"You... are from the Li family!"

With just one sentence, Tieniu couldn't hold back anymore.

He didn't say anything, but the stiff expression on his face said it all.

Ying Wuji could tell from his appearance that Thirteenth Lord had guessed correctly, so he immediately gave him a thumbs up. "Thirteenth Lord, you have such sharp eyes. Just by taking a glance, you can guess that he is from the Li family. It's really a waste for the Great Qian Kingdom to keep such a talented strategist like him in the embassy!"

Thirteenth Lord gave Ying Wuji a disdainful look, feeling somewhat helpless.

In the past, Ying Wuji was just an ordinary hostage in his eyes, a tasteless existence for the Kingdom of Qian. But recently, Ying Wuji's performance seemed to resemble Ying Yue's back then.

As a result, this guy turned out to be a flatterer in private.

He shook his head. "It wasn't me who guessed this, it was your father!"

Ying Wuji was puzzled. "My father?"

Thirteenth Lord nodded. "When your father was a hostage in the Kingdom of Li, he met the Lin siblings, who came from a humble background but didn't behave like commoners. At that time, he suspected that they had some powerful family supporting them."

"And then? How did he guess that they were from the Li family?"

"Besides the Li family, who else could produce a freak like Lin Tieniu who is skilled in everything?"

"Yeah, that's true!"

Ying Wuji nodded. Although Lin Tieniu only mastered one Earth-ranked spell, there were countless Yellow-ranked and Profound-ranked spells.

The ability to master Earth-ranked spells depended on background, talent, and opportunity.

But for Yellow-ranked and Profound-ranked spells, it tested the foundation of the family behind them.

Under the heavens, besides the bug-like Zhou royal family, it seemed that only the Li family, which relied on marriage alliances, could have such a profound foundation.

No!

Ying Wuji's expression suddenly changed. "If Lin Tieniu is backed by the Li family, then isn't Lin Qing also backed by the Li family? So Ying Wuque's Zhuanxu bloodline is not a coincidence, but a huge investment from the Li family. The insider in the Kingdom of Li who helped Ying Wuque assassinate me is also from the Li family, right? That old bastard Ying Yue must have known the truth a long time ago, right?"

Thirteenth Lord choked for a moment and pondered for a long time before saying, "Your Majesty only suspected that Lin Qing was from the Li family before. I'm afraid it was only after Ying Wuque appeared that he became certain. However, this assassination was indeed confusing until today, so I believe Your Majesty just figured it out."

"Oh..."

Ying Wuji didn't argue further. Thirteenth Lord's explanation made sense, but it also proved that Ying Yue was not simple.

The Li family had made astonishing investments, and the bloodline of this genius incubator was crucial to the Kingdom of Li. Most of the Li family women in the past few hundred years had been absorbed into the major families within the Kingdom of Li.

Unexpectedly, they had also created the "Lin family" facade and invested in Ying Yue, who was currently a hostage in the Kingdom of Li.

And they actually succeeded. Ying Yue not only became the King of Qian, but also had a son with a Zhuanxu bloodline from the Li family.

Ying Wuji sneered. "The Li family has made a good plan. When that old bastard Ying Yue returned to the Kingdom of Qian, he had no foundation. If it weren't for the support of my mother's clan, he wouldn't have been able to sit on the throne of the King of Qian no matter how strong he was. As a result, I was sent here as a hostage, allowing that dog Ying Wuque to go back and reap the rewards. Haha... Ying Yue won, the Li family won, and it seems that we are the only ones who lost, right?"

Thirteenth Lord: "..."

Tieniu couldn't help but laugh, his laughter particularly unrestrained. "I didn't expect that you would figure it all out, but even if you did, what can you do? Sometimes, the more you know, the more painful it is!"

Ying Wuji sneered. "Do you feel like you have nothing left to lose, so it doesn't matter what you do?"

Tieniu nodded. "Yeah! So what?"

Ying Wuji turned to Thirteenth Lord. "Thirteenth Lord, can you keep an eye on him? Make sure he doesn't escape or die!"

Thirteenth Lord nodded. "He won't run away, and he won't die!"

"That's good!"

Ying Wuji narrowed his eyes. "Then I'll leave him with a dog's life and torture him. Do you have any objections?"

