Chapter 176: Chapter 176: Turning Zhang Qing, Wu Tian Knocks on the Prefect’s Door at Night

Pei Shaoqing arrived at the Jing’an Guard prison in Yazhou.

"Y-you... what else do you want? I’ve already confessed." Zhang Qing trembled all over upon seeing Pei Shaoqing, stammering.

A faint smile played on Pei Shaoqing’s lips as he said nonchalantly, "Just a moment ago, Wu Tian came to see me."

"Senior Brother!" Zhang Qing’s eyes lit up, and he asked eagerly, "Did Senior Brother come to save me?"

"Save you?" Pei Shaoqing laughed out loud, looking at him as if he were an idiot. Shaking his head, he said with pity, "How pitiful, and how ridiculous."

"What do you mean? What are you trying to say?" Seeing his reaction, Zhang Qing’s heart sank. He had a bad feeling about this.

"Let me show you something." Pei Shaoqing took out a Memory Stone. With a thought, the stone in his hand suddenly burst with a brilliant light, replaying the scene of his conversation with Wu Tian at the inn.

"Senior Brother!" Zhang Qing cried out involuntarily upon seeing Wu Tian’s image, but as he heard Wu Tian’s words, his expression gradually froze.

When the recording finished, Pei Shaoqing put away the Memory Stone and asked, "Are you still expecting him to save you now?"

"How could Senior Brother do this? How could he!" Zhang Qing was in disbelief, his face twisting in anguish. Scabs on his wounds cracked and fell away, crimson blood slowly seeping out. His gaze shifted from shock and anger to pure hatred. "How could he do this! How could he!"

’I only clashed with Pei Shaoqing and ended up in this state because I wanted to buy the Nine Orifice Exquisite Fruit as a gift for his succession as Sect Leader. But he knew I was framed, and he never even thought about saving me.’

’Beyond the anger and hatred, he also felt fear. Senior Brother had never been like this in front of them all these years. This meant it had all been an act. This was his true face!’

To think he had fallen into such a state for a hypocrite and a villain, while that same man was about to inherit the position of Sect Leader. Zhang Qing’s heart was filled with suffocating frustration and indignation.

"Do you want revenge on him? I can help you. If you cooperate with me, not only will you be exonerated, but you can also get your revenge on Wu Tian," Pei Shaoqing said with a sly smile.

Hearing this, Zhang Qing shot his head up. Trembling, he fell to his knees, his eyes red as he spoke through gritted teeth, "As long as I can get revenge on that heartless, treacherous hypocrite, I’ll do anything, even if it costs me my life."

"Remember your words." Pei Shaoqing stood with his hands clasped behind his back, looking down at him imperiously. "Do you know about Medicine King Valley sending people to Tongzhou to capture Ouyang Rong?"

"I’ve never heard of it," Zhang Qing said, stunned for a moment.

Pei Shaoqing immediately scoffed.

’That Wu Tian is truly full of lies. He claimed he was following his master’s orders to retrieve a Secret Manual from Ouyang Rong.’

’It seems he was acting entirely on his own.’

Now, Pei Shaoqing even suspected that Wu Tian had orchestrated the whole affair of Ouyang Rong being framed for killing his master.

He turned, walked to the chair Liu Wenfeng had brought, and sat down. "How much do you know about Ouyang Rong?" he asked.

"Senior Brother Ouyang?" Zhang Qing hadn’t expected Pei Shaoqing to suddenly ask about Ouyang Rong. After a moment’s pause, he began to recall, speaking slowly, "Senior Brother Ouyang had a gentle temperament and was engrossed in cultivating medicinal herbs. To outsiders, he seemed a bit aloof, but any of the junior and senior brothers who interacted with him knew he was a very good person."

"Do you believe he killed his master?" Pei Shaoqing asked.

Zhang Qing shook his head without hesitation. "No, I don’t. Many of our brothers didn’t believe it. But at the time, all the evidence pointed to Senior Brother Ouyang. Even if we didn’t want to believe it, we had to."

At this, he suddenly raised his head and looked at Pei Shaoqing with a complicated expression. He was now even more convinced of Senior Brother Ouyang’s innocence. ’Haven’t I also been framed by Pei Shaoqing? All the evidence points to me, too.’

