Yan Jingjing

Under Lu Feng's various methods, finding those spirit beasts had not been difficult, and Tang Yuan, having reached the Spirit Gathering Third Realm, had no trouble dealing with these third-rank spirit beasts.

The group wove through the forest and, by nightfall, had finally gathered all the beast cores Lu Feng needed.

Tang Yuan took out a black robe and concealed his beastified arm beneath it. The three of them then quietly headed toward Yan Manor.

Yan Manor, the third night after Yan He's death.

The moon was dark, the wind high; all things lay silent. Yet beneath the tranquil night lurked traces of smoke and fire. Inside Yan Manor's main hall, a middle-aged couple stood there as though they had lost their souls, staring blankly at the purple sandalwood coffin.

The middle-aged couple were Yan He's birth parents. Originally, neither of them had been meant to keep vigil that night, but Lu Feng and the others' arrival during the day had left them restless. That was why they had come to the hall to watch over their deceased son.

The two elders actually harbored some guilt over Yan He's death. In the days before the incident, Yan He had kept clamoring to visit Tas City, only to be refused by them. If they had agreed back then...

As a father, failing to protect one's children while alive was already the height of uselessness;

After death, how could he allow them to suffer further humiliation!

Those were the words Yan Zhengchi had roared before everyone after learning that someone intended to open the coffin and examine the corpse. They also represented his resolve to keep vigil that night.

Sparks flickered through the still black night. Yan Zhengchi looked toward Yan Manor's Side Courtyard and suddenly discovered that a fire had broken out there.

The blaze had originated from torches that were still continuously shooting in from beyond the outer wall.

"Even in death, you won't let my son rest in peace?!" Yan Zhengchi let out an angry roar and charged forward, preparing to slaughter the arsonist.

The instant he rushed out, the woman beside him pulled him back. "Beware of luring the tiger from the mountain. You protect He'er; let me handle the Side Courtyard." At a critical moment, a woman's mind was still the calmer one.

Yan Zhengchi nodded, drew back his steps, and cautiously observed the surroundings.

There was nearly a hundred paces between the outside of the wall and Yan Manor's Side Courtyard. By ordinary means, it would have been impossible to set the Side Courtyard ablaze from that distance.

But Jiang Ruoyun could do it. She tied bundles of torches to her long whip and used the force of her swing to hurl them out. Jiang Ruoyun's strength had always been terrifyingly great, so flinging those bundles of torches into Yan Manor's rear courtyard was no difficult task.

The torches alone could not have started such a massive fire after landing. The reason roaring flames had erupted now was because Lu Feng and Tang Yuan had disguised themselves and infiltrated Yan Manor before Jiang Ruoyun acted. They had piled a great deal of dry firewood in the rear courtyard and had even craftily drenched it with a layer of animal fat.

"Fire... fire... Come put it out..."

Yan Manor's Side Courtyard fell into chaos, but how could such fierce flames be so easily extinguished? When burning fat met water, sparks splashed everywhere, nearly causing the fire to spread further.

According to the plan, Jiang Ruoyun withdrew after cracking her whip several times and headed to the appointed place to prepare to receive Lu Feng and Tang Yuan upon their return. Her task was essentially complete.

After arranging their "mischief" in the Side Courtyard, Lu Feng and Tang Yuan separated and hid themselves. When they saw the agreed signal Jiang Ruoyun had sent—that the Side Courtyard was on fire—they each began the next step of the operation.

Lu Feng ran toward the separate courtyard of Yan Manor's Young Miss, Yan Jingjing, while Tang Yuan concealed himself beside the hall where Yan He's body was being kept, waiting for Lu Feng's signal.

"Go see why it's so noisy outside!"

Within a warmly decorated bedchamber, displeasure flashed across Yan Jingjing's face as she ordered the maid beside her to investigate.

"But if something happens while Young Miss is alone in the room..." The maid hesitated uneasily.

"What could possibly happen? And even if something did happen, what difference would it make whether you were here or not?" Yan Jingjing snapped. Her brother's death had left her in an extremely foul mood these past days.

The maid nodded somewhat aggrievedly, yet she bore no resentment. She had witnessed Yan Jingjing's changes and exhaustion over these past few days. This eldest young miss, who appeared calm and strong on the surface, was actually holding back immense pressure and unbearable pain with nowhere to vent it.

Slowly setting down the wooden bucket in her hands, the maid softly said, "This servant will return shortly."

Watching that aggrieved figure leave through the door, regret flickered across Yan Jingjing's face. Her bad mood had caused her to hurt someone close to her, making her feel somewhat guilty, but pride kept her from voicing it.

After taking the bucket the maid had set down and pouring the warm water into the bath, Yan Jingjing tested the temperature. She stretched her somewhat weary shoulders and slowly removed the thin gauze draped over her body.

Even before Yan Jingjing had ordered the maid away, Lu Feng had already hidden himself on the beam above the bath, waiting for an opportunity.

At that moment, Lu Feng's breathing became somewhat constrained. Having immersed himself in cultivation for so many years, this was the first time he had watched a young woman undress and bathe before him from such close range.

Seeing the woman's smooth, delicate skin, her slender and graceful legs, and her exquisite figure, Lu Feng lost control of himself slightly and accidentally touched the eaves beside him.

Even a collision as faint as a mosquito's buzz exposed Lu Feng at that moment.

Yan Jingjing raised her head in confusion and looked toward the eaves. Once she saw Lu Feng's presence clearly, she let out a clear, piercing scream.

