Young hero, stay put and don't be reckless.

Chapter 131 Fudo Myoo

Helian Quan's pupils suddenly contracted, and a faint unease rose in his heart.

Have Xiao Yidong's men entered the city?

They even arrested Ma Zhong?

I was completely unaware of it.

Xiao Rui gave him no time to react, pressing him relentlessly, his voice growing louder and louder: "You secretly smuggled the Dayong repeating crossbows and framed the Dayan, trying to provoke a conflict between the two countries. You are truly harboring evil intentions and your crimes are unforgivable."

"Insolence!" Helian Quan slammed his hand on the table and stood up, the cups and plates clattering and spilling wine all over the table. "This city lord has been courteous to you because you're a member of the Xiao family, and has even given you the easy way to do your shady business. Don't be ungrateful!"

"Ungrateful wretch?" Xiao Rui's gaze was icy as he stared directly at him. "Helian Quan, you never intended to let us go back alive!"

He has already addressed me by my full name, completely abandoning any pretense of civility, leaving no room for negotiation.

The atmosphere in the hall suddenly became tense, like a string stretched to its limit, ready to snap at any moment.

"Young Master Xiao, what do you mean by that?" Huang Hu spoke up, his voice still as amiable as ever, carrying a hint of an elder advising a younger person. "The City Lord means well..."

"Good intentions?" Xiao Rui interrupted him, glancing at him sideways, and suddenly blurted out a seemingly unrelated sentence, "Jiang Xun was right after all."

"What did Jiang Xun say?" Tuoba Feng rarely spoke up, his voice not loud, but everyone heard it.

Xiao Rui looked at Huang Hu, a slight smile playing on his lips: "He said that old man Huang just likes to pretend, it's a pity he's not an actor."

Upon hearing this, Tuoba Feng couldn't help but chuckle, and even the usually aloof Ye Qingying couldn't help but smile.

"You rude brat!" Huang Hu's face turned ashen. In all his years of wandering the martial world, he had never been so openly exposed like this.

"Come on, do you really think you're some kind of sword guardian?" Xiao Rui scoffed. "Do you really think I don't know what you and Helian Quan are plotting?"

"What do you mean by that, Brother Xiao?" Ye Qingying asked.

Xiao Rui was quite polite to this Fairy of Mirror Lake: "Initially, Huang Hu's goal was to seize the Sword God's inheritance. But knowing he couldn't break through the Sword Ruins, he went around picking people under the guise of the Sword Guardian, and finally chose us."

"Once we obtain the inheritance, he and Helian Quan will plot to eliminate us. If I'm not mistaken, Brother Chen fell into their trap because he obtained the Blood Bodhi."

"What did they do to Brother Chen?" Ye Qingying had long been suspicious.

"It is rumored that Helian Bo practices a forbidden technique called the Divine Breath Technique. This technique is based on meditation, and when practiced to its extreme, it can bewitch the mind and control consciousness." Xiao Rui turned to Chen Lei, his gaze solemn. "Brother Chen must have been affected by this technique."

Ye Qingying also turned to look at Chen Lei.

His face appeared normal, but a hint of pain flickered in his eyes.

She was already mostly convinced, but she became increasingly uneasy.

"Why would Helian Bo, a grandmaster, do this?"

"Because..." Xiao Rui paused, recalling Jiang Xun's speculation that morning, and couldn't hide his excitement, "because Helian Bo's life is nearing its end."

Upon hearing this, everyone was taken aback.

The greatest asset of Shuofeng City, that awe-inspiring grandmaster, is about to die.

Ye Qingying frowned, then quickly pressed on, "Even if Helian Bo is nearing his end, what does that have to do with Brother Chen?"

"We suspect that Helian Bo may possess some kind of evil magic that can refine the Blood Bodhi within Brother Chen's body, thus prolonging his own life," Xiao Rui said, his voice tinged with uncertainty.

"Nonsense!" Helian Quan's face turned ashen as he shouted angrily, "If you continue spouting nonsense, don't blame this city lord for being impolite!"

"You're welcome?" Xiao Rui's lips curled into a sneer. "From the moment we stepped back into Shuofeng City, the City Lord has no intention of letting us go, has he?"

Ye Qingying frowned slightly: "Brother Xiao, do you mean that City Lord Helian still intends to deal with us?"

Ignoring the fact that Helian Quan's face was already so gloomy it could drip water, Xiao Rui explained to Ye Qingying and the others: "As I just said, Huang Hu and Helian Quan's goal has always been the inheritance of the Sword God."

