As Cao Yun left his room, Feng Yingyue called him.
"Guo, come here. I made some tea." Cao Yun followed her voice into a narrow living room. She was sitting at a small table with two cups of smoking tea. "I made it from Sweet Blue Acacia Bark and Soothing Windy Drop. It's really great to appease someone's mind, especially after a bad night."
While he was sitting down, Cao Yun heard her last sentence and was taken by surprise.
"Did I make some noise last night?"
"Huh... I'm sorry... I did not mean to eavesdrop but..."
"It's fine. It's fine. Thank you for the tea."
After blowing a little over the tea cup, Cao Yun inhaled some of the smoke and a peaceful sensation spread throughout his body. Drinking from the hot cup, the sensation got more and more soothing and all his worries seemed to evaporate.
"It's really good, thank you Yingying."
The young woman smiled coyly before drinking her own cup of tea.
"Guo, what do you want to do in town?"
"Well, I was wondering where was the best place to get information about surrounding cities. I rarely stay long in one place, so I need to gather information to know my next course of action."
"I see..." Feng Yingyue was a little dejected hearing him talk about leaving so soon.
"Well, I will stay for a while, but in the end, I'll need to leave."
"I understand. Well, to get information, the best way would be to buy it from the Myriad Cherry Blossom Hall."
"I don't think it would be wise. The Hall is very famous for buying and selling intel. But that would also mean they knew exactly where I would go next. I already seem to have offended some characters and if they were to buy this intel, that would put me in danger."
"I'm sorry, the only reason you got in trouble was me." Feng Yingyue thought for a while. "There's another way!"
The interest of Cao Yun was picked.
"I'm pretty close with the city lord. He was good friend with my father and since his death, he has been really good to me. I'm sure he knows what's going on in the neighboring cities. And I'm pretty confident he would accept to share some of these informations with any friend of mine. We could go meet him together."
"Really?!" Cao Yun pondered for a while. He did not like lying to such a trusting young woman, but he could not bear to drag her in his mess. "Then I will gladly accept your offer."
"When I left he was away on an important trip, but if I'm not wrong, he should be back very soon. I think he should come back before the auction in ten days. So... in the meantime... maybe you could..."
Seeing her fidgeting on her chair, Cao Yun let out a small laugh. "I will stay here for the next few days."
Feng Yingyue's face was beaming.
"After all, I need to stabilize my cultivation."
The next few days passed by very quickly as the two teenagers lived under the same roof. Busy with his cultivation, Cao Yun almost never left the house and Feng Yingyue cared for him as her business was pretty slow. She feared that the Huang family would try to start some troubles for her but it did not happen.
-
In the Huang's main hall, Huang Mingze was facing his children Huang Cixi and Huang Longwei. Visibly angry, the older brother managed to control his voice as he spoke.
"Father, we should use this opportunity to trash her shop. Let's take her and her boy and make them confess."
"Father, the city lord will soon come back. Acting rashly will do us no good at all. We already used her absence to investigate her shop, there is no such thing as 5-star Human pill anywhere."
"She probably keeps such a formidable pill on her. That's why I thought that sending Huang Lixin after her was the best course of action."
As soon as he uttered the name of his younger brother, both his father and his sister angrily stared at Huang Longwei. Feeling their animosity, he tried to smooth things over.
"Father, I know you're worried about little Lixin. I'm sorry I insisted back then, but it really was a good opportunity for him."
"Good opportunity?! He hated this task. If you had not been this insistent, he would have declined. You say father ordered it, huh?! But who pestered him relentlessly until he caved in. Without you, brother Lixin would still be here."
"Little sister, it was only killing a 1st-grade Mortal. I could not predict that he would fail and..." The last words stayed within his throat as he could not mention his brother's death before his father.
"Enough! Both of you! Longwei, you're the one who convinced me that this girl had inherited some mysterious pill that could help to break through. I trusted you! You're the one who convinced me to send your little brother to kill her deep in the woods. And I trusted you again! You even convinced us not to send any bodyguard as it could leave evidence for the city lord. Once more, I trusted you! And what do I have to show for all this trust?! We used the city lord's absence to search her shop and we got nothing! Your brother has not returned after more than two months but she has! My best son may be dead right now, for nothing at all!"
Huang Mingze started coughing as he lost control over his anger. Even some blood got mixed in his cough. Huang Cixi ran toward him to try and support him.
"Father, calm down please. Your injury is acting up. I can't bear to lose you too. And I won't lose hope that brother Lixin is still alive. Please, father."
