46: The Tang Sect is finished! This is what the eccentric said!

The entire room, from Lu Jiuyuan breaking in to the Tang Sect brothers dying, took only a breath.

Fast! Ruthless! Accurate! There was no hesitation, like the most precise killing machine.

Lu Jiuyuan sheathed his sword and scanned the messy room, confirming there were no survivors.

Those two guys were covered in hidden weapons and poison, so he didn't dare to search them recklessly, for fear of capsizing in a ditch.

He walked to the table, picked up the bottle of Seven Steps Soul Extinction Powder, put it away, and tucked it into his embrace.

Outside the window, the noisy sounds and footsteps of the inn's staff, startled by the commotion, could be faintly heard.

Lu Jiuyuan no longer lingered. His figure flashed, like a wisp of smoke merging into the night, silently sweeping out from the broken doorway. With a few leaps, he disappeared behind the densely packed rooftops.

When he returned to Listening to the Waves Garden, Shangguan Xueer was still busy in the pharmacy, and Li Zhong was patrolling the garden with several guards. Everything was as usual, as if he had never left.

“Master, you’re back,” Li Zhong said, bowing slightly when he saw Lu Jiuyuan enter through the main gate.

“Hmm,” Lu Jiuyuan responded faintly, handing him the Seven Steps Soul Chasing Powder: “Tang Tianzong and Tang Tianyou of the Tang Clan of Shu intended to infiltrate the palace during tomorrow night's duel to poison and create chaos, providing an opportunity for certain individuals. I killed them. Give this to Eunuch Feng.

Please ask him to thoroughly investigate whether it was an individual act of rebellion or if the entire Tang Sect was involved!”

Some things, it's better to believe they exist than not!

Even if they knew it was likely Lu Jiuyuan framing them, no one dared to gamble on such a matter.

If it was, destroying the Tang Sect would be a great achievement in suppressing rebellion. If it wasn't, then it would be made into a great achievement in suppressing rebellion.

Why is it that every rebellion involves so many people? Because everyone needs credit from this opportunity. What to do if there's no credit? Then create credit!

Li Zhong took the porcelain bottle, his heart trembling, but his expression remained calm: “Yes, Master.”

Lu Jiuyuan said calmly, “Donglai Inn, Room A-2, you go deal with it.”

Li Zhong understood, immediately bowing his head: “This old servant understands. Master, rest assured, I know how to handle it.”

Lu Jiuyuan nodded, said no more, and walked straight to his room.

Pushing open the door, Shangguan Xueer was mixing a pile of medicines with honey, rolling them into pills, each the size of a broad bean, round and plump.

They carried a very faint medicinal aroma.

“Master,” Li Zhong appeared silently at the door, his voice extremely low, “Eunuch Feng has arrived, he’s in the side hall.”

Lu Jiuyuan’s eyebrows slightly raised. He came so fast. It had only been a short while since he finished his business, and Feng Bao was already here. This old eunuch’s intelligence was astonishingly quick.

In the side hall, candlelight flickered. Feng Bao stood with his hands down, like a withered piece of wood, his aura so restrained it was almost nonexistent.

On the small table in front of him, the bottle of “Seven Steps Soul Extinction Powder” that Lu Jiuyuan had Li Zhong deliver was conspicuously placed.

“Second Master’s Divine Might,” Eunuch Feng’s voice was still sharp and steady, without a trace of emotion: “The two villains of the Tang Sect, overestimating themselves, attempted rebellion and deserved their deaths.”

His withered fingers pointed at the porcelain bottle, “This is the evidence!”

Lu Jiuyuan sat opposite him, picked up a teacup, and asked softly:

“What is the punishment for treason?”

“Extermination of three generations of the Family!”

“But Second Master, the time is not yet right! Rebellion is a major matter. It’s not truly rebellion just because you say so, or I say so!

This much evidence is not enough.”

“What if we add tomorrow?”

“If they don’t make a move, then fine, but if they do, they will surely die,” Eunuch Feng said.

“However, Second Master, the Tang Clan of Shu is, after all, just a Jianghu force. The entire Family combined has no more than a hundred people.

It’s not difficult to annihilate them, but the poisons they control are too troublesome. If there are any who escape, it will be a considerable nuisance.”

“Will Eunuch Feng, the Director of the Eastern Depot, be afraid of a Tang Clan of Shu?”

“Afraid, no, but it will be troublesome!” Eunuch Feng shook his head: “Second Master, I also know that you’ve wiped out the Tang Sect’s Three Heroes.

If the Tang Sect isn’t also uprooted, you might have to sleep with one eye open in the future.

Every meal and drink would need to be tested for poison first.”

