Chapter 112: Chapter 112: The Real Culprit (Vote for Monthly Ticket)
In the courtyard’s artificial hill.
The Black Robed Steward’s complexion was pale, he held a cane in his hand, hiding in the shadows, concealing his entire presence.
Across from him, on the roof of the house, appeared a man and a woman, which made his expression turn grim.
However,
the gaze of those two was fixed on the chamber in the courtyard.
...
Just a moment ago, he had witnessed a Yunyue Sect female disciple enter the chamber, after which there was no further sound.
“…What exactly is the situation?”
The Black Robed Steward’s expression alternated between clarity and cloudiness, always feeling that something was amiss.
The battle before had left him seriously injured, having lost his flying mount, and should he flee head-on, he would definitely not last.
Therefore,
he first infiltrated the residential areas within Yan Family Castle; he headed wherever the architecture and terrain were most complex, and, sure enough, temporarily shook off pursuit.
However,
the Black Robed Steward had not expected that he would find himself hiding in Lady Yan’s estate.
A bad feeling suddenly arose in his heart.
The Black Robed Steward did not notice a little bug, the size of a thumb, that emerged in the artificial hill’s pool.
Inside the chamber, the light remained on.
“Heh, tonight sure is lively.”
The masked man sat on the bed, his gaze lightly looking out the window as if piercing through the night, controlling everything.
Before the bed,
Mu Xueqing, Lady Yan, and her daughter leaned against each other, their movements sealed, all three women were rare beauties with distinct charm.
“Infinite Thief… Now that the situation in Yan Family Castle is almost settled, why won’t you let us go…”
Lady Yan clenched her teeth tightly, struggling to speak.
Before, she had obediently served the Infinite Thief, who only promised to keep her family safe.
To assist them in taking vengeance and governing Yan Family Castle, he demanded both mother and daughter serve him.
Lady Yan had been enduring, waiting for the Upper Envoys from her sect, hoping they could stabilize the situation.
Finally,
they saw hope, today of all days, as Yan Hong’s actions were exposed, and the state of affairs was becoming clear.
“Hmph! Blame this foolish woman.”
The masked man cast a cold glance toward Mu Xueqing beside him. If it weren’t for her beauty and charm, she would have been killed long ago.
“Blame me?”
Mu Xueqing gave a bitter smile.
The three women, with their movements sealed, could only barely speak.
“If you hadn’t meddled, assisting these two, after they lost faith in the so-called Upper Envoys from their sect, they would have submitted under me long ago.”
Anger was evident in the masked man’s tone.
He could have forced himself upon them, but that might have led to the mother and daughter’s destruction, and he would have lost half the enjoyment, unable to relish the bliss of having both serve him.
“Now I understand… The internal strife within Yan Family Castle… all began because of you.”
Mu Xueqing suddenly realized something.
“Not slow on the uptake, are you? Without creating this crisis, how could I have slowly brought the mother and daughter to their knees before me?”
The masked man chuckled.
Hearing this, Lady Yan quivered: “Was it you… who killed my husband?”
Suddenly, she pieced together several clues.
Before, Lady Yan had thought her husband’s death was orchestrated by Yan Hong, perhaps in collusion with Bone Demon Palace.
But now, upon reflection,
her husband was powerful. To kill him without any noise was difficult, and not even a few practitioners at the Organ Refining Stage could manage it.
“Ha ha… That’s right. I killed your husband and then set fire to conceal it, letting the blame naturally fall on Yan Hong.”
The masked man did not deny it.
Upon hearing this,
A chill spread through Mu Xueqing’s entire body.
So, the source of all internal strife within Yan Family Castle was actually the Infinite Thief.
Yan Hong and others were merely puppets, silently manipulated behind the scenes, pushed to the current predicament.
Using human nature’s obsession with revenge, family, and power, the masked man had little by little breached the mental defenses of Lady Yan and Yan Yuexi.
Yan Yuexi, why had she seen her mother serving the Infinite Thief?
Mu Xueqing felt cold inside. With the capabilities of the Infinite Thief, how could he not notice—probably it was deliberate.
“Beauty, you’ve ruined my good time. I’m going to strip you of your clothes bit by bit, peeling away the reserved ardor and heat within the heart of a cool girl like you.”
