Martial Sage from the Vajra Skill

Chapter 303: Chapter 172: Friends (2)

Although his Cao Family had people in the Inner Sect, Cao Jin’s Cultivation was weaker than Xiao Hua’s. If even Xiao Hua was dead, what could Cao Jin possibly do?

Regardless of whether Xu Yang had done it himself or had someone backing him, he could no longer afford to provoke Xu Yang.

Xu Yang looked astonished. "Brother Cao, what are you talking about? I don’t quite understand what you mean."

Cao Rong froze. ’Could I have been wrong? Do the deaths of Xiao Hua and Gao Peng have nothing to do with Xu Yang?’

’Otherwise, after I’ve laid it all out like this, there’s no reason for Xu Yang to keep playing dumb.’

"It’s nothing. If you don’t understand, just forget about it."

Cao Rong felt as if a great weight had been lifted from his chest, and his tone relaxed. "Brother Xu, I’ll take it from here."

He decided he would never provoke Xu Yang again.

This man was uncanny. Gu Haoming and Li Qiang, who had wanted to kill him, were both dead. Then there was Kong Yu, who had also met an untimely end.

The same went for Yue Gui and his men. Not long after they dissociated themselves from Xu Yang, they too were slaughtered.

"Alright!"

A smile on his face, Xu Yang turned and went downstairs.

Two more days passed quickly. Xiao Hua’s continued absence finally drew the attention of the Purple Sun Sect. An Outer Elder sent people to search for him, but they discovered Xiao Hua had vanished without a trace, as if he had evaporated into thin air.

They only learned from a few disciples guarding the mountain that Xiao Hua had left the Purple Sun Sect three afternoons prior and never returned.

They searched all over Cyan Yang City but still couldn’t find him.

After searching for two days, they had no choice but to declare Xiao Hua dead.

Cao Rong didn’t want any trouble. He was just thankful to have extricated himself from the situation and had no intention of using it to make a move against Xu Yang.

And so, Xiao Hua was dead, just like that. By extension, Gao Peng’s death also went completely unnoticed.

...

The Su Family Residence.

"Eldest Brother, Xiao Hua is dead!"

Su Jiangong found his elder brother, Su Jianye, in the study to report the news of Xiao Hua’s death.

Su Jianye’s brow furrowed at the news. "Who would be so bold as to kill a Steward of the Purple Sun Sect?"

Su Jiangong shook his head. "No one knows who did it. They haven’t even found a body."

’Isn’t this just like what happened to Su Qiming and Su Jie?’

The thought flashed through Su Jianye’s mind and was gone; he didn’t dwell on it.

Cyan Yang City was situated in the heart of the Yunling Mountain Range, surrounded by dense, ancient forests teeming with wild animals and Exotic Beasts.

If one were to kill someone and dump the body in the forest, not even bones would remain after a day or two.

The bodies of most people killed in the wilderness were never found.

"Wasn’t he going to seek revenge on that Xu Yang? Could he have been killed by him?" Su Jianye asked.

Su Jiangong shook his head. "That Xu Yang is only at Gang Qi Great Success. How could he possibly kill Xiao Hua? I’m certain it was an old enemy of Xiao Hua’s seeking revenge. Otherwise, how could both father and son die such violent deaths, one after the other?"

Su Jianye agreed he was probably overthinking it. "Then what about Xu Yang?"

Su Jiangong replied, "He’s fine, of course. He’s currently on garrison duty at the Divine Weapon Pavilion."

Su Jianye nodded. "Since Xiao Hua is dead, let’s drop it. Whether Xu Yang killed Xiao Chen or not, this matter no longer has anything to do with our Su Family."

If Xiao Hua were still alive, the Su Family would have naturally continued to foster a good relationship with him.

But with Xiao Hua dead, it was no longer their concern—even if Xu Yang had truly killed Xiao Chen, not just been suspected of it.

The Su Family was in a precarious state; now was the time to protect their own, not make enemies everywhere.

"What? Uncle Xiao was murdered? Who did it?"

Hearing of Xiao Hua’s death, Su Man’s face filled with sorrow.

Her handmaiden, Xiaocui, shook her head. "The Purple Sun Sect couldn’t find anything. It seems they only realized he was missing after several days, and they never found a body.

Oh, and Miss, the Patriarch has given an order: the Su Family is to no longer concern itself with the Xiao Family or Xu Yang."

"Impossible!"

Su Man’s face instantly twisted with rage. "He’s the one who got Xiao Chen killed. He has to die."

Since Xiao Hua had been convinced that Xu Yang was behind Xiao Chen’s death, it must have been related to him. Now that Xiao Hua was dead, she would carry on the quest for vengeance.

"Miss, if the Patriarch won’t get involved, how will you get revenge on Xu Yang?" Xiaocui asked.

Although Su Man practiced martial arts, her Cultivation was only at the Minor Achievement in Gang Qi, not nearly enough to kill Xu Yang.

"Ah Zhe will help me," Su Man said, her face contorted with venomous hatred.

Just because her father refused to get involved didn’t mean she had no way to kill Xu Yang.

Her younger brother, Su Zhe, was one of the Purple Sun Sect’s Ten Heroes Geniuses, and he was ranked even higher than Xu Yang. Killing Xu Yang would be effortless for him.