Thirteenth Lord neither agreed nor disagreed. "My duty is only to protect the safety of the people from the Kingdom of Qian in the embassy. This person has committed taboos, so I'll keep an eye on him. As for what you do, it has nothing to do with me."

"Thank you then!"

Ying Wuji smiled, his smile extremely sinister.

Thirteenth Lord couldn't help but feel curious when he saw this smile. "Kid! Tieniu's bones are not easy to break. Even the nine tortures of the Qian Prison might not work on him."

Ying Wuji waved his hand. "What's a little physical torture? I want to destroy his spirit!"

Tieniu chuckled. "Do you really think that a mere song can break me?"

When he heard this song just now, he was indeed in extreme pain.

But... if he listened to it more, he would probably become numb to it, right?Ying Wuji didn't answer, he just squatted down and looked at him: "Speaking of which, Ying Wuque is really a descendant of the old biden, did you not give him a hat, you son of a bitch?"

Tie Niu's expression changed: "You wouldn't want to use this to attack Qingqing... to attack Lin Guifei, right? Hehe, don't even think about it. If you've seen Wuque, you would know how much he looks like King Qian! I have followed Guifei for many years, always respectful and never overstepping!"

"Poor thing!"

Ying Wuji's eyes were full of pity, but suddenly he asked another question: "When Lao Bide and your goddess were sleeping, were you guarding the door outside?"

"Fuck!"

Tie Niu heard this question and suddenly felt a sharp pain in his heart, anger surged, and his temples throbbed.

Ying Wuji narrowed his eyes and smiled: "You should know what I do, right? The plays I write are unrivaled in the world, and I also know a storyteller in a high-class brothel who tells dirty stories. I will write a book about Lao Bide and your little goddess in bed, and tell it to you every day. I guarantee that every detail will be clear, and I can even add some scenes where you are watching on the side. Are you happy?"

Thirteen Lord: "..."

Tie Niu: "..."

Unprecedented pain and fear surged in his eyes.

Because Ying Wuji had actually guessed it right. When Ying Yue left Kingdom Li to return to compete for the throne of King Qian, he was drunk by Lin Qing on the night before he left, and it was indeed him who guarded the door when the two were in the room.

The memories of that night were extremely painful every time he recalled them.

And now... he had to listen to it every day?

Tie Niu went crazy: "You beast, if you have the ability, kill me!"

"Dream on!"

Ying Wuji couldn't be bothered to talk to him, he just took off his socks and stuffed them into Tie Niu's mouth. He couldn't help but sigh to himself, why even though he had tried so hard, the socks still didn't have the stench of Jiang Taiyuan.

He decided to ask Jiang Lao-ge for the formula another day.

Ying Wuji casually threw Tie Niu into a dark room, and bowed to Thirteen Lord: "Thirteen Lord, thanks to you this time!"

Thirteen Lord's mouth twitched: "How did you come up with such an outrageous punishment?"

Ying Wuji shrugged: "Just the right medicine!"

Thirteen Lord rubbed his head: "Actually, this person could have been killed. There was no need to write a book specifically to torture him..."

"I'm happy to do it!"

Ying Wuji secretly laughed in his heart. Who told Tie Niu to learn so many things?

Although he had already gained a lot of skills just now with a song, in fact, not even one-tenth of them had been revealed.

Although these skills were not particularly high-end, there were many practical things among them, and they also contained the secret techniques of many families in Kingdom Li. Coupled with his ability to change his appearance, it would be extremely convenient to do bad things in the future.

I will dig this mine!

Not only Tie Niu, but also Thirteen Lord.

Ying Wuji looked at Thirteen Lord. He used to think that the embassy supervisor was just an emotionless tool, but now it seemed that Thirteen Lord was definitely not a male classmate without a story.

He hardly had any real experts by his side. Before reaching the third level of the Triple Transformation Realm, even if he encountered many enemies, he didn't have any particularly advantageous cards.

Therefore, he must strive to win over Thirteen Lord, a high-level expert in the Soldier Realm.

The embassy supervisor was only responsible for reporting work, protecting the safety of personnel within the embassy, and evacuating them in the event of a war.

Apart from these, he must develop a personal relationship with Thirteen Lord.

