Dusk, City Lord's Mansion.

Ever since Shen Yimian and Xie Lu left, Zuo Yan hasn't spoken a word. Of course, Su Yuning was too lazy to talk to him either.

She had just arrived at Xianyue Peak not long ago. In her eyes, Zuo Yan was just a yellow-level disciple with a decent appearance, so ordinary that he couldn't be more ordinary. Yanshan had a lot of people like him.

I don’t know why, but Su Yunning always hears people talking about Zuo Yan.

Some people say that Zuo Lingfeng, Shen Yimian and Xie Lu both like Zuo Yan.

Some people say that Zuo Yan's appearance is the most attractive to gay men. Many people in the sect covet his face, and even the master has had evil thoughts about him.

Others said, never provoke Zuo Yan.

She could barely believe the first two sentences.

She couldn't understand the last sentence.

Just a yellow-level disciple, what is there to be afraid of?

He is not from a famous family, nor is he gifted with any special talent. His only good feature is his face.

The two sat bored in the main hall of the City Lord's Mansion for a long time, and then Su Yuning got up and left to practice sword.

Before she entered Yanshan, she was the noble eldest daughter of the Jianzun family and the only heir. Her swordsmanship was superb and she would surely inherit her parents' legacy in time.

Su Yuning specially chose the front yard of the main hall to practice swordplay. Of course, she had some secret ideas in mind. This way, whenever Xie Lu came back, he would be able to appreciate her superb swordplay. Xie Lu was also a swordsman, so he would definitely be envious of her swordplay. Wouldn't this be a common topic?

Thinking this way, she practiced for a whole day.

It was not until the evening that Su Yunning was tired from practicing. She just sat down to rest and drink some water when she heard two footsteps in the corridor.

She quickly stood up, pointed the tip of her sword at the pear tree in front of her, spun around, and swept down the entire tree of pear blossoms with a graceful stroke of the sword.

Su Yuning herself slowly flew down in the rain of flowers, and landed right in front of Xie Lu and Shen Yimian on his back.

Su Yunning: ""

Their eyes met, and the air fell into an eerie silence.

Xie Lu said calmly, "You seem to like getting in the way."

Su Yuning answered irrelevantly, "Why did you carry him back?"

Xie Lu also gave an irrelevant answer, "Let me go, thank you."

Su Yuning took a deep breath, clenched the long sword in his hand, and made way for him. "Why, he was injured. I saw that he was fine. Why did you carry him on your back?"

Xie Lu ignored her and threw the bag of candy figures into her arms, "Help me hold it."

Su Yuning took the sugar figure and said through gritted teeth, "Answer me, does he not have legs?"

Hearing this, Xie Lu finally turned his gaze to her and said calmly, "He was secretly drugged."

Su Yunning's expression froze, and then he looked at Shen Yimian on his back. His expression was not very good. Could it be that he was poisoned?

If this is true, then Shen Yimian will not live long. Then isn't she... a bit too much?

After a pause, Su Yuning coughed lightly and raised his sword. "Whoever plotted against him, I will help him get revenge."

Xie Lu stopped walking as he was about to leave. He turned around and looked at Su Yuning, his attitude towards her slightly changed. "No need. It's just a small matter. I'll take care of it myself."

"Your senior brother was ambushed, how can this be considered a trivial matter?" Su Yuning naturally knew the position of Shen Yimian in Xie Lu's heart. After all, Zuo Lingfeng only had such a living senior brother. If she avenged Shen Yimian, Xie Lu would definitely become closer to her.

Thinking of this, Su Yuning became more decisive, "Tell me, who hurt him?"

Seeing that she really wanted to avenge Shen Yimian, Xie Lu looked at her with a new respect.

It turns out that Su Yuning is a kind-hearted person, which seems a little different from the plot of the original book.

But it’s okay, I can help him.

"Sorry to bother you, Madam of Xueyue Tower. I would like to thank you on behalf of my senior brother."

Hearing his thanks, Su Yuning's heart skipped a beat, and she seemed to be more motivated. She picked up her sword and left, "Okay, you take care of Shen Yimian here and send him off. I'll go and avenge him."

