5: Chapter 5 Cracks

Early morning, in the dining hall of the Zhenguo Marquis Mansion.

On the sandalwood table were a few exquisite side dishes and two bowls of thick millet porridge.

Chen Shanzhi took a sip of porridge, set down his chopsticks, and watched the elegantly eating Chen Rou opposite him. He spoke as if casually:

"Aunt, Four Seas Academy opens next month."

Chen Rou's movements paused slightly. She wiped the corners of her mouth with a silk handkerchief and said softly:

"I know. Everything has been prepared for you. You are the Heir of the Marquis Mansion; going there is just a formality. Don't exhaust yourself too much."

"This time is different."

Chen Shanzhi shook his head and said solemnly: "There will be a Martial Arts Demonstration when school starts this time. I want to achieve a good result."

"Want to achieve a good result?"

Chen Rou was somewhat surprised. She reached out to touch Chen Shanzhi's forehead:

"You don't have a fever. Why the sudden change in character? Didn't you always say that fighting and killing were the most boring things?"

"I was ignorant before." Chen Shanzhi took the opportunity to hold Chen Rou's hand and lowered it from his forehead:

"Now that I have come of age, I cannot keep bearing the title of the number one playboy in the capital. I want to win some honor for the Marquis Mansion."

Chen Rou looked at the youth who had suddenly grown up. Her eyes reddened, filled with gratification.

But then, she hesitated: "Having ambition is a good thing, but you are currently only at the Xuanguan Five Apertures. It might be difficult to take first place in the Martial Arts Demonstration a month from now."

In truth, it wasn't just "somewhat difficult"—it was impossible. Chen Rou didn't dare say that for fear of crushing Chen Shanzhi's confidence.

Four Seas Academy gathered the geniuses of the world, and Chen Shanzhi had only entered the Heaven Class through connections.

Although the massive cultivation resources of the Zhenguo Marquis Mansion had piled the eighteen-year-old Chen Shanzhi up to the Xuanguan Five Apertures, he was still only considered average within this batch of the Heaven Class.

The geniuses inside were all Martial Artists who had relied on themselves to build a solid Foundation and Cultivate up to the Xuanguan Seven Apertures, possessing Protective Astral Qi.

A trace of loneliness appeared in Chen Shanzhi's eyes: "Aunt, you don't need to comfort me. I know that with my current strength, it is impossible to achieve a good result."

"However, a man should strive for self-improvement. I believe that if I start cultivating hard now, one day I will be able to surpass those so-called geniuses."

Chen Rou was stunned, a look of gratification appearing in her eyes. Her Heir had finally grown up.

She channeled the True Qi in her body and, after confirming no one was eavesdropping, whispered comfortingly:

"Shan'er, don't be discouraged. Actually, our Zhenguo Marquis Mansion has a Secret Realm."

"A Secret Realm?" Chen Shanzhi looked shocked: "Aunt, you aren't lying to me, are you? Why have I never known about this?"

Chen Rou explained: "That Secret Realm can only be entered upon reaching the Xuanguan Seven Apertures. Originally, I intended to tell you once you reached the Xuanguan Seven Apertures and gained Protective Astral Qi."

"Xuanguan Seven Apertures, huh..."

Chen Shanzhi rubbed his chin.

With the Yang Parasite idling, plus the possibility of making a few deals with Jiang Yingrao, reaching the Seven Apertures in a month was not difficult.

"Alright, then I will reach the Xuanguan Seven Apertures within this month."

The Xuanguan Seven Apertures was a hurdle.

Many people had been stuck at the Six Apertures to Seven Apertures transition for many years.

Looking at Chen Shanzhi's confident face, Chen Rou did not dampen his spirit.

She simply gave a doting smile while placing food into Chen Shanzhi's bowl.

Going from the Xuanguan Five Apertures to the Xuanguan Seven Apertures in one month—even the geniuses in the Heaven Class at Four Seas Academy hadn't accomplished that.

After breakfast, Chen Shanzhi changed into a brocade robe and went out, waving his folding fan.

Since the Secret Realm was settled, the next step was to handle things with Tang Xiaowu.

The capital's bustling streets were filled with heavy traffic.

