As conflicts mounted, the Heavenly Intelligence Pavilion struggled to coordinate its response without the old tower lords. Their replacements were completely overwhelmed, leaving Gu Yong no choice but to take charge of the entire situation himself.
He ordered the cultivators at every shop to calm the crowds and began negotiating compensation instead of offering evidence to refute the accusations. He had neither the time nor the patience to deal with Shen Feng and the other defectors. From what he knew of Li Guanqi, he doubted that the abduction of Song Yunshu had been his idea. The tower lords must have taken her on impulse, fearing Gu Yong would kill them and hoping to use her to stay alive. At least that meant her life was safe for the moment. The thought eased his mind a little.
Across the Six Territories, countless cultivators had surrounded Heavenly Intelligence Pavilion shops in almost every city.
“Sell off the goods!” Li Guanqi said softly.
The public outrage gradually subsided, and the Heavenly Intelligence Pavilion began negotiating compensation with the cultivators injured by its pills. They all demanded exorbitant sums, each asking for millions.
Word soon reached Gu Yong. His face darkened, and he snorted coldly. “Trying to extort me? Hmph! If they won’t accept the compensation we offered, let everyone see how sinister Li Guanqi really is! Pass on the order. Release all the evidence! I want his reputation ruined!”
The Heavenly Intelligence Pavilion released all its prepared “evidence” at once. Public opinion turned against the Guanyun Pavilion and Li Guanqi.
Li Guanqi, Xi Yunhuai, Yu Hua, and the others exchanged glances when they heard the news. Yu Hua looked at Li Guanqi with admiration. Everything was going according to his plans, just as he had anticipated. Every move the other side made was part of his calculations. She almost felt as though Li Guanqi had told the Heavenly Intelligence Pavilion to do it.
Li Guanqi’s lips curved into a faint smile. “Bring in three more chairs.”
Xi Yunhuai looked startled. Yu Hua frowned slightly but waved a hand, and three more chairs appeared in the room.
Hum!
Space rippled, and Shen Feng appeared with the other two tower lords. He finally let out a breath of relief. After glancing at Yu Hua and Xi Yunhuai, he turned to Li Guanqi with a sharp gleam in his eyes and bowed. “Pavilion Master Li, allow me to introduce Jia Kun, the Red Tower Lord, and Wei Song, the Blue Tower Lord.”
Li Guanqi turned to the three men and gave Wei Song and Jia Kun a casual glance. Both reacted as though a formidable enemy stood before them. They had never met him and had dismissed him as little more than an inexperienced youth. Faced with him now, they were stunned by his overwhelming strength and aura. When they tried to probe him with their divine consciousness, his aura swallowed it like a bottomless abyss. Even the beautiful woman behind him was far too powerful to dismiss.
“Have a seat,” Li Guanqi said with a faint smile.
The three sat down somewhat awkwardly. Li Guanqi asked, “Where is Tu Kui?”
Shen Feng raised a hand and tore open a rift in the void, revealing Tu Kui enveloped in spirit qi. The old man’s aura was weak.
“I’ve drawn the poison out of his body,” Shen Feng said gravely. “But for some reason, he seems determined to die. He’s shut himself off.”
Li Guanqi nodded, reached through Shen Feng’s seal without effort, and tapped Tu Kui’s forehead. A surge of lightning numbed the old man’s whole body and knocked his divine soul unconscious.
“Get some rest,” Li Guanqi said softly.
With that, Li Guanqi rose and looked at Shen Feng. “You’ve looked like you have something to say ever since you arrived. What is it?”
Shen Feng paled and stuttered awkwardly, “Well... I...”
Li Guanqi stood tall with one hand behind his back. “Speak.”
Shen Feng gritted his teeth. “I captured Song Yunshu!”
Jia Kun and Wei Song stood beside him, looking equally uneasy. Having heard much about Li Guanqi on their way to Guanyun Pavilion, they had a clear sense of his temper. They feared Shen Feng’s decision to abduct Song Yunshu without his permission would anger him.
Sure enough, Li Guanqi frowned and asked coldly, “You captured Song Yunshu? Why?”
Shen Feng gritted his teeth. “I didn’t expect her to show up just then! We were deciding whether to defect from the Heavenly Intelligence Pavilion. But Tian Hai of the Yellow Tower was afraid of dying, so we had to act!”
Li Guanqi’s frown deepened. He inhaled deeply and opened his eyes a fraction, his face solemn. “Open your domain and let me in.”
Shen Feng’s heart sank as he sensed something was wrong. “Could there be a problem?”
Li Guanqi strode toward the spatial crack and paused beside Shen Feng, his gaze icy. “You were all inside the domain. Couldn’t Gu Yong sense you? Why go to the trouble of sending his precious granddaughter to find you?”
Shen Feng’s heart sank still further. A chill shot through his whole body.
Jia Kun and Wei Song paled. With that old fox’s cunning, sending her to find them did seem unnecessary.
They all followed Li Guanqi into the domain. He spotted Song Yunshu bound in place at its center. Lowering his head, Li Guanqi sighed but left her restraints intact.
Song Yunshu was blindfolded, and muffled whimpers came from her mouth. She had sensed Li Guanqi’s aura. She knew Li Guanqi was standing right in front of her!
She had so many questions. She didn’t understand what had happened between Li Guanqi and her grandfather, or why things had turned out like this!
Li Guanqi closed his eyes and quickly examined the woman’s body. He soon discovered a trace of Gu Yong’s power left inside Song Yunshu’s dantian!
Li Guanqi’s expression changed slightly. He muttered under his breath, “You... are betting on my humanity...”
Yu Hua frowned. “Pavilion Master, why don’t... I do it?”
Shen Feng and the others turned pale. They could sense it too now. Gu Yong had clearly let Song Yunshu be captured on purpose!