Chapter 259 213: Su Xiaoqun

A perfectly ordinary form of address, yet it made the woman's body freeze in an instant.

She turned her head expressionlessly to stare at Chu Bamboo, killing intent flaring in her eyes for the first time. However, after a moment of flickering emotions, she finally retracted it.

She said, "Long Mei! Go and comfort your good sister."

Long Mei nodded blankly, as if she hadn't heard Chu Bamboo say the name "Miss Su." Like a walking corpse, she stepped forward and embraced the limp, powerless Xue Fusheng. Completely ignoring Xue Fusheng's feeble struggles and pushes, she opened a hidden door on the other side of the room, walked out, and closed it behind her.

Suddenly, only the two of them remained in the room.

"How... do you know that name?" Miss Su's attitude had changed. She stared coldly at Chu Bamboo. "Did Hai Mingyue tell you? No!"

The instant she made the guess, Miss Su denied it herself. "She wouldn't have the guts... Although I've long known your intelligence-gathering skills are second to none, I never, ever expected that you would actually..."

"Let's cut to the chase, Miss Su." Chu Bamboo glanced at her expressionlessly, or more accurately...

"...Su Xiaoqun."

"As Governor Su Tianhai's daughter, you appear wild and unrestrained, living a life of utter debauchery and bringing complete disgrace to Governor Su." Chu Bamboo's voice was calm. "But your true identity is the head of the Hehuan Sect in Jinghai City, the Jiangnan Miao Girl who oversees the entire Jiangnan region!"

Miao Girl was the title for a regional leader of the Hehuan Sect.

"Now you should understand where the problem is, right?" Chu Bamboo asked in return. "If I'm not mistaken... you haven't even told Hai Mingyue about this identity, have you?"

Chu Bamboo had actually known the identity of the Jiangnan Miao Girl before him, but the problem was, he knew she had several identities... He had been thrown off and hadn't been able to dig any deeper.

Originally, he thought she was just skilled at Disguise, but now it seemed her ability was likely a Divine Technique similar to Hai Mingyue's.

This must be a Divine Technique unique to the Hehuan Sect.

But now, by a stroke of luck, Chu Bamboo had exposed this woman's true identity... and yet, he felt a deep-seated apprehension.

'Is Governor Su involved in this? If he is... then this is big trouble!'

Because Chu Bamboo knew all too well just how deep Su Tianhai's roots ran in Jinghai City and just how much favor he held with the powers that be.

The man was the true uncrowned king of Jinghai.

In a sense, the one in the Imperial Capital had placed him in Jinghai City specifically to keep the Jiangnan region in check and act as a counterbalance to Celestial Capital. From this perspective, even if Jinghai City's political standing was inferior to Celestial Capital's, Su Tianhai's power was not necessarily much less than that of Celestial Capital's Governor of Jiangnan.

In other words, if Lu Jin's ultimate enemy turned out to be Su Tianhai... he wouldn't stand a chance of victory.

Even if Chu Bamboo went all out to help him, using all his connections in Jinghai City and even calling for reinforcements from Celestial Capital... at best, he could only ensure the Lu Family could escape unscathed.

Seemingly oblivious to the escalating killing intent around him, Chu Bamboo walked calmly over to Su Xiaoqun and tilted his head.

"I can keep your secret for you... But, as the price for my silence, can you tell me what exactly the All-Powerful Lineage has been up to recently? I mean, the things related to me..."

"Also, what strange agreement did you reach with the All-Powerful Lineage?" Chu Bamboo summarized the intelligence he had gathered and finally confirmed that there was a greater than sixty percent chance that the final target of the Hehuan Sect's recent series of actions was... him!

Yes, Chu Bamboo had already discovered that all of the All-Powerful Lineage's plans revolved around him, or rather, the shantytown redevelopment area.

However, after the guild assassination and the church sabotage plots were both foiled... the All-Powerful side clearly grew hesitant. Or perhaps, with all their forces in Zone Two uprooted by Chu Bamboo, they couldn't just have the Zone One forces, who had no connection to the redevelopment area, intervene.

And that's when the Hehuan Sect stepped in. Hai Mingyue, the Lu Family, and even Xue Fusheng right now... all of these seemed unrelated, or if you traced the threads, they all seemed to stick to the Lu Family.

But, seeing how Hai Mingyue used Lu Muxue to get close to him, he could sense it... the Lu Family was just a stepping stone for the Hehuan Sect. As for the real target... it was self-evident.

Chu Bamboo was well aware of the Hehuan Sect's methods. They were not a faction that liked direct confrontation.

What they loved to do most was infiltrate and influence.

The previous assassination attempt on Madam Xue had already gone against the Hehuan Sect's style. It's just that he hadn't put it all together back then.

But now... if the Hehuan Sect had reached some specific agreement with the All-Powerful Lineage... leading the All-Powerful Lineage, who doubted the capabilities of their own local forces, to pay a hefty price to entrust the matter of dealing with him to the Hehuan Sect, then everything could be explained.

"Do you think I'd possibly tell you?" Su Xiaoqun let out a flirtatious laugh, her fingertips lightly touching Chu Bamboo's neck with a hint of provocation.

"...No wonder Hai Mingyue learned all these tricks from you." Chu Bamboo expressionlessly caught Su Xiaoqun's fingers. "But, Aunt Su, it's one thing for Hai Mingyue to pull this routine, but for you... is it really necessary?"

Su Xiaoqun: "????"

Su Xiaoqun's expression stiffened. Even with her composed nature, being questioned in this area made her lose her cool. "Do you have any idea? The Cultivation Technique of our lineage ensures that all its Cultivators are naturally beautiful! You haven't even..."

