Chapter 478: Unexpected Crisis

Mei Yilan was puzzled. "Remind us of what?"

Lan Qiaoyan replied, "How should I know? If he could say it, he surely would have. But his direct meaning was simple: he doesn't want us to get too close to Gong Shaoci."

Mei Yilan hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Could he be jealous?"

Lan Qiaoyan shot her daughter a sidelong glance. "Don't you know his background? Someone like him, if he were truly jealous, would he be so obvious about it? Would he come right out and tell us he's jealous? I've told you before, deep down, he's a person of principle and loyalty." She then fell into thought, muttering, "What could be wrong with Gong Shaoci? Does he dislike Gong Shaoci's character? It seems your father truly needs to investigate this matter."

Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang, who had just left the inn, hadn't gone far when a Wukang Mountain disciple suddenly appeared and blocked their path.

How did they instantly recognize him as a Wukang Mountain disciple? Because he was wearing the sect's uniform. Both of them were certainly familiar with Wukang Mountain's attire, though the man seemed a bit unfamiliar, but they didn't know all of the Wukang Mountain disciples.

The newcomer cupped his hands and said, "Two Martial Uncles, the Sect Master requests your presence."

The two were startled. Wu Jinliang asked suspiciously, "Has Bian Weiying arrived?"

The man smiled, nodded, and gestured, "Please follow me."

Shi Chun and the other exchanged glances. They didn't refuse and followed him directly, though Wu Jinliang casually pulled out a gourd and put it on his back.

The trio didn't head deeper into the island but walked towards the seashore.

They walked along the coastline, past a sandy area, and entered a rocky region. As they went further and further off the main path, Shi Chun and the other again exchanged glances.

Then, Shi Chun took out a handkerchief to wipe his mouth and nose, while Wu Jinliang opened his gourd. Both of them continued walking while observing their surroundings.

Seeing no one else, Shi Chun suddenly stopped. "Where exactly are we going?"

Wu Jinliang also stopped, automatically turning his back to Shi Chun to keep watch.

The man pointed to a small island on the sea nearby. "It's on that island."

Shi Chun said, puzzled, "Didn't the Sect Master say she never wanted to see me again in this life? Why suddenly does she want to meet me? Is this a trick? I'm not going. If she wants to meet, tell her to come here herself."

The man looked helpless and sighed, "All right, you two wait here. I'll go inform her."

With that, he rose and swiftly flew towards the island.

With no one else around, Wu Jinliang whispered, "What's going on?"

Shi Chun replied, "I don't know. If it's not Bian Weiying, there's nothing to worry about. Anyone who tries something so underhanded against people like us isn't worth considering; they can't do anything to us."

Wu Jinliang thought it over and agreed; he was now bold enough to challenge Gong Shaoci when angered.

After waiting for a moment, several figures suddenly shot out of the seawater crashing against the reefs, flipping through the air and landing, instantly surrounding the two of them.

The person who landed in front of Shi Chun was very familiar to him: it was Bai Shuchuan, sporting a lewd grin. The group surrounding them belonged to Jiyun Mountain, and the one dressed as a Wukang Mountain disciple was also among them.

"Shi Chun, it's been a long time," Bai Shuchuan sneered repeatedly, then stepped aside to invite someone from behind to come forward.

Qiao Wugong jumped onto the nearby rock, scrutinized Shi Chun, and also let out a cold laugh.

Having waited for a long time, they were determined to eliminate Shi Chun while he was still fledgling, especially after watching the artifact refining competition. If he were allowed to grow, he would become a major problem for Jiyun Mountain, and besides, they were acting on orders.

They hadn't found an opportunity to act before, but after patiently waiting, they finally saw Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang leave the crowd. They then attacked decisively.

Shi Chun asked, "And which Jiyun Mountain member are you?"

Qiao Wugong replied, "Who I am isn't important. What is important is that I'm quite interested in the three treasures you won. If you hand them over, your lives will be spared, understand?"

Shi Chun asked, "Have you not thoroughly investigated our experiences in the Divine Fire Domain?"

Wu Jinliang chuckled.

Seeing their unhurried demeanor, Qiao Wugong snorted, "Everyone says you two are quite bold. Today, it seems that's true."

Bai Shuchuan, standing nearby, said, "Martial Uncle, why waste words with him? Let's capture them first, and he'll surely hand it over."

Thinking of his previous humiliation at Shi Chun's hands, a cruel grin spread across his face.

Shi Chun glanced calmly at the people surrounding them. "Only seven of you?"

Qiao Wugong said, "We're already being quite generous. Will you hand over the treasures yourselves, or shall we take them by force?"

