"Miss Xian’Er, I’m sorry, but I can’t help you. Please get out of the carriage!" Zou Feng refused flatly.
Actually, Zou Feng had wanted to kick the woman out from the very beginning. But they were still near the entrance to Furong Pavilion, where prying eyes were everywhere. Any commotion would have immediately attracted attention.
If Liu Xian’Er were kicked out of his carriage, sobbing and wailing, he wouldn’t be able to explain himself, even if he was in the right.
Now that the carriage had reached a secluded area, Zou Feng naturally had to shake off this troublesome woman quickly.
"General Leader, you... you have to save me! I’ll do anything for you!"
As she spoke, the woman actually threw herself at him, crying, trying to grab his leg and beg.
Fortunately, the compartment of Zou Feng’s carriage was large enough, so he dodged her with a single, swift movement.
"Miss Xian’Er, please have some self-respect!"
"I’ll say this one last time," Zou Feng said in a low voice. "If you don’t get out on your own, then don’t blame me for ’seeing’ you out!"
He wasn’t so arrogant as to think that just because he was the General Leader of the Hongxing Gang, he could act with complete impunity, especially not when Yuwen Shuo was so obviously looking to cause trouble.
"Must you be so heartless, General Leader?" Liu Xian’Er stared at Zou Feng in disbelief, tears like little pearls trickling down her cheeks.
Zou Feng rolled his eyes. "Heartless?"
"Tell me, Miss Xian’Er, are we well acquainted?"
"Surely the few times I glanced your way couldn’t have given you the mistaken impression that I have feelings for you?"
’At this point, Zou Feng’s patience was wearing thin. This woman was clearly trouble. Getting involved with her would absolutely lead to a bad end.’
"Get out!" Zou Feng yanked the carriage door open.
Liu Xian’Er finally realized that the methods she took such pride in were completely useless against Zou Feng.
If she didn’t get out now, he really might "see" her out himself.
With a sorrowful cry, Liu Xian’Er covered her face and jumped from the carriage.
But she didn’t stumble. Instead, she landed steadily on her feet and sprinted back in the direction of Furong Pavilion.
She wasn’t even trying to hide the fact that she was a martial artist anymore.
Seeing that Liu Xian’Er hadn’t resorted to more extreme methods to pester him, Zou Feng let out a long sigh of relief.
’He’d actually been worried that Liu Xian’Er was dead set on making trouble, that she might tear her own clothes and scream "Assault!" to frame him.’
’If that had happened, he would have had no choice but to be ruthless...’
"General Leader, that woman just now..."
The commotion from Liu Xian’Er had, in the end, alerted Liu Chun and Xiong Datian up front.
"It’s nothing. You didn’t see anything."
"Er... right, right! This subordinate saw nothing!"
The carriage set off again. This time, it didn’t travel at a leisurely pace. On Zou Feng’s orders, it sped toward the Dragon Gate Boat.
Along the way, Zou Feng spent most of his time wondering why Liu Xian’Er had tried to set him up.
’Was it really love at first sight? Was she just looking for a good husband to settle down with, or was this some kind of mission from Huang Wenbin?’
’But he’d already made it clear he would cooperate in forming the Rebel Army. There was no reason for Huang Wenbin to go through all this trouble...’
’Unable to figure it out, Zou Feng decided to check the List of Gods.’
As expected, Yuwen Shuo’s name was on the list.
’That was to be expected. After all, the man was so crude and brutal with his forced conscriptions. Even if he didn’t explicitly intend to kill me, the outcome would be the same.’
’It felt like the List of Gods was beginning to evolve as his Martial Arts Cultivation increased.’
’Yuwen Shuo’s appearance on the list might also be because I’ve developed a strong killing intent toward him.’
’After all, the threat he posed was imminent—even more direct than that of Fang Jingchuan from the Ten Directions Sect.’
’If so, this was a direction of evolution for the List of Gods that Zou Feng was very happy to see.’
’After all, he would likely encounter similar situations in the future—people who weren’t intentionally targeting him, but whose actions could still get him killed.’
「By the time he returned to the Dragon Gate Boat, it was late at night.」
It was too late to go fishing for Spirit Fish, so Zou Feng could only return to his room to practice his skills for a bit before getting some rest.
But before he even opened the door, he sensed someone was inside his room again.
’What is with today? One after another, they just won’t give it a rest, will they?!’
"General Leader, it’s me!"
The voice was quiet, yet it carried clearly to Zou Feng’s ears, which meant the speaker’s Inner Qi was considerably deep.
