Lin Feng also learned one more crucial piece of information: as far as the outside world was concerned... he, Lin Feng, was dead.
This situation wasn't entirely unexpected. In fact, he had anticipated it. It might even be for the best, he mused, enhancing his safety considerably. The only downside was the necessity of living under an assumed name for the foreseeable future.
Having obtained the information he sought, Lin Feng settled his bill and exited the tavern. He wandered the streets aimlessly, pondering his next steps. For safety's sake, he decided against returning to Zhenhai City immediately. He worried that even with his altered appearance, contacting acquaintances like Wang Chen could draw unwanted attention.
Fortunately, I still have ample cultivation resources, he reasoned. The wisest course might be to find a secure location and enter secluded cultivation. Ideally, I wouldn't emerge until I've broken through to the Nascent Soul stage…
"A good dog doesn't block the road! Get lost!!"
The harsh shout shattered Lin Feng's contemplation. His gaze sharpened instantly, a flicker of alertness flashing within. That voice… it sounded familiar…
The insult wasn't directed at him, but it came from just ahead. He looked up to see pedestrians scattering to both sides of the street like fleeing a plague, quickly revealing a scene about twenty meters away.
A young cultivator at the Foundation Establishment stage sat sprawled on the ground, evidently kicked down. His simple clothes marked him as a lowly, common cultivator. A trickle of blood stained the corner of his mouth, his face deathly pale, his eyes wide with terror as he stared up at a young man standing imperiously in the center of the street.
The young man was dressed in opulent finery, his bearing outwardly imposing. Yet, an aura of overbearing arrogance radiated from him, compounded by an obvious foul mood. The unlucky Foundation Establishment cultivator had simply crossed his path at the wrong moment and become his outlet for frustration.
This was none other than Qin Yulong, the so-called 'Young Master' of Black Loong City – the very same Qin Yulong who had suffered at Lin Feng's hands during the Five Cities Grand Competition. Lin Feng recalled the waiter mentioning that despite the competition's disruption by the Yin Corpse Sect, a final ranking had still been issued. Qin Yulong had only managed ninth place.
The bullied Foundation Establishment cultivator swallowed his anger, too afraid to speak, shrinking back with lowered head. Qin Yulong seemed to find his victim's cowering tedious. With a cold snort, he stepped over the prone figure. Several other young men and women, all projecting an air of privilege and none weaker than the Core Formation stage, followed in his wake.
The group swaggered down the center of the street, the crowd parting before them like waves before a ship. No one dared get close to these troublemakers. Lin Feng, blending into the throng, casually shifted aside a few steps. He had absolutely no interest in any interaction with them.
"Hmm?"
As Qin Yulong and his entourage moved further away and Lin Feng prepared to continue his search for lodging, his brow suddenly furrowed slightly. He paused, as if detecting something, and glanced back over his shoulder. His gaze, however, wasn't fixed on Qin Yulong's group, but rather swept over the crowd before settling on a tall, thin figure clad in simple grey cloth. From the back, the figure appeared to be a middle-aged man. As Lin Feng watched, the man turned down another street and disappeared.
Lin Feng stopped walking, his eyes fixed on the spot where the man had vanished, a thoughtful expression crossing his face. After a moment, he seemed to let out a faint, almost imperceptible sigh. He turned and began walking purposefully in the direction the grey-clad man had taken…
…
Lin Feng extended a wisp of his spiritual sense, locking onto the grey-clad figure. He followed at a steady, unhurried pace. The man moved with evident caution, constantly scanning his surroundings. However, his cultivation level was inferior to Lin Feng's, making him utterly oblivious to the fact that he was being tracked while tracking others.
After trailing him for two streets, Lin Feng discerned the grey-clad man's target: he was unquestionably following Qin Yulong and his group.
The sky gradually darkened. Lin Feng noticed the streets becoming increasingly deserted. Judging by the surroundings, they had left the bustling commercial district and entered the desolate outskirts of the city's northern sector.
Finally, as the bright moon began its ascent, Qin Yulong and his three companions arrived before a dilapidated, seemingly abandoned old mansion. A middle-aged cultivator emerged from the courtyard gate, murmured something to Qin Yulong, and the group proceeded inside together.
The grey-clad man observed this from a distance, seemingly hesitating for a brief moment. Then, he stealthily circled around to the opposite side of the compound wall. He popped a pill into his mouth. Instantly, his already faint aura diminished further, becoming almost undetectable. With a light step, he vaulted over the wall as gracefully as a swallow.
