238: Chapter 238 Mysterious Identity

At this very moment, Luo Qingyue swung her sword once more, and the power of this strike far exceeded the previous one!

The middle-aged man raised his hand almost instinctively, his five fingers splayed, as a pale cyan light shield condensed in his palm.

"Bang!"

The sword light struck the light shield, and in a mere instant, it shattered the shield into pieces.

"Ah!"

The middle-aged man let out a cry of pain. He looked down at the wound that was deep enough to reveal bone, then raised his eyes to look at Luo Qingyue. His originally calm expression finally sank completely.

Asking Dao Realm, Ninth Stage.

This woman in white was actually at the Ninth Stage of the Asking Dao Realm.

In the entire Northern Plains, one could count the number of Cultivators who could reach the Ninth Stage of the Asking Dao Realm on one hand.

And among them, this person before him was definitely not included.

"Who... exactly are you?" The middle-aged man's voice was slightly strained. He pressed his left hand against the wound on his right arm, and bright red blood seeped out from between his fingers, freezing into dark red beads in the cold wind.

Luo Qingyue did not answer, merely putting away her sword and standing still. Her white clothes shimmered with a faint luster under the dim streetlights, and her cold, clear eyes remained as calm as before.

She tilted her head to look at the Red-skirted Girl. Seeing that her face was still somewhat pale, she realized that although she had blocked most of the middle-aged man's Asking Dao Realm pressure, the aftermath had still affected her.

"Big sister, you're amazing!" The Red-skirted Girl had already recovered her spirits, her almond-shaped eyes sparkling as she looked at Luo Qingyue. "Big sister, my name is Jiang Li. What is your name?"

Luo Qingyue glanced at her, tilted her chin toward the carriage, and said in a calm tone, "Get on."

Jiang Li was stunned for a moment, then realized that this meant she was being taken along. She nodded quickly, lifted her skirt, and stepped onto the carriage shaft.

Her movements were nimble. As her red skirt fluttered, it revealed a glimpse of fair ankles, and in the blink of an eye, she disappeared into the carriage.

Seeing that Luo Qingyue was preparing to leave, the youth shouted in a panic, "No! You cannot leave!"

For a moment, everyone's gaze fell upon the youth.

Luo Qingyue merely glanced at him, and the youth's entire body stiffened, as if he had been frozen. He didn't even dare to breathe loudly.

"Ah, there's someone inside!"

Jiang Li exclaimed, her eyes widening as she looked at Shen Qingyuan. "Who are you?"

Before Shen Qingyuan could respond, Luo Qingyue arrived beside the carriage. "Young Master, should I deal with them again?"

Shen Qingyuan shook his head slightly. "No need. We might still find a use for them."

Passersby in the distance saw this scene and immediately widened their eyes.

It was one thing to have a young Genius of the Asking Dao Realm appear, but now this Genius was actually calling someone "Young Master"?!

To possess the cultivation of the Asking Dao Realm at such a young age—this level of talent was extremely rare, even among those ancient imperial clans.

Such a person was actually just a servant!

Everyone was shocked.

Inside the carriage.

Jiang Li's sparkling almond-shaped eyes stared straight at Shen Qingyuan, completely lacking the reserve one usually has when meeting a stranger. Instead, she looked as if she had discovered something interesting and examined him from head to toe.

He looked to be in his twenties, dressed in a green shirt, with his hands tucked into his sleeves, leaning lazily against the wall of the carriage.

In this state, he didn't look like an impressive person at all.

But she had clearly heard that sister in white call him "Young Master" just now.

How could a person who could make a great expert of the Ninth Stage of the Asking Dao Realm willingly follow them and address them as "Young Master" truly be as harmless as he appeared on the surface?

"You... you are actually called Young Master by that beautiful sister?!" Jiang Li tilted her head, looking at him with a mix of curiosity and scrutiny.

Shen Qingyuan smiled. He already had a favorable impression of this little girl who had stood up for justice, and now, seeing her cute appearance, he liked her even more. He smiled and said, "What? Do I not look the part?"

Jiang Li pondered for a moment, then shook her head and said, "Not really. If my brother had such a powerful maid, he would have been strutting around with his tail in the air long ago."

