Night Visit to the Huang Residence, Murderous Intent Surges!

Chu Fan took a deep breath and walked to the table to sit down.

He picked up his chopsticks and picked up the piece of "Dimai Gu" meat.

The meat was thick and heavy, its exotic fragrance assaulting his nose.

With the slightest exertion, the tips of his chopsticks sank into the meat. It was incredibly tender.

He bit off a piece, and an indescribable texture exploded across his mouth.

Its grain looked coarse, yet it was extraordinarily tender upon entering his mouth, with a strange springiness to it.

As he chewed, the rich aroma of the meat mingled with its unique fragrance—it seemed to carry the earthy scent of soil, yet also the flavor of some peculiar spice.

Even stranger, the moment the meat entered his stomach, it barely needed to be digested before a torrent of energy, more vigorous and searing than usual, suddenly exploded from his gut!

It was like sweet rain after a long drought, rapidly surging through his parched and exhausted body.

Chu Fan swallowed in great mouthfuls, eating the entire piece of meat until not a scrap remained.

At last, he picked up the earthenware bowl and drank the entire bowl of thick broth in one go.

A warmth flowed from his throat straight to his Dantian, spreading throughout his body and dispelling all fatigue and cold.

"What good stuff."

Chu Fan gazed at the bowl's spotless bottom and could not help sighing again.

This daily piece of Exotic Beast Meat was undoubtedly an extremely important source of nourishment on his path of cultivation.

His eyes shifted, and he walked to the doorway to look around for a moment.

Tianxing still had not returned.

Carrying his empty bowl, Chu Fan entered Zhao Tianxing's room and transferred the piece of "Dimai Gu" from Zhao Tianxing's bowl into his own.

Eating as he went, he returned to his room.

After finishing Zhao Tianxing's piece of beast meat, Chu Fan wiped his mouth, yet still felt unsatisfied.

After thinking it over, he entered Zhao Tianxing's room again, poured the broth from Tianxing's bowl into his own, and drank every last drop.

"Burp!"

After letting out a full belch, Chu Fan entered his room, found a cloth bag, and tucked it into his robes. Then, clutching his distended belly, he walked into the courtyard.

In the courtyard, Aunt Zhang was sweeping the ground.

Chu Fan walked over and asked, "Aunt Zhang, do you know where I can get quicklime inside this Seven Star Gang branch?"

"Quicklime?" Aunt Zhang was startled. She replied, "There's a room behind the dining hall that's being repaired. I saw quite a bit of quicklime there. You can go take a look."

"Behind the dining hall? I'll go have a look." Chu Fan nodded and headed toward the dining hall.

An incense stick's time after he left, Zhao Tianxing finally came rushing home like the wind.

"Meat!"

"Where's my meat?"

Looking at the empty bowl, Zhao Tianxing stomped around in fury.

He had just finished cultivating and had been counting on this piece of "Dimai Gu" meat to replenish himself.

Who could have guessed that there would not even be a drop of broth left in the bowl!

Who did this?!

The night was as black as ink, so thick it seemed impossible to dissolve.

Dressed in a short outfit for night travel, Chu Fan lay atop the Huang Family's courtyard wall and peered inside.

Although the Huang Family's residence was far inferior to the grand mansions of the true elite families in Qingyang Ancient City, it was still one of the most prominent wealthy households in the area.

The courtyard walls towered high, while pavilions and towers loomed indistinctly within, their lanterns swaying.

Several servants carrying clubs could vaguely be seen patrolling at night. Every one of them held their back straight and walked with steady steps, clearly having practiced some rudimentary fists and feet and being martial artists.

"Hmph, you're quite concerned about staying alive."

Chu Fan sneered inwardly, his gaze growing colder.

Huang Yu wanted to kill him and seize his residence. This grudge had already become one that could only end with one of them dead.

He had come tonight to completely strangle Huang Yu before Huang Yu could break through into the Tempering Tendons Realm, eliminating future trouble!

Rather than wait for trouble to come knocking, I might as well solve it myself first!

There's only the principle of a thief working for a thousand days; who ever heard of guarding against a thief for a thousand days?

He drew a deep breath and, like the aquatic insect "𬶍" skimming across the surface of the water, lightly swept over the Huang Family's high wall, landing without making the slightest sound.

The Perfection-level Twelve Forms Boxing had brought him more than strength. It had also given him extreme control over his body and heightened his sensitivity to his surroundings.

Holding his breath, he watched for the gaps between the crossing patrols. His body, supple and slippery as a snake, shifted through the shadows.

