Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Once again, they were constantly on the move day and night and once again, going over mountains as though they were flying!
The scenery along the way was no different from the last time when Chu Yang had set off from the south-east. However, his state of mind then and now was completely different.
Previously, he was full of fear and trepidation regarding his future. But now, he was full of pride instead!
Who in this world wouldn’t know Chu Yang’s name after the Medicine Banquet?
The number one Pharmacist in the world — Chu Yang!
Who wouldn’t know Chu Yang’s name in the Nine Super Clans? The number one foe with the most potential risk other than the Nine Tribulations Sword Master!
Along the way, the three of them were all smiles as they chatted and reminisced about the past.
“It was right here that Le’er and I met Wei Wuyan.” Chu Yang was smiling, a kind of inexplicable nostalgia and worry for a friend within his smile.
“Here, Wei Wuyan fought Wan Renjie and the other two in a great battle.”
“Here, I got to know Wan Renjie.”
…
“Here, I saved Wei Wuyan and also got the Human Face Rainbow Spider’s inner core and poison sac…”
“Here, we fought a great battle with the Xiao Clan.”
“Here, I met Yue Lingxue for the first time. His technique of ‘Three Thousand Miles of Frozen Ice’…”
“We entered Black Blood Forest from here.”
…
When they went through Black Blood Forest again, Chu Yang’s heart was filled with sorrow. The jade tablet in his bosom seemed to emit a scalding aura, warming him yet reminding him at the same time —’Should we meet again beyond the clouds, I pray you’ll pick up the falling flowers at the river south’.
The journey till now had been very peaceful, so much so that the three of them were rather unused to it. Ever since they left Flat Mountain Ridge and went across the south-east and traveled these past several thousand kilometers until the Black Blood Forest, they hadn’t encountered anything at all!
They didn’t even see a Spirit Beast that was slightly larger than usual; they came all the way as though they were on a holiday. All three couldn’t help but find it rather dry and boring.
“Right in front was where three of the super clans had besieged Wei Wuyan and his Teacher, Hong Wuliang. And it’s also here that Le’er, Big Sister Zi and I met…”
When he reached this point, Chu Yang’s voice suddenly died down.
Because he had discovered something.
Wolves were a common sight in the surroundings the whole journey here. In his memory, the largest wolf pack should have been here. Back then, he even fed the Seventh Young Master of the Lan Clan to the wolves here. But… where were the wolves now?
Right now, there wasn’t even a single wolf here?
Chu Yang looked around his surroundings in alarm.
Rui Butong asked, “What’s wrong?”
Chu Yang answered calmly, “Nothing much. I was just thinking that we had seen so many wolves along the way, so why is it that there isn’t any here?”
Rui Butong appraised their surroundings. “That’s true. This area is on high terrain and the forests thick and dense; it is indeed suitable for wolves to roam about here, yet there isn’t any. Haha, surely they couldn’t have been wiped out by someone?”
“You’re absolutely right,” said a sinister voice. “The wolves have been wiped out by someone — me.”
The three of them were startled. A dense fog appeared before them, revealing an elderly man in cyan robes. He had fair skin and a thin and tall physique. There was a gleam in his eyes as he watched the three of them.
The trio was rather alarmed. This man’s cultivation was extremely powerful; the three of them didn’t even sense his presence at all. He just appeared like that out of the blue… It was apparent from this that he was definitely a Supreme Martial Artist and a high-level one at that!
The cyan-robed elderly man’s gaze swept across their faces before it fixated on Chu Yang.
“Boy, you were saying earlier that you have once seen three of the super clans besieging Wei Wuyan and his Teacher, Hong Wuliang here?” asked the elderly man, his hands behind his back.
There was an unpleasant thump in Chu Yang’s heart.
He remembered something —’Two Souls Connected, One Heart Even in 10,000 Miles’!
Could this old guy be the one who had used that secret technique on Lan Ruoyun?
Chu Yang’s eyes swiveled, a plan forming in his head.
“Yes.” His attitude neither haughty nor humble, Chu Yang continued, “I was passing by here at that time and happened to see the battle. I did not dare to show myself, so I hid and observed for a while. However, I only took a glance before I left right away, for fear of attracting trouble.”
The elderly man in cyan mused over this for a moment and surprisingly didn’t pursue any further. Instead, he asked, “What’s your name?”
“My name is Gu Duxing,” said Chu Yang candidly. “May I know who Elder is?”
“Gu Duxing…” The elderly man seemed to have a slight smile on his face. He said, “Gu Duxing… A Martial Saint at such a young age… How come I’ve never heard of such a young and promising man in the Upper Three Heavens…”
“That’s because you’re ignorant and ill-informed!” blurted Rui Butong. “My Second Brother Gu is one of the three great figures of the Middle Three Heavens, how could he be a nobody?”
The elderly man’s eyes shifted a little. He said indifferently, “I see, so you’re a talent from the Middle Three Heavens.”
Chu Yang replied, “I am not worthy. Please forgive my younger brother’s uncouth words, Elder.”
The elderly man said off-handedly, “If I were to get angry over even such a thing, I would be in a perpetual state of anger.” He turned to Chu Yang and asked, “Gu Duxing, there’s a Gu Clan in the Middle Three Heavens? When did you come up to the Upper Three Heavens?”
Without even batting an eyelid, Chu Yang replied, “My Gu Clan can also be considered to be a well-known clan in the Middle Three Heavens. Hurhur… I followed a law-enforcement officer to the Upper Three Heavens a year ago.”
The elderly man thought about it for a while before he said, “You’re a law-enforcement officer?”
