Dugu Luoxue furrowed her brows slightly and walked up to Ye Zi.
She delicately raised her hand, picking up a fallen leaf and gazing at it intently.
The leaf showed no ordinary traces of veins; instead, it was as smooth as a mirror, without a single flaw, as if it had been ticulously polished.
Heart Demon?
Dugu Luoxue pondered for a mont and did not care. With a light flick of her finger, the leaf shattered into countless points of light.
However, the light points that were supposed to disappear transford into a human silhouette.
It was Jiang Shouzhong!
Before Dugu Luoxue could react, Jiang Shouzhong, ford from the Heart Demon, suddenly embraced her slender waist and forcefully kissed her lips.
Boom—
Dugu Luoxue’s eyes widened, her mind buzzing.
She quickly waved her hand and exited the Daoist School.
Back in reality, she was drenched in sweat, with droplets falling from her forehead, trickling down her delicate neck, seeping into her sheer clothing and leaving marks on it.
Eventually, she collapsed weakly onto the bed, her chest heaving as she gasped for air.
"Why?"
Dugu Luoxue slowly clenched the bedsheet, her fingers turning white, her eyes filled with reluctance and confusion.
Why can’t the Heart Demon be eradicated?
She had been working so hard to maintain a state of both sexual and emotional emptiness; why did the Heart Demon still exist within the Daoist School?
What exactly should I do?
The woman lay weakly on the bed, feeling utterly exhausted inside.
Several strands of her lustrous black hair, wet from the sweat, gently clung to her alabaster-like cheeks, adding a touch of fragility to her appearance, her skin blushing faintly as she panted.
She looked towards the room next door with a helpless expression and murmured, "This young man really is my nesis."
But a strong woman does not easily get discouraged.
She was convinced she could eliminate the Heart Demon and restore the Daoist School to a clean and desireless state.
She believed she would make Jiang Mo successfully restrain his desires.
"I...will never admit defeat!" The woman silently encouraged herself.
...
Liushan Division.
The study was brightly lit.
Ran Qingchen, whose injuries had sowhat healed, sat at the desk, looking at a letter that had arrived from the Capital, her brows tightly furrowed.
"The court doesn’t believe that a rebellion will occur in Qingzhou."
Ran Qingchen looked at Yuan Anjiang pacing back and forth in the study and asked worriedly, "What do we do now?"
Yuan Anjiang was also quite perturbed and said, pacing with his hands behind his back:
"This secret letter ca from the military departnt, they believe Mr. Zhao won’t rebel, and it seems the Emperor has not yet received it, or perhaps the Emperor’s decree has not yet arrived.
I’ve already sent a letter to my teacher to go and see the Emperor personally. Anyway, I believe in young Jiang Mo’s judgent."
Ran Qingchen said, "Will there be enough ti?"
Yuan Anjiang looked resigned. "There’s nothing we can do if it’s too late. Without an order from above, we can’t remove Mr. Zhao’s military power. Commander Shen and a few others from the internal defense do not dare to take responsibility.
Fortunately, the Crown Prince is still in Qingzhou. If we have a mandate directly from the Crown Prince, we can mobilize the forces from Fengtou Camp. Not only could we suppress the rebellion, but we can also defend the city against the Grand Army of Nanjin Country."
He turned to face Ran Qingchen and hesitated before saying, "Lord Ran, actually, you might consider leaving Qingzhou first."
Ran Qingchen refused without hesitation: "If Jiang Mo does not leave, I will not leave."
"That young man..."
Yuan Anjiang was about to say sothing when Commander Shen hurried in, saying gravely:
"Mr. Yuan, my n have already delivered the Crown Prince’s mandate to General Yang of the Fengtou Camp. General Yang has agreed to coordinate with our actions. However, to be cautious, he plans to lead ten thousand troops secretly into Qingzhou City first, to better respond to any contingencies.
The troops have already started moving and will probably enter the city tomorrow morning around the end of the third watch. I have already inford the city guard, as soon as General Yang arrives, they will imdiately open the gate."
Yuan Anjiang frowned. "Isn’t that too hasty?"
Commander Shen said helplessly, "Mr. Yuan, you’re hurrying on one hand, and on the other, you say it’s too hasty. What exactly should we do?
You must understand, once Mr. Zhao actually rebels, General Yang will be very passive, being about ten miles away from Qingzhou City. If they encounter an ambush from Nanjin Country along the way... wouldn’t that be even more troubleso?"
Commander Shen’s point was not unreasonable.
Nanjin Country would not be unaware of the sixty thousand troops in Fengtou Camp, and would certainly have made targeted arrangents.
The best way was to set an ambush en route.
Yuan Anjiang pondered for a while and nodded lightly: "Given the circumstances, that might not be too bad if General Yang can cooperate actively. Keep a close watch on Mr. Zhao."
