Chapter 096 - Enchantress Su’s Undercover Life

Clear moonlight slid down the knife sharp ridgelines and into the valley, lighting the river that wound through it, as well as the black ceramic tiles along the eaves of a manor. The manor stood quietly in the night. Moonlight and the glow of lanterns within adorned it like a pearl nestled among the hills, while cobblestone paths connected its courtyards one after another.

Inside the side room, everything was very still. Dressed in plain white, Su Jinxuan sat quietly at the wooden table, sipping fragrant tea.

An hour ago, a mysterious masked figure had abducted her and brought her to this unfamiliar manor. Yet before she could say a word, the person had vanished.

The figure had been too vague and illusory to see clearly, but she guessed it had either been Qin Weijiu himself, or someone from the force behind him. Otherwise, there was no reason for them to risk abducting her.

This sudden turn of events had brought her back to Qin Weijiu’s side ahead of schedule, but Su Jinxuan found, somewhat to her own surprise, that she was not particularly flustered.

Knock, knock, knock.

“Miss Su, Mister Qin has invited you to the study.”

Su Jinxuan’s eyes narrowed ever so slightly. She rose with graceful composure and walked toward the door, murmuring softly as she went.

“Oh, my brother?”

Crack... The wooden door opened, and a pretty young maid appeared before Su Jinxuan.

The little maid froze for a moment the instant she saw her. Her succubus constitution worked on both men and women.

Su Jinxuan gave her a faint smile. “Is Mister Qin’s full name Qin Weijiu?”

The young maid snapped back to herself and blinked.

“Um... I don’t know, Miss. I only know the Fort Master calls that gentleman Mister Qin.”

Su Jinxuan nodded slightly. “All right. Please show me the way.”

“Please follow me.” The young maid stepped forward at once. She said nothing, but she basically looked back every three steps.

She had never seen such a beautiful young lady in her life. Not only that, this young lady somehow gave her a very warm, familiar feeling.

Under the glow of the patterned lamps, the cobblestone path was not dim at all. Instead, it held a quiet beauty beneath the moonlit night.

This manor in the valley could not compare to the Xu estate in Stillwater. In less than two minutes, the little maid had led Su Jinxuan to the study.

Through the curtains over the study window, the faint glow of an oil lamp leaked out.

Seeing this, Su Jinxuan’s lips curved into a perfectly measured smile. Qin Weijiu had always preferred oil lamps when reading at night.

The young maid bowed to Su Jinxuan. “Miss Su, I’ll take my leave now. Mister Qin is waiting for you inside.”

“Mhm. You may go.” Su Jinxuan nodded gently, her expression soft. With that, she stepped forward and raised her hand to knock.

Before she could, a hoarse but familiar voice came from within. “Jinxuan, just come in.”

Su Jinxuan smiled again at that and pushed the door open. The glow of an oil lamp could not compare with the array light of the patterned lamps, but it had its own particular charm. In the flickering firelight, Qin Weijiu sat behind the desk, reading a folded document that looked much like a report.

Su Jinxuan stopped three meters from the desk and called softly, “Brother Jiu.”

Qin Weijiu raised his eyes slightly. His face was rather pale, and source qi was leaking uncontrollably from around him. He had been punctured badly enough that his qi was leaking too. Xu Changge’s sword qi lingered like a curse. A wound struck by it could not heal in any short amount of time.

“Sit.” Qin Weijiu set down the report and gestured gently toward the row of wooden chairs against the wall. “You’ve truly suffered these past few days.”

Su Jinxuan obediently sat down on one of the chairs. She shook her head slightly, her gaze fixed on Qin Weijiu’s pale face, concern showing in her eyes. “Brother Jiu, you’re hurt?”

Qin Weijiu smiled and waved it off. “It’s nothing. Just a few minor injuries.”

Su Jinxuan lightly pressed her lips together, her voice as soft as a mosquito’s buzz. “Was it... was it because of Xu Changge?”

She had had more than two hours to prepare. By now, she had already drafted every line in her heart.

The moment Qin Weijiu heard this, his eyes sharpened. He asked in a grave voice, “Jinxuan, did you know beforehand that Xu Changge was in Stillwater?”

Su Jinxuan met Qin Weijiu’s gaze. A flicker of guilt appeared in her eyes, and she nodded slightly. “Mhm. Two nights ago, Xu Changtian mentioned it in front of me. He seemed to say something had happened over in Ninesource.”

After a brief pause, she continued. “Because I had only just left the Xu residence a few days ago, I didn’t have time to inform you, Brother Jiu.”

