59: encounter

“I’m not very clear about the matter of the fiends from beyond the domain, but… they don’t seem to be creatures of Great Zhou and are quite ferocious and overbearing,” Qin Chuan said calmly.

Afterward, no matter how much these people asked, his answer was always the same.

What? I don’t know, I haven’t heard of it.

The group of hot-blooded young men were undoubtedly very disappointed with Qin Chuan’s answer.

However, they seemed to have been mentally prepared for this beforehand.

Except for two people who kept asking Qin Chuan if there was a way to enter that demon enclave, the rest of them just gave up.

Of course, Qin Chuan had no way; Qiao City was rumored to be surrounded by the Great Zhou army and Grand Confucian scholars, so there was no place for him to intervene.

He was still just a Recommended Man!

Cheng Lu: “Let’s not talk about this, come, drink!”

The drinking party continued, and everyone stopped mentioning the fiends from beyond the domain.

Qin Chuan had figured it out by now—either their elders at home arranged for them to ask about it, or they had accidentally overheard something.

Afterward, the conversations in the general's platform became much more normal.

One person would say how truly delightful a certain courtesan from a brothel was, and another would mention who had been promoted.

From their conversations, Qin Chuan even heard news about Wang Xuan.

Wang Xuan, testing his sword in the martial world and challenging famous masters, it was impossible for him not to offend anyone; who knows, he might get ambushed one day.

But this kid was still alive and kicking.

According to these general's descendants, he had latched onto Chong Tian Jian.

Qin Chuan was noncommittal about this, but he did recall the strange behavior of those Daoists trying to recruit Wang Xuan.

At this moment, Cheng Lu seemed to notice Qin Chuan’s distracted expression.

Cheng Lu laughed, “You all might not know, but His Majesty, upon hearing that Lord Wang had taken a disciple, again brought up the matter of the Crown Prince becoming his student.”

His words indeed drew everyone’s attention in the hall.

Many people looked at Qin Chuan with amusement in their eyes, teasing him.

Someone asked, “What was the result? Hahahahaha.”

“It won’t be the same as last time, will it? I feel like at least this time it won’t be.”

“No need to say, Lord Wang will have to give His Majesty some face.”

Cheng Lu smiled without speaking, seemingly noticing Qin Chuan’s confusion.

He whispered to Qin Chuan, explaining:

“His Majesty once hoped that Lord Wang would teach the Crown Prince, but Lord Wang refused, saying he feared misleading students. This time…”

As he spoke, he raised his head and smiled at everyone:

“This time, Lord Wang naturally can’t directly refuse His Majesty’s face, so he vaguely agreed… I estimate he won’t be able to escape it!”

After speaking, he raised his wine cup and said to everyone.

“Come, let us prematurely congratulate Chen Jie Yuan’s master and sect on their harmony!”

“To Chen Jie Yuan’s master and sect’s harmony!”

Qin Chuan reluctantly raised his wine cup and drained it.

He had figured it out; everyone here was a lawless bunch.

When speaking of the Crown Prince, their words showed no reverence, and their attitude was very casual.

However, this news was not useless.

—Accepting the Crown Prince as a disciple means becoming the future Imperial Tutor, something normal people would eagerly seek.

Was Wang Zhongshu’s blatant refusal because he didn’t want to take sides?

“Phew, who cares.”

Qin Chuan only wanted to steadily advance along his predetermined path and become an ordinary Sage Teacher.

As for things like the Nine Dragons vying for the throne or court secrets, he didn't want to get involved at all.

If someone insisted on involving him…

The wine was finished, and the people dispersed.

Qin Chuan bid farewell and left, accompanied by some young masters from stricter families.

As for the majority of the remaining people, they went to the next venue to seek pleasure.

On his way back, he kept thinking about the meaning of this wine party.

Why did Wang Zhongshu want him to associate with these general's descendants?

First, rule out the wrong answer—it couldn't be for the imperial examinations; these people's ancestors for three generations couldn't get involved in imperial examination matters.

Moreover, Wang Zhongshu didn't seem like someone who would show favoritism or cheat for his disciples.

If not for the imperial examinations, the probability of it being for his future official career was also small.

After all, these people were also military officers.

Then…

“What was that?!”

Qin Chuan suddenly lifted the carriage curtain and looked to the side.

It was late, and there were few pedestrians on the street; he didn't even see a ghost.

But where did that sense of being spied upon come from?

The coachman happened to ask, “Little Master, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing, keep driving.”

Qin Chuan shook his head.

Was it an illusion?

As the carriage gradually drove away, a figure completely clad in black, whose face could not be seen, appeared in the alleyway.

This person chuckled, “Hehehe… This young mage, his spiritual power isn’t low… But unfortunately…”

“Halt! Die!”

In the dark night sky, lightning flashed!

The flickering lightning struck this person instantly.

This was—Tongue Blooming Spring Thunder!

The person was greatly startled, turned his head to look, and indeed saw Qin Chuan’s cold face.

He had actually returned.

Qin Chuan demanded, “Who are you?”

As he asked this, he already had a rough idea in his mind.

After all, as he got closer, the smell of sulfur was simply too pungent, almost impossible to conceal!

An abyss scout?

But wasn’t Qiao City’s enclave strictly guarded, and weren’t the demons within it all slain? Where did this one come from?

This person looked at Qin Chuan in front of him, slowly raised his head, revealing blood-red skin and a ferocious expression on his face:

“…I underestimated you. Since that’s the case… then go die first!”

With that, two gray light beams shot out from its hands, directly toward Qin Chuan in the distance.

The light beams were very fast, and Qin Chuan instantly judged that it was impossible to dodge them with this body.

Then…

“Copper Wall Iron Wall!”

Celestial Change Treatise surged, and a layer of light shield unfolded around Qin Chuan.

“Magic shield?”

The person expressed surprise, then surveyed his surroundings, feeling that he probably couldn't deal with Qin Chuan in a short time.

His actions were very decisive; he didn't even utter a harsh word, turned around, and left immediately.

On the other side, Qin Chuan raised an eyebrow slightly at this, and just as he was about to do something, he suddenly heard a detached voice from the air.

“Back-to-back strangulation.”

As soon as these words fell, the person’s figure froze, and without even a struggle, he fell straight to the ground.

The next moment, a figure slowly descended from the air.

Who else could it be but Wang Zhongshu?

Qin Chuan looked at the thing lying on the ground, then at Wang Zhongshu.

The first thought that flashed through his mind was: using me as bait?

Wang Zhongshu seemed to read his thoughts and shook his head:

“It was an accident. Today, I let you drink with those young men, and I guessed that there might be ghostly things following, so I placed some means around you beforehand… I didn’t expect to actually have an unexpected gain.”

Qin Chuan: …

In that case, it was still fishing!

Wang Zhongshu, however, had no such self-awareness.

He simply waved his hand, and the thing on the ground was lifted by a golden rope.

He said to Qin Chuan, “You go back first, I’m going to Dali Temple.”