No Fighting Allowed in the Inn-Chapter 116

◎Seeds of Doubt, Expanding Meridians, Lan Ling's Death◎

A coincidence?

Suspicion arose in everyone's hearts.

Shangguan Huai was also stunned by the question—he had never even considered this possibility.

If this were true, then not just Luzhou Academy, but other sects might not be as clean as they seemed.

Of course, no sect was truly benevolent or virtuous, but the actions of Shangguan He and Shangguan Chi had endangered martial artists across the entire jianghu. Such atrocities had to be stopped.

Shangguan Chi replied, "You're right. There’s more than just me in the academy. You people are hopelessly stupid."

Everyone: "..."

Manager Lu's earlier remark had clearly been a warning.

After this, Shangguan Huai would likely use the momentum to reform the academy and prevent such incidents from recurring.

Lu Jianwei couldn't help but laugh. "If you're not stupid, then why conspire with Zhuang Wenqing?"

"He could restrain the experts at the inn, leaving me free to capture you."

"Wrong." Lu Jianwei shook her head. "Assuming Zhuang Wenqing wanted to force my sect to reveal itself, and you wanted to seize my techniques, then why go to such lengths? In Jiangzhou, on the road—anytime would have worked. Why choose the moment when all the major sects were gathered at the inn?"

Zhao Xian nodded. "Exactly. Unnecessary."

The others also realized something was off. If Zhuang Wenqing and Shangguan Chi had only targeted the Eight Directions Inn, there was no need to act while they were present.

This was clearly an attempt to eliminate them all at once!

"Shangguan Chi! What exactly are you plotting?!" Hei Zhan slammed his palm down, reducing the armrest of his chair to dust.

Lu Jianwei glanced at him.

"My apologies, Manager Lu. I acted in the heat of the moment. I’ll compensate for the damage later," Hei Zhan hurriedly said.

Lu Jianwei withdrew her gaze.

"I only wanted Lu Jianwei’s techniques. The rest didn’t concern me, and I didn’t care what Zhuang Wenqing was up to," Shangguan Chi said.

Pei Zhi asked, "Have you been in contact before?"

"Of course not."

"When did he approach you?"

"After Lu Jianwei announced the inn’s reopening."

"What did he say?"

"He asked if I wanted Lu Jianwei’s techniques. I said yes. He then promised to restrain the inn’s other experts and leave Lu Jianwei to me."

Pei Zhi’s eyes flashed with killing intent. "Why did you trust him?"

"He knew what I’d done, yet never exposed me. That told me he was no saint either. All I needed to know was that he bore ill will toward the inn."

The questioning seemed to have hit a dead end.

Zhuang Wenqing’s true motives remained a mystery.

Yet, no one could blame Lu Jianwei for killing him. The situation had been dire—if she hadn’t struck him down then, he and Shangguan Chi would have joined forces, controlling puppets and unleashing venomous insects. Who could have stopped them?

"Yan Feicang, bring Zhuang Wenqing here," Lu Jianwei ordered.

Yan Feicang promptly hauled Zhuang Wenqing’s corpse onto the stage. After more than ten days, the body should have decayed, but Lu Jianwei had preserved it with special chemicals.

The puppet insect’s offspring resided in the host’s heart, while the mother insect was usually placed at the back of the head, just like A’Zhaduo during the Gu God Festival.

Yan Feicang flipped the corpse over and shaved off the hair, revealing the smooth scalp.

Lu Jianwei raised her hand, condensing her inner energy into a fine thread that carefully sliced open the flesh at the back of Zhuang Wenqing’s head. From the grayish-white tissue, she extracted a golden insect the size of a sesame seed.

Deprived of its host, the insect had already died.

"Ugh!"

A young martial artist, realizing he might have one of these inside him, couldn’t suppress a dry heave.

Like a chain reaction, retching sounds erupted across the arena.

Zhao Rui and Bian Xingzhou fought it but ultimately failed.

Under the sympathetic gazes of their peers, they vomited, dignity in tatters.

Lu Jianwei’s oppressive aura swept over them, and the noise ceased instantly.

"Esteemed guests," she addressed the elders, "refining a Gu Emperor is no easy feat. Even if Zhuang Wenqing was exceptionally talented and succeeded, it would be impossible for him to implant offspring into so many young martial artists—especially elite disciples from the Martial Alliance and the Heaven-Supporting Hall."

In truth, these elite disciples had been implanted with love insects, but that didn’t stop her from muddying the waters.

Ying Chen agreed. "Correct. The Thousand Miles Pavilion excels in intelligence gathering. Our alliance disciples are always wary of them, and the Heaven-Supporting Hall’s disciples are no exception. He couldn’t have found so many opportunities."

