Siqian City had become the economic capital of the Nalupu Kingdom since City Lord Sihe had developed his Slavery Brand. For decades, he had thrived thanks to his seals but he had never reached such a level of wealth and influence. It was only thanks to the war waged by the Empyrean Asura Theocracy that he had really struck gold. He had understood what would be required and provided his Slavery Brand.

The main point of the Slavery Brand was that it was easy to manufacture so almost anyone could use them. On the other hand, those seals were still difficult to unravel for most people. However, Accomplished Demons with enough knowledge could unravel them in a couple days. Unfortunately, City Lord Sihe had recently discovered that Mo Yun was able to unravel them in record time.

More than the alchemy of the Blazing Swallow, what City Lord Sihe yearned for was this knowledge. Although he was a seal master, he wouldn't have claimed to be able to get rid of his own Slavery Brand in less than ten hours at least. Mo Yun had been able to free many people in record time and it had piqued his interest. Of course, City Lord Sihe was also interested in wiping out his rivals. But he wasn't too afraid about money in his current position.

At least, it had been his mindset a few months ago.

Now, City Lord Sihe appeared desperate. He was secluded in his office with a few trusted aides and Nie Pian. Among them all, City Lord Sihe was supposedly the youngest and yet he appeared to have aged several decades. His hair was gray with a few balding patches here and there. For an early Accomplished Demon, it would have been a sign of old age. But City Lord Sihe was barely four hundred years old. Stress had affected him much more than it should have. Or maybe it was the sudden drop.

For more than a decade now, he had been at the top without any real rival. Even Boss Gui had not entered his eyes. Although she had grown in power, he had always deemed her unworthy of his attention until recently. He had been convinced that he wouldn't have to do anything to crush her. But apparently, she had crushed him without doing anything. The Sisters of the Abyss had done all the work in her stead. That being said, City Lord Sihe wasn't stupid and he could guess that someone else was pulling the strings.

Considering the recent death of High Mother Qin Xue, he was now convinced that she had been assassinated and that someone had secretly taken over the Sisters. Now, that same person was trying to take over the Xinian Confederation. As those theories, which happened to be right, festered in his mind, he became more and more paranoid. And yet, he had welcomed Nie Pian in.

The old had indeed been in contact with City Lord Sihe for years now. In fact, he had begun to work for him soon after Cao Yun's disappearance. City Lord Sihe had analyzed his seals. For weeks, he had focused on them as they were incredibly complex and fascinating. They weren't anything he couldn't handle, but he had needed a lot of time to do so. Thankfully for Nie Pian, without Cao Yun's presence, no one was talented or competent enough to notice any difference in his seals. Since then, Nie Pian had helped City Lord Sihe.

For a couple years, City Lord Sihe didn't really care. As he didn't see the Blazing Swallow as a true competition, it was pointless. As a matter of fact, he had been much more interested in the seals used on Nie Pian than on his help. But all this time, Nie Pian had been loyal and extremely useful. City Lord Sihe's aides had used him to slowly asphyxiate Boss Gui's business. They had even mapped all of her interests throughout the Nalupu Kingdom and knew exactly where to strike to get to her. Her entire business could collapse. Nie Pian had even helped them invest some money in projects going against her own interests.

Unfortunately, with Cao Yun's return, Nie Pian had been forced to leave in a hurry, knowing that his master would be able to tell that his seals had been altered. Nie Pian came to Siqian City and revealed everything he knew to City Lord Sihe. Learning more about Mo Yun, City Lord Sihe's paranoia was fed. He was now seeing this man's work in everything. In fact, City Lord Sihe had executed a few of his trusted aides. As such, everyone around him was afraid. There was no doubt that he was losing it but they couldn't say anything to him as they didn't want to lose their heads.

"City Lord, we've received a secret letter from Marshal Weiji."

"Are you sure that it's from him?"

"We've examined it several times to be sure. There is no doubt that he wrote it personally. He used his encryption. And the letter was perfectly sealed."

City Lord Sihe was looking all around even though he was alone with his aides. The room itself had been surrounded by many seals and array formations. Even Cao Yun would have had a hard time getting in or simply sending his senses in. Still, City Lord Sihe was afraid of anyone spying on him. He quickly took the letter from his aide's hands. The paper was blank. Injecting his Qi and spiritual senses into the sheet of paper, City Lord Sihe discovered the seals he had taught Weiji He. This was indeed a letter by Marshal Weiji. Why would he write to City Lord Sihe though?

Reading the contents of the letter, City Lord Sihe lost it. He threw the paper to the ground. Before it could reach it though, the paper combusted and turned into ashes.

"This moron! Damn him! Damn them all! First his stupid niece causes me nothing but trouble, and now this?! This is a conspiracy! I tell you all! This is a conspiracy!"

"Master?"

City Lord Sihe was overtaken by rage and contempt. How could someone be that stupid?! This had to be some ploy, right?! But then, who would be plotting, and against whom?! Many strange theories were born in his mind as he was trying to piece everything together.

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"This imbecile is warning me to cut ties with him if he fails."

"Fails? Fails what?"

"He's going to kill Boss Gui and the Blazing Swallow's head."

"That's..."

"Yes, that's suicide. He tried to distance himself from his family as if that could really help. His only hope is that Lord Wanghuo remembers his services and spares his family. But considering my situation, I will suffer the most if that idiot does that..."

"Master, Marshal Weiji could succeed without being detected, right?"

"Impossible!"

Nie Pian spoke. By now, City Lord Sihe trusted him more than his own aides. Some were a bit upset, but they had to admit that his information had been useful to go against Boss Gui despite everything that had happened.

"The Sisters of the Abyss are probably monitoring Boss Gui and the entire Duma City. Even if Weiji He succeeds, he will be found out, there is no doubt on that matter. We should denounce him publicly before anything happens."

