Chapter 6: The Traitor in the City

  The machine runs normally inside the castle, just like before, and hasn't changed at all even with a few more guests.

  Tian Ming, Shao Yu and Gao Yue gathered together again, their friendship warming up once more as they spent the whole day in each other's company. Gao Yue had suggested inviting Yao Guang to join them, but Tian Ming was firmly opposed to it. Shao Yu thought of Yao Guang's "advanced age" and hastily came up with a reasonable excuse to veto the idea.

  "I heard that Yao Guang Daozhang's injuries have not healed yet, let's not go disturb her."

  Gao Yue thought for a moment and then gave up. Tian Ming immediately said excitedly, "Exactly! Why bring that weirdo along? She's not fond of being with that fierce Snow Girl, is she? I think she'll become like that sooner or later."

  Xiang Shao's back was drenched with cold sweat.

  "It's daytime, don't be so loud, it's not good if others hear you."

  "Hum, who's afraid!"

  Xiang Shao Yu looked at Tian Ming's pretended bold appearance and couldn't help but curl his lip, "Who was it that sneaked around the area near Yao Guang Dao's residence? It was him who was afraid!"

  "Featherless!"

  "Hmm."

  Boys and girls walked through the long corridor of the government building, their laughter fading into the distance.

  Yao Guang was indeed as Xiang Shao Yu said, spending almost twelve hours a day meditating to heal her injuries. However, the amount of spiritual energy required for her meridians to recover was enormous, and what she did every day was simply a drop in the bucket. Her internal strength had only recovered by 20%. Just when she was planning that if she could recover to 30%, she would wait for an opportunity to leave, something big happened within the Mechanism City.

  Master Ban was attacked and the key to the secret room where the map of the Imperial City is stored has been stolen.

  All the suspicious points point to the city.

  Such an attack has not ended yet, and afterwards, Xu Fuzi was also injured by someone.

  Gao Jianli angrily drew his sword and pointed it at Gai Nie.

  "It must be him! I've said it before, he's Qin Zheng's running dog!"

  The two had only exchanged a few moves when they were intercepted by Duanmu Rong, and Xue Nu also rushed over. After a brief argument, it was decided that Gai Nie must be locked up under surveillance, thanks to Gao Jianli's insistence.

  At this time, a clear voice suddenly intervened.

  "If the murderer is hiding in the city, then I am too... even more suspicious than Mr. Gai. To be on the safe side, lock me up as well."

  Yuki-onna turned her head in surprise, "Yaoguang, how did you come here?"

  Who is standing outside the door if it's not the elegant and refined Yao Guang?

  Yao Guang sighed helplessly, his gaze lingering for a moment on the unsheathed Shui Han Sword and Yuan Hong Sword before turning back to Xue Nu.

  "I live right next door... Two swordsmen are fighting fiercely, how could I not notice?"

  Swordsmen are most sensitive to sword energy, and she is especially so. This may be a gift, her master Rui once praised her for being born suitable for practicing swords, and the gatekeeper Master Li Wangsheng also warned her that before achieving success in the way of the sword, never casually approach divine weapons, as an overly keen mind can be injured by them.

  Gai Nie and Gao Jianli clashed, their sword auras surging. Yuan Hong's sword aura was sharp and direct, while Shui Han's sword aura was cold and icy, like a thousand tiny knives scattered in the wind, stimulating her nerves one by one, instantly snapping her out of her reverie. Thus, Yao Guang basically heard the whole story from start to finish.

  "Mr. Gao's words are not unreasonable, and it is indeed suspicious for outsiders to enter the government office at this time. If you say that the murderer used a sword, I am also guilty, so let's detain me as well. Snow Girl, Du Mu Girl, you must be more careful, recently there has been an eerie atmosphere in the city, I suspect that the murderer is very skilled in disguise and hiding, which is why they can sneak in without making a sound. From now on, even when facing familiar people, it's best to keep some vigilance and use secret signals to identify them."

  Jade Light's words were well-intentioned, but Gao Jianli, in the midst of his rage, was not in the mood to distinguish between them. He glared at Jade Light and growled: "Shut up! I've been suspicious of you all along! Since you're jumping into the net yourself, that's perfect. Whether it's you or Ge Nie, if I find any evidence that you're the murderer, you'll be dead for sure!"

  Gao Jianli threw down this sentence and turned away with a flick of his sleeve.

  The Snow Maiden looked at Gao Jianli's distant figure with difficulty, then looked at Yao Guang, and finally let out a long sigh.

  "Yao Guang, thank you for understanding our difficulties. I'm putting you out temporarily, but once the culprit is found, I'll come find you at the first opportunity."

  Yao Guang smiled, "As long as they don't cut off our water supply during detention, it's fine."

  The Snow Girl and Du Mu Rong walked out and ordered the Mohist disciples outside to softly imprison the two in a stone room, providing food and water at regular intervals.

  The stone door closed, instantly isolating the stone chamber from the outside space.

  Yao Guang glanced at the simple stone room, walked to the corner, took down a duster and swept away the accumulated dust on the floor tiles, and sat down cross-legged in a rather calm manner.