"I haven't seen it! Of course, if you're willing to drop the Disguise now and let me have a look, that's another matter." Chu Bamboo glanced at the silenced Su Xiaoqun and continued unhurriedly, "Besides, you will tell me the All-Powerful Lineage's objective—assuming you know it..."

"Because you can't afford to give up your public identity!" Chu Bamboo said with certainty.

"Of course, if you refuse me outright right here, completely unafraid of your identity being exposed..."

Chu Bamboo smiled, his words carrying a double meaning. "Then I won't be at a loss either."

Chu Bamboo didn't continue, but his meaning was crystal clear.

That's right. If she truly didn't care about abandoning her public identity, there was only one possibility: Su Xiaoqun's father was in on it.

Perhaps he wasn't a patron of the Hehuan Sect, but he definitely knew what was going on.

In that case, Chu Bamboo would have to prepare for the worst.

"..." Su Xiaoqun gritted her teeth. "Fine. I am indeed wary of whatever backup plan you have, so I can't actually kill you here... But for you to do this on my turf, in my own backyard! So arrogant and domineering... aren't you worried I might do to you what we did to Xue..."

"I'm already a Cultivator. I shouldn't be able to gain a second Divine Technique, right? Or do you people have a Divine Technique specifically for changing someone's sex?" Chu Bamboo looked a little puzzled. "Your Divine Technique shouldn't be for that, right? Could it be Long Mei's? No, that can't be right. I think Long Mei and Xue Fusheng have the same kind of Divine Technique. That type of technique should only be usable on oneself, shouldn't it?"

"Oh, right, I'm also a bit curious... why did you suddenly turn Xue Fusheng into this? You're not planning to use her against me, are you? Or perhaps, against the Xue Family!" Chu Bamboo speculated. "So the Hehuan Sect's next step is Celestial Capital? The All-Powerful side wouldn't be planning a move on Celestial Capital next, too, would they? I'm very curious. Can Miss Su enlighten me?"

"..." Su Xiaoqun's eye twitched. 'Questions, questions, questions, are you a walking encyclopedia of questions? And how can you dig up so much information so casually... with just this little bit, how did you deduce that their next step is... Damn it! Just the Xue Family... is there really a logical connection there?!'

Taking several deep breaths, Su Xiaoqun grew angrier the more she thought about it. Finally, she pointed fiercely towards the exit. "Get as far away as you can before I change my mind!"

At this, Chu Bamboo didn't hesitate in the slightest, turning and walking away immediately. This, in turn, made Su Xiaoqun's pupils contract. A note of anxiety entered her voice. "Wait, you're not even going to haggle?"

In response, Chu Bamboo's pace quickened. "The agreed-upon time is almost up. I need to step out and make a call. Otherwise, your place here is going to get precision bombed."

Su Xiaoqun, who had just been about to forcibly detain Chu Bamboo, was left speechless. Seeing that he was really about to leave, she spoke quickly, "First, for now, we have no ill intentions toward the Xue Family! Infiltrating prominent families is just what we do, same as with the Hai Family."

"Speaking of which, I haven't even blamed you for investing in Hai Mingyue and disrupting our plans!"

Apparently, the Hehuan Sect had also planned to use the valuable asset Hai Mingyue to indirectly control the Hai Clan. It was just that the fruit they had cultivated for so many years had been plucked by Chu Bamboo, who had appeared out of nowhere.

Watching Chu Bamboo's footsteps not even pausing, Su Xiaoqun realized he didn't care about this piece of information at all. Her heart sank, and she finally managed to force the words out, "Fine, you win!"

At this moment, Su Xiaoqun finally threw caution to the wind. "Second, I really don't know what the All-Powerful want to do!"

"The commission the All-Powerful gave us was to kill you, and at the same time, direct suspicion toward the God Worship Sect or some other religion. They even subtly implied that framing an Official for attacking you would also work. The only condition was that this 'answer' had to be widely known, especially in the shantytown redevelopment area... That's really it. We're still in the planning stages. We really haven't made a move on you yet!"

At that, Chu Bamboo's footsteps finally stopped.

He mulled it over for a moment, decided it was logically sound, and turned to give Su Xiaoqun a deep look. "Alright, I'll let you pass for now. If the All-Powerful side has any future plans, tell me immediately. Otherwise... you know what will happen."

"You should know my phone number, right? Even if you don't, Hai Mingyue does. That's all." Chu Bamboo brandished his phone again and left without another moment of hesitation.

In the room.

The lights of the Ancient Relics KTV still flickered with an amorous glow.

Su Xiaoqun stood stunned in place for a long, long time before sitting back down in her chair, gritting her teeth. The more she thought about it, the angrier she became.

'Damn...' Su Xiaoqun forced the word 'him' back down her throat. She subconsciously glanced at the closed door, mainly worried that Chu Bamboo might double back for a surprise attack. 'It's no good. Something's about to go down at the Human-Demon Workshop! And now this place, too... I have to set up new bases!'

What pained Su Xiaoqun the most was that she didn't even know which locations were compromised. It looked like she would have to move everything...

But the problem was, how... how was she supposed to move everything? She had no idea where to even start!

Even as the Jiangnan Miao Girl, she didn't have the authority... because this would cost a fortune! The Hehuan Sect was indeed rich... but not so rich that money was no object.

A thousand words ultimately formed a single thought in her mind. She had identified the culprit.

"Eleventh Apostle... You bunch of fanatical religious bastards!" Su Xiaoqun trembled with rage, cursing hysterically. 'If it weren't for their commission, would we be stuck in this awkward position, unable to advance or retreat?'

And now that Chu Bamboo had them in a bind, it was obviously impossible for them to make a move on him anymore. This meant the reward previously promised by the All-Powerful was as good as gone...

It was a total loss on their investment.