The Dead Do Not Speak

"Outrageous!"

Su Jie's emotions were in turmoil. Most likely, these children had been used to cultivate some kind of special demonic art.

This was also the impression demonic cultivators gave people: brutal, bloodthirsty, and wantonly slaughtering the innocent.

Even though Su Jie himself was a demonic cultivator, that did not mean he could understand something like this.

As Su Jie frowned and pondered, Chen Yun, worried for his safety, ignored everyone's attempts to dissuade her and insisted on coming over to inspect the battlefield.

However, the moment Chen Yun and Gu Weinan arrived, they were both stunned by the Strange Ghost corpse hanging from the tree.

"Brother Su, could it be that you killed this Strange Ghost?"

Gu Weinan was first given a great fright, only then realizing that the Strange Ghost had long since died.

Immediately afterward, Gu Weinan swallowed hard and stared at Su Jie in disbelief.

The Strange Ghost had become a corpse. In other words, had Su Jie really killed a Strange Ghost one-on-one?

At that thought, Gu Weinan's heart began pounding wildly.

This was a Strange Ghost!

He had never heard of an outer disciple being confident of defeating a Strange Ghost alone. There were barely any outer disciples who even dared to look a Strange Ghost in the eye.

Chen Yun was equally shocked by Su Jie's astonishing combat prowess.

Since he could kill a Strange Ghost one-on-one, then judging by sheer strength, there was probably no outer disciple who could stand against him.

"The Strange Ghost was already in poor condition. By a stroke of luck, I found an opening."

Su Jie glanced at them both and, without caring whether they believed him, said, "When we return to the sect later, just say that Meng Dongge and the others fought it to the death. Don't involve me."

Gu Weinan and Chen Yun knew that Su Jie was concealing his true strength. They nodded and said, "Understood."

Su Jie was speaking with Gu Weinan and Chen Yun when an imperious voice suddenly rang out.

"Hey, you three, load my goods immediately. Don't let the ice melt, or you won't be able to afford the compensation."

Jia Xin had returned accompanied by two martial master guards. Clearly, he still could not let go of his goods—or perhaps he thought that Su Jie had lured away the Strange Ghost, allowing him to sneak back and retrieve them.

Su Jie looked over and saw Jia Xin staring fixedly at the Strange Ghost corpse hanging from the tree, greed gleaming in his eyes.

"Also, this Strange Ghost attacked our caravan earlier. We were the ones who severely wounded it and left it on the verge of death, giving you the chance to finish it off. So it's my prey. Hand it over to me to deal with, and it'll conveniently make up for part of my losses."

A Strange Ghost was worth several hundred Blood Marrow Crystals. Jia Xin could not stop his heart from burning with greed, shamelessly trying to pocket the corpse.

That way, he would not only avoid losing money this time but even make a small profit.

If Su Jie had been an inner disciple, Jia Xin would not have dared to entertain the idea. But the other party was merely an outer disciple, and Jia Xin felt emboldened.

Hearing Jia Xin's absurd demand, Su Jie laughed. Only, there was a chill in his smile.

"You want my Strange Ghost too?"

Su Jie's gaze was playful. How dare this greedy bastard make such an insatiable demand? Did he really think Su Jie could no longer wield a blade?

"What do you mean, your Strange Ghost? It belongs to me now. My uncle is the master of Flowing Cloud Villa. Other people would love to curry favor with me but have no chance. Don't fail to appreciate kindness."

Jia Xin spoke arrogantly, his words carrying a threat.

Relying on Flowing Cloud Villa as his backer, he did not take Su Jie seriously at all.

"Then I suppose I should thank you!"

Su Jie slowly raised his right hand. He was in a terrible mood, and anyone who made him unhappy would have to pay the price.

A large swarm of Yin Fire Blood Bees flew out. Under Jia Xin's frozen stare, streaks of fire aimed at the carriages, burning the ice and the children's corpses inside to ash and wiping out the evidence of these crimes.

"Brother Su, don't be rash."

Gu Weinan's eyelids twitched. He sensed that things were about to go badly.

He had no particular reaction to the children's corpses. After spending so many years in Ghost Ridge Palace, he had seen every kind of brutal scene.

Gu Weinan was merely worried that Su Jie's actions would bring disaster upon them.

After all, Jia Xin's background was truly formidable. Compared to an outer disciple, the higher-ups of Ghost Ridge Palace would certainly value Flowing Cloud Villa more, since it could continuously offer up people.

"Rash? No, no. Don't you think these goods are an eyesore, Brother Gu? Wouldn't it be better to burn them all clean?"

Su Jie's gaze was as sharp as a blade. An inexplicable chill seized Gu Weinan's heart, and he did not dare say another word.

Only then did Jia Xin finally react. He watched as the goods in his carriages were swallowed by the flames.

The children's corpses he had painstakingly collected turned to charcoal in the firelight. The sight made his heart bleed, and he flew into a furious rage.

