Zhao Family Shelter

Northern city gate.

When Yan Kui arrived, he discovered that the Zhao Family had long since transformed this place into a temporary "shelter."

Tall walls and stringent defenses stood in stark contrast to the chaos elsewhere in the city. Every few yards along the walls stood an arrow tower, with archers waiting in full battle readiness atop them. Patrols of Zhao Family Guards wore Iron Armor and carried long spears, their steps neat and orderly, their bearing imposing.

A long line stretched before the shelter's gates.

The people in line were either dressed in rags, their faces pale with hunger as they struggled to maintain a shred of dignity, or frantic and clutching valuables to their chests, trying to stuff them into the hands of the Guards at the gate.

Their faces were filled with despair, pleading, and fawning.

"Want to enter the shelter? Fine!"

A steward in a silk robe, fat-faced and big-eared, stood arrogantly at the front of the line and barked at the crowd.

"Fifty taels of silver per person! Or food and medicinal ingredients of equal value! If you have neither, then get the hell out!"

"Lord Steward! I... this is all the food my family has left..." An old woman wept as she held out a small sack of moldy brown rice.

"Get lost! That little bit isn't even enough to fill the gaps between my teeth!" The steward kicked the old woman aside.

The Guard beside him thrust his spear directly at her, forcing her back into a corner and drawing only cold stares and hushed whispers from the others.

Yan Kui stood at the very end of the line, watching it all with cold eyes.

He could clearly sense that although there was no threat from Walking Corpses here, the darkness in men's hearts was even more rotten than the undead.

"This is a shelter?"

He gave a cold laugh.

This so-called protection was nothing more than a method for the Zhao Family to amass wealth and flaunt its authority. In their eyes, these commoners were no different from lambs awaiting slaughter.

Yan Kui did not force his way into the line.

He looked down at his tattered hunter's outfit. Though it concealed his overly powerful build, it could not hide the aura that set him apart from these common folk.

He knew that entering in this state would only invite oppression from the Zhao Family Guards.

He needed a higher-class "ticket of admission."

Yan Kui turned around and circled to a small alley beside the shelter.

There was an inconspicuous side gate there, through which several Rogue Cultivators in fitted martial outfits furtively came and went.

He casually grabbed a Rogue Cultivator who had just emerged from the side gate.

"Y-you... what are you doing?!" Yan Kui's iron-pincer-like hand clamped around the Rogue Cultivator's shoulder, frightening him out of his wits.

"Who I am isn't important." Yan Kui's voice was low, carrying an authority that brooked no doubt. "Tell me, how can I enter through this gate?"

Overwhelmed by Yan Kui's powerful presence, the Rogue Cultivator did not dare conceal anything. Trembling, he said, "Th-this is the gate the Zhao Family reserves for outsiders... outsiders with some ability. As long as you can prove you have strength at the Body Refinement Realm or above, or... or possess rare medicinal ingredients or talismans, you can enter..."

"Body Refinement Realm?"

Yan Kui sneered inwardly.

His physique had already reached 6.0 and his strength 4.0, far surpassing the so-called Body Refinement Realm. Even a martial artist at the Bone Refining Realm would not last three moves against him.

He released his grip, and the Rogue Cultivator scrambled away on hands and knees.

Yan Kui adjusted his clothes and took out the five-hundred-tael banknote from his chest.

He did not charge inside at once.

He needed a more suitable way to make his entrance.

"Strength..."

He slowly circulated the Iron Cloth Shirt, condensing the Blood Qi within his body into his fists.

His skin, black as iron, took on a faint crimson glow.

A moment later, he strode toward the side gate.

Two Zhao Family Guards stood watch at the side gate. They gave Yan Kui a sidelong glance, and when they saw his ragged hunter's clothes, contempt immediately appeared on their faces.

"Where did this wild brat come from? This isn't a place for you! Get lost!"

One of the Guards shouted as he extended his spear, intending to stop Yan Kui.

Yan Kui said nothing.

He merely reached out with his right hand and seized the spear.

The Guard felt an overwhelming force that could not be resisted. The spear in his hand would not budge in the slightest. He desperately tried to pull it back, only to find that it seemed to have taken root.

"Strength..."

Yan Kui's gaze turned icy.

He suddenly twisted.

Crack!

The refined-steel spear gave a mournful groan beneath the monstrous strength of his five fingers, then was forcibly twisted into a spiral like a strand of noodles!

The Guard felt an irresistible freakish force travel up the shaft. The web between his thumb and forefinger instantly split open, blood flowing freely. His face went deathly pale, and he collapsed onto the ground, staring so hard at the ruined weapon in his hand that his eyes nearly popped out.

"What's going on?!"

The other Guard was alarmed by the commotion and demanded sharply.

Yan Kui no longer concealed himself. He tore away the black cloth covering his face, revealing a stern face brimming with strength.

"Am I qualified to enter now?"

His voice was not loud, but it carried an authority that could not be questioned.

The two Guards froze.