Tang Xiaowu was wearing a goose-yellow dress today, walking down the street.

Passersby would turn their heads in amazement as she walked by.

Some students from Four Seas Academy, pretending to look at merchandise, were actually stealing glances at Tang Xiaowu's graceful figure.

As they watched, they whispered to each other.

"As expected of one of the four great beauties of this year's Heaven Class. Even just her back is mesmerizing."

"That's right. Look at those legs. I'd trade ten years of my life just to play with them."

"Don't dream. Everyone knows that Tang Xiaowu is an ice beauty. Aside from her brother, she doesn't give any other man a second look."

"That's not necessarily true. I heard that Tang Xiaowu spent the night alone with Chen Shanzhi yesterday."

"Pfft." Another let out a scoff: "Don't listen to that rumor. How is that possible? My brother is a student in the Heaven Class and says that Tang Xiaowu loathes that..."

"Is that the Heir of the Marquis of Zhenguo?"

The group looked over immediately.

They saw Chen Shanzhi holding a folding fan, waving it to block Tang Xiaowu's path, a sunny smile on his face:

"Miss Tang, what a coincidence."

Tang Xiaowu paused, looking at the smiling face she wished she could tear to shreds. Her fists inside her sleeves clenched instantly.

She said coldly: "I am not familiar with This Heir. If This Heir has nothing else to do, please make way."

"Don't be so cold."

Chen Shanzhi closed his folding fan and reached out naturally, trying to wrap his arm around Tang Xiaowu's slender waist.

"What are you doing!"

Tang Xiaowu flashed away, dodging Chen Shanzhi's large hand, her face cold: "Please exercise some self-respect, Heir."

After she returned yesterday, she had been terrified for a long time, only to find that the people from the Jiantian Division had not come to arrest her.

That proved that Chen Shanzhi didn't know why he hadn't reported her.

Since he hadn't reported her, he must have other motives, and she was safe for the time being.

"Hahaha!" Seeing Chen Shanzhi rebuffed, those few students from Four Seas Academy couldn't help but laugh.

Seeing Tang Xiaowu dodge him, Chen Shanzhi felt no embarrassment at all.

Instead, he leaned in close, whispering into her ear, his warm breath spraying onto her sensitive neck: "Saintess, you slept with me yesterday, and now you want to wash your hands of it?"

Tang Xiaowu trembled. She allowed Chen Shanzhi's reaching hand to grasp her delicate hand, and she gritted her teeth:

"Chen Shanzhi, what exactly do you want?"

"I don't want anything. I just want to take Miss Tang out to see the prosperity of the capital."

Chen Shanzhi exerted a little force, pulling her towards his embrace, and whispered: "This Heir has some things I want to discuss with the Saintess."

The few Four Seas Academy students who had been mocking him saw this scene, their eyes nearly popping out of their sockets.

That playboy of the capital, the lecherous Heir of the Marquis of Zhenguo, had reached out and held Tang Xiaowu's jade-like hand.

And Tang Xiaowu, known as an ice beauty, actually hadn't refused?

No! Impossible!

Their Dao Hearts shattered. They stared fixedly at the two, hoping to see Tang Xiaowu give the Heir of the Marquis of Zhenguo a fierce slap.

But what they saw was the Heir of the Marquis of Zhenguo grabbing one of Tang Xiaowu's delicate hands, holding it in his palm to play with, his thumb gently rubbing the palm of their goddess, Tang Xiaowu.

Then, he even pulled Tang Xiaowu half into his arms!

The group looked at each other, all noticing their companion's gaping mouths.

Was that rumor... not fake?

Did the Heir of the Marquis of Zhenguo really spend the whole night alone with Tang Xiaowu yesterday?

So the secluded path everyone longed for was already covered in the morning dew?

"Then why are you holding my hand? Let go..." Tang Xiaowu's expression was cold.

"I won't."

Chen Shanzhi dragged her along for a stroll on the street, happily receiving a large wave of shock.

Then the two walked into a quiet private room in a teahouse, closing the door to block the view from outside.

As soon as they entered, Tang Xiaowu shook off his hand like she had been electrocuted, retreating to the corner of the wall, looking vigilant.

