A month ago, the three families of Jianchuan still maintained superficial peace.

On the 49th birthday of Yan Wufu, the leader of Qingshuang Sect, each family sent gifts, carefully calculated in value regardless of the sincerity of intentions, to avoid any disrespect.

As one of the leaders in Jianchuan, Yan Wufu had no lack of acquaintances. Heavy gift boxes were sent one after another across the ice bridge, including elixirs, dusters, tea sets, and pictures of a hundred blessings - all standard items that couldn't go wrong.

And on this birthday, Yan Wufu received the most peculiar gift in his 49 years of life.

...A black gold Tang saber, a letter, and a tightly bound, unconscious disciple wearing Xiafei Sect robes.

The gift was sent from Lingbi Mountain, signed by a Daoist friend of Yan Wufu whom he hadn't seen for many years and didn't know if he was dead or alive. However, the handwriting didn't match his memory of that friend.

Yan Wufu didn't try to wake the deeply sleeping young Daoist. He first confirmed the letter was harmless before opening it to read.

The letter that came with the box was unsigned and had few words, even somewhat abrupt: "Kill this person, place him with his head to the south and feet to the north, at the intersection of the three families' territories. This will be Yan Wufu's ladder to seeking the Dao."

But Yan Wufu understood.

News of the Tang saber murder cases had long reached Jianchuan. It was said that an insane swordsman was continuously killing Daoist cultivators and abandoning their corpses. The killed cultivators had no connections, mostly mediocre and diligent unknown Daoists. The death toll had exceeded ten.

The three sects jointly wrote to inform each family to recall their disciples out on business. If they had to travel, it was best to go in groups to prevent any incidents.

Therefore, when he saw that Tang saber, Yan Wufu had an idea.

He reached out to close the gift box and seal it with a spell. He called the disciple outside, "Take all these gifts into the treasure storehouse in the back mountains and hide them."

The disciples had always had a good relationship with Yan Wufu. After nodding in agreement, two disciples lifted the gift box containing the person, and couldn't help but be surprised, "Sect Leader, what is this thing? Why is it so heavy?"

Yan Wufu said, "Some Daoist secret texts, all bamboo scrolls, extremely heavy. Remember to find a dry place to store them, don't damage them for me."

After the disciples left, Yan Wufu fell into contemplation.

After the demonic Dao wreaked havoc on the world, the Daoist sects entered a period of reorganization and revival, with a hundred flowers blooming, but also the good and bad mixed together.

At this juncture, the leaders of Baisheng Sect and Feihua Sect passed away one after another. The two young people who took over, one extremely stupid and one extremely intelligent, were both difficult to deal with. Moreover, after forming a marriage alliance, the two families became one entity, with their sights set on Qingshuang Sect.

The people in Jianchuan had been restless and distracted from seeking the Dao for more than a day or two because of this.

If this trend continued, the accumulated problems would turn into boils, the boils would fester, until the day when things became uncontrollable. Sooner or later, the three families would have to face a direct confrontation.

By then, there would be no Dao, no human feelings, everything driven by interests. Determining a winner, while perhaps not creating rivers of blood, would at least add dozens or even hundreds of unknown skeletons to the bottom of the deep waters.

This letter directly questioned Yan Wufu's heart.

Should he nurture the parasites and muddle along, waiting for the inevitable decisive battle between the three families that could come at any time? Or should he find an excuse to let all the contradictions erupt early?

That night, Yan Wufu gave his answer.

He wrapped the Tang saber in black cloth and, taking advantage of the night, went to the treasure storehouse in the back mountains.

The formations in the treasure storehouse were complicated, and the key was only in Yan Wufu's hands, so there was no need for others to guard it.

Yan Wufu entered the treasure storehouse directly, found the sealed box, sat on it, propped his hands on the Tang saber, his face solemn.

After midnight, there was a shaking sound from inside the box.

Yan Wufu jumped off the box and lifted the lid. Inside was the panicked and dazed face of a young man. It could be imagined that he might have just been walking on the road and was knocked unconscious for no reason. When he woke up, he was in a completely unfamiliar place with nothing on him except his clothes. It was normal for him to be at a loss.

This excessively young face reminded Yan Wufu of his own disciples, and he hesitated for a moment.

But the hilt of the Tang saber in his hand, which didn't fit well, prodded him, reminding Yan Wufu of his purpose for coming here in the middle of the night.