Although we didn't say it explicitly, Huang Hu must have guessed that we didn't return empty-handed from Kunwu Mountain. Therefore, they never intended for us to leave alive. Today's farewell banquet is nothing more than a final toast to our deaths.

A glint flashed in Ye Qingying's eyes, and she said coldly, "They dare to defy the world?"

"As long as they silence all those in the know, like Sun Xing, and then Brother Chen steps forward and claims that we died in an accident at Kunwu Mountain, the matter will naturally be covered up."

Upon hearing this, both Ye Qingying and Tuoba Feng were startled.

"Haha..." Helian Quan suddenly burst into laughter, the sound echoing in the hall, yet as cold as ice shards in the twelfth lunar month. "Well done, Young Master Xiao, indeed intelligent. I, the city lord, underestimated you."

This is tantamount to admitting it.

Helian Quan's gaze slowly swept over everyone present, his eyes looking at them as if they were dead men.

"Now that you all know, I, the city lord, no longer need to hide anything. You... may all stay."

"How can you be so confident, Lord City Lord?" Xiao Rui smiled, his smile composed. "Just with those axemen that Helian Jun has ambushed outside?"

Helian Quan's eyes narrowed suddenly, his gaze sharp as needles.

How did you know?

"How I know is unimportant." Xiao Rui suddenly changed the subject, a meaningful smile appearing on his lips. "Brother Jin Yan still hasn't returned. Doesn't the City Lord find that strange?"

Helian Quan's expression changed slightly, and a sense of unease quietly rose in his heart.

Indeed—Jin Yan has been out of the city for several days, and according to common sense, he should have returned to report by now.

He stared intently at Xiao Rui, his voice turning cold: "What do you mean?"

Before the words were finished, a desolate horn sounded outside the city, carrying far and wide, penetrating the thick walls of Shuofeng City, and faintly shaking every brick and stone.

Xiao Rui calmly brushed off non-existent dust from his sleeves, and a rare coldness appeared in his usually gentle and refined eyes: "What I mean is—the armies of Da Han and Da Yong should be not far from Shuofeng City now."

…………

Jiang Xun paid no attention to the tense atmosphere in the main hall.

When he slipped out, the courtyard was empty; there wasn't even a servant, and no one noticed him.

He walked briskly along the wall towards the backyard. The night wind blew in from under the eaves, making the lanterns sway and the light and shadows flicker on the ground like a flock of startled bats.

There used to be guards at the back gate, but they're gone tonight.

Jiang Xun knew what was going on—all the staff had been transferred to the front hall.

If Helian Quan wanted to deal with Xiao Rui and his group, he would naturally have to transfer all the people he could to the area.

He passed through the moon gate and entered the backyard.

The bamboo grove rustled in the night breeze, and moonlight filtered through the gaps in the bamboo leaves, casting dappled shadows on the ground like scattered silver.

The study was located behind the bamboo grove, in a secluded courtyard with blue bricks and gray tiles. The gate was ajar, and the inside was dark and silent.

But as soon as Jiang Xun got close, he sensed an aura.

Very strong—not the kind of outward, aggressive strength, but a restrained, weighty strength, like a mountain pressing down on your chest, making it hard to breathe.

Helian Bo.

The aura of a grandmaster.

Jiang Xun took a deep breath and pushed open the courtyard gate.

The courtyard was paved with blue bricks, and moss grew in the cracks, making it soft and spongy to walk on.

Several clumps of bamboo were planted in the corner of the wall, casting shadows in the moonlight, like a few hunched old men.

The door to the main room was ajar, and candlelight leaked through the crack, drawing a thin red line on the floor.

Jiang Xun walked over and pushed open the door.

An oil lamp was lit in the room, its flame small and flickering, as if it might go out at any moment.

A person was curled up under the lamp—an old man huddled in a chair, covered with a thin blanket, only his face and two withered hands were visible.

That face looked terribly old.

His skin was like dried orange peel, wrinkled and piled up; his cheekbones were high and protruding; his eye sockets were deep and sunken; and his eyes were cloudy and yellow, like two dusty glass beads.

All the hair in his head had fallen out, leaving only a few thin, white downy hairs sparsely clinging to his scalp.

His lips were dry, cracked, and peeling, revealing dark red gums. Most of his teeth were missing, leaving only a few yellowish-black stumps.

Is this Helian Bo?

Helian Bo, the Immovable King, is one of the few grandmasters in the Northern Territory.