85: Chapter 85: People Missing, Turbulent Times Arise!

Inside the pitch-black dead-end alley, Li Zhe, by the dim moonlight, finally saw the figure blocking his path.

The person stood quietly in the moonlight; beneath a black bamboo hat was an ordinary white mask.

Li Zhe's lingering drunkenness was immediately scared away for the most part.

He swallowed, forcing an ugly smile.

"Good sir, have you mistaken me for someone else?"

"I have some loose silver on me. If you're short on cash, just take it."

As he spoke, he reached into his robes with trembling hands.

From beneath the bamboo hat came a calm voice.

"Who ordered you to target Wenxin Hall?"

Li Zhe stiffened.

His mind buzzed; he immediately understood that this person had come for revenge.

"I... I don't understand what you're talking about, what Wenxin Hall..."

Li Zhe was still trying to quibble.

Chen Ran said nothing, only taking a step forward.

Heavy footsteps echoed in the deep, dark alley.

A huge shadow immediately enveloped Li Zhe.

An intensely pungent scent of blood rushed toward him.

Li Zhe's legs went weak, and he fell to his knees with a thud.

"I'll talk! I'll tell you everything!"

Extreme fear completely shattered his psychological defenses.

His teeth chattered violently, making a rattling sound.

"It was a person wearing a cloak who found me."

Li Zhe confessed incoherently.

"He gave me several hundred taels of silver and told me to find people to spread rumors about Wenxin Hall on the streets. I really haven't seen his true Face!"

"He was extremely generous with his money, and all the silver notes he gave were from the largest bank in the capital."

"Good sir, that's all I know. I was just doing it for the money..."

Chen Ran listened quietly.

He didn't interrupt and didn't make a move.

He quickly organized this clue in his mind.

Being so generous meant the other party was at least a wealthy family in the capital.

But to deal with a mere Wenxin Hall, they could only resort to such despicable methods of slandering.

This proved that the other party didn't actually have any impressive strength and could only rely on street rumors to achieve their goal.

They were cowardly and didn't dare to show their Faces.

Li Zhe on the ground was still kowtowing frantically, his forehead smashing against the bluestone slab until it was covered in blood.

"Hero, spare my life!"

"I swear, I'll never take such jobs again. I'll leave the capital immediately, and I definitely won't say a word about what happened today!"

He wailed, trying to grasp at the last shred of hope for survival.

Chen Ran shook his head slightly.

"It's a pity you chose the wrong path. You shouldn't have published that report..."

Before he finished speaking, he casually raised his right hand.

A thick, bloody light burst from his palm.

The bloody light acted like a living creature, turning into a swirling mass of bloody Devilish Qi.

Within the Devilish Qi, mournful wails could be heard, as if vengeful spirits were struggling inside.

The Demonic Technique within Chen Ran had reached a whole new level; every movement he made carried a terrifying power of destruction.

Li Zhe's Face turned pale, and he stammered, shouting:

"You... you are a member of the Demonic Cult!"

Chen Ran's lips curled, and he struck with his palm.

The Devilish Qi roared toward Li Zhe, swallowing him whole.

"Ah—"

Li Zhe only had time to let out a short, miserable scream.

That sound was filled with extreme terror.

Immediately after, a hair-raising sound echoed in the alley.

In just a few breaths.

Li Zhe on the ground had already vanished.

In this vast city of the capital, people disappeared silently in dark corners every single day.

Here, the disappearance of a person was like a clay ox entering the sea, stirring up not the slightest ripple.

Chen Ran turned around and walked out of the alley without looking back.

The night wind blew, and the alley returned to dead silence.

Three days later.

Inside the Tongwen News Agency in the southern part of the capital, the atmosphere was depressingly terrifying.

Li Zhe had disappeared.

Along with him, several core staff members who usually hung around with him at the news agency also vanished.

At first, everyone thought Manager Li had taken the money to have fun at some brothel.

But three full days had passed, and there was no sign of him alive or dead.

Even at his secret outer residence, there wasn't a single trace of him having returned.

The remaining staff finally panicked.

They had spent years mingling in the streets and had a keen intuition for such things.

Manager Li was likely in grave danger.

Thinking of the recent actions targeting Wenxin Hall, everyone broke into a cold sweat.

To protect themselves, the remaining members of the news agency quickly made a decision.

That afternoon.

Several senior staff members from the Tongwen News Agency carried several boxes of unprinted flyers and the drafts of the rumors, and knelt grandly in front of the main gate of Wenxin Hall.

They wept bitterly and, in front of the onlookers, poured all the dirty water onto Li Zhe, who was dead and could not defend himself.

"It was all forced by that goddamn beast Li Zhe!"

"We were forced against our will, Miss Su, please see the truth!"

Not only did they hand over all the accounts, but they even proactively confessed about several other small news agencies that had colluded with Li Zhe.

For a time, the capital was in an uproar.

The commoners, who were originally somewhat skeptical, now completely believed the clarification announcement from Su Qinghe.

The rumor that "Wenxin Hall was framed" swept through the entire city with even greater intensity than before.