Just then, Jiang Li saw Luo Qingyue enter and hurriedly leaned over. "Sister, I still don't know your name?"

"Luo Qingyue," Luo Qingyue replied.

This carriage was not some powerful Magical Artifact, so the space was naturally not very ample. Ever since Jiang Li entered, Xu Jianan had been very tactful and slipped out to keep the Old Turtle company.

At this moment, with Luo Qingyue entering, it wasn't too crowded.

As the carriage began to move again, the heavy atmosphere on the street finally dissipated quite a bit.

The middle-aged man stood where he was, his right hand still pressed against his wound, but his gaze had already shifted from the dilapidated carriage to the direction of the street corner.

There, two figures were walking quickly, their steps steady, the fluctuations of Qi around them extremely restrained, clearly indicating they were not low in cultivation.

They were two elderly men dressed in dark cyan robes, with similar features, one tall and one short, both wearing silver wave-patterned tokens at their waists—Elders of the Cangming Clan.

"Second Master." The tall Elder scanned the mess in the middle of the street, his gaze lingering for a moment on the wound on the middle-aged man's arm, his brows furrowing slightly. "What happened here?"

The middle-aged man did not turn his head, merely staring at the carriage, and said in a low voice, "A powerful Dragon has arrived."

The short Elder narrowed his eyes, following his gaze toward the dilapidated carriage, his eyes sweeping over the hunched, gray-robed old man on the carriage shaft.

His pupils contracted slightly.

"Asking Dao Realm?"

The tall Elder also noticed, his expression changing slightly. "When did such a person appear in the Northern Plains? Or could it be... that they came from the Central Province?"

The middle-aged man shook his head. "Their origins are unknown. But to be able to bring along a maid at the Ninth Stage of the Asking Dao Realm and a coachman who is at least at the Peak of the Asking Dao Realm, they are definitely not ordinary people."

The youth had also come to his senses by now, standing behind the middle-aged man with a pale complexion, his lips trembling as he wanted to speak, but he was stopped by a single look from the middle-aged man.

"Second Uncle... I..."

"Shut up. We'll talk when we return to the manor." The middle-aged man didn't look at him much and turned to leave.

"Second Master, are we just letting them leave like this?" The tall Elder frowned, watching the direction in which the carriage had disappeared, his voice lowered to a whisper. "That woman wounded you. If this gets out, the face of the Cangming Clan..."

"Face?" The middle-aged man finally turned his head to look at him, his voice calm yet carrying a stillness that made it impossible to refute. "A maid at the Ninth Stage of the Asking Dao Realm, a coachman at least at the Peak of the Asking Dao Realm, plus a youth in that carriage whose depth we cannot fathom—do you think our Cangming Clan can keep such people?"

The tall Elder opened his mouth but could not say a word.

"Pass down the order: no Disciples of the manor are to go out and cause trouble for the next few days. The matter of the emperors blood is the top priority; suppress everything else." The middle-aged man turned around, glanced at the pale youth standing to the side, and without saying more, walked toward the direction of the manor.

The few people behind him exchanged glances and followed.

The Loose Cultivators on the street finally slowly emerged from under the eaves, gazing at the carriage and the members of the Cangming Clan as they departed in different directions, and began to whisper to one another.

"Who is sitting in that carriage? Even the Cangming Clan doesn't dare to offend them?"

"I don't know, but someone who can have a Ninth Stage Asking Dao expert as a maid must at least be a direct descendant of some major power in the Central Province."

"The waters of Beiming City are getting murkier and murkier."

Inside the carriage, Jiang Li was sitting on the edge of the cushion, her hands on her knees, her almond-shaped eyes darting around as she looked first at Shen Qingyuan, then at Luo Qingyue.

"Sister Qingyue, are you here for the emperors blood too?" She suddenly asked, her voice crisp and carrying the liveliness peculiar to a young girl.

"Too?" Shen Qingyuan smiled and nodded. "Are you also here for the emperors blood?"

"Of course!" Jiang Li did not hide it at all, answering with quite a bit of boldness. "I haven't seen the emperors blood yet! Since I'm here, I must see it for myself!"