Flower Stealing Master

Chapter 219: Borrowed knife

Chapter 219: Borrowed knife

At the moment, Li Yuanzhi was hugged by Song Qingshu in his arms, and she felt very embarrassed in her heart. After hearing the sudden voice, she hurriedly jumped out of Song Qingshu's arms.

Song Qingshu put Li Yuanzhi behind his back, looked up, and saw a beautiful woman of about twenty-three or four years old, and a few people scattered around, seemingly blocking their way.

Feeling that Song Qingshu was getting ready to fight, the beautiful woman smiled and said, "Young Master Song, please don't misunderstand, we have no malicious intentions, we just want to have a chat with you."

"What if I don't want to have a chat?" Song Qingshu couldn't figure out which faction these people belonged to, and looked at their fighting stances. Although their martial arts were not top-notch, they didn't seem to be that weaker than those masters raised by the palace. Now that he was with Li Yuanzhi, If he really did fight, he was afraid that things would become a bit tricky.

"Young Master Song is highly skilled in martial arts, so naturally you can come and go freely, and we won't be able to keep you back even if we want you to stay. It's just that if a fight breaks out later, not to mention Zhang Zhaozhong, even the masters under Prince Bao will be alarmed. If they see the dignified minister sent by the imperial court stealing a young woman in the middle of the night and then spread it out, I'm afraid it would damage the reputation of the Young Master." The beautiful woman giggled, although she said each word with a charming and pleasant tone, but the threatening meaning behind her words couldn’t be concealed.

"Laughing so coquettishly…you can tell at first glance, she is not a woman from a good family." Li Yuanzhi realized that this woman was acting against them, so naturally she would not give her face.

The expression’s on the beautiful woman's subordinates suddenly turned strange. It was as if they wanted to laugh but were not daring to laugh. The woman also felt very angry. She usually liked to use this sultry tone to talk with men, so that jab was not easy to refute, and her pretty face couldn't help but darken.

While guarding against the woman's possible attack on Li Yuanzhi, Song Qingshu said with a smile, "Madame is such a beautiful person, and you have quite an elegant way of speaking, so this Song is suddenly interested in having a chat with you." The beauty in front of him had her hair curled up in a bun. She was clearly a married woman.

The beautiful woman turned her anger into joy, and said with a smile, "Young Master Song is really affable. It would be a bit inconvenient to speak here, please come with me." After speaking, she turned and walked into the distance.

Song Qingshu was about to follow, but Li Yuanzhi pulled his arm, "Brother Song, their origins are unknown, so be careful."

Patting the back of Li Yuanzhi's hand, Song Qingshu smiled and said, "I don't think they are malicious, don't worry, with my level of martial arts, they can't do me any harm."

"Can Madame speak now?" Coming to an abandoned house, Song Qingshu grabbed Li Yuanzhi and stopped walking.

"Naturally, but first…" The beautiful woman nodded with a smile, but suddenly stretched out her palm and attacked, "I have to see if the Young Master is worthy enough."

Song Qingshu saw a pair of jade-white palms coming towards him like twisting snakes. His eyes narrowed, and parried the attack with one palm, trying to force her back with his internal force. Unexpectedly, his opponent's hands seemed as if they were boneless! They suddenly wrapped around his palms, winding up along the arms, and turned into claws that quickly attacked Song Qingshu's neck.

"It seems that Young Master Song's martial arts is not that great." The beautiful woman smiled, but she couldn't hide the disappointment in her eyes.

Song Qingshu snorted coldly and shook his shoulders. The beautiful woman suddenly felt a force come into contact with her hands, and she wasn’t able to hold still. Just as she was about to retreat, she suddenly felt a numbing sensation on her chest. It seemed that her opponent had taken the chance to poke the accupoint on her chest.

After scolding the man for such an indecent act, the beautiful woman said with a smile, "Young Master Song is really a gentleman who loves flowers. You clearly had the chance to injure me, but couldn't bear to do it." As she spoke, she gestured to everyone who wanted to rush in, to stop.

Song Qingshu glanced at her in surprise. In this day and age, if an ordinary chivalrous woman in the Wulin was poked at that kind of acupuncture point, he would have been cursed to no end by now. But, he decided to just go with the flow and didn’t try to explain it. Anyways, if the woman herself didn’t mind it, then Song Qingshu would not be so stupid to continue to dwell on this matter, "It turns out that Madame is a member of the Mystic Dragon Cult. I have been disrespectful."

A look of surprise appeared on the beautiful woman's face, "How did you know?"

"The Golden Serpent Soft Palm of the Mystic Dragon Cult has such obvious features that it would be hard for people to not recognize it." Song Qingshu smiled slightly, patted Li Yuanzhi's wrist lightly, and borrowed the scabbard in her hand to unseal the beautiful woman's acupuncture point, "If I had to guess, then you must be the wife of the cult master of the Mystic Dragon Cult. This thin person must be the Fat Monk of the two venerables. And, this fat person should be the Thin Monk. Pardon me for being ignorant, for I don't know which of the Divine Dragon Envoys are present here."

Su Quan rubbed her chest without a trace of shyness, and said with a smile, "Young Master Song is really smart. Ordinary people often confuse the identity of the Fat and Thin Venerable, but I didn't expect you to be so clear." But there was a hint of coldness in her heart. She had heard a report that Emperor Kangxi commanded Song Qingshu to set up an intelligence department which would be responsible for spying on the different factions of the world. 

‘They actually managed to understand the internal situation of my Mystic Dragon Cult so clearly in such a short time!’

"If I remember correctly, I even fought against Cult Master Hong last year." Song Qingshu looked into Su Quan's eyes, "Speaking of that incident, the Mystic Dragon Cult and this Song are enemies rather than friends, so I wonder for what reason the Madame wants to have a chat with me?"

