23: frame

In the adjacent guest room, Xiao Zhuo's fingertips unconsciously caressed the cool rim of a teacup.

The coolness of the porcelain seeped into his fingertips, yet it did not in the least interfere with the clear whispers reaching his ears—Wu Qianning and Wu Youqian's secret conversation in the next room was now falling, word for word, into his nascent Divine Sense.

"blood pattern steel? Sect?" Xiao Zhuo looked up at the gradually brightening sky outside the window, a thought flashing through his mind.

He had a batch of demon-breaking blood pattern steel crossbow bolts in his storage ring, but along the way, the demons were all too weak, so he had never tested their sharpness.

Seeing how seriously the Wu Family regarded it, this item seemed quite extraordinary.

However, what did the Wu Family's predicament have to do with him? He only needed to obtain information about the lower volume of the Nine Revolutions Profound Essence Art in Qingyang City.

Half an hour later, the sky was fully bright.

After the fright of last night, the Wu Family caravan set off again, uneventfully.

The massive, suffocating outline of Qingyang City finally emerged from the horizon!

Dozens of feet high, the profound iron City Guard walls gleamed with a cold, eerie light under the scorching sun, and the crevices between the bricks and stones were caked with dark brown bloodstains, accumulated over an unknown number of years, silently narrating the ancient and iron-blooded history of this giant city.

Most striking was the towering white pagoda in the center of the city, piercing the clouds!

Where the pagoda body disappeared into the flowing clouds, it actually formed a visible vortex, as if even the firmament was slowly being swallowed by it.

Xiao Zhuo's curiosity was piqued. He urged his black-maned horse to Wu Youqian's carriage and tapped on the carriage wall: "Manager Wu, what is that white pagoda for?"

Wu Youqian poked his head out, his deeply lined face looking even more troubled in the shadow of the carriage curtain.

He followed Xiao Zhuo's gaze, his voice low: "That is... the Tower of Heavenly Secrets. It was completely sealed by the Demon Suppression Division a hundred years ago, and now... no one knows its true purpose anymore."

His tone carried deep reverence and a hint of bewilderment.

Xiao Zhuo's gaze narrowed slightly, and he said no more.

A moment later, the caravan arrived at the city gate.

The thirty-foot-high bronze giant gate was open, its entrance deep like the maw of a giant beast.

Various carriages laden with goods formed a long line, slowly undergoing inspection.

After waiting for half an hour, it was finally the Wu Family's turn.

A captain, clad in bright silver armor with eyes as sharp as an eagle's, strode forward, his armor plates rubbing together with a faint, cold, grating sound.

His gaze swept over the convoy, carrying scrutiny and a hint of imperceptible gloom.

With a wave of his hand, ten soldiers immediately stepped forward and began to meticulously inspect the Wu Family's dozen or so carriages loaded with goods.

As soon as Manager Wu saw the silver-armored captain, his face instantly turned pale, and he urgently whispered to the guards beside him: "Keep a close eye! Keep a close eye on them!"

"Manager Wu, do you know this person?" Xiao Zhuo keenly noticed his tension.

"Wei Qingying! Young Lord of the Wei Family, a captain of Qingyang City's City Guard!" Wu Youqian's voice was tight, filled with despair, "He... shouldn't be here inspecting goods! He must be targeting us!"

Xiao Zhuo looked up.

Wei Qingying was about thirty-six or thirty-seven, with a cultivation of Marrow Cleansing Realm fifth-layer. His face was gloomy, and his eyes shifted restlessly, making him unpleasant.

Wei Qingying also noticed Xiao Zhuo and Wu Youqian's gazes.

He forced a mocking sneer onto his face, strode over, and his voice was loud but full of malice: "Oh! Isn't this Manager Wu? Tsk tsk, you've really gone all out this time! A dozen carts of goods, I'm afraid you've wagered the Wu Family's entire coffin money, haven't you?"

He stopped beside the carriage, his tone sarcastic, but his gaze, like a venomous snake, scrutinized the goods.

Just as Wu Youqian was about to explain, a inspecting soldier from behind jogged over, holding up a small green porcelain bottle, his voice deliberately raised: "Report, Captain Wei! Extreme Joy Pills found in the Wu Family's carriage!"

Wei Qingying snatched the porcelain bottle, not even looking at it, his face instantly filled with feigned fury, and he roared: "Bold Wu Family! How dare you smuggle forbidden drugs into the city?! Men! Arrest everyone from the Wu Family! All goods are to be impounded at the City Guard barracks!"

This roar instantly attracted countless astonished gazes from inside and outside the city gate.

Wu Youqian's vision went black, almost fainting.

Wu Qianning also hurriedly jumped off the carriage and rushed over.

A Wu Family guard approached Wu Youqian, trembling with anger, and whispered: "Manager! They framed us! I saw that rogue soldier pull the bottle from his bosom, put it in our cart, and then take it out again!"

