Chapter 195: Assassination

No matter what, when it came to the matter of Dragon Qi, even if Xu Ping’an wanted to lie low like a salted fish, he still had to consider what the future environment of Great Qi would be like.

He could act alone with a clear mind while the masses lost themselves in delusions, but to stand on high and watch as the common people suffered—he simply couldn’t do it.

Perhaps it was just his fate, being a Doctor, and one who had come from another world at that.

He savored this rare moment of peace and warmth, but just then, a sudden sound of footsteps came from outside the door.

Pei Qingxuan’s senses were much sharper than Xu Ping’an’s.

She instantly perceived who was approaching and immediately stood up.

At the same time, Xu Ping’an hurriedly rose as well, so as not to be exposed.

The footsteps stopped briefly right at the door, then an urgent voice called out:

“Master, Kang Elder’s condition has worsened!”

“What!?”

Pei Qingxuan was startled, whipping her head around to look at Xu Ping’an.

It wasn’t that she distrusted Xu Ping’an’s medical skills.

After all, she knew better than anyone what her own condition had been back then.

Even when her very life was on the verge of ending, he had managed to pull her back.

Kang Elder’s injuries were far less severe than hers had been, so how could it be untreatable?

The look she gave Xu Ping’an now was a silent inquiry.

Xu Ping’an frowned slightly, his expression grave.

When he had examined Kang Elder before, he’d left some Great Restoration Pills behind.

Even if something truly went wrong, those Great Restoration Pills could at least stabilize him for a short while.

There shouldn’t have been any issue.

And yet, something had happened now.

Were the Great Restoration Pills fake?

How could that be?

He’d refined each pill himself, every single one of the finest quality.

As a Doctor, he would never joke about his professional ethics.

That left only one possibility: someone had swapped out the Great Restoration Pills, or… Kang Elder had taken something else.

Poison?

Or some other medicine?

Whatever it was, Kang Elder’s body was already gravely injured and not yet healed—now with this sudden development, things might become truly precarious.

“I’ll go take a look.”

Upon hearing these five words from Xu Ping’an, the tension on Pei Qingxuan’s face eased a little.

At least in her mind, there was nothing yet that could truly stump Xu Ping’an.

She said no more, stepping out of the room.

Standing at the doorway was an inner sect disciple from Swordsmith Peak.

Xu Ping’an had no particular impression of this person and only gave him a cursory glance.

But with that one glance, he instantly sensed something was wrong!

“Watch out!!”

Just as Pei Qingxuan was about to draw her flying sword, that disciple suddenly made a move!

Without any warning, a cold gleam sliced through the air, headed straight for Pei Qingxuan’s face.

…

That warning—“Watch out”—was shouted by Xu Ping’an.

Yet, with no means to directly fight back, he could only watch as that needle-like object shot straight toward his Lady.

Still, though the attack came without warning, years of battle experience—and the instinct for danger as a Sword Cultivator—allowed Pei Qingxuan to suddenly twist aside just as Xu Ping’an cried out, followed by the ringing sound of a sword!

“Clang!!’

The sound of metal striking metal rang in their ears, and the needle-like weapon was instantly knocked away.

At the same moment, Pei Qingxuan’s wrist flicked.

The longsword in her hand seemed to come alive, thrusting directly toward that disciple!

The assailant, seeing his assassination attempt had failed, didn’t resist at all—he thrust his chest forward, charging straight into the tip of the sword!

There was a muffled “thud”—by the time Pei Qingxuan tried to pull her sword back, it was already too late!

Meanwhile, the needle-shaped Treasure spun once in midair and disappeared without a trace!

Pei Qingxuan frowned slightly, drawing her sword out of the man’s chest.

Xu Ping’an quickly stepped up, first checking Pei Qingxuan’s condition.

After confirming she was unharmed, he lowered his head to examine the man lying on the ground.

Without a doubt, the moment his Chaos Golden Eyes fell upon the disciple, Xu Ping’an identified that this person was already dead.

Yes, before attempting to assassinate Pei Qingxuan, this disciple had already died.

He’d been controlled by some secret technique that commandeered his corpse and concealed the fact of his death, allowing him to carry the Treasure here.

“Truly dead—his very soul is already gone.”

Xu Ping’an stood up and shook his head.

For him to say this meant that the disciple was beyond saving.

He did have the ability to pull someone back from death, but the price was too steep.

There was no need for that.

“That needle just now was probably a type of Treasure. It seems there are still those who hope for my death…”

Pei Qingxuan’s eyes burned as she stared at the corpse on the ground.

Xu Ping’an hadn’t been here long and felt nothing for the dead man, but Pei Qingxuan had lived in the Floating Cloud Sect for nearly a thousand years.

Most of the disciples had been selected by her own hand.

Though she wasn’t very familiar with this particular disciple, she could at least call his name.

“What kind of technique is this?”

“It’s a kind of Corpse Control technique.”

“Corpse Control?”

At those two words, a notorious demonic sect leapt to Pei Qingxuan’s mind.

Corpse Puppet Sect!

Within the Demon Sect, if one were to list the major orthodox sects, the Corpse Puppet Sect would certainly be among them.

Their abilities to refine corpses and control the dead stood unique across the cultivation world!

What was most shocking was that they could make corpses almost indistinguishable from the living.

And the state of the corpse before them fit this characteristic exactly.

“Corpse Puppet Sect… What a fine Corpse Puppet Sect…”

At this moment, killing intent had arisen in Pei Qingxuan.

A cold aura flowed about her, but Xu Ping’an immediately spoke up:

“Don’t be so quick to jump to conclusions. Though Corpse Control sounds exactly like something the Corpse Puppet Sect would use, if their only goal was to assassinate you, they’d never reveal their sect’s identity so openly. Clearly… someone is trying to frame them, or perhaps… test you.”

Since there was no one else around, Xu Ping’an could speak freely.

Judging from the current situation, it was clear the other party didn’t intend to truly kill Pei Qingxuan.

After all, if they had the ability to sneak a corpse into the sect, they surely had other ways of accomplishing their aim.

The crucial point was that, after the failed assassination attempt, there was no follow-up at all—they simply left.

Either they were probing Pei Qingxuan, or they were framing someone.

Xu Ping’an suspected it was both.

So then, what was the purpose of the one pulling strings from the shadows?

To find their aim, one only needed to ask: if this scheme had succeeded, what would have happened?

Xu Ping’an pondered a moment, then looked up at Pei Qingxuan.

“Lady, I fear the one behind this is also the one targeting the Dragon Qi.”

“……”

Pei Qingxuan was silent for a moment, then immediately understood Xu Ping’an’s meaning. She nodded slightly.

“Husband, for someone to silently kill an inner sect disciple and use Corpse Control to send him to assassinate me, they must be within the sect. For now, you should refrain from going out. If anything happens, I’ll come immediately.”

Xu Ping’an nodded, but after hesitating a moment, he still raised one point.

“Staying in isn’t a problem, but I still need to check on Kang Elder. If anything’s truly happened, I can deal with it quickly by being there.”