Ying Wuji decided to bribe him: "Thirteen Lord, the storyteller I mentioned earlier is actually a half-old lady with charm. When I let her tell the story to Tie Niu, I will make her voice louder, which will also help you relieve boredom."

"Get lost!"

Thirteen Lord's killing intent was revealed.

"Alright!"

Ying Wuji nodded and left decisively.

...

After coming out of the dungeon, Ying Wuji did not stay at the embassy.

Although he had obtained the commercial seal, he didn't feel any sense of home in the embassy. The only person he considered as family, the little maid, was still in seclusion at Shangmo Bookstore!

So he directly went back to Shangmo Bookstore. It was already late at night and everyone in the bookstore was asleep.

But after experiencing the events of the day, his spirit was somewhat excited. When he passed by the study, he subconsciously looked inside.

Since there was nothing else to do, why not write a little book for poor Brother Tie Niu?

Ying Wuji rubbed his hands, feeling a strong desire to try. After all, he had been busy building his career here for so long, it was time to add some color and relieve the recent bad mood.

He immediately lit the oil lamp, prepared the ink and paper, and started writing a short essay about Lao Bide and the wicked stepmother Lin Qing.

Surprisingly, it had a certain charm.

Brother Niu would definitely like it.

Unknowingly, an hour had passed.While Ying Wuji was engrossed in writing, the sound of footsteps suddenly came.

"Wuji?"

"Ah!"

Ying Wuji was startled and quickly tried to hide the papers on the table. However, they were placed haphazardly and accidentally fell to the ground.

"I'll help you pick them up!"

Hua Chao hurriedly ran over.

Ying Wuji waved his hand, "No need, no need..."

Unfortunately, his attempt to stop her was futile.

Hua Chao had already picked up a stack of papers and gently reproached, "You, you should rest properly after a busy day outside. Why are you still writing scripts... Ah! This is..."

She accidentally caught a glimpse of the contents on the paper, and her pretty face immediately turned red.

She subconsciously glanced at Ying Wuji, then quickly shifted her gaze elsewhere, stuttering, "This, this, this kind of script, I can't act in it."

Ying Wuji felt overwhelmed, "Ah, this, this wasn't written for you!"

"Then who was it written for?"

"Iron Bull!"

"Who is Iron Bull?"

"This..."

Ying Wuji felt a headache coming on. If he didn't explain, his reputation would be ruined. So he briefly recounted what had happened today.

After finishing, he was afraid that Hua Chao wouldn't believe him, so he took out the business seal from his pocket as evidence. "Look! I really only prepared the instruments of torture. Am I that kind of person?"

Hua Chao looked at him with a strange look in her eyes. "So, you wrote those... intimate scenes between your father, the king, and the concubine, just to torment someone without much status?"

"Yes!"

Ying Wuji nodded naturally. "Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to vent my anger!"

Hua Chao's face turned red, and she lightly spat, "Forget it! As long as you're happy. Those people really went too far. The storyteller you mentioned, is it Cui Liu from the Yihong Pavilion? She came to me today and said she wanted to join our theater troupe. If you need her, I'll contact her. After all, if you give her the script, it won't be good for your reputation."

"Great!"

Ying Wuji nodded. Although the explanation made sense, it seemed like his reputation was still tarnished.

Hua Chao smiled, "Now that you have the business seal, your position in the Kingdoms of Qian and Li will be stable. That's great!"

She genuinely felt happy for Ying Wuji.

But deep down, she couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. In her heart, she had also fantasized about the two of them setting off together to become officials in Zhoulefuzhou. With Ying Wuji's talent, even if they couldn't obtain real power, they could still live a good life in the capital.

But then she thought about it again, and it seemed a bit selfish.

Moreover, the little Taoist from the Han family had made a prophecy. The era of great turmoil was about to come, maybe in a few years, maybe in a few decades, but it would eventually come. Ying Wuji was someone who couldn't bear to leave his fate in the hands of others. It would be too cruel to let him choose like this.

Ying Wuji noticed her slightly downcast mood and comforted her with a smile, "Don't worry, Hua Chao. I'm really good at doing business. In a few years, I'll be able to establish a foothold in the Kingdom of Li. Even if Zhoulefuzhou falls in the future, you can still come back and seek refuge with me!"