Public opinion immediately reversed.

Wenxin Hall not only cleared its name, but its reputation rose to an even higher level.

Those scholars who had once followed the trend to insult Wenxin Hall, in order to save Face, wrote poems and odes one after another, praising the noble character of Su Qinghe.

A crisis that could have originally destroyed Wenxin Hall was thus dramatically eliminated into nothingness.

When a wall is about to collapse, everyone gives it a push.

This is the truest state of life in the marketplace.

In the east of the city, at a teahouse with a tranquil environment.

On the second floor by the window.

Chen Ran was wearing casual clothes, leaning casually against the back of his chair.

On the table sat a pot of freshly brewed premium Yuqian Dragon Well tea, with the fragrance of tea curling in the air.

On the long street downstairs, there was heavy traffic and a clamor of voices.

A series of light footsteps sounded at the top of the stairs.

The teahouse owner personally carried an exquisite sandalwood box and walked respectfully to Chen Ran's table.

"Brother Chen, this is something sent by someone from the Su Family, saying it must be handed to you personally."

The owner bowed slightly and lowered his voice.

Chen Ran nodded slightly.

The owner retreated tactfully without asking another word.

Chen Ran casually flipped open the copper latch of the wooden box.

The lid opened.

A rich medicinal fragrance permeated the air.

Inside the box, seven or eight top-quality wild ginseng roots were neatly arranged.

Each ginseng root was intact, its surface faintly shimmering with a purplish-red luster, and they were at least fifty years old.

Besides the wild ginseng, there were several medicine bottles carved from top-grade mutton-fat jade placed on the side.

Pulling out the corks, inside were several precious Medicinal Pills for replenishing Qi and blood, each one round and plump, with a pungent medicinal fragrance.

Although he couldn't recognize the names of these Medicinal Pills, he could tell they were not ordinary things.

Chen Ran picked up a piece of old ginseng and examined it carefully for a moment.

For ordinary people, these things might just be supplements for longevity.

But for a Martial Artist, they were strategic resources that could genuinely boost Cultivate speed and replenish the consumption of Qi and blood.

On the market, old medicine of this quality was simply priceless and unavailable.

Although most of the Disciple of Wenxin Hall were weak and knew nothing of the martial Dao.

But the relationship network they had woven spread throughout the entire imperial court.

Many of them held high positions among the Six Ministries and Nine Ministers.

Wanting to scrape together such martial Dao resources was just a matter of moving their lips for them.

Chen Ran closed the wooden box and tucked it into his robes.

Su Qinghe was very smart; she didn't send calligraphy, paintings, or antiques that scholars liked, but instead directly sent the Cultivate resources he needed most.

Chen Ran picked up his teacup and took a gentle sip.

His gaze swept casually over the bustling street downstairs.

Soon, he noticed something wrong.

Among the flow of people on the street, there were many more unfamiliar Faces than before.

Most of these people were burly and walked with steady steps.

Some carried large, wide swords on their backs, the hilts wrapped in greasy cloth strips.

Others had standard long sabers hanging at their waists, the edges of the scabbards covered in nicks and scratches.

Even if they deliberately restrained themselves, every movement carried a fierce aura of someone who had spent years licking blood from the blade, completely different from the coddled Martial Master of the capital.

Martial Forest people.

And the number was quite large.

In just the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, Chen Ran had seen no fewer than four or five groups of such people downstairs.

This was extremely rare in the capital, which was usually strictly managed.

This was even more than the Martial Forest people he had seen before.

Chen Ran put down his teacup and tapped his fingers on the table.

The teahouse manager, who had been waiting not far away, hurried over.

"Master Chen, do you have any instructions?"

Chen Ran lifted his chin, pointing at the few men with sabers who had just walked past downstairs.

"Why are there more and more Jianghu people in the capital recently?"

The teahouse manager followed his gaze, took a look, and explained with a smile.

"Master Chen, you might not know, but isn't the triennial Poetry Conference coming up soon?"

"Every time this happens, it's organized by Wenxin Hall with great momentum. Miss Su won the top spot back then with her poetry."

"Not only do talented scholars and beauties from all over gather in the capital, but even many Martial Forest people from Jianghu have come to join the fun."

The owner paused, his tone filled with a bit of longing.

"I heard that the winner of this conference will not only receive rewards from the imperial court but can also enter the library of Wenxin Hall for three days."

Chen Ran listened and nodded slightly.

"Alright, you can go back to your work."

The owner bowed and retreated.

Chen Ran turned his head and looked at the street outside the window again.

On the surface, everything was logical.

The Poetry Conference attracted a lot of attention, and it made sense for Jianghu people to come and join the fun.

However, the romance and poetry were fake.

These Martial Forest people who licked blood from the blade wouldn't be interested in any poetry or odes.

What they were really plotting was likely the rumor of the emergence of peerless martial arts.

After this period of brewing, this news had finally started to ferment in the surrounding prefectures.

More and more people were being attracted here, and the Celestial Prison would likely become lively soon.

Chen Ran finished the tea in his hand in one gulp and slowly stood up.

"Manager, bill."