Immortality begins with the Swordsman.

Chapter 28 The Sword Sect's Misfortune

It was just a tiny bit off!

Cai Ling Shuang's hand holding the sword trembled slightly; she was just a hair's breadth away from drawing her sword and striking.

Gu Changfeng leaned closer to her, pinched her cheeks, looked her up and down, and muttered to himself, "I feel like something's missing... Oh, I know. Mei Jian, bring me the lip balm I just bought for my senior sister."

Upon hearing this, Mei Jian immediately took out a delicate and exquisite brocade box.

Gu Changfeng opened the brocade box, revealing vermilion lipstick.

He lightly dabbed a little with his fingertip, raised an eyebrow at Cai Ling Shuang, and said clearly, "Come here, let me apply it for you."

A flicker of panic crossed Cai Ling Shuang's eyes. She parted her lips slightly, her voice barely audible: "Don't go too far."

Gu Changfeng didn't take it to heart and said in a low voice, "People of the martial world don't concern themselves with such formalities. Why are you being so pretentious today?"

Cai Ling Shuang stiffened, seemingly weighing something in her mind.

Before she could react, Gu Changfeng grabbed her chin and swiftly applied lip rouge to her lips.

Cai Ling Shuang was naturally alluring, and now, with her lips lightly touched, she appeared even more charming and captivating. Yet, her expression was aloof and cold, like frost and snow, a blend of cold beauty and bewitching allure that made one want to take a bite.

Gu Changfeng nodded in satisfaction: "Yes, Mei Jian and Lan Jian, look, doesn't Senior Sister look much better like this?"

"Yes, young master."

"Young Master is truly amazing."

Without the slightest hesitation, the two maids echoed in unison.

Cai Ling Shuang was filled with mixed emotions. She silently lowered her head, thinking: I should just kill him! Kill him!

Xue Yongze witnessed this scene and was struck dumb, unable to speak coherently: "You...you...no wonder you've been ignoring me...I see...I see."

The young boy was also dumbfounded.

Gu Changfeng looked up, his tone indifferent: "Why are you still here? Is something the matter?"

"N-nothing!"

The two of them, as if waking from a dream, left dejectedly.

Cai Ling Shuang breathed a sigh of relief, but her expression changed the next second, and she drew her sword to slash—

Gu Changfeng reacted swiftly, gently flicking his folding fan and pressing it down to firmly pin her sword to the table. He said in a leisurely tone, "If you're injured, then behave yourself."

Cai Ling Shuang frowned: "How did you know I was injured?"

Gu Changfeng glanced at her sideways: "Your lips are so white, do you think I'm blind?"

He asked, puzzled, "With your skills, you can still get injured?"

He knew Cai Ling Shuang's martial arts skills very well. He estimated that they were similar to Linghu Chong's when he first appeared in the original work, belonging to the peak of the second tier. To hurt her, one would have to be at least at the first tier level.

In this city of Chang'an, there are top-notch experts, though not few!

Cai Ling Shuang replied calmly, "Last night, I went to catch a petty thief, but I was tricked and injured by his hidden weapon."

Gu Changfeng narrowed his eyes and quietly stared at Cai Ling Shuang.

She was not mentioned in the original work.

She most likely died at the "Jade Maiden Peak Sword Debate" at the end of the year, or perhaps even earlier.

There are only three months left until the end of the year.

In other words, her life was already on a countdown.

Now that Gu Changfeng knows that the "battle of sword qi" was orchestrated by his master and Uncle Cai, he will definitely lend a hand if he can.

But Gu Changfeng is now unsure when and where Cai Lingshuang died.

It's too hard to guess.

Cai Ling Shuang felt uneasy under his gaze and couldn't help but snap, "If you look at me again, believe me, I'll kill you!"

Gu Changfeng retorted without hesitation, "You ungrateful brat! If you had treated those two people like you treated me, they would have run away long ago. Why would they dare to bother you?"

Cai Ling Shuang coldly replied, "What do you know? One of them is surnamed Xue, and the other is surnamed Liu..."

Gu Changfeng asked doubtfully, "So what?"

Cai Ling Shuang slowly said, "You don't understand! Chang'an City may seem peaceful on the surface, but there are undercurrents beneath. Besides the imperial court, there are four families that cannot be offended."

"Which four?" Gu Changfeng had only asked casually, but now he was a little interested.

"Pei, Liu, Xue, Hua".

"Hua refers to our Mount Hua. Besides us, the other three families are martial arts clans that have been operating in Chang'an for hundreds of years. In addition to their own formidable strength, they are also involved with some small gangs, martial arts schools, merchants, etc., making their influence extremely complex and intertwined..."

"Their businesses were incredibly diverse, bringing in a fortune every day. They possessed countless riches and employed numerous skilled servants at home."

"Our Huashan sect is an outside force. Only a genius like Uncle-Master Ouyang could have managed to carve out a piece of the pie from among these three forces."

"Currently, although we maintain peaceful coexistence with them, the three families still want to kick us out of Chang'an..."

"These two, Xue and Liu, represent two of these families. Even though I dislike them, I cannot easily start a conflict and give them an excuse."

After hearing this, Gu Changfeng slapped his thigh and exclaimed, "Why didn't you say they were like this earlier?"

Cai Ling Shuang sneered, "What, scared?"

Gu Changfeng looked annoyed: "If I had known it would turn out like this, I would have at least squeezed five hundred taels of silver out of you. What a huge loss!"

"You—!" Cai Ling Shuang slammed her hand on the table and stood up, then stormed off, taking the box of lip gloss with her as she left.

Watching her departing figure, Gu Changfeng chuckled and said, "Just kidding, why are you so angry?"

Suddenly, he slammed his hand on the table.

"Damn it, they haven't even given me the IOU yet, and I've already lost a box of lip gloss."

……

……

evening.

Gu Changfeng followed Su Qingxue to the "Zhexian Tower".

The person hosting the banquet tonight is a medicine merchant named Hu Anmin.

He was the largest herbal medicine dealer in the Northwest, and 50% of the herbs used by the Qi Sect came from him.

We arrived at the private room.

Gu Changfeng met Hu Anmin, an old man with white hair and beard, who was already very old, but whose eyes were particularly bright.

The private room was rather quiet, with only four people inside.

Gu Changfeng, Su Qingxue, Hu Anmin, and his son Hu Shizong.

The old man's main purpose in hosting Su Qingxue this banquet was to tell her that his son, Hu Shizong, would take over the business in the future.

This man is old and seems to enjoy reminiscing, talking endlessly about the past.

"Fairy Su, we've known each other for over twenty years. Back then, you were just a seventeen or eighteen-year-old girl, and I could tell at a glance that you were no ordinary person..."

Su Qingxue listened to him with a smile throughout, occasionally nodding in response.

"As expected, your reputation now resounds throughout the martial arts world."

"Brother Hu's insight is extraordinary, beyond the reach of ordinary people."

Hu Anmin's smile faded, and he suddenly said seriously, "In that case, I'll take your advice: leave Chang'an as soon as possible."

Su Qingxue frowned slightly: "What do you mean by that, Brother Hu?"

Hu Anmin slowly said, "I have been a merchant in Chang'an for many years and my information network is quite good. I recently learned that someone is planning to attack the Chang'an Sword Sect, and they will probably not escape their fate."

"I know that the sword and qi factions of your Huashan Sect have always been at odds and are now like oil and water... So, Fairy, you should withdraw as soon as possible and not get involved in this mess."