"Senior Brother!"
A crisp voice drifted over.
Qi Yuan got dressed and rubbed his sleepy eyes.
Yawning, he glanced at the black fish in the aquarium and walked out of the courtyard.
"What is it, so early in the morning?"
Outside the courtyard, the two beauties Jiang Lingsu and Jiang Ran stood side by side—one innocent and adorable, the other graceful and lovely.
Qi Yuan felt his mood relax.
Sure enough, beautiful things always lifted one's spirits.
"Senior Brother Qi Yuan, I have some good news to share with you!" Jiang Ran's pretty face was wreathed in smiles. "Yesterday, Black Mountain Sect disciples stayed overnight in Rong City and were all killed by a mysterious expert!
Chu Tianxiong is dead, and Chicken Worshipping Ancestor is dead too!"
At the mention of this, Jiang Ran's face was full of excitement.
Qi Yuan slapped his thigh. "I never thought my divination arts would be this powerful!"
But then, recalling something, he changed his tune. "I told you I was skilled in divination. I saw at a glance that kid had a Sign of Bloody Calamity.
See? He wouldn't listen to me, and now he's dead. Served him right!"
Seeing this, Jiang Lingsu smiled helplessly. "I wonder which great expert did something so gratifying!"
"I heard that today, an Origin Core elder from Black Mountain Sect who happened to be nearby has already arrived to investigate the scene.
And last night, elders from our Shinguang Sect also went to Rong City.
Although the scene was burned by fire, they've already obtained quite a few clues."
Qi Yuan's heart tightened slightly when he heard that. "What clues?"
"The one who slaughtered the Black Mountain Sect disciples was a Masked Man.
The elders said that mysterious Masked Man was likely a Sword Cultivator, but to avoid exposing traces of his Dao techniques, he deliberately switched to a saber to slaughter the Black Mountain Sect disciples." Jiang Lingsu had always paid close attention to news within Shinguang Sect and knew a great deal.
"What kind of saber?"
"I don't know." Jiang Lingsu shook her head.
"It couldn't have been a Kitchen Knife, could it?" Qi Yuan pulled out his knife and waved it.
Jiang Lingsu covered her mouth and chuckled. "How could that be possible!"
Jiang Ran's innocent face also broke into a smile, a trace of natural allure spilling from it. "If they were hacked to death by a Kitchen Knife, that would be truly humiliating—and satisfying!"
Jiang Lingsu added, "Rumor has it that Chicken Worshipping Ancestor had his Protective Core Light split apart with a single slash, his golden core shattered, and died as a result.
That saber must have been a powerful magical artifact. How could a Kitchen Knife compare?"
Qi Yuan was immediately unconvinced. "All things are equal. How can you look down on my household's knife!
My household's knife can also chop off that bastard's dog head in one strike!"
Jiang Ran smiled faintly and said nothing.
Jiang Lingsu, however, started bickering with Qi Yuan. "All things are equal? Then why does Senior Brother insult dogs?"
Qi Yuan did not continue on that topic. Holding the Kitchen Knife, he said anxiously, "I have a Kitchen Knife, and Black Mountain Sect disciples died beneath a blade. Do you think Black Mountain Sect will suspect that I killed Chu Tianxiong?"
Jiang Ran froze. She wanted to laugh, but despite having received no professional training, she held it in.
Jiang Lingsu smiled softly. "Senior Brother, you're thinking too much.
You should focus on reaching Foundation Establishment first!"
"Talk about Foundation Establishment, but don't say 'establish'—civilization depends on you, me, and everyone!"
"???"
"???"
Jiang Ran and Jiang Lingsu simply could not keep up with Qi Yuan's train of thought.
Qi Yuan wore a worried expression. "Yesterday, I kindly warned Chu Tianxiong, but to outsiders, it seems I had a dispute with him. Do you think they'll believe that I argued with Chu Tianxiong, held a grudge, then went out at night and killed them all?"
Jiang Ran and Jiang Lingsu were completely speechless.