Seeing this, Lu Feng flashed down, arriving before Yan Jingjing almost body to body.

A faint fragrance drifted into Lu Feng's nose, but this was hardly the time to appreciate it.

While Yan Jingjing was stunned with fright, Lu Feng swiftly sealed several of her vital acupoints, leaving her unable to move. Her scream came to an abrupt halt.

Lu Feng reached out, pulled over the bathing cloth hanging on the screen to one side, and quickly wrapped Yan Jingjing in it.

But that thin gauze bathing cloth was far too flimsy. The real, delicate sensation in his arms forced Lu Feng to throw Yan Jingjing onto the bed, wrap another blanket around her, and finally leave only her head exposed.

Seeing Yan Jingjing's unyielding, stubborn gaze, filled with furious Killing Intent, Lu Feng gave an awkward smile. He scooped her up, smashed open the window at his side, and leaped out.

At that moment, a maid hurried over after hearing the sound. Upon opening the door, she happened to witness Lu Feng leaping through the window with Yan Jingjing bound in his arms. Her face drained of color, and she immediately screamed for help.

Before one wave had settled, another rose. The fire in the Side Courtyard had not yet been fully extinguished, and the servants and guards who had been rotated out were sprawled on the ground resting from exhaustion. Yet now they heard that the eldest young miss had been abducted, and every one of them wore an indescribably bitter expression.

Old Master Yan had naturally not been sleeping peacefully that night. He had been waiting in a hidden location within Yan Manor's main hall. When he saw the Side Courtyard catch fire, he had already foreseen it was a feint attack. Though somewhat angered, he had not revealed himself, because he believed Yan Manor's many years of foundations were more than enough to handle such trifles. Guarding the main hall was what truly mattered.

But when news arrived that Yan Jingjing had been abducted, he could no longer sit still and immediately rushed out. He had never expected that the enemy's feint attack involved more than merely setting a fire.

After Yan He's death, Yan Jingjing had become Yan Manor's only remaining bloodline. Even though her life soul had yet to awaken, her importance far surpassed Yan Zhengchi's.

Lu Feng did not immediately withdraw after carrying Yan Jingjing away, nor could he. Instead, he found a cleverly chosen place and hid.

Old Master Yan was furious now. He climbed to a high place and stared intently at every exit of Yan Manor, yet found no suspicious figure. Let alone any trace of Yan Jingjing, he had not even seen a single unfamiliar outsider.

The place where Lu Feng hid was not actually concealed; it was merely a spot ordinary people would easily overlook. Yet the more ignored a place was, the safer it often became.

He was currently hidden in a rock carving at the center of Yan Manor's Side Courtyard. He had set up the most rudimentary obscuring formation and pressed tightly against Yan Jingjing within a crack in the rock wall. With the poor visibility of the night, no one noticed their presence for the time being.

But they could not remain there for long. Once someone approached the formation, they would easily be discovered.

Lu Feng felt Yan Jingjing's breath so close at hand, her fragrant exhalations brushing directly against his face. Thinking of how the woman beneath the blanket was completely naked, Lu Feng could not help but feel his heart race and his thoughts wander.

Lu Feng shifted his gaze upward and stared fixedly at the Jade Hairpin in Yan Jingjing's hair, trying to distract himself as he prayed inwardly for Tang Yuan to finish quickly.

The opportunity had already been created for Tang Yuan. Yan Manor was certainly experiencing its most chaotic night in years. If Tang Yuan still failed to seize this chance, then...

Yan Manor's main hall.

Listening to the commotion erupting one place after another, Yan Zhengchi, who was guarding Yan He's memorial tablet, found his mind increasingly thrown into disorder. He wanted to go help, yet could not leave this place unattended.

After hearing the news that Yan Jingjing had been successfully abducted, Tang Yuan finally moved, charging toward Yan Zhengchi.

Seeing Tang Yuan suddenly appear, then seeing his enormous and grotesque beast arm, Yan Zhengchi froze for a moment. He secretly assumed it was some beastification-type martial skill and raised his hand to meet him.

This could not become a prolonged battle. If he could not end the fight quickly, and Yan Manor's other people arrived, there would be no further opportunity.

Tang Yuan used his strongest killing move, Dragon Radiance Nine Heavens, from the very start. It was an insight he had gained from the beast core of an Earth Flood Dragon. His hands transformed into dragon-shaped claw spikes, and his body moved as nimbly as a spirit cat leaping through trees. The muscles across his body tightened in an instant, while his beastified right arm swelled to a terrifying size.

Tang Yuan and Yan Zhengchi became entangled in combat. Their battle was incredibly fast-paced; in the blink of an eye, they had exchanged dozens of moves. Every pause contained several more exchanges, and in only a few short breaths, Tang Yuan had already unleashed over thirty different techniques.

Yan Zhengchi's strength was nowhere near as terrifying as Old Master Yan's. Focused wholeheartedly on business, he had neglected cultivation, so despite his advanced age, his strength was only a little greater than Tang Yuan's. Under Tang Yuan's bizarre, seemingly inexhaustible stream of attacks, he struggled to defend himself and gradually fell into a disadvantage.

At the artificial mountain, Yan Jingjing remained pressed tightly against Lu Feng. Only a thin blanket separated them, and they could clearly sense each other's breath.

Ever since they had hidden themselves, Yan Jingjing had kept glaring at Lu Feng, her bright, limpid eyes filled with hatred.

Lu Feng felt guilty and kept avoiding her gaze, not daring to meet those beautiful, pure eyes.