At this moment, by the carriage, Zhang Mu and the others kept craning their necks to look around.
"Congratulations, Master Ling, on your great victory!"
The moment he spotted Ling Yun, Zhang Mu's eyes lit up, and he immediately scampered over with an eager grin.
Xue Liu and the others followed behind him, staring at Ling Yun with fanatical expressions, as though they had beheld a god descending from heaven.
Reverence for the strong was human instinct. Watching those great figures they had once only been able to look up to get crushed as easily as chicks right before their eyes, the thigh before them now seemed to stretch straight into the heavens!
Ling Yun ignored them and casually flung what he was carrying before them.
Amid a series of rolling sounds, several blood-smeared heads tumbled to their feet. They belonged to Human Butcher, Ghost Butcher, and Old Bloodrot.
Their heads were piled together, their terrified and unwilling eyes staring straight at them, as if silently trying to say something.
Zhang Mu's heart skipped a beat. He swallowed and asked in confusion.
"Master Ling, these are...?"
Ling Yun gave him an indifferent glance, then tore off a piece of the carriage curtain and wiped his hands.
"These people are all registered with the authorities. Take their heads and collect the bounty when you have the chance."
So that was it... Only then did Zhang Mu relax slightly.
Then his eyes shifted, and he smilingly pulled out a Fish Gut Dagger from behind his back and offered it over fawningly.
Ling Yun took the dagger and examined it twice. It was precisely the spirit tool Old Bloodrot had used during the battle earlier.
After Ling Yun had sent it flying, Zhang Mu had somehow picked it up from some corner.
But now that Ling Yun had Thousand Machines, he no longer valued an ordinary Low-Grade Spirit Tool like this as highly as before.
He casually tossed the dagger back and told Zhang Mu to find a chance to dispose of it.
Watching Zhang Mu carefully put away the Fish Gut Dagger, Ling Yun looked up at the sky and said evenly.
"I'll be leaving for a while in the next few days. While I'm gone, you'll be responsible for all matters large and small at Ling Estate."
"Keep gathering information on internal cultivation techniques as well. I hope that when I return next time, I'll hear good news."
Zhang Mu listened attentively while engraving every word deep into his heart.
When he looked up again, Ling Yun had already vanished without a trace.
Wiping the sweat from his brow, Zhang Mu finally let out a long breath.
Although he had been at Ling Yun's side for quite some time, he still could not help feeling extraordinarily tense every time.
He then lowered his head to glance at the heads piled before him and waved his hand in distaste.
"What are you three still standing around for? Hurry up and find something to put these things in!"
Only then did Xue Liu and the other two snap awake as if from a dream. In a flurry of clumsy hands and feet, they hauled out a wooden box and placed the heads inside one by one.
A moment later, with the crack of a whip, the carriage gradually drove into the distance.
At the entrance to the chaotic alleys of Cloud City's eastern district.
Only when the last glimmer of sunset was about to vanish beyond the horizon did Ling Yun's figure slowly emerge from the street corner.
"You finally showed up, kid!"
As Qin Wei's somewhat dissatisfied voice rang out, more than a dozen figures silently appeared before him, all dressed in that highly recognizable set of dark black garments.
Ling Yun smiled calmly and walked over at an unhurried pace.
"What's the rush? Isn't the timing just right?"
As he spoke, Ling Yun swept his gaze over the figures behind Qin Wei, and his brow rose slightly.
To be honest, even before coming here, he had not expected so many people to take part in this mission.
Especially the two men and one woman standing beside Qin Wei—even Ling Yun could vaguely sense a measure of threat from them.
What kind of mission could possibly warrant such a grand mobilization?
Judging by this, Qin Wei had probably gathered his entire squad.
While he was sizing them up, those people across from him were also observing Ling Yun.
Although they had already learned from their captain that a martial artist would be joining them, their expressions could not help turning strange when they saw this youth, who appeared to be no more than twenty.
After all, under normal circumstances, a martial artist's strength was often directly proportional to age.
But with Qin Wei present, they did not dare say much about it.
"Can you tell me the specifics of this mission now?"
Ling Yun withdrew his gaze and looked calmly at Qin Wei.
"Of course. But time is tight, so we'll talk as we walk."
Qin Wei grinned, glanced up at the sky, and waved for the people behind him to set off.
Seeing how rushed he looked, Ling Yun's eyes flickered, and he quickly followed.
Thus, the group set out beneath the last strand of fading light, heading straight beyond the city.
Cloud City lay at the northernmost edge of the Great Radiance Dynasty's territory.
Though it was merely an obscure border town, its defensive facilities were quite complete. Not only did it have city walls more than ten meters high and several meters thick, it even had heavily guarded city soldiers.
Of course, how much use those things would be against Evil Spirits was another matter entirely.
Beyond the city walls stretched vast fields of rice, gleaming with a layer of silver-gray radiance beneath the moonlight.
At this moment, amid the howling cold wind, more than a dozen figures moved like bats in the night, vaulting over the tall walls one after another and plunging straight into the darkness of the wilderness.
Rather than warning them off, the city soldiers atop the walls all revealed looks of envy and reverence.
One old soldier watched the black silhouettes and muttered, "It's been so long since I've seen them move on such a scale. The last time I saw it... was the last time!"
In this world ravaged by Evil Spirits, the wilderness beyond the protection of the cities was undoubtedly a paradise for all kinds of beasts to hunt.
As far as the eye could see, there was not the slightest trace of human habitation.
From time to time, wolf-like howls sounded all around, carrying far through the silent air.
Then, in this place rarely visited by anyone, a chaotic series of footsteps suddenly rang out.
Before long, flickering flames lit up in the darkness, utterly shattering the stillness of the place.
It was a group clad in dark black uniforms, their faces stern as they held torches and charged forward without pause.
At the very front of the group were two towering, iron-pillar-like figures.
Under the torchlight, the faces of Ling Yun and Qin Wei were revealed.
Ling Yun was listening to Qin Wei explain the details of this mission while surveying his surroundings with keen interest.
Unlike the relatively safe official roads in his memories, this place was fraught with danger at every step.
With its harsh environment and ferocious beasts, ordinary people likely could not last even a single day here.
Even now, in the darkness beyond the reach of their torchlight, pairs of dark green eyes occasionally flashed around them.
The owners of those eyes were a species of gray wolf that lived nearby.
They were extremely vicious by nature, and not long ago, they had even launched an attack on the group.
Naturally, the result was that more than half the pack had been killed in one go.
Though the remaining wolves had scattered in terror, they still lingered far off around the group, watching them closely.
"That's roughly the situation. Is there anything else you want to ask?"
After explaining the mission in one breath, Qin Wei turned to look at Ling Yun beside him.
Ling Yun pondered for a moment, then shook his head to indicate that he had no questions.
Qin Wei nodded slightly, then roared at the people behind him.
"Pick up the pace! We must reach our destination within half an hour!"
Before you continue