"Ouyang Rong’s junior brother, Situ Jing, is very close to Wu Tian?" Pei Shaoqing asked another question.

Though Zhang Qing found it strange that the man seemed to know so much about Medicine King Valley, he still answered, "Yes. That hypocrite Wu Tian seems to have a good relationship with every brother, but he’s closest with Situ Jing."

"From what I know, the Great Elder wanted Ouyang Rong to be his successor before he died. Situ Jing resented him for it. Is it possible that he killed their master and framed Ouyang Rong, with Wu Tian cooperating to make it a flawless setup?" Pei Shaoqing said in a low voice.

Zhang Qing was stunned for a moment before he came to his senses. He gritted his teeth and said, "That’s... actually possible..."

"It’s not just ’possible!’ It is the truth. You saw it with your own eyes! You heard it with your own ears!" Pei Shaoqing interrupted Zhang Qing, his tone absolute.

Even though Ouyang Rong was already dead, he still wanted to clear the notorious accusation of patricide from his name while he was at it.

Zhang Qing looked up, confused and bewildered.

Seeing that he still wasn’t getting it, Pei Shaoqing sighed and said, "From now on, do exactly as I say."

...

The breakdown of his talk with Pei Shaoqing was unexpected.

Wu Tian had never imagined that Pei Shaoqing had a connection to Ouyang Rong. He certainly never thought the man would be so dead set on clashing with Medicine King Valley just to avenge Ouyang Rong and a few subordinates. ’This is fucking irrational!’

’Pei Shaoqing is definitely going to sabotage the succession ceremony at Medicine King Valley the day after tomorrow. That can’t be stopped. The only thing I can do is find a way to minimize the damage he causes.’

’At the very least, I can’t let it affect the ceremony itself.’

So, he rushed to Jin Guan City overnight.

To maximize his speed, he didn’t even ride a horse. Instead, he used his Lightweight Skill while swallowing Qi Gathering Pills and other elixirs to restore his Inner Strength, reaching Jin Guan City in the shortest time possible.

Fortunately, Yazhou and Jin Guan City weren’t far apart. Even so, by the time he arrived, his face was ashen, and his body was as weak as a candle flame flickering in the wind. He forced himself to stay upright and knocked on the gate of the Xu Mansion.

"BANG BANG BANG! BANG BANG BANG!"

In the dead of night, the knocking was exceptionally jarring.

It triggered a chorus of barking dogs.

"Who is it at this hour?" the awakened gatekeeper asked impatiently, not opening the door right away.

Wu Tian replied politely, "Apologies for the trouble, but please inform the Lord Prefect that Wu Tian, the head disciple of Medicine King Valley, has urgent business with him. I must see him."

"Oh, it’s Pharmacist Wu!" Inside, the gatekeeper instantly perked up and quickly replied, "Please wait a moment, Pharmacist Wu. I’ll go inform the master right away."

Prefect Xu Lian’s elderly mother was plagued by various ailments year-round. Wu Tian was invited to the Xu Mansion almost every year to treat her. He had snatched the old woman back from death’s door several times, making him an honored guest of the Xu Mansion.

Because Xu Lian was an honest official, his residence was not particularly large. The gatekeeper quickly returned, opened a side gate, and said, "The master invites Pharmacist Wu inside to talk."

"Thank you for your trouble." Wu Tian offered his thanks and casually took out a Pill, handing it to the gatekeeper. "This is a Tiger Bone Pill refined by my Medicine King Valley. Taking it can strengthen your body."

"Many thanks for your gift, Pharmacist Wu." The gatekeeper’s face lit up as he accepted the Pill, carefully tucking it into his robes. He then led the way eagerly. "This way, Pharmacist Wu."

Although Wu Tian was anxious, he maintained a composed demeanor after entering the gate. With a faint smile on his lips, he followed the gatekeeper inside, walking unhurriedly with his chest out and head held high.

Xu Lian held Wu Tian in high regard.

He received him directly in the main hall.

"Wu Tian pays his respects..." The moment Wu Tian stepped through the door, he made a motion to kneel and bow. Even though he had visited the Xu Mansion many times and had done them a great service, he never put on airs. His etiquette was always impeccable.