Chen Shanzhi didn't care, pouring two cups of tea for himself before sitting down.

"Alright, stop acting like a victim. Let's talk business."

"I am of a different race, and the Marquis of Zhenguo guards against us at the border. Do you think we have anything to talk about?" Tang Xiaowu said coldly.

"Is that so?"

Chen Shanzhi blew on the tea foam, not answering Tang Xiaowu's question, but instead asking:

"You should have heard about the ambush outside the capital seven years ago, right?"

Tang Xiaowu was stunned, her brows furrowing slightly.

That was a major case that shocked Great Jiang. The parents of the Heir of the Marquis of Zhenguo had been ambushed and both died while returning in triumph.

"I know, so what..." Tang Xiaowu just wanted to retort, but suddenly thought of something, and looked at Chen Shanzhi with suspicious, beautiful eyes: "What do you mean?"

"That's right, exactly what you're thinking."

Chen Shanzhi set down his teacup, the playful expression on his face disappearing, replaced by a heart-stopping depth.

"I know who the murderer is, or rather, I know in which direction the mastermind lies."

He dipped his finger in tea, wrote the character "Palace" on the table, and then quickly wiped it away.

Tang Xiaowu's pupils constricted.

The Imperial Palace?

The waters of the Zhenguo Marquis Mansion ran this deep?

"But I don't have evidence, and I cannot investigate as the Heir, as that would only alert the enemy and perhaps even bring disaster upon the Marquis Mansion."

Chen Shanzhi looked at Tang Xiaowu: "So I need a helper. A helper with strange methods, someone who is hard to guard against and whose origins cannot be traced."

"For example... the Wu Clan."

As soon as these two words were spoken, the vigilance in Tang Xiaowu's eyes turned into contemplation.

The Marquis of Zhenguo was the number one person in the world, and also the commander of the border armies, holding great power over the border military.

And the former Heir of the Marquis of Zhenguo, that is, Chen Shanzhi's father, had martial arts talent no weaker than the Marquis of Zhenguo, and held military power over the capital's defense forces.

At that time, there were rumors spreading in secret that if the Marquis of Zhenguo rebelled, he could take the capital in a single day.

And the former Heir of the Marquis of Zhenguo had his whereabouts exposed on his return journey, suffering an ambush and dying.

There must be many tricks involved; perhaps the mastermind really could be someone in the Palace.

"How can you make me trust you? You can't just expect me to foolishly believe in cooperating with you based on these few words, right?" Tang Xiaowu sneered.

"Naturally not."

Chen Shanzhi walked up to Tang Xiaowu and, under her cold gaze, reached out a finger to gently lift her chin.

Looking at the exquisite face before him, Chen Shanzhi said softly: "As a gesture of sincerity, I can tell you the news regarding the remaining pages of the first three stages of the Nine-Turn Golden Body Art of the Witch God."

Tang Xiaowu's body shook violently.

One of the main reasons she came this time was for the first three stages of the supreme Wu Clan Cultivation Technique that the former Saintess of the Witch Clan had lost in the capital before she died.

Without the foundational methods of these first three stages, the strength of the young generation of the Wu Clan had been declining for years.

If things continued this way, let alone the behemoth that was Great Jiang, they might not even be able to defeat the Demon Dynasty next door.

"Do you know the importance of this news to our Wu Clan? You are really willing to tell me?" Tang Xiaowu's beautiful eyes held some anticipation, but also some disbelief.

"Naturally. I can tell you directly: this Cultivation Technique is currently in the Secret Realm of my Zhenguo Marquis Mansion."

"What? In the Secret Realm inside the Zhenguo Marquis Mansion?"

Tang Xiaowu's face showed shock. There was actually a Secret Realm inside the Zhenguo Marquis Mansion?

No wonder she had never been able to sense the presence of the Cultivation Technique while in the capital.

It was in the Secret Realm!

Tang Xiaowu looked at Chen Shanzhi, her gaze flickering.

Since it was in the Zhenguo Marquis Mansion, could she...

But she immediately shook her head to dismiss the thought. She hadn't come to the capital for only this one thing.

She couldn't act recklessly.

