39: Chapter 39 Crisis Lurks, Conspiracy Begins

Immediately after, Chen Xuan's figure fully appeared at the courtyard gate. He patted the night dew from his shoulder and flashed a grin toward the house:

"Scared you? I just took a detour to the east market entrance to buy a bowl of hot tofu pudding and checked if the morning market had any cheap straw sandals."

Zhao Hongling slapped the corner of the table. "You're just fine! We've been keeping watch here all night, and you went out for a midnight snack!"

"Not a midnight snack, a breakfast preparation."

Chen Xuan placed an oil-paper package on the table, peeled back a corner, and a puff of white steam rose. "While it's hot, anyone want a bite?"

Leng Shuang didn't respond, only walked over to check if the edges of his collar were stained with unusual dust, then reached to feel the hidden pouch behind his waist. The jingling sachet Liu Ruyan had given him was still there.

Only then did she nod slightly. "It's good that you're alright."

Dugu Xue stood under the eaves, her gaze sweeping over Chen Xuan's cloth boots, half-soaked. "You didn't take the usual path."

"Exactly."

Chen Xuan sat down, munching on tofu pudding with a baked flatbread, his words slightly muffled. "Three people were squatting against the wall at the west alley entrance talking. One in a gray robe said something about 'that kid showed his face last night,' and another told him not to rush, to wait until the wind picks up a bit more. I didn't dare get too close, but they didn't sound like good people."

Liu Ruyan immediately set down her teacup. "Where exactly were they?"

"Behind the abandoned blacksmith's shop, near the dead-end alley by the old rice shop."

Chen Xuan swallowed a mouthful and wiped his lips. "Speaking of which, none of you are sleeping? Your eyes are brighter than lanterns."

No one laughed. The four women exchanged glances, each feeling a weight settle in their hearts.

Though dawn had just broken, the atmosphere in the courtyard felt heavy, like a stone was pressing down.

Finishing his last bite, Chen Xuan stood up and stretched. As he moved his shoulders, he suddenly paused. Wedged in a crack by the well platform was a small scrap of paper, looking as if it had been trampled and hastily buried.

He crouched to pick it up. On the torn corner was half a stamped ink mark, shaped like a bull's head with a broken horn, the lines crude yet deliberate.

"This thing..." he frowned, "I've seen it somewhere."

Liu Ruyan leaned in to look and shook her head. "I haven't seen this specific mark, but such secret signs are commonly used among a few down-and-out escort bureaus in the southern city for arranging private jobs."

"So someone is using old channels to make connections?"

Chen Xuan turned the scrap over a few times before tucking it into his sleeve. "Interesting."

He said no more, turning to enter the training area and began practicing a set of basic fist techniques.

His movements were fluid, his rhythm steady. It seemed casual, but each move was probing whether the flow of his True Qi within was being disturbed.

Having drifted through the Jianghu these years, he knew some poisons or forbidden arts could subtly erode the Meridians, weakening a person without them noticing. Yet, after circulating his energy once today, his Qi flowed smoothly with no abnormalities.

Only the uneasy feeling in his heart grew heavier and heavier.

Shortly after the morning hour of Chen passed, Chen Xuan went out for his usual stroll as per routine.

According to plan, he still had to show his face at the grand gathering grounds today. After all, he hadn't formally responded to the jade summons from the Empress, and he couldn't appear too arrogant.

He wore a clean blue cloth robe with light armor over it, walking slowly down the street with his hands clasped behind his back.

At the street corner, a tea stall had set up its stove. Two men sat in the corner speaking in low tones.

A shorter, stockier one said in a hushed voice, "I hear that kid has been making too big a splash lately. Someone wants to make him take a major fall."

The other, tall and thin, sneered. "Taking a fall requires someone daring enough to act. Yesterday, that hanger-on from the Nangong Family tried to spread rumors, but he was 'invited for tea' by the Zhao Estate that same day and hasn't been released yet."

"Heh, if they can't move openly, won't they try underhanded methods?"