“I will handle this for you, ensuring it is done cleanly and properly.

I only ask that when the time comes, Second Master can give me a hand.”

“Eunuch Feng, I feel a little guilty being this Second Master, is there anything I can help you with?”

“Your Majesty personally said, ‘My second brother is invincible under heaven!’ This shows his affection for Second Master. Being in my position, many times, hoping for a peaceful end is a luxury.

I only ask that one day, when needed, Second Master can speak a word for me. That would be considered repaying today’s favor.”

“Good! Since Eunuch Feng believes my favor is worth this price, then I agree!” Lu Jiuyuan said.

“This servant thanks Second Master for his grace!” Eunuch Feng bowed deeply, his posture extremely low.

“For the matter of the Tang Sect, Second Master just await good news. As this servant said, the Tang Sect is finished.”

His tone was certain. For the Eastern Depot to fabricate a charge of treason and make a Jianghu School disappear, there were too many plausible and unassailable methods.

Lu Jiuyuan nodded slightly, saying no more.

The goal had been achieved, the transaction completed; superfluous words were merely burdensome.

Eunuch Feng observed his expression and bowed again: “It’s late, this servant bids farewell. I dare not disturb Second Master’s peace any further.”

Just as he had arrived, he silently withdrew from the side hall, merging into the deep night of Listening to the Waves Garden, as if he had never appeared.

“To be able to bend and stretch is the mark of a true man.

A person of immense power, whose single word can wipe out a School, yet he treats me with such respect. How tempting is that?”

“To test officials with such power, which official could withstand such a test?”

“But he respects not you, but the one behind you,” Ximen Chuixue’s voice came abruptly.

He appeared at the door, holding his sword.

“Practicing the sword is also cultivating the heart. A sword corrupted by power will rust.”

“Assessing the situation, a swordsman is a swordsman, not a fool,” Lu Jiuyuan said lightly.

“The sword of a feudal lord, the sword of the Son of Heaven, and the sword of a commoner are all different. I know my place; I am merely a commoner in this world.”

“Your Sword of Ruthlessness has been broken. I wonder, what about the Sword of Sentiment?”

“Never had sentiment, so how can there be ruthlessness? Only with sentiment can one truly be ruthless,” Ximen Chuixue said indifferently.

But the coldness in his words could make one’s heart chill.

Lu Jiuyuan could understand his meaning.

Having cultivated the Sword of Ruthlessness to its extreme, with no further progress possible, he turned to cultivate the Sword of Sentiment. And the Realm beyond the Sword of Sentiment was, once again, the Sword of Ruthlessness.

The Sword God had never changed.

“Bah! I despise guys like you who treat emotions as a game.”

Lu Jiuyuan paused, then walked towards Shangguan Xueer’s room.

“You are colder than I am! We are fundamentally the same kind of person,” Ximen Chuixue stood motionless, but his tone was calm.

“You view the world as if looking down on all living beings. Your blood is colder than mine, and your sword is more absolute than mine.

To hang one’s heart above the Nine Heavens is to be a god; to place one’s heart in the Mortal World is to be human.

Lu Jiuyuan, do you ultimately want to be human or a god?”

“Nonsense!” Lu Jiuyuan scoffed, knocked on the door, and it opened directly, then he walked in.

Shangguan Xueer had her back to the door, meticulously placing the last broad bean-sized brown pill into a porcelain bottle.

The air was filled with the faint, honey-mixed scent of medicine, fresh and calming, a stark contrast to the chilling solemnity of the hall earlier.

“Lu Xiaojian, you’re back?” Shangguan Xueer didn’t turn her head, as if she had eyes in the back of her head, or perhaps she was too familiar with his aura.

She picked up a clean damp cloth to wipe her hands, “Are you hungry? There’s lotus seed soup warming on the stove.”

“Hmm.”

Lu Jiuyuan responded, his gaze falling on the round pills in the porcelain bottle, “What are these?”

“Heart-Calming Vitality Pills.”

Xue'er turned around, a hint of childish pride on her face, her eyes sparkling:

“The century-old ginseng is potent, combined with fleeceflower root, mint, fritillaria, tranquilizing grass, and snow lotus, blended with honey. It can boost Qi and blood, stabilize the mind, and after taking it, the mind will be clear for an hour, which is very beneficial for resisting external evils.”

She simply pushed the porcelain bottle forward: “Here, just rolled, warm and not dry. Take one before practicing, the effect is very good. I’ve tasted it, it’s sweet, not bitter.”

Lu Jiuyuan looked at the smooth pills, then at the young girl’s clear yet mischievous eyes.

“Hmm,” he responded again, his voice slightly softer than before, as he held the pill in his palm.