Chapter 43 - Is It Funny That the Reincarnated Senior Sister Is Also Being Pursued?

Bai Lian calmed down slightly. Now was not the time to settle the score with the Taixu Mountain Villa. There were only two of them, and they couldn't take care of everything. Additionally, Suzhou City was ultimately under the jurisdiction of the mortal court, even though it was within the territory of the Taihua Sword Sect. They couldn't directly intervene. The best approach at the moment was to find evidence that the Taixu Mountain Villa was a cult and then hand it over to Tang Chuhuan. He would represent the official mortal power to clean up the Taixu Mountain Villa, while the Taihua Sword Sect would deal with the cultivators involved. After observing for a while, Bai Lian decided to sneak into the main hall. However, the process of sneaking in seemed too easy. She didn't see a single guard along the way, and the few mortal maids she passed by were all trembling, not daring to make a sound. The entire hall seemed empty, eerily quiet. At one point, Bai Lian thought that perhaps the Taixu Mountain Villa had set up an ambush in the hall. But after careful investigation, she discovered that the reality was not as she had imagined. Instead, there was a genuine laxity in defense. Even though this place was at the heart of the Taixu Mountain Villa, and the hall was the core of the formation, the laxity in security was beyond belief. The Taixu Mountain Villa was being overly arrogant. Bai Lian was puzzled but didn't stop her exploration. She just proceeded with much more caution. She quietly sneaked into a room that looked like a study, knocked out the maid cleaning inside, and began to search through numerous books. It was evident that Xie Cai was very confident about her residence. A large number of letters containing secrets were casually placed on the desk, and Bai Lian easily found what she was looking for. She spread out the letters in her hand. They contained the recent communications between the Taixu Mountain Villa and the Tang family traitor. Not only did they detail the situation within the Tang family, but they even mentioned when she and Mu Jianli arrived in Suzhou City. She and Mu Jianli didn't arrive in Suzhou via the official road but flew directly to the back garden of the Tang family. Only Tang Chuhuan and his entourage knew about their entry into the Tang family, and their whereabouts had not been disclosed to anyone. Despite this, the Taixu Mountain Villa still had information about them, indicating the high status of this traitor within the Tang family. However, from the content of these letters in the past few days, the Tang family traitor seemed unaware that the scout who had spied on them had been killed by Jianli, and they were also clueless about their subsequent movements. The letters only mentioned their disappearance, suggesting that they were possibly hiding in Suzhou City investigating in secret, prompting the Taixu Mountain Villa's people to be more discreet. Was Tang Chuhuan involved in this? But he was just a mortal. How did he deceive the Taixu Mountain Villa? Bai Lian continued reading. In addition to the Tang family's situation, these letters exchanged with the Tang family traitor contained a lot of intelligence about Suzhou City, including but not limited to the city's defenses, maps, military deployments, and even the specific cultivation levels and martial arts systems of the cultivators sent by the court to assist the Tang family. All of this was crucial intelligence. If leaked, it would likely lead to the execution of those responsible. Yet, in the letters, this confidential information was endlessly revealed to the Taixu Mountain Villa. This explained why after the destruction of the Huanxi Monastery in the game, the Tang family was still exterminated, and Suzhou City almost became a ghost town in the end. With this information, if the Taixu Mountain Villa had the intention, they could effortlessly bring Suzhou City under their control. This was not just betraying the interests of the family; it was tantamount to treason! Bai Lian's eyes burned with anger. Although she was a modern person and didn't have much attachment to the Great Xia Empire in the game, she always loathed such unscrupulous betrayal, especially when it led to the unnecessary deaths of so many innocent people. However, with this almost treasonous letter, the Tang family had sufficient reason to take action against the Taixu Mountain Villa. After all, there are things bigger than personal gain and country. But soon, she thought of a crucial point. Because the military information about Suzhou City was definitely not something an ordinary member of the Tang family could obtain. The other party must have contact with the highest ruling class in Suzhou City, possibly even within the city lord's residence. The city lord of Suzhou... Wasn't it Tang Chuhuan's father? His name seemed to be Tang Mingli. In the game, there was a brief introduction to Tang Mingli, describing him as a gifted scholar in his early years, but later, in his eagerness to seek immortality, he accidentally damaged his body. After giving birth to Tang Chuhuan, he was unable to have more children. Come to think of it, during their time in Suzhou, it seemed like Tang Chuhuan had always been the one in contact with them, and they hadn't seen Tang Mingli at all. According to Tang Chuhuan, his father had been extremely busy at the city lord's residence due to the situation with the cult, hardly having time to go home. Bai Lian furrowed her brow slightly and continued reading. At the end of the letters, she finally saw the reason the Tang family traitor chose to betray them. "[The superior promised me that if I cooperate, I will be granted immortal blessings to improve my constitution.]" "[Now I have given up everything and fulfilled all of the superior's requests. I should rightfully receive the immortal blessings. I request all the fellow daoists to guide me into the immortal path.]" For... seeking immortality? Bai Lian was somewhat astonished. She had thought that the traitor was seeking fame and fortune. After all, the path to immortality was elusive, and most mortals didn't even know if immortals truly existed. They were usually too busy dealing with the necessities of life, let alone seeking immortality. It is known that those with the qualifications generally didn't have to seek; immortality would come to them. And those without qualifications mostly accepted reality and integrated into life. But in retrospect, all the letters were adorned with sophisticated language and poetic verses, exuding artistic talent. In other words, the other party was probably a young master who was well-off and didn't have life's pressures, leading them to seek elusive immortal blessings despite knowing they didn't have the qualifications. Bai Lian took a deep breath, deeply guessing the identity of the Tang family traitor. Without dwelling on it further, she continued searching. These were letters about the identity of the Tang family traitor, but there was another part she hadn't found—information about the missing girl from Binhe Town and the involvement of the Taixu Mountain Villa with the Huanxi Monastery and the Esoteric Sect. Nevertheless, even with her divine sense swiftly sweeping through all the letters and books in the study, she found no trace, not even a hidden compartment. It was as if the Taixu Mountain Villa had been an ordinary mortal force from start to finish, at most saddled with the charge of attempting treason. If that was the case, according to the agreement between the Taihua Sword Sect and the Great Xia Empire, this matter would ultimately have to be resolved by the rules of mortals. Even she couldn't break the rules, despite her master being Gu Qingqing herself. Bai Lian contemplated for a while and then turned her gaze towards Xie Cai's bedroom. It seemed that she had to start with that young master from the Taixu Mountain Villa.