The stocky man took a sip of coarse tea. "I heard three groups have already taken money, specifically watching his travel routes. They just need to catch a single flaw to immediately flip the table."

Before he finished speaking, the two noticed someone approaching and immediately fell silent, lowering their heads to drink tea.

Chen Xuan pretended not to have heard, walking straight to the stall to buy a bowl of soy milk. He smiled as he chatted with the owner, "The beans are ground quite fine today," but he had already memorized those two faces.

When he returned to the courtyard, it was already noon. The four women were waiting in the main hall, their expressions grave.

Zhao Hongling spoke first. "My family sent word. In the past few days, seven or eight young masters from families at odds with us have been frequently visiting an abandoned escort bureau in the southern city. Among them are a branch of the Heavenly Blade Sect, a nominal Disciple from the Iron Bone Temple, and a few Loose Cultivators from the Jianghu."

Leng Shuang continued. "Last night on patrol, I found the traces of cold energy I left at the east market bridgehead, the entrance to South Alley, and in front of the old medicine shop in the west city—all had been tampered with.

Not cleared, but gently smoothed over with some heat-based method. The technique was extremely fine, leaving no trace. If I weren't intimately familiar with my own aura, I wouldn't have noticed at all."

Dugu Xue produced a thin sheet of paper from her sleeve. "Feedback from northern frontier wanderers: someone is offering a high price for details of Chen Xuan's arena matches, especially the force application method of his 'Severing Flow Finger' technique. The other party is willing to pay fifty taels of gold for a truthful description."

Liu Ruyan spoke last. "Last night at the Drunken Immortal Pavilion, someone tried to spread rumors that Chen Xuan won through evil arts, saying a Dragon's shadow appeared behind him, a sign of a calamitous star descending. Fortunately, the person I placed there reacted quickly and stopped it on the spot before it could spread."

Silence fell in the hall for a moment.

Chen Xuan sat in the main seat, slowly stroking his chin. The playfulness was gone from his eyes, replaced by a sharp edge. He remained silent for a long time before speaking slowly.

"It's not just one person trying to mess with me; it's a group working together. And they haven't even made a move yet, yet they're already this cautious. It means someone is leading the planning behind the scenes, someone who knows how to hide their tracks."

Zhao Hongling gritted her teeth. "Who dares to be so bold? Daring to move against my people!"

"Not bold. They know they can't afford to provoke us, that's why they're hiding deep."

Chen Xuan stood up and walked to the window, looking out at the distant street. "These people come from different backgrounds—some are from branch families of great clans, some from down-and-out Schools, mixed with Jianghu Loose Cultivators. They normally wouldn't have anything to do with each other, but now they can collude. What they're after is definitely more than just damaging my reputation."

Leng Shuang asked, "Do you want to investigate further?"

"No rush." He shook his head. "Making a move now would only startle the snake and make them hide deeper. We'll continue according to the original plan. I'll go to the afternoon match, taking a different route to avoid the west alleys and the old district in the southern city. You all don't need to increase surveillance either; just act as usual."

"But what if..." Liu Ruyan started to say but stopped.

"Good that you're afraid."

Chen Xuan turned back with a smile that didn't reach his eyes. "The more hidden they are, the more it shows they fear me. Since they fear me, let them keep fearing. When they slip up themselves, we'll lift the lid all at once."

The afternoon sun slanted, and the courtyard regained a surface calm. The four women dispersed, each continuing to monitor clues.

Chen Xuan remained alone in the courtyard, sitting cross-legged with closed eyes, regulating his breathing.

After night fell, he still sat in the same spot, looking up at the star-filled sky.

His fingers unconsciously brushed the tip of his nose—an old habit when thinking. The night wind stirred the copper bell at the eaves, producing a light *ding-dong*.

He murmured to himself, "The wind has come. I just don't know which direction it's blowing from yet."

Across the street corner, the lattice of an empty room's window swayed slightly, as if someone had just left.