Wu Jinliang, whose back was to Shi Chun, suddenly turned around and said, "Boss, those two directly in front of you are vulnerable spots. You handle it."

Shi Chun grunted, "Something's probably happening at the inn. We need to get back quickly."

As he spoke, the handkerchief in his hand transformed into a silk net, instantly binding the flustered Qiao Wugong and Bai Shuchuan together. Those caught in the net were greatly alarmed and somewhat disoriented.

Meanwhile, the other five surrounding them stood motionless, some making strange whimpering sounds from their throats.

Shi Chun waved his hand, bringing forth a red glow. His figure flickered, and the red glow on his hand stopped at Qiao Wugong's chest, where a crimson blade was plunged into his heart.

Qiao Wugong's eyes suddenly widened, filled with both disbelief and a unique kind of terror.

Shi Chun's eyes also widened slightly. He watched as Qiao Wugong rapidly withered before him at a visible rate. Not only could he see the reddish mist of vital energy from Qiao Wugong's wound being absorbed into the blade, but he could also feel the 'Blood Soul Blade' in his hand avidly drinking and absorbing the vital energy from Qiao Wugong's body.

At the same time, he also sensed that the dormant artifact spirit within the blade seemed to be showing signs of awakening.

By the time the 'Blood Soul Blade' stopped absorbing, Qiao Wugong had instantly become a gaunt, mummified corpse.

Bai Shuchuan, bound together with Qiao Wugong, watched his martial uncle turn into a dried corpse right before his eyes, almost scared out of his wits. He struggled with all his might but couldn't break free, only managing to cut himself with the tightening net.

Eerily, he felt his vital energy surging and his life force draining from his wounds. He glanced down and saw a bloody mist drifting from his cuts towards the blade embedded in his martial uncle. He immediately trembled with fear, his teeth chattering as he stammered, "Shi Chun, Brother Chun, everything can be discussed, any conditions are negotiable..."

Shi Chun glanced at him sidelong. Before killing Qiao Wugong, perhaps there might have been room for discussion, but with the man already dead, how could they talk? He now had confidence, but he wasn't so arrogant as to believe he could contend with the largest sect in Shengzhou.

The blade was withdrawn from the mummified corpse. Watching streams of bloody mist drift from Bai Shuchuan and follow it, Shi Chun couldn't help but meticulously cast a spell to sense the wondrous changes within the blade.

Bai Shuchuan was terrified. No one would just sit and wait for death. He immediately cast spells to resist, and surprisingly, it worked. After sealing his wounds with spells, he immediately stopped the vital energy from leaking out.

However, the blade in Shi Chun's hand flashed, and its tip pierced directly through a gap in the net, slitting Bai Shuchuan's throat.

As the blade was drawn across, cloud-like vital energy streamed from Bai Shuchuan's throat wound and flew into the 'Blood Soul Blade'.

Bai Shuchuan's eyes were wide with terror, and he convulsed, gurgling in his throat.

Shi Chun opened his empty hand, and the 'Immortal Strangling Silk' flashed, loosening its hold. It transformed back into a handkerchief and flew back into his hand.

His figure flickered, circling around Wu Jinliang. The blade gleamed, and instantly, the heads of the five motionless figures fell to the ground.

Then, five more streams of vital energy, like dragons, flew towards the 'Blood Soul Blade'.

All six mangled corpses withered rapidly at a visible speed.

Wu Jinliang's eyes were wide with surprise and doubt. He knew this blade was sinister; even holding it could give him a jolt from the evil spirit within, but he hadn't realized it was so wicked, even bloodthirsty.

Seeing Shi Chun close his eyes, Wu Jinliang, worried that he might be influenced by the evil spirit, quickly called out, "Chun Tian, are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Shi Chun replied, opening his eyes. He had just felt the evil spirit within the blade formally awaken.

A pile of artifacts had been damaged by lightning, supposedly difficult to repair. He hadn't expected this blade to be so easy to restore; absorbing vital energy was enough.

After officially establishing a master-servant relationship with the evil spirit in the blade through a spell, his will prompted it, and the evil spirit seemed to cackle wildly, unleashing the power of the 'Blood Soul Blade' with unrestrained fury.

Wu Jinliang immediately felt his blood surge, his vital energy flow backward, and his mind waver. He quickly cast a protective spell.

Even more terrifying, the vital energy of those mangled corpses was instantly drained, transforming them into mummified remains.

The two bound together fell, while the other five remained standing.

Feeling the rampant vitality of the evil spirit within the blade, Shi Chun tried to suppress it with the 'Demon Bathing Art'. As a result, the evil spirit immediately panicked and thrashed about, seemingly trying to escape the blade. Its newly burgeoning evil vital energy was being frantically absorbed by Shi Chun's physical body, just like what happened to the mummified corpses.