Huang Mingze had indeed suffered a backlash during his cultivation. Being a 4th-grade Mortal Warrior, he was accumulating Qi in his Middle Dantian, located in the chest. During his meditation, some Qi deviated and entered his heart. By the time he realized the mistake, he suffered a terrible backlash from the Qi within his vital organ and almost died on the spot. He was lucky to survive but he would most likely need many years, if not decades, to fully heal, thwarting his chance to ever cross into the Spirit Warrior realm.
Staring with cold eyes, Huang Longwei was still focusing on these two words 'best son'. He was the one who had convinced his father to send his little brother to kill Feng Yingyue. As a matter of fact, he did not even know if the rumor about a miraculous 5-star Human rank pill was true or not and he did not care. After all, the only thing important in his eyes was to kill the girl. She was a little too talented and very close to the city lord. If she was allowed to prosper, that would strengthen his power even more.
Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
Indeed, alchemists were really well respected by any cultivator and having a talented one as a close friend could make your reputation and social status skyrocket. Huang Longwei had long ambitions to rise to power. Knowing Feng Yingyue and her relationship with the city lord, he knew he would never be able to convince her to join the Huang family. The only way he found was to kill her.
But, once again, alchemists were well respected so he needed the approval of his father. Otherwise, if he learned of the murder, it would be very bad for him. Hence, he used this rumor he had overheard. The rumor stated that her father had left her an incredible pill and he changed it to better suit his needs. He described a 5-star Human rank pill able to allow any breakthrough under the Spirit Warrior realm. Such a pill was so enticing to Huang Mingze that he was easily swayed.
But why did Huang Longwei choose his little brother to kill the girl? Well, there was no pill of the sort and even if she did have a miraculous pill, it was maybe useless to his father. So Huang Longwei, who envied his little brother, more talented than he was, and more cherished by their father, decided to send him to fail. He would kill the girl and find nothing. There was no expert bodyguard to witness the killing, so it would be easier for Longwei to claim that she was able to hide or throw the pill away and that his little brother had failed. Lixin was also very honest, so Longwei knew that killing an innocent woman would hit him hard. So hard that it could even slow down his cultivation for a long while and allow him to stay the strongest.
"Father, I'm sure that this woman and her friend know what happened to little brother. Either they killed him themselves or they saw him being killed by demonic beasts."
Huang Cixi glared at her older brother as their father was trying to control his heart.
"How dare you talk of brother Lixin as if he was already...! If you were a good brother, you would go into the woods yourself to find him and get him back!"
"Little Cixi, calm down. This is all your father's fault. I was so obsessed with getting this pill, I let my feelings cloud my judgment." Huang Mingze stopped talking. "I will listen to you. I will keep the hope that your brother is alive. But I won't send another of my children to find him."
"Zhao Guodong!"
An old man appeared right in the middle of the room.
"Yes, Patriarch!"
"Go into the woods and search the entire mountains if you have to, but find my son."
"Yes, Patriarch!"
The man disappeared as fast as he had appeared.
"Little Cixi, Zhao Guodong is the man I trust the most. If your brother is alive, he will find him. And if he is not, ..."
"Let's not talk about that, father."
Huang Longwei was fuming. He was the one who took all the blame as his little sister got even closer to their father. And if Lixin was alive, his status would skyrocket within the family. Worse, if he was dead, all the blame would go to him. At least if he was killed by Feng Yingyue and her new friend, he would be able to divert this blame to them, but if he had been killed by beasts, only he could endorse the fault.
-
The day of the auction was drawing near and the city became more and more bustling, with many people coming and going. Even Feng Yingyue's shop got more customers despite the pressure from the Huang family.
"Guo, tomorrow is the day of the auction. I heard there will be many good items. Are you going?"
"The auction? Maybe... But what about the city lord?"
"Oh, he just sent words that he should be back in the evening. We could go out together and meet with him tonight."
"Fine. I've been secluded for ten days straight, some fresh air would be nice. I almost forgot, is there some library in town?"
"Not really any that could interest you... But the city lord has a huge private collection pertaining to martial arts and cultivation. He probably has some materials that could catch your eye."
"A private collection? Would he let me take a look?"
"He's very fond of finding new talents. And... well... your cultivation is pretty impressive for your age. So I think he could allow you, yes."