"Don’t worry, I’ve sent so people to keep an eye on him, but as of now, Mr. Zhao hasn’t shown any signs of abnormal behavior,"
Shen’s tone changed as he said, "But to tell you the truth, Mr. Yuan, I think Jiang Mo is being alarmist. I don’t believe Qingzhou is going to rebel. Right now, the most important thing is to arrest Jiang Mo."
Yuan Anjiang picked up the secret letter on the table and read it again, mumbling, "I also hope Jiang Mo is wrong."
Ran Qingchen, hearing Shen’s words, said extrely displeased:
"Shen, as an Imperial Guard, you should understand what’s more significant. If Qingzhou really falls, do you really think you can escape responsibility?"
"Lord Ran, what do you an by that? The court sent here to arrest Jiang Mo. I have my duties."
Shen’s face turned ugly.
Ran Qingchen sneered: "I almost forgot, dogs stick to one path."
"What did you say!?"
Shen stepped forward, staring down the woman, the small study filling with a thick murderous aura.
Shua!
Ran Qingchen slamd the table and stood up: "I called you a stupid dog, any problem with that?"
"You—"
"Enough!"
Yuan Anjiang interrupted them, coldly saying,
"Right now, we are all prey trapped in a cage. If Qingzhou really falls into chaos, none of us will be able to leave alive. Is there any point in fighting among ourselves at this ti?"
Shen’s face showed conflicting expressions, but he eventually snorted coldly and remained silent.
Ran Qingchen ant to sit back down, but thinking of her husband being wrongly accused and now investigating a crisis in Qingzhou still being doubted, the anger she had been holding back these days couldn’t be suppressed.
She pointed at Shen and said coldly:
"Jiang Mo is one of us from the Liushan Division, and I, as an official, have now clarified that he has been frad. If you Imperial Guards dare to arrest soone again, I, Ran Qingchen, will deal with you first!"
Shen laughed sarcastically: "Lord Ran, are you drunk? Do you really think you dare to deal with us?"
Being an elite of the Imperial Guards, only answerable to the Emperor.
No official has the right to criticize the Imperial Guards, let alone attack them.
"Let’s try then!"
Ran Qingchen waved her sleeves, and the teacups on the table flew into the air.
The tea poured out, and in midair, it transford into blades of sharp, erald-colored sword energy, carrying a swirling tea fragrance and fierce killing intent, shooting directly at Shen.
Shen was utterly shocked, not expecting the other party to actually make a move.
He stepped back, hands drawing a circle, forming a wave of air that devoured all the incoming blades of sharp sword energy, turning sharpness into nothingness.
Shen shouted angrily: "Ran Qingchen, have you gone mad!"
He was about to counterattack with a palm strike but hesitated a mont thinking about his opponent’s rumored background.
But in that mont of hesitation, the woman had already closed in on him.
Shen hurriedly blocked his face with his arms.
Bang!
Shen staggered back several steps, bumping into tables and chairs, and hitting the wall.
Feeling the pain in his arms, Shen beca furious, and at that mont Yuan Anjiang threw the teacup violently onto the floor: "If you really want to fight, go outside and kill those rebels, that would be the best!"
Ran Qingchen huffed and turned to walk out of the study.
Shen, rubbing his aching arm, complained to Yuan Anjiang:
"Mr. Yuan, it’s not that I want to fight internally, but look at her attitude, anyone who didn’t know better would think Jiang Mo was her husband."
Yuan Anjiang said coldly: "If Qingzhou really does fall into chaos, you must ensure the Crown Prince’s safety. If anything happens to the Crown Prince, catching ten Jiang Mos wouldn’t be of any use. You don’t really think you can shift the bla, do you?"
Shen was taken aback, understanding the hidden ssage in his words.
He thought for a mont and said reluctantly:
"I understand, I will withdraw the Imperial Guards responsible for capturing Jiang Mo and secretly protect the Crown Prince."
...
On the other hand, Ran Qingchen returned to her room.
Just as she had taken off her clothes and was preparing to bathe and rest, a figure suddenly swooped down from the ceiling towards the back of her neck.
However, Ran Qingchen seed to have anticipated this, and before the attacker could make a move, she drew her sword and forced the attacker back, saying coldly: "Li Nanshuang, are you giving yourself too much face? Really thinking of knocking out and taking away?"
Li Nanshuang pouted her cherry lips and stepped out from the shadows: "I’m doing this for your own good."
"For my own good my ass, you just want gone so you and Jiang Mo..."
Ran Qingchen was cut off mid-sentence as a wrenching pain suddenly swept from her heart, as if a blade had silently pierced her chest.
"Do you want to kill her for you?"
In the shadows, a silver-haired woman appeared behind Li Nanshuang, asking with a smile.
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