It seemed that if she wanted to get the Cultivation Technique, she really had to cooperate with the person in front of her.

"However..."

Tang Xiaowu's gaze tightened upon hearing this, thinking to herself that it wouldn't be so easy for him to tell her this information.

"However what?"

"However, I have a condition. If Miss Tang agrees, then I will take Miss Tang into this Secret Realm for free."

"What condition?"

A sharp light flashed in Chen Shanzhi's eyes: "I want to Cultivate this Nine-Turn Golden Body Art of the Witch God."

"Cultivate? Impossible!" Tang Xiaowu refused immediately: "This is a technique that is never passed on to outsiders in our Wu Clan; it is impossible to let an outsider Cultivate it."

"Oh, is that so?" Chen Shanzhi withdrew his hand from rubbing Tang Xiaowu's face and walked back to the chair at the tea table.

He sat down, took a sip of tea, and said lightly: "I won't force the Saintess. Anyway, I'm not worried. Without these first three stages to build a Foundation, the Bloodlines of your clansmen will only get weaker and weaker."

Hearing Chen Shanzhi's words, Tang Xiaowu was incredibly shocked.

How did he know the effect of these first three stages on the clansmen?

Seeing the shock on Tang Xiaowu's face, Chen Shanzhi pressed his advantage:

"Besides, Saintess, think about it carefully. If you agree, then as my ally, my strength will increase."

"Then, in the Secret Realm of Four Seas Academy, I will be better able to help the Saintess."

Four Seas Academy Secret Realm? How did he know this was her ultimate goal in coming to the capital?

Taking a deep breath, Tang Xiaowu said: "This matter is of great importance. I need to go back and consider it carefully."

Chen Shanzhi looked at her wavering eyes and smiled slightly: "No problem. Once the Saintess has made up her mind, you can come to the Zhenguo Marquis Mansion to find me at any time."

Sunset over the western hills, a small courtyard in the east of the city.

Tang Liu sat on a stone stool, a pile of melon seed shells already heaped at his feet.

But he wasn't eating them at all; he was just mechanically shelling them, his eyes fixed on the courtyard gate.

"Creak."

The door opened, and Tang Xiaowu walked in, carrying two boxes of rouge.

Seeing Tang Liu in the courtyard, a flash of panic crossed her eyes, but she quickly covered it up.

"Brother, why are you sitting here? It's windy, be careful not to catch a cold."

Tang Liu looked at her, his gaze lingering for a long time on her slightly messy hair and her slightly flushed cheeks.

"Where did you go?" Tang Liu's voice was very calm, but perhaps too calm.

"Oh, nowhere."

Tang Xiaowu avoided his gaze, shaking the rouge boxes in her hand:

"I heard a new rouge shop opened on Vermilion Bird Street, so I went to look around and bought a few things."

She was still lying!

Tang Liu's heart felt as if it had been fiercely pricked by a needle.

This afternoon, it had already spread throughout Four Seas Academy.

They said that Tang Xiaowu and that playboy Chen Shanzhi were hugging and cuddling on the street, intimate, and had even gone into a private room in a teahouse and stayed there for the whole afternoon.

He was waiting for Tang Xiaowu's explanation, even if she had lied to him and said she was forced.

But she said she went to buy rouge?

"Is that so?"

Tang Liu tugged at the corners of her mouth, revealing a smile that was uglier than crying: "It's good that you bought things. You must be tired after a day, rest early."

"Mm, you sleep early too, brother."

Tang Xiaowu didn't dare to stay any longer. Her mind was full of the words Chen Shanzhi had said, full of the cooperation plan between the two.

This was too important to her; she had to go back to her room and clear her thoughts.

Watching the door Tang Xiaowu had hurriedly closed.

The light in Tang Liu's eyes dimmed, bit by bit.

"Xiaowu, why did you lie to me..."

"Could it be that you also despise me for being a poor boy with no background, and want to climb up to that playboy?"

He slowly stood up and slammed the handful of shelled melon seeds he had been holding onto the ground.

And inside the room, Tang Xiaowu, who was deep in thought, knew nothing of this.

The originally intimate relationship between the two began to show cracks under the influence of Chen Shanzhi's recent actions.