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

Gu Guanqi responded and then left the mountain god temple one after the other with Xiao Bieshan, heading down the mountain along the path they had come from.

After watching Gu Guanqi and Xiao Bieshan leave, Fang Cunxin and Xiao Dongshan entered the Mountain God Temple.

Lan Yin and Jin Chang were outside.

Jin Chang was a little jealous and asked, "Senior sister, have you really taken a liking to that Gu Guanqi?"

Lan Yin chuckled, leaned close to Jin Chang's ear, and whispered, "This Gu Guanqi is someone Ji Xianyun has his eye on. You humiliated him recently, and now he wants to recruit Gu Guanqi to deal with you. Tsk tsk tsk, I'll snatch anything Ji Xianyun sets his sights on. I want the Heavenly Crafting Stone, and I want Gu Guanqi too!"

Jin Chang lowered his head and remained silent.

Lan Yin pinched Jin Chang's cheek and said softly, "Sweetie, you'll always be my most beloved little darling. Even if Gu Guanqi comes, he'll only be able to wait for you!"

"Then why did you tell him you wanted to be his girlfriend?"

Lan Yin waved her hand and said, "I heard he's been going on blind dates everywhere, so I just teased him to see if he was cute. He's pretty good, isn't he? This guy really has a... um, a down-to-earth, domestic vibe. Talking to him feels like seducing someone else's man. I really want to take him as my dog. I really want to see him kneeling and licking my feet!"

……

the other side,

Gu Guanqi and Xiao Bieshan quickly descended the mountain.

Because they weren't familiar with each other, they didn't talk much and remained relatively silent.

The two walked in silence for most of the hour until they reached a secluded mountain hollow. The surrounding area was lush with trees and filled with birdsong, and not far away was an inconspicuous but deep stone pit.

Gu Guanqi suddenly stopped.

Xiao Bieshan took a few steps, then, noticing the silence behind him, turned around and saw Gu Guanqi standing still. He asked, "Master Gu, what's wrong?"

Gu Guanqi did not answer.

He raised his right hand and flicked his finger.

A burst of internal energy shot out from his fingertips, silent and swift as a shooting star.

Xiao Bieshan didn't even realize what had happened. He only felt a numbness all over his body, and then he froze, unable to move.

His eyes widened, his face filled with terror: "Master Gu... Master Gu, what... what are you doing?"

Gu Guanqi stepped forward, took out several silver needles from the inside of his belt, and said in a calm tone, "I'll ask you a few questions, and you'll answer them truthfully."

He twirled the silver needle in his hand, which gleamed coldly in the sunlight.

"You must have heard of the many holes in the Six Doors."

Xiao Bieshan's face turned deathly pale instantly, his lips trembling as he stammered, "Master Gu... Master Gu, you... you must have misunderstood something..."

Without wasting any words, Gu Guanqi quickly inserted six needles.

In less than three breaths, Xiao Bieshan's face turned bright red, veins bulged on his forehead, and his whole body began to tremble uncontrollably. However, he had been silenced by acupressure, so he couldn't even scream and could only give signals with his eyes.

Gu Guanqi removed the needles and released the acupoint that caused speechlessness.

"I'll talk! I'll talk! I'll answer whatever you ask, please... please stop stabbing me..." Xiao Bieshan's voice was hoarse and urgent, with a sob in it.

Gu Guanqi chuckled softly.

Xiao Bieshan was panting heavily, his whole body soaked as if he had been pulled out of the water.

Gu Guanqi looked at him and said calmly, "Tell me, what exactly happened?"

Xiao Bieshan looked at Gu Guanqi, puzzled, and asked, "What exactly did I do that made you suspicious?"

Gu Guanqi shook his head slightly and said, "I didn't suspect anything. It was Fang Cunxin who sensed something was wrong with you and then hinted that I should take action against you."

"When did you give that hint?" Xiao Bieshan asked in surprise.

"There are no silver needles at Fangcunxin," Gu Guanqi said. "The six silver needles are the starting point for my Thousand Needles Hundred Holes acupuncture technique!"

Xiao Bieshan sighed and fell silent.

Gu Guanqi picked up the silver needle again.

Xiao Bieshan hurriedly said, "No, no, no, I'll talk, I'll talk. It was... it was me and my father... it was us who betrayed the Xiao family."

Gu Guanqi didn't speak, he just looked at him.

Xiao Bieshan continued, "We were the ones who poisoned it that day. Yan Wangchuan never showed up. We put a new type of sleeping potion in the sandalwood incense we were burning. Because of our identities, no one was wary of us, so no one noticed."

Gu Guanqi frowned and said, "Why would you betray yourselves? And wipe out your entire family? Are you two insane?"

Xiao Bieshan sighed and said, "We didn't intend to wipe out the entire Xiao family. We just wanted to take revenge on my uncle. We never expected it to turn into the extermination of the whole family."

"What do you mean?" Gu Guanqi asked. "Wasn't your uncle good enough to you? He has no children, and he'll leave his entire fortune to you. What are you trying to get revenge on him for?"

Xiao Bieshan said indignantly, "That was just him putting on an act. He wanted to become the sect leader's personal disciple after joining the Hanyue Sect, but he would rather give this incredible opportunity to an outsider, to Fang Cunxin, than to me. Tell me, don't I hate him?"

