At dawn the next day, thirteen people set out into the forest.

Gu Jinghong and Chu Dingjiang stood on a mountaintop, overlooking the scene.

“Do you think Xuanren will survive?” Gu Jinghong asked with a smile, watching the figures appearing and disappearing in the dense forest.

Xuanren was An Jiu’s codename in Konghe Academy.

“Whatever the outcome, I wouldn’t be surprised,” Chu Dingjiang pondered for a moment before adding, “Am I qualified to take a Dragon Guard position?”

Gu Jinghong turned to look at him, a flash of surprise in his eyes. “You understand the nature of the Dragon Guard’s duties. Why make such a sacrifice?”

The Emperor sought immortality and often engaged in dual cultivation with women, using the pure yang energy of men to refine elixirs as an aid for dual cultivation.

Like the Yulin Army, women in the Dragon Guard were required to serve in the imperial bedchamber, while men had to expend their true qi to help Taoist priests refine elixirs. Normally, expending true qi wasn’t a big deal – as long as the dantian and inner power remained, it could be quickly replenished. However, refining elixirs required a vast amount of true qi, depleting it entirely each time to create a single pill. If true qi was drained too frequently, it could cause irreversible damage to the dantian. Within five years, one would become essentially useless.

Chu Dingjiang knew all this, but the thought of that body being embraced by another man caused an uncontrollable rage to surge in his dantian. At this rate, he would go mad before his inner power was drained.

“If His Majesty knew a Huajing realm master volunteered to join the Dragon Guard, he’d be overjoyed!” Gu Jinghong’s tone was full of sarcasm, showing no respect for the emperor. “I respect you as a hero. Let’s pretend I didn’t hear what you just said.”

“Mei Shisi has no inner power and can’t be used as a cauldron,” Chu Dingjiang said, ignoring Gu Jinghong’s words.

“Dual cultivation?” Gu Jinghong replied. “He seeks immortality but can’t give up carnal pleasures, so he found this method. The women in his harem have no inner power either, yet he still favors them.”

“My meridians are of the fire attribute,” Chu Dingjiang suddenly said, seemingly out of nowhere.

Gu Jinghong’s eyes widened slightly. He turned to stare at Chu Dingjiang for a while, then placed two fingers on his neck to check his pulse.

Understanding Gu Jinghong’s intention, Chu Dingjiang withdrew his protective energy barrier.

Martial artists with fire-attribute qi have higher body temperatures than normal people. As Gu Jinghong’s fingers approached, he felt a warm current seeping through his skin even through the cloth. At first, it was gentle like spring sunshine, but it quickly became more intense. Gu Jinghong immediately withdrew his hand, feeling as if his fingers had been licked by flames.

For martial arts paths of extreme yang or yin, virginity made advancement easier. Chu Dingjiang’s inner power was fierce and pure, clearly untainted – he had never been with a woman. Moreover, his meridians were of the pure yang fire nature, and most impressively, he was a Huajing realm master! Such a person was perfect for elixir refinement.

If Gu Jinghong could bring Chu Dingjiang into the Dragon Guard, promotion and advancement would be certain.

Facing the mountain wind, Gu Jinghong slowly calmed himself. “A true man should stand tall and die for his country if need be, not waste his martial arts skills playing games with a foolish ruler.”

“Hahahaha!” Chu Dingjiang suddenly burst into laughter. His bold, hearty laughter echoed through the mountains, seeming to shake heaven and earth. “As subjects, few dare to call the ruler foolish. I thought you served His Majesty so diligently that I’d never hear those words from you. Who knew you’d say it so easily? How refreshing!”

Gu Jinghong smiled lightly.

The Great Song Dynasty had long emphasized civil service over martial prowess. Most men aspired to pass the imperial examinations as their life’s goal, resulting in generally refined and cultured individuals. Men like Chu Dingjiang – bold, uninhibited, yet not reckless – were extremely rare. Gu Jinghong was reluctant to waste such spirit.

Chu Dingjiang could guess Gu Jinghong’s thoughts. He had many reasons for wanting to join the Dragon Guard, not just for An Jiu’s sake. However, he could achieve those goals through other means; it wasn’t necessary to risk entering the Dragon Guard. Ultimately, he couldn’t bear the thought of An Jiu doing such things.

Firstly, he had seen An Jiu’s body before. Although An Jiu had said he didn’t need to take responsibility, and he hadn’t dwelled on it, psychologically he still acted as if nothing had happened. Secondly, he could see that An Jiu was a proud woman who would rather die than unwillingly serve the Emperor with her body.

“Since you put it that way, I won’t insist,” Chu Dingjiang abandoned the idea of joining Konghejun, but his intention to protect An Jiu remained unchanged. “However, regardless of the outcome of this trial, I absolutely won’t stand by and watch you bring her into the Dragon Guard.”

Was this a declaration of opposition?

But wasn’t Chu Dingjiang afraid he might report this to the Emperor? Was it courage or understanding of Gu Jinghong’s character?

Gu Jinghong’s eyes darkened as he reassessed Chu Dingjiang. This man appeared bold and unrestrained, but he was quite shrewd. Gu Jinghong couldn’t discern how much of Chu Dingjiang’s earlier talk about joining the Dragon Guard was true or false.

The situation had become tricky. Gu Jinghong had thoroughly investigated An Jiu before taking action, but who would have thought Chu Dingjiang would suddenly appear? Despite having no deep feelings, he was willing to oppose both Gu Jinghong and the current Emperor.

What was he after?

It seemed that even with his mind-reading skills at their peak, there were still hearts he couldn’t fathom…

The mountain wind whistled through the trees, causing the leaves to rustle. From halfway up the mountain, it looked like waves rippling across the forest.

In the dense forest below, the wind was barely noticeable.

An Jiu’s group split into two teams upon entering the forest.

Piaomiao Manor’s secret location was in a valley on the west side of Baiyun Mountain. It looked very close on the map, and everyone was initially confident. However, upon entering the forest, their spirits dampened. The trees grew densely, making the forest dim, and thorny undergrowth covered the ground, making it difficult to find a path.

Due to the dense vegetation, they couldn’t use their lightness skills. Their spiritual awareness wasn’t keen enough to avoid collisions with the trees.

“Do you think it’s Piaomiao Manor?” asked Li Qingzhi, a 25-year-old sixth-level martial artist who had practiced sword techniques since childhood. His aptitude was above average, and his natural strength was fierce. When wielding a sword, he gave the impression of being able to split mountains and seas.

“Hard to say,” someone answered.

For each trial, Konghe Academy would set up a hypothetical enemy. It was difficult to determine if this one was real.

Another young man named Tao Zhu said, “I don’t think it’s fake. But it’s strange. Piaomiao Manor is part of the jianghu world, while we’re part of the imperial court. They’ve always kept to themselves. Why is the court suddenly targeting them?”

After a moment of silence, Sui Yunzhu said, “I guess it’s related to what happened to the Konghe clan recently.”

Despite the feminine-sounding name, Sui Yunzhu was a handsome man.

“What do you mean?” Lou Mingyue was particularly interested in this.

Before the incidents with the Lou and Mei families, these outer circle members didn’t know they were part of the Konghe clan. But after the two shocking massacres, people had their suspicions. The appearance of Lou Mingyue and An Jiu at Konghe Academy essentially confirmed their thoughts.