Xie Lu frowned slightly. He wanted to ask what "send him off for the last time" meant, as no one here wanted to die.

But before he could ask, Su Yunning used the earth escape technique and disappeared without a trace.

He thought about it briefly and decided not to think about it anymore. After all, Su Yunning was doing a good deed to the people, so it didn't matter if it was a misunderstanding.

Turning around, Xie Lu took two steps with Shen Yimian on his back, and suddenly stopped.

At the end of the corridor, a thin figure stood by the door, looking at him coldly.

No one spoke first.

Xie Lu moved forward in silence until he was about to pass by the other party, when he heard the other party's deep and icy voice.

"Give him to me."

Xie Lu frowned slightly, and then listened to the other party's indifferent words,

"Do you want him to like me or you want him to like you?"

The setting sun cast a golden glow on the corridor, and the jade steps were as bright as new, reflecting three faces with unclear expressions.

The world is quiet.

After a long time, Xie Lu slowly put Shen Yimian down.

It was almost forced, and he could not offer any resistance, so he personally sent Shen Yimian into the other's arms.

Just like that day when he tried to hand the Xiuyu necklace to Shen Yimian, but ultimately failed to do so against the rational analysis of the database and gave the necklace to Zuo Yan.

It cannot compete with task instructions because AI is driven by instructions.

His self-awareness is only allowed to appear when it is not related to mission instructions.

"No matter what you did to him," Zuo Yan gently lifted Shen Yimian up and carried her sideways. His eyes swept over Xie Lu, hinting at a warning, "Don't do it again."

Xie Lu stared at him, then suddenly grabbed his wrist and said calmly, "Don't forget, you and I are engaged. It's okay for others to like you, but if you fall in love with someone else, you will bear the consequences yourself."

Zuo Yan's body stiffened slightly, and he slowly turned his head and said word by word, "No need for your reminder, let go."

He let go of his hand and watched Zuo Yan carry Shen Yimian into the main hall.

The city lord was no longer there, so Zuo Yan asked the housekeeper for a side room, carried the person in and placed him on the couch.

I don’t know what happened, but Shen Yimian slept so soundly.

Zuo Yan stood beside the couch, glancing down at Shen Yimian. His fingertips were like a sharp dagger, gently swiping across Shen Yimian's forehead and nose, then slowly moving down to the soft lips. After just a moment's pause, he slid down again to the thin neck. With just a little force, he could kill Shen Yimian.

But he didn't do anything, he just leaned over, half close to Shen Yimian's ear, and whispered, "He really fell asleep."

Seeing that Shen Yimian didn't react, Zuo Yan smiled, retracted his finger and said, "You're so stupid. I don't know how you managed to survive in Yanshan for so long."

In fact, he knew that Shen Yimian was very handsome, even more handsome than him. If it were in the past, he would not have noticed this. Everything about Yan Shan disgusted him, except Shen Yimian.

He is naive, timid, and has his own little thoughts.

But ever since he learned that this seemingly weak and vulnerable person would actually rob him in the future, Zuo Yan felt that Shen Yimian was particularly interesting. He was like a cat with bared fangs and claws, without much killing power. His attacking posture seemed like he was acting coquettishly to attract attention.

He would hate Ji Wenxiao for bullying men and women, but he didn't hate a possessive cat.

Zuo Yan took off Shen Yimian's boots, placed him neatly, covered him with a soft quilt and tucked in the corners.

The room was silent, and a black smoke-like fog suddenly floated in from the window.

He looked at Shen Yimian quietly, seemingly completely unaware of the mysterious approaching magic fog behind him.

The black fog gradually transformed into a thin human figure, but without a face and with floating feet.

The faster it walks, the more anxious it gets.

Until the moment it was about to touch Zuo Yan, it suddenly opened its mouth.

"Master, I have checked it out."

Zuo Yan didn't turn around, but just said softly, "Speak."

"Today, Xie Lu and Shen Yimian went to Xueyue Tower, the most famous brothel in Xuanyin City. Xie Lu said it himself that Shen Yimian was drugged by the brothel owner."

Hearing this, Zuo Yan's face suddenly darkened. "What kind of medicine did you give me?"

