Chapter 1047 – He Wouldn’t Dare

Li Guanqi issued one order after another, but Yu Hua soon noticed something was wrong. She closed her eyes and sensed the chaotic spatial ripples around her. At first, each seemed normal, but then her expression changed. Frowning, she reached into the void and seized the thread of a spatial ripple. She forced her divine consciousness into it, and her expression darkened.

She took a deep breath and pulled out her Guanyun jade pendant. “There are still moles in the pavilion. The plan was leaked.”

Yu Hua felt she still hadn’t been cautious enough. She had allowed spies from the Heavenly Intelligence Pavilion to remain hidden within their ranks.

Just as she braced herself for Li Guanqi’s fury, his voice came through the jade pendant.

—Heh. It’s fine.

Before she could make sense of his response, a terrifying array light enveloped the entire intelligence division. Xi Yunhuai appeared before her with a smile, then tossed her a jade slip.

“I’ll have to trouble you to deal with the people on this list yourself, Daoist Yu.”

Yu Hua’s heart jolted. A gleam flashed in her eyes as she grasped what was happening. She took a deep breath and gripped the jade slip.

“Give me ten breaths.”

She unsheathed her sword and vanished. Terrifying sword qi swept through the void as explosions thundered without pause. A few breaths later, she returned with blood spattered across her face and a severed head in her hand. It belonged to a subordinate she trusted and valued, an operative in the pavilion’s middle-to-upper ranks.

Xi Yunhuai smiled. “Even you knew about the ordering scheme. The Heavenly Intelligence Pavilion was bound to watch how we responded.”

“Since Pavilion Master Li had us execute the plan for real, the moles believed that was our true response and exposed themselves right under our noses. He thought this through so carefully...” Yu Hua said.

Xi Yunhuai clasped his hands behind his back, his lip curling. “You should’ve seen him when he was the acting head of the Heavenly Intelligence Pavilion. Tsk, tsk. Without lifting a single finger in combat, he managed to turn the tower lords against each other.”

Yu Hua smiled and casually tossed the severed head aside. A trace of admiration flickered in her eyes. Li Guanqi was over a thousand years her junior, yet he mixed truth with deception and real moves with feints until no one could distinguish one from the other. Even his own people were kept in the dark about some of his schemes.

On the Heavenly Intelligence Pavilion’s side, Gu Yong listened to his subordinate’s report with the same placid expression as always. The old man sat in his chair, hands tucked into his sleeves, his body slightly hunched. His clouded eyes glinted. “Heh. That was quick. Did he learn those tactics from me?”

His lips curved into a slight smile. The loss of his agents seemed to concern him little. Geography and advance planning made it almost impossible for the Guanyun Pavilion to keep moles or covert agents within the Heavenly Intelligence Pavilion. By contrast, the Heavenly Intelligence Pavilion had begun making its arrangements as soon as the Guanyun Pavilion was founded.

Still, Li Guanqi’s swift response impressed him.

“Even if you approach those families, you’ll probably struggle to fill the orders,” Gu Yong murmured. “Hehe. Have the recent orders been screened?”

Another man answered solemnly, “Yes, but we found nothing unusual. There have been occasional fluctuations in pill demand in some places, but we can trace what’s behind them.”

Gu Yong nodded. He didn’t think Li Guanqi would be foolish enough to retaliate by copying his ordering scheme. He turned to look at Shen Feng, his eyes glinting with a strange smile. “Are you certain Tu Kui has taken the pill?”

Shen Feng bowed. “Yes, I am certain.”

He turned his wrist, and a palm-sized figurine of milky white jade appeared in a flash of light. A wisp of dark green energy writhed like an earthworm on the figurine’s brow. He offered it to Gu Yong with both hands.

Suddenly, the chair beneath Gu Yong exploded, and a terrifying pressure engulfed Shen Feng.

Thud!

Shen Feng’s knees buckled. He fell to his knees in terror, shattering the floor tiles beneath him. Gu Yong’s vast divine consciousness surged outward and enveloped him.

Rip!

His robes tore. Tiny points of spirit light were forced out of his back, and his expression turned alarmed. The others looked uneasy too.

Boom!

The spirit light flared, tearing wounds across Shen Feng’s back. Blood streamed from them, but he paid no attention to his injuries. What truly terrified him was that someone had left a mark on him. If he failed at his job, Gu Yong could easily replace him.

Gu Yong held the spirit light, made of talisman runes, and smiled faintly.

To everyone’s bewilderment, he pushed it back into Shen Feng’s body.

After examining the mark, Gu Yong said softly, “The boundary-breaking array tray didn’t detect Li Guanqi’s aura at the time, so he probably left this mark on you as you passed through the array barrier around the Daxia Sword Sect’s domain. He may suspect that someone approached a member of the sect, but he probably doesn’t know who! Hehe. He wants to track you? Let him!”

Understanding dawned in everyone’s eyes. This way, Li Guanqi would still believe he had everything under control, unaware that his hidden measures had already been discovered.

“Shen Feng can rest for a while,” Gu Yong said softly. “Zhou Jun will take charge of the Red Tower for now.”

Shen Feng looked up sharply, his eyes filled with disbelief. “Zhou Jun? He’s only a branch hall steward! How can someone in the Illusory Refinement Realm serve as acting Red Tower Lord?”

Gu Yong glanced at him and sent a ray of spirit light into Shen Feng’s back. With no further explanation, he waved him away. “That’s enough. You may go. The rest is no longer your concern.”

Shen Feng’s face turned ashen. He knew he was finished. It seemed his subordinate, Zhou Jun, wasn’t much weaker than he was.

He got dressed, bowed, and retreated, his eyes vacant. The others remained silent. They all knew they could be replaced just as easily.

Buzz!

An urgent voice transmission reached Gu Yong’s ears. “Pavilion Master, many of our shop managers have been assassinated!”

Gu Yong tucked his hands into his sleeves and sneered. “Strengthen the guards. He’s only testing us. Leak a little information to him. Tell him the Heavenly Intelligence Pavilion holds all the contracts for those orders. Killing the people below us won’t help.”

He stood with his back to the others, his hunched frame exerting an inexplicable pressure. The three people behind him could only lower their heads in silence.

“Should we keep an eye on Shen Feng?”

Gu Yong chuckled. “He wouldn’t dare.”

He slowly turned to face them, his voice dropping to an icy murmur. “Just like the rest of you.”

Their hearts tightened, and they lowered their heads further. Every one of their lives was in his hands.

Gu Yong frowned and murmured, “Ji Yuchuan, where are you...?”