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“Bewitched banknote: This is a Da Qi National Prosperity Bank banknote with a face value of three thousand taels of gold, redeemable at any branch of the National Prosperity Bank. A powerful spirit will envelops this banknote. As soon as one makes contact, one’s mind becomes immediately entranced, muddled, losing all sense of rationality.”

Zhou Heng lay on the bed, used the Appraisal Card on the three banknotes Chen Xingjiang had placed on the table, and immediately understood the problem with the banknotes.

In fact, his spirit perception ability was not sufficient to detect the issue with the three banknotes, but apart from spirit perception, he also had brains.

Before leaving, Chen Xingjiang was already fuming, yet he didn’t forget to leave the money behind. If this Prefectural Governor had really intended to keep his promise, the current situation wouldn’t have arisen.

Thus, Zhou Heng instinctively became suspicious of the three banknotes, and after using the Appraisal Card, it confirmed his suspicions.

“Are you forcing me to kill you,” Zhou Heng murmured under his breath, his gaze darkened, and he sighed at last, saying, “I never intended to kill you, but you’re bringing this upon yourself.

“If I don’t kill you, the spirit on the banknote will remain unscattered. If I don’t kill you, I won’t be able to exchange my money! Why would you do this to yourself, seeking your own death?”

Speaking of exchanging money was of course just a joke, but Zhou Heng did indeed have the intent to kill.

True, Chen Xingjiang’s imprinting of his will onto the banknote was not going to harm his life; it would at most make him lose his rationality and do some inexplicable things, or be laughed at by others.

But to use such a despicable method of assassination ignited Zhou Heng’s killing intent.

This time, Chen Xingjiang might have done it casually, so he was able to be vigilant and see through it, but who could ensure that next time Chen Xingjiang wouldn’t make meticulous arrangements with all his might?

If a Grandmaster at the absolute peak of Fourth Rank truly intended to assassinate him, with his current cultivation realm and awareness, the chances of detecting it every time were extremely low.

Perhaps next time, he would fall directly into the trap.

Afterward, Zhou Heng threw both the table with the banknotes and the banknotes themselves into the Qiankun Cloth Pouch.

This way he could avoid direct contact.

——The Qiankun Cloth Pouch given by Pure Yang Palace to disciples might not be large, but its quality is very high; the space inside is a true independent domain relative to the outside world, ensuring that even if there is another’s imposing spirit will on the items inside, it won’t be sensed by the outsider.

After leaving behind half a tael of silver as compensation for the inn’s table, Zhou Heng led his brown horse and left the inn.

Some bailiffs from the Prefectural city reported Zhou Heng’s movements to Chen Xingjiang and Lin He.

This caused Chen Xingjiang to be slightly startled.

First, he wondered why Zhou Heng was able to resist the spirit will on the banknote, and then he calmed down, assuming it was because Zhou Heng had methods granted by the Pure Yang Palace, or it was a safeguard left from his previous life.

Another four or five days passed, and despite Chen Xingjiang sending people to make inquiries in all directions, they could not find any news about Zhou Heng in Fangzhou. It was as if he had already left Fangzhou far behind.

Over ten days later, upon hearing that Zhou Heng had already left Fangzhou three days ago and headed further west to Sui State, and had also destroyed an Evil Sect, Chen Xingjiang finally let go of his worries.

“Trying to fight with me, you’re still too inexperienced!” Chen Xingjiang sat in his study, looked at the report delivered by the bailiffs with a slight smile curling the corners of his mouth, revealing a cold sneer.

In his eyes, Zhou Heng must have indeed been affected by the spirit will he left behind, so there was nearly a ten-day period with no news at all, most likely spent suppressing and eliminating the influence.

Zhou Heng had surely suffered a great deal and faced great suffering.

“Next, it’s time to see what the sixteenth prince wants to do,” Chen Xingjiang put down the message in his hand, thinking of the sixteenth prince, he felt a bit panicky and afraid.