"He must have had accomplices!" Zhao Xian declared.

Everyone glanced around, guards raised.

The arena was silent, with no signs of disturbance.

Just as they began to relax, a young disciple abruptly stood, facing a particular direction with a look of reverence.

One by one, more young martial artists rose, their fervent gazes fixed on the same spot.

Their focus—

Xie Tongshu of the Carefree Sect!

The scene was eerily bizarre.

Xie Tongshu hadn’t spoken a word since the beginning. Holding a horsetail whisk, clad in white robes, he exuded an air of transcendent grace and aloofness.

He hadn’t noticed the disciples’ actions but sensed something amiss and turned.

Young martial artists—including some from the Martial Alliance and the Heaven-Supporting Hall—were staring at him with an intensity that sent chills down his spine.

A shiver ran through him, cold sweat forming on his back.

Lu Jianwei allowed herself a faint smile, her triumph hidden.

Her precious Little Mist had evolved into a Gu Emperor, surpassing all others. With its commands, no other insect could resist.

Before, she hadn’t been able to sense the Gu Emperor in Helian Xue. Now, through Little Mist, she could clearly detect it—a love insect nestled at the back of Helian Xue’s head.

But Helian Xue wasn’t its master. She didn’t even know it existed.

If she were, today’s farce wouldn’t have happened.

All mother insects had absolute control over their offspring.

Love insects were no exception.

When threatened, the mother insect would summon its offspring to protect itself and its host.

Helian Xue was its host.

In Dianzhou, during the fight for the White Bone Flower, Zhao Rui and Bian Xingzhou had abandoned the treasure to attack anyone who threatened Helian Xue.

In the arena, when Helian Xue was nearly struck during a match, Zhao Rui and others had rushed the stage without hesitation.

When assassins appeared and Zhao Xian tried to kill Helian Xue, Zhuang Wenqing’s puppets also targeted her. The hosts of the offspring insects had broken through their sealed acupoints to shield her.

All of this was the mother insect’s doing.

Even without a master’s control, it instinctively protected its host.

This easily created the illusion—Helian Xue had a bewitching charm.

When unthreatened, the mother insect still exerted an irresistible pull on its offspring. Thus, young martial artists who had been implanted with them were drawn to Helian Xue like moths to a flame.

Hence her title: the most beautiful woman in the jianghu.

Zhuang Wenqing had clearly known about the Gu Emperor inside Helian Xue and tried to use her to sow chaos in the arena, masking his own schemes.

Unfortunately for him, he hadn’t anticipated Lu Jianwei possessing a Yin-Yang Gu Emperor—one capable of suppressing his and killing him without a sound.

The question of who planted the Gu Emperor in Helian Xue could be set aside for now. Lu Jianwei wanted to get to the bottom of it, but she didn’t want her to suffer undue criticism. So, she had Xiao Wu command the mother gu to control all the child gu, forcing their hosts to act in submission to Xie Tongshu.

The Carefree Sect was far from innocent in the matter of the Gu Emperor. Xie Tongshu was a senior elder of the sect and had been involved in power struggles over twenty years ago. The Five Poisons in Pei Zhi’s body were likely also connected to him, making him the perfect target.

No one knew of Lu Jianwei’s plan. Those present only believed what they saw with their own eyes.

Xie Tongshu was suspicious!

Even the disciples of the Carefree Sect were stunned.

What in the world was happening?

“Wasn’t Zhuang Wenqing’s Gu Emperor already dead?”

“Could there actually be two child gu inside us?”

“Ugh—”

No one knew of the existence of the Love Gu. Amid the chaos that day, everyone had assumed the assassins and martial artists were all under the control of the Puppet Gu Emperor.

As the Carefree Sect’s sworn enemy, Zhao Xian reacted the fastest.

“Well, well! So, it was your Carefree Sect behind this all along! Xie Tongshu, just what is your sect planning? To kill everyone here and dominate the martial world?”

For a brief moment, Xie Tongshu’s usually calm and expressionless face twisted. The accusatory gazes of the crowd felt like needles stabbing into his back.

He tightened his grip on his horsetail whisk, scanning the arena sharply, trying to find the person who had framed him—but to no avail.

“Brother Xie, you owe everyone an explanation,” Ying Chen of the Martial Alliance said coldly.

Zhao Xian added, “Xie Tongshu, you’d better speak clearly!”

Xie Tongshu regained his composure, a hint of mockery surfacing on his face. “Such an obvious frame-up, and you all still believe it?”

“Then explain what’s happening to them!”

“It has nothing to do with me.”