The Infinite Thief’s hot gaze swept over Mu Xueqing’s gentle and delicate figure.
Mu Xueqing’s heart sank into endless darkness.
However, she was now so weak that even speaking was immensely difficult, let alone having the ability to bite her tongue and commit suicide.
“Of course, before that, I need to take care of the annoying flies outside.”
The masked man’s tone suddenly shifted.
Creak!
The Infinite Thief opened the door, his gaze sweeping over the courtyard’s artificial hill.
Swoosh! Swoosh!
At the same moment, a man and a woman leaped into view from both sides of the courtyard.
It was Kun Ling and Xie Jing.
“Infinite Thief! You should just surrender.”
Kun Ling, clad in a purple robe, fluttered in the night wind, going “clang” as he drew forth a red-golden greatsword.
Woosh!
Upon being brandished, strands of cold golden patterned blade radiance coiled around the blade, exuding a bone-chilling aura.
“That young man is likely a true disciple of Yunyue Sect.”
Inside the artificial hill, the Black Robed Steward was shocked.
This purple-robed man’s strength was definitely not inferior to his own, and possibly even greater.
Swish-slash!
Beside him, Xie Jing unfolded a fragrant handkerchief with her bare hands, emitting threads of light purple mist oozing with extreme sweetness.
Hiss!
In the air, the light purple mist seemed to react with something, producing a puff of foul-smelling black smoke.
“You’ve actually countered my ‘Heavenly Maiden Drunken Fragrance Powder’?”
The masked man was slightly surprised, looking at Xie Jing and the light purple mist rising from her handkerchief.
“Infinite Thief, there is no escape for you today. Xie is someone I specially requested for her ability to counter your depraved techniques. She excels at tracking and is an alchemist, the bane of thieves like you.”
Kun Ling sneered.
With that said,
he swung his greatsword, unleashing a massive golden patterned blade radiance like a python, accompanied by the fine rain of golden patterned blade edges, sweeping across one or two feet around.
“Child’s play!”
The Infinite Thief let out a bizarre chuckle; in his place, several faint and indistinct silhouettes crisscrossed into existence.
“Pfft!”
In several fleeting moments, most of the afterimages were extinguished by Kun Ling’s slashes; meanwhile, one of the figures calmly widened the distance from Kun Ling.
“Such impressive movement technique!”
Kun Ling’s ferocious barrage was utterly unable to seal the opponent’s movements.
Hidden in the darkness, the Black Robed Steward’s heart trembled with shock; when it came to movement speed, the Infinite Thief was certainly a cut above him!
“Whoosh!”
The figure of the Infinite Thief flashed like a ghost, abruptly changing direction towards Xie Jing.
“Sister Xie, be careful!” Kun Ling couldn’t help but exclaim in alarm.
“Hmph!”
Xie Jing gave a cold laugh, her hands whipping up a roll of alternating red and blue silk ribbons, transforming into a ring of swirling red and blue air flows, with energy shining explosively.
This Sister Xie’s cultivation was approaching the Late Stage of Organ Refining, her strength nearly on par with Senior Brother Pei.
“Hehe!”
The Infinite Thief let out a sinister laugh as his figure moved not back but forward, even slicing in at an eerie angle, his palm shooting out a patch of sharp grey air shadows.
“Whoo!”
Xie Jing’s body suddenly stiffened; a flush of red appeared on her skin, and her body became feverishly limp.
There was a “thump” as
Xie Jing collapsed to the ground; all the silk ribbons around her were scattered by the masked man’s palm strike, and blood trickled from the corner of her mouth.
Disbelief in her eyes, she struggled to say, “You… but I clearly solved your toxic soft fragrance.”
“Haha, did you think the ‘Heavenly Maiden Drunken Fragrance Powder’ was so easy to break? This fragrance is made from an ancient recipe; its main ingredients are the gallbladders from Qi Transformation Realm level creatures, the Five Deer and the Charming Spirit Fox, with special adjustments just for women… Beneath the Qi Transformation Realm, it’s impossible to resist.”
With a sinister chuckle, the Infinite Thief reached out to grab Xie Jing.
If it were so easy to neutralize the powder, how could he have been so notorious in Chu Country?