After explaining his identity, the nervous disciple got up and bowed properly, "Yan Sect Leader, this disciple is an outer disciple of Xiafei Sect, named Bian Wutao. I don't know... how did this disciple get here?"

Yan Wufu responded fluently, telling a half-true story, "You entered Jianchuan mixed in with my birthday gift boxes. When I opened the box and saw you, you were in a coma. I didn't dare to wake you up easily, fearing that you might have some kind of device or curse on you that would cause chaos in Jianchuan once you woke up. So I didn't make it public and instructed the disciples to carry you here. I came here in the middle of the night to wait, just to wait for you to wake up."

This explanation was very reasonable. The disciple had no reason to doubt it anymore. He said that he had received the crisis message from the three sects to be wary of the Tang saber killer. He was already on his way back to Xiafei Sect, but when he entered a forest, he suddenly felt weak all over his body and fainted. When he woke up, he was in Jianchuan.

Yan Wufu got up and said, "Follow me. I'll send you out."

Strangely, he couldn't remember how he felt when he swung his sword to cut Bian Wutao's throat.

When he came back to his senses, Bian Wutao had already crawled a bloody path several feet long in the direction of Baisheng Sect, holding a stone in his hand, and died.

Looking at his corpse, Yan Wufu had a bit of a headache.

...Dying like this, how could the corpse be placed with the head to the south and feet to the north?

He didn't know why the person behind the scenes had to put the corpse with the head to the south and feet to the north.

Moreover, once the corpse was placed with the head to the south and feet to the north, wouldn't it be pointing in the direction of Qingshuang Sect?

Since he couldn't figure it out, he simply didn't think about it.

Yan Wufu left the corpse behind, but he was not in a hurry to leave. He waited on the side, wanting to leave only after the corpse was discovered by others.

Then, he had the pleasure of watching an interesting play.

Zhu Mingchao came, holding a letter in her hand.

When she saw the corpse, her expression didn't show much surprise.

Yan Wufu was puzzled. He hid in the dark and secretly used a bit of spiritual power to see clearly the contents of the letter:

"Today, when Sect Leader Zhu gets up early to practice breathing exercises, she will see a corpse at the intersection of the three families' territories. If there is such a corpse, please place the body with the head to the south and feet to the north. This will be Sect Leader Zhu's ladder to seeking the Dao."

Yan Wufu was quite puzzled, thinking, head to the south and feet to the north, is it really that important?

Zhu Mingchao observed the corpse for a moment and indeed took action.

But she turned the body towards the Feihua Sect.

Despite the many grudges between the two sects, Yan Wufu secretly praised this girl for her quick wit.

Zhu Mingchao was an exceptionally clear-headed person. Due to various reasons, the Baisheng Sect was the weakest force in Sichuan and had no choice but to join hands with the second strongest Feihua Sect.

However, the Feihua Sect was not a good ally.

Hindered by the treacherous terrain of Jianchuan, the Baisheng Sect had not made much progress over the years. If they did not leave Jianchuan early and seek another way out, they would likely be the first to be devoured by the Feihua Sect.

However, now the Baisheng and Feihua Sects were deeply related by marriage, and the Baisheng Sect had no reason to voluntarily leave Jianchuan and break ancestral rules. Therefore, Zhu Mingchao had no choice but to accompany the Feihua Sect, mired in the mud, unable to move forward, watching helplessly as the great hall was about to collapse.

...She was also seeking a turning point.

But Zhu Mingchao's nature would not allow her to simply follow the instructions in the letter and do someone else's bidding.

After she finished arranging the scene, she also turned and left.

Yan Wufu and she had the same thought.

- They had both been to the place where the body was laid out, and it was best not to be the first to discover it, otherwise it would be difficult to extricate themselves.

In the end, only the Feihua Sect was left to discover the body.

The two reckless disciples had escaped from morning lessons and stumbled upon the corpse. Instead of immediately reporting it, they kicked and messed up the scene that Zhu Mingchao had carefully arranged, turning the body towards the Qingshuang Sect, before shouting loudly, "Someone's dead, someone's dead".

Yan Wufu watched the whole process and gradually felt a chill in his heart.

- The Tang Saber swordsman who had orchestrated everything behind the scenes had completely guessed their intentions.

Yan Wufu himself was ruthless, killing the "gift" sent by the Tang saber swordsman and abandoning the body at the intersection of the three sects, but not arranging the body as instructed in the letter.

Zhu Mingchao was quick-witted and unwilling to be controlled by others, so she also did not follow the instructions in the letter.