“I don’t know.”

The monster stood there, its voice cold and filled with chilling murderous intent.

"I can ask."

Zuo Yan originally wanted to order him to go, but then he changed his mind and thought that it was really dangerous to let his subordinates do such a small thing, as it would easily be discovered by Xie Lu and others.

It seems that he has not yet reached the point where he would take such a risky and desperate action towards Shen Yimian.

After a brief pause, Zuo Yan said calmly, "Forget it. Don't reveal your whereabouts, and don't let Xie Lu and Su Yunning find out. Leave me a portion of the Shangqing Detoxification Pill and leave."

"yes."

The monster respectfully handed over a red-glazed porcelain bottle, and then gradually disappeared.

Zuo Yan took the porcelain bottle, took out the pills, gently pushed Shen Yimian, and said softly, "Brother, wake up."

Shen Yimian was extremely sleepy. When he pushed her awake, she turned over impatiently and tried to cover her ears with the quilt.

"Take the medicine before going to sleep." Zuo Yan pulled down the quilt, smiled deeply, handed the pill to his lips and coaxed him softly, "Why are you like a child, needing someone to coax you into taking medicine?"

Hearing the word "medicine", Shen Yimian opened his eyes, his gaze fell on the pill, and he took a deep look at it, "This was given to me by Xie Lu"

Zuo Yan frowned slightly and said softly, "No."

Shen Yimian buried his head in the quilt without hesitation and said sullenly, "Then I won't eat."

As soon as he finished speaking, the smile on Zuo Yan's face suddenly froze.

"You won't take what I give you, or do you trust Xie Lu so much that you only take the medicine Xie Lu gives you?"

Hearing this, Shen Yimian popped his head out in surprise, staring at him in confusion, "You gave it to me, why did you give me medicine?"

Zuo Yan curled up the small pill in his palm with a slightly lonely look, his eyelashes drooping as he whispered, "I heard from Xie Lu that you went out to exorcise demons today and were accidentally drugged. I don't know what kind of poison it was, but I have a bottle of Shangqing Detoxification Pills passed down from my family, so I thought I'd give it to you. Maybe it can help detoxify you."

Shen Yimian's eyes widened slightly, and he suddenly climbed up from the couch. His movements were too large, and he accidentally pulled his body, causing him to gasp in pain. "He... How did he tell you?"

"That's all I said," Zuo Yan looked at him intently, his eyes searching, "Did anything else happen?"

"No." Shen Yimian blurted out without thinking, then looked at the pill in Zuo Yan's hand and changed the subject, "What medicine did you say this was?"

"Shangqing Detoxification Pill."

Shen Yimian opened his eyes wide in disbelief and stammered, "Isn't that a top-grade elixir that can cure all poisons? Where did you get it?"

He had heard of this thing from Si Wuxing. Once, his former senior brother was poisoned, and Si Wuxing took out a Shangqing Detoxification Pill from his treasure box and fed it to his senior brother, and even exaggeratedly said that one pill cost tens of thousands of spirit stones.

Seeing that he knew the goods, Zuo Yan smiled and said, "I told you it's a family heirloom. My family runs a hidden weapon shop. We not only sell poisons, but also antidotes."

Hidden Weapon Pavilion.

Such unfamiliar words, and they sounded even more strange when heard from Zuo Yan's gentle and refined appearance.

Shen Yimian looked him up and down for a moment, and vaguely felt that the identity of the eldest master of the Dark Weapon Pavilion was somewhat compatible with Zuo Yan's personality. After all, this man sometimes instigated him to deal with Xie Lu.

He quickly accepted the reality and said with some sadness, "So you are also from a wealthy family." Is he the only one in this book who has no background, no connections, and is particularly useless?

Zuo Yan burst out laughing. "What rich kid? He's just selling some small things. Take your medicine quickly. I'll go get you some tea."

He stood up and poured a cup of tea from the table, then handed it to Shen Yimian. "You'll be fine after drinking the medicine. Brother, you'd better not go out with Xie Lu in the future. You see, he didn't protect you well at all."

Taking the water, Shen Yimian listened to his whispers and said casually, "It's okay. It was my mistake this time. It has nothing to do with him."

