White-Robed Chief

The ten letters contained a name list of Xu Huande’s informers.

These individuals were Xu Huande’s personal informers who were not associated with the Secret Guardians Hall. They would only obey Xu Huande, not the Secret Guardians Hall.

Xu Huande took a jade pendant from his bosom. This jade pendant was broken and only half of it remained intact. He passed it to Chu Li and said, “This is a token. Those people will listen to your commands when they see this jade pendant. However, you must be extremely careful when you use these pawns because they’ve meticulously concealed themselves.”

Chu Li took it and nodded slowly.

Those informers were not limited to the Ji Dynasty. They could be found in the Li Dynasty, Zheng Dynasty, Fu Dynasty, and even the Qiu Dynasty, which was the furthest away from here than any other Dynasties.

Those people were from a variety of backgrounds. Some of them were commoners while others were officials in the imperial court. These informers also ranged from masters of the martial arts world, courtesans, and even servants. They managed to obtain different types of information because they came from various backgrounds. However, their loyalty had been tried and tested numerous times. These informers would definitely be very useful during crucial moments.

Chu Li secretly sighed in admiration. Unlike Xu Huande, Chu Li did not have as many pawns in place. Chu Li’s informers did not come from such varied backgrounds either. The information that they received was also limited because these informers were too simplistic. Chu Li needed to properly learn from Xu Huande to improve himself in this field.

During their journey, Chu Li and Xu Huande discussed strategies to arrange their informers. Chu Li gained a lot of knowledge and learned many things through this discussion. Chu Li was itching to start a fight now. He planned to test everything out at Crouching Bull Mountain.

The pair chatted while riding their horses. The horses galloped quickly, but the sounds of their hooves did not disturb the conversation between the two.

“You must be careful of Gu Yu and Fu Mengshan.” Xu Huande lowered his voice and said, “Fu Mengshan is treacherous and ruthless. Fu Mengshan might be fond of you now, but that’s only the case when Gu Yu is absent. If Gu Yu pressured, threatened, or benefited him in any way, Fu Mengshan would probably turn around and oppose you alongside Gu Yu.”

“How should I handle this, then?” Chu Li was asking Xu Huande for advice.

Chu Li was smarter and more meticulous than Xu Huande when it came to strategies, but he was no match for Xu Huande in terms of experience. Occasionally, having experience was as good as intelligence.

“You should undergo isolated cultivation.” Xu Huande shook his head and said, “If you can’t avoid him, you should just wait until the dangerous situation is over. Gu Yu will become more serious when he realizes that he needs you. Although Gu Yu is favored now, he secretly wants to complete his task in one go to end this issue that has been drawn-out for a long time.”

Chu Li slowly nodded. “Alright, I’ll undergo isolated cultivation again.”

“You shouldn’t concern yourself with the matters in Mei Er Courtyard when you’re undergoing isolated cultivation.” Xu Huande quietly said, “Gu Yu probably won’t give up. He’ll search every nook and cranny in Mei Er Courtyard and even suppress it. Your subordinates will be tested for some time.”

“Do you think that he will hurt them?” Chu Li frowned.

After all, he had assassinated Xu Huande’s secret guardians. The situation would become very risky if Gu Yu threatened to hurt the people in Mei Er Courtyard.

Xu Huande said, “That will depend on their intelligence. They will have to be wise and play it safe.”

“Hmm…” Chu Li smiled. “Understood. Thank you very much, Commander Xu.”

“As for the Emperor…” Xu Huande briefly hesitated.

Chu Li said, “I know that the Emperor is ruthless. Gu Yu came over this time to uncover my intentions. Gu Yu would kill me even if I vaguely revealed that I was aware of everything.”

“It’s good that you understand this matter.” Xu Huande smiled. “You can’t simply view the Emperor as a normal person. He’s an Enlightened Master who’s extremely bloodthirsty and ruthless.”

“How powerful is an Enlightened Master?” Chu Li asked, “Commander Xu, since you’ve met the Emperor, do you know how strong he is?”

“That’s a big secret.” Xu Huande said, “However, as of today, I don’t have any doubts that an Enlightened Master can dominate an area with a radius of one hundred feet. That area becomes his personal territory and domain. In other words, that Enlightened Master possesses the entire area.”

Chu Li shook his head to indicate that he did not understand.

“When you’re within that one hundred foot radius that belongs to him, your divine power will be useless, and it will be impossible for you to replenish your inner energy. This also applies to Grandmasters and acquired masters.” Xu Huande shook his head and said, “Grandmasters that are any stronger will simply collapse before Enlightened Masters as well!”

“In that case…” Chu Li slowly shook his head while his heart sank heavily.

