I am Guhuoniao, not an umbrella demon, please do not disturb me.

Shenhuang has nothing to do with the capital. Why would you, the Imperial Advisor, bother to look for her?

You can't come to my Tianyang Palace, right?

Or do you think that Shenhuang is better able to uphold justice than Tianyang Palace?

Bai Qingyu stood in front of the door, looking at Xu Yuanqing kneeling on the ground with a face full of hatred, her red lips parted as if she wanted to say something but then stopped.

I was planning to go to the capital to inquire about the news, but I didn't expect Xu Yuanqing to come by himself.

And what's with that hateful expression on your face? Did you fail?

That's not right. The nation's fortunes are still quite stable, and there's even a faint upward trend. This means Xu Yuanqing has done a great job. Why does he look so heartbroken?

Seeing her come out, Xu Yuanqing looked grief-stricken, his eyes filled with tears. "Your Majesty, I, Xu Yuanqing, am incompetent and foolish, and have misled the country and its people. I have failed to complete the task Your Majesty entrusted to me. Please forgive me!"

"Get up first, then we'll talk."

Bai Qingyu used her demonic power to help Xu Yuanqing up, her eyebrows slightly furrowed.

She knew Xu Yuanqing well; he was someone who could bleed and sweat, but would never easily shed tears.

In this era, it is said that men do not easily shed tears, and Xu Yuanqing is no exception.

For a grown man like him to be filled with tears, something must have happened in the capital.

"What happened?" Bai Qingyu asked softly.

“Last night, a thief broke into my residence, intending to kill me. Xiao Lan risked her life to save me, but was seriously injured and poisoned by the thief. She was not long to live. I wanted to ask Tianyang Palace to uphold justice for me, but who knew that Tianyang Palace would even delay saving my life. The journey of less than ten minutes took an hour to arrive. If it weren't for Xiao Lan's spiritual power to resist, she would have already died.”

"Afterwards, I went to the disciples stationed at Tianyang Palace to seek justice for me, but no one answered and they remained inside."

“Your Majesty, although I, Xu Yuanqing, am not very talented or wise, my loyalty is beyond question. I believe I have done right by His Majesty, the people, and heaven and earth. But there is only one person I have wronged, and that is Xiaolan. If I cannot avenge Xiaolan today, what is the point of everything I have done?”

"I have come to trouble Your Majesty today because I have no other choice but to do so. I hope Your Majesty will grant me justice!"

As Xu Yuanqing was about to kneel down again, Bai Qingyu quickly caught him.

The situation is roughly clear now.

Someone hired a Golden Core cultivator to assassinate him, but Xiao Lan was seriously injured. He went to Tianyang Palace, but the disciples there ignored him and took two hours to arrive, even though the journey should have taken less than ten minutes. This was clearly suspicious. Afterwards, he went to Tianyang Palace's residence, but they refused to come out.

This back-and-forth was too much for Xu Yuanqing to bear.

No one can uphold justice; I am fighting this battle alone.

Hiring a Golden Core cultivator to assassinate someone would break the rules; normally, Tianyang Palace would have to step in and help.

"Alright, then I'll go with you to take a look."

Bai Qingyu flicked her sleeve, grabbed Xu Yuanqing, and left.

She has no real connection with the capital, but that doesn't mean she can't take action.

If these court officials break the rules first, why should Xu Yuanqing follow them?

Instead of taking Xu Yuanqing to the capital, they flew towards Tianyang Palace halfway there.

In this matter, Tianyang Palace bears the greatest responsibility; it should be the Tianyang Palace that takes responsibility for such an incident.

Sure enough, before they even reached Tianyang Palace, a figure appeared halfway and blocked Bai Qingyu's path.

It was none other than the then-Master Hongfeng.

"No need for Shenhuang, I already know about this matter." Hongfei was quite helpless, having to deal with this person again after only a year.

There was nothing he could do about it; he was the only one in the entire Tianyang Palace who was relatively relaxed. He didn't need to go into seclusion or deal with internal affairs, so putting aside the Lingxu Peak matter for a day or two was no problem at all.

After saying that, Hongfei cupped his hands to Xu Yuanqing and said, "This matter is indeed the responsibility of my Tianyang Palace. Grand Preceptor Xu, please rest assured. Now that I am here, I will naturally give you a satisfactory answer."

This matter is serious in some ways, but not so serious that it can be easily dismissed.

If Xu Yuanqing went to Tianyang Palace on his own, he would not receive any answer.

Tianyang Palace isn't stupid either.

You said Jin Dan tried to assassinate you, that's true, but no one was killed, Xiao Lan was only seriously injured.

You said the disciples of Tianyang Palace are taking their time to arrive, isn't that normal? Maybe they have some mission to complete?

In short, we can't directly say we're helping Xu Yuanqing, otherwise it would be tantamount to admitting that Tianyang Palace takes money but doesn't do anything.

They could only deny Xu Yuanqing's words on the one hand, and on the other hand, out of humanitarian considerations, "reluctantly" send two disciples to help Xu Yuanqing resolve the matter.

It's even more impossible for Hongfei to personally intervene.

Xu Yuanqing was aware of this, so after much thought, he decided to go to the Divine Phoenix Residence to plead his case.

