Chapter 215: Quite Thick-Skinned

“Duke Wei, since we must go to the capital, allow me to return home and inform my father, lest he worry.”

Wu Lan had no choice but to bring up Marquis Jingzhong. He sighed and said, “Ziyan has just died, and now I must go to the capital. My father is advanced in years; I’m worried his health will fail.”

“No need to trouble yourself.”

Li Qingtian said flatly, “I will go and retrieve Marquis Jingzhong. You and your father will go to the capital together.”

Wu Lan’s heart sank.

‘By the looks of it, they’re probably coming for us!’

Liang Yifan coughed lightly and said, “Duke Wei, before I leave, I must first return to the Prefecture Government Office to make some arrangements. After all, Jing State is a border territory. We can’t have anything go wrong…”

Before Liang Yifan could finish, Li Qingtian suddenly reached out. Blood Qi surged, and he seized Liang Yifan from a distance, tossing him onto the ship. He barked, “Bind him and lock him up!”

Yu Weifeng had also prepared an excuse, hoping to stall for time and think of an escape plan.

Seeing this, Yu Weifeng trembled in fear and didn’t dare say another word.

Under the watch of several guards, Wu Lan and Yu Weifeng obediently boarded the Ancient Ship.

“Is this Your Highness’s will?”

Mo Tang, having a vague guess, couldn’t help but ask, “His Highness is wise. Does he already know what has happened in Jing State?”

Li Qingtian didn’t answer, but he didn’t deny it either. He simply said, “You two will also accompany me to the capital. You can return to the city to prepare first.”

Upon hearing this, Mo Tang was delighted and nodded at Lu Bai.

Her original plan was to bring Lu Bai to the capital for an audience with the emperor.

Now, with Duke Wei personally handling it, they would be spared the fear and anxiety of the journey.

Moreover, Duke Wei’s attitude toward them was relatively gentle, a stark contrast to how he treated Wu Lan and the others.

This also revealed some of the attitude of Duke Wei, or perhaps Your Highness, toward this matter.

“Board the ship first. We’re heading to Jingzhou City.”

After speaking, Li Qingtian lightly tapped the belly of the Ten Thousand Miles Smoke Cloud Beast with his legs. The Divine Steed suddenly leaped into the air, landing on the Ancient Ship in an instant.

Mo Tang led Lu Bai, who was holding Ah Ming, and they followed, boarding the Ancient Ship.

The Ancient Ship set off toward Jingzhou City.

Li Qingtian had dismounted and was standing at the prow, looking down below.

Noticing that Mo Tang and Lu Bai were aboard, Li Qingtian turned to Lu Bai and suddenly asked, “You were hiding over there just now. What were you trying to pull?”

“Er…”

The moment Lu Bai heard this, he understood.

‘Li Qingtian must have noticed when I used the Nether Candle.’

‘Thankfully, the summoning failed.’

‘If I had really summoned that Bai Chuchu and she ran into the Duke of Wei, who knows what would have happened.’

He was an Evil Exterminator Guard. If he summoned a Ghost Bride, it would be difficult to explain.

Lu Bai calmed his Heart and Spirit, pondered for a moment, and said, “By a stroke of luck, I came to comprehend a Secret Technique. It was remarkably effective when I killed the Water Ghost at the bottom of the Jingshui River, so I wanted to see if it could work against a True Master of the Martial Dao.”

Mo Tang glanced at Lu Bai, inwardly shocked. She thought, ‘This Xiaolu is truly audacious! After killing so many people tonight, he actually wanted to kill a True Master of the Martial Dao!’

“That faint blue moth can incinerate souls.”

Li Qingtian said, “You killed one of them, but only because you took advantage of their carelessness.”

Mo Tang suddenly thought of something and couldn’t help but ask, “When Jiang Hong suddenly froze mid-air, revealing a huge opening, was that actually because he was hit by your Secret Technique?”

“Perhaps.”

Lu Bai said ambiguously.

At that moment, his attention had been captivated by the Immortal Vine deep within the Ancient Mirror, so he didn’t know what had happened on Mo Tang’s side.

“No, that’s not it.”

Li Qingtian shook his head, staring at Lu Bai with deep meaning. He said slowly, “You wanted to trap and kill all of these True Masters of the Martial Dao!”

Lu Bai gave an awkward laugh. “You’re joking, Duke Wei. How could I have such an ability?”

Li Qingtian said flatly, “You don’t, but the thing your Secret Technique was trying to summon does.”

