Starting with a blind date with a female constable, you acquire the Nine Swords of Dugu.

Chapter Twenty-Nine: The Bright Moon Pearl

An Yi trembled slightly. She could feel the cool aura emanating from Gu Guanqi. Gradually, because they were pressed so close together, a warm sensation appeared on her chest.

An Yi felt extremely embarrassed.

"I feel warmth, does that mean Junior Brother Gu... feels it too!"

An Yi's cheeks flushed instantly at the thought.

"What will Junior Brother Gu think? Is he watching me right now? Why did I even think of hiding here?"

An Yi's mind was in complete turmoil. She was conflicted, wondering if Gu Guanqi was watching her right now, especially since her chest was pressed against Gu Guanqi's body, which made her even more flustered.

She hesitated for a moment, then looked up.

Gu Guanqi happened to be slightly bowing his head.

At that moment,

The two looked at each other,

They were very close, almost face to face, and could feel each other's breath.

An Yi was startled and instinctively tried to avoid it, tilting her head back quickly.

Gu Guanqi quickly reached out and put his arm around An Yi's head to prevent her from bumping into the wardrobe and making a sound. However, the two of them were too close together, and the wardrobe was too cramped.

Gu Guanqi pulled An Yi's head close, and her face pressed directly against his shoulder.

An Yi tensed up. She realized that Gu Guanqi wasn't trying to take advantage of her on purpose, but rather to prevent her from making a sound.

However, this action was far too intimate.

She wanted to back away, but just then,

The bedroom door was pushed open.

She immediately dared not make any move.

She kept reassuring herself, "It's nothing, it's nothing. Yesterday was like that, today is better than yesterday."

I'll go back after he leaves Medicine King Valley. We won't see each other again, and nothing will happen. These two encounters were unavoidable, and I haven't done anything to betray Fuling!

An Yi dared not move, even deliberately suppressing her breathing, her eyes fixed on the small patch of light outside the cabinet door, trying to calm her thoughts.

But now she was almost entirely leaning on Gu Guanqi, and the warmth between them was becoming more and more obvious. She felt like she was burning up, so hot that her whole body went limp.

now,

Gu Guanqi's mindset was much better than An Yi's. Although she wasn't completely focused, she didn't have many distracting thoughts. Her biggest thought was that she was quite impressed with how well-endowed An Yi was, even though she was dressed.

Although I had physical contact with An Yi yesterday, and even touched her chest, I was blindfolded at the time and focused solely on healing my injuries, so I didn't think about those things at all and was completely unaware of the issue.

but,

Soon, Gu Guanqi's attention was drawn to the three people who entered through the door.

Leading the way was a burly, masked man dressed in a light blue outfit, his steps steady and his aura sharp. Following him was a masked man in a purple outfit, equally burly, with a short knife hanging at his waist.

At the very back was a thin, masked man with a small box slung over his waist.

The three of them entered the bedroom and glanced around the room.

The man in blue walked to a bookshelf and gently took out a box, revealing a metal keyhole on the wall inside.

The man in blue turned to the short man and said, "Take a good look at this keyhole. Can you open it? If you can't, don't force it. If the things inside are damaged, our heads won't be enough to pay for it."

"I know," the short man rolled his eyes and said, "It's something the lord wants. Move aside, let me take a look!"

The man in blue stepped aside.

At this moment, An Yi's pupils contracted slightly.

She noticed a black mole between the eyebrows of the man in blue, and immediately recognized him as the one who had ambushed and seriously injured her the day before.

at this time,

The short, masked man leaned over the bookshelf for a while, then opened the small box he had brought, took out a thin wire, and started fiddling with it in the keyhole.

after awhile,

He retracted the wire and said, "This lock is no ordinary lock. It has a mechanism inside. If you force it open, it will trigger, and everything inside will be destroyed."

The masked man in blue asked, "Can you make a key to open this lock?"

The short man slowly said, "I can make a simple key, but I can't be sure if this key has any weight requirements. If it does, it must be made of a fixed material; otherwise, differences in weight will trigger the mechanism."

The masked man in blue said, "You specialize in this kind of work. Can't you figure it out?"

The short man said helplessly, "You have to give me time. I'm not a god. I need to figure out the specific requirements of this lock slowly."

The masked man in blue thought for a moment and said, "It's white marble."

"What?" the short man asked in confusion.

