“He is also a Shadow guard now, and he pledges allegiance to the emperor.” An Jue’s expression remained unchanged as he spoke.
“What?” Jiang Yiyun exclaimed in shock, but after a moment, she suppressed her surprise.
Chu Yinheng was, after all, the Emperor of Chen. It was hardly strange for him to have his own factional power and plans, but this made the distance between her and him even greater.
She dispelled her feelings for Chu Yinheng, then asked, “Does your junior brother also come from Li Kingdom?”
An Jue made no attempt to conceal anything and answered directly, “His name is Tu Chong. Neither of us is from Li Kingdom; we simply made different choices after leaving our master’s sect.”
Jiang Yiyun recalled the ambiguous looks the two had exchanged when they saw each other. Moreover, although An Jue’s martial arts were clearly superior, he had actually been injured by Tu Chong. She guessed that there must be many “stories” between them, so she did not continue probing.
She gave a few instructions, then waved for An Jue to leave and rest, barely bringing the events of the day to an end.
On the second day, the third day, the fourth day afterward… someone would always come looking for trouble. Sometimes they resorted to poisoning, sometimes they delivered poisonous substances, and sometimes they threw the corpses of animals in front of the palace gate…
Jiang Yiyun was no longer surprised. These tricks meant nothing to her, and most of them should have been the work of Jia Yinger. The rest were carried out by those bold palace consorts.
She dealt with them effortlessly, conveniently treating them as daily entertainment. The only thing missing was one person who should have appeared.
Since the minor clash with that mysterious master that day, he had never appeared again, leaving her standing and waiting on every night they had agreed to meet, with no success each time.
After waiting for several nights in a row, she could no longer contain herself.
“Master, are you nearby?”
She could not call out loudly, so she could only cautiously test the surroundings in a soft voice.
“Master, one should not break one’s word. You promised to teach me martial arts, yet you’ve stood me up for several nights in a row. Are you planning to continue doing so today?”
Still, no one answered. She was not discouraged and continued, “Or is this all you are capable of teaching me?”
“You took liberties with me that day, and I haven’t even gotten angry. Why are you the one getting angry now?”
…
She had tried both soft and hard tactics, and even used the provocation tactic, but the only responses were the occasional rustling of grass and trees as a breeze passed through, along with the cries of nocturnal creatures within the woods.
She firmly believed he was hidden nearby, but then another thought occurred to her, and she felt that something was amiss.
Just as she had said, why would a grown man bother arguing with her? Perhaps he truly had not come here and was merely entangled in other matters.
Unless he intended to toy with her for some time, there was no reason for him to refuse to show himself for so long.
Worried, she murmured to herself, “Could something have happened? Could he be in danger?” Her faintly furrowed brows drew tighter.
“Am I really so useless in your eyes that you think any little thing could happen to me?”
She secretly smiled, then quickly composed herself. As expected, she had managed to provoke him into appearing.
“So master really was nearby. As expected, you just wanted to punish me for a while.”
“Don’t think I couldn’t see through your provocation tactic.” Although he said this, he understood her little trick in his heart, yet he had still failed to hold out.
“Master has finally stopped being angry.” The heavy stone in her heart finally fell, and she spoke with a triumphant look on her face.
He was not angered either, merely saying, “Hmph. I only wanted to see how strong your composure was and how many trials you could endure. I never expected you to be unable to hold out after only a few days. How disappointing.”
Jiang Yiyun did not argue with him, merely smiling as she said, “Since that is the case, master should teach your disciple more about how to endure trials.”
He was silent for a moment before saying, “It has been difficult for you to wait here these past few days. As it happens, I have a great gift to give you. Let’s see whether you can receive it.”
As soon as he finished speaking, he turned and sped off in another direction.
Seeing this, Jiang Yiyun did not allow herself time to think and followed closely with all her strength.
The two traveled through the imperial palace. After an unknown length of time, Jiang Yiyun gradually sensed that something was wrong.
