Secrets of Duke Protector's Mansion

After his initial shock, the old man's eyes filled with killing intent. His figure flashed, and he appeared behind Flying Eagle's left side, placing his wrinkled, deadwood-like left hand on Flying Eagle's shoulder.

It seemed like a casual touch. No aura surged from him, and his presence remained utterly restrained.

Yet the instant the old man's hand landed on Flying Eagle's shoulder, Flying Eagle felt as though a massive mountain had descended upon him. His legs buckled beyond his control, forcing him to his knees.

Struggle appeared on Flying Eagle's flushed face as he tried to resist the force, but he could not mobilize his true qi. He was not a Body Cultivator and did not possess such a powerful physique, so he could only kneel there unwillingly.

Duke Protector Ling Feng looked at Flying Eagle, who knelt before him with an unwilling expression, and spoke.

"Enough, Ling Ying."

Upon hearing Duke Protector Ling Feng's command, the old man called Ling Ying finally withdrew his hand. However, he still stared at Flying Eagle with killing intent in his eyes.

He had just praised the man before the family head and had even considered promoting him, only for the bastard to turn around and become a traitor.

It was a resounding slap across Ling Ying's face.

It was not because Ling Ying had received any favors from Flying Eagle that he had spoken for him before Duke Protector Ling Feng. Rather, Flying Eagle had indeed served Duke Protector's Mansion diligently and conscientiously for nearly twenty years without making a single mistake.

That was what made Ling Ying feel humiliated. As the chief steward of Duke Protector's Mansion, the man in charge of its secret affairs, and a renowned expert, he had failed to notice anything.

This man had left no traces and had only exposed himself.

Of course, Ling Ying could not be blamed for this. Flying Eagle had only recently had his soul replaced; before that, he had indeed been loyal.

When the summons took place, the system had already arranged everything for Dragon Guard Manor's covert agents.

Ling Ying was a renowned expert of Duke Protector's Mansion.

Among the Four Great Dukes, aside from Duke Protector's Mansion, the other dukes had all reached the Peak Ascension Realm. Only the current Duke Protector possessed merely Late Ascension Realm cultivation.

And the Peak Ascension Realm expert who upheld Duke Protector's Mansion's reputation was Ling Ying.

Ling Feng could not be blamed for this either. He had not originally been Duke Protector; the title had belonged to his elder brother. However, during that expedition into the ruins thirty years ago, his elder brother had remained there forever. Only afterward had Ling Feng inherited the position.

Ling Feng's talent was not poor, but his age put him at a disadvantage. He was nearly ten years younger than his elder brother.

Even with an endless supply of resources, he still fell short.

He had now reached the Late Ascension Realm, but there was still a considerable distance between him and the Peak Ascension Realm.

He had already worked very hard.

Duke Protector Ling Feng did not take Flying Eagle's letter, nor did he use his divine sense. He merely stared at Flying Eagle.

Looking at the man before him, he said,

"Was it all for this letter? You have spent nearly twenty years in this mansion. For one letter, you threw away everything you had before. Was it worth it?

"You managed to hide in this mansion for so long. I do not believe your people lacked the means to deliver a letter."

Flying Eagle raised his head and met Duke Protector Ling Feng's calm, unruffled gaze.

"What does 'worth it' even mean? We are not enemies of the Duke Protector. How can you say everything was thrown away?

"As for this letter, Duke Protector, take a look. Do you dare let anyone else see it?"

At those words, Duke Protector Ling Feng swept the letter with his divine sense. In an instant, he seemed to have been struck by lightning and froze on the spot.

Though he was now a duke of the realm, with decades of cultivation that had made his heart as still as an ancient well, he still lost his composure upon seeing what the letter contained.

Ling Feng's expression quickly returned to its usual calmness.

But Flying Eagle and the others had still seen it.

Naturally, Flying Eagle knew. He was the one who had delivered the letter, and even he had been greatly shocked upon first reading it.

He understood all too well what was written in that letter.

Behind Flying Eagle, Ling Ying saw the instant of distraction on Ling Feng's face. He was initially puzzled, but then seemed to think of something. His divine sense swept over the letter, and he stared at Flying Eagle in horror.

When Ling Feng's son, Ling Chen, saw that expression on his father's face, he too was bewildered. He walked toward Flying Eagle, wanting to see what could possibly be written in that letter to affect his father so greatly.