“You shouldn’t even think of stubbornly resisting the Emperor.” Xu Huande said, “It would be equivalent to doing something that was utterly impossible, such as resisting your fate.”

Chu Li slowly nodded.

Chu Li’s desire to become an Enlightened Master grew stronger now.

Xu Huande said, “As long as you don’t murder the prince or the imperial crown prince, the Emperor won’t kill you for no reason. Regarding the other matters, the Emperor will get someone else to kill you if he wants to see you dead. However, the Emperor would never kill you personally.”

Chu Li said, “Commander Xu, you managed to survive by the skin of your teeth because Gu Yu was the one who attempted to kill you this time, not the Emperor.”

“I’ll be fine once I’ve reached the Imperial Mausoleum.” Xu Huande said, “Gu Yu can’t reach the Imperial Mausoleum.”

Chu Li nodded.

…

When Chu Li returned to his own courtyard in the evening, he instructed Zhu Tianhua to summon Yang Zongwen.

Yang Zongwen arrived several moments later. He stood before Chu Li and bowed.

Chu Li was sitting next to the stone table in the courtyard when he muttered, “Do you have any updates regarding Commander Gu?”

“No,” Yang Zongwen shook his head before he said, “but it seems like something is brewing over there. It feels like the calm before the storm.”

Chu Li replied, “Go and tell Commander Gu that I’m going to undergo isolated cultivation again.”

“Yes.” Yang Zongwen hurriedly asked, “Are you hiding from him?”

“I’m trying to avoid him.” Chu Li sighed before he said, “There’s no point fighting with him just because of personal feelings. However, the rest of you should not act like me.”

A troubled look appeared on Yang Zongwen’s face.

Chu Li said, “Go and tell everyone that they should seek shelter with Gu Yu. Internal conflicts broke out when Qin Jin fought with the others. After that, they had to return and heal their wounds because they were badly injured.”

“Seek shelter with Gu Yu?” Yang Zongwen’s expression changed.

Chu Li shook his head and said, “That’s your only option now. Otherwise, you won’t be able to handle him. Furthermore, Gu Yu wouldn’t believe Qin Jin and the others if they were the ones who said that they wanted to seek shelter with him.”

“Gu Yu wouldn’t believe if we were the ones who said it either,” Yang Zongwen retorted.

Chu Li laughed. “Gu Yu would still take you in even if he didn’t believe you. His goal will be achieved once Mei Er Courtyard gets broken apart… However, if you’re leaving Fairy’s Capital to complete this task, you should allow Qin Jin and the others to capture you on their own. You must pretend to hurt yourself to win the confidence of the enemy. Qin Jin and the rest are Grandmasters who should be given credit for their hard work. It will be easy for them to handle their enemies.”

“Yes…” Yang Zongwen hesitated again.

Chu Li said, “I’m a centurion, but I abandoned you by yourselves and underwent isolated cultivation during such a crucial moment. That would certainly anger and disappoint you so much that you would rather seek refuge with him.”

Yang Zongwen hurriedly said, “How could that be possible?”

Chu Li smiled. “That’s highly likely. Other people would definitely be convinced if you told them about it. I’m being heartless now and I wouldn’t blame you if you thought that I was unfair. Gu Yu might be somewhat uncertain as well. We’ll discuss this again once we’ve stalled it for enough time and I’ve completed my isolated cultivation.”

“Centurion, when will your isolated cultivation be completed?”

“Only luck will tell,” Chu Li smiled and said, “my isolated cultivation will only be completed once we’ve encountered a case that can’t be solved.”

Yang Zongwen smiled.

Chu Li said, “There’s more information. The Holy Church of Light is secretly planning to assassinate King Ping. You should pay a formal visit to Commander Fu and personally inform him about this. You have to avoid everyone else. You shouldn’t mention it when anyone else is around!”

“Yes,” Yang Zongwen answered.

Chu Li waved his hand and said, “Go then. You will only be able to handle Gu Yu based on your skills.”

“We’ll do our best to handle everything.” Yang Zongwen smiled and said, “Don’t worry, Centurion.”

“If any issues arise, send one of your men over here immediately. I will personally rescue you,” Chu Li said.

“Yes.” Yang Zongwen made a fist salute before withdrawing and leaving.

Chu Li seemed lost in thought. He wondered if Gu Yu would send someone over to assassinate Xu Huande. If that happened, Chu Li also wondered if Gu Yu would send Qin Jin and the others.

This was highly probable. It was risky to kill Xu Huande, but they could not give up halfway because the plan had already started. Qin Jin and the others were suitable for this task because they were highly skilled in martial arts and they could kill people with swords. He was basically killing two birds with one stone.