The masked man in blue said, "Yesterday we met An Yi from Medicine King Valley. The key to the Chen family is in her hands now. I saw it at the time; it should be a white jade pendant."

The short man quickly replied, "That makes things much easier. I'll take another look now and figure out the exact shape, then we can make a key out of white marble."

As he spoke,

The short man then took the wire and examined the keyhole, saying as he worked, "You two keep watch; there are quite a few county constables outside!"

"Okay, you just do your thing," said the masked man in blue.

At this time,

Inside the wardrobe, Gu Guanqi lowered his head slightly.

An Yi raised her head, her cheeks flushed.

The two exchanged a glance.

In the next instant, Gu Guanqi and An Yi attacked simultaneously, breaking through the cabinet and rushing out.

Gu Guanqi struck the masked man in green with one palm, while An Yi struck the masked man in purple with one palm.

The two had a clear division of labor and arrived at almost the same time.

Although An Yi was a woman, her palm strikes were fierce and sharp, producing a piercing sound. The masked man in purple reacted extremely quickly, advancing instead of retreating, and met her attack with a palm strike.

The two palms collided with a muffled "bang," their inner energy surging and a powerful gust of wind spreading outwards. The purple-clad masked man felt a surge of profound and enduring internal force from the other's palm, causing him to stagger back two steps, a trickle of blood seeping from the corner of his mouth.

At the same instant, Gu Guanqi struck the masked man in blue with a palm. The palm strike was extremely fast; the air seemed to freeze for a moment where the palm wind passed.

The masked man in blue's pupils contracted sharply, and he thrust out both palms, meeting the attack with all his might.

"boom--"

A dull, resounding crash. The masked man in blue was sent flying like a kite with a broken string, slamming heavily against the wall behind him. The brick wall cracked instantly, spiderweb-like fissures spreading in all directions. He spat out a mouthful of blood, his mask falling away to reveal the face of a middle-aged man, pale-faced with high cheekbones, his expression now filled with terror.

He slid off the wall and collapsed to the ground, his body limp and unable to move.

As Gu Guanqi closed his palm, he raised his left hand and flicked his fingers repeatedly.

Two steel balls shot out from the fingertips, silently and as fast as shooting stars.

"Pfft, pfft—"

Before the purple-clad masked man and the short man could even react, their bodies suddenly stiffened as the steel ball struck their pressure points, immobilizing them in place.

From the moment they emerged from the broken cabinet to the moment the three were subdued, only two breaths had passed.

Gu Guanqi shook his right hand, his brows furrowing slightly. He felt several strange streams of true energy drilling into his meridians from his palm, subtle and unpredictable, like silk threads—the very true energy of the Seven Soul-Destroying Palms.

He snorted coldly, activated his Innate Skill, and a layer of warm, clear energy rose from his palm, forcing out those strands of true energy, which then dissipated into the air.

"Gu Guanqi..."

The man in blue, slumped on the ground, stared at Gu Guanqi, his eyes wide with shock: "You're still alive?"

Gu Guanqi looked down at him and asked, "Do you know me?"

The masked man in blue did not answer, and suddenly a trickle of black blood, as thick as ink, spilled from the corner of his mouth.

A deathly bluish-gray aura appeared on his face, and his eyes quickly became unfocused. His body stiffened abruptly, then slumped softly to the ground, lifeless.

Gu Guanqi's expression changed slightly. He immediately reached out his left hand and pinched the chin of the short, masked man. With a burst of true energy, the short man's mask flew off, and a black pill the size of a grain of rice flew out of his mouth. It landed on the ground, rolled twice, and then turned into a puddle of black water.

Almost simultaneously, An Yi rushed towards the purple-clad masked man, trying to stop him from taking the poison. But the masked man bit down even faster, and by the time she reached out and grabbed his chin, he had already swallowed the poison.

The purple-clad, masked man's eyes gradually lost focus, his body went limp, and he collapsed to the ground.

Of the three people, only the short one didn't have time to take the poison.

His face turned deathly pale instantly, his eyes filled with despair, and he said, "Kill me, Gu Guanqi. We are all trained; you won't get anything out of us."

Gu Guanqi immediately prepared to use the Thousand Needles technique.

At this moment, An Yi spoke up, "Junior Brother Gu, let me do it!"

Gu Guanqi put away the needles and said, "Alright, Senior Sister, you can do it."

