Chapter 543: Chapter 323: Li Xian in Peril? Turning the Tables! Investigating Jieyou Tower—How Could It Be Her?

The faces of several people were flushed, wanting to shout. But Fluff Silk tightly bound them, making their tongues and teeth helpless. Unable to open their mouths, they naturally could not speak. Seeing more and more people gather around, they all felt ashen-hearted and lost face, inevitably.

Yang Xin’s spear ground his teeth in fury, his anger boiling to the point of madness.

...

...

On the other side, Li Xian, Tang Wenshu, and Ye Cheng disguised themselves as merchants and brought along several trustworthy disciples, arriving at the entrance of Jieyou Tower.

It turned out that last night’s conversation was all an act. Hiding among the logs seemed feasible but was full of holes, neither stable nor clever, not to his liking as a strategy.

Li Xian predicted that crisis reveals true hearts, and deliberately spoke last night, knowing someone would sell them out. So he went with the flow, filled the logs with cotton and a special ’flower oil.’ This flower oil had a peculiar scent that, when struck with a sword or cut with a knife, was extremely flammable and explosive, yet it had medicinal properties that could heal the liver and spleen. It was concocted by the Water Altar, and Tang Wenshu and Ye Cheng transported it to Flying Dragon City for sale.

Thus, it could attract attention while they took the chance to investigate Jieyou Tower. Li Xian pondered, "Escaping outside means facing Flying Dragon City and the Five Great Sword Sects’ siege and pursuit. Even if we escape the city gates, we’ll be chased. I would be the first target, without a chance for mercy. On the other hand... if I investigate internally, I’d only have to face the real culprit, most likely He Wentian, and face less resistance."

Li Xian bowed and said, "Two elders, I am truly grateful for your willingness to accompany me in this adventure!"

Ye Cheng and Tang Wenshu were both followers of the Candle Sect. Hence, they were quite trustworthy. Tang Wenshu said, "Not at all, not at all, it’s all for survival." Ye Cheng said, "As the saying goes, ’tough on the outside, weak on the inside.’ Constantly escaping outwards only results in hitting a brick wall. Sometimes, going the opposite way gives more hope. Brother Li’s strategy, I agree."

Li Xian said, "Those women disappeared here, there’s definitely a mystery. It’s laughable how the elders and disciples of the Five Great Sword Sects have maggots in their heads, not suspecting a thing."

Ye Cheng said, "That’s not quite fair to say. Firstly, our Flower Cage Sect is indeed notoriously bad. Secondly, City Lord He’s reputation is too good. Anyone who comes will surely blame us for it."

Li Xian muttered, "Now it’s already blamed on me. I’m truly innocent; what virtue or ability do I have to capture all these heroic women?"

The three disguised themselves as ordinary merchants, walked gracefully into Jieyou Tower. Jieyou Tower was a place for pleasure and entertainment, with fine wine and delicacies served. Ye Cheng and Tang Wenshu used their resources and efforts to book a private room, ordering over a dozen dishes lavishly.

Li Xian observed along the way, discovering countless mysteries and complex mechanisms within Jieyou Tower. After taking a seat in the private room, Li Xian said seriously, "Two elders, there are too many eyes and ears here, it’s inconvenient to act together, better to split up. I’ll go first; if there’s a clue, I’ll use a strand of hair to inform you." He removed six strands of hair and handed them to the two.

Ye Cheng sighed, "Brother Li’s skill is truly extremely useful. However, pulling out so much, won’t there be a shortage of black hair?"

Li Xian smiled, "Don’t worry about that; my hair is immensely thick." He transported impurities, tempered his organs, nourished his blood and hair with ease.

Li Xian snuck away quietly, heading towards the chamber hosting the ’Phoenix Banquet.’ The far and near parts of Jieyou Tower were entirely blood-red, painted with ’Fearsome Varnish,’ commonly used on coffins.

The space for the Phoenix Banquet was very spacious, with a large circular platform surrounded by a circle of White Jade tables. In the center of the platform was a wooden tower with a peculiar design, made entirely from ’wooden chairs,’ ’wooden sticks,’ and other assorted objects. There were no mortise and tenon joints in the structure, rendering it extremely unstable; a single kick would topple it.

And it was very crooked. Looking up from below, it bent east at times, leaned west at others, swayed north, and twisted south. Extremely peculiar, yet strangely never collapsing.

It must be that during the Phoenix Banquet, the women were playing a game of ’building a tower.’ They threw objects from their surroundings onto the platform, piling wood into a tower, gradually adding more, raising the ’wooden tower’ higher. Finally, whoever had weaker Martial Arts would cause the tower to crash.

Each piece of wood in the tower contained Martial Arts, enduring and not fading. Hence its peculiar appearance defied common sense, yet remained firmly standing. Li Xian observed for a long time, silently thinking, "Martial Arts can reflect one’s disposition. These women were either reserved or passionate or otherwise enjoyed themselves very much. Moreover, their Martial Arts were all strong, with a few being extremely formidable. Why did they disappear without reason?"

While pondering, he suddenly heard footsteps approaching. A pair of gilded silver tiger boots stepped into view, prompting Li Xian to quickly hide and peek, thinking in surprise, "Why is it her?" It was a woman he was very familiar with!