Hearing this, Qin Weijiu raised a hand and rubbed his brow hard. The unsolved question of why Xu Changge had appeared in Stillwater was finally answered. But that answer made him feel, for some absurd reason, like laughing.

He had thought he had been exposed long ago, which was why Xu Changge had suddenly come here. Who could have imagined it was because of such a ridiculous reason?

He actually knew what had happened over in Ninesource. A very serious incident had occurred at one of the Calm Sky Merchant Association’s demonic beast farms deep in the mountains, and many, many people had died.

But who in the world could have guessed that bastard Xu Changge would personally come here because of something like that?

The light of the lamps swayed. The study fell into silence.

Su Jinxuan watched Qin Weijiu’s shifting expression, bit her lip, then suddenly spoke in a soft voice. “Brother Jiu... I’m sorry. If I had been willing to give my body to Xu Changtian...”

“That’s enough.” Qin Weijiu raised a hand and cut her off.

If Su Jinxuan had been willing to use her purity as bait, then even if Xu Changtian possessed a secret treasure to protect his soul, he still could not have withstood the Bewitching Soul Devil Body. But Qin Weijiu knew this girl’s personality far too well.

He glanced at Su Jinxuan’s guilty face, and a trace of helplessness appeared in his eyes. “This matter isn’t your fault. The timing was simply too wrong. If Qin Mo had arrived a little earlier, or if Xu Changtian had told you about Xu Changge a little earlier, the outcome would certainly have been different. Unfortunately...”

One move short. Such is fate. He let out a long sigh.

Su Jinxuan hesitated for a moment, then asked with deep concern, “Right, Brother Jiu... do you know what happened to Qin Mo?”

Seeing the cautious, probing look in her eyes, Qin Weijiu fell silent for a while, then gave her a slight shake of his head. “I’m sorry, Jinxuan.”

Su Jinxuan’s pupils shrank slightly. She forced out a smile. “Brother Jiu... what are you saying?”

Her special training with Ying’er had not lasted long, but it had worked wonders.

Seeing her like this, Qin Weijiu sighed again and comforted her. “I had intended to save him earlier, but Ran Qingmo stopped me.”

Su Jinxuan pressed her lips together and looked up. “Ran Qingmo?”

“The Imperial Preceptor’s disciple.” Qin Weijiu explained briefly, his tone carrying a trace of bafflement.“That foolish woman kept saying the Chancellor's Manor was going to wage war on the Sword Sect, then turned right around and started helping the people from the Chancellor's Manor. Heh.”

Hearing this, Su Jinxuan’s mind somehow conjured up the image of the Third Young Master. For some reason, she instinctively felt that this woman of unclear motives had gone there for Xu Changtian.

The thought flashed through her mind. Then she remembered the thing she had left in his bedroom and quickly reined in her thoughts.

After a long silence, amid the stillness, Su Jinxuan’s voice trembled slightly. “I... I want to avenge Qin Mo. Can you teach me how to cultivate?”

The helplessness she had felt while the powerful clashed overhead, and the rage of losing the one she loved, were more than enough to give her a reason to say those words.

Qin Weijiu immediately lifted his eyes and looked at her.

Su Jinxuan clenched her fists and met Qin Weijiu’s gaze with great seriousness.

In the silence, Qin Weijiu observed every tiny movement she made. Her heartbeat, her breathing, the expression on her face.

In this entire disaster, their only gain was probably that Qin Mo had died at the hands of the Chancellor's Manor. They could use this chance to set the Burial Village against the Chancellor's Manor.

But they had to be careful. If the people of Burial Village discovered that they were the ones stirring things up behind the scenes, the backlash could easily land on their own heads.

If Jinxuan were the one to handle this matter... At this thought, however, Qin Weijiu did not agree right away. He only shook his head gently. “Your physique is special, and I don’t currently have any suitable cultivation art on hand.”

Su Jinxuan looked somewhat disappointed.

Then Qin Weijiu changed the subject. “But I’ll help you look for one. Right now, the Chancellor's Manor is too powerful. We need to plan this matter carefully and take our time.”

“Mhm. All right,” Su Jinxuan said.

“Heh.” Qin Weijiu stared at Su Jinxuan and smiled faintly. He could give her a cultivation art. But first, there was still one thing he needed to figure out.

He needed to understand why Qin Mo had been exposed almost immediately after entering the Xu residence. There were not many suspicious points about Su Jinxuan, but she could not be ruled out completely either.