Chapter 246: Chapter 201: All Men Must Die

He was, however, self-aware.

At his current Martial Arts Realm and cultivation, he could handle bullying those weaker than him. But against a veteran of the Jianghu like Liu Lang, his experience was sorely lacking.

Chen Yi thought for a moment. "I’ll agree to the duel."

But before Liu Lang could express his joy, Chen Yi continued, "But not now."

"The burning of the summer grain in the Three Towns is just the beginning. There are still some loose ends to tie up."

"It won’t be too late for us to duel after the dust has settled."

Liu Lang nodded and smiled. "As you say."

With the matter settled, he finally relaxed.

"Boss, do you think we’ll still have trouble after this?"

Chen Yi grunted in acknowledgment. He secured his Five-section Spear and glanced at the trees lining the road.

"There’ll be no shortage of trouble."

"First, Bright Moon Building will be a significant problem."

"We’ll be better off if Black Tooth is dead; the trouble would be delayed. If he’s still alive, he’ll definitely investigate the source of the leak."

"Then there’s the burning of the summer grain at Iron Wall Town. Someone will have to pay the price for that."

"The Xiao Family and the Dingyuan Army won’t stop investigating the matter until they get to the bottom of it."

"But the ones who will bear the brunt of it should be the Jing State Liu Family and... the other Financier."

Come to think of it, Chen Yi still didn’t know the Financier’s identity.

’I’ll have to make a note of it for now.’

"The third problem... is a major one for both of us, one that needs to be dealt with urgently."

Liu Lang, however, was unfazed. "I’m not afraid of trouble."

"I’m only afraid they won’t have any real strength. Cutting them down would be too dull."

Hearing this, Chen Yi glanced at him with a faint, wry smile. "What about Xiao Jinghong?"

Liu Lang froze. The thought of the terrifyingly powerful General Jinghong made him chuckle nervously.

"Sh-she wouldn’t come looking for us, would she?"

"Because of that letter I sent her in your name, she’s bound to come looking for you."

"Boss, can I tell her the truth?"

Chen Yi shot him a glare. "Of course not."

"So, you’ll need to lie low for a while. I’ll have Zhang Dabao send you supplies regularly."

Liu Lang nodded helplessly. "I suppose it’s the only way."

Faced with the extraordinarily talented General Jinghong and her heaven-defying cultivation, he had no confidence he could keep his mouth shut.

Chen Yi knew this as well, so he also planned to keep a low profile for the time being.

In fact, besides the problems he had just mentioned, there were a few other matters that could potentially involve him.

For instance, the Hidden Guard—people like Lady Tiger and Hawk—would certainly not let him off the hook.

Then there was the Jing State Liu Family.

Even with Liu Wen dead here tonight, confirming his involvement in burning the Three Towns’ summer grain, the Liu Family would likely find a way to shirk responsibility.

They would lose some influence at worst.

But regardless of the outcome, the Liu Family was bound to investigate Liu Wen’s death and the events of tonight.

When that happened, Chen Yi would have to find a way to erase all traces of his involvement.

’Or... I could divert the Liu Family’s attention.’

A moment of silence passed.

"Boss, where are we headed next?"

"First, come with me to Spring Rain Building to pick something up."

"The silver?"

"Yes. It would be a shame to let someone else get their hands on it..."

...

「An hour later.」

The once-bright night sky had dimmed, and a thick bank of dark clouds was rolling in from all directions.

Lightning tore across the sky as the clouds churned.

Thunder boomed.

A torrential downpour followed.

At that moment, on a small hill outside Iron Wall Town.

Li Changqing stared grimly at the two rows of corpses arranged on the ground. He asked in a cold voice,

"Is this all of them?"

A deputy general in Vine Armor beside him bowed. "The battle was already over when we arrived," he replied.

"We found wheel tracks, but a search turned up no other suspicious individuals. However..."

He hesitated, glancing at Li Changqing’s expression before continuing, "However, all of the escaped traitors are here."

Li Changqing laughed in fury. "So I’m supposed to thank someone for double-crossing their own partners?"

At his words, the surrounding soldiers immediately dropped to their knees. "We were incompetent! We await your punishment, my lord!"

Li Changqing snorted. "Punishment? The grain was burned. Do you think a simple punishment will be the end of this?"

He knew, however, that the soldiers had little to do with it.

Instead, he would be the one to bear the full weight of responsibility.

His eyes swept over the scene.

Li Changqing’s gaze landed on Liu Wen. His brow furrowed as he walked straight toward the body.

The Personal Guard holding an umbrella over him hurried to keep up.

Li Changqing drew closer, examining the body carefully.

’This man... Fine robes, a jade belt, distinguished features... from a Noble Family?’

Typically, only young masters from the great Noble Families could afford such attire.

But since Li Changqing didn’t know the man’s identity, he couldn’t be certain.

He was about to order a thorough investigation when something on Liu Wen’s chest caught his eye.

To be precise, he saw the corner of a piece of paper sticking out from his robes.

Li Changqing quickly crouched down, pulled open the man’s lapel, and drew the paper from the blood-soaked fabric.

’A letter?’

Without hesitation, he opened it and began to read by the light of his Personal Guard’s torch.

He only needed a single glance.

Li Changqing, who had been wracked with worry, suddenly broke into a joyful expression.

"Haha... Heaven always leaves a way out! Excellent, just excellent..."

"To think today’s disaster was the work of an inside man. No wonder... no wonder my guard was down."

’Xiao Dongchen, you treacherous bastard!’

’It’s only right that you take the fall for me!’

Li Changqing couldn’t help but be overjoyed.

Originally, with the summer grain at Iron Wall Town burned, he would have been unable to escape blame no matter what he did.

But now, things were different.

With this secret letter signed and marked by Xiao Dongchen, plus the corpse of a man from a Noble Family, he could at least break even, his merits canceling out his failures.

Thinking of this, Li Changqing quickly ordered his men to take all the bodies and return to Iron Wall Town.

Just then, a cold voice laced with anger echoed across the sky above Iron Wall Town:

"Li Changqing, get over here!"

"I clearly notified you two days ago that someone was planning to burn the summer grain. How could you still have allowed this to happen?!"

The smile on Li Changqing’s face instantly froze. ’Xiao Jinghong?’

’Crap, I forgot about that.’

’Now, breaking even is going to be difficult.’