He laughed as he dipped his index finger in tea and drew lightly across the tabletop. Yi Xiaoru stood behind him, glanced at the characters on the table, frowned at him, and Li Muzhan nodded slightly.

Yi Xiaoru tilted her head to cast him a sidelong glance. Li Muzhan patted his chest, "Don't worry! You won't be shortchanged staying here. Why don't you hurry the waiter and ask them to serve the dishes faster?"

"Fine!" Yi Xiaoru huffed.

She pushed the door open and drifted out. Moments later, footsteps sounded again—she was returning. She stopped before the room on the west side, pushed the door open, and let out a soft cry, "Ah, wrong one!"

"Who are you?!" A middle-aged man's angry snort came from inside.

Yi Xiaoru hurried to apologize, "My apologies, two seniors, I took a wrong turn and disturbed you!"

"Wrong turn?!" The middle-aged man said coldly, "You're not so young, how can you be so muddled?!"

Helplessness laced Yi Xiaoru's voice, "It's all my fault. When I went to rush the waiter for the food, I forgot to look back at the appearance of the door."

"Forget it, Old Zhang, this young lady didn't do it on purpose!" the other middle-aged man advised.

"Hmph, who knows what sort of person she is!" The first man said coldly. "We don't know if she harbors ill intentions. Perhaps..."

"Enough, it's this late, you still have the energy for such thoughts!" the other man quickly interjected.

"Very well, be gone!" the middle-aged man grumbled unwillingly, waving a hand.

The other middle-aged man urged, "Young lady, hurry and leave!"

Yi Xiaoru seemed a bit flustered and quickly said, "Thank you both, seniors!"

Her footsteps sounded again, and then she pushed the door open here and stepped inside. After closing the door, she slowly nodded, meeting Li Muzhan's smiling gaze.

Li Muzhan pretended ignorance, as if he knew nothing of martial arts, and laughed, "After we eat, where shall we go sightseeing? ... Jingzhou City is bustling and lively. A pity you are a woman, or you could enjoy a stroll by the river!"

"A stroll by the river?" Yi Xiaoru snorted, "Are you quite unhappy about that!... What bad luck, I went into the wrong room just now!"

Li Muzhan anxiously exclaimed, "Wrong room! ... How could you be so careless? Those who can afford to be here are all rich and noble; we can't afford to offend them!"

Yi Xiaoru chided him petulantly, "How was I supposed to know! ... I didn't want to go wrong, but you kept urging me, kept urging me, so I rushed out in a flurry and forgot what our room looked like."

Li Muzhan huffed in displeasure, "So now you're blaming me!?"

Yi Xiaoru retorted sharply, "Blame you for what! You're a grown man, too lazy to move an inch, everything has to be waited on by me!"

"You shrew!" Li Muzhan slammed the table with a bang, leaped up, and roared furiously, "Have you gone completely rogue!"

"He of the surname He, you've gotten bolder, are you thinking of hitting a woman!?" Yi Xiaoru met his anger head-on, standing up too, and shouted back, "Fine, He! What did you say when you married me back then? Less than a year and you’ve become this way. If I’d known you’d turn out like this, I would never have married you. I must have been blind!"

"Silence!" Li Muzhan cut her off with a sharp cry.

Their argument grew more heated. A muffled thud knocked against the west wall, followed by a low growl, "Shut up! If you want to fight, go home and do it! This is not the place for quarreling!"

Both immediately fell silent, looked at each other, and smiled.

"Don't talk to me!" Li Muzhan huffed angrily.

Yi Xiaoru immediately followed up, "If you won't talk, I won't talk! Who cares about talking to you!"

The two fell into silence, revealing smiles. This unspoken understanding was strange; one look from the other told them exactly what the other was thinking.

"Hmph!" Both snorted in mock anger simultaneously, then broke into smiles again.

"Food is coming..." the waiter called out cheerfully, tapping on the door.

"Come in!" Both commanded sharply, without a hint of good temper.

The waiter pushed the door open, bewildered, holding a platter of fragrant, steaming dishes. Seeing their grim expressions, he became immediately cautious. Those who ate on the third floor were all wealthy or noble; one slip-up could earn him a scolding or a beating, and the proprietor would never step in to defend him—instead, he’d blame the waiter.

Once the waiter had cautiously retreated, Li Muzhan snorted, "Let's eat!"

"Eat if we eat!" Yi Xiaoru grumbled.

They picked up their chopsticks, eating while discreetly tilting their ears toward the next room. However, the conversation between the two middle-aged men next door was exceedingly faint.

Yi Xiaoru, unwilling to give up, pressed her ear to the wall, straining to listen. Li Muzhan gave her a questioning look; she showed him a look of helplessness and shook her head.

After eating in silence, they settled the bill and walked downstairs, quickly exiting the restaurant.

Downstairs, Li Muzhan smiled, "Well?"

"Mm, it's the Divine Sword Sect people!" Yi Xiaoru nodded.

Li Muzhan raised an eyebrow, "How could you tell?"

Yi Xiaoru replied, "The Divine Sword Sect carries a unique scent; I can recognize it!"

Li Muzhan smiled in surprise, "A unique scent?"