The place where they had been earlier was rarely visited, but now they were heading toward a crowded area, and more and more patrolling guards appeared.
They seemed not to be heading toward the inner court of the imperial palace, but outside the palace instead. The palace gate was also a water barrier.
Whenever Jiang Yiyun secretly entered or left the imperial palace, she had to be extremely cautious each time she passed near the palace gate.
This mysterious master, however, moved as freely as if he were entering and leaving his own home. By imitating his movement technique, she too easily avoided the most dangerous lines of sight.
Facing the mysterious man ahead, she did not know his identity or his name, yet she trusted him completely, and a sense of security arose within her.
It was not until they reached a place not far from the imperial palace that the two stopped. Jiang Yiyun was slightly out of breath, but she did not dare reveal her fatigue easily.
“Close your eyes!” The stern voice came from beneath the mask as the man commanded her.
Jiang Yiyun froze, then obediently shut her eyes tightly without asking any questions.
“You are quite obedient. During this time, if your master does not tell you to Open your eyes, you are not permitted to do so.”
“Yes!” she answered without hesitation.
The man looked at her reaction, then wrapped an arm around her waist and leaped into the air.
When that hand touched her, she trembled slightly and her body tensed, but she slowly lowered her guard again.
The man holding her clearly sensed the change in her. This reaction caused the smile at the corner of his mouth to gradually fade.
“All right, we’re here.” He indicated that she could Open her eyes.
She had waited a long time for this signal and eagerly wanted to see what mysterious place he had brought her to.
Before her lay a vast, shadowy dense forest. Amid the thick vegetation, she could vaguely make out the entrance to a cave.
“Follow me!” Thus, she followed behind him and slowly entered this mysterious place.
She knew very well that he was willing to reveal some secrets unknown to her.
The narrow, low, and dim passageway gradually became brighter. The farther they went into the inner room, the less it resembled a cave and the more it looked like a massive palace.
When someone came to greet them ahead, the mysterious master paid no attention and walked straight onward, as though entering and leaving his own home.
“We respectfully welcome the Hall lord.” The two people facing them bowed reverently.
He merely gave a soft “Hmm” and continued leading the way.
Only then did she realize that this master had an extraordinary background. From that address of “Hall lord,” it was clear that he was likely the master of this place.
But where exactly was this place? Could it be some mysterious factional power? She wondered for only a moment before the answer was revealed.
“Have you ever heard of the Evil Nether Hall?” The person before her slowly turned around and asked leisurely.
When Jiang Yiyun heard the words “Evil Nether Hall,” she was instantly shocked. The change in her reaction was exactly what he had expected.
Who in the Jianghu had not heard of the Evil Nether Hall? This place, resembling a realm of ghosts, possessed all the confidential information in the world.
Throughout the Jianghu, countless factional powers, large and small, openly or secretly, dared not make themselves enemies of it.
No one knew how many factional powers it had swallowed, nor how many territories it had encompassed.
Rather than calling it a factional organization, it would be more accurate to call it a mysterious kingdom.
What troubled the various kingdoms most was that no one knew where it was located or how many strongholds it had, because it seemed that its presence could be seen everywhere.
The various kingdoms were deeply wary of its existence, yet they could not find the slightest clue.
The Hall lord of the Evil Nether Hall, Jiu E, was likewise an unfathomable figure, almost like a ghost or deity. It was said that no one had seen his true appearance, and no one knew the extent of his strength. They only knew that he had never met an equal.
There was only one exception that was difficult to judge: Gu Hanjue, the Number One Under Heaven. Since the two had never competed, it was impossible to say who was stronger.
Only now did she realize that she had become connected to the most terrifying factional power in the world, and she did not know whether to be happy or worried.
There was no need to ask. This place was the legendary Evil Nether Hall—perhaps merely one of its strongholds.
“Let’s skip the unnecessary nonsense. I will not explain further; I will only ask whether you know who I am now.”
Jiang Yiyun found it somewhat difficult to believe, but she still spoke, “Jiu E?! The leader of the Evil Nether Hall.”