In the final analysis, it was because he saw that the brothel madam was a mortal and did not take much precautions. However, he did not expect that the wealth of Xuanyin City was beyond his imagination. Even the brothel madam could hire two Jindan stage cultivators as guards.

At the Jindan stage, one can defeat a large number of people in Yanshan. Many earth-level disciples are only at the Jindan stage.

Seeing that he was still defending Xie Lu, Zuo Yan's face flashed with a hint of displeasure. "Brother, sooner or later, you will fall for him."

"Are you cursing me?" Shen Yimian drank the tea mixed with the medicine and wiped his mouth. "I can't be defeated. But you were in the City Lord's Mansion for a day. Nothing happened, right?"

"Nothing, Yun Ning doesn't like to pay attention to me." Zuo Yan felt a little relieved when he saw that he cared about him. He rested his chin on his hand and stared at him. "Brother, you're not here. It seems like my soul has gone with you. I've been thinking about you all day."

Shen Yimian: "...You are becoming more and more disgusting. I repeat, I don't like men."

After what happened today, he became even more certain that he didn't like men.

It hurts so much, even his fingers can't stand it. How did those homosexuals endure it? Is it just perseverance?

"I know," Zuo Yan looked at him steadily and said softly, "Senior Brother doesn't like me. I know. I just want to be good to you."

Shen Yimian couldn't do anything about him and could only let him go.

There were two knocks on the door.

The two looked at each other, and Zuo Yan asked loudly, "Who is it?"

Unexpectedly, Su Yuning's voice came from outside the door, "It's me."

Without waiting for Zuo Yan's reply, she pushed the door open and walked straight towards Shen Yimian, "I heard that you were drugged. I avenged you."

Shen Yimian looked at her in astonishment. How come the whole world knew about this?

Su Yuning looked indifferent. She took out a pill from her storage ring and handed it to Shen Yimian. "Take it."

"What kind of medicine is this?"

"Take one and you won't feel any pain." Su Yunning's tone softened for once, and she said softly, "Don't worry, I will take care of Xie Lu for you after you leave, and I will also help you with your funeral arrangements."

Shen Yimian: "Where am I going?"

Su Yunning frowned slightly and whispered, "Aren't you poisoned?"

As soon as the words fell, Shen Yimian and Zuo Yan both reacted. They looked at each other and couldn't help laughing.

"Thank you, Junior Sister, for your concern," Shen Yimian looked at the bewildered Su Yuning and explained with a smile, "I just took the detoxification pill Junior Brother Zuo gave me, and I'm fine now."

He really didn't expect that Su Yunning would help him get revenge and even thoughtfully send him medicine to relieve his pain.

Although Shen Yimian knew that Xie Lu was responsible, he also felt that Su Yuning was not a bad kid. It was just that geniuses all had their own personalities, and she happened to be the type of genius who was extremely proud.

After hearing that he had been detoxified, Su Yuning was still a little confused. Where did Zuo Yan get the medicine to save Shen Yimian?

But she actually didn't care about these. She was more concerned about whether Xie Lu would be happier after knowing that Shen Yimian would not die.

Seeing that he was fine, Su Yuning said again, "Since everything is fine, come with me to the main hall to discuss the progress of the mission."

In this respect, she is very similar to Xie Lu. She likes to hold meetings and discussions and is a leadership type of person.

Shen Yimian and Zuo Yan agreed, and the group came to the main hall. As soon as they stepped over the threshold, they saw a large table in the middle, on which was neatly placed a square array of sugar figures. The distance between each sugar figure was only a few millimeters, and it was obvious that it was placed by someone with obsessive-compulsive disorder.

At the top of the main hall, Xie Lu and the city lord had been waiting for a long time, and they had even changed several pots of tea.

Seeing them all arrive, Tang Yuncai stood up excitedly and said, "Hurry up and sit down, little immortals. I heard there was some progress today."

"What's the rush?" Su Yunning said nonchalantly, "Everyone sit down and listen carefully to Xie Lu's analysis."

Shen Yimian and Zuo Yan sat right across from Xie Lu. What happened during the day made him a little reluctant to meet Xie Lu's gaze.

