu Xunfeng's expression, which vaguely revealed his despair. "But it's true that you're on the wanted list. In three days at the latest, you'll become a wanted criminal of the imperial court. At that time, anyone who attacks you will have a legitimate reason, not to mention the Bronze Beast gang."

Chu Xunfeng narrowed his eyes slightly and looked away.

A gentle breeze brushed against Zuo Feichen's cheek. He seemed to notice something and looked up at Yin Chen behind him.

The silver mask had a cut on its forehead, and the hood covering its head had a hole cut in it.