"Hmph, you wouldn't understand even if I told you. It’s because of the cultivation method!" Yi Xiaoru cast him a sidelong glance and started walking west. Li Muzhan pulled her toward the east. They struggled briefly, but Li Muzhan ultimately couldn't overrule her and had to follow her west with a sigh of resignation.

The entire act was so natural, like a newly reconciled young couple, that the two middle-aged men on the third floor shook their heads and smiled wryly.

The pair walked slowly west along the main street. Li Muzhan said with a smile, "So, you can sense the cultivation method?"

"Mhm," Yi Xiaoru nodded.

Li Muzhan praised, "Truly a marvelous tracking art!"

"You want to learn?" Yi Xiaoru glanced at him.

Li Muzhan laughed, "I don't dare hope for that; I'm just curious. I never imagined such a wondrous technique existed in the world!"

"This is nothing," Yi Xiaoru shook her head. "It can only be used for tracking, not for combat. To martial artists, it's practically useless."

Li Muzhan chuckled, "If used well, its merits are endless."

Yi Xiaoru sighed and shook her head, "Cultivating this technique requires both innate talent and grueling effort. Because of it, I've delayed other training."

Li Muzhan said, "There are always trade-offs; you can't judge it universally. Isn't the Sect still relying on you now?"

"That is true," Yi Xiaoru smiled.

The two strolled like ordinary tourists, attracting no attention. Li Muzhan, dressed in a cyan robe, disguised as the middle-aged He Zudao, possessed a graceful and ethereal bearing that made him look perfectly appropriate next to Yi Xiaoru.

Yi Xiaoru wore an apricot-yellow silk robe; her jade-like face was flawless, her figure full and delicate. Her stunning physique merged with her aloof temperament, radiating a dazzling aura.

Walking together, people naturally thought of them as a perfect match of talent and beauty.

Yi Xiaoru suddenly turned her head to look at him, her bright eyes piercing, trying to see through his mind: "How did you know they were from the Divine Sword Sect?"

Li Muzhan met her sharp gaze and smiled faintly, "I guessed."

"Hmph!" Yi Xiaoru glared at him in exasperation, clearly not willing to tell the truth. She was genuinely curious. The Divine Sword Sect always concealed its movements so thoroughly that they were almost impossible to trace; otherwise, they would have been wiped out long ago. This scare would only make them more cautious, and she hadn't expected to catch them anyway.

But she hadn't expected him to know about the Divine Sword Sect members. If she hadn't known he was a disciple of the Purple Robe Palace, she would have suspected he was one of them.

Li Muzhan laughed, "I've been following those three. Someone came to collect their corpses, and I followed them, so I recognized these two."

Yi Xiaoru tilted her head and asked, "They didn't discover you?"

Li Muzhan smiled and shook his head, "Your tracking skill is good, but my stealth ability isn't inferior."

"Stop boasting!" Yi Xiaoru chuckled lightly.

Li Muzhan countered, "I haven't been actively concealing myself. Otherwise, your secret technique wouldn't have worked!"

"Oh yeah? Then I want to see!" Yi Xiaoru laughed.

Li Muzhan smiled, "Alright then. Let's meet back at the restaurant in half an hour. See if you can find me!"

"Challenge accepted!" Yi Xiaoru retorted, unconvinced.

Li Muzhan waved his hand, his form flickering as he slipped into the adjacent alley. After two more flashes, he vanished. Yi Xiaoru frowned, thoroughly impressed by his Qinggong.

She formed hand seals, frowned in concentration, and after a long moment, slowly opened her bright eyes to look around. Then, unwilling to give up, she closed her eyes again, formed a strange hand seal, and after the time it takes to brew tea, formed another.

It wasn't until a quarter of an hour had passed that she slowly opened her eyes and shook her head.

She sighed, realizing she had underestimated him. Indeed, she couldn't track him. He must possess a secret technique for concealment—a stealth art. The Purple Robe Palace didn't seem to have such a method, did it?

She let out a faint, soft whistle that carried far. Soon, a middle-aged peddler carrying a basket of cakes approached leisurely, seemingly tired, and stopped near Yi Xiaoru, wiping sweat from his neck with a towel.

Yi Xiaoru whispered, "Go immediately and ask Elder Chu and the other nine, plus my Senior Sister, to meet me at Denghe Tower!"

"Yes!" The peddler replied, dropped his towel, picked up his load, and slowly walked away.

"Hehe, how was it?" Li Muzhan’s voice suddenly sounded behind her.

She glanced sideways at him and snorted, "You certainly have some skill!"

Li Muzhan laughed, "To stop you from being suspicious, tell me, are we ready to cast the net?"

"Mhm, capturing them is the goal," Yi Xiaoru nodded.

Li Muzhan frowned, pondered for a moment, and shook his head, "I don't think that will be useful!"

Yi Xiaoru was sharp enough to understand, "You mean following the vine to find the melon? ... They are too vigilant; it might backfire."

Li Muzhan countered, "Wouldn't doing it your way also backfire? ... They are missing two people; how can they not be on guard at a time like this?"