“Scoundrel, meet your death!”
Kun Ling attacked from behind, his domineering Golden Pattern Blade Radiance momentarily forcing the Infinite Thief back.
“Brother Kun, we must retreat quickly. I only neutralized some potency of the ‘Heavenly Maiden Drunken Fragrance Powder.’ This powder’s power doubles against women, and I am powerless to assist you,”
Xie Jing spoke with a heated flush, her breathing growing rapid.
As she spoke, she swallowed several elixirs; only then did the burning desire begin to subside slightly.
Kun Ling helped Xie Jing up, his face looking terrible.
“You think to leave just like that? I’m not in a good mood, leave the girl behind as a plaything and I’ll spare your life,” the masked man snorted coldly.
With those words,
he whistled sharply.
“Whoosh!”
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From the dark corners of the courtyard, a strange, ink-black crow flew in.
This peculiar crow’s body color almost fused with the night.
“Caw caw!”
The pitch-black crow emitted a strange, piercing call, its invisible sound waves piercing through the soul.
In an instant,
Kun Ling felt his blood and spirit fluctuate, and Xie Jing beside him collapsed even more weakly onto the ground. “This crow is a rare and strange species capable of disturbing the spirit, complementing the ‘Heavenly Maiden Drunken Fragrance Powder.'”
“The game begins.”
The masked man smirked, and in the midst of the crow’s shrill cries, a slender soft sword appeared in his hand.
Swish! Clang! Whoosh!
The masked man’s figure flickered, and only a fine arc of the sword could be seen whirling and twisting eerily through the shades of the night.
What kind of swordsmanship was that!
Kun Ling was horrified, as the strange crow disrupted his mind and vision, his broadsword swung up a curtain-like shield of golden blade radiance in front of him.
“Ding ding hiss!”
The fine sword arc sparked, almost piercing through the golden blade shield, the soft sword writhing like a snake in the night.
“Hss!”
Kun Ling recoiled in terror, a slash appearing on his cheek.
“This movement technique and swordsmanship…”
From the shadows of the rockery, the hidden Black Robed Steward was utterly shaken. If it came to a one-on-one fight, he was no match for the Infinite Thief.
Not to mention, the Infinite Thief had so many inexhaustible tactics.
Just when Kun Ling and the others were facing a dilemma,
Rustle rustle rustle!
A series of swift leaping sounds approached.
By the footsteps, there were at least twenty or thirty people.
“Junior Brother Chen, are you sure that the Bone Demon Palace Steward ran over here?” Fang Haofei asked in a low voice.
“Stop talking nonsense, surround this yard!”
Chen Yu shouted harshly.
“Swoosh swoosh swoosh!”
Suddenly, Senior Brother Pei, Tong Yuling, and four other disciples in the Organ Refining Stage, together with a group of Yan Family Castle’s men, surrounded the yard completely.
“Bad news, we’ve been tracked down.”
In the rockery, the Black Robed Steward’s face turned pale.
“Whoosh!”
Unable to hold back any longer, he burst forward and said to the Infinite Thief, “Sir, today we are surrounded here by a bunch of Yunyue Sect juniors. If we join forces, there’s a chance we can break through.”
“Bone Demon Palace?”
The masked man eyed the Black Robed Steward.
“Yes, I am an Outer Palace Steward of the Bone Demon Palace,” the Black Robed Steward replied.
“Bone Demon Palace… die!”
The masked man’s gaze suddenly turned icy, and in a flash, he vanished like a ghost.
The next moment,
a slender sword arc was already thrusting towards the Black Robed Steward’s back.
“You…”
The Black Robed Steward cried out in terror, his staff shooting out a jet of searing crimson flow, but the sound of the strange crow by his ear caused his blood and spirit to tremble.
“Hiss!”
The masked man pierced the Black Robed Steward’s heart with one sword thrust.
And as a few strands of the searing crimson flow from the latter’s staff hit the masked man, a layer of luminescent green patterns emerged through his clothes, outlining an ancient soft armor that covered his entire body.
Upon closer examination, it was indeed a full-body treasured soft armor!
With a “thump,”
the Black Robed Steward fell to the ground dead, his face bearing an expression of utter disbelief.