As Huang Ye's abilities continued to improve, he began to explore the City Lord's mansion in addition to his cultivation.
Although he wasn't sure of his current strength, he felt it was definitely stronger than the guards.
However, he didn't dare to investigate the courtyards of the protectors, as he was still unclear about the Martial King's true power.
The time he saw the three Martial Kings, their figures vanished in a flash, and he felt that at least in terms of agility, he couldn't match them.
One day, while the three of them were cultivating, Huang Ye suddenly heard the sound of clothes rustling.
He immediately withdrew, gestured for silence, and quickly dressed.
The visitor paused in front of the two women's room but didn't enter, then drifted to Huang Ye's door.
After waiting for a while, the figure turned and floated away.
Huang Ye listened to the direction of the sound, signaled the two women to stay put, opened the window, and leaped out.
After a couple of jumps, he saw a black figure moving swiftly ahead.
Chasing to a wall, the Black Robe Person slipped away from the City Lord's mansion.
Outside the wall was the dense forest.
Huang Ye immediately leaped onto the wall, clinging to the top, watching the woman leave.
Feeling the distance was just right, he flipped over and continued the pursuit.
The Black Robe Person stopped at the edge of the forest, quickly removed the black robe, and placed it into a cloth bag.
From afar, Huang Ye saw the woman in a blue palace dress, realizing she was the Black Robe Person.
Why didn't this woman live in the City Lord's mansion and instead stayed outside?
"System, I need tracking skills."
[Ding! Comprehensive Guide to Tracking Skills! ...] A thousand words omitted here.
Damn, there's so much, I should have checked earlier.
Huang Ye followed the woman while reviewing the tracking techniques, learning and applying them on the spot.
He followed her to a large, secluded courtyard, where the woman knocked on the door and slipped inside.
Seeing the three large characters on the courtyard plaque, Huang Ye chuckled.
You're quite cautious. After confirming the location, Huang Ye returned to his room along the original route.
"Young Master, did you find the person?"
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"Qing'er, you weren't mistaken. That woman is indeed from the City Lord's mansion."
"She jumped over the wall, circled around, and entered the City Lord's mansion through the main gate."
"She must be here for Yue'er. I'm still unsure of her strength, but I feel like I can take her on."
"Young Master, no, that's too dangerous."
"Fortune favors the bold. You wouldn't understand. Only cultivating without confrontation makes one a frog in a well."
"She didn't find Yue'er this time, so she might come again soon."
"Let's set a trap to drive her out, and I'll try fighting her outside the mansion."
Upon hearing about the trap, the two women immediately became interested, forgetting the danger.
Huang Ye shared his plan with them, first asking them to prepare some disguise materials.
These materials were part of a subsection in the tracking skills—disguise techniques.
The next day, seeing the disguise materials the two women brought back, Huang Ye shook his head.
The quality was too poor, only capable of simple facial changes.
Fortunately, it was a nighttime operation, so it didn't matter much.
At night, Yue'er returned to her place as instructed by Huang Ye, staying there at night and going out to cultivate during the day.
Two days passed without any movement.
On the fourth night, while cultivating with Qing'er, Huang Ye again heard the sound of clothes rustling.
"Shh! That person is here."
He quietly dressed, having already applied his disguise before dark.
Qing'er also got out of bed and dressed neatly.
The black-robed woman stood at Yue'er's door for a moment, about to enter when she suddenly heard a door opening.
She quickly darted outside the courtyard.
Unbeknownst to her, a small hole in Huang Ye's window had an eye watching her.
Seeing the woman slip out of the courtyard, Huang Ye listened to the sounds outside, knowing she hadn't left, so he remained still.
Qing'er entered Yue'er's room.
"Sister, why are you back?"
"I have a bit of a stomachache today. You go accompany the Young Master."
"Alright, I'll go now."
Moments later, Yue'er left the room and headed towards Huang Ye's room.
No movement yet; the woman should wait for Yue'er to enter the room.
As Yue'er entered and closed the door, the sound of clothes rustling grew fainter.
Huang Ye pushed open the window and leaped out, reaching the forest in just four jumps.
This was a route he had arranged in advance, having Qing'er measure it during the day.
Though it was longer than the woman's route, Huang Ye's speed was fast enough to reach the forest first and set up an ambush.
After waiting less than three seconds, the black-robed woman's figure flew out of the courtyard.
Seeing her enter the forest, Huang Ye pretended to be coming from the opposite direction, and they unexpectedly met in the forest.
Huang Ye coldly watched the black-robed woman, who wore a wide black robe and had her face covered with a black veil.
The black-robed woman also watched Huang Ye warily, a bit puzzled about encountering someone here.
This person, like her, was also in a black robe, appearing to be in his thirties or forties, with a mustache and broom-like eyebrows, looking quite sinister.
Why was this person here? Could he be spying on the City Lord's mansion?
As she pondered, the other suddenly chuckled and charged directly.
Huang Ye merely wanted to test his skills, throwing a simple and straightforward punch without hesitation.
The black-robed woman saw the punch lacked any force and responded with a palm strike.
Anyone spying on the City Lord's mansion must die; she intended to cripple him first, capture him, and interrogate him thoroughly to see if he had any accomplices.
"Thud!" The sound of fist meeting palm wasn't loud.
The black-robed woman thought she could easily deflect the punch, but it didn't go as planned.
They seemed evenly matched, and she was about to withdraw her palm.
Suddenly, a tremendous force surged from the fist, a force she couldn't resist.
With a "crack," her arm bone snapped, followed by the force surging into her body.
The black-robed woman couldn't even cry out before feeling her organs shift!
She spat out a mouthful of blood, her face turning ashen, and fell straight down.
Damn! How could this woman be so fragile, like paper?
Huang Ye looked incredulously at his fist, having used a short-range force technique.
It was a modern martial art, and he didn't expect it to have such an effect, making the black-robed woman cough up blood.
In the instant their fist and palm met, they were indeed evenly matched.
But as the black-robed woman withdrew her strength to attack again, Huang Ye's short-range force was unleashed.
The black-robed woman effectively took the combined force of both, without any defense, and naturally couldn't withstand it.
Huang Ye walked to the black-robed woman's side, coldly watching her, his hand trembling slightly.
He tried to stop the trembling, but it was futile; it wasn't his hand shaking, but his heart.
Though it was unintentional, he had killed someone.
In two lifetimes, this was his first time killing, leaving an indescribable feeling in his heart.
The woman's face veil was stained with blood, her eyes closed, and her breathing shallow.
Huang Ye felt a bit regretful; he had intended to capture her and ask some questions, but now that was impossible.
He didn't even know her cultivation level, making the trap pointless.
Taking a deep breath, the trembling lessened, and he stepped forward to remove the black veil.
The woman's appearance was decent, around thirty, showing she was a beauty in her youth.
The woman slowly opened her eyes, staring blankly at Huang Ye.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to," Huang Ye said instinctively.
"You... you..." The woman only managed two words before her head tilted, and she passed away.
Huang Ye scratched his head, bewildered by the situation.
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