Some of the aides were pondering over it while others decided to oppose it immediately.

"Master, we can't do this! Marshal Weiji has been a trustworthy ally for many years. Besides, he is still highly seen in the army. We can't betray him in such a way."

"Didn't he betray us with such a rash decision? He's protecting his family, but he can't really protect us. Unless we throw him to the dogs, we'll be accused. In fact, this mere letter is proof that we knew about his ploy. If we don't publicly do anything about it, we become co-conspirators with him."

Hearing Nie Pian's words, City Lord Sihe's eyes bulged.

"Yes! What if this letter is not meant as a warning but as incriminatory evidence?! Now that I know about this, if I stay silent, that means that I conspired with him. Yes! This is the ploy! As I told you, this is a conspiracy! No one can be that stupid! He allied himself with our enemies, he's going to sacrifice himself to save his blood, but he's already betrayed us!"

"Master... Please, think straight. Marshal Weiji wouldn't do such a thing. And there's no big conspiracy against you, you're just..."

All of a sudden, the woman who was trying to reason City Lord Sihe felt an intense cold all around her. Then, she saw his face distorted by madness.

"You're with them... You..."

Unable to control himself, City Lord Sihe jumped forward and grabbed her throat. The other aides were horrified but didn't dare to do anything. They knew that any one of them could be executed on a whim. Their master had completely lost it. Almost all of them were convinced that his cultivation had gone wrong. He had been working on his Stinking Lungs. Maybe its corruption had corrupted his mind. Demons had stronger emotions so they were a bit more sensitive to mental corruption. However, his aides couldn't say anything.

They watched hopelessly and horrified as City Lord Sihe was crushing the old woman's throat. Killing a late Golden Blood Child in such a manner required some time. She didn't have the strength to break out of that hold. Besides, she was no fighter at all. It was painful to watch. After long minutes, she finally stopped moving. As City Lord Sihe squeezed harder and harder, blood spurted out. In the end, he literally ripped her head off by crushing her throat.

"I'm surrounded by traitors!"

As he was looking around, all his aides were shaking in fear. They all lowered their heads and knelt in front of him.

"This humble one is loyal to City Lord Sihe. May this one's unworthy blood be turned in mud if this one lies."

-

In Duma City, Weiji He was finally about to do what he had planned. He had written this letter to City Lord Sihe before leaving for Duma City. Although he had tried to protect his family, he knew that they were still at risk. Hopefully, City Lord Sihe could protect them as well. Moreover, City Lord Sihe had always been good to the Weiji family so Weiji He didn't want him to feel betrayed if he was implicated by his actions. The old businessman would know what to do better than a soldier like Weiji He. Political intrigues weren't Weiji He's forte.

Marshal Weiji's strong point was his military prowess. Although he was a 5th-grade Accomplished Demon, he could probably face a 7th-grade Accomplished Demon alone and still triumph. Besides, he wasn't fighting any powerful Accomplished Demon, he was going to kill an early Accomplished Demon and some late Golden Blood Children. Even Mister Dai and Miss Wo were no threat to him at all. But he was trying to not be discovered. It was the only problem he had to deal with. Killing his targets would be the easiest part of his plan. At least, it was his train of thought.

After observing the three demons talking for quite some time, Weiji He decided to act. Stealthily, he entered Boss Gui's residence using the cover of the night as well. Weiji He had quite literally turned into shadow. His art was called 'Crawling Shadow'. He had learned it from his master. On the battlefields it wasn't very useful, but for assassinations and spying, it was incredible. He could enter any shadow and move around it. Such an art was extremely strange. From what he knew, it had been developed by a Reborn Demon. Usually only someone who could study the Dao could perform such an art. However, the one who had invented it had refined it so much that even Accomplished Demons could use it.

Moving around in the shadows, Weiji He got closer and closer to Boss Gui.

The very moment he entered her private courtyard, he felt something around him. There was some kind of barrier preventing him from going forward. When he tried to force his way in, he was pushed backward. His body literally got ejected from the shadows. In front of him had been an array formation set by Cao Yun in person. There was no way he could have forced his way in through brute strength. Unfortunately, Weiji He wasn't too knowledgeable when it came to array formations. Instead, he was well informed on seals and blood runes, which was useless in that situation.

Immediately, everyone in Boss Gui's residence was alerted. Sensing much movement all around him, Weiji He jumped back into the shadows. But it was too late. Among those who had been alerted was Sister Xie Yue. She was the one in charge of the few Sisters sent to protect the Blazing Swallow. At the moment, she was only a 4th-grade Accomplished Demon. And the other three Sisters sent with her were all late Golden Blood Children.

As she felt the intrusion, Sister Xie Yue flew toward Boss Gui's residence. The very first thing she saw was the figure of a man trying to disappear in the shadows. Instinctively, she struck. As she was striking, her mind registered the technique, 'Crawling Shadow'. And as it did, her mind also screamed 'Marshal Weiji'. The Sisters were the most well informed in the entire Nalupu Kingdom so Sister Xie Yue knew exactly who was in front of her without any problem.

She had sent a flying sword toward Marshal Weiji without thinking. As he was melting into the shadows, he was weak to an attack. Thus, the sword stabbed him directly in his back. Thankfully, he moved at the last moment and the blade didn't impale his heart. Instead, it tore through his left lung. The pain caused his technique to fail. Once again, he was ejected from the shadow. Those two backlashes back to back threw his blood into a frenzy. The Qi throughout his bloodstream was in an uproar.

Before he could properly recover, Marshal Weiji found himself surrounded by Boss Gui's mercenaries. Although they were no real threat to him, he also sensed Sister Xie Yue. Since she knew who he was, he had to kill her. But she was proactive.