Much further back, concealed within deepening shadows, Lin Feng frowned as he observed the old mansion crouching like a slumbering beast in the moonlight. He contemplated silently for a moment. Then, he retrieved the Invisibility Cloak from his storage ring and draped it over himself. In an instant, not only his aura but his entire form vanished without a trace…
…
Within the old mansion, in a rear courtyard choked with withered weeds, only a few flickering lanterns provided dim illumination. Qin Yulong stood with arms crossed, a look of cruel amusement on his face as he regarded a figure bound hand and foot and discarded in a corner – a young woman dressed in green.
The girl in green had a face with a hint of baby fat, naturally cute and delicate. Now, however, her hair was disheveled, her expression haggard. Yet, her eyes blazed with pure fury. Though immobilized, she glared at Qin Yulong with an intensity that could flay him alive.
Qin Yulong seemed utterly unaffected by her venomous stare. He wore a mocking smile. "Little Green," he crooned, his voice dripping with false sweetness. "You've certainly made this Young Master search high and low for you... Suffered a lot out there these past days, haven't you? Ah... why put yourself through such hardship?"
The girl named 'Xiao Lü' (Little Green) merely pressed her lips together tighter, her furious gaze unwavering, refusing to speak.
"Hey! Seems she's got some backbone!" The richly dressed young man to Qin Yulong's left chuckled lewdly, his eyes roaming over Xiao Lü's figure with undisguised lust. His otherwise handsome face was twisted into a repulsive smirk. "Qin Shao, hand her over to me for a bit? I guarantee I'll teach her to be properly obedient."
Xiao Lü paled visibly upon hearing this, casting a fearful glance at the speaker. Yet, her stubborn defiance held. She remained silent, biting her lip so hard a thin trail of blood trickled from the corner of her mouth.
Qin Yulong glanced sideways at the leering man, his smile turning colder. "That won't do. Little Green is, after all, my 'fiancée's' maid. And..." He turned his predatory gaze back to Xiao Lü. "...I always intended to take her as my own personal chamber maid. Can't give her to you."
This finally broke Xiao Lü's silence. She spat out furiously, "Pfah!! My Mistress is NOT your fiancée!! Your Qin family is utterly ungrateful and treacherous! You brought ruin upon her family! Every single one of you will meet a wretched end sooner or later!!"
Qin Yulong's smile froze. A dangerous glint flashed in his eyes. His right hand lashed out. Smack! A vivid red handprint bloomed on Xiao Lü's pale cheek. "Do you think," he asked, his voice dangerously low, "that because I haven't touched you all these days since I caught you, I won't kill you?"
His killing intent thickened, palpable in the dim light. "Since you're so loyal to the An family," he hissed, "why don't you go down to the underworld and continue serving your master there?!"
Without waiting for a response, Qin Yulong raised his hand again. This time, it wasn't for a slap. A flying sword materialized above his palm. With chilling indifference, he sent it streaking straight towards Xiao Lü's heart. He truly intended to kill her!
"Clang!!"
At that precise moment, the sharp ring of clashing steel shattered the tense silence! A streak of cyan light shot out from the deep shadows on the right side of the courtyard. It intercepted Qin Yulong's flying sword a hair's breadth before it could pierce Xiao Lü's chest. Dang! The two blades collided violently, sparks flying, and rebounded apart. The cyan sword spun back towards its source. In its retreating glow, a grey-clad man with a face like carved ice stepped slowly into the lantern light.
Strangely, the sudden appearance of this figure elicited not shock, but a smirk of contempt from Qin Yulong. He narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing the newcomer. A flicker of surprise and confusion crossed his face, quickly replaced by recognition as he sensed the familiar fluctuations of the man's true essence. A predatory grin spread across his lips.
"Heh heh... Finally couldn't hold back, could you?" Qin Yulong sneered. "Disguised like this... it really is hard to recognize you..." His gaze hardened. "Xi Yue. You've certainly made me search for you!"
Xiao Lü, who had been staring at the newcomer in stunned disbelief, gasped audibly at Qin Yulong's last words. Her face drained of color. "Mistress?!" she cried out, her voice a mixture of shock and desperate urgency.
Seeing her identity exposed, the 'middle-aged man' abandoned the disguise. A hand swept across the face – like a magician's flourish – and the features shifted instantly. Revealed was a visage of stunning, jade-like beauty – unmistakably a woman!
Moreover, she was someone Lin Feng recognized. It was the female cultivator who had given him the Thousand Faces Illusion technique – An Xi Yue!