“The moment I mentioned accomplices, they all acted like this. You must have had murderous intent and unconsciously controlled them.”

“I have never dabbled in such unorthodox methods,” Xie Tongshu said icily. “Instead of barking nonsense at me, why don’t you think about how your son ended up like this?”

Zhao Xian: “…”

That was true. How had so many young martial artists been implanted with child gu in the first place?

“I’ve got it—the Martial Alliance’s grand tournament!” Hei Zhan slapped his thigh as he stood up. “Every time the tournament is held, disciples from all sects gather at the Martial Alliance. That would be the perfect opportunity.”

Zhao Xian nodded. “Exactly. Xie Tongshu, if I recall correctly, it was you who led your disciples out for training during the last tournament. You put on such a lofty front—who would suspect you?”

“But what would Brother Xie gain from this?” Yan Buyou interjected fairly. “We still don’t even know if it’s really the work of gu worms. Even if it is, controlling these disciples wouldn’t be of much use. He’d be better off targeting us old-timers.”

Jin Huanrong stroked his beard in agreement. “True. Without concrete evidence, we can’t just accuse him.”

“Manager Lu, what do you think?” Meng Ti’an asked respectfully.

The others silently scoffed—this Meng fellow had completely become Manager Lu’s lackey. He probably wasn’t even this deferential to the master of the Divine Physician Valley.

Lu Jianwei had no intention of condemning the Carefree Sect just yet. This spectacle was merely to plant a seed of doubt in everyone’s minds.

None of them would actually demand answers from Xie Tongshu.

“Since there’s no evidence, let’s set this matter aside for now. However, there’s something else I’d like to ask you all.”

“No need for formalities, Manager Lu. If you have any instructions, we are at your service,” Meng Ti’an declared, reaffirming his stance.

The crowd: “…”

Was this really the same haughty physician from the Divine Physician Valley?

Lu Jianwei continued, “A total of three hundred and twenty assassins attacked the inn—two hundred and ten at the fifth rank, eighty at the sixth, and thirty at the seventh. I’d like to ask you all—which sect in the world could dispatch so many elites at once, all of them mindless puppets willing to die?”

Silence fell over the arena.

Even the Carefree Sect, the foremost major sect, couldn’t accomplish such a feat.

Everyone knew how difficult it was to train even a single seventh-rank martial artist, let alone thirty of them.

These assassins had all been under Zhuang Wenqing’s control. So how had the Thousand Miles Tower managed to cultivate so many high-level fighters?

They hadn’t paid much attention to this detail before, but now that Lu Jianwei pointed it out, it seemed utterly unbelievable.

When the statistics came in, even Lu Jianwei had been shocked by the numbers. It was as if all the world’s prodigies had been monopolized by the Thousand Miles Tower.

“I couldn’t make sense of it, so I investigated the backgrounds of these puppet assassins.” She turned to Yan Feicang. “Bring them up.”

Yan Feicang immediately hauled several assassins onto the stage—fifth-rank, sixth-rank, and seventh-rank—laying them out in a row.

“Manager Lu, what’s the meaning of this?” Zhao Xian asked.

Lu Jianwei replied, “Why don’t you all examine their meridians first?”

Meng Ti’an was the first to step forward, placing his fingers on one assassin’s wrist. After a few moments, his expression turned to shock. He moved to the next one, and his astonishment only grew.

The others, curious, followed suit. One by one, they checked the assassins’ meridians—and each was met with the same startling discovery.

“What’s going on here?” Hei Zhan blurted out. “Why are their meridians so much thicker than normal?”

Ying Chen frowned deeply. “There are naturally those born with thicker meridians, but to find so many at once defies logic.”

“Exactly,” Shangguan Huai said. “But while their meridians are thicker than average, they lack the resilience of ordinary ones. They can accumulate internal energy rapidly, but seventh rank is their limit. Any further, and their meridians wouldn’t be able to withstand it.”

Zhao Xian’s expression was graver than the others’. He checked one assassin after another, his brow furrowing deeper, before returning to his seat without a word.

“As you all know, those born with thicker meridians can cultivate more internal energy in the same amount of time, and their energy flows more smoothly, making it easier for them to advance in strength compared to ordinary martial artists,” Meng Ti’an explained. “But based on my years of medical experience, I can confirm these men’s meridians were not naturally like this.”

“What do you mean?” Yan Buyou asked, surprised. “They were artificially widened?”

“Precisely,” Meng Ti’an nodded. “I once read in an ancient text that meridians can be expanded through certain methods, but the formula has been lost to time.”

Shangguan Huai’s eyes lit up. “Is that true?!”