These past few days, Cao Yun was feeling the Drop of Wrath acting up during his cultivation. It allowed him to be faster at gathering Qi but it was dangerous for his state of mind. Luckily, Feng Yingyue's tea was very useful to keep it under control. However, Cao Yun was in urgent need of techniques to temper his state of mind and stabilize his emotions. More than this very pragmatic goal, Cao Yun was legitimately happy about a huge private collection of martial arts and cultivation manuals. He had always loved reading such materials.
-
Wearing her most beautiful dress and all dolled up, Feng Yingyue took Cao Yun along with her toward the city lord mansion. The sun was set and the moon high.
When they arrived at the mansion, the guards immediately recognized the young alchemist and sent words to the city lord as they let both of them in. Feng Yingyue knew the way and showed Cao Yun to a room where they waited for quite some time.
Finally, a huge man entered the room. He was bald and a long white and slender beard went from his chin to his waist. Despite the large robe he was wearing, his muscles were very visible. Clearly this man was a warrior hardened on the battlefield. As he entered, he directed a huge smile toward Feng Yingyue, almost looking like a granddad reunited with his long lost family.
"Little Yingyue, it's been so long. I heard of the misfortunes that befell you during your trip to the mountains... I told you, you should have waited for me to return."
"Senior Dun, I'm sorry if I worried you. I just did not wish to disturb you in your work."
"Nonsense! You're family to me! What could be more important than protecting you?!"
All of a sudden, the city lord's eyes fell upon Cao Yun who was bowing since he entered the room.
"This one shows his respect to the City Lord."
Brutally, the sensation of being observed by a predator ready to pounce on him took over Cao Yun. This feeling was very familiar to him, it was the same he felt from his great-grandfather when he was little. Without any doubt, the city lord was a Spirit Warrior. What Cao Yun was feeling was his spiritual senses scrutinizing him. Although it was familiar, this sensation was clearly weaker than the one from his patriarch, but it contained way more killing intent. This intent was not directed at him, but rather the result of many decades of fighting and killing in many wars.
Cao Yun was able to keep his composure under such an intense gaze. As fast as it had come, it dissipated and a smile appeared on the face of the old man.
"Good, good. You must be the one who helped my little Yingyue. I heard the result of your hunt was plentiful and I must say... you did not disappoint me. Already 4th-grade Mortal at 16... I was 24 when I crossed this boundary. The young generation will really eclipse the old geezers."
The city lord laughed loudly. As a 1st-grade Spirit Warrior, it was easy for him to see through the material and immediately understand the cultivation of a junior like Cao Yun.
"Your name is Chen Guo from what I know, right?"
"Yes, City Lord. I was hunting in the woods when I met Feng Yingyue who was threatened."
Sending a look to the young woman, the old city lord quickly understood something.
"It seems like you stayed pretty long in the woods alone, you two."
Hearing this remark, Feng Yingyue's face became hot and red.
"Ah, ah, ah! Good, good! Boy, I like your talent, just call me Dun Mofan."
"This junior would not dare to be so casual, Senior Dun." Cao Yun had still changed his way of addressing the city lord.
"Ah, ah, ah! I'd like to think that you came to see this old geezer, but I think there is something else."
"Yes, sorry, Senior Dun. As I was saying, I'm a hunter and an itinerant cultivator. I wanted to ask senior for informations about the neighboring cities to plan my future movements." Cao Yun made a small pause. "This junior would also have a favor to ask of Senior Dun."
"Ask away!"
"I'm in need of some inspiration for my cultivation. So, this junior would like an opportunity to look at specific manuals from Senior Dun's collection."
The old man changed instantly.
"What kind of manual?"
A very powerful killing intent submerged the young man.
"This junior has difficulty calming his mind during cultivation. I'm in need of methods to appease my state of mind and suppress my emotions and thoughts."
Suddenly, the killing intent disappeared.
"Little Chen had me worried for a moment. Ah, ah, ah! Manuals about the state of mind are really not that important for a warrior, but I know they are primordial for alchemists and other professions of the kind. My collection is full of manuals on war but very few about the mind." Dun Mofan stroke his beard pensively. "Yes, I have some of them. They are just basic manuals but they should be useful to a young lad like you. Follow me."
As he followed behind the old man, Cao Yun was certain that were he to utter the wrong answer, his life would have ended right there. No matter how nice he seemed to be, Dun Mofan was a city lord who took part in many battles. If he had thought that Cao Yun was trying to use Feng Yingyue to obtain secret manuals, he would have had no hesitation in striking him down in an instant.