Chapter 424: Scheming in Motion

Night had already grown deep. On Mouchou Lake, the gentle breeze stirred ripples across the water, while the moon, half-hidden behind dark clouds, cast a faint glow. The entire land slumbered in silence.

At this moment, a shadowy figure appeared from somewhere, first lying quietly atop a rooftop, observing in silence for a moment. Suddenly, the figure rose, moving with a serpentine grace to another spot and hiding away. After a short while, the figure revealed itself again, heading straight towards the west side of the city.

When the shadowy figure arrived beside a grove near the Yue Lao Temple, it stopped. Opening its mouth, it let out a strange birdcall. Immediately, a response came from within the woods. After a few breaths, the shadowy figure slipped into the grove, where a tall, thin man dressed for night travel stood silently.

The newcomer was also sturdy, though a bit shorter than the first man. He stepped forward and saluted, saying: “This humble one, February Twelfth, pays respects to Lord Jingzhe.”

The shadowy man called Jingzhe waved his hand and said, “No need for such formality, February Twelfth. Tomorrow is the final day of the martial arts tournament and marriage contest at Spring Rebirth Valley. Are you prepared?”

February Twelfth replied respectfully: “Please rest assured, Lord Jingzhe. Ever since I received the order from the sect two months ago, I have been making preparations. If not for having to wait until the last day to take the stage, I would have already fought my way through the competition.”

Jingzhe chuckled and said: “With such confidence, I am much relieved. Letting you enter the tournament is merely a last resort. How could we have you take the stage right from the start?”

February Twelfth replied with a forced smile: “It seems the other brothers in the sect have not succeeded, so we have no choice but to use Lord Jingzhe’s plan.”

Jingzhe waved his hand dismissively: “It’s not that I have any special foresight. It’s just that ever since that girl made a brief appearance in Danhe City, she vanished without a trace. No matter how many people the sect sent, there was no news of her. Shortly after, news came from Spring Rebirth Valley about the martial arts tournament and marriage contest. The elders all believed that Old Nie had already brought his daughter back and wanted to use this opportunity to strengthen his forces. Only our Grand Commander stood against the majority, believing this was merely Old Nie’s ploy to mislead and distract, meant to cover up his daughter’s true whereabouts. That’s why the sect leader ordered us to continue increasing our search efforts.”

February Twelfth said cautiously: “The Grand Commander truly is a remarkable man.”

“Sigh, although the Grand Commander is a master strategist, the distance from Danhe City to Mochou City is so great, with countless roads leading here. We are not the authorities and cannot set up checkpoints to inspect everyone—how could we possibly cover every route? Even now, after several months, there’s still not the slightest trace of Miss Nie. Even the Grand Commander is starting to think that Old Nie’s martial arts tournament for a son-in-law might be genuine.”

“Hehe, the Grand Commander worries too much. Even if it is real, as long as we seize the position of the chosen son-in-law, won’t Spring Rebirth Valley still fall into the Grand Commander’s grasp?”

“February Twelfth, you must not be careless. Many martial factions have their eyes fixed on Old Nie’s Spring Rebirth Valley. Your talent, appearance, and martial skills are all outstanding among the younger generation, but you must not show the slightest negligence. If you make a mistake and ruin the Grand Commander’s plan, don’t blame me for being ruthless.”

February Twelfth immediately saluted and said: “This subordinate understands, and will give my utmost effort.”

At this point, he opened his mouth as if to say something, but hesitated. Jingzhe smiled and said: “I’m only telling you not to be careless and to do your utmost to seize this position. As for the Grand Commander’s other methods, or the other elders’ strategies, I know nothing of them. In any case, as long as you take first place, you will have rendered great merit to the sect, and the rewards will naturally be plentiful.”

February Twelfth said in fear: “This subordinate understands, and dares not harbor any other intentions.”

Jingzhe continued: “Old Nie’s martial arts tournament has been held for nearly two months now. There are quite a few qualified to compete tomorrow, but Miss Nie has never appeared. Spring Rebirth Valley has also been tightly guarded lately, with not a single bit of information leaking out. Where exactly is this Miss Nie? It’s truly hard to fathom.”

February Twelfth also said: “My lord is absolutely right. If she’s not in Spring Rebirth Valley, where could that girl have run off to? She’s really made fools of us.”

Suddenly, February Twelfth exclaimed in surprise: “My lord, could it be that the girl is already dead?”

Jingzhe laughed and said: “That’s entirely possible. But even if the girl has lost her life, who knows how Old Nie will resolve the tournament? Just get up on the stage. In the end, Old Nie might produce a ‘Miss Nie’ from somewhere—whoever it is, it doesn’t matter. All you need to do is enter Spring Rebirth Valley.”

February Twelfth said: “I will strictly follow your orders, my lord. That Old Nie is extremely cunning. The third young lady of the Nie family has always kept out of sight; few in the southern martial world have ever seen her true face. If we hadn’t been lucky enough to obtain information this time, we might never have known that the most ordinary-looking girl was actually the third young lady of Spring Rebirth Valley.”

“That’s right. No one would have ever guessed that Old Nie would send the third girl, whom no one has ever seen, to handle such an important matter.”

“Unfortunately, as the saying goes, the higher the Dao, the higher the devil. Still, it is thanks to the Grand Commander’s masterful planning that Spring Rebirth Valley is now at our mercy.”

