Chapter 367: Old Accounts

Chapter 367: Old Accounts

Song Luodi did not expect that Hong Lang would be defeated so quickly. His expression turned vicious as he grabbed Liu Hu’s throat and shouted, “Stop!”

Qi Xuansu glanced at Song Luodi and said, “I don’t like to be threatened.”

Song Luodi narrowed his eyes. “Aren’t you afraid that this little girl will die?”

As he spoke, Song Luodi tightened his grip on Liu Hu’s throat. The poor girl’s face immediately turned red, and she had difficulty breathing.

Still, Qi Xuansu was unmoved.

He did not think that Song Luodi would kill Liu Hu because they had plenty of opportunities to do so along the way, like in the battle at Jiangling Prefecture. If Song Luodi wanted Liu Hu dead, he could have already killed her without the need to threaten him.

Since Song Luodi did not kill Liu Hu, it must mean that their employer wanted Liu Hu to be captured alive.

As such, there was no need for Qi Xuansu to worry about Liu Hu’s safety.

Song Luodi originally thought that using Liuhu as a threat would make Qi Xuansu step back. However, Qi Xuansu did not fall for it. If he had known this earlier, it would have been better for him to join forces with Hong Lang to attack Qi Xuansu from the beginning.

However, it was too late for regrets.

Suddenly, Song Luodi felt his vision go dark.

His eyes had turned into two deep, bloody cavities.

Song Luodi was completely blind.

He did not even notice how Qi Xuansu had shot out the Bliss Needles that blinded not just his physical eyes but also his Seer Eyes as a Diviner. The Bliss Needle was made of primordial magnetite, so when pierced into the body, it could block the movement of qi and dissolve true essence. It could also disrupt the mind, distracting and confusing the victim with blissful hallucinations.

After being blinded, Song Luodi did not hesitate to break Liu Hu’s neck.

However, Qi Xuansu did not give him the chance. While shooting out the Bliss Needles, he had already drawn his cutlass and used the Dayan Spirit Blade Technique to cut off Song Luodi’s right arm without hurting Liu Hu.

Blinded and dismembered, Song Luodi was desperate. He stopped caring about Liu Hu and went all out, creating eight duplicates of himself that could each cast their own spells simultaneously to attack Qi Xuansu. This was the Diviner’s Eight Divinations.

Qi Xuansu’s response was crude—he roared.

However, different from the ordinary Blood Roar of a Martial Arts Practitioner, Qi Xuansu incorporated the Tantai Fist Intention into the roar, using blood qi to break spells and innate qi to overwhelm the opponent.

Only someone like Tantai Yun, who repeatedly jumped between the Earthly Immortal and the Manly Immortal paths could create such a special Martial Arts Practitioner’s Blood Roar.

“The Taiping Bank is actually on equal footing with the Daoist Duzhi Hall and the Imperial Court’s Ministry of Revenue. They are responsible for the casting and issuance of coins, and they gather the wealth of the world. The Taiping Bank has a total of seven administrators, three of whom are from the Daoist Order, three from the Imperial Court, and one from the royal family. These seven people are all high-ranking dignitaries, and they rotate every five years.

“To check the accounts from Taiping Bank, one must have the consent of at least four administrators, unless it’s a special circumstance where the Grand Master or the Emperor orders it. It sounds easy, but it’s actually a tough feat because all the administrators are from different factions, so they are hardly unified.

“The three administrators from the Daoist Order include representatives from all three Daoist sects. Two of the three administrators from the Imperial Court are Confucians, while the remaining one is from the nobility. There is also a representative from the royal family. The relationships between all of them are more than complicated.

“The shares involved in the major Jiangnan case were all transacted through the Taiping Bank using bearer accounts. Of course, Fang Linhou’s shares were not just his alone. It also included those under his command that registered their money under his name. No one knew exactly how they were going to divide the shares. After the incident, Fang Linhou was executed. His subordinates were also arrested and executed. The few lucky enough to escape didn’t dare mention this account, so the money is still lying dormant in the Taiping Bank.”

Qi Xuansu finally understood.

In the end, it all boils down to money.

From rulers of a country to the common folk, no one was exempted from the temptation of wealth.

Qi Xuansu pressed on. “But what does this have to do with her?”

Naturally, he was referring to Liu Hu.

Song Luodi said, “Fang Linhou was a dignified second-rank Taiyi Daoist master, responsible for many things in the Jiangnan Daoist Mansion, so he was a busy man with no time to manage the accounts himself. That's why he had someone manage accounting matters on his behalf.”

Qi Xuansu immediately connected the dots. “Her father.”

Song Luodi nodded. “That man is long dead, and this girl is his only descendant. My employer only wants us to capture her alive, not to kill her.”

Qi Xuansu finally understood.

The mastermind behind the major Jiangnan case held a grudge against Zhang Yuelu because she cut off their source of income. Liu Hu was the only descendant of the accountant who managed hundreds of thousands of Taiping coins, so they wanted to capture her alive.

Getting the answers he wanted, Qi Xuansu let go of Song Luodi. He turned around and came to Hong Lang, putting his hand on the Imitation Spirit Guard’s back. Then he released some innate qi, shattering the man’s last vestige of vitality.

Song Luodi scampered off as fast as he could manage, wanting to leave this place.

Bang—!

The severely injured and blind Song Luodi instantly collapsed.

Qi Xuansu turned back sharply to find that Liu Hu was the one who fired that shot.

He looked vexed as he questioned her. “I promised to let him go. Why did you kill him?”

Liu Hu looked indifferent as she rebutted, “You made the promise, not me. He deserves to die.”