Chapter 16: Chapter 16: They Are Afraid
Jiang Ran wasn’t surprised.
The old drunkard was old and his body was failing; his saber techniques were long past their prime.
His Inner Energy was nothing special, either. A lifetime of practice had yielded no notable results.
That rich man was wealthy. He could easily hire a couple of martial arts experts to act as bodyguards. If they didn’t give the old drunkard time to prepare, capturing him would be no trouble at all.
He then asked Cheng Jimo for details about the Tang family.
Cheng Jimo told him everything, holding nothing back.
The Tang family had nothing else going for them; they were just plain rich.
While not the wealthiest family in Cangzhou Prefecture, they owned fertile land and several shops.
Their businesses were booming.
Across all of Cangzhou City, they were considered a prominent family.
Beyond that, there was nothing particularly special about them.
After telling Jiang Ran what he knew, Cheng Jimo cupped his fists in farewell and unhitched the horse from the carriage.
He and Geng Zhaoxing then mounted up and rode away.
As for the guards who had been dosed with the Mind-Confusing Powder, he didn’t bother with them.
He probably figured they would find their own way back once they woke up.
Only now did Jiang Ran have a moment to deal with the Evil Arhat, Dao Zhen, and Ghost Seven.
However, Dao Zhen was already at death’s door.
He was barely hanging on.
Unable to bear watching him suffer, Jiang Ran ended his misery with a single strike, taking his head.
The great Monk had committed countless evils, yet his death was remarkably unceremonious.
Ghost Seven, on the other hand, was in decent shape.
The medicine Jiang Ran had given him had clearly taken effect.
But upon seeing Jiang Ran behead the Monk with a single slash, the color, which had just started to return to his face, drained away again.
Jiang Ran walked up to him and smiled faintly.
"Are you really not a wanted criminal?"
"..."
’Why is he still asking!?’
Ghost Seven grunted.
"I’m not!"
"If you’re not, then why did you enter the Heartless Ghost Mansion?"
"How do you..."
The moment Jiang Ran’s words reached his ears, Ghost Seven’s expression changed. He blurted out three words before catching himself and swallowing them back.
"I don’t know what you’re talking about..."
Jiang Ran decided to stop beating around the bush.
"Zhang Dongxuan had a Heartless Order on him."
"Thirteen years ago, the Evil Arhat, Dao Zhen, was on the brink of death when he suddenly vanished without a trace."
"Then, you all worked together to orchestrate the massacre of the Ye family."
"It would be hard to believe you didn’t all come from the same place."
"...The Heartless Ghost Mansion can be entered, but never left."
"If we were truly from the Heartless Ghost Mansion, how could we possibly have gotten out?"
Ghost Seven tried to keep his voice steady and convincing.
But Jiang Ran’s smile only widened upon hearing this.
"And that is precisely where the problem lies."
"What exactly happened at the Heartless Ghost Mansion?"
"To give you all a chance to escape?"
"However, I suspect the Master of the Ghost Mansion is not in any real trouble. Otherwise, why would you be in such a hurry to silence everyone who saw you?"
His words seemed to be a series of disconnected statements.
Yet, as Ghost Seven listened, his pupils contracted sharply.
He quickly looked down, as if afraid Jiang Ran would notice.
Ye Jingshuang, who was listening at the side, was momentarily confused.
"Young Master Jiang, what... what are you basing this on?"
Jiang Ran glanced at her and explained softly,
"When the Evil Arhat, Dao Zhen, arrived today, his face had a ghastly cyan and black hue—a clear sign he was terminally ill."
"What reason could he possibly have for dragging his gravely ill body here to hunt you down, Miss Ye?"
"Just now, when I fought Dao Zhen, Ghost Seven clearly saw that Dao Zhen was no match for me. Yet, instead of immediately joining forces with him to kill me, he went to kill Qingyi..."
"Surely, Miss Ye, you don’t still believe they’re hunting down everyone who saw them simply because they’re vicious and ruthless?"
Ye Jingshuang’s heart skipped a beat. Everything had happened so quickly that she hadn’t had time to think it through.
But now that Jiang Ran had pointed it out, she realized something was indeed amiss.