"Senior Brother, don't worry. No one will suspect you!"
"Then if anyone asks, you have to testify for me. Say that I didn't go out last night, that I stayed on Seven Colors Peak the whole time, drinking and playing finger-guessing games with you two!"
"Fine, fine, fine!" Jiang Lingsu held her forehead.
The corners of Jiang Ran's lips also curled up in a smile.
Clearly, Chu Tianxiong's death had put her in a much better mood, and the gloom on her face had temporarily vanished.
Qi Yuan lowered his head, still looking somewhat frightened. "Say Black Mountain Sect doesn't believe your testimony and forcibly comes to arrest me—will Shinguang Sect protect me?"
Jiang Lingsu was utterly speechless. "Senior Brother, I think you shouldn't be worrying about yourself right now. You should be worrying with us about that Masked Man.
After all, he is facing Black Mountain Sect—he is facing Black Chicken Old Demon!"
After chatting for a while, Jiang Lingsu and Jiang Ran left.
Jiang Lingsu still wore a helpless expression. "My senior brother is quite a good person, but his personality... well, you've seen it. The Obsession Lineage is just strange and eccentric."
Jiang Ran revealed a sweet smile. "Actually, Senior Brother Qi Yuan is rather interesting like this."
"Sigh, he is indeed interesting. He doesn't have so many worries either, carefree and unburdened." Jiang Lingsu thought of something and could not help sighing. There was a huge stone weighing on her heart, one she had never been able to put down.
"Senior Brother Qi Yuan is carefree and unburdened?"
Qi Yuan was alone in his room, pacing back and forth without pause.
His face was filled with deep concern.
"I was careless last night!"
"Just wearing a mask wasn't perfect enough. I should have dressed as a woman. Then my gender wouldn't have been exposed!"
"Oh no, they know the killer used a blade. What if they connect it to me?"
"Black Mountain Sect won't come looking for trouble with me, will they?"
The more Qi Yuan thought about it, the more frightened he became, and the more furious he grew.
Although what he had done was practically seamless.
But what if Black Mountain Sect had an Innate Saint hidden within it, someone who calculated that he was the one responsible?
He was already imagining those Black Mountain Sect elders arriving at Shinguang Sect, their troops pressing beneath the peak.
He was alone, weak, pitiful, and helpless.
The more he thought about it, the angrier he became, his face red and his neck thick.
"Beyond the long pavilion, beside the ancient road, fragrant grass stretches to the sky."
"Black Mountain Sect really has no shame!"
"Didn't I merely act on behalf of the moon and eliminate a few evildoers?"
"And they're joining forces to bully a child who's only 229 months old?"
"Is there no law anymore? Is there no justice anymore?"
"This is bullying beyond all measure!"
"Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river—never mock a poor youth!"
"No, I have to take revenge!"
Qi Yuan sharpened his knife with murderous intent. He found a hat in the room and covered his head so no one would recognize him.
After thinking it over, he also smeared a handful of pot soot across his face.
Looking at himself in the mirror, Qi Yuan felt a little safer.
He tucked the Kitchen Knife at his waist and furtively left Seven Colors Peak.
Not long afterward, Jiang Lingsu arrived outside Qi Yuan's courtyard. "Senior Brother, are you there?"
She called out once but received no response.
"Strange. Wasn't Senior Brother always in the courtyard? When did he leave? How did I not notice?"
After all, she had reached Foundation Establishment last night and officially become a Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator.
Her perception had risen by a great deal.
She should have been able to sense Senior Brother leaving.
"How strange."
Puzzled, her gaze fell upon a glass fish tank.
Looking at the black fish swimming within it, she murmured, "Is this the fish Senior Brother caught last night?
It doesn't seem to be a wild fish."
She pondered briefly but did not think further on it, leaving Senior Brother's courtyard.
At this moment, within the Library Pavilion of Shinguang Sect.
Qi Yuan climbed to the third floor. Hidden in a corner, he was secretly checking information about Black Mountain Sect's strength.
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