“Sigh, indeed. If it hadn’t been for the sudden appearance of a martial arts expert to assist her, we would have already succeeded. Enough, let’s not speak of it. You should return and rest early. Tomorrow, seize the championship on the stage and become the chosen son-in-law of Spring Rebirth Valley. When the time comes, I’ll be sure to attend your wedding banquet and have a drink in your honor.”

“Yes, when the time comes, I will personally invite you, my lord.”

“Mm, off you go then.”

February Twelfth bowed deeply, then used lightness skill to depart.

Lord Jingzhe looked around, then glanced at the Yue Lao Temple in the darkness not far away and sighed, “In extravagance, one sees decline. This Yue Lao Temple was once lively and prosperous, but now it has fallen into ruin—there isn’t a single person here to offer incense or fulfill a vow. Heh, I should have let February Twelfth go in and make a wish; I wonder if it would still be effective now.”

With that, he leapt away, displaying peerless lightness skill, vanishing like a wisp of smoke.

Inside the Yue Lao Temple, the two beasts had long since stopped chewing and stood quietly. The two girls under the bedding let out soft snores, sleeping soundly, while the campfire beside them was about to burn out, glowing a dim red.

Behind the statue of the Moon Elder, Zhang Xiaohua sat cross-legged, waves of energy surging continuously from his body.

At the same time, in the main hall of a manor a dozen miles west of Mochou City, a man with jet-black hair and beard, full of vigor and hard to gauge his age, sat in the central chair, his face full of worry, frowning as if deep in thought. The reason one could not tell his age was that the skin on the hand holding his teacup was delicate and even somewhat fair, and his face was well-maintained, appearing to be in the prime of life. Yet the crow’s feet at the corners of his eyes, the faint wrinkles on his forehead, and the deep, world-weary look in his eyes all revealed that this man had experienced many years—he was certainly no mere middle-aged man.

At this moment, a woman of about twenty, dressed in the attire of a married lady, came around from the back hall. Her brows were also tightly furrowed. Seeing the man seated at the front of the hall, she hurried over and saluted, saying: “Father, you haven’t gone to bed yet?”

The man seemed not to have heard her footsteps. Only when her voice sounded did he turn around in surprise. Seeing who it was, he sighed lightly and said: “Ah, it’s Qianrong. Haven’t gone to bed either? Where is Yanqi?”

There was a hint of age in his voice.

The woman forced a smile and replied: “Yanqi played wildly all day and was exhausted. Zhong Lin told him a story in the evening, so he went to bed early.”

“You should get some rest, too. I just want to sit quietly for a while, it’s nothing important.”

“Father, please don’t bear it all alone. Tomorrow is the last day of the martial arts tournament and marriage contest, but Qianyu still hasn’t shown up. I’m afraid…”

She couldn’t finish her sentence.

These two were actually the father and elder sister of Nie Qianyu—Valley Master Nie and Nie Qianrong.

Valley Master Nie spoke with a desolate tone: “Although Little Yu is exceptionally gifted and intelligent, ‘extreme cleverness leads to sorrow’. She’s been frail and sickly since childhood. Fortunately, if Spring Rebirth Valley lacks anything, it’s certainly not immortal herbs and spiritual medicines. Only with their help did she grow up so far. Thinking back, raising her was much more difficult than raising you and your other sister.”

Nie Qianrong comforted him: “Father, you don’t need to worry too much. Didn’t Iron Mouth the fortune-teller once read my sister’s fortune? He said she has a life of peace—how could something happen to her so soon…”

Valley Master Nie forced a smile, his mouth twisting slightly. “Heaven is jealous of beauty. Your younger sister’s talent is so outstanding that even the heavens would be envious. Sigh, I was careless too, letting her take on such an important task.”

“My little sister has always been strong-willed. She’s lived in the valley all her life and always wanted to contribute. That’s why she took on this difficult job. But she was right—since she never shows her face to outsiders, she was the best choice for the task. Father, your decision wasn’t wrong.”

“But… but somehow, someone still found out. I don’t know which force it was, but their power is immense. Not only did they uncover the details of Spring Rebirth Valley’s operation this time, but they also discovered Little Yu’s true appearance and even pursued her for over a thousand miles.”

Nie Qianrong also furrowed her brows in confusion. “Yes, the appearance of this force was so sudden—we haven’t received a single bit of information about them. Even after these two months, we still haven’t found any useful clues.”

“No matter how mysterious the sect or force is, if they want to reach into Spring Rebirth Valley for some gain, sooner or later they’ll reveal themselves. That doesn’t worry me. What worries me is that Little Yu has been missing for months, with no word of her fate.”

“Father, judging from their actions, little sister probably hasn’t fallen into their hands. Otherwise, they wouldn’t need to search everywhere and station people along the way. Even the people we sent out have been attacked by them.”

“That’s exactly why I quickly recalled our people and held this martial arts tournament for a son-in-law—to show the entire martial world that Little Yu has already returned to Spring Rebirth Valley, and we’re celebrating her success.”

“Father, maybe little sister had other matters to attend to, or perhaps someone else rescued her. With her intelligence, it shouldn’t be too hard for her to escape her enemies.”

“It’s already been more than two months. If she could come back, she should have returned by now. I set the tournament’s end date for tomorrow based on her possible timing.”

“Sigh, but there’s still a difficult problem. If the winner is decided tomorrow, how am I supposed to produce your little sister out of thin air?”