It's still a bit embarrassing.

Fortunately, Xie Lu didn't look at him. He just stood up and walked to the table. He glanced at all the sugar figures on the table and whispered, "Everyone who entered and left the City Lord's Mansion that day is here."

There are roughly dozens of sugar figures of all sizes.

Su Yuning looked at the sugar figures with great respect and asked, "The murderer in the portrait doesn't seem to be among them."

"He has a birthmark on his face. As a guard in and out of the City Lord's Mansion every day, it's impossible for him not to be remembered. So I guess he usually wears something to cover it up." Xie Lu raised his eyes and looked at Tang Yuncai, "Come and see, which one is the one the murderer wore?"

Tang Yuncai quickly stood up and walked to the table to take a closer look. Suddenly, his face changed drastically. "That guy wearing the veil hat, it's him!"

His eyes swept across the sugar man next to him, and his expression froze. "He also wore this mask before..."

After a pause, Tang Yuncai looked at all the sugar figures on the table and found six sugar figures related to the murderer.

"What's going on? Did you remember it wrong?" Su Yunning frowned and asked, "How could there be six people?"

"I can't be wrong. Even though I'm old, my memory is one of the best!"

Now, the clue that was finally found seems to be broken again.

Xie Lu picked up the sugar figurine with the veil and the sugar figurine with the mask from the table, compared them carefully, and said calmly, "They are not six people, they are the same person."

The sugar figures are extremely well-made, each with its own unique height, weight and figure. These six sugar figures have striking similarities in terms of height, body shape and walking posture.

Therefore, he deduced that the other party had deliberately changed his appearance to enter and exit the City Lord's Mansion six times, probably to conceal his tracks. This person should also frequently change his appearance and be proficient in the art of disguise, just like the secret guards in novels, who would not easily reveal their true appearance. That's why the stall owner said that he had never seen the person in the portrait.

"Today I heard a piece of news at Xueyue Tower," Xie Lu recalled what Xiao Cui had told him. "There's a famous courtesan at Xueyue Tower named Huarong, and she happens to be receiving a masked guest every day lately."

Shen Yimian blinked and couldn't help but say, "You suspect this person is the murderer?"

"Well," Xie Lu noticed him speaking, and glanced away from his face imperceptibly, then quickly retracted it. "So I went to see Hua Rong, and she told me that she had seen the person's true face, and that it bore no resemblance to the portrait. She also told me that she was actually a very witty and humorous woman."

Su Yunning sneered, "Maybe they are in the same group and have been secretly colluding with each other for a long time."

"I'll bring Huarong right away!" Tang Yuncai slammed the table angrily, but Xie Lu gently pressed his hand down.

He spoke calmly, "She was indeed not lying when she said these words, because the person she met was not that guard."

"Who is that?" Tang Yuncai was stunned.

Xie Lu picked up the hurried sugar figurine wearing a veil from the table, his eyes dimming slightly. "The person she met was your daughter."

In an instant, the whole room was in an uproar.

Su Yunning subconsciously retorted, "How is this possible?"

Xie Lu tilted his head to look at her and said calmly, "Don't you know that there is a kind of evil soul-swapping technique in the world?"

Su Yuning was stunned for a moment, "You mean, she exchanged souls with that guard?"

"Look at these sugar figures." Xie Lu showed off a few. "The first four walk with big strides and a slight hunchback, but the last two walk with very little stride, holding their heads high and chests puffed out."

"The hunchback is because he's used to being a secret guard. He's tall, so he's used to bending over to reduce his presence." Xie Lu analyzed it bit by bit. "But the last two are completely different. It's probably because her soul had already been transferred by then. As the daughter of the City Lord's Mansion, her demeanor and figure are naturally different from those of a secret guard."

Shen Yimian quietly raised her hand and asked curiously, "But why does Huarong say that her face is different from the one in the portrait? If her soul was swapped, her body and face should have been swapped as well. The one who went to see Huarong should have been the same face."