  Gai Nuo initially wanted to let Yao Guang sit on the bed, but unexpectedly, the delicate-looking young girl sat down on the floor with a completely natural expression, as if it was nothing out of the ordinary. He didn't bring up the matter again and also found a relatively clean spot on the floor to sit down.

  "Yao Guang Dao Chang, Ge Mou Lian Lei Ni Le."

  Translation: "The Yao Guang Road is long, and Ge certain has implicated you."

  Yao Guang looked at Gai Nie with some surprise, "Mr. Gai, what makes you say that? With something like this happening in the city, outsiders will naturally be suspected first. Compared to the Xiang family, I, who came alone, and you, who used to serve under the King of Qin, would naturally be the first to be suspected. Even if there hadn't been today's conflict, I would still suggest accepting surveillance, which is good for both me and the Mohist school. The innocent will clear themselves, why worry about it?"

  The cleanest is self-cleaning. The meaning of this sentence can't be more obvious.

  If it's an insider, then under surveillance, nothing harmful should happen in the city. Conversely, if a suspect is being monitored and something still happens in the city, it can only mean that the wrong person was caught.

  Gai Nie naturally understood such a simple truth, and his apology was only because he was worried that Yao Guang would be displeased due to being implicated. Hearing her words, Gai Nie also put his mind at ease.

  "Does Daozhang believe in Gai Mou?"

  Yao Guang couldn't help but smile slightly.

  "I've heard that a person's character is reflected in their words, and the melody of a song reflects one's heart. In my opinion, a sword also reflects its wielder's personality - a swordsman cannot use a sword that completely contradicts his own temperament. The majestic aura of this sword suggests that Mr. Gai is not a ruthless or bloodthirsty person who would resort to underhanded tactics... I don't believe the owner of such a sword would stoop to secretly harming others. Even if Mr. Gai did have a grudge against someone, he would openly challenge them rather than resorting to such cowardly behavior..."

  Yao Guang raised her eyelids, and her gaze, which had been fixed on the ground, met Gai Nie's firm and determined eyes.

  "It's not that I'm boasting, but if Master Gai were to start a fight in the city, I would definitely notice. To take a step back, even if I didn't recognize him clearly, and the 'Master Gai' in front of me wasn't the upright gentleman I thought he was, under current circumstances, 'Master Gai' wouldn't dare easily harm the Mozi disciples in the city again."

  Gai Nuo was slightly stunned and then suddenly enlightened.

  In name, they were under house arrest together, but in reality, there was a hidden intention to monitor each other. No wonder Yao Guang would take the initiative to speak out and ask to be locked up with him, she was worried that if something unexpected happened, she could still stop the "murderer". Indeed, if he was really the murderer or disguised as one, with Yao Guang's thoughts and martial arts skills, she wouldn't easily fall into trouble, at least she could alert the Mo family in time.

  At this age, having such thoughts and abilities is worthy of a round of applause.

  Tianming was only slightly younger than her, yet he looked completely like a child, while the young girl in front of him, who still looked quite immature, had already become someone who could be trusted and relied upon.

  "Yao Guang's words are well thought out and thorough... worthy of being a Daoist successor."

  Yao Guang smiled slightly, seemingly accepting the compliment, and followed with a praise of his own: "Mr. Gai is also worthy of Yunhong."

  This was still Gai Nei's first time hearing someone praise him with a sword. After some thought, Gai Nei asked in a low voice: "Did Master Yao Guang say that the sword would break?"

  "...... is." Yao Guang thought of this matter and felt a pang in his heart, bitterly smiling, "It was severed by myself."

  Gai Nei couldn't help but be startled, and before he could ask any further questions, Yao Guang continued in a low voice.

  "I was surrounded and exhausted, thinking I would surely perish. To prevent my weapon from falling into enemy hands and harming my former comrades, I reversed the flow of my energy, forcefully circulating my inner power to shatter the long sword..."

  Yao Guang opened his luggage and took out the Yu Qing sword. At first glance, it was as before, with exquisite craftsmanship and luxurious decorations on the scabbard, and two round and transparent Kunshan jade stones inlaid on the hilt. However, anyone who truly understood swords could see at a glance that something had happened to this sword.

  Gai Nie furrowed his brow as soon as he saw the Yuqing Sword and finally couldn't help but let out a sigh.

  "This sword is dead, its energy veins have been destroyed..."

  "How can it not be destroyed... My heart is broken, the sword is snapped, it naturally knows my intention... Who also knows, I walked back from the road to the yellow spring and returned to the world, but it's already impossible to wake up again and respond to my call."

  Yao Guang picked up the long sword, his expression gloomy.

  "Now it's just an exquisite piece of craftsmanship."

  The swordsman would rather die than have his sword broken, and the situation at that time was perilous enough for Nie to guess, so he didn't say anything else, using silence to express his respect - respect for Yao Guang's heart of living and dying with the sword.

  This conversation has also reached its end.

  The two fell silent one after another and then closed their eyes to meditate.

