Cycle

"How did Sun Shu turn into a wraith? He appeared in the city several times before, and the Zhang Family even cornered him once. Didn't they say the County yamen had a treasure that could suppress wraiths?"

Thoughts churned endlessly through Chen Fei's mind, but unfortunately, no one could give him the answers.

"Is Sun Shu still over there?"

"He is. And he really is injured, but we need to finish this quickly. If others get wind of it, they'll probably come soon."

"He's just one Sun Shu. I'll remember this favor!"

"I'll head back and wait for your good news!"

Faint voices suddenly drifted over from ahead. Chen Fei had just felt a surge of joy when he abruptly sensed that something was wrong. Why did the content of this conversation sound so familiar?

When Chen Fei reached the front and saw those people in the distance, his scalp instantly went numb.

"Fuck me!"

Chen Fei nearly cursed aloud. In his eyes, Zhang Qiang, Zhang Yuezhen, and the others were talking at that moment. A line of guards followed behind Zhang Yuezhen, and at the very tail of the group, Chen Fei saw himself.

"Sun Shu, he's appeared! Kill him!"

Zhang Yuezhen suddenly looked toward Chen Fei and shouted loudly, her expression wildly excited. It was not just Zhang Yuezhen—the guards, even Zhang Qiang, all stared at Chen Fei with bloodshot eyes.

Chen Fei's body flickered. He traced an arc and ran past that group of things, whether human or wraith.

"Sun Shu, you can't escape... you can't escape, Chen Fei..."

Zhang Yuezhen's voice drifted over, faint and intermittent. At first she had been shouting Sun Shu's name, but by the end, it had turned into Chen Fei's. Chen Fei instinctively turned back. Those people who had looked so immaculate moments ago were now covered in blood.

There was a sword wound in Zhang Yuezhen's chest, and at some point, her left arm had vanished. She was chasing wildly after him, the chill in her eyes enough to make one's hair stand on end.

Dash!

His movement technique secret art activated abruptly, and Chen Fei's speed rose another level. The cold aura that had been steadily closing in was thrown off in an instant.

"Chen Fei... Chen Fei, it hurts so much... You dared to defy your superior... Kill you, kill you..."

Mad, utterly illogical voices came from behind him. Chen Fei did not look back again and ran desperately toward Pingyin County.

Chen Fei knew he could not handle those wraiths. Only by returning to Pingyin County could he preserve his life.

Fortunately, Chen Fei's movement technique was truly exceptional. Especially in his Dash state, it far surpassed the Bone Forging Realm, and it also outstripped those wraiths. Before long, Chen Fei saw the walls of Pingyin County ahead, while the cold aura behind him had already vanished.

"I'm finally back!"

Once inside the city walls, warmth spread over Chen Fei's body, and he could not help letting out a breath of relief.

"I need to go to the Zhang Family. This matter is too serious."

Chen Fei caught his breath and thought of the sudden upheaval just now. The Zhang Family would have a headache over this. If the others at the Medical Hall had not seen Chen Fei leave with them, he would actually have wanted to avoid this matter.

But too many people had seen it then. If Chen Fei tried to deny it, he would only seem more suspicious.

Chen Fei found an empty alley and struck his own chest with his palm, spraying out a mouthful of blood. Then he threw himself hard against the ground, bruising his face until it was black and blue.

"That should be about enough."

Chen Fei stood up and bared his teeth. Returning without so much as an injury would have been somewhat hard to explain.

A quarter of an hour later, Chen Fei arrived at the Zhang Family and met Zhang Sinan.

"What did you say? Everyone is dead!"

Upon hearing Chen Fei's words, Zhang Sinan shot to her feet.

"That Sun Shu may have already turned into a wraith."

Chen Fei recounted most of what had happened, leaving out only his conflict with Zhang Yuezhen.

Zhang Sinan paced back and forth, her brows tightly furrowed. The guards' deaths were somewhat regrettable, but they were not much of a loss to the Zhang Family. But even Zhang Yuezhen, a Bone Forging Realm martial artist, had died. That was far harder to accept.

