「About an hour later.」

In a luxurious hotel room, Luo Xiu lay on the bed, looking with a complex expression at Su Hongli, who was sitting cross-legged beside him in what appeared to be quiet cultivation.

After a moment, Su Hongli opened her eyes, her gaze seductive yet gentle as she looked at him.

"Baby, you're truly amazing," she said. "You're the only man who could truly conquer my sister."

Luo Xiu merely smiled without saying a word. Even though Su Hongli had ulterior motives from the start, I don't really care. It's not like I'm losing out, am I? And to be fair, her skills aren't that far behind Su Shenyun's.

Su Hongli smiled. "It seems what Shenyun said was true… Your Yang Energy really can help our cultivation."

Upon finishing her sentence, she took a deep breath, exhaled, and then rolled out of bed. Clothing was scattered across the carpet.

Su Hongli was topless, wearing only a pair of black silk pantyhose. She moved around brazenly before him, stirring a sense of restlessness in him once more.

"What martial art are you cultivating?" Luo Xiu asked.

"The Mesmerizing Flame Technique." As she dressed, Su Hongli explained, "It's a martial art exclusive to our family because the Su Family's physique is rather unique."

She gave a mysterious smile. "If one possesses the Innate Allure Bone, cultivating the Mesmerizing Flame Technique is even more fearsome. Just look at Shenyun."

"Does cultivating this art mean you can't live without men?" Luo Xiu inquired.

"That's right, especially a man like you, whose Yang Energy is terrifyingly potent. Now I finally believe how you were able to conquer even someone like Shenyun, who has the Innate Allure Bone."

Luo Xiu propped himself up. "You've had your fun, and you've done your cultivation. Now, you need to tell me about her."

"Oh? Are you that concerned about her?"

Luo Xiu's expression remained unchanged. "She's in trouble, and her fate is unknown. I can't just sit back and do nothing."

Su Hongli fell silent for a moment before saying, "If you have the patience to listen, I'll start from her childhood."

"Go ahead."

Su Hongli sighed softly, gazing out at the night sky as she delved into her memories.

"Shenyun has had a very difficult life," she began. "Her mother—my aunt—fell in love with a much older man, Sun Gaozhi.

"My aunt defied our family's objections to be with him, even forgoing any official status, and bore him a daughter: Shenyun.

"My aunt was part of the Audit Bureau and was often away on missions. Shenyun was practically on the move from the day she was born. She never had a stable home, a normal childhood, or any friends…

"The Su Family wouldn't take care of her, and since she was Sun Gaozhi's illegitimate daughter—his wife was still alive back then—she couldn't join the Sun Family either. Her only choice was to trail after my aunt everywhere.

"Of course, at the time, neither the Su Family nor the Sun Family knew my aunt was with the Audit Bureau. They just assumed she was too ashamed to face anyone, which is why she was always on the run with her daughter."

Luo Xiu nodded.

Su Hongli continued, "When Shenyun was nine, my aunt died on a mission. After that, Shenyun became an orphan, wandering through slums abroad… No one knows the kinds of hardships she endured.

"Later, Sun Gaozhi found her and brought her back to the Sun Family.

"I went to the Sun Family to see her… To this day, I still remember the first time I laid eyes on her. She was so thin, her skin was dark, and her body was covered in scars from healed sores. Her eyes were as terrifying as a bloodthirsty beast's. She always clutched a dagger and was wary of everyone."

She glanced at Luo Xiu. "She was only fifteen at the time. I truly can't imagine what a fifteen-year-old girl must have gone through to end up like that."

Luo Xiu remained silent, a pang of bitterness welling up in his heart.

Su Hongli went on, "When she turned twenty, she joined the Audit Bureau. From that point on, she began investigating something. Or, you could say, she was finishing what her mother had started."

"What was it?" Luo Xiu asked.

"Investigating a Heretic Cult," Su Hongli replied.

Luo Xiu frowned, the Holy Boi Religion suddenly coming to mind.

"She tried to use Boss Huang as a breakthrough, which is why she married him," Su Hongli said. "Unfortunately, she never made any real progress because he was very guarded against her. Not long ago, she went to Sakura Country, presumably to investigate that same Heretic Cult. But she's been completely out of contact ever since. I believe she ran into trouble there."

"Then how did you know she went to Sakura Country to investigate that Heretic Cult?" Luo Xiu asked.

"Because of the Duan Family, of course." Su Hongli smiled. "That Heretic Cult has some business partnerships with the Duan Family. Furthermore, the Duan Family also has a business trafficking information internationally, so it's not surprising that I would know these things.

"Feibai used this information to blackmail Sun Gaozhi and force Xiao Li to marry him. He is genuinely in love with Xiao Li, so I didn't interfere. Besides, it wasn't my place to."

Luo Xiu changed the subject. "You said you'd tell me who could give me a lead."

Su Hongli answered bluntly, "The Henghai Admiral, Chen Xuanbao."

Luo Xiu fell silent.

Su Hongli watched him. "But it's very difficult for an ordinary person to get close to Chen Xuanbao. Even if you did, he would never tell you anything about this."

Just as Luo Xiu was about to speak, he frowned. His face turned deathly pale as he scrambled out of bed and rushed toward the bathroom.

"Xiao Luo, what's wrong?!" Su Hongli cried, rushing after him.

"Stay out!" he yelled.

Su Hongli froze, terrified.

Inside the bathroom, Luo Xiu was hunched over the sink, coughing violently. He spat up several mouthfuls of black blood.

It had been so long since his last episode that he had almost forgotten he was terminally ill. He never expected it to flare up again tonight.

Over ten minutes later, Luo Xiu emerged from the bathroom.

Su Hongli, who had been waiting outside, hurried over to him. She saw that his face was ghastly pale, completely drained of color. He looked exhausted and weak.

"You're… sick?"

Luo Xiu shook his head lightly, enduring the indescribable, agonizing pain as he went to put his clothes on. Fortunately, during his recent travels in the forest, he had collected and absorbed quite a few medicinal herbs. This had restored the Qihuang Technique's medicinal power to seventy or eighty percent, allowing him to barely suppress the pain from the flare-up. Furthermore, his illness had also subsided somewhat after his relations with Ai Hongye.

After a short rest, Luo Xiu and Su Hongli left the hotel, one following the other.

The night was very deep. This upscale hotel, already nestled in a forest, seemed particularly quiet.

The moment Luo Xiu stepped out of the hotel's main entrance, he sensed something was wrong with the atmosphere. Looking up, he saw an elderly figure walking slowly toward him. It was an old man clad in a green robe. Luo Xiu suddenly frowned, because he could sense killing intent.

The old man stopped ten meters in front of him. "Are you Luo Xiu?" he asked, his tone so calm it betrayed no emotion.

Luo Xiu simply stared at the old man without answering.

A flicker of disdain crossed the old man's eyes as he took in Luo Xiu's sickly appearance, looking as if a gust of wind could topple him.

"I am Zhou Jingong," the old man stated. "Cao Hong was my disciple."

Upon hearing this, Luo Xiu smiled. "I see. You're here for revenge."

"Did you kill Cao Hong?"

"I cut him into several pieces," Luo Xiu replied.

Zhou Jingong's expression turned frigid. "A debt must be paid, and a life must be taken for a life. I will cut you into dozens of pieces."

...

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