Everyone knows that the Divine Phoenix Lady is more responsive to gentle persuasion than force. If we can persuade her to come out of seclusion, Xiao Lan's problem can be solved!

In a sense, Xu Yuanqing was using Bai Qingyu.

But he only had one purpose.

That is to avenge Xiaolan.

His words to Bai Qingyu in Tongzhou were heartfelt and reflected his true thoughts.

If all he did ultimately led to Xiaolan's death, and he was unable to avenge her, then what was the point of all his actions?

He did it all for the sake of the world, but did anyone offer him even a helping hand?

He always felt that if what he did couldn't even save the people around him, then he shouldn't have done it at all.

"Thank you, Master Hongfeng."

Xu Yuanqing spoke.

Suddenly I felt quite sad. The so-called Tianyang Palace, the guardian sect of the human race, was in the end not even as good as the Divine Phoenix Lady, a mere demon.

In Xu Yuanqing's mind, Bai Qingyu was a god. In comparison, it is undeniable that no matter how godly Bai Qingyu was, he was still a demon, not a god of the human race but a god of the demon race. The gods of the human race were Hong Fei and his group.

Soon they arrived above the capital city, which was bustling with prosperity and people on the streets.

Bai Qingyu looked at Hongfei, "Please, Peak Master Hong."

"please."

Upon arriving at Xu Yuanqing's residence, they found the area already surrounded by officials from various factions, as well as disciples and elders from the Tianyang Palace.

When they heard that Xu Yuanqing had gone to Bai Qingyu to complain, not only the officials, but also the people stationed at Tianyang Palace were frantic.

If Bai Qingyu really comes, Tianyang Palace will definitely send someone, and that person will be a peak master level expert.

If their acceptance of bribes is exposed, the consequences are unimaginable.

When they saw Hongfei and Bai Qingyu arrive with Xu Yuanqing, most people's hearts, which were already half-broken, sank even further.

Officials were afraid of Bai Qingyu, after all, this wasn't the first time Bai Qingyu had killed important officials. The two most powerful figures in the capital had died at Bai Qingyu's hands, so he certainly wouldn't hesitate to kill them.

The thirty-odd disciples and elders of Tianyang Palace were afraid of Hongfei, fearing that he would eliminate them directly.

Fear taken to the extreme can turn into anger.

Many officials stared intently at Xu Yuanqing, their eyes filled with a desire to skin him alive.

If he hadn't gone to Shenhuang Residence to cry and complain, how could things have developed to this point?

As soon as they glared at him, Xu Yuanqing returned a calm look, a look that startled many officials, who involuntarily took a half-step back.

Regardless of the outcome today, as long as he has the chance, he will definitely clean up that group of damned scum outside. With such scoundrels in the court, how can the nation's fortunes not decline?

The first thing I did upon entering the courtyard was to go inside and treat Xiaolan's injuries.

Fortunately, the assassin did not return in the past few days, otherwise Xiaolan would have been dead without a doubt.

Upon seeing Bai Qingyu enter the room, Xiaolan tried to sit up, but Bai Qingyu used his demonic power to help her back down.

"Let's heal your injuries first, don't rush to get up."

Bai Qingyu spoke gently, while Hongfei frowned and casually took out a pill to feed her. Xiaolan's wounds visibly healed, and her pale face gradually regained its rosy color. However, her severed arm could not be reattached in a short time.

Without a spare arm to reattach it, even the most miraculous pill cannot regenerate a severed limb.

"Thank you, Your Highness, and thank you, sir!"

Once she recovered, Xiaolan quickly got up to express her gratitude.

"No need," Hongfei said calmly. "It's alright for Shenhuang to stay here for now. I'll go and bring the murderer back."

From Xiao Lan's wounds, Hongfei had already sensed the killer's aura. Following this aura, he could find the person.

In just a few days, even at Jin Dan's speed, he would have traveled an unknown distance, which was also the murderer's wishful thinking.

He felt that as long as he ran fast and far enough, he would be fine.

In fact, if a different Nascent Soul elder had come, they really wouldn't have been able to catch this person.

Unfortunately, this person was extremely unlucky; the one chasing him was not a Nascent Soul cultivator but a Mahayana cultivator.

"can."

"Very well, I'll be right back."

Hongfei disappeared, having gone to chase after the murderer, leaving only Bai Qingyu, Xu Yuanqing, and the fox demon Xiaolan in the small room.

Xiao Lan had never seen Bai Qingyu in human form, but she remembered Bai Qingyu's aura. Now that she saw Bai Qingyu up close, she was so excited that even a single hair on her head stood up.

"Goddess, why are you here?" Xiao Lan asked, her head bowed, mustering her courage.

"The one who came to rescue you was Xu Yuanqing, who came to my door asking me to seek justice for you."

"Thank you, Divine Phoenix Lady."

"No need to thank me, your severed arm..."

"It's okay, it's just a missing arm."

Xiaolan is optimistic; losing an arm is better than losing her life.

Bai Qingyu looked at Xu Yuanqing in silence.

"How many of those people outside are they planning to kill?"

"half."

Xu Yuanqing busied himself pouring tea for Bai Qingyu, while speaking.

It seems like they're talking about something completely ordinary.