Yi Xiaoru insisted, "As long as we act fast, we can immediately interrogate them about where they are hiding."

Li Muzhan shook his head, "I don't think you will get anything."

"Elder Meng is an expert in interrogation techniques," Yi Xiaoru stated. "He can pry open even the tightest lips."

Hearing her speak so lightly of it sent a chill down Li Muzhan's spine. The Ten Thousand Saints Sect, known as the foremost power in the unorthodox path, was not famous by chance; their methods were indeed quite sinister, treating human life as disposable.

Li Muzhan sneered, "You've captured Divine Sword Sect disciples before, haven't you? Did you manage to interrogate anything out of them?"

Yi Xiaoru looked at him and shook her head, "No. They have secret arts that allow them to commit suicide."

"And this time?" Li Muzhan pressed.

Yi Xiaoru said, "This time is different. Elder Chu and the others have profound cultivation; they won't give those two the chance to kill themselves!"

Li Muzhan frowned, watching her, and shook his head dismissively.

Yi Xiaoru frowned in turn, "Are you thinking I’m too cruel?"

Li Muzhan nodded. Yi Xiaoru retorted sharply, "You haven't seen what they do. Every single disciple of the Divine Sword Sect deserves death a hundred times over!"

Li Muzhan said, "Tell me about it."

"I’m almost ashamed to speak of it!" Yi Xiaoru said coldly. "They show no mercy to women; they are merely tools for their cultivation!"

Li Muzhan frowned, "Qi refinement through dual cultivation? ... Direct killing?"

"If not dead, they lose half their essence!" Yi Xiaoru showed barely concealed fury. "They are instantly crippled, doomed to a life of agony."

Li Muzhan stared at her, frowning. Yi Xiaoru said coldly, "That's right. One of my Senior Sisters was harmed by them!"

Li Muzhan shook his head, "Your Hidden Sect..."

The last time, one of her Senior Sisters was killed by Mei Daoling; this time, another was harmed. Was the Hidden Sect truly this weak?

Yi Xiaoru read his thoughts and snorted, "Our Hidden Sect has fallen into decline!"

Li Muzhan asked, "How many disciples does your Hidden Sect currently have?"

Yi Xiaoru tightly pressed her red lips and slowly said, "Only myself, my two Senior Sisters, and the Master."

Li Muzhan frowned, "Only four people?"

Yi Xiaoru explained, "During the Chaos of the Nine Sects, our Hidden Sect was nearly annihilated!"

Li Muzhan took a deep breath and shook his head, "Your Hidden Sect is truly just like... How many people were you originally?"

"One hundred." Yi Xiaoru replied.

Li Muzhan shook his head with a bitter smile, "Your Hidden Sect is truly just like... No wonder you can't get your revenge!"

Yi Xiaoru countered, "Although we have few core disciples, we have many disciples from the outer branches!"

Li Muzhan sighed, "Their martial arts aren't high-level, so their threat is limited. Your standing within the Ten Thousand Saints Sect isn't very high either, is it?"

Yi Xiaoru said coldly, "All Nine Sects suffered heavy losses; nobody can point fingers at another!"

Li Muzhan's eyebrows twitched. This was secret knowledge. No wonder the Ten Thousand Saints Sect, despite being called the foremost unorthodox power, kept a low profile, appearing less ostentatious than the Dragon Mountain Sect's Linhai Pavilion. It wasn't that they had reformed; they were severely weakened and currently recuperating.

Li Muzhan asked, "Then, where does the strength of your Hidden Sect rank among the Nine Sects?"

Yi Xiaoru fell silent, then stated faintly, "Last."

Li Muzhan laughed and shook his head, "I truly never imagined..."

"What are you implying!" Yi Xiaoru snorted, her bright eyes fixed on him. "Are you thinking we're easy targets?"

Li Muzhan quickly waved his hands, "You misunderstood! ... But your skills are unique, which is why the Nine Sects still rely on you, correct?"

Yi Xiaoru proudly asserted, "The Master is one of the Sect's top experts; they dare not act presumptuously!"

Li Muzhan chuckled, "That explains it. But what about you?"

Yi Xiaoru’s radiance dimmed, "We are unworthy; our martial arts are far inferior."

"Alas..." Li Muzhan gave a wry smile and sighed, "It seems your life isn't easy either! We are truly fellow sufferers."

Yi Xiaoru gave him a sidelong look but showed no sign of sadness.

As they neared Denghe Tower, Li Muzhan said, "I think you should follow the vine to find the melon, or you might get hurt... I won't get involved."

"Alright," Yi Xiaoru slowly nodded, accepting Li Muzhan's suggestion. Having spent considerable time with him, she deeply admired his intellect.

Li Muzhan smiled and waved, vanishing from Yi Xiaoru's sight in a graceful glide. She tried to sense him but found no trace of his presence.

Just as she was about to curse inwardly, her expression turned serious. She spotted Elder Chu and the other ten, plus Senior Sister Zhu and Yin Zhaojiang—twelve people in total. They were divided into four tables, all seated by the windows: two on the second floor, two on the third.

Her heart sank. She quickly scanned the area—thankfully, they were gone—and hurried upstairs.

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