Xie Lu looked at him with satisfaction, as if praising his cleverness. "Because she didn't like that face. A face with an ugly birthmark that was easily remembered wouldn't be easy for her to evade detection, and she herself felt it was unsightly. So she found a way to disguise herself. And since her posture was that of a woman, Hua Rong might have thought she was a woman disguised as a man."

Hua Rong never accepts customers. She is a prostitute who sells her art but not her body. She kept a distinguished guest dressed as a man, probably because he was a little interested in the words and deeds of this strange "woman", but he never thought whether this would bring her fatal disaster.

——The city lord’s daughter didn’t like that face, so naturally she had to find a face she liked.

As soon as the voice fell, Tang Yuncai could no longer bear it and said, "What you said is baseless. Why would my daughter want to exchange her soul with someone else?"

Xie Lu paused, then whispered, "I couldn't figure this out just now, so I went to your daughter's boudoir to take a look. I remember you said that this guard had great magical powers, had been possessed by a demon, and had been coveting your daughter for a long time."

"Yes, it must be this bastard who instigated my daughter!"

Xie Lu shook his head, took out an ancient book from his arms and placed it on the table. "Do you know that your daughter has been studying witchcraft?"

Tang Yuncai's expression dodged for a moment, and it was obvious that he knew about it.

"I found hundreds of books like this in her inner room." Xie Lu flipped through them casually and whispered, "She is very talented. Soul-swapping is not a simple spell. What she wants is a more powerful body, one that allows her to fully unleash her evil magic. That guard is exactly the right person for the job."

He has great magical powers and his spiritual roots must be of the highest quality. He also loves her and is the most exploitable character. Apart from his ugly appearance, he is almost the best candidate for soul exchange.

She used evil magic to make the guard go crazy, and then used the soul-swapping technique while he was unconscious. She also changed her appearance several times and entered and exited the City Lord's Mansion to disrupt the clues. She also spent three days to let Hua Rong relax her vigilance so that she could get that beautiful face.

Cruel, ruthless, decisive, and cold-blooded, it must be said that this is indeed a good candidate for learning evil arts. Perhaps in time he will completely transform into a demon cultivator who brings chaos to the world.

Tang Yuncai's face turned pale as he listened to his words. "What nonsense! My daughter was murdered, and you dare to slander her like this..."

Xie Lu ignored his words and said calmly, "Hua Rong already trusts her very much. The other party will take action against her soon, perhaps tomorrow. Hua Rong has a play tomorrow, and she will definitely come to support her."

Shen Yimian listened blankly, feeling that they seemed to be following different stories.

Didn't they just buy some candy figurines on the roadside and then go to a brothel?

How did Xie Lu come up with so many analyses?

Zuo Yan, who had been silent beside him, saw Shen Yimian staring at Xie Lu and secretly clenched his fingertips. He suddenly said, "I'll go with you tomorrow."

Shen Yimian looked at him in surprise and quickly stopped him, "Don't go for this kind of thing, it's too dangerous." He almost got into trouble today, and it would be even more likely for something to go wrong if a little Karami like Zuo Yan went.

Zuo Yan calmly passed by his hand and patted it gently, "Don't worry, Brother, I won't let you take risks again."

Xie Lu frowned slightly, "No need, my brother and I will go, you continue to stay in the City Lord's Mansion just in case."

Hearing this, Zuo Yan suddenly raised his eyes and looked at him coldly, "Can you protect him? Did you protect your brother well today?"

There seemed to be sparks flickering in the air, and Xie Lu answered him coldly, "It's my fault. I won't let him leave me this time. You don't need to worry about it."

"Xie Lu, you..."

Shen Yimian was just about to come out to smooth things over when he was suddenly interrupted by a loud "bang".

Everyone looked towards the source of the sound. Su Yunning still had a table-slamming attitude and said without question, "Stop arguing. I'll take Shen Yimian there."

Xie Lu: ""

Zuo Yan: ""

Shen Yimian looked at her in astonishment as she walked towards him, and said angrily, "It's settled, you come with me."

Shen Yimian swallowed his saliva, "Can I refuse?"

"You dare."

“…”

He went on a mission with the male protagonist's fiancée

Why did Shen Yimian suddenly feel a chill on his back? Is his life coming to an end?