An Yi stepped forward, took out a silver needle pouch from her sleeve, and unfolded it. A row of silver needles, as fine as hair, gleamed with a cold luster in the morning light.

An Yi took out a silver needle, held it between her fingertips, looked up at the short man, and said calmly, "I have a set of acupuncture techniques called 'Heart-Questioning Needle.' It involves inserting silver needles into acupoints on the brain, combined with the activation of true qi, which can cause a person to lose their composure and answer any question. However..."

She paused, the silver needles in her hand twirling slightly in the sunlight. "This acupuncture technique can damage the brain; at best, it can cause dementia, at worst, death. If you're willing to speak now, I won't use this technique."

The short man gritted his teeth, his eyes filled with struggle, but he remained silent.

An Yi said no more, and quickly inserted the silver needles into the Baihui acupoint on the top of the small man's head, and then inserted several more needles into the Shenting, Benshen, and Naohu acupoints. With each needle insertion, she would infuse a wisp of true qi, which was warm and long-lasting, and seeped into the brain along the silver needles.

The short man's body began to tremble slightly, his eyes gradually became unfocused, his pupils lost focus, and he stood there blankly, motionless, as if his soul had been taken away.

An Yi withdrew her hand, stood up, looked at the short man, and asked, "Who are you people?"

The short man's lips moved, his voice hoarse and hollow, as if he were talking in his sleep: "The Four Extremes Palace... assassins..."

An Yi asked, "Did you kill these people at the Chen family ancestral home?"

"Yes."

An Yi and Gu Guanqi exchanged a glance, then An Yi continued, "Why did you kill the Chen family members?"

"Looking for the Bright Moon Pearl," the short man said.

"What is the Bright Moon Pearl?"

The short man replied numbly, "I don't know. This is something the Lord wants. We're just responsible for finding it."

An Yi asked, "Who is your temple master?"

"The Vermilion Bird, the Lord of the South Pole Palace of the Four Extremes Palaces."

An Yi asked, "Where is the Vermilion Bird?"

The short man said, "I only know that he is in Yunzhou now, but I don't know his exact location. He is the one who contacts us."

"How many of you are in Yunzhou? Where are you hiding?" An Yi asked.

"I don't know," the short man said. "We assassins all communicate through single-line contact. This time, we were only gathered together because the Palace Master summoned us. There are fifteen of us in total, and we are specifically responsible for finding the Bright Moon Pearl. Three of us were killed yesterday. Besides the three of us here, there are nine others who are currently staying at the Yunlai Inn in Baoshan County, disguised as traveling merchants."

An Yi pointed to the keyhole in the bookcase and asked, "How did you know the Moon Pearl was hidden here?"

The short man said, "The night before last, we captured that old man from the Chen family alive and interrogated him for an hour. We learned about this mechanism from him, but the key was taken away."

An Yi took a deep breath and remembered what County Magistrate Liu Chong had said when she came to the manor: Old Master Chen had suffered torture before his death. Now that she thought about it, an hour of torture must have been extremely miserable.

At this moment, Gu Guanqi asked, "Why do you know me?"

By this time, the short man was bleeding from all seven orifices, yet he still said numbly, "You are the biggest target of the Four Extremes Palace and the South Extreme Palace right now."

"Did someone hire your Four Extremes Palace to kill me?" Gu Guanqi asked.

"Yes."

"Who is it?" Gu Guanqi asked. "Is it the eunuch faction?"

"I don't know," the short man said. "When we at the Four Extremes Palace take on business, we only look at the payment, not who the employer is. But judging from what the Palace Master said before, it's not necessarily the eunuch faction. He said that those people in the court are all cunning and treacherous, and it's hard to say who is genuine and who is not, who is loyal and who is treacherous."

Gu Guanqi asked, "Then why did you think I was dead?"

By this time, the short man's face was covered in blood, and he obviously couldn't hold on for much longer, but he didn't react and still said, "Because the Palace Master returned to Yunzhou half a month ago, and he has never failed, we assumed that he had killed you and Yan Wangchuan."

Gu Guanqi understood.

It's likely that Suzaku searched for him for a while but couldn't find him, so he returned.

However, this is for the best.

Based on this timeline, the other party left Qingzhou before them, so they had no intention of harming others.

but,

The feeling of being secretly watched is extremely unpleasant.

"Junior Brother Gu, is there anything else you want to ask?" An Yi said, "This person's spirit is about to give out."

"That's all," Gu Guanqi said.