Especially Sun Shu—if he had truly become a wraith, the difficulty of resolving this matter had suddenly risen by a great deal.

"Come with me!"

Zhang Sinan said a single sentence before walking forward, and Chen Fei followed behind her.

A moment later, the two arrived at Zhang Ting's study.

Chen Fei recounted what had just happened once more. Zhang Ting flew into a rage, but he did not vent his anger on Chen Fei.

Chen Fei was an alchemist with Skin Tempering Realm cultivation. He had merely been lucky enough to pick up his life again. No matter how one assigned blame, it could not fall on Chen Fei's head.

Moreover, an alchemist was an important asset to the Zhang Family Medical Hall.

On the contrary, Zhang Yuezhen had sought credit by bringing only the guards from North City Medical Hall to find Sun Shu. She had ended up dead and might even have alerted Sun Shu's side.

In Zhang Ting's view, Zhang Yuezhen's death was no great loss.

"You did well. You brought back the news. Go collect your reward."

Zhang Ting glanced at Chen Fei, waved for him to withdraw, then looked at Zhang Sinan. "Gather the elders!"

"Yes!"

Zhang Sinan nodded and left with Chen Fei.

"What reward do you want?"

Zhang Sinan asked quietly. Those with merit were rewarded; this was something the Zhang Family had always prided itself on.

"A movement technique manual!"

After some thought, Chen Fei knew the Light Spirit Pill formula was definitely impossible. Internal Energy cultivation methods were part of the Zhang Family's inheritance and would not be given out either. He had already plucked the sword techniques clean last time, but his movement techniques could still be strengthened.

When he had encountered the wraiths this time, if Chen Fei's movement technique had not been outstanding enough, he would likely have died already. Thus, no matter how much he improved it, it would not be excessive.

"Fine!"

Zhang Sinan gave Chen Fei a glance. Thinking he had been frightened by this incident, she nodded in agreement.

"Could I choose, like last time?"

"Fine!"

Zhang Sinan's brows creased slightly. Though she was somewhat impatient, she did not refuse. She summoned her personal maid, Shan Xiang, and had her take her token to retrieve the manuals. Zhang Sinan herself went to seek out the Zhang Family elders one by one.

One incense stick later, in Zhang Sinan's courtyard.

"There are three movement technique manuals. The young miss said that you must make your choice within a quarter of an hour!"

Shan Xiang looked at Chen Fei, finding him somewhat unpleasant to look at. Zhang Yuezhen had died, yet Chen Fei had actually managed to return alive. It simply made no sense.

"A quarter of an hour?"

Chen Fei frowned slightly. That was not enough time for the panel to record the manuals. Seeing Shan Xiang's expression toward him, Chen Fei understood. He took five taels of silver from his robes and pressed them into Shan Xiang's hand.

"What are you doing!"

Shan Xiang's eyes widened, and she wanted to throw the silver away. But feeling its weight, she found herself reluctant. As Zhang Sinan's maid, Shan Xiang's wages were not actually high. She would need to save for a month or two to accumulate these five taels of silver.

"I only need three quarters of an hour. I hope Miss Shan can accommodate me."

Chen Fei took out another ten taels of silver and placed them in Shan Xiang's hand. Shan Xiang was left completely speechless. She put away the silver and looked elsewhere.

A smile appeared on Chen Fei's face as he hurriedly picked up the manuals.

Half an hour later, Chen Fei left the Zhang Family.

Cultivation Methods: One Leaf Crossing (Not Initiated), Cloud Ascending Steps (Not Initiated), Wind Flow Three Folds (Not Initiated)

Looking at the movement techniques recorded on the panel, Chen Fei's heart stirred with excitement. Compared to the manuals he had bought at the Dark market, these were undoubtedly far more profound. Once integrated into his current movement technique, it would surely rise to another level.

Today had been dangerous, but at least it had not been a complete loss.