Chapter 121: The Path of Black and White (Part I)

On this day, at the Yin-Yun Pavilion in Hanshan Market, Song Yan received a storage bag from Sheng Nian.

"Everything is inside."

The bag contained a scroll of notes and a severed head. Song Yan nodded and tucked it away. "You don't need my help with your side of the preparations, do you?"

Sheng Nian shook his head. "No. Lu Qin is incredibly arrogant and thinks himself clever. I will handle it."

"Good. After today, to ensure we aren't discovered by anyone suspicious, we should refrain from contacting each other."

As Song Yan rose to leave, Sheng Nian suddenly called out to him, "Will there be anyone else with Cheng Yu when the time comes?"

Song Yan was concise. "There certainly won't be anyone at the Foundation Establishment stage."

Sheng Nian nodded. "Then... can the others be killed as well?"

In truth, this was what he had most wanted to ask. If any of the cultivators accompanying that wretch happened to be friends of Song Yan, it would be a shame to harm them by mistake.

"They are all just flies and vermin. Do as you please."

The cultivators who would be on patrol duty with Cheng Yu were all birds of a feather, cut from the same cloth. In his eyes, these people were nothing more than parasites on the cultivation world of the Chu Kingdom. Whether they lived or died, Song Yan did not care in the slightest.

"However, the six sects are on high alert. Save time whenever you can. I fear a Foundation Establishment cultivator might notice."

Sheng Nian nodded.

"Cheng Yu must die. Whether the others go with him is entirely your choice as a demonic cultivator."

...

Without lingering, Song Yan left Hanshan Market and returned to Changping County City.

The person that "Dog Sheng" intended to kill was named Lu Qin. According to him, this man was his senior brother, a cultivator at the ninth level of Qi Refining. Song Yan did not intend to do the dirty work himself; he needed to ensure a safe environment for the assassination.

He slightly channeled the Hidden Sword and Spirit-Concealing Technique, making his aura appear weak and erratic, as if he had just emerged from a grueling battle. He stepped up to the Lianheng Pavilion.

"Disciple Song Yan, I have an urgent report."

He handed over the scroll of notes. The guard on duty acknowledged him and sent word inside, returning shortly to lead Song Yan within. The elders handling the matter were not of the older generation like Yu Tian or Shen Yu; they appeared quite young.

They were elders from other sects, and Song Yan did not recognize them, having only seen them from afar. One female elder, seeing his grave expression, naturally assumed the young cultivator was overly nervous in the presence of his superiors. She raised a hand, her tone gentle. "No need for formalities. Speak plainly."

"Thank you, Elder."

Song Yan took a gruesome head out of his storage bag.

"I was on leave today. While returning to the county city from Hanshan Market, I passed through Wa Village. Recalling that a colleague from the Dongyuan Sect was on patrol there, I thought to pay them a visit. Unexpectedly, I encountered a demonic cultivator at the seventh level of Qi Refining lurking on the road, seemingly waiting for someone."

"Perhaps he mistook me for his contact. The demonic cultivator revealed himself, then realized his mistake and attacked me, intending to silence me. After a fierce battle, I was fortunate enough to slay him. Later, I discovered this scroll in his storage bag."

The scroll contained information forged by Sheng Nian. It essentially stated that on the twenty-ninth, Lu Qin, a core disciple of the Seed-Demonic Path, would meet with cultivators from the Yellow Springs Path at a location in Cheng Family Village.

The scroll sat in the hands of the elder in the center. All three elders had read it, and its authenticity seemed beyond doubt. Of course, it was authentic; it had been written by a real demonic cultivator.

"I don't know whether to call you lucky or unlucky, boy. How do you keep running into so many demonic cultivators?"

Song Yan remembered that the elder who spoke was present when he had previously turned in the corpses of the Five Demons of Hanshan. However, there was no cause for suspicion; due to the increased patrol intensity, many teams had indeed encountered demonic cultivators. While rare, it was not unique to him.

"I enjoy wandering about while on leave..."

The elder frowned. "In the future, stay in the city and cultivate. Being alone, one cannot guarantee you'll have such good luck next time. Don't throw your life away for the sake of mere merit."

Song Yan was taken aback; the words sounded like genuine concern for his safety. "Thank you for the advice, Elder."

The elder in the center took a deep breath and asked, "What do you two think? Lu Qin..."

The female elder, surnamed Fu—the very one mentioned by Granny Qin as the master of Senior Yu Zhen—pondered for a moment. "The senior disciple under the loose cultivator Xin Shan? If the information is accurate, he is quite a big catch. Cheng Family Village borders the Bone Abyss. The demonic cultivators choosing to meet there likely intend to fish in troubled waters by leveraging the influence of demon-beasts."

The elder in the center nodded. "Indeed. The movements of the demonic cultivators mentioned in this letter align with our intelligence; the credibility is very high." He turned to Song Yan. "When you fought that demonic cultivator, did you notice anything else unusual?"

Song Yan shook his head. "The methods he employed had nothing special about them. I fought a Seed-Demonic Path cultivator a few months ago. Although I found Seed-Demonic techniques in his storage bag, he did not display anything similar today."

The three elders exchanged glances, a possibility occurring to all of them simultaneously. "This person was likely just a rogue demonic cultivator in Changping who happened to hook up with the Seed-Demonic Path by chance. He wanted to join their tradition... which led to all of this."

Song Yan put on an expression of sudden realization. With this, everything fell into place, becoming logical and consistent with the elders' deductions.

"Very well. We will make other arrangements... You may report the merit for slaying the demonic cultivator to the Confidential Affairs Department yourself. Beyond that, there will be additional rewards for this intelligence, though we must discuss it with the other elders first. You may go."

"Yes, Elder."

Song Yan bowed and left the Lianheng Pavilion. After registering his merit and ensuring everything was in order, he looked up at the gloomy sun over Changping County City, his heart calm. He only needed to wait for that day to arrive.

As he pondered, he failed to notice a familiar figure walking past him. Shen Huai turned slightly to look at his retreating back, lost in thought. However, she did not linger and instead headed toward the Confidential Affairs Department.

Song Yan’s spiritual sense flickered, as if he had sensed something. He checked his surroundings but found nothing out of the ordinary.

...

"What was that man's name again?"

As soon as Shen Huai entered the Confidential Affairs Department, she heard several disciples discussing something. She had been following Dai Rui on patrol for the past few days and had just slain a mid-Qi Refining demonic cultivator, stopping by to register it.

"Song Yan, an inner sect disciple of the Dongyuan Sect. I processed his registration the last time he came," one disciple said. "This guy has already earned nearly a hundred merit points just from killing demonic cultivators... He’s incredibly formidable."

Shen Huai frowned slightly, listening quietly to the discussion. Based on her brief encounter just now, she hadn't sensed any killing intent on Song Yan.

...

Damn it! Why is it back to work tomorrow!?

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