Yan He's Cause of Death

Suddenly, Yan Jingjing's expression hardened. She pulled a hairpin from her hair and, while Lu Feng was weakened by pain, stabbed it into his shoulder. Her hand clenched around the slender hairpin and dragged it down viciously.

Lu Feng let out a muffled groan and lowered his head to glance at Yan Jingjing in his arms. There was anger and astonishment between his brows, yet not much blame.

After all, she had had every chance just now to slash at his throat instead of stabbing his shoulder.

Yan Jingjing shoved Lu Feng away and escaped from his embrace. After landing, she watched everyone warily.

Her gaze swept over the wound on Lu Feng's hand, and Yan Jingjing's heart suddenly jolted. In an instant, she understood his earlier actions.

He had not been taking advantage of her as she had thought. He had been saving her life!

He would rather injure himself than let me be harmed...

Yan Jingjing's gaze grew complicated, carrying a trace of resentment and a faint, unfamiliar emotion.

The scene of Lu Feng throwing himself into danger to save her surfaced in her mind.

She could not help but feel a little guilty.

Tang Yuan stepped forward to support the pushed-away Lu Feng. He took out the tiny amount of medicine that remained and quickly poured it over the back of Lu Feng's hand.

But there was truly too little left. It was only enough to heal the injury on his hand; the wound on his shoulder could hardly be tended to.

Fortunately, the hairpin was not poisoned. Though the wound was somewhat deep, it was not fatal. At most, it would leave behind a scar the size of a fingernail.

"How could you repay kindness with enmity? Lu Feng clearly saved you out of goodwill, yet you..."

Jiang Ruoyun had lost her earlier embarrassment. She looked at Lu Feng's injuries with some distress, then glared furiously at Yan Jingjing, her eyes filled with concerned reproach.

Yan Jingjing had indeed felt somewhat guilty, but being scolded by Jiang Ruoyun was another matter entirely. How could someone with a Young Miss's temper endure it?

Yan Jingjing snorted coldly and answered stubbornly, "Repay kindness with enmity? As far as I'm concerned, he has only wronged me. He has shown me no kindness."

"If he had not molested me and abducted me, how would any of what followed have happened?"

"He brought this upon himself!"

Though Yan Jingjing's words were heartless, she no longer gave off the same cold impression as before.

Besides, as she had said, all the causes and consequences of today's events were subtly intertwined.

Lu Feng forced out a faint smile and stopped Jiang Ruoyun, who had been about to speak again.

If he let them continue, these two women would definitely come to blows.

Seeing this, Tang Yuan changed the subject. "Brother Lu, did you get a clear look at that black shadow just now? Did you recognize it?"

The black shadow had come and gone with incredible speed. Tang Yuan had only vaguely sensed the aura it gave off, which seemed somewhat similar to the person who had ambushed him before.

Lu Feng regulated his breathing as he treated his wounds. While wrapping the bandage, he shook his head.

Preventing the black shadow's sneak attack had already been his limit. He had no spare attention to sense its identity.

Lu Feng turned to Yan Jingjing and asked, "Have you offended anyone?"

That black-clad man had clearly come for Yan Jingjing. His first move had been a killing blow, ruthless to the extreme.

Had that silver needle entered Yan Jingjing's body, she would likely have turned into a puddle of blood within moments.

For someone to strike with such venom, could it be anything but a life-and-death grudge?

Yan Jingjing raised her head and blinked. She had clearly decided that she did not want to say another word to Lu Feng, yet when she saw the sincerity on his face, her mouth answered of its own accord.

"I have never offended anyone, nor do I have any enemies."

Yan Jingjing paused, then pointed at Lu Feng in shame and anger. "But from today onward, I have an enemy. It's you!"

When had Yan Jingjing ever suffered humiliation like this? All her life, she had been the pearl in Yan Manor's palm, cherished with meticulous care.

Not to mention being taken advantage of by a man—even men who dared approach her had never existed.

She would never have dreamed that one day, she would be naked from head to toe, wrapped inside a blanket by someone.

And that person was a strange man she had never met before!

Seeing Yan Jingjing's furious expression, Lu Feng knew that the resentment in her heart would be difficult to erase anytime soon.

Jiang Ruoyun suddenly felt somewhat sorry for Yan Jingjing. She thought that if she herself had suffered such molestation, she might have been even angrier.

But... if it had been Lu Feng...

Jiang Ruoyun was startled by her own thought, and a flush immediately crossed her face. Fortunately, no one noticed her awkwardness.

After calming herself, Jiang Ruoyun tried to reason with her. "Actually... if your brother's death had not implicated Sister Qiao, we would not have gone to such lengths!"

"So, everything that happened today cannot be blamed entirely on us..."

Tang Yuan also spoke to Yan Jingjing. "You should have heard something about what kind of person Xue Er is. With her gentle and kind nature, how could she have killed your brother?"

Though Qiao Xue'er was not some famous figure in Azure Dragon Town, she had a certain reputation among the younger generation of the Eight Manors. Yan Jingjing naturally knew a little about her.

Standing to one side, Lu Feng nourished his wound with spiritual energy and slowly recovered. There was a hint of expectation in his eyes, as he also hoped Yan Jingjing could help them.