Back then, when he entered the Hanyue Sect, he was just an ordinary disciple, not the sect leader's disciple. Yet, he was able to build such a great foundation for the Xiao family. If he were the sect leader's disciple, how glorious would he have been? My father gave him the opportunity to enter the Hanyue Sect back then. If it weren't for my father, could he have achieved such glory? Could he have become a revered hero?

In the martial arts world, everyone knows my father, only Xiao Changliu. Nobody knows Xiao Dongshan. My father gave him a chance back then, and I've lived in his shadow my whole life, working tirelessly and without complaint. But what was the result? He says he's good to us, but now that we have such a good opportunity, he gives it to Fang Cunxin, not me! Isn't he just a hypocrite? Disgusting!"

Gu Guanqi asked, puzzled, "Wasn't that an opportunity that Chief Escort Fang secured for Fang Cunxin?"

"Bullshit," Xiao Bieshan said. "The Heavenly Crafting Stone belongs to my uncle. He only said it belonged to Fang Shiyang so that Fang Cunxin could join the Hanyue Sect. I overheard them discussing this matter. The reason he did this was because he was afraid I would find out!"

But I heard it! If I hadn't heard it, it would have been fine if I hadn't known, but I heard it, so how can I accept this and feel at peace?

Gu Guanqi offered no comment, but continued, "So you and your father cooperated with Yan Jingchen? That doesn't make sense. Why are Yan Jingchen and his men still searching for Chief Escort Fang?"

Xiao Bieshan said, "We are cooperating with the Heavenly Demon Sect, but not with the Tian Shu branch. The person we are cooperating with is the Holy Maiden of the Heavenly Demon Sect, Nangong Yin."

"Nangong Yin? Lan Yin?" Gu Guanqi frowned and said, "You mean Lan Yin?"

Gu Guanqi suddenly realized.

No wonder she was rated four stars; after all, she is the Holy Maiden of the Heavenly Demon Sect and a young talent on the Qilin Ranking!

"Yes," Xiao Bieshan said, "The Holy Maiden of the Heavenly Demon Sect, Nangong Yin, is ranked twenty-third on the Qilin Ranking. She approached me on her own initiative. Originally, she wanted to force me to become an inside agent, but I cooperated willingly. She promised me that as long as I helped her obtain the Heavenly Crafting Stone, she would take me into the Heavenly Demon Sect as the sect leader's personal disciple. She also promised me that she would only take the Heavenly Crafting Stone and wouldn't cause too much harm to the Xiao family! We didn't know that the Tian Shu branch actually didn't listen to her at all and had nothing to do with her!"

Gu Guanqi said speechlessly, "You believe whatever she says?"

Xiao Bieshan said, "This isn't my fault, it's all my uncle's fault. If he hadn't treated me that way, I wouldn't have done such a thing. It's all his fault..."

"Alright," Gu Guanqi waved his hand and said, "I understand now. You and your son are just cowards who betrayed us, and you're trying to comfort yourselves with some excuse!"

Xiao Bieshan said emotionally, "I didn't..."

Gu Guanqi sneered, "The Xiao family was wiped out, and you had the chance to report it to the authorities and bring people to besiege Lan Yin... Nangong Yin, why didn't you do that?"

Xiao Bie opened his mouth, but couldn't say a word.

"Alright," Gu Guanqi said, "I don't want to argue with you about this. Just continue telling me what happened."

Xiao Bieshan said, "My uncle died in battle without revealing the whereabouts of the Heavenly Crafting Stone. Fang Shiyang escaped alone, so he became the only one who knew the whereabouts of the Heavenly Crafting Stone. Nangong Yin then went to kidnap him."

However, Fang Shiyang was also a stubborn man. Knowing that he was no match for the enemy, he chose to commit suicide. Fortunately, Nangong Yin was skilled in martial arts and stopped him in time, but Fang Shiyang was still seriously injured and entered a state of tortoise breathing.

The Fang family's breathing technique is very special. Nangong Yin tried many methods but couldn't solve it. Fearing that Fang Shiyang was dead, she dared not act rashly. So she prepared to go find Fang Cunxin, but Yan Wangchuan was investigating strictly. We hid here and there and couldn't leave Linzhong County.

"Just a couple of days ago, we heard you had come to Linzhong County, so we fabricated the lie about Yan Wangchuan annihilating the Xiao family to lure you here. We then had Fang Cunxin break Fang Shiyang's breathing technique. With Fang Cunxin here, Fang Shiyang will definitely reveal the whereabouts of the Heavenly Crafting Stone."

Gu Guanqi had already understood.

Nangong Yin manipulated Xiao Dongshan, Xiao Bieshan, and the Tian Shu branch, to the point that even after the Xiao family was wiped out, the Tian Shu branch was unaware that Nangong Yin was behind it all, believing that Fang Shiyang had simply hidden himself away.

"Besides Jin Chang, does Nangong Yin have any other men with her?" Gu Guanqi asked.

"Yes," Xiao Bieshan said, "there are at least five or six more, all experts, appearing and disappearing like ghosts. I don't know where they are!"

Gu Guanqi's pupils contracted slightly.

He was confident that he wasn't being followed, but he knew the other side definitely had informants in the city, so he had to be careful.

Xiao Bieshan stammered, "I...that's all I know, Master Gu. Is there anything else you want to ask? I..."

Gu Guanqi reached out and grabbed Xiao Bieshan's neck, squeezing hard enough to crush it.

Then, dragging the body, he threw it directly into a nearby stone pit. However, to avoid alerting Nangong Yin and her group, he did not immediately return but continued on his way to the county town.