  The sun rises in the east and sets in the west, then rises again from the horizon.

  When the first ray of sunlight entered the castle, something rose silently from the flowing water, and the entire castle was plunged into a crisis of life and death.

  Duanmu Rong finally thought of what she had missed.

  The central water pool was not without being tampered with, no toxic substances were found in the water, that's because - the toxic substances in the water require specific conditions to take effect!

  But it's too late now.

  The sun rises, and everything is too late.

  Ichor of Yoru, a poison that only takes effect under sunlight.

  "The sun is high, the city is slaughtered..."

  Toxic substances scattered in the water evaporated into a light purple toxic smoke under the sunlight, and in the blink of an eye, it became a death knell for the entire Mo family's castle. One after another, Mo family disciples inhaled the toxic gas and fell to the ground powerlessly.

  Inside the stone room, after inhaling the toxic gas, Gai Nie felt unwell and immediately used his internal energy to protect his heart meridian. He then anxiously asked Tian Ming in the next room if he was alright.

  Yao Guang had opened her eyes as soon as the light poured into the room, but she hadn't spoken a word, maintaining her meditation posture and quietly listening to Gai Nie and Tian Ming's conversation. It wasn't until Tian Ming was rescued by climbing up the vines that she stood up, her right hand shaped like an orchid gently pressing on several acupoints, and the discomfort caused by the poison immediately alleviated greatly.

  Qing Feng Chui Lu - Wan Hua Gu's unique technique, based on the eight extraordinary meridians and blood circulation, to relieve discomfort caused by ordinary toxins, and can also alleviate various diseases caused by imbalance of yin and yang and stagnation of qi and blood.

  She went to Qinling to ask Sun Simiao for advice on the way of Qi Huang, and Sun Simiao saw her diligence and privately taught her a few moves to protect herself and save people, including "Clear Wind Hanging Dew".

  Although the clear breeze and dew are miraculous, they cannot eliminate the root cause. As long as there is still toxic air in the wind, continued inhalation of toxic air will lead to re-poisoning.

  Yao Guang slightly adjusted his breath, and after a while, he once again used "Clear Wind Hanging Dew" on himself. He walked slowly to the front of Gai Nie's body.

  "Can Mr. Gai trust me?"

  Gai Nei looked slightly puzzled, but didn't show it on his face, nodding calmly.

  Yao Guang smiled and stretched out his hand, saying: "Then I'll have to trouble Mr. Ge to lend me his sword for a moment."

  Gai Nei did not suspect there was someone else, and handed over the jade pendant to Yu Hong.

  "The rainbow is sharp and the jade light shines long when it meets the heart."

  Yao Guang took over Yuan Hong's sword and drew it out of its scabbard.

  The real feeling of holding a long sword made her slightly uneasy heart settle down.

  She curved up her mouth, one hand struck out a sword key, and the long sword swung.

  A sword aura emanated from Yu Guang's hand, condensed into the shape of a sword in mid-air, and instantly plunged into the ground, spreading out a vast aura.

  Supreme Void Sword Intent, Ice Sword Imprisons Dragon's Aura, Swallows Sun and Moon.

  Within the aura of devouring sun and moon, use the "imprisonment" momentum to disrupt the enemy's true energy flow, making it impossible for them to mobilize their light work. At the same time, use the aura circulation to eliminate various discomforts such as stagnation of one's own true energy. With each rotation of the aura, assist one's own true energy to circulate once.

  Gai Nei's attention was still on the sword that had just dispersed, and he could hardly believe that a young girl with disheveled hair in front of him could have such a powerful sword energy. Many people spent their entire lives and couldn't reach this level. When he found out that his own discomfort caused by the poisonous gas had alleviated, he was even more astonished and widened his eyes.

  "Jade Light Path is long, this is..."

  Yao Guang smiled slightly and handed the Hongyuan back.

  "My meridians are damaged, my serious injury has not healed, and I don't have enough energy. And yet, I still need to trouble Mr. Gai to chop open this door. I think... outside it's probably already changed skies."

  This is no time for idle chatter.

  Gai Nie understood the meaning of Yao Guang's words and didn't say much. After a slight adjustment, his sword aura was like a rainbow, and with a light and effortless motion, he turned the stone gate into a neat pile of stone blocks.

  The Mozi disciples guarding outside fell to the ground.

  Gai Nei slightly furrowed her brow and handed Yuan Hong back to Yao Guang.

  "I'll have to trouble Yao Guangdao for the rest of the journey."

  Yao Guang took over Yun Hong and smiled: "We should be born with the times, follow the heaven, save the world and people, do what we should do."

  Yuan Hong pointed forward, and the long sword condensed from the sword energy floated silently a few inches above the ground. Within the range of the aura, the breathing of the Mo family disciples gradually stabilized, and their complexions also gradually recovered.

  Yao Guang looked thoughtfully towards the long corridor.

  "This road... is probably going to be long."

  At this moment, Wei Zhuang led the Inverse Flow Sand people to attack the Organ City, and confronted several Moist leaders in front of the Moist Core Chamber.