Gradually, it lost the energy even to escape, quickly wilting, seemingly crying out to its master for mercy, begging to be let go.

Shi Chun, slowly closing his eyes once more, felt immense satisfaction from the absorption. He could feel the life force in his own body growing stronger and stronger, confirming that the vital energy absorbed by the 'Blood Soul Blade' could be converted into vital energy he could absorb—a truly unexpected delight.

Seeing that he was about to completely drain the evil spirit, he stopped the 'Demon Bathing Art', giving the evil spirit a reprieve. It was still useful, like a hen that lays eggs; he couldn't actually kill it.

Seeing him put away the precious blade, Wu Jinliang, who had been vigilantly keeping watch, immediately approached and asked, "What's going on?"

Shi Chun calmly replied, "Everything on them is yours. Clean it up thoroughly."

Alright, Wu Jinliang immediately went to search the mummified corpses, starting with Qiao Wugong. This time, Shi Chun vigilantly kept watch for him.

After quickly taking care of things and erasing all traces, they departed swiftly.

Upon returning to the inn, Shi Chun immediately contacted Young Master Nan. After a brief conversation, he stood by the window in silence for a while.

Eventually, he left his room and went to Xiang Lan'er and Feng Chi's room.

The moment she saw him enter her room, Xiang Lan'er felt completely uncomfortable.

She was overthinking things; Shi Chun's earlier enthusiasm had passed. He quietly informed the two women, "I just found out something. Gong Shaoci is just a messenger. The one who truly wants the 'Blade of Desolation Fragments' is his father. He was buying it for his father."

Normally, he preferred to keep secrets to himself for future use, but he wasn't sure if his earlier words had influenced Lan Qiaoyan and her daughter. He considered that it might be beneficial if the Demonic Dao faction could deal with the Gong family.

The two women were not surprised. Feng Chi nodded, "We had suspected this for a while. The 'Blade of Desolation Fragments' isn't of great value to most people, not worth the high price he paid. It's normal for someone to be behind it, but we didn't expect it to be so directly—his father, no less."

Since that was the case, Shi Chun said no more.

He then gathered everyone from the Mingshan Sect, checked out of the inn rooms, and took them to play on the palace-style ship-tower out at sea, saying it was to broaden their horizons, and they would leave after a short visit.

Shortly after they left, Gong Shaoci brought people to find the innkeeper, openly stating his desire to buy the treasure in his possession.

The innkeeper couldn't be vague; he only said that the item was purchased on behalf of someone else and had already been taken away.

Gong Shaoci pressed him for the identity of the buyer, but the innkeeper refused to say.

Gong Shaoci, seeing that the innkeeper appeared to have no significant background, didn't hold back. He immediately had his men guard the innkeeper, warning him not to refuse a toast and accept a penalty instead, effectively placing him under house arrest.

However, shortly after Gong Shaoci returned to his father to report, a chilling piece of news came from the inn: the innkeeper was dead, and so were two of his subordinates he had sent to watch him. They had all been killed.

A greatly shocked Gong Shaoci rushed back to investigate and found all three men dead inside the room, their necks twisted. Those outside hadn't heard a sound. It was only when the guards outside smelled blood, knocked on the door with no response, and then pushed it open to look inside that they realized something was wrong.

They estimated that the killer had entered through the window and was definitely a master.

Before Gong Shaoci could recover from this incident, another shocking piece of news arrived. His father's subordinate rushed over, urgently informing him that Gong Yuanzhi was dead, killed by someone.

Gong Shaoci verbally rebuked him for talking nonsense, but still rushed back to his father's lodging, only to find his father lying in a pool of blood, his forehead shattered.

Strangely, the retinue outside the door hadn't seen the killer. They heard a loud bang from inside, and when they burst in to check, they found Gong Yuanzhi's body still twitching, but the killer had vanished.

Amidst his grief and indignation, Gong Shaoci felt a profound sense of dread. If he hadn't been drawn away by the incident at the inn, he truly didn't know what fate would have awaited him at his father's side.

Lan Qiaoyan and her daughter, staying in the same inn, were disturbed by the anxious and chaotic commotion. When Gong Shaoci didn't come to explain, they personally went out to investigate.

It was better not to investigate. Once they learned the situation, both mother and daughter were shocked. This was the son of the Right Assistant Marquis of Shanzhou who had died. Who could be so audacious?

Apart from everything else, merely killing someone right under the guards' noses and then disappearing without a trace was absolutely beyond the capability of an ordinary person.

Gong Shaoci was both panicked and flustered, no longer able to pay attention to the mother and daughter.

