Jiu Meiyu left the room, Yin Long following right at his side as the two made their way down to the first floor and left the mansion. They quickly left not just the mansion but the entire estate, heading into the city, which had descended into a sorrowful silence as the news of Lang Meng and Lang Hua's passing spread out. The two walked for nearly half an hour before stopping in front of a large and extravagant three-story stone building decorated with blue and red silk bands.

Yin Long's eyebrow couldn't help but rise when he saw the building, as he knew just what sort of establishment it was. Jiu Meiyu pushed open the door and respectfully gestured for Yin Long to step inside, the scent of flowers hitting him the moment he stepped onto the purple carpet inside the door. The first room behind the door was decorated rather simply, a few large blooming flowers hanging from the walls while a simple counter stood a few steps forward and to the right of the entrance. A mature middle-aged woman was sitting behind the counter, smiling sweetly at Yin Long and Jiu Meiyu.

"Good evening, Young Master. Have you come for pleasures of the mind or pleasures of the flesh?"

This was exactly what this establishment was, it was a brothel, the finest and most expensive one in the entire city. Here one could either relax and enjoy the artistic skills of the girls or one could enjoy their bodies, there was something for everyone. Jiu Meiyu stepped forward and nodded at the raven-haired proprietress, placing his order in a swift manner.

"Pleasures of the body, please. We'd like the usual room on the bottom floor, the one that properly isolates the sound within. If Young Lan Yun is available we'd like her, but we'll take any other Young Mistress if she's not."

The proprietress smiled and nodded, acting as if the order was completely normal. She stepped away from the counter and pushed open the door right next to it, revealing a large room filled with both normal and circular couches, the walls lined with doors. At the other end of the room were two spiraling staircases that led to the higher floors, as well as a descending staircase that led to a floor beneath them.

The proprietress seemed to have already sent out an order, a delicate amber-haired girl who looked no older than 16 walking out from one of the doors lining the walls. She was clad in a long blue dress that revealed her shoulders and her nape, giving off a dignified and graceful air as she walked over. She stopped in front of Yin Long and Jiu Meiyu, bowing respectfully while smiling charmingly and gesturing towards the descending staircase.

"Good evening, Young Master and Mister, I'm pleased that you would choose this young Lan Yun as your partner for today, please follow me to your chosen room."

The proprietress returned to the counter as Lan Yun led Yin Long and Jiu Meiyu down the stairs and through the wooden door that was at the bottom, bringing them into a softly light carpeted hallway lined with sturdy doors. Yin Long couldn't hear anything from beyond the doors, but extending his senses a little allowed him to peer into them and see that some of the rooms were occupied by people engaging in intimate acts. From the looks of it, this lower floor was for those people who wished to engage in more carnal acts without having to worry about being heard.

Lan Yun brought them to the room at the very end and pushed open the door, revealing a room illuminated by a soft white light. The room only contained a single bed large enough for about three people as well as a large tub one could use for bathing, it was a room that clearly only carried a single purpose. The three entered the room, Lan Yun frowning as her gaze landed on a grape-sized gray stone laying on the ground at the side of the room. She bent over and picked up the stone, suddenly giving her forehead a soft slap as she seemed to realize something.

"Please forgive me, this isn't the room that you asked for!"

She quickly ushered the two out of the room and brought them to the room that was six doors down, pushing open the door to reveal a room that looked exactly the same as the previous one. The three entered the room and Lan Yun closed the door, smiling seductively at Yin Long while posing a question that received a quick response from Jiu Meiyu.

"There we are, this is the room that you requested. Now then, will it be business or pleasure today?"

"Business. Young Master, this is Lan Yun, she is an orphan that your mother picked up and raised to work as an information gatherer. She is fairly young but I can personally vouch for her loyalty."

Lan Yun's seductive smile vanished once Jiu Meiyu responded, a serious expression taking its place as she nodded her head. She took the gray stone she had picked up in the previous room and walked over to the tub, placing the stone into one of the indents in the array that covered the floor of the tub. The array lit up with a faint light, a section of the floor a few meters away sliding to the side and revealing a set of descending stone stairs.

Lan Yun then removed the gray stone again and headed for the stairs, which were already starting to close up again now that she had removed the gray stone. Jiu Meiyu and Yin Long followed her down the stairs, the three entering a long stone hallway lit up by small white stones embedded into the wall.

This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.

They followed the hallway for a little over a minute before they reached the end of it, arriving inside a large underground room that was at least two kilometers in each direction. There were also several doors spread around the large room, as well as staircases leading to doors that were somewhat elevated, this area was clearly a rather large complex instead of just a single room.

The large room actually only contained a few seating areas, bookshelves, and a shelf holding several jugs of what was likely alcohol. It seemed like this large room only served as a hub from which one could head to the other rooms, that or it was a place to rest. Yin Long saw a few items hung up on the walls, some broken weapons, skulls of beasts, even some tattered armors.