"Pharmacist Wu, please, dispense with the formalities." Before Wu Tian could kneel, Xu Lian, a man in his fifties, had already risen and stepped forward to support him by the arm. "I’ve said it many times, Pharmacist Wu. You are always so formal," he said with a helpless sigh.

"Etiquette must not be abandoned," Wu Tian replied with a smile.

Xu Lian gestured to a chair. "Pharmacist Wu, please have a seat."

"Thank you, Lord Xu." Wu Tian bowed slightly.

Only after he was seated did Xu Lian ask, "Pharmacist Wu, may I ask what brings you knocking at my door so late at night?"

"I have come to ask for a favor," Wu Tian said, rising to his feet.

Xu Lian said, "Please speak, Pharmacist Wu. You saved my mother’s life. As long as it does not violate the laws of Great Zhou, I will certainly not refuse you."

"It’s a long story," Wu Tian said with a helpless, bitter smile, and began his tale. "Many years ago, my Medicine King Valley was embroiled in a scandal where a disciple murdered his master. That disciple, Ouyang Rong, should have been put to death, but I was soft-hearted at the time. For old times’ sake, I pleaded for him. In the end, his life was spared, but he had his Martial Arts crippled and was expelled from the sect."

"Such a treacherous disciple who would kill his own master is not worth pitying. Pharmacist Wu, you are far too kind," Xu Lian lamented.

"And that is how I made a grave mistake!" Wu Tian sighed in frustration and continued, "When Ouyang Rong left, he took a Secret Manual with him. Medicine King Valley has been searching for him ever since. A few days ago, we learned that he had appeared in an inn in Tongzhou, so we sent disciples to capture him and retrieve the Secret Manual.

However, the disciples from my valley acted rashly. In the process of capturing Ouyang Rong, they clashed with the Jing’an Guard and injured several of them. I had intended to apologize to Lord Pingyang, but he was not in Tongzhou at the time, so the matter was temporarily set aside.

But I never expected that Lord Pingyang would fly into such a rage over this. He has now come to Yazhou personally and has mobilized a large number of Jing’an Guards to hold my Medicine King Valley accountable."

Xu Lian frowned. "Medicine King Valley isn’t some unreasonable, demonic sect. This is a small matter that could have been resolved with a talk. Why would Lord Pingyang make such a big fuss over it?"

"That’s what I thought as well," Wu Tian said with a sigh. "When I learned he had come to Yazhou, I went to apologize to him in person at the first opportunity. I even promised to offer a hefty sum as atonement. But Lord Pingyang was ungrateful and insists on causing trouble at my succession ceremony the day after tomorrow."

"How outrageous!" Xu Lian loathed seeing officials and nobles use their power to bully others. He slammed his hand on the table and said, "Even if he must hold Medicine King Valley accountable, why must he choose to do so during your succession ceremony, Pharmacist Wu? To be so unforgiving when in the right—where is the magnanimity of a Lord in that?

I had long heard that Lord Pingyang was arrogant and domineering. I thought he had truly turned over a new leaf after his past indiscretions, but it seems that’s not the case at all. If anything, he’s become even more tyrannical than before."

’Pei Shaoqing is truly no gentleman,’ he thought.

"Honestly, I don’t care whether I become the Sect Leader or not. The key is that many guests will be coming to offer their congratulations that day. I don’t want them to see my Medicine King Valley become a laughingstock. Therefore, I’ve taken the liberty of inviting you, Lord Prefect, to attend my succession ceremony. With you present, Lord Pingyang might restrain himself," Wu Tian said, rising and giving a cupped-fist salute.

Inviting Xu Lian to Medicine King Valley was the best solution he could come up with in such a short time to deal with Pei Shaoqing.

Xu Lian’s official rank was higher than Pei Shaoqing’s. Crucially, he was not one to fear power, so he wouldn’t be intimidated by Pei Shaoqing’s background.

With Xu Lian there, plus representatives from many other officials who would also be in attendance, he didn’t believe Young Master Pei would still dare to act recklessly.

It was somewhat inappropriate for a Court official to attend a Jianghu sect’s ceremony, but feeling indebted to the man for saving his mother, Xu Lian agreed.

"Thank you, Lord Xu!"

Deeply moved, Wu Tian knelt and kowtowed.

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