Up to now, there hadn’t been any news from the sixteenth prince’s side; it was as if he didn’t care at all that the Medicine God Sect had been wiped out.

But the more this was the case, the more worried Chen Xingjiang became, feeling unsettled.

…

On the tenth day of the eleventh month, Little Snow, the weather was slightly cold.

Outside the gate of County City in Fangzhou, a young master wearing a pure white wool cloak and white brocade clothes arrived in front of the city gate.

Beside him was a girl dressed in a green skirt, appearing to be a maid, looking to be only thirteen or fourteen years old, delicate and lovely with a beautiful countenance that evoked sympathy.

The city gate guard stopped the two, intending to inquire about their identities and travel passes.

As the weather had turned cold, refugees from the northwestern mountains often came out to steal clothes and disguised themselves as ordinary citizens or rich family descendants, blending into the city to escape the cold.

Therefore, at the beginning of November, County City in Fangzhou began to strictly check the travel passes of those entering the city.

However, the young master’s maid suddenly stepped forward, got on her tiptoes, and slapped the guard twice. Then, in a somewhat immature voice, she scolded, “You’ve gone blind, you dog! How dare you block the way and not even recognize my master? Is this how Chen Xingjiang teaches his subordinates?”

The guard was stupefied, never imagining that one day he would be slapped by people who wanted to enter the city.

Could such a thing really happen?!

Anyone wanting to enter the city who encountered officials asking about identities or travel passes would always behave humbly and cautiously, not daring to offend in the slightest.

He had even often received bribes and various gifts from people wanting to cut in line to enter the city.

And now someone had slapped him right in the face??

Insanity!

Complete insanity!

From where did this affluent young master come? Did he truly think the County City was his own territory, that he could flaunt his authority so recklessly?

Just as the guard was about to fly into a rage and call for the arrest of the young master and the maid, he suddenly found he couldn’t move, his shoulder pinned down by a thick and rough hand.

“Lin, Lin sir!” The guard turned his head and saw that it was Lin He, the clerk from the County City office, which scared him into a shiver, and he said, “Sir Lin, what brings you here?”

Lin He completely ignored the guard; instead, he approached the young master, knelt down on one knee, and bowed respectfully, preparing to speak. The young master, however, shook his head.

“At your command.” Lin He immediately stood up, not daring to delay in the slightest.

The city gate guard was scared witless on the spot, trembling from head to toe, and collapsed on the ground, his complexion paler than the snow on the ground, his face filled with terror.

He did not know the identity of this young master, but Lin He, the clerk, kneeled in greeting upon meeting him, which undoubtedly meant this was an exceedingly important figure.

Absolutely not someone he could afford to offend.

At this moment, the city gate guard felt somewhat grateful to that young girl. If she hadn’t slapped him, preventing him from speaking, he reckoned that he would have probably lost his life by now.

“Let’s go, into the city,” the young master said indifferently, his tone extremely detached, as if none of those present were worth his attention.

“Yes,” Lin He quickly stepped forward to make an inviting gesture, bending respectfully as he whispered, “Your Highness, please.”

After the three of them entered the city, the guard was left petrified, consumed by his terror.

Two words echoed in his mind.

“Your Highness!

“Your Highness!!”

What kind of person could be addressed as Your Highness?

A prince!

Only a prince, indeed!!

He, he had actually blocked a prince’s path, this… this was truly seeking death!!

…

In Lin He’s eyes, this young man was the sixteenth prince of Da Qi, Zhao Qin.

He was a Great Grandmaster who had ascended to the Fourth Rank two hundred years ago, achieving the pinnacle of martial excellence.

It was also he who single-handedly promoted Chen Xingjiang from an ordinary loose cultivator martial artist to his current position as the governor of Fangzhou.

This prince could be said to be the true uncrowned king of Fangzhou.

Let alone a mere clerk like him, even if it were Chen Xingjiang himself, he wouldn’t dare to breathe heavily in front of His Highness, showing absolute respect and obedience.

But in reality.

This “Zhao Qin” was none other than Zhou Heng in disguise.