Seeing the pleading look in Lu Feng's eyes, Yan Jingjing recalled how he had risked his life to save her just now. Her heart softened, and she could not bear to refuse.

"It does no harm to tell you the truth. My brother indeed did not die at Qiao Xue'er's hands, but she cannot escape blame either. If not for her, why would my brother have come to this Abandoned Temple?"

Seeing Yan Jingjing tell the truth, Jiang Ruoyun hurriedly explained, "Your brother coming to this Abandoned Temple had nothing to do with Sister Qiao. Sister Qiao was also tricked into coming here. This was a trap someone set."

Lu Feng caught the important point in Yan Jingjing's words and asked, "You said your brother did not die at Qiao Xue'er's hands. Then do you know the true cause of his death?"

"Even if I tell you, it won't save Qiao Xue'er." Yan Jingjing's attitude had softened somewhat. Looking at Lu Feng, she said coldly, "I can tell you. Consider it repayment for saving me just now, so that I will have no reservations when I kill you in the future."

If she had possessed strength greater than Lu Feng's at this moment, Yan Jingjing would absolutely have killed him on the spot to avenge the insult of his improper behavior.

Yan Jingjing glared resentfully at Lu Feng again before explaining, "My brother indeed did not die from the dagger in his chest. His true cause of death was an attack to the back of his head."

"Grandfather said the wound was caused by a spirit beast called a Blood Bat."

"A Blood Bat?"

Tang Yuan could not help feeling disheartened. If it had truly been the work of a Blood Bat, then Qiao Xue'er's charge would be difficult to clear.

Yan Manor would definitely not voluntarily confess the truth to Prison Manor, and Yan Jingjing was only telling them now to repay Lu Feng's favor. Naturally, she would not go to Prison Manor to clear things up.

The situation had once again reached a dead end.

After hearing Yan Jingjing's words, Lu Feng walked around the Abandoned Temple, his brow furrowed in confusion.

"Were those ashes from burnt grass and branches already there when you arrived?"

Jiang Ruoyun nodded. "They were originally piled together. I thought they were in the way, so I cleared them to one side. Is there a problem with them?"

After thinking for a moment, Tang Yuan understood Lu Feng's meaning and suddenly realized. "That's right, those ashes from burnt grass and branches... They show that people often stay here."

"If there were Blood Bats in this Abandoned Temple, why did they only bite Yan He? Why had they never appeared before?"

Though the Abandoned Temple was somewhat remote, people occasionally passed through it. It was by no means a place devoid of human traces.

If Blood Bats truly existed here, why had there never been any news of them before?

Blood Bats liked to live in nests they built themselves and were extremely picky about their living environment.

Yet after searching around, Lu Feng found no trace of any Blood Bat nest.

He only discovered several tiny black pellets on a somewhat rotten beam. They gave off faint streaks of blood-red, and even from far away, they reeked of blood and rot. They were precisely the waste expelled by Blood Bats.

"This is not a place where Blood Bats live, yet your brother died in this Abandoned Temple. Don't you find that strange?"

Lu Feng described what he had discovered and reminded Yan Jingjing.

No one present knew much about Blood Bats, which were not common spirit beasts. But after hearing Lu Feng explain the Blood Bats' habits with sound reasoning, they all agreed with his deduction.

Naturally, Tang Yuan and Yan Jingjing reacted the most strongly.

Tang Yuan was delighted to find hope after his despair, while Yan Jingjing was shocked to learn that her brother might not have died by accident.

The head of Yan Manor had repeatedly ordered her not to reveal Yan He's cause of death, only because dying after being gnawed to death by Blood Bats was too humiliating. If word got out, Yan He would be disgraced even after death.

But now...

"You mean someone deliberately captured those Blood Bats? Then why would they kill my brother?"

At that moment, Yan Jingjing could no longer care about resenting Lu Feng. Her heart was wholly set on finding Yan He's murderer and avenging him.

"Do you truly not know who that black shadow from earlier was?" Lu Feng asked again. The black shadow's methods were far too ruthless; every strike had been aimed at taking a life. It had clearly come prepared.

Yan Jingjing still shook her head, but then seemed to think of something. "Are you saying my brother was killed by that black shadow?"

Lu Feng did not dare be certain, but at present, it seemed to be the most likely explanation.

Tang Yuan had also long harbored many doubts. Now, with lingering fear, he voiced them. "I think I have seen the cold gleam released by that black shadow before. When I was ambushed half a year ago, that same cold gleam appeared."

Following Tang Yuan's words, Jiang Ruoyun said thoughtfully, "Do you remember those Black-Clad Men we encountered on Azure Mushroom Mountain? The aura of the one leading them seemed somewhat similar to that person just now."

A flash of insight struck Lu Feng's mind. Thinking of several things that had happened in the past, he asked in disbelief, "Apart from you, have there been any similar incidents in Azure Dragon Town recently?"

"For example, someone suddenly suffering an inexplicable accident?"

"You mean..." Tang Yuan shuddered all over. Though winter had not yet arrived, he felt a chill crawl down his spine.

Tang Yuan understood Lu Feng's suspicion. After connecting it with some other matters, he hurriedly said, "Before me, Cheng Zhishu of Cheng Manor and Ma Haofeng of Ma Manor also suddenly disappeared without a trace."

"Thinking about it now, they were likely just like me. They both met with accidents."