“Summon what thing?”

Lu Bai played dumb, a blank look on his face.

“You don’t know? You didn’t see?”

Li Qingtian’s eyes shone as he stared at Lu Bai, saying eerily, “Behind that piece of candle, there was a figure… wearing a phoenix crown and wedding veil, dressed in wedding attire…”

Lu Bai jumped in fright, looked around, and quickly said, “Don’t scare me, Duke Wei.”

Hearing this, Mo Tang’s heart shook. Her first thought was of the Ghost Bride!

But seeing Lu Bai acting so convincingly, she hesitated and didn’t expose him.

‘If what Duke Wei says is true, and if Lu Bai could really summon the Ghost Bride, then Wu Lan, Liang Yifan, and the others would likely be…’

Only now did Mo Tang roughly guess Lu Bai’s complete plan.

After leaving the Evil Extermination Bureau, a question had crossed her mind.

Lu Bai has the Mountain Demon Hat, which grants Invisibility. If he wanted to kill Wu Ziyan, why didn’t he use it? Why did he expose himself and act so brazenly?

Lu Bai’s final target was never Wu Ziyan.

It was the Heir of Marquis Jingzhong behind him, Governor of Jingzhou Liang Yifan, Demon Suppression Envoy Yu Weifeng, and the entire Fujiao Manor!

Lu Bai went on a killing spree at Fujiao Manor but didn’t leave. He wanted to lure Wu Lan and the others over, summon the Ghost Bride, and trap and kill them all!

If he had succeeded, more than ten Golden Core Realm experts would have fallen tonight!

“Black Hand Yama…”

Musing on something unknown, Li Qingtian muttered this before giving Lu Bai a meaningful look. “Your methods really are ruthless.”

‘He saw through it?’

Lu Bai thought to himself.

‘From the Duke’s reaction, it seems he doesn’t plan to pursue the matter.’

Unable to quite grasp Duke Wei’s intentions, Lu Bai coughed lightly and grinned. “I’ll just take that as a compliment from you, Duke Wei.”

Li Qingtian was silent for a moment, then said, “You’re also quite thick-skinned.”

Lu Bai: “…”

‘That doesn’t sound like a compliment.’

Li Qingtian suddenly shot Lu Bai a sharp glare and said coldly, “Don’t mess with those heretical Secret Techniques anymore. If you summon something you can’t control and something goes wrong, the blame will fall squarely on you!”

“Yes, yes.”

Lu Bai nodded hastily.

If he wasn’t forced into a corner, he wouldn’t want to summon the Ghost Bride either.

He still remembered what Bai Chuchu had said last time: the next time they met, they would have to consummate their marriage…

The very thought was terrifying.

—

「Jingshui Inn.」

The Luo Family entourage had arrived in Jingzhou City and was temporarily staying here.

After being driven away by Lu Bai at the Evil Extermination Bureau during the day, everyone was in a foul mood.

After nightfall, they couldn’t sleep.

Before long, they heard news from outside.

The members of the Luo Family all got out of bed and gathered together.

“Lu Bai has killed again!”

“I heard he killed someone important this time, Marquis Jingzhong’s youngest grandson!”

“Brother Xiaolu even left a message at Wangjiang Tower, saying that the people from Marquis Jingzhong’s Mansion are colluding with the Demon Sect, refining Human Pills, and their crimes are monstrous.”

“I just heard the news—Brother Xiaolu slaughtered all several hundred members of the Fujiao Gang!”

Luo Tianxiong let out a long sigh. “Lu Bai’s intentions were good. He publicly cut ties with us that day because he was afraid of implicating the Luo Family.”

The brothers Luo Ben and Luo Xiao knew that Lu Bai wasn’t a heartless and disloyal person, and the grievances they felt during the day were instantly swept away.

“Hehe, let the people of Jingzhou City witness the power of my Brother Xiaolu, the Black Hand Yama!”

“That’s right, that’s right! Whoever provokes him, Brother Xiaolu will send them to meet Yama.”

The two brothers bantered back and forth, quite excited.

“You still have the heart to laugh.”

Luo Hongyuan’s brow was tightly furrowed. “That Marquis Jingzhong is a Nascent Soul Realm expert, a First-Grade Marquis of the Wu Dynasty enfeoffed by the Late King. What kind of status and position is that?

“What’s more, Lu Bai killed several hundred people in one go. This time, he has caused a catastrophic disaster. No one can protect him now!”