In the past twenty or so days, Zhou Heng had not been idle.

Through the resources of the Zhou Tian Boundary Officer and the Pure Yang Palace, he had collected accurate information about the sixteenth prince, including his appearance, physical characteristics, and even personality traits and behaviors.

Then, he used a body transformation card to transform into the appearance of the sixteenth prince of Da Qi, Zhao Qin, a true physical change with no illusory elements whatsoever; no one would be able to detect any flaws.

Furthermore, Zhou Heng also summoned the divine soul of the Qingxia God from Yuanhe Prefecture City, housing it in the “Jadeite Lotus Seed” he had previously obtained from the Fortune Bag, manifesting it into form.

When Zhou Heng left Yuanhe Prefecture City, he had asked the Qingxia God to do two things.

One of these tasks was to separate a strand of her divine soul so that when he needed it, he could summon a fraction of the Qingxia God’s Divine Soul Power through this strand of divine thought.

This was a precaution Zhou Heng took should he encounter an overwhelmingly powerful enemy; however, after obtaining the Jadeite Lotus Seed, the situation changed.

“Jadeite Lotus Seed: A special spiritual item, can be cultivated with ‘Celestial Water’ or ‘Lustrous Purifying Water’ to grow a Jadeite Lotus Embryo, reconstructing the body for a Middle Third Rank martial artist who only has a soul left, resulting in a Jadeite Lotus Divine Body with extraordinary talent upon completion.

“It can also be directly used as a vessel for housing a divine soul, temporarily manifesting a physical form with a rank not exceeding Absolute Fourth Rank, a maximum of once every six months, and not for more than one day at a time, otherwise, the essence of the lotus seed will be damaged.”

While the first use of the Jadeite Lotus Seed is formidable, allowing for direct body reconstruction and resulting in a divine body, it requires some sort of celestial water, which is evidently not something common, making it a bit of a white elephant.

The second use, on the other hand, is greatly beneficial for Zhou Heng.

After summoning a part of Qingxia God’s Divine Soul Power, he could allow it to reside in it.

This equates to directly manifesting a helper of Absolute Fourth Rank.

—Even though the Qingxia God was once a Second Rank Tao Lord who had forged a Dao Seed, she has since been reincarnated, and both her divine soul and Dao Seed are very fragile. Only recently has she barely recovered to a level comparable to Absolute Fourth Rank.

As the divine soul of the Qingxia God is of an extremely high essence, even though she is currently only manifesting a form at the Absolute Fourth Rank, she can still help Zhou Heng to fake the aura of his cultivation level, easily deceiving both Lin He and Chen Xingjiang.

While welcoming the “sixteenth prince” into the city, Lin He also made arrangements for someone to inform Governor Chen Xingjiang.

Therefore, as soon as Zhou Heng arrived at the entrance of the prefectural yamen, he saw Chen Xingjiang leading a group of officials out of the office to welcome him. All of them bowed their heads, not even daring to look directly at Zhou Heng.

“Warmest greetings to Your Highness!”

“Long life and prosperity to Your Highness!”

Chen Xingjiang took the lead in chanting, with an attitude of utmost respect and reverence, while also feeling an imminent panic in his heart, without the nerve or inclination to verify whether this “sixteenth prince” was genuine or not.

Zhou Heng’s eyes were slightly closed, not even lifting his eyelids once, as if Chen Xingjiang and the others were like air to him, completely ignored.

At once, Chen Xingjiang and the others also held their breath, not daring to let out a peep.

For a while, the prefectural yamen was as silent as the grave, so quiet that one could hear a pin drop.

“Chen Xingjiang!” Just at that moment, the little maid who was the incarnation of the Qingxia God beside Zhou Heng suddenly spoke out, demanding, “Do you know your crime?!”

“This servant is guilty!” Chen Xingjiang was instantly shocked and afraid, his body trembling as he prostrated himself and cried out loud, “This servant is guilty, guilty! Please, Your Highness, administer punishment!”