...

As time trickled by, Cao Rong found that he and Xu Yang had returned to their old, casual way of chatting. Though it was only a few pleasantries each day, he felt they were on the verge of becoming true friends.

Xu Yang’s tone grew more cordial whenever they spoke, and he would always exchange a few words before leaving for the day.

’I was overthinking things before. How could he possibly have the power to kill Xiao Hua? He’s so easygoing. It wouldn’t be bad to be his friend,’ Cao Rong thought as he watched Xu Yang’s retreating figure.

’He’s a Ten Heroes Genius. Even if I can’t recruit him into my Sharp Wind Hall, there’s no harm in being his friend. The three-year term for Outer Disciples is almost up. If I can form an Alliance with him for the assessment mission, I won’t have to go begging my uncle, Cao Jin, in the Inner Sect.’

Xu Yang left the Divine Weapon Pavilion, but instead of returning to the Purple Sun Sect, he went to the courtyard he had purchased.

The renovations on the underground Alchemy Room were complete. He had moved the Pill Furnace there yesterday and had already purchased the other ingredients needed to refine Gathering Essence Pills.

After cleaning the Pill Furnace, he began the alchemy process.

The next day, a fragrant medicinal aroma filled the air as the lid of the furnace began to vibrate. The batch of Gathering Essence Pills was complete.

"Not bad luck."

Xu Yang lifted the Pill Furnace’s lid and saw eleven Gathering Essence Pills resting inside.

As he hadn’t used Elixirs in his cultivation for a long time, he immediately took one out and consumed it. After storing the rest, he hurried to the Divine Weapon Pavilion.

"My apologies. Something held me up, so I’m late. I hope you can forgive me, Brother Cao," Xu Yang said, cupping his fists.

Cao Rong smiled and shook his head. "Brother Xu, you’re being too polite. There’s no need for such formalities between us. If you have important business, I don’t mind covering your garrison duty for a few days."

Xu Yang felt a bit strange. He had no idea when Cao Rong had started considering him a friend.

"You’re too kind, Brother Cao. I’ll take it from here."

Smiling as he watched Cao Rong depart, Xu Yang sat down cross-legged and began to circulate his Fuyue Bear Scripture and Yijing Marrow Cleansing.

Time flowed by, and in the blink of an eye, he had been garrisoning the Divine Weapon Pavilion for nearly two months.

"Junior Brother Xu, we’re back."

One day, upon returning to the Purple Sun Sect, Xu Yang saw Sun Tao and the other two sitting in the courtyard, a lingering Evil Qi still clinging to them.

"Congratulations on your breakthrough, Senior Brother. You’ve reached Gang Qi Great Success!" Xu Yang said with a smile, cupping his fists.

Before leaving to take shelter, Sun Tao had sworn he wouldn’t return until he reached Gang Qi Great Success.

Since he was back, he must have succeeded.

Sun Tao shook his head. "It’s still uncertain if we’ll even survive. Did that bastard Xiao Hua give you any trouble?"

Xu Yang laughed. "Didn’t you ask around after you got back, Senior Brother? He was killed by someone while he was out. He’s been dead for over a month now."

’Xiao Hua is dead?’

The moment he said it, Jiang Ping and Zhang Yong both exclaimed in shock.

They had allied with Sun Tao partially out of fear of being targeted by Xiao Hua. Now that he was dead, they all breathed a sigh of relief, knowing they could stay in the Sect a while longer.

"Dead?" Sun Tao’s face was a mask of shock.

Jiang Ping and Zhang Yong naively believed Xiao Hua had truly been killed by someone while he was out; they didn’t suspect Xu Yang in the slightest.

But Sun Tao knew. ’It had to be Xu Yang.’

’Since Xiao Hua had arranged for Xu Yang to garrison the Divine Weapon Pavilion, there was no way he wouldn’t make a move. This whole story about being killed by someone while he was out... he must have been killed by Xu Yang while trying to ambush him.’

’Xu Yang already has the strength to kill a Marrow Cleansing Minor Achievement Martial Artist!’

A storm of shock raged in Sun Tao’s heart. He wanted to ask Xu Yang how he had done it, but with Zhang Yong and Jiang Ping present, he could only forcibly suppress his astonishment.

"Junior Sister Lin’s spirit can finally rest in peace," Sun Tao said.

The shock gave way to a sigh for Lin Wei.

Xu Yang said, "Senior Brother Sun, you can write to our Master now and have him come take care of Senior Sister Lin Wei’s remains."

By killing Xiao Hua and his son, and arranging for Lin Wei’s remains to be sent back, he considered his debt to Lin Cheng repaid.

Sun Tao shook his head. "It doesn’t have to be that complicated. I’ve heard there’s a Yizhuang in Cyan Yang City that often helps send the remains of outsiders who die here back to their hometowns.

Just tell me where Junior Sister Lin’s remains are, and tomorrow I’ll find the people at the Yizhuang and have them arrange for their return."

Xu Yang told Sun Tao the location he had gotten from Xiao Chen and added a warning, "The Sect probably won’t allow her remains to be sent back. When you arrange it, don’t mention that she was a Purple Sun Sect disciple."

Sun Tao nodded, then quickly dragged Xu Yang off to go drinking in celebration of Xiao Hua’s death.