As the sun set and the scorching sun was about to fall.

In front of the forest, the bandit leader shuddered violently upon hearing Li Ziye’s question.

He had actually recognized that the stone was a piece of Blazing Iron Essence.

“How did you recognize it?”

The bandit leader looked up at the young man in front of him and asked in a deep voice.

“Now it’s my turn to ask you questions.”

Li Ziye waved the sword in his hand and said, “You’d better cooperate, my patience is limited.”

“The Yin Family!”

The bandit leader clenched his fist and said, “I stole the Blazing Iron Essence from the Yin Family.”

“The Yin Family?”

Li Ziye frowned, then seemed to remember something and exclaimed, “Are you talking about the Yin Family from the Capital City, the one that owns the Yin Family Money House?”

He remembered that among the three choices given to him by the Third Prince, the Yin Family was one of them.

“Hmm.”

The bandit leader responded with a gloomy face, then fell silent, not saying another word.

“With the power of the Yin Family, ordinary people couldn’t possibly steal such a treasure. What is your relationship with the Yin Family?” Li Ziye asked, frowning.

“Is this your second question?” The bandit leader asked in a deep voice.

“I suppose so.” Li Ziye replied.

The bandit leader took a deep breath and said, “The Yin Family is my enemy. They killed my mother.”

“Your answer is as good as saying nothing.”

Li Ziye said coldly, “Be more specific.”

The bandit leader’s face turned angry, and he was about to argue, but when he saw the sword in front of him, he had to swallow his words. He clenched his fists and said, “My mother was a maid in the Yin Family’s main house. It was this woman who killed my mother.”

Upon hearing this, Li Ziye quickly understood the reason and asked, “Are you the illegitimate child of the Yin Family?”

Upon hearing the words “illegitimate child”, the bandit leader’s eyes widened in anger, “What’s wrong with being an illegitimate child? Don’t illegitimate children deserve to live?”

“There’s no such thing as ‘should’ or ‘shouldn’t’ in this world.”

Li Ziye said indifferently, “As long as you have the ability, no one can look down on you. However, if you choose to become a bandit, you can’t blame others for looking down on you.”

“If I could get out, who would want to hide in these mountains, living a life of stealing and hiding.”

The bandit leader was furious, “That bitch from the Yin Family has been sending people to look for me. If she knew I was still alive, she would never let it go.”

“Hmm, makes sense.”

Li Ziye stroked his chin and said, “Perhaps, I can help you.”

“You can help me?”

The bandit leader was shocked, his face showing disbelief, “How can you help me, and why would you want to help me.”

“Don’t worry about how I can help you. Just know that I can. As for why, there’s no reason. I just feel like it.”

Li Ziye grinned, “You can’t buy my happiness with a thousand gold. I can help you evade the eyes and pursuit of the Yin Family’s main wife. However, in return, you have to serve me for ten years!”

“Ten years?”

The bandit leader’s face turned angry, “Absolutely not.”

“Seven years!”

Li Ziye decided to compromise a bit.

The bandit leader was furious and refused to respond.

“Five years, no less.”

Li Ziye held up five fingers, “Helping you evade pursuit comes at a cost. You come from the Yin Family, you should understand that no one would do business without a return.”

“No more than three years!”

The bandit leader said in a deep voice.

“Deal!”

Li Ziye put away his sword and extended a friendly hand to the man in front of him.

The bandit leader gritted his teeth and also extended his hand.

Why did he feel like he had been tricked?

Li Ziye pulled up the man in front of him and said, “I still don’t know your name.”

“Yin Kuang!” The bandit leader replied.

“Silver Mine? Impressive, impressive.”

Li Ziye said with a face full of admiration.

Upon hearing this, Yin Kuang’s face immediately darkened again, wishing he could slap the man in front of him to death.

“Just kidding.”

Seeing the big man in front of him about to explode, Li Ziye quickly changed the subject, “One more question, since the Yin Family has the Blazing Iron Essence, do you know where I can find something of the same level as the Blazing Iron Essence, but of extreme Yin nature?”

Yin Kuang frowned, thought for a moment, and said, “I haven’t heard of it, but there’s a fragmentary scroll in the Yin Family’s treasure vault called ‘Heavenly Craftsmanship’. It records many rare and strange things in the world. Perhaps, you can find the answer there.”

“‘Heavenly Craftsmanship’?”

Li Ziye’s eyes narrowed slightly. It seemed like he was being forced to make a trip to the Capital City.

To be honest, he really didn’t want to go there.

That was the power center of the Great Shang, where countless people were hoping for his arrival as the legitimate son of the Li Family.

Having seen enough power struggles in his previous life, he knew very well that the Li Family was now a thorn in the side of the royal family. If they could use it, it would be fine. If not, they would definitely want to get rid of it.

His identity as the legitimate son of the Li Family was like a bright light bulb, attracting the attention of many people. It would be difficult to keep a low profile. Once he went to the Capital City of the Great Shang, it would not be easy to return.

“I’ve said everything I should say, can I go now?” Yin Kuang looked at the man in front of him and asked in a deep voice.

“Hmm… you can. Go back first, I’ll arrange it as soon as possible. Soon, you’ll be able to move freely in the Great Shang Dynasty.” Li Ziye grinned.

“I hope what you said is true.”

Yin Kuang snorted coldly, then turned and left.

Li Ziye also waved his hand and walked towards the outside of the forest.

As the sun set, outside Yuzhou City, a horse galloped wildly, leaving a trail of dust behind.