“I don’t have that kind of qualification yet. However, my respected Teacher is a law-enforcement officer,” answered Chu Yang very cautiously.
“What is your Teacher’s name?” asked the elderly man.
Chu Yang hesitated. “This…”
A cold smile crossed the elderly man’s lips. “You weren’t just passing by the last time, were you? You had a mission, didn’t you?”
Alarmed, Chu Yang took three steps back at once. “I don’t quite understand what Elder is saying.”
The elderly man snickered. “Lang Yilang got three of the super clans to come forward and besiege Hong Wuliang yet he himself didn’t send even a single man… Hurhur… So you’re that man?”
Chu Yang’s expression changed. “Please forgive me for not being able to understand what Elder is saying.”
He bowed and said, “I take my leave.”
But the three of them had only just moved when the elderly man’s form flashed. He said, “Gu Duxing, you are Lang Yilang’s disciple!”
Chu Yang said in alarm, “I don’t understand what you’re saying. I still have something important that I must do. I will pay my respects to Elder another day!”
The elderly man in cyan had a mirthless smile on his face. “It’s no longer of any use, no matter how you clamp your mouth shut now!”
Chu Yang’s face was pale and ghastly. “I don’t know what Elder means by that.”
The man in cyan sneered. “Lang Yilang was afraid that the three clans would say one thing but do another, so he sent someone here to check on them. Sending a disciple that he was proudest of was naturally the most reliable method. Therefore, you definitely did not leave after just taking a glance; you watched from beginning to the end.”
Chu Yang remained silent, a somewhat panicky look on his face.
“I ask you only this — How did Lan Ruoyun, Seventh Young Master Lan, die?” The elderly man in cyan stared hard at him. “I’m only asking this one thing! You can leave after answering me honestly! If not, even if Lang Yilang himself were right here, if I were to command him not to move, he would definitely not even dare to shift one bit at all!”
A panicked Chu Yang said, “But I didn’t see…”
That elderly man in cyan didn’t wait for him to finish before he interrupted him with a great shout. “You were the one who killed Lan Ruoyun!” This shout of his was filled with an incomparable amount of mental energy!
Blood drained from Chu Yang’s face. He said in a panic, “Elder, Seventh Young Master Lan’s death has nothing to do with me… He… Huh?!”
The elderly man started to smile in a sinister and foreboding manner. “So you really did witness it!”
He took a step forward, his hand behind his back. “Answer me! If not, then you’ll die!”
A myriad of expressions flashed across Chu Yang’s face; it was obvious that he was struggling to come to a decision. He said, “I can tell you but… I have two requests.”
The elderly man said dispassionately, “Go on.”
He was already beyond anxious in his heart. He was already over six thousand years-old; he had only gotten this one son unexpectedly but now he was dead. He had followed the trail of mental grudge over here but he didn’t expect to find a pack of wolves at the end. After he had killed the whole pack of wolves, he started to look around but found no hint or clue whatsoever…
But now, he had finally found a glimmer of hope.
“The first condition is that Elder mustn’t make things difficult for us after I’ve told you,” said Chu Yang.
“That’s not a problem. You need only to speak the truth. Why would I make things difficult for you?” The elderly man nodded.
“The second condition is that Elder must not reveal that it’s me who told you.” Chu Yang said seriously, “The other party is from a powerful family background. I cannot dare to offend or make such an enemy.”
“Alright.”
Chu Yang heaved a sigh of relief. “Elder is right. My Teacher is… Officer Lang. And the last time I was here was indeed to check on the… the progress.”
The elderly man had a ‘just as I expected’ kind of look on his face. “Go on.”
“When I reached here, there was a big battle. Hong Wuliang and his disciple fled after sustaining grave injuries. After that… At that time, they had escaped from the pass which Seventh Young Master Lan was guarding.” Chu Yang went on, “The other two were extremely displeased about it.”
“Surely not?” The elderly man in cyan frowned. “Considering the forces that the Lan Clan had sent that time, just one clan alone would have been multiple times more powerful than Hong Wuliang… He could actually break through the Lan Clan after sustaining serious injuries?”
“Yes… Because… Seventh Young Master Lan at that time, cough cough… saw a beautiful woman…” Chu Yang said in a rather embarrassed manner, “She was indeed an incredible beauty…”
The elderly man obviously knew better than anyone his illegitimate son’s character. He nodded and said, “In this wilderness, where did this premium beauty come from?”
Chu Yang replied, “This… I really don’t know… But I heard that Young Master Zhuge Wen of the Zhuge Clan… had recently wedded a new consort…”
These two incidents seemingly had no connection whatsoever but murderous intent flashed in the elderly man’s eyes. He said, “Continue.”
Chu Yang went on, “At that time, the young masters of the other two clans rebuked Young Master Lan for neglecting his duties. However, he was indignant about it and struck out first. Young Master Zhuge seemed to be heavily injured…”
The cyan-robed elderly man pondered over this — Considering Lan Ruoyun’s personality, this was not impossible. In fact, it was very, very possible…
“After that, the young master from the Zhuge Clan tried his best to stop the conflict. He apologized to Seventh Young Master Lan…” Chu Yang frowned and continued, “The incident had stopped at this point, by right. At that time, I was quite a distance away… I saw the people from the three clans converge and prepare to leave, so that they could return and report on their mission… But I suddenly discovered that out of the three clans who were originally walking side by side, the Ye Clan and Zhuge Clan suddenly joined hands to attack the Lan Clan…”
“This incident is really very strange!” Chu Yang said with a frown, “I haven’t been able to figure this out at all even till now…”
