Chapter 406: Elder Zheng’s Life in His Later Years

Since the Beggar Sect intended to abduct Lu Ningshuang, Wangchuan naturally could not sit back and ignore it.

But the only person who could warn the Lu Family in the fastest possible way was Divine Physician Shen of Medicine King Valley.

Wangchuan passed the information to Divine Physician Shen. After thanking him, the old physician hurried back at once to send out a carrier pigeon message.

Whether the information was true or not could be verified by the Lu Family and Medicine King Valley themselves.

What concerned Wangchuan more was that Beggar Sect Elder Zheng, who was hiding somewhere within Sanhe Commandery.

Under Divine Physician Shen’s treatment, Guan Qifeng had already recovered his blood and Qi and was no longer in critical condition. However, Shen had dosed him with medicine, so he was unable to circulate his Inner Power for the time being and could barely move.

When Wangchuan stepped into the room, Guan Qifeng immediately tensed up and stared at him from the bed.

“You... what did you do to Elder Zhou?!”

“Relax. Elder Zhou Yunhai is doing very well. He has already defected to the Caobang and decided to sever all ties with the Beggar Sect in exchange for the lives of his entire family.”

Wangchuan spoke in an even tone.

“In return, Elder Zhou has already handed over his pledge of allegiance and exposed some of the Beggar Sect’s intelligence. Had I known that a veteran Outer Elder like Zhou Yunhai would surrender so quickly, I would not have bothered having Divine Physician Shen come over to examine you and prescribe medicine. That consultation fee and those medicinal ingredients would have been spent for nothing.”

Guan Qifeng clearly could not believe it.

“You’re lying!”

“Elder Zhou has been in the Beggar Sect for over twenty years. There’s no way he would casually defect to your Caobang. You’re trying to trick me!”

“There are two Beggar Sect Outer Elders lying in wait in Qinghe Commandery, preparing to make a move on Lu Ningshuang. Surely I did not invent that out of thin air?”

Wangchuan fixed his eyes on Guan Qifeng.

The moment he said that, Guan Qifeng’s eyes flew wide open. Then his face gradually turned pale, and the last of his mental defenses collapsed.

“He actually betrayed the sect... betrayed his own people... why?”

Wangchuan could not be bothered explaining. He held out a hand to Chen Ergou and said,

“If Zhou Yunhai has already defected, then this younger one is useless... Bring me my sword.”

He looked every bit like a man about to silence someone for good.

Guan Qifeng immediately panicked. Struggling to rise, he frantically shook his head.

“Don’t kill me! I can defect to the Caobang too.”

“Whatever intelligence you know, Zhou Yunhai already knows. Keeping you alive serves no purpose.”

Wangchuan casually flicked his sword into a flower.

Guan Qifeng pulled at his wounds and bared his teeth in pain, but he still forced himself to cry out,

“Wait!”

“I know that there is still an Inner Elder of the Beggar Sect hidden somewhere in Sanhe Commandery, and he is a Fifth-Rank Martial Artist. Spare me, and I can truthfully give you his information!”

Guan Qifeng confessed on his own initiative.

Wangchuan laughed inwardly, though his face remained perfectly calm.

“Oh? Let me hear it. If it proves true, I can spare your life.”

Guan Qifeng was no tougher than Zhou Yunhai. He promptly laid out all the detailed information he had on Elder Zheng.

...

Rongjiang Town, Kuaiji County.

A large five-courtyard estate stood there, with guards at both the front and rear gates.

Inside, two patrol teams paced the grounds with large black dogs on leashes.

The dogs wore sharp-spiked collars around their necks. Their teeth were bared, and they looked vicious and savage.

But inside the master bedroom in the rear courtyard, the scene was entirely different:

A white-haired old man sat soaking in a wooden tub with his eyes closed in contentment. Two maidservants in their youthful prime, dressed only in their undergarments, attended him. One crouched beside the tub and carefully massaged his arm, while the other gently combed his hair, stroke by stroke, with the utmost care.