An Yi nodded slightly, then reached out and removed the silver needle.

next moment,

The short man shuddered and collapsed to the ground, blood flowing from his seven orifices. He was unresponsive, not dead, but unconscious.

"Senior sister, your interrogation technique is quite impressive. Can you teach it to others?" Gu Guanqi asked.

"Yes, I can teach you if you want," An Yi said. "However, the effectiveness of this acupuncture technique varies from person to person. If you encounter someone with a strong will, it won't be of much use. Not only will you not get anything out of them, but the clash of wills will also cause them to die."

"It's never a bad thing to learn something; having more skills is never a burden!" Gu Guanqi said.

"Okay, I'll teach you later."

"Thank you, Senior Sister," Gu Guanqi cupped her hands in thanks, then said, "Senior Sister, from what they were saying just now, do you have the key to open this mechanism?"

An Yi nodded slightly and said, "He gave it to me yesterday when I ran into the young master of the Chen family."

As she spoke, she took out a jade pendant from her bosom and inserted it into the keyhole.

next moment,

A mechanical sound came from inside the wall, and a small section of the wall split open, revealing a sandalwood box about the size of a fist.

An Yi took out the box, gently held the lid with her fingertips, and slowly lifted it up.

Inside the box was a layer of soft, plain-colored velvet. A pure white glass bead lay quietly in the center, its surface lustrous and translucent, without a trace of impurity. The bead shimmered with a gentle light, and even in ordinary daylight, it shone with a light, clear luster, as if it had condensed all the moonlight into its essence.

She subconsciously focused her attention and observed closely. A gentle yet powerful strange energy emanated from within the pearl. Although it did not leak out at all, it was truly palpable, calm and profound.

"Is this the Bright Moon Pearl?" Gu Guanqi asked.

"This should be it," An Yi said. "Junior Brother Gu, I think we should take it to Jiuyuan County and give it to the Chen family head so that we can find out what this Bright Moon Pearl is."

Gu Guanqi nodded slightly and said, "That's perfect. The Vermilion Bird wants to kill me, and knowing that the Bright Moon Pearl is with me now, it will definitely come to snatch it."

An Yi said worriedly, "Zhuque is one of the top ten assassins in the world. His martial arts are extremely high and unfathomable. Junior Brother Gu, you must not underestimate him!"

Gu Guanqi chuckled and said, "From the moment he accepted the order to kill me, it wasn't me underestimating him, but him underestimating me."

An Yi tilted her head slightly and looked at Gu Guanqi.

At this moment, Gu Guanqi seemed to possess both the ethereal quality of a Taoist and the youthful vigor of a young man.

She couldn't help but smile as she looked at it.

At this time,

Gu Guanqi turned his head and looked over.

An Yi quickly lowered her head, pretending to look at the Bright Moon Pearl, but inwardly she thought, "An Yi, what are you thinking? After this matter is over, we won't see each other again. He and Fu Ling... Sigh, how can you have such messy thoughts?"

At this moment,

Footsteps sounded outside the courtyard, followed by Liu Chong's voice: "Young Master An, has something happened?"

An Yi took a deep breath, quickly closed the sandalwood box, and then put the bookcase box back. She said, "It's the assassins from the Four Extremes Palace who have returned, intending to steal the Blood Tear Pearl..."

As he spoke,

She then walked outside, opened the door, and began to negotiate with Liu Chong.

Not long after,

An Yi went back to her room and took the box of Blood Tears Pearls.

Liu Chong had no objection to An Yi taking the Blood Tear Pearl; everyone knew that the Chen family raised clams for Medicine King Valley.

Subsequently,

Liu Chong gathered a group of men and followed Gu Guanqi and An Yi back to the county town, arriving at Yunlai Inn, the camp mentioned by the short man.

Sure enough, they found the group of assassins disguised as businessmen.

With Gu Guanqi and An Yi taking action, it didn't take much effort to capture all nine people alive, and they didn't even give them a chance to commit suicide by poison.

However, the information obtained from the interrogation was almost identical to what the short man in the Chen family's ancestral home had said, and there were no useful new clues.

Subsequently,

Gu Guanqi and An Yi then left the county government office and returned to the inn.

Since the journey to Medicine King Valley also involves passing through Jiuyuan City, there was no need to change the itinerary. Early the next morning, Gu Guanqi, Yan Wangchuan, and their group set off directly for Jiuyuan City.