"Okay!"

Hua Chao nodded with a gentle smile and lightly patted Ying Wuji's shoulder. "It's getting late. You should go to sleep!"

With that, she turned around to leave.

"Hua Chao, wait!"

Ying Wuji suddenly called out to her.

Hua Chao turned her head and looked at him with a hopeful gaze.

Ying Wuji suddenly felt a pang of pain in his heart and forced a smile, "You asked earlier why they suddenly agreed to give me the business seal. I was too busy explaining the rest of the story at that time, so I didn't mention it!"

Hua Chao nodded, "Hmm?"

Ying Wuji took a deep breath, and as he spoke, he felt as if tiny thorns were pricking his throat. "I might be getting married soon."

"What?"

Hua Chao's heart trembled, and her gaze became unfocused for a moment. "Why is it so sudden?"

Ying Wuji instinctively averted his gaze, "It's a political marriage. The Kingdoms of Qian and Li are too chaotic. If I don't do this, I won't be able to protect everything I have now."

He suddenly envied those scumbags. Why could they deceive one girl after another without feeling heartbroken?

But he couldn't become like them because the heartache wouldn't disappear. It would only transfer from one person to another.

Hua Chao remained stunned for a while before she regained her composure. She pursed her lips and forced a smile on her face. "That's great! Is the other party a princess? Does she like you?"

"Generally speaking, she doesn't dislike me."

Ying Wuji thought of his good brother who disguised herself as a man. She had ambitions but had a good personality. If they were together, even if they didn't love each other deeply, they should be able to live a decent life.

But...

He looked at Hua Chao.Hua Chao was also looking at him, but her expression relaxed a lot. She smiled and asked, "I should be the first person to know about this, apart from the royal families of Kingdom Qian and Kingdom Li, right?"

Ying Wuji's voice was a bit bitter, "Yeah!"

Hua Chao nodded, "Then you must treat the princess well, don't abandon her after starting a relationship and hurt her heart. When you get married, sister will give you a big red envelope! It's getting late, I'll go to sleep first."

Saying that, she quickly left the study.

"Hua Chao sister!"

Ying Wuji called out again, but he couldn't stop her in the end.

The night was still the same night, but it seemed to have become empty.

He stood outside the door for a long time before slowly returning to the study. He wanted to write something, but he couldn't find the mood.

Before saying those words, he didn't know if what he did was right, he just felt that he should do it.

After Hua Chao's response, he understood that what he did was probably right.

Because even just now, Hua Chao's first reaction was: don't abandon her after starting a relationship.

In a world of great competition, only true strong individuals have the qualifications to be carefree.

And the path he chose was destined to not give Hua Chao what she wanted, and even ignite the demon seed in her heart.

But why does his heart still ache after doing the right thing?

...

In the following days, everything in Shangmo Bookstore remained the same.

The radio host from the Hun Department had been assigned to Iron Bull's side, and he would contribute a skill to Ying Wuji almost every hour.

Hua Chao would rehearse with the actors in the theater during the day and only return to the bookstore to review the accounts and meet Ying Wuji at night. Everything was normal, and she even treated Ying Wuji better, but this kind of kindness was more like that of an older sister to her younger brother.

Wu Dan would come to the bookstore every day to show Ying Wuji his new inventions. Since he was heartbroken, this guy seemed to have completely changed, being obsessed with inventing every day.

Actually, Ying Wuji also wanted to discuss invention and creation with him, but he really didn't have the mood during this period.

On one hand, there were the aftermath of confessing to Hua Chao, feeling like he had lost something every day.

On the other hand...

There was still no news from the royal family of Kingdom Li.

The Hundred Families Gathering was only twelve days away from the Literary Gathering, and it had already been five days.

He had prepared the products for his stake in the industry and was waiting for the day when the Hundred Families Gathering officially started to advertise. But there was no news from the royal family of Kingdom Li.

Are they kidding me?

Could it be that they changed their minds?

Ying Wuji was a little anxious. Theoretically, there was no reason for the royal family of Kingdom Li to change their minds because he had great value to them. Not only in terms of commercial value, but also military value.

