This Place Seemed Full of Stories!

A moment ago, he had thought the man just now was an exception, that Fate Crane Sect should not be such a brutal place. Yet the very next moment, Yang An was slapped in the face by reality.

No! What the hell was going on here?!

Watching the woman run a sword straight through Old Man Fate Crane's chest, Yang An felt his mind descend into utter chaos, completely unable to sort out the reasons behind it.

Could it be that once one joined Fate Crane Sect, one had to find every possible way to kill Old Man Fate Crane?

Was it unacceptable not to kill him?

Just what had this Old Man done to incur such wrath from heaven and resentment from man?

Even his own personal disciples treated him like this, one after another.

Yang An suddenly felt that the waters of Fate Crane Sect ran deep. The place he had come to was likely a bottomless mire.

At this very moment, unlike Yang An, who was shaken beyond measure, the other disciples seemed entirely unsurprised by the woman's sudden appearance and remained remarkably calm.

Even Old Man Fate Crane kept smiling, as though the sword piercing his body had not gone through him at all.

"Master! Even eldest senior brother failed to hurt you, but I've already wounded you!"

"Hehe! I won this time!"

A look of immense pride appeared on the woman's exquisite, beautiful face, yet it was also steeped in a sickly madness.

It was as though, in her eyes, attacking her master was merely a contest between herself and eldest senior brother.

And she had done better than eldest senior brother!

"Not bad!"

Old Man Fate Crane nodded slightly, the smile on his face becoming ever more kind and benevolent. He looked like nothing more than a gentle, kindly old grandfather brimming with goodwill.

He raised his aged, shriveled hand and gently stroked the woman's head, as if she were his most beloved granddaughter.

Then, with a slap, he sent her flying to the ground.

With a wet smack, a huge chunk of flesh split apart. The woman collapsed to the ground, her neck bent at a grotesque angle, while her once peerless face split cleanly into two halves.

Fortunately, it had not fallen off completely. Some flesh and skin still held it together, but the bones and teeth inside had shattered and pierced through the flesh, making her injuries look grave indeed.

Though she had taken such a fierce blow from Old Man Fate Crane, the woman clutched her face and laughed with utter delight.

As she laughed, she spat out another mouthful of blood, mixed with broken teeth that scattered across the ground.

"Thank you for acknowledging me, Master!"

"I won this time! Next time... next time, I'll win again!"

Hiss—

Seeing the woman in such a miserable state yet acting as though nothing had happened, her madness overflowing, Yang An frowned and sucked in a cold breath. He felt phantom pain bloom across his own face.

Looking again at the others, they all wore expressions of long familiarity. Someone even failed to hold back a laugh.

Yang An had only one feeling now.

There probably was not a single normal person in Fate Crane Sect.

He would have to live and cultivate in this environment for a long time to come. He would inevitably have dealings with these people, so he had to be wary of every last one of them!

At this moment, Old Man Fate Crane had already pulled the longsword from his chest and casually tossed it onto the ground.

The sword wound through his chest healed in the blink of an eye. If not for the two holes still left in the front and back of his clothing, it would have seemed as if nothing had happened.

"Come and meet your junior brother. He is the new personal disciple I have taken in."

He looked at the people before him and slowly revealed Yang An's identity.

Only then did the disciples look toward Yang An, including the woman who had climbed back to her feet.

She held half of her face in place, blood having already soaked her robes crimson. Yet she politely nodded to Yang An and gave a slight smile with half a mouth, though the sight was utterly horrifying.

"Yang An greets all Senior Brothers and Senior Sisters!"

No matter what, one did not strike a smiling face. He had to observe proper etiquette, so Yang An bowed to them.

Old Man Fate Crane's disciples returned his salute in turn, seeming quite willing to meet this newly initiated junior brother.

"Fu Ming!"

At that moment, Old Man Fate Crane called out. One person immediately stepped forward from the group.

"Master!"

"For the next few days, you will be responsible for helping your junior brother familiarize himself with the affairs of Fate Crane Sect."

"Furthermore, I have decided to hold a banquet for your junior brother's initiation one month from now. This is a rare joyous occasion for Fate Crane Sect. I will leave the matter of delivering invitations to you as well. Make sure you summon all those people within Han Prefecture."

"Yes! This disciple obeys!"

The disciple named Fu Ming immediately answered, but then seemed to remember something and hurriedly asked,

"Master, should we invite the people from Jade Elephant Mountain as well?"

"Boy! You said 'invite,' didn't you?"

The instant Fu Ming finished speaking, the crane's head had already stretched before him. Its sharp beak, like a blade's edge, pressed against his throat, as though it would viciously pierce through him the next moment.

Old Man Fate Crane gave a cold laugh, an expression rarely seen on his face.

"No need! That fellow will come uninvited."

"Yes!"

Fu Ming answered, cold sweat already trickling down his forehead. Only then did the crane's head slowly withdraw. It licked the blood seeping from the corner of its beak, then immediately revealed a look of disgust.

"You sickly wretch, this old man has no desire to touch you. Pah!"

"Fu Ming, take your junior brother away. The rest of you, come with me."

After tossing out those words, Old Man Fate Crane entered the blood mist without looking back. The other disciples all glanced at Yang An, then hurriedly followed Old Man Fate Crane away.

Before long, the scattered blood mist gathered together once more, obscuring everything around them. Only Yang An and Fu Ming remained.

Fu Ming was an exceedingly frail-looking young man. He appeared quite young, yet his complexion had a sickly pallor, and two heavy dark circles hung beneath his eyes, as though he had not rested properly in a very long time.

After giving Fu Ming a once-over, Yang An cautiously took a step back.

"May I ask how I should address Senior Brother?"

"I entered Master's tutelage relatively early, only somewhat later than eldest senior brother. Junior brother may simply call me Second Senior Brother."

Fu Ming appeared to be a very polite person, but after speaking, he could not help coughing. He coughed up a mouthful of black blood.

He smiled at Yang An, casually wiped the black blood from his mouth, and smeared it onto the hem of his clothes.

Seeing this action, coupled with what the crane's head had said earlier, Yang An understood.

One could know a face but not a heart. Although this Second Senior Brother had left him with a decent impression, Yang An did not think he was normal. His heart remained full of vigilance.

"Junior Brother, come with me. I will first take you to settle down."

"Then I thank Second Senior Brother."

Yang An nodded and followed Fu Ming deeper into the blood mist, though out of caution, he kept a distance of roughly two meters from him.

After walking for about a quarter of an hour, the blood mist around them gradually dispersed until, at last, everything became clear.

Looking into the depths of the valley, there were countless magnificent buildings, no less grand and splendid than those within great cities. It resembled a small town hidden deep in the mountains.

But upon closer inspection, one would discover that the place was permeated with an inescapable desolation. Many unnoticed corners had already become crumbling walls and broken eaves. Not a single person could be seen on the crisscrossing roads, without the slightest trace of human life.

Weeds ran rampant in corners everywhere, while dead branches and fallen leaves littered the ground. Clearly, the place had gone unattended for a long time to become like this.

Even so, one could still glimpse the former glory and power of Fate Crane Sect. Yet now, it had fallen into such a state.

So this was Fate Crane Sect?

Yang An stood where he was, stunned for a moment.

This place seemed full of stories!

"Junior Brother, I will first take you to find a cultivation ground to live in. Follow me."

"Alright."

Drawing back his gaze, Yang An nodded.