“I can’t say for certain,” Meng Ti’an admitted. “But in my opinion, even if drugs were used to widen the meridians, the end result would be the same as these assassins—their meridians would only grow more fragile.”

The excitement faded from Shangguan Huai’s face, replaced by disappointment.

“So, the Thousand Miles Tower has this formula?” Hei Zhan voiced the question on everyone’s mind.

Zhao Xian’s cold gaze lifted.

“Manager Lu, I heard you had the Mystic Mirror Bureau raid the Thousand Miles Tower. What do you plan to do with their assets?”

Lu Jianwei’s expression remained indifferent. “Speak plainly, Elder Zhao.”

“The Thousand Miles Tower conspired with Shangguan Chi, harming so many people here. As you said, Manager Lu, demanding compensation isn’t unreasonable, is it?”

Lu Jianwei glanced around. “Do the rest of you agree?”

“The Divine Physician Valley seeks no compensation,” Meng Ti’an declared immediately.

Yan Buyou added, “It was Manager Lu who saved us. The Thousand Miles Tower’s assets should all go to her.”

“I agree with Brother Yan,” Jin Huanrong concurred.

Shangguan Huai quickly followed up: "The Luzhou Academy is also at fault in this matter. Shangguan Chi did not harm anyone else, and it was Manager Lu who subdued him single-handedly. All his personal belongings rightfully belong to Manager Lu."

The others had no choice but to express the same sentiment.

Lu Jianwei smiled amiably and said, "I am not an unreasonable person. Since you all suffered this ordeal in my inn, it is only right that the inn offers some compensation. Once the assets from Thousand Miles Tower arrive, I will assess the extent of your losses and provide appropriate restitution."

The crowd was taken aback—was she really this accommodating?

"Of course, regarding the parasites inside all of you..."

"Manager Lu, I don’t want compensation!" a young martial artist suddenly shouted. "Could you please remove the parasite from me?"

Others quickly caught on: "I don’t want compensation either!"

Zhao Xian thought of the parasite inside his son and hesitated.

He could, of course, return to the Sky Pillar Hall and have their experts in parasitic arts remove it.

But he didn’t dare take the risk.

Lu Jianwei then shifted her tone: "What I meant to say was that I can remove the parasites from all of you free of charge. Since you’re all so eager, I’ll graciously accept your gratitude."

The crowd: "..."

So she had been playing them all along!

Zhao Xian, realizing he wouldn’t get any compensation, said, "From what I know, the offspring of a Parasite Emperor are not easily removed. Forcibly extracting them could very well be fatal."

Though his words were directed at Lu Jianwei, his gaze was fixed on Xie Tongshu.

Xie Tongshu scoffed, "Zhao Xian, if I truly had a parasite inside me, do you think you’d still be alive after that day in the arena?"

"I’m not stupid," Zhao Xian retorted. "But offspring parasites only obey the mother parasite. Even if you were unaware, it doesn’t prove you don’t have one."

Xie Tongshu flicked his sleeve dismissively. "Ridiculous!"

"Elder Zhao makes a fair point," Lu Jianwei seized the moment to say. "Since the accomplices haven’t been found yet, the matter of removing the parasites will have to wait."

Meng Ti'an nodded. "Exactly. Thousand Miles Tower even had prescriptions for expanding meridians—they might also have texts on parasitic arts. It’s better to study them thoroughly before attempting removal."

"Let’s end things here for today. You’re all free to go. I’ll take my leave." Lu Jianwei turned to depart.

"Manager Lu," Hei Zhan called out to her. "What should be done with these two?"

Lu Jianwei replied, "Shangguan Chi tried to kill me, so I’ll take him back and deal with him personally. As for Lan Ling, what do you all think?"

"Kill her!"

"Yes, execute her!"

"Let her atone with her life!"

Lu Jianwei nodded. "Then—"

"Manager Lu." A clear, refined voice sounded from outside the inn. "Would you be willing to make a deal with me?"

A figure clad in white robes soared gracefully over the inn’s rooftops and landed inside.

Yue Shu exclaimed, "It’s Gentleman Pingwu!"

A'Nai frowned. "What’s he doing here? Is he trying to save Lan Ling?"

Xue Guanhe asked, "What kind of deal does he want to make with the manager?"

"Who are you?" Hei Zhan, annoyed at the interruption, barked. "A mere fourth-rank martial artist dares to make demands here?"

Ping Wu landed on the dueling platform, standing several zhang away from the crowd.

Ignoring Hei Zhan, he looked straight at Lu Jianwei and uttered words that left everyone stunned.

"I know how the treasure map of White Crane Manor was leaked. Manager Lu, if I tell you, will you spare Lan Ling’s life?"

