Wait a minute, where is my master?

Packaging up the food and liquor, Zhao Dabao headed downstairs with it in hand.

The servants responsible for reception were left speechless, having never seen someone visit a brothel and take away leftovers.

But no one dared to say a word.

After all, the eldest son of the Zhao family was a familiar face in Gusu City; there was no one foolish enough to stir up trouble.

Even those who were somewhat drunk and had forgotten their own names, wanting to mock, were held back by their companions.

They whispered that the man's father was in the Nascent Soul Realm—if you don't want to die, then keep your mouth shut.

In this manner, Xu Qian followed Zhao Dabao, one before the other, and they left Yingchun House.

...

Meanwhile, at the top floor of Yingchun House.

Inside the room, two women, one standing and one kneeling.

The one standing was clad in a purple gauze dress, her shapely figure faintly discernible, and the existence of the dress added a good deal of charm to her.

The flickering candlelight in the room made it possible to see the faces of the two women more clearly.

Standing was none other than the Demon Sect's Hall Master Xia, and the kneeling beautiful woman was actually a concubine from Magistrate Song's family.

As time passed.

The woman in the purple gauze, after lashing a full hundred times, at length found a chair to sit on, elegantly crossing her soft and slender legs as if she were tired from whipping and needed a rest.

Seeing the whip stop, the beautiful woman, regardless of the wounds and pain on her back, crawled to the feet of Hall Master Xia while kneeling, starting to plead softly for mercy.

"Master, I truly had no knowledge of the matter of Book Child breaking into the Zheng family's old mansion, I beg for the master's forgiveness," she said.

Whether out of pain or fear, the beautiful woman's entire body trembled, and her voice carried a sobbing tone.

"Ha, you had no knowledge? Then who called the night watchmen in? You this vile maid, don't tell me you've enjoyed your fortune at the Song family's place to the point you've forgotten who you are!"

In Hall Master Xia's sweet-sounding voice, there was a hint of mockery, and the long whip in her hand rose and lashed across the beautiful woman's face.

She had already learned from the cultists in the city the cause of the incident at the Zheng family's old mansion.

It was utterly laughable—the Formation that the Divine Sect had planned for many years had been destroyed because of a bet made by a hedonistic young master.

What was even more infuriating was that the hedonistic young master's mother was the very chess piece they had placed in Magistrate Song's family over twenty years ago!

"The... the slave only found out afterward that Book Child entered the Formation, but the Divine Sect is powerful, so I took the opportunity to deceive a few night watchmen into the formation to weaken the powers of Gusu City. I had not expected... I had not expected...."

Alright, the beautiful woman could not weave her tale any longer.

The excuse was so clumsy, she didn't believe it herself, let alone the cunning and venomous sect leader before her.

The Zheng family's old mansion was mysterious and dangerous, a place of no return, and the beautiful woman knew this.

But what exactly lay within, she, a mere chess piece, did not know. However, she was aware of the Demon Sect's cruelty and ruthlessness.

Thus, upon learning her child had entered, her first reaction was not to inform the sect but to seek the assistance of the night watchmen, also harboring a faint hope.

What the beautiful woman did not anticipate was that the decades-long legend of the Zheng family's old mansion, where many entered and none left, would actually be broken.

She had not foreseen that, although the rule of no return had been shattered, her son still did not come out.

In fact, the woman in the purple gauze spoke the truth—over the decades, her loyalty to the Demon Sect had indeed wavered.

The third young master Song was not her biological son, nor was he the biological son of Magistrate Song.

He was someone unwittingly brought in from somewhere else years ago, impersonating their child, all so that her status within the Song family would be solidified, allowing her to continue acting as a spy for the Demon Sect.

But twenty years of nurturing is irrefutable.

Witnessing a child in swaddling clothes, under your care, gradually learn to speak, walk, eat, and slowly grow into an adult.

Seeing him transform from a babbling toddler to sweetly saying, "Mom, when I grow up, I will be filial to you", how could a cold heart not melt?

Although, as he aged, he began to earn a reputation as a prodigal son in Gusu City, once back home, he always showed her, his mother, respect and filial piety.

Only now, the child who once said, "Mom, when I grow up, I will be filial to you", was nothing more than a dried-up corpse.

Thinking of this, tears fell from the beautiful woman's eyes, spattering onto the ground, shattering into countless tiny droplets.

"Kill me," the beautiful woman said softly, her head lowered, to Hall Master Xia.

Hearing her words, Hall Master Xia laughed scornfully.

"To kill you, you sure wish for a beautiful end, heh~"

"The Divine Sect chose you from many women, provided you with food and clothing, taught you Charming Skills, and sent you to enjoy the comforts in Magistrate Song's mansion, and now you seek to end it all with death?"

With a light chuckle, Hall Master Xia whipped her long whip, sending a surge of Spiritual Power into the beautiful woman's brow.

After doing this, Hall Master Xia spoke a few words to the beautiful woman, then took out her Communication Jade Token to send a few messages and turned to leave the loft.

In the empty loft, the beautiful woman lay prostrate, her expression numb.

...

...

Magistrate Song and his concubine were dead.

A suicide note was left behind, but anyone with clear eyes could see there was a catch.

Early in the morning, Xu Qian received the news, but he had no time to investigate, for as soon as he returned to the watchman's quarters the previous day, Li Mi had assigned him a more pressing task to attend to.

Dressed in his black official uniform and having placed the prepared supplies into his storage Magic Artifact, he hung a long saber at his waist.

Standing before the mirror, Xu Qian admired his handsome visage, which was only slightly less striking than that of the Taoist, then turned and exited the watchman's quarters.

He boarded the carriage that had been readied in advance and headed straight for the East Gate.

Flying within the city was prohibited, so he had to leave the city to use his Flying Artifact.

On the way, Xu Qian specifically instructed the coachman to take a detour past the Song Mansion; even though he couldn't investigate, he wanted to see for himself.

The entrance to the Song Mansion was adorned with white lanterns, and the people coming and going were all in plain clothes with solemn expressions on their faces. Among them, Xu Qian spotted his colleagues and the city guard.

Being a city magistrate, despite his low cultivation, the position held sway, and his cause of death would naturally be investigated.

Speaking of which, in the Great Xia Dynasty, the magistrates of the cities who were diligent with state affairs seemed to have rather low cultivation levels, reportedly because dealing with too many mundane matters left them no time to keep up with their cultivation.

Thus, a saying circulated among the common folk:

"If Magistrate has high cultivation, the commoners in the city suffer starvation."

With these thoughts, the carriage arrived at the East Gate, where the city guard, upon seeing the watchman's insignia, allowed passage without question.

Two miles outside the city gate, Xu Qian got off the carriage and turned to gaze at the towering walls of Gusu City.

He sighed inwardly, "Goodbye, Little Hong of Cui Xiang House, farewell, Fu Xiang of Yingchun House, and farewell forever, Du Juan of Flower Building. Who knows when I, this young master, will return from Shangjing City."

After his sigh, Xu Qian summoned his Flying Artifact and flew off in the northwest direction.

Not long into his journey, he made a turn in the sky.

"First, I'll pay a visit to Jin Xu, the Taoist priest, then heading to Shangjing City won't be late."