Chapter 604 - 339: I Am Also a Fool!

Either his Cultivation had reached the Great Grandmaster realm, or his Sword Dao had been honed to the Extreme Realm. Otherwise, even if Lone Immortal Ye was willing, Immortal Bai probably wouldn’t bother with him.

"Great Grandmaster... Sword Dao Ultimate Realm..."

Martial Arts Cultivation was divided from the Ninth Grade to the First Grade; above that were the realms of Grandmaster and Great Grandmaster. And the Technique Realm consisted of entry-level, Minor Success, Great Success, Perfection, and the Extreme Realm—where Skill Nears the Dao.

Reaching that realm earned one the respectful title of "Land Immortal," meaning they had achieved "Extreme Mortality."

However, even among those in that realm, there were differences in strength. Cultivation, Technique, Cultivation Technique, and talent—even the slightest variations could affect Heaven and Earth’s Spiritual Mechanism. For example, it was said that Immortal Bai had cultivated two Techniques to the Extreme Realm, which was why he was hailed as the number one person in Martial Arts.

At this thought, a smile naturally formed on Chen Yi’s face. He might fall short when it came to the Technique Realm, but in terms of sheer quantity, if he claimed to be second, who would dare claim to be first?

Of course, as long as he was given enough time, he would inevitably catch up.

After lunch, Chen Yi didn’t continue reading; instead, he planned to visit the Jishi Medicine Hall and the Hundred Herbs Hall. Since he had decided to turn from passive to active, he needed to make some preparations.

Seeing him change into a set of clean brocade clothes, Xiaodie couldn’t help but ask, "Are you going out, Sir?"

"Yes. I’ve stayed in the manor for so many days, so I’m going out to stretch my legs."

"B-but tomorrow is the Annual Examination."

Chen Yi adjusted his clothes, turned his head to look at her, and smiled. "Studying requires a balance of tension and relaxation. Being strung too tight isn’t good."

Xiaodie nodded, half-understanding. "I see..."

Beside them, Pei Guanli started laughing, thinking that her brother-in-law was spouting nonsense again. However, seeing that Chen Yi was heading out, she trotted after him, clamoring that she wanted to go too.

Chen Yi thought for a moment and nodded in agreement. Pei Guanli then giggled and left the Spring Lotus Garden together with him.

Xiaodie watched them walk away, full of envy. Of course, she envied Pei Guanli.

In fact, during these past few days when Chen Yi had devoted all his attention to reading in the study, Xiaodie was the happiest person. Even though Chen Yi rarely needed her to serve him, she felt a sweet satisfaction in her heart and was brimming with energy. Boiling water, sweeping, doing laundry, serving tea, preparing meals, and so on—Xiaodie had grown accustomed to this routine and was used to staying by Chen Yi’s side.

Therefore, she really disliked being alone in the Spring Lotus Garden. Even though she would clean the inside and outside of the garden until it was spotless, she always felt an emptiness in her heart.

Xiaodie stared blankly into the distance for a moment before gathering her emotions. She then ran back to the side room, took out the "Biography of the Marquis’s Mansion’s Second Son-in-Law," and began to write, stroke by stroke.

"On the twenty-ninth of September in the 21st year of Anhe, Sir was reading in the study during the morning. I ran over to tell him that the Holy Emperor’s decree had arrived..."

Naturally, Chen Yi was unaware of Xiaodie’s thoughts. He led Pei Guanli all the way through the middle courtyard and arrived at the front courtyard. At this time, Feng Erbao and the others who had come to announce the decree had just left the Xiao Family, and Elder Master Xiao and the rest were returning from the entrance.

Chen Yi ran into them head-on and bowed in greeting. "Elder Master."

Elder Master Xiao’s expression was relatively relaxed, seemingly unaffected by the Holy Emperor’s decree of punishment. He glanced at Pei Guanli before his clear eyes landed on Chen Yi. He nodded with a peaceful expression and asked, "I heard Qingzhou is going to participate in the Annual Examination tomorrow?"

Chen Yi caught sight of Xiao Xuanshuo, Xiao Shen, and the others from the corner of his eye and responded with a smile, "Yes."

"I believe that with your knowledge, the Annual Examination won’t stump you, but don’t drop your guard either."

Elder Master Xiao offered a few words of encouragement. He then cheerfully greeted Pei Guanli, asked a bit about the Mountain Race’s recent situation, and led his people back to the Qingjing Residence.

Chen Yi exchanged greetings with the others one by one. Only after watching their figures disappear around the corner did he take Pei Guanli by the hand and walk out of the Marquis’s Mansion.

Pei Guanli asked thoughtfully, "Brother-in-law, I feel like Grandpa Xiao is a bit different from before."

While observing the passing commoners and Wandering Martial Artists along the street, Chen Yi asked casually, "How so?"