Although he didn't know when the "world of great competition" that Han Juan mentioned would come, one thing was certain. Once the world of great competition arrived, with the current situation of Kingdom Li, it would definitely fall into internal strife.

The combined strength of the Wei and Han families alone could rival a medium-sized kingdom.

At that time, the best ally for the royal family of Kingdom Li would be Kingdom Qian.

So, why haven't they sent someone to discuss the marriage yet?

I'm even bringing the seal over. If the marriage doesn't happen in the end, wouldn't it be embarrassing for me?

"Wuji, what's wrong with you?"

Hua Chao returned home with the setting sun again. Seeing Ying Wuji pacing back and forth in the backyard, she couldn't help but be curious. These days, her life remained the same, as if she hadn't been affected by Ying Wuji's marriage.

Ying Wuji shook his head, "It's nothing. I have to go out for a while. Oh, Hua Chao sister, you've been carrying the talisman with you every day, right?"

The talisman he mentioned was the one he bought at a high price from Jiang Taiyuan before the Literary Gathering.

He kept one for self-defense and gave the other one to Hua Chao. After all, she had no cultivation and only had Xiao Liu as her maid. Although she shouldn't encounter any danger, it was still reassuring to have one.

Hua Chao couldn't help but smile, "Don't worry! I carry it with me every day. Come on, why would anyone in Jiangcheng want to harm a singing girl like me?"

"That's good!"

Ying Wuji breathed a sigh of relief and waved at her, "Then I'll go out for a while. You don't have to cook for me later!"

"Okay!"

Hua Chao watched him leave the direction of the bookstore, her gaze lingering.

...

Not far from the palace, in a hidden corner.

The Seventy-Two Earthly Fiends Art: Invisibility.

Activated!

A yellow-ranked trash earth movement technique picked up from Zhao Qi.

Activated!

Ying Wuji concealed his aura and burrowed into the ground.

Damn it!

I can't wait any longer!

Is it Zhao Ling? I'm going to find you now.

Theft is never good, try looking at bit.ly/3iBfjkV.

It's not that Ying Wuji is impatient, it's just that this Zhao Ling is too unreliable. Who makes someone's future husband wait for five days?Moreover, this big business deal was extremely time-sensitive. If they missed this grand gathering of hundreds of families, the effect would definitely be greatly reduced.

There was no time to wait!

And that night, Ying Wuji had already warned her: If you make me wait anxiously, I will come looking for you!

Originally, Ying Wuji planned to go directly to her, but after careful consideration, since she had been avoiding him for so many days, there must be some inside story. If he directly confronted her, he might not even get to see her face.

In that case, it would be better to sneak in and ask her directly.

As for the location, it was not particularly difficult.

He had basically confirmed that his future wife must be a sister or younger sister of Prince Zhao Ning, because her original appearance was too similar to the Queen of Kingdom Li, plus the jade pendant from Qing Jiao Palace...

All the children of the queen lived in Qing Jiao Palace.

With his invisibility technique, it shouldn't be a problem to sneak into the palace and see a few people, right?

After all, this kind of spell could even shield the Thirteenth Master of the Soldier Realm.

Sure enough...

He carefully sneaked in without alerting the palace guards.

The foundation of Di Qi Palace was a bit deep, and he had to dive quite deep to pass smoothly.

These were not problems at all for Ying Wuji, who was successful in both his family and career.

In no time, he found the location of Qing Jiao Palace.

To be honest, Qing Jiao Palace was very large, with many courtyards inside.

But Ying Wuji was not flustered at all, as he had great confidence in his invisibility technique from the Seventy-Two Earth Sha Arts.

If worst comes to worst, he would just search one by one!

He sensed a wave, and it seemed that there was no one outside.

So Ying Wuji stuck his head out.

As soon as he came out, he saw a young girl squatting on the ground looking at him.

Ying Wuji: "......"

The young girl: "......"

The scene was extremely awkward for a moment.

Fortunately, Ying Wuji quickly observed the surrounding scene and cleverly defused the awkwardness.

"There are many types of winter melons in this world, it's not strange for one that looks like a human head to suddenly pop out, right?"

~~~~~~~

Preview: The protagonist will unlock his first kill within two days

(End of the chapter)