They had never seen such terrifying physical strength. Bending a refined-steel spear barehanded was something only a peak Bone Refining Realm expert could accomplish!

"Y-you wait here!"

One Guard ignored the spear and turned to run through the gate, clearly going to report the matter.

Yan Kui stood where he was, straight as a spear.

Several minutes later, hurried footsteps came from within the side gate.

A middle-aged man dressed as a scholar hurried out with four Guards in fitted martial attire.

"Who might you be, sir? Why have you intruded upon an important place of the Zhao Family?"

The scholar looked frail and cultured, but his gaze was sharp. He swept his eyes over the bent spear, then looked at Yan Kui's body, as though forged from black iron. A trace of wariness flashed through his eyes.

"My name is Yan Kui. I wish to enter the shelter and seek some opportunities."

Yan Kui spoke neither humbly nor arrogantly.

"Yan Kui?" The middle-aged scholar frowned, apparently turning the name over in his mind.

He had never heard of such a person in Black Water City.

"With your strength, sir, you may naturally enter." The middle-aged scholar swiftly adjusted his attitude and forced a smile onto his face. "I am Zhao Rong, the Zhao Family's external affairs steward. May I ask whether Warrior Yan has an identity token or someone to vouch for him?"

"No." Yan Kui was brief and direct.

Zhao Rong's expression changed slightly before returning to normal. "In that case, Warrior may stay temporarily with the Zhao Family for a few days. Once I report this to the Lineage and verify Warrior's identity, we can make further arrangements."

He clearly intended to keep Yan Kui steady while sending people to investigate his background.

Yan Kui sneered inwardly. He knew exactly what Zhao Rong was plotting, but he did not care.

What he wanted was the chance to enter the Zhao Family Shelter.

"Fine," Yan Kui said calmly.

"Please."

Zhao Rong stepped aside and gestured for Yan Kui to enter.

Yan Kui strode into the shelter.

What met his eyes was a scene utterly different from the outside.

Although the shelter was not as chaotic as the city beyond its walls, it was far from peaceful. Tall walls divided the entire shelter into inner and outer areas.

The outer area housed wealthy merchants, minor officials, and somewhat capable Rogue Cultivators who had paid exorbitant fees. They crowded into temporary wooden houses. Though safe for the moment, every face bore a trace of anxiety.

Further inside, separated by high walls and tightly guarded defenses, lay the Zhao Family's core territory. Pavilions and towers stood there beneath bright lights, like an immortal realm cut off from the world.

"Warrior Yan, please follow me."

Zhao Rong led Yan Kui through the outer area.

Along the way, Yan Kui saw many wounded people, most of whom had been scratched or bitten by Walking Corpses. Their wounds were an eerie black and gave off a foul stench.

Some people were carried out, moaning in agony. The Zhao Family Guards simply pierced them to death with spears, then dragged them outside.

"These wounded cannot be cured," Zhao Rong explained flatly.

Yan Kui sneered inwardly.

Clearly, the Zhao Family simply did not wish to expend precious medicinal ingredients to save these "lower classes."

"I need a quiet residence, and sufficient meat."

Yan Kui spoke to Zhao Rong.

"Of course." Zhao Rong smiled without warmth. "The Zhao Family Shelter has always treated those of merit generously. Warrior, rest assured."

He brought Yan Kui to a relatively secluded courtyard. Several clean Stone Houses stood within it.

"Warrior, rest here for now. Once I have arranged everything, I will come visit again."

After saying this, Zhao Rong hurried away with his men.

Yan Kui knew that once Zhao Rong left, he would certainly send people to watch him.

But Yan Kui did not care.

He entered the Stone House and closed the door.

"The Zhao Family... truly isn't so simple."

He recalled everything he had seen within the shelter.

The wounds on those injured people who had been speared to death were astonishingly similar to those of the guards on the city walls.

This showed that the Zhao Family not only had not done its utmost to treat them, but might even be using these infected people for some unknown experiment.

There was also the news Zhao Rong had deliberately mentioned—that the Zhao Family Ancestor had driven back the Corpse Fiend.

"Driven it back?"

Yan Kui sneered.

The Corpse Fiend was being raised by the Zhao Family as a "Corpse Pill," its purpose being to help the Zhao Family Ancestor break through to the Foundation Establishment Realm.

How could the Zhao Family Ancestor possibly truly drive away his own "treasure"?

"He probably only put on a show. After letting the Corpse Fiend devour the flesh and blood within the city, he dragged it from the city into the depths of the Zhao Family Mansion, then continued raising it."

Realization dawned on Yan Kui.

This Zhao Family Shelter looked safe, but in truth, it was a massive prison.

Everyone being "protected" was merely a lamb awaiting slaughter.

And Yan Kui was a wolf that had slipped into the flock.

"It's time to probe the Zhao Family's depths."

A cold gleam flickered in Yan Kui's eyes.

He did not rush to rest. Instead, he began carefully inspecting the room for any possible means of eavesdropping or surveillance.

He believed that within this seemingly peaceful shelter lurked secrets more dangerous than Walking Corpses.