Hearing the voice, Zou Feng immediately recognized who it was and understood why she had come to him in secret.
Zou Feng pushed the door open and stepped inside, closing it gently behind him before speaking. "Master Tian, it should be I who visits you. I can’t believe I’ve troubled you to make the trip yourself."
The person in his room was none other than Tian Yun, the master of the Heart Meeting Martial Arts Hall.
No wonder the patrols and sentries on the Dragon Gate Boat hadn’t detected an intruder.
The top Seventh Grade Martial Artist in Yuan Guang County truly lived up to her reputation.
Zou Feng completely understood why she had chosen to meet him this way.
A secret meeting tonight was far more discreet than him paying her a public visit tomorrow.
After all, even though Yuwen Shuo was an idiot, his status was undeniable. If anything went wrong, even escaping would be a problem.
"My coming to you would be unexpected to ’that person,’ making it safer."
Zou Feng knew that "that person" Tian Yun mentioned wasn’t Yuwen Shuo, but the unseen guardian at his side.
"I truly never expected Yuwen Boxi to raise such a..."
Seemingly finding the word unbefitting, Tian Yun left the sentence unfinished. Instead, she asked, "What are your thoughts on this matter?"
Zou Feng shrugged. "There’s nothing to be done. It’s futile to reason with someone like him."
"Petition the Governor of Jiangnan together and report him?"
"That won’t work. Yuwen Boxi is already at his wits’ end trying to suppress the rebellion. He most likely gave his tacit approval for Yuwen Shuo’s actions."
Tian Yun nodded. "That’s true. Then the only option is to kill him!"
In truth, she knew very well that other methods were useless. Her question to Zou Feng was actually a test.
"Do you have a plan, Master Tian? To be honest, I don’t mean to talk down our own chances, but on the surface, our odds don’t look good..."
’In reality, with Yuwen Shuo now a prime target on the list, Zou Feng was actually quite confident.’
’Although he couldn’t kill a Gang Qi Realm martial artist in a short time just by exploiting the side effects of his current Cultivation Skill...’
’But weakening his power and lowering the difficulty of an assassination attempt was certainly possible.’
But of course, he couldn’t tell Tian Yun anything about the List of Gods.
Besides, Zou Feng genuinely wanted to hear what brilliant ideas Tian Yun might have.
At his words, Tian Yun gave a faint smile. It instantly transformed her noble, matronly image, lending her an air of mesmerizing charm.
"General Zou, besides those of us being forcibly conscripted, who in Yuan Guang County do you think most wants to see something happen to Yuwen Shuo?" Tian Yun asked in return.
Zou Feng answered without hesitation, "The Ten Directions Sect?"
It wasn’t a difficult guess. After all, the Ten Directions Sect was classified as one of the "Roving Bandits" slated for annihilation.
Moreover, the Ten Directions Sect was clearly affiliated with the various Sects and influences supporting the Southern Prince’s rebellion.
This Evil Cult, being used as a pawn, was a piece put into play long ago, and had even caused the Celestial Essence Sword Sect to suffer significant losses.
Never mind that in Yuan Guang County, the followers of the Ten Directions Sect were being hunted down, forced to hide, and dared not show their faces.
But in other places, the Ten Directions Sect had joined forces with the rebel army, throwing their weight around and proselytizing openly.
"Yuwen Shuo may be acting foolishly, but if he actually manages to unite the nearby Jianghu influences, the Ten Directions Sect’s position in Jiangnan will become even more precarious..."
"Perhaps you don’t know this, General Leader, but there is actually a Guardian of the Ten Directions Sect permanently stationed right here in Yuan Guang County!"
Zou Feng’s heart jolted at her words.
’Fang Jingchuan of the Ten Directions Sect, as a Gang Qi Realm expert, must hold the position of Guardian.’
’I only found out about this deeply hidden figure because of the incident with the Immortal Treasure.’
’But from Tian Yun’s expression, she seemed to have known about Fang Jingchuan’s existence all along.’
’It seems the Heart Meeting Martial Arts Hall’s intelligence network is quite formidable.’
"So, you mean we should use them to do our dirty work?" Zou Feng frowned. "But the problem is, if we get involved with the Ten Directions Sect and leave them with any leverage over us, they’ll have us in their grip later on..."
Tian Yun shook her head. "Of course, we wouldn’t cooperate with the Ten Directions Sect directly. We just need to create an opportunity for them!"