The mother and daughter could only advise him to control his grief and that it wasn't wise to linger at the scene. They suggested returning to their room first and also contacting people from Bowang Tower to help get in touch with Miao Dingyi and inform him of the situation here.

After relaying the information externally, Lan Qiaoyan's graceful figure stood silently by the window for a long time. She recalled Shi Chun's earlier warning. Was this related? Could Shi Chun know something?

Mei Yilan, who had been pacing for a while, suddenly walked up to her mother and asked with a face full of surprise and doubt, "Mother, if Shi Chun was truly warning us to keep our distance from the Gong family, and then Uncle Gong was killed right afterward, is this just a coincidence?"

Lan Qiaoyan immediately turned and stared at her, her gaze cold. "Don't talk nonsense without evidence. If someone hears this, it could kill him. You must understand one thing: he doesn't have the strength to kill Gong Yuanzhi; he doesn't even have the qualification to approach him. You just need to know that he definitely didn't kill him. If he truly warned us out of good intentions, we absolutely cannot speak ill of him and harm him, understand?"

Mei Yilan bit her lip and nodded slightly in acknowledgment.

Lan Qiaoyan looked out the window again, sighing, "The person who died is no ordinary individual; he's the son of the Right Assistant Marquis of Shanzhou. At this moment, I fear no one on the island will be able to leave easily, and those who have already left will be tracked down. We'll probably have to stay for a while longer, and we'll certainly be interrogated. Lan Lan, you must know what to say and what not to say!"

A storm suddenly erupted.

Within the island's Xun Gate, a large number of royal troops from Shanzhou arrived immediately, a veritable army.

A magic formation was immediately set up on the island, cutting off all external communication via parent-child talismans.

Miao Dingyi also arrived at the mother and daughter's side at this time. It was then that Lan Qiaoyan and her daughter learned that the innkeeper of another inn had also been killed—the very innkeeper who had purchased the 'Blade of Desolation Fragments'.

And Gong Yuanzhi also happened to want the 'Blade of Desolation Fragments'. Was this a coincidence? The mother and daughter were filled with trepidation.

Anyone with a bit of sense realized that the 'Blade of Desolation Fragments' might not be as simple as it appeared.

Some things were not appropriate to tell outsiders, but Lan Qiaoyan informed Miao Dingyi about Shi Chun's earlier secret warning to them.

Miao Dingyi thought for a moment, then instructed the mother and daughter that they might be overthinking things and should simply act as if they knew nothing. He then arranged for the royal guards surrounding the island to facilitate their departure, and he left with his wife and daughter first.

Shi Chun's group, on the ship-tower, none were spared; they were all arrested and interrogated. The matter of buying and selling the 'Blade of Desolation Fragments' was a key focus of the investigation.

To verify the truth of the transaction, the huge sum of money Shi Chun had just received was also taken out during the interrogation.

Young Master Nan did not stand idly by; he tried every possible method. His "good standing" from winning so much in the gambling game played a huge role at this moment, as many people began to intervene and exert influence. Shi Chun's group was quickly extracted and their involvement cleared.

This was because there were many witnesses on the palace-style ship-tower who could testify that Shi Chun's group was playing on the gambling ship when the murders occurred.

If there hadn't been irrefutable evidence, Young Master Nan's friends might not have dared to interfere, as the deceased was, after all, the son of the Right Assistant Marquis.

However, the fifty billion from the blade transaction was not returned along with them, with authorities stating it needed to be held until the investigation was complete.

On the top deck of the ship-tower, Young Master Nan and Shi Chun stood side by side by the railing, whispering against the wind.

"Don't worry about that money. The treasure was won by your own skill, and the transaction was a legitimate one. They've all said there won't be any issues and have given their assurances. Once this blows over, the royal court will ensure it's returned to you as soon as possible. The current problem is your involvement in these two strange murders. We don't know if the Gong family will resent you, but you certainly offended Gong Shaoci. You've also gained a bit too much notoriety this time; with so many people dying because of you in the Divine Fire Domain, there are quite a few loose ends. Many people are watching you, so you should lie low for a while, otherwise, something is bound to happen. With all this money you have, you're well-off. Just lay low for a while. If anything comes up, contact me, and I'll arrange for someone to run errands for you."

Shi Chun hummed in response, his mind somewhat wandering. He was thinking about the cause of Gong Yuanzhi's death. He had initially thought it was done by the Demonic Dao's Tianyi lineage, but Xiang Lan'er had clearly told him it wasn't, and that their superiors were even questioning them about the situation. So, who could have done it?

(End of Volume Three, Volume Four Preview: Grassy Mountain Mists)