They were both unwilling to be the discoverers of the scene, so the only ones left who could "first" discover the body were the Feihua Sect.

- The Feihua Sect, who despised the Qingshuang Sect the most.

- The Feihua Sect, who would certainly think of pushing the disaster onto the Qingshuang Sect if something happened.

In any case, when the murder case broke out, Jianchuan was shocked and immediately sealed off, and an investigation began into whether any disciples had colluded with the Tang saber swordsman.

Unfortunately, after the three sects gave their orders, all the disciples valued their lives and did not leave Jianchuan after it was sealed off. After an investigation, it turned out that not a single disciple had left Jianchuan on the night of the murder.

The situation thus reached a stalemate.

After discussion among the three sects, they could only continue to seal off Jianchuan and wait for specialists from the three sects to come and investigate the matter after sending away the body of the young Daoist priest named Bian Wutao.

Yan Wufu knew that the Tang saber swordsman would not stop there, and he must have a backup plan.

Moreover, he had a premonition.

- The Tang saber swordsman would start with the Qingshuang Sect.

Sure enough, after a month, Su Ping came in a hurry with a family letter, explaining that his father's chronic illness had flared up and begging to leave Jianchuan to visit his family.

Although Su Ping was anxious, he also knew that now was the time when the three sects had jointly decided to seal off Jianchuan, and he could not leave easily.

He pleaded with Yan Wufu, saying that he wanted Yan Wufu to take him to see the other two sect leaders, explain the situation, and if the Feihua and Baisheng sect leaders did not believe him, they could each send out disciples they trusted to escort him back to Qingping Prefecture, even if he had to be shackled and fettered, as long as he could safely reach home and attend to his ailing father.

Yan Wufu looked at the family letter.

In the Qingshuang Sect, the relationship between disciples and the sect leader was indeed intimate. Yan Wufu was very familiar with the disciples of his own sect, so he knew that Su Ping's parents were both illiterate. Whenever they wrote a family letter, they would ask literate neighbors to write on their behalf, and Su Ping was even ridiculed by other disciples, saying that it was a "letter from a hundred families".

And the handwriting of this letter was exactly the same as the handwriting of the person who had delivered the Tang saber swordsman's message.

This was a forged letter, with the purpose of tricking Su Ping into leaving Jianchuan.

Yan Wufu knew in his heart that once Su Ping left Jianchuan, the other two sects would certainly take the opportunity to make a big fuss, saying that Su Ping had colluded with people outside Jianchuan, and would hold him, the Qingshuang Sect leader, responsible.

In order to achieve the goal of "holding responsible", Su Ping would not be able to take this forged letter and return to Jianchuan alive to clear up the misunderstanding for Yan Wufu and the Qingshuang Sect.

In other words, once Su Ping left Jianchuan, he would completely disappear from this world.

Then, would the Tang saber swordsman personally take action?

Or would he send another letter, instructing someone in Jianchuan to kill Su Ping?

If anyone in Jianchuan was stupid and vicious enough to be ordered around by others like this, it could only be Hua Ruohong.

Hua Ruohong was extremely foolish. It would be easy to ask him to kill someone, but difficult to tell him not to leave any clues.

At that time, as long as his evil deeds were exposed, he would be driven out of Jianchuan.

Once the Feihua Sect dispersed, the three sects would exist in name only, and the Baisheng Sect would have the opportunity to decide their own fate.

Yan Wufu's mind was in turmoil, but when he raised his eyes to look at Su Ping, who was certain to die, there was only concern and unquestionable resolve in his eyes: "There's no need to meet with them. I'll allow you to go."

...Having come this far, he could not let his efforts go to waste.

In the end, Yan Wufu still walked into the Tang saber swordsman's trap.

He personally saw Su Ping's corpse, wiped the body himself, and vividly acted out all the emotions and scenes. Everything happened as the Tang saber swordsman had anticipated, and everything developed as he had anticipated. Finally, Yan Wufu watched helplessly as Hua Ruohong, who had lost an arm, tremblingly took out a blood-stained letter from his bosom.

The contents of the letter were as follows: "Today, Su Ping will return to Jianchuan with a forged letter to prove the Qingshuang Sect's innocence. Kill him, and the Qingshuang Sect will have no way to defend themselves. Please seize the opportunity. This will be a stepping stone for the Feihua Sect leader's pursuit of the Dao."

At the end of each letter was the same sentence.