They were all carefully hung up and secured against wooden plates, a few faint words engraved into the wooden platings. One of the items hung up caught Yin Long's attention, it was a large two-headed axe whose edges were engraved with the image of sharp fangs. The axe had caught his attention since his father had once told him a tale containing a weapon that looked just like the axe in front of him.

"Uncle Meiyu, that axe?"

Jiu Meiyu turned his head slightly to look at the axe, the light of reminiscence flashing past his pupils. He gave a slight nod of his head and let out a soft sigh, delving into the history of the weapon.

"That axe is the weapon your grandfather used to strike down his brother in the Throne Seeker's Rite. He then also used that very axe to strike down four powerful Demonic beasts that escaped out of the Underearth Forest, succumbing to his wounds shortly after."

Yin Long had heard several times about how his grandfather had died and passed the position of clan leader to Lang Meng, that was why the ax looked familiar when he saw it. But he had never heard about this rite that Jiu Meiyu mentioned, questioning a bit further.

"Throne Seeker's Rite, what is that? And does it have something to do with why Father never mentioned much about Grandfather's brother?"

Yin Long had heard plenty of tales about how powerful his grandfather was supposed to be, and while he had indeed heard that he had a brother, he had never even so much as heard that brother's name. Jiu Meiyu's expression turned a bit complicated after hearing Yin Long's question, but he still responded after a short pause.

"The two are related yes. The Throne Seeker's Rite is something that can be invoked when there is more than one possible inheritor to the position of the clan leader. Should one of the people involved not be pleased with who was chosen as the next leader, they can invoke this rite and engage the other person in a life-and-death duel. The winner becomes the clan leader and the loser gets his name stricken from the clan records for daring to undermine the authority of the clan leader."

"It was originally your grandfather's brother who should become clan leader, but your grandfather was displeased with his position and invoked the right, slaying his brother in single combat and taking up the mantle of leader. Your grandfather prevented the clan from declining more than it already had, but there are still people whispering amongst each other whether or not it wouldn't have been better if his brother won that duel."

Yin Long gave a soft nod of his head after hearing the explanation, guessing that his father had never told them about this rite because he didn't wish to see his own children killing each other over something as small as the position of clan leader. Yin Long took his eyes away from the axe after learning its story, Lan Yun and Jiu Meiyu leading him over to one of the 12 doors lining the lower portion of the left wall in the room.

They pushed open the iron door and stepped into a much smaller room, only about 50 meters in each direction. The room only contained a single stone table that was just large enough to hold a single person, metal restraints placed along the edges of the table. The three walked over to the table and Jiu Meiyu placed the corpse on top of the table, tearing off the clothing covering its torso.

Lan Yun frowned slightly and scrunched up her nose but still inspected the condition of the corpse. Its left leg was severed just above the knee and its torso and throat were filled with holes that were starting to fester and rot, causing her nose to scrunch up a bit more. She cast a complaining glance at Jiu Meiyu, who shook his head slightly and gestured towards Yin Long, resulting in Lan Yun's now shocked gaze landing on him.

"You did this? Huh, guess a lioness really won't raise a kitty. Alright, let's see who he's working for."

Lan Yun stretched out her hand and placed it on the abdomen of the man, right where his dantian should be. She swiped her thumb over the silver ring on her middle finger, a slight wound appearing on her thumb and dripping blood on the man's dantian. She used the blood to draw a quick symbol in the shape of a moon covered in fangs, the symbol releasing a faint light the moment it was finished. Small motes of light started to float out from the man's dantian, Lan Yun taking this chance to explain what she was doing.

"Young Master, what you're seeing right now is a failsafe the Lang clan hid within all the cultivation manuals they handed to the villages beneath them. Taking the Forest Lord's Scripture as an example, while it looks like all versions of it are the same, the truth is that they all contain a unique mark that can only be detected by those in the Lang clan who know the proper technique, right now those who know are only me and Jiu Meiyu. Using this technique will allow us to see the unique mark and discover exactly which manual this person trained in, allowing us to find out exactly who he's working for by checking who currently controls that manual."

More and more motes of light rose up as Lan Yun explained the technique, gathering together to form the image of a small tree that had orange leaves. Jiu Meiyu looked deeply at the tree, his fingers tracing the immaterial orange leaves.

"Orange leaves, this man cultivated using the Forest Lord's Scripture that is in the hands of Bao Dang, he's the owner of one of the largest merchant companies within the area. His headquarters are located in Four Valley's Village but his company has already spread to the other villages and even taken root here in the city. Seems like he wasn't pleased with what he already has and has ended up getting greedy. Of course, we can't be certain that it really is him, we have to dig deeper and find out more first."

Yin Long gave a slow nod in response to the words, his gaze firmly locked on the small tree in front of him. If this Bao Dang and his company really planned on going against his sister, then Yin Long wouldn't mind having this company be the place where he started staining his hands for the sake of keeping his remaining family safe.