"Mad! You're mad! How dare you burn my goods? Do you know how much they're worth? It's money you could never earn in your entire life as an outer disciple! I'll report you to the Command Hall and make you work like an ox and horse for me for the rest of your life to repay the losses!"

Seeing his precious goods burn, Jia Xin wished he could eat Su Jie alive.

"I'm afraid you won't get that chance."

Su Jie's eyes were cold and indifferent, as though he were looking at a dead man.

"What did you say?"

Jia Xin had yet to understand Su Jie's meaning when he suddenly saw a golden-silver streak tear through the air.

Clack!

The heads of the two guards standing beside Jia Xin rolled from their necks, blood spraying all over him.

These martial master guards knew a little crude martial arts. They could shatter bluestone slabs with their fists and leap several meters onto rooftops. To ordinary people, they counted as experts, but before demonic cultivators like Su Jie, they were merely somewhat stronger mortals.

"How dare you? How dare you do this? Aren't you afraid I'll report you to the Command Hall? My uncle is the master of Flowing Cloud Villa!"

The sudden killing had been like a bucket of cold water poured over Jia Xin's head. The rage he had shown moments earlier vanished, replaced by trembling from head to toe as his feet unconsciously retreated.

"If you had a travel token, I might still give you some face. But now, take a look at what this is."

Su Jie gave a cold laugh and tossed a black token in his left hand.

This was a travel credential specially issued by the Command Hall to merchants from the Black Market.

Ghost Ridge Palace knew the nature of its own disciples.

Without certain measures in place, these merchants probably would not even reach the Black Market before being robbed clean.

Once activated, this travel token could transmit images of the surrounding area to the Command Hall through divine sense, so long as one was near the great mountains of Ghost Ridge Palace.

If disciples attacked and robbed merchant caravans, then to preserve its reputation, the Command Hall would severely punish the offenders after capturing them.

The token had fallen to the ground and been picked up by Su Jie. Jia Xin's greatest threat was gone.

"I know Elder Situ of your Ghost Ridge Palace. My uncle is the master of Flowing Cloud Villa. If you dare touch me—"

Deep fear appeared on Jia Xin's face.

This demonic cultivator before him was utterly lawless. Jia Xin had no means of restraining him at all.

"I even dare kill a Strange Ghost. Would I not dare kill a merchant like you? The dead do not speak."

Su Jie pointed at the Strange Ghost corpse beside him, his eyes filled with utter abandon.

Jia Xin's face turned livid. He shouted, "You two, did you hear what he said? He's violating the order your Ghost Ridge Palace established to favor merchants! Hurry up and arrest him, or I'll report you both as well!"

In his desperation, Jia Xin tried to force Gu Weinan and Chen Yun onto his side.

"Brother Su, if the Command Hall discovers this, we..."

Gu Weinan hesitated. The older one grew, the more timid one became. If this matter was exposed, they would be in serious trouble.

"You're right. So we have to advance and retreat together."

Su Jie picked up a long saber from the ground and, without another word, thrust it into Jia Xin's waist and ribs.

Then, amid Jia Xin's screams, Su Jie smilingly handed the saber to Gu Weinan and said, "Brother Gu, your turn."

Gu Weinan's body jolted. Looking at Su Jie's smiling expression, how could he not know this was a pledge of allegiance?

After committing the deed together, none of them would dare inform on the others.

Chen Yun silently blocked the way behind Gu Weinan. The Nether Sound Bat poked its head out from her robes, its gaze fixed on Gu Weinan with unmistakable danger.

Only then did Gu Weinan realize that he was already riding a tiger and unable to dismount. Su Jie, who could kill a Strange Ghost, was fundamentally not someone he could resist.

Now, the only path was to follow Su Jie to the bitter end. Otherwise, he had no doubt that Su Jie would ensure that an informed witness like him never saw the sun of tomorrow.

"Don't blame me."

Gritting his teeth hard, Gu Weinan took several deep breaths, accepted the saber, and plunged it into Jia Xin's stomach, viciously twisting it once.

Without waiting for Su Jie's instructions, Chen Yun took the saber and swished it through Jia Xin's hands and feet, severing them all and reducing him to a human stick.

"Aiya, people! What they fear most is a heart too small to swallow an elephant's greed. Not everyone will fear your background."

Su Jie squatted before Jia Xin and patted his fat cheek. Then he brought the saber down in one slash, separating head from body and ending his life completely.

After searching the corpse, Su Jie found that Jia Xin was quite wealthy.

He found more than two hundred Blood Marrow Crystals. Jia Xin was practically a huge fat sheep, effortless to butcher. No wonder Ghost Ridge Palace had established these rules; otherwise, the merchants would not be enough for the disciples to slaughter.

After clearing away the traces, the three of them continued along the road through the lofty mountains and deep ranges.

There were no further accidents on the return journey. By afternoon, they could already see the gates of Ghost Ridge Palace.

Compared to when Su Jie had departed, the sect had a far more grim and murderous atmosphere, and there were also far fewer people.

Clearly, the Strange Ghosts that had appeared in recent days had placed immense pressure on the disciples, and everyone had been pulled away to stand guard.