Every now and then, when a strand of white hair caught in the comb, the maid would delicately remove it and lay it aside on a piece of red cloth.

A faint sound of wind slicing through the air drifted in...

A dark figure appeared inside the room and stopped outside the screen.

“Elder Zheng’s life truly is enviable. Even the life of an immortal could hardly be better than this.”

“Heh.”

Elder Zheng seemed to know exactly who had come. He kept his eyes closed, and only a smile spread across his face.

“What is this compared to how things used to be?”

“When I was young, I played much harder than this. Now I’m old. My body is no good anymore.”

As he spoke, he waved the two maidservants away.

They bowed and quietly withdrew.

Then Elder Zheng said,

“Has there been any solid news from the disturbances in Kuaiji County?”

“Six Gates has already classified it as a Jianghu vendetta, but the portraits on the wanted notices are all unfamiliar faces. They are completely useless.”

“They have not found the killers.”

The newcomer was clearly investigating the murders in Kuaiji County.

Elder Zheng snorted when he heard that.

“Hmph! The Five Poisons Sect and our Beggar Sect were attacked together. If someone could pull off something that big, while also getting Six Gates to back the official conclusion, then who else could it be?”

“It can only be the authorities... or the Caobang.”

At that point, he changed the subject and asked,

“I heard Sanhe Commandery Hall has changed hands, and the one who took over is some little brat?”

“A young man of twenty. Before this, at the tournament, he crippled three of our men. Luo Laoqi also fell at his hands. They say he is a capable one. He went to the capital, and when he returned, he was already the Acting Hall Master.”

The man beyond the screen sounded noticeably more wary and grim now.

“To tell the truth, I suspect this was his handiwork after taking office. It is just that we have no proof, and the ones who carried out the attacks were not Caobang men.”

“If it really was his doing, then he is harder to deal with than Yin Xingtian and Ghost Old Seven.”

Elder Zheng picked up the comb and slowly ran it through his own hair, as though he were smoothing out his thoughts at the same time.

“To strike both the Beggar Sect and the Five Poisons Sect at once, yet leave himself completely untouched by suspicion... more importantly, Ghost Old Seven took a batch of elite men with him when he left for his post in Heitu Commandery. How exactly did this little brat pull it off?”

“...”

The man beyond the screen had no answer.

“Our strongholds in the county seats and major towns near Sanhe Commandery’s waterways have already been wiped out. The prefectural sub-branch has been destroyed. Now even county seats like Kuaiji, far from the riverways, have been hit so hard that people are scattered and terrified.”

“The experts in the other commanderies have also been heavily tied down by other Caobang halls and Six Gates. The higher-ups mean to ask you to...”

Before he could finish, Elder Zheng cut him off.

“No!”

“I retired from the Jianghu years ago. Don’t bring this mess to me!”

He said irritably,

“I spend my days strolling with my birdcage and drinking tea. I only want to quietly enjoy my old age. I do not want to meddle in Jianghu affairs anymore, and I have no ability to meddle in them anyway... Ah, I’m old.”

“But you are an Inner Elder in charge of instruction. So many elders come here to train and receive your guidance.”

“Heh.”

“Spare me the flattery. These old bones of mine can’t take it.”

Elder Zheng smiled and slowly closed his eyes.

“Just speaking to you for this long has already left me feeling mentally drained. My Inner Power has clearly declined a great deal. Continue investigating the Kuaiji County murders. If you discover anything new, report it to the Gang Leader and let the main altar decide what to do.”

“Actually, a message came from the main altar saying they still hope you can make one more contribution and personally take action this once. The headquarters heard that you care deeply about preserving your health, so they specially prepared a five-hundred-year-old wild mountain ginseng for you and sent me to deliver it.”

The moment those words were spoken, Elder Zheng’s eyes snapped open.

A brilliant gleam flashed through those murky old eyes, as though they could burn straight through the screen.