"No," Lu Jianwei answered without hesitation. "She has provoked public outrage. She must die."

Ping Wu smiled bitterly. "Is there truly no room for negotiation?"

"Remnant of Thousand Miles Tower!" Hei Zhan roared, brandishing his broadsword. "Stop spouting nonsense here!"

He had recognized Ping Wu as the little brat who killed Chai Kun.

Previously, he hadn’t had the chance to eliminate him, and Black Wind Fort had lost face in the martial world. Now, the boy had delivered himself right to their doorstep.

Lu Jianwei cast a faint glance at Hei Zhan, and the man suddenly froze mid-swing, unable to bring his blade down.

His face flushed red as he growled, "Manager Lu, he’s also a remnant of Thousand Miles Tower—who knows what vile deeds he’s committed? Killing him is only just!"

"Fort Master Hei," Lu Jianwei smiled at him. "Would you like to take charge here instead?"

Hei Zhan: "..."

He wouldn’t dare overrule the Eight Directions Inn.

"Young Master Chu," Lu Jianwei turned back to Ping Wu, "you do realize I could just capture you and force-feed you a 'Heart’s Confession' pill, right?"

Ping Wu nodded. "I know. But Manager Lu has always been fair in her dealings."

"You’re ​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌‍offering me an unverified piece of information in exchange for a trade. I can’t trust that." Lu Jianwei said. "If you truly knew who leaked the map, Thousand Miles Tower would have long uncovered the treasure’s secret. Why bother coming all the way to Fengzhou?"

Ping Wu replied, "I stumbled upon this information by chance and never reported it to the Tower."

"Tell me, and I’ll consider giving her an intact corpse."

By now, the effects of the Heart’s Confession pill had worn off, and Lan Ling regained her senses.

She didn’t even glance at Ping Wu, only saying coldly, "I don’t need your help. Get lost."

"Lan Ling," Ping Wu gazed at her, his eyes shimmering with unshed tears. "I can’t save you. I’m sorry."

"I said I don’t need saving," Lan Ling snarled before turning to Lu Jianwei. "Manager Lu, just kill me already. Dying by your hand isn’t a bad way to go."

Lu Jianwei tossed out a poison pill.

"Swallow this. You’ll die within three breaths, with little pain."

Pei Zhi caught it and struck Lan Ling’s pressure points with his inner force, forcing her mouth open. He flicked the pill down her throat.

Three breaths later, Lan Ling collapsed dead, not even given time to feel the pain.

The crowd: "..."

Manager Lu’s decisiveness was terrifying—execution at the drop of a hat.

Ping Wu’s expression was bleak as he stared at Lan Ling’s lifeless body, the light in his eyes dimming.

Softly, he asked, "May I take her away?"

Lu Jianwei replied, "As you wish."

"Thank you."

Ping Wu stepped forward and, without hesitation, gathered Lan Ling’s mud-streaked body into his arms.

His pristine white robes were stained, no longer the picture of elegance.

Since he hadn’t participated in the massacre, the crowd saw no need to pursue him—even if he was a remnant of Thousand Miles Tower.

As he stepped off the dueling platform, he suddenly paused and turned back. His gaze was heavy, yet tinged with mockery.

"Manager Lu, the magistrate of Jiangzhou Prefecture is an honored guest of Leisurely Cloud Manor."

With those words, he left the inn, vanishing from public sight.

The crowd: ???

What did some magistrate have to do with anything now?

Lu Jianwei had no intention of wasting more time on them either. She led her staff back to the main courtyard.

Pei Zhi dumped Shangguan Chi in the yard and asked, "Jianwei, how do you want to handle him?"

Lu Jianwei naturally wanted to make use of the waste—absorbing Shangguan Chi’s inner force for herself—but she couldn’t say so outright.

"If Thousand Miles Tower really has a prescription for expanding meridians, I’m sure he’d be happy to cooperate in the research. Let’s keep him alive for now."

If they could find a way to treat weak meridians, they might cure Shangguan Yao.

Shangguan Yao had suffered due to her clan’s malice even before birth. Now, using Shangguan Chi for medical research would be his atonement to Shangguan Huai’s family.

Understanding her intent, Pei Zhi locked Shangguan Chi in the woodshed.

"We’ll discuss this further once Qi Yan returns," Lu Jianwei gathered her staff. "Right now, the most pressing matter is that magistrate from Jiangzhou."

She turned to Pei Zhi. "Do you know anything about him?"

"I’ve heard of him, but I wouldn’t say I know him well." Pei Zhi then added, "But Brother Liang should be quite familiar with him."

All eyes shifted.

Liang Shangjun: "..."