Finally, just before the city gate was about to close, Li Ziye made it back.

At the Li Residence, the first thing Li Ziye did after returning was to write a letter to Li Qingzhi.

The matter of Yin Kuang needed to be handled properly. If he went to the Capital City of the Great Shang in the future, this man would be of great use to him.

He didn’t trust anyone else with this, so he had to ask his Second Brother for help.

Although his relationship with his Second Brother was not very good, he was the person he trusted the most.

After writing the letter, a pigeon quickly flew out of the backyard of the Li Residence, heading east.

Two days later, in the Capital City of the Great Shang, at the Shihua Garden by the Xiang River, a woman in red walked up to the third floor and handed the secret letter in her hand to the man in the room.

“Tower Master, a secret message from Yuzhou City,” a woman in red spoke.

Inside the room, a young man dressed in a silver-grey wide robe took the letter. Upon opening it and seeing the handwriting inside, his expression immediately turned serious.

A letter from his third brother.

Under the flickering candlelight, Li Qingzhi read the contents of the letter, his eyes slightly squinting.

After reading the letter, Li Qingzhi burned it over the candle flame and said, “Hong Zhu.”

“Tower Master!” The woman in red respectfully saluted.

“You will return to Yuzhou City and follow the orders of the Third Young Master.”

After speaking, Li Qingzhi looked at a desk not far away, walked over, picked up a wooden box about three feet long, and said, “Give him this Pure Jun Sword as well.”

“Yes, Tower Master!”

The woman in red respectfully took the order, stepped forward to take the sword box, and then turned and left.

At dawn, outside the west gate of the Capital of Shang, Hong Zhu rode a fast horse, galloping thousands of miles towards Yuzhou City.

In the backyard of the Li Residence, Li Ziye had not left for five consecutive days, practicing swordsmanship in the residence.

Of course, the main reason was that Yin Kuang was now under his control, and he felt embarrassed to trouble his own people.

On the sixth day, at dawn, outside the east gate of Yuzhou City, a fast horse galloped in. On the horseback, a woman in red, with a beautiful face and a heroic aura.

Soon, at the Li Residence, Hong Zhu arrived.

Upon hearing the news, Li Ziye immediately walked out of the backyard to greet her.

“Sister Hong Zhu.”

Seeing the visitor, Li Ziye immediately displayed his sweet-talking and shameless advantages, smiling and saying, “You must have had a hard journey.”

“Third Young Master.”

Hong Zhu saluted and said softly, “The Tower Master sent me here to follow the orders of the Third Young Master.”

“Calling it ‘orders’ is too formal.”

Li Ziye smiled innocently, “I invited Sister Hong Zhu here to ask for a small favor.”

“Whatever the Third Young Master commands, I will do my best to assist.”

After speaking, Hong Zhu took a sword box about three feet long from her back and handed it over, saying, “This is the sword the Tower Master asked me to give to the Third Young Master.”

“A sword?”

Upon hearing this, Li Ziye’s eyes lit up with surprise. Anything sent by his second brother would certainly not be ordinary.

The broken iron he got from Yin Kuang couldn’t be forged into a sword for a while, and he was worrying about how to get a suitable sword. He couldn’t possibly steal Old Qin’s Frost Sword, could he?

Of course, mainly because he didn’t dare.

Li Ziye took the sword box, opened it, and inside, a mysterious blue ancient sword lay quietly. The sword’s edge was like autumn water, its sharpness intimidating.

What a good… sword.

“Pure Jun.”

By the lake in the backyard, Qin E’nuo saw the sword in Li Ziye’s hand not far away, and a look of surprise appeared on her beautiful face.

The Li Family really had far-reaching connections.

The Pure Jun Sword was forged by a master craftsman a hundred years ago, and it was incredibly sharp. After the craftsman’s death, the whereabouts of the Pure Jun Sword were unknown.

The fact that the Li Family could find this sword showed how terrifying their intelligence capabilities were.

“What a waste of a good sword.”

Slovenly Zhang said unhappily from the side.

Such a famous sword was wasted on that kid.

“But, that girl is not bad.”

Slovenly Zhang added, obviously referring to Hong Zhu in front of Li Ziye.

“A master of poison.”

Qin E’nuo said calmly. The earrings, hairpins, and even the bracelets on the young woman in red reflected a strange blue light, obviously steeped in deadly poison.

“Where does the Li Family find all these freaks? Such an unusual little girl.”

Slovenly Zhang sighed, “Look at that kid’s flattering attitude, he obviously knows how powerful this girl is. I guarantee, he’s up to no good.”

“Hmm.”

Qin E’nuo nodded indifferently. She knew her disciple’s character well. When asking for help, he had no bottom line.

“Sister Hong Zhu, let’s go to the room and talk in detail.”

Li Ziye led the way, his face not turning red or his heart beating faster as he passed by the lake, pretending not to see the strange looks from the two Immortal Swordsmen.

In the room, after Hong Zhu entered, Li Ziye closed the door.

Hong Zhu was not afraid. Seeing him close the door, a playful smile appeared on her beautiful face.

She knew the Third Young Master’s character.

To put it bluntly, he had the heart of a thief, but not the guts.

When they were young, she often bullied this little master of the Li Family.

But later, when she understood the order of seniority, she became a bit more restrained in public.

“Little Ziye, you’ve grown up.”

Inside the room, Hong Zhu looked at the young man’s legs and said meaningfully.

Li Ziye’s smile froze, and he subconsciously tightened his legs.

A female… hooligan!