And Xiao Taohong had taken a Concealment Pill, so it was all the less likely that Ancestor Xuanchen would detect her.

The two of them crept silently beneath Ancestor Xuanchen's window, and just at that moment, Kang Zhaoming had also just entered Ancestor Xuanchen's room.

"Back already?" Ancestor Xuanchen glanced at Kang Zhaoming and nodded. "How did it go?"

"Father-in-law, everything went smoothly. That stupid woman Xiao Taohong believed every word I said—she even thinks my feelings for her are genuine. She has already agreed to my proposal!" Kang Zhaoming said smugly.

Xiao Taohong, standing beside Tian Chan, visibly shuddered at Kang Zhaoming's words, a deep indignation and fury flashing through her eyes. She had never imagined that Kang Zhaoming had deceived her yet again! To think he would say such things right in front of Ancestor Xuanchen!

Sure enough, Tian Chan had been right. Kang Zhaoming was utterly unreliable!

"Mm. But mind your limits—I do not want to hear of anything actually happening between you and her!" Ancestor Xuanchen nodded as he spoke.

"Rest assured, Father-in-law. With a face like Xiao Taohong's, who would ever fancy her? I'd be sick to my stomach even with the lights off and her in my bed!" Kang Zhaoming hastened to declare. "She's nothing compared to Little Eleven! Not even in the same league! The only reason I ever got close to her was to curry favor with Tian Canbian. But now that I have a backer like you, Father-in-law, I have no need to flatter anyone else!"

"Good. Since that is so, go and draw up the plan!" Ancestor Xuanchen nodded, well pleased. Kang Zhaoming's earlier pursuit of Xiao Taohong merely to curry favor with Tian Canbian might seem contemptible to most, but Ancestor Xuanchen was a man of sinister cunning; in his eyes, it only proved Kang Zhaoming to be a promising talent. Kang Zhaoming was treacherous indeed—but so long as he was not treacherous toward him, that was enough.

"Father-in-law, then I shall take my leave..." With that, Kang Zhaoming turned and withdrew.

Outside the window, Xiao Taohong was trembling with rage, her face ashen. Never in her wildest dreams had she imagined that Kang Zhaoming had been using her all along—all to get close to Tian Chan! Tears streamed down Xiao Taohong's face. She had been heartbroken when Kang Zhaoming rejected her before, but never like this!

Tian Chan gently patted Xiao Taohong on the shoulder, then led her away without a sound. As they left, Xiao Taohong's agitation seemed to rouse Ancestor Xuanchen's suspicions. He walked to the window and opened it, but saw only a disciple passing at a distance. He shook his head, deciding he had been overly suspicious.

"Young Sect Master, I am so sorry. In the past, I said so many good things about Kang Zhaoming in front of you..." Now that Xiao Taohong had seen Kang Zhaoming's true colors, her words were steeped in grief and regret.

"It does not matter. That was not your fault—speaking well of one's beloved is only human nature," Tian Chan said with a wave of her hand. "I brought you here only so that you could see Kang Zhaoming for what he truly is, and never be deceived by him again."

"Young Sect Master, rest assured, I will cut all ties with him!" Xiao Taohong said resolutely.

"There is no need for that. You can turn his scheme against him and see what he and Uncle Master Xuanchen are really up to," Tian Chan said. She suspected that Kang Zhaoming and Ancestor Xuanchen were brewing some new, sinister plot. With Xiao Taohong helping to gather information, Tian Chan could save herself some time in the investigation.

True, she could have Tian Die follow them in secret, but Tian Chan avoided using Tian Die whenever possible. After all, one who walks the night long enough will meet a ghost—Tian Die's secret must never be discovered by Ancestor Xuanchen.

"Understood, Young Sect Master. Xiao Taohong will do as you say," Xiao Taohong said with a hasty nod. "Then what should I do?"

"Whatever Kang Zhaoming tells you to do, agree to it, then report back to me. I will tell you how to proceed," Tian Chan said.

"Yes, Young Sect Master!" Xiao Taohong answered.

……………………

The Blood-Robed Yellow Springs Sect.

"Ancestor Gloom, your subordinate has finished the investigation. Some time ago, Wei Zhao was reduced to a cripple, hovering on the verge of death. He had been poisoned by one of the Hidden Zhao family's toxins, leaving him unable to use his physical strength or true qi. His meridians were all severed—he was a useless wreck. Killing him would have been as easy as turning over one's hand!" Ancestor Gloom, the chief steward of the Blood-Robed Yellow Springs Sect, reported to Ancestor Yellow Springs.

"Oh? Then you mean we should send someone now to kill Wei Zhao?" Ancestor Yellow Springs asked.

"That... as I said, that was some time ago. Wei Zhao has recovered now—full of vigor and life..." Ancestor Gloom said with a bitter smile.

"Damn it!" Ancestor Yellow Springs could hold back no longer and cursed outright. "What the hell were you doing before? Why didn't you say so earlier? You only tell me now that he has recovered—is this not hindsight? What is the point?"

"This... the intelligence team only reported it to me just now, and I came to report to you at the first opportunity..." Ancestor Gloom felt somewhat aggrieved himself.

"Those good-for-nothings in the intelligence team—I have long found them an eyesore. Have you not straightened them out? Gloom, do you not know that in the assassin's trade, intelligence is paramount?" Ancestor Yellow Springs said in exasperation at his subordinate's failings.

"Ancestor Yellow Springs, you know as well as I do that we are an ancient sect; our intelligence-gathering habits have been handed down from ancient times. These people rely on their legs and their mouths, and scarcely use modern technological devices at all," Ancestor Gloom explained. "If it were only matters and people of the cultivation world, there would be no problem. But once it involves people of the secular world, we are hard-pressed, for our Blood-Robed Yellow Springs Sect is an assassin organization of the cultivation realm and never touches contracts from the secular world. Who could have foreseen that we would run into an anomaly like Wei Zhao?"

"There is some truth in what you say." Ancestor Yellow Springs nodded, agreeing with Ancestor Gloom, and his anger had abated somewhat. "But this efficiency will not do. Always hindsight—how are we ever to take our revenge?"

"This time it is not all hindsight! I have obtained some other information as well, concerning Wei Zhao. Ancestor Yellow Springs, let me explain it to you in detail," Ancestor Gloom said hurriedly.

"Concerning Wei Zhao? Good, then speak. I hope it is good news," Ancestor Yellow Springs said with a nod.

"It is like this: the intelligence team has learned that the Eastern Family has lost a top expert of peak mid-Heaven rank, slain by Wei Zhao!" Ancestor Gloom said.

(To be continued,

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