The Ye family affair was a major event, but her escape alone shouldn’t have been enough to make Dao Zhen so desperate.
Dao Zhen was on his deathbed, yet Ghost Seven didn’t help him. Instead, he prioritized silencing witnesses. It was completely illogical.
’Unless... they weren’t killing everyone who saw them simply out of cruelty...’
’but because they had a reason, a reason they *had* to kill everyone who saw them.’
’Even if it cost them their own lives!’
"They... are afraid of their whereabouts being exposed?"
Ye Jingshuang murmured to herself. "But why?"
"With the Mansion Master’s unfathomable power, and the horde of villains he’s gathered over the years,"
"what is there to fear from their identities being exposed?"
"They could challenge the entire martial world and likely fear nothing."
"Unless... unless what they fear is not just their identities being exposed, but the consequences that would follow!"
At this thought, everything suddenly clicked into place for Ye Jingshuang.
’For people like them, what consequences would follow if their whereabouts were exposed?’
’The fate of that Demon Path master was a perfect example.’
’What they fear is the Mansion Master himself coming after them!!’
Once you enter the Heartless Sect, you belong to the Ghost Mansion.
If you wish to return to the living world, ten thousand ghosts will devour your heart and soul!!
’The Heartless Ghost Mansion can be entered but never left. If the Mansion Master didn’t orchestrate this, then some major incident must have occurred within the mansion, giving them an opportunity to take.’
’That’s why Jiang Ran had asked his question.’
’But what could have happened at the Heartless Ghost Mansion?’
"As for what happened, we’ll have to let this Senior Ghost Seven enlighten us."
Having said that, Jiang Ran turned to Ghost Seven.
"Senior, speak."
But Ghost Seven just let out a long sigh.
"Just who are you?"
"My name is Jiang Ran. The Jiang of ’river,’ the Ran of ’tranquility.’"
"Impressive. Truly impressive, Jiang Ran."
Ghost Seven glanced at him, then grit his teeth and swallowed hard.
"If things continue this way, in a few years, you’ll surely be a big name in the martial world."
"Too bad... I won’t be there to see it."
As he spoke, a trickle of black blood oozed from the corner of his mouth. Jiang Ran’s expression changed; he lunged forward, grabbing Ghost Seven and checking his pulse.
After a moment, he sighed.
"He’s beyond saving..."
"If only I’d noticed he was hiding something in his mouth... sigh. What a deadly, fast-acting poison."
He let go of Ghost Seven’s collar, watching the body slump to the ground, and couldn’t help but feel a pang of frustration.
’My experience in the martial world is still too shallow.’
’I figured the Heartless Ghost Mansion must be in turmoil. I also deduced that Ghost Seven, Dao Zhen, and Zhang Dongxuan had another reason for killing everyone who saw them.’
’But I never expected that even a man like Ghost Seven would act like a common suicide soldier.’
’And commit suicide by poison at the critical moment.’
’Shouldn’t men like him cherish their lives above all else?’
Although Ye Jingshuang was disappointed as well, she tried to console Jiang Ran.
"Young Master Jiang, please don’t blame yourself."
"Even if he were alive, a man like him would never have willingly told us what we want to know."
But Jiang Ran shook his head.
"Actually, I had a way to make him talk."
"Huh?"
Ye Jingshuang froze, watching as Jiang Ran took a tiny vial from his satchel and handed it to her.
"Open it and take a sniff."
Not suspecting anything, Ye Jingshuang opened it and took a whiff. The scent was so vile she nearly passed out on the spot.
An excruciatingly pungent odor shot straight to her brain.
For a moment, Ye Jingshuang couldn’t find the words to describe the substance in her hand.
All she could do was slam the cap back on and thrust it back at Jiang Ran.
"What... what is this?"
"Something to clear the head."
Jiang Ran chuckled.
"It’s just a bit more effective than most. If it had that effect on you, imagine what it would do to someone with an extremely sensitive nose like his. It would have been tantamount to the torture of a thousand cuts."
"How did you know his nose was so sensitive?"
"He was sniffing the air the moment he arrived, as if he wanted to make sure everyone knew how he’d tracked us down."
...
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P.S. A shoutout for a new book: I Only Got the Longevity System After I Died, So I Rose From My Coffin!
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