"Chen'er."

Ling Feng's powerless voice made Ling Chen halt. He turned back to look at his father.

Ling Chen was deeply confused. What could possibly be in that letter to make his father seem as though all strength had suddenly left him?

"Chen'er, deal with the people outside. Make sure it is clean."

Hearing his father's words, Ling Chen was initially stunned. Then a cold gleam flashed through his eyes.

He bowed to his father, then strode outside.

He knew something major had happened. Otherwise, even the mansion's trusted retainers who had seen this man would not need to be dealt with.

It meant this matter could not be known to outsiders.

Yes, outsiders. No matter how trusted they were, they were still outsiders. Their surname was not Ling.

After Ling Chen left, Ling Feng enveloped the three of them with his true qi, isolating them from their surroundings. His pressure bore down as he fixed Flying Eagle with a sharp gaze.

"This is not something you could possibly know, yet you do know it. Where did you learn of it? Who exactly are you? Great Feng, or Great Yan?"

Duke Protector Ling Feng's pressure slammed directly into Flying Eagle, forcing him to collapse onto the ground.

Ling Feng desperately wanted to know how the man before him and the people behind him had learned of this.

Regarding the matter in the letter, aside from his grandfather, the person directly involved, only Ling Feng and Ling Ying in all of Duke Protector's Mansion knew about it. Not even Ling Feng's younger brother or his son knew.

As for why Ling Feng mentioned Great Feng and Great Yan rather than forces within Dagan, it was because he knew very well that if people from Dagan had learned of this matter,

whether they were from the Imperial Clan or elsewhere, they would not have come to him this way. In fact, they might not have come looking for him at all.

Looking at Flying Eagle, who remained silent without uttering a single word, Ling Feng asked,

"Well, Flying Eagle? Do you think you cannot die, or are you simply not afraid of death? Is that why you think you can force Duke Protector's Mansion's hand?"

"Duke Protector, since I was able to obtain this letter and dared to come here, I was prepared for anything."

Ling Feng knew he would get no answers from him. He turned to Ling Ying and said,

"Ling Ying, take him to the side room. When Chen'er returns, have him personally guard the prisoner. No one is to come into contact with him."

After seeing Ling Ying nod, Ling Feng flicked his finger slightly. The letter in Flying Eagle's hand finally flew into Duke Protector Ling Feng's grasp.

Once he had the letter, he turned and left.

True qi gathered in Ling Ying's hand, forming an eerie black and mysterious rune.

He drove it into Flying Eagle's body. Once the rune entered him, Flying Eagle could no longer sense his true qi, and he could not even control his limbs.

Ling Ying grabbed one of his legs and dragged him toward a room.

After walking out of the courtyard, Ling Chen looked around. Including those who had just emerged from the courtyard, there were more than twenty guards and maids in total.

A porcelain bottle appeared in his right hand, hidden within his sleeve. He opened it one-handed, and a wisp of pale green gas drifted from its mouth, turning colorless the instant it emerged.

"All of you, come here. Stand before me."

Once everyone had gathered, a cold glint flashed in Ling Chen's eyes. He raised his right hand, condensed true qi, and swept his palm through the air. The gas from the bottle drifted toward the crowd.

After it passed through them, the guards and maids collapsed to the ground one after another.

He hurled another porcelain bottle from his left hand into the crowd. The instant it shattered against the ground, a sea of flames erupted around them.

Blazing flames ignited across the bodies of the guards and maids. Their mouths opened, yet no sound came out.

From a distance, all one could see were the open mouths of burning figures.

They could only crawl and roll across the ground one by one, but the flames seemed impossible to extinguish. Their faces were filled with terror as they watched helplessly while the fire consumed their bodies.

Ling Chen stood before them and watched, his expression utterly calm.

He watched as the burning figures were reduced from clothes and flesh to their internal organs. Even when nothing remained but skeletons, the flames still burned across the bones.

The firelight shone on Ling Chen's face. It was calm and completely unmoved.

Though raging flames burned before him and firelight flickered, he still gave off an icy chill.

Only after every skeleton had burned away, leaving behind nothing but ash, did Ling Chen circulate the true qi in his right hand. The flames on the ground seemed to answer his summons, flying into his hand and merging into his body.

After calming his true qi, Ling Chen finally turned and returned to the courtyard.