"Wei Qingying!!!" Wu Youqian trembled with rage, pointing at Wei Qingying, his eyes bloodshot, "In broad daylight, under the clear sky! How can you so blatantly frame and falsely accuse us? Aren't you afraid of being struck by lightning and ruining the rules of Qingyang City?!"

"You old scoundrel!" Wei Qingying's eyes flashed with fierce light, and he sneered, "Who gave you the guts to bark at this Young Lord?! Rules? I am the rules!"

Before he finished speaking, he suddenly lifted his foot, carrying the formidable True Qi of the Marrow Cleansing Realm, and fiercely kicked the side of Wu Youqian's carriage!

"Boom!"

The heavy carriage was sent flying several meters, then crashed and overturned!

Wu Youqian cried out as he was thrown from the carriage, struggling to get up, his head bleeding, looking utterly disheveled.

A chorus of gasps and whispers immediately rose from the surroundings.

"Wei Qingying! You've gone too far!" Wu Qianning, understanding what had happened, turned pale with anger, her delicate eyebrows raised in a furious frown, and she rushed forward recklessly, striking a palm full of wrath directly at Wei Qingying's chest!

"Haha! Young Miss Wu has quite a fiery temper! I like it!" Wei Qingying gave a lewd laugh, not dodging, but instead reaching out to grab Wu Qianning's fair wrist, the lecherous intent in his eyes completely undisguised.

Xiao Zhuo, sitting calmly on his horse, his eyes suddenly darkened! He gently tapped the saddle with his finger!

Wei Qingying, who was about to grab the beauty, his lewd smile instantly froze!

An unimaginably terrifying pressure, like an invisible giant mountain, descended with a crash, locking his entire body—bones and muscles—tightly!

His True Qi solidified, unable to move an inch, not even his eyeballs could turn, leaving only the sudden terror that exploded in the depths of his pupils!

"Bang!"

Wu Qianning's wrathful palm struck Wei Qingying's defenseless chest squarely!

Wei Qingying was sent flying backward like a broken sack, his silver armor scraping against the ground, rolling five or six meters before stopping, covered in dust and grass, his face scraped and bleeding, a trickle of blood at the corner of his mouth.

If not for his Marrow Cleansing Realm Physical Body, which was far superior to the Pulse Opening Realm, this palm strike would have taken half his life.

But at this moment, he had lost the entire Wei Family's face!

The terrifying pressure came and went even faster.

Wei Qingying scrambled to his feet, furious and humiliated, his reason burned away by rage. How could he still care to ponder the strange anomaly just now?

He pointed at the Wu Family members, howling like a mad dog: "Where are the men?! Are you all dead?! Seize them! Seize all these villains!!!"

Whoosh!

Over a hundred more City Guard soldiers poured out from the city gate, their swords and spears drawn, glinting coldly, surrounding the Wu Family caravan three layers deep, making it impenetrable!

The Wu Family's shop assistants and guards were roughly pushed to the ground, and the bleeding Wu Youqian was also firmly held by two soldiers twisting his arms.

Two fierce-looking soldiers lunged at Wu Qianning and Xiao Zhuo.

Just then, Xiao Zhuo's indifferent, cold voice rang out, like a harsh winter wind sweeping through the bustling city gate, instantly quieting all the noise:

"Get out of the way now, and let the Wu Family enter the city. I, can pretend nothing happened."

All eyes instantly focused on him.

Wei Qingying finally looked properly at the black-clad youth sitting on the black-maned horse for the first time.

Meeting those bottomless, emotionless, icy eyes, a chill shot up from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head!

He finally remembered the terrifying pressure that had almost crushed him just moments ago!

However, under the gaze of so many, as the Young Lord of the Wei Family and a City Guard captain, how could he back down?

Behind him, the commander was still stationed on the city tower. No matter how strong this young man was, would he dare to kill an official and rebel at the Qingyang City gate?

Fear was suppressed by even stronger humiliation and a glimmer of luck. He opened his mouth to utter a threat—

Xiao Zhuo moved!

He didn't even stand up, merely sat on his horse, and with his right hand, he remotely grabbed at Wei Qingying, who was several feet away!

Buzz—!

A giant hand, composed purely of golden True Essence condensed to its extreme, appeared out of thin air!

Its five fingers spread wide, carrying a terrifying might that seemed to suppress everything, instantly gripping Wei Qingying in its palm like a small chicken!

"I gave you a chance." Xiao Zhuo's voice was eerily calm.

"Ugh ah—!" Wei Qingying only managed a brief, desperate cry!

As the giant golden palm tightened slightly, his bright silver armor shattered and twisted like paper!

His entire skeleton let out a grating groan, his flesh was squeezed by the terrifying force, and his eyeballs instantly became bloodshot and bulged!

The shadow of death had never been so clear!

"Stop!!!"

Just as Wei Qingying felt he was about to be crushed into a bloody mist the next second, a furious roar, imbued with powerful True Force and making one's eardrums hum, exploded like a thunderclap from the top of the majestic city tower!