"Young Master Song must be joking. What happened last time was just a misunderstanding. After the Cult Master and you fought, he was full of admiration for your attainments when he returned to the cult. He often praised you in front of us for being so strong at such a young age.” Hearing Su Quan’s reply, the expression of all the members of the Mystic Dragon Cult became strange and they cursed in their hearts, ‘The last time the Cult Master was injured by Song Qingshu, he regarded it as a great shame! So when he returned to Mystic Dragon Island, he directly went into seclusion and buried himself in practicing martial arts. What you are saying is total bullsh*t!’ 

Song Qingshu was very accustomed to seeing people tell lies, and did not take Su Quan's words to heart. He smiled and said, "Since Madame has nothing else to do, then this Song will leave." Li Yuanzhi turned around and started to walk.

"Wait!" Su Quan became anxious. She had finally found the opportunity to contact Song Qingshu, so how could she just let him go, "I wonder if Young Master Song knows that he is in grave danger?"

"Although I know that you are deliberately using shocking words to attract my attention, I have to say that you’ve succeeded. Be more specific." Song Qingshu stopped and turned to look at Su Quan.

Su Quan was not in a hurry to explain, but instead asked, "The conflict between Kangxi and Hongli is no longer a secret, do you admit it?"

"As an imperial official, there are some things that I can't say casually." Song Qingshu didn’t answer directly, but both parties knew the meaning of the words.

Su Quan showed a knowing smile, "As Kangxi's trusted confidant, you are deeply trapped in Hongli's territory. If I was Hongli, I would definitely not be able to resist killing you."

Song Qingshu had an expression of disapproval, and thought that, ‘Kangxi was trying to prevent the conflict between the two from breaking out early, so why not Hongli think the same? If he did something to the imperial commissioner, wouldn't that force Kangxi to go to war with him?’

"It just so happens that we recently learned that Hongli is planning something against the Mystic Dragon Cult. Since we have a common enemy, why not temporarily turn the enemy into a friend?" Su Quan's voice was sweet and charming, as if it was able to bewitch the mind. Even Li Yuanzhi, who was a woman, had the urge to agree on behalf of Song Qingshu.

‘Enchanting Technique? I wonder which sect it’s from, was there such a technique in the Mystic Dragon Cult?’ Song Qingshu practiced the Joyful Meditation Method, so naturally he was quite resistant to all things that bewitched the mind. He suppressed the doubts in his heart and said, "It's natural to be a friend of a beautiful and charming woman such as you, but may I know what kind of help the Madame wants from me?" Song Qingshu knew clearly that since the Mystic Dragon Cult came to him, they must have had something he could help with.

"Since we are friends, it is not a big matter for friends to help each other." Su Quan spoke with her eyes full of smiles, "I want to ask Young Master Song to help us find out what Hongli is planning for my Mystic Dragon Cult." 

Of course, Su Quan had no way to find out after trying so hard. The matter that Hongli discussed with Xia Qingqing was the top secret of Prince Bao's Palace, and no more than five people knew about it. Although the members of the Mystic Dragon Cult quietly captured some officials from the palace, they all knew nothing about it. Su Quan also became worried that capturing officials in this way would scare the snakes sooner or later, so she thought of getting the help of Song Qingshu, who was an imperial commissioner.

"Oh…what a coincidence!" An idea flashed across Song Qingshu's mind, and his thoughts started running quickly while he spoke, "The imperial court is actually investigating this matter as well."

"Really?" Su Quan was full of doubts.

"The Mystic Dragon Cult has quite the influence in Liaodong, so you must’ve heard of Tian Guinong, the sect master of the Heavenly Dragon Sect, and a master of Prince Bao's Palace." A bold plan had slowly formed in Song Qingshu's mind.

"I have heard of him." Su Quan hummed.

"To be honest, Tian Guinong is a secret agent of the imperial court. He worked as a secret agent of the imperial court in Liaodong for many years, and he finally managed to enter Hongli’s core group. However, some time ago, his identity was exposed due to something, and he was imprisoned and tortured by Hongli before he even had the chance to send out the last information he found out." Song Qingshu's tone remained calm, and everyone in the Mystic Dragon Cult had no idea that he was actually thinking and organizing his plan as he spoke, "This time the Emperor sent me as an imperial envoy to reward Hongli, but there is actually another secret mission. It is to rescue Tian Guinong, and find out the information that Madame wants to inquire about."

Song Qingshu's remarks that were a mixture of truth and lie made Su Quan quite puzzled. She turned to look at Lu Gaoxuan who was beside her, and Lu Gaoxuan came to her and whispered, "According to the information from the Cult, Tian Guinong was indeed in Shanhaiguan that day. And, his secret contact with Song Qingshu had aroused Hongli's suspicion…"

Su Quan gave a confident smile, revealing a row of fine white teeth, "Young Master Song wants us to help you save Tian Guinong?"

Song Qingshu replied, "Madame should think of it like this, saving Tian Guinong is actually equal to helping the Mystic Dragon Cult, and since you and I are friends, why not help each other?"

"Then why does it feel like that I would be counting money for you after being sold?" Su Quan rolled her eyes at Song Qingshu and said with a tender smile, "Alright, but it's just that Prince Bao's Palace is heavily guarded, and it'll take a detailed plan to save a person.”

Hearing Su Quan's agreement, the Thin Monk's eyes lit up, but he quickly covered it up again.

"That's natural, it's definitely not possible to push through by force, we have to come up with a good plan." Song Qingshu's expression suddenly changed, and he looked at the corner of the street, "Someone is coming!"

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