"He isn’t coughing as much? I remember when we first came to Shu State, Grandpa Xiao was terribly ill. Now, he looks as if he’s fully recovered. Furthermore..." Pei Guanli patted her chest, causing her Bell to ring JINGLE JINGLE. "Xiaohua says Grandpa Xiao is very formidable."

Chen Yi replied noncommittally, "Is that so? Perhaps the Elder Master found a Divine Doctor."

"A Divine Doctor? Brother-in-law, aren’t you..."

"Hmm?"

Pei Guanli almost let the secret slip. She stuck out her tongue and shut her mouth. However, before they had taken more than a few steps, she couldn’t help but ask again, "Brother-in-law, when do you plan to let Sister Jinghong know?"

Chen Yi paused his steps for a brief moment before resuming his calm pace forward. "She’ll know when it’s time for her to know."

"When is that?"

"Take a guess..."

Now that Liu Hong was dead, along with the vast majority of those harboring malicious intentions, the crisis facing the Xiao Family was temporarily resolved. Yet, Chen Yi still hadn’t considered revealing everything to Xiao Jinghong.

Originally, he had worried that the "Fledgling" identity forced onto him by the White Tiger Guard would make Xiao Jinghong suspect him of plotting against the Xiao Family. But after experiencing so many things, he suddenly realized that hiding a few secrets carried quite a few benefits.

For one, outsiders targeting the Xiao Family would largely ignore a scholar like him, at most assuming he was a frail intellectual with decent handwriting. Secondly, the Xiao Family had too few hidden trump cards, leaving them completely exposed and easily seen through by others. However, with him acting from the shadows, anyone wanting to target the Xiao Family would have to think twice.

At the very least, he needed to wait until he had cleared everything up and laid low for a while before saying anything.

***

Meanwhile, inside the Qingjing Residence.

Elder Master Xiao gave Xiao Xuanshuo, Xiao Shen, and the others a few instructions before dismissing them. The Holy Emperor’s punishment had not exceeded his expectations. But he hadn’t anticipated that the Holy Emperor would let them off so lightly this time, merely deducting three years of salary and letting the matter drop.

This actually made him somewhat worried.

After pondering for a moment, Elder Master Xiao looked towards a corner and said in a deep voice, "Send an eagle message to Jinghong. Tell her that Feng Erbao has already visited, everything in the manor is normal, and she should focus on inspecting the troops in the Three Towns."

Xiao Jing agreed in a low voice. Just as he was about to leave, he heard the Elder Master continue, "And also Chen Qingzhou..." He hesitated for a moment before saying, "Tell Jinghong that Qingzhou is going to take his Annual Examination tomorrow."

Xiao Jing agreed once more, though he inwardly disapproved. He thought that a trivial matter like the Annual Examination shouldn’t be reported to Xiao Jinghong at this time, lest it distract her.

Elder Master Xiao naturally paid no mind to Xiao Jing’s thoughts. He remained silent for a moment before ordering, "Recently, many Wandering Martial Artists have been appearing in Shu State City. To prevent any Evil Demonic Dao among them from causing trouble, send a few people to follow Qingzhou..." Before he could finish, he realized it was inappropriate and waved it off. "Forget it. You go personally."

Xiao Jing revealed his figure in confusion. "Marquis, you want me to protect the second son-in-law?"

"Protect?" A somewhat complicated expression appeared on Elder Master Xiao’s face. "It would be great if you could actually protect him. I’m just afraid..." He paused mid-sentence and waved his hand. "Just do as I say, and remember not to draw any attention."

Xiao Jing nodded. "Understood."

Unexpectedly, Elder Master Xiao followed up with a reminder: "Also, remember not to get too close to him. Keep a distance of at least five miles."

Xiao Jing was stunned and looked at him in bewilderment. "This..."

"Just do it!"

"Yes, sir..."

After the utterly baffled Xiao Jing left, Elder Master Xiao looked at the teacup on the table and sighed softly.

These past few days, he had been secretly investigating, mostly focusing on what Chen Yi had done and where he had gone since arriving in Shu State. Despite all his searching, he still couldn’t bring himself to believe that Chen Yi was the "Dragon Tiger" Liu Wu.

Although there were a few clues—such as Wang Ji practically being driven out of the Xiao Family by Chen Yi’s own hands, Chen Yi frequently visiting the Hundred Herbs Hall, or the fact that he, Chen Yu, and Liu Wu had never appeared at the same time—these were only speculations. They couldn’t definitively prove that Chen Yi was Chen Yu, or that he was the "Dragon Tiger" Liu Wu.

No matter how unparalleled a person’s talent was, it was impossible for them to achieve greatness across the Martial Arts, Medical Dao, and Calligraphy Dao all at once, right? Not to mention, with Chen Yu managing the Hundred Herbs Hall, Liu Wu secretly assisting the Xiao Family, and Chen Yi working as an Instructor at Guiyun Academy... he would be stretched too thin, wouldn’t he?

Elder Master Xiao rubbed his brow and thought, "If I still don’t find anything, I’ll just have to make a move personally..."