When one servant turned around, he touched the ground with his toes and floated behind a Corridor Pillar like Willow Catkins;

When two others walked past shoulder to shoulder, he flipped over a low wall and crouched among the roof tiles. Only after their footsteps had faded did he sneak down again.

Before long, using the shadows and rockeries as cover, he perfectly avoided all the patrolling servants and crept like a specter toward the most imposing main house.

The candles inside burned brightly, and the vague sound of conversation drifted out.

Chu Fan held his breath and focused his mind, pressing himself against the window lattice like a gecko as he peered through the gap.

Inside were Huang Shouliang and a Young man.

The Young man looked to be in his early twenties. He wore an outfit of fine brocade, exuding a careless extravagance.

His features were not particularly unpleasant. One could vaguely see traces of Huang Shouliang's younger appearance in him, but his lips were extremely thin and habitually pursed, with the corners drooping as though he carried an innate dissatisfaction and contempt for everything around him.

Is this person Huang Yu?

Chu Fan's gaze narrowed slightly.

"Father, when will Big Brother return?" the Young man asked. "After being injured by people from the Moon Worshipping Sect, are we just going to keep dragging out the matter of finding the 'Key' like this?"

His voice lacked strength.

This person was not Huang Yu.

Huang Yu seemed to have been injured by people from the Moon Worshipping Sect and was hiding in the Blood Saber Sect to recuperate?

Chu Fan narrowed his eyes slightly.

"What else can we do?" Huang Shouliang said angrily. "Your Big Brother was already in the middle of breaking through into the Tempering Tendons Realm. Because of this incident, he'll probably be delayed for several months!"

"Have those people keep a close watch on the Moon Worshipping Sect. They absolutely must not slack off!"

"I know." The Young man frowned. "Speaking of which, what exactly is that 'Key'? The Key to a treasure?"

"Why did Big Brother conceal it from the Blood Saber Sect and act alone?"

"If he told the Blood Saber Sect, then once he found the Key, wouldn't he certainly become a Blood Saber Sect incense master?"

The Key?

Chu Fan was taken aback.

Could I have guessed wrong before? Was what the Moon Worshipping Sect was looking for not the Demon Suppression Stele?

Or could the Demon Suppression Stele itself be the "Key"?

Huang Yu was acting without the Blood Saber Sect's knowledge?

No wonder the two people staying at Zhao Hu's house were not members of the Blood Saber Sect, but servants of the Huang Family.

"You fool!" Huang Shouliang rebuked softly. "What does becoming a Blood Saber Sect incense master amount to? That thing is extraordinary. Once it emerges, it might influence the entire Great Yan Dynasty!"

"Seizing that thing would be an enormous opportunity!"

"Forget becoming a Blood Saber Sect incense master. Even if the Blood Saber Sect were handed over to my Huang Family, why would my Huang Family lower itself to care?"

The Young man rolled his eyes. "Finding that thing won't be easy."

"The Moon Worshipping Sect has been searching for two years and still hasn't found it."

"Your Big Brother is watching the Moon Worshipping Sect. Does that mean he'll be able to find it?"

"When the Moon Worshipping Sect finds it, he won't be able to defeat them. Is he supposed to just stare blankly from the sidelines?"

"You..." Huang Shouliang glared at his younger son.

If this beast had even half of Yu'er's ability, I would thank my ancestors.

He was incapable of accomplishing anything yet excelled at ruining everything!

Other than running his mouth, he could do nothing at all. He was utterly useless!

"The Moon Worshipping Sect has been looking for that thing for two years?" Chu Fan murmured thoughtfully.

"Huang Lin." Huang Shouliang suppressed his anger and said, "Go out and have the steward and the guards' commander, Master Wang, come see me."

Seeing that his father's expression was ugly, Huang Lin dared not say anything more. He rose and left.

Before long...

An old man with a goatee and a burly man walked into the room.

Huang Shouliang beckoned for them to sit, rubbed his Temples, and said, "Yu'er was injured by that scoundrel from the Moon Worshipping Sect. He's now recuperating in the Blood Saber Sect, so his attempt to break through into Tendon Tempering will be delayed by at least two months."

"I'll have to trouble you both to take care of matters in the coming days."

Master Wang replied, "Rest assured, my lord. The Eldest Young Master was simply too impatient..."

"Though that fellow is strong, he only possesses the strength of someone who has just entered the Tempering Tendons Realm. He merely relies on his powerful perception and bizarre movement technique."

"If the Young Master had called me at the time, two peak Blood Refining Realm experts working together could have killed a Tempering Tendons beginner without the slightest difficulty!"

That White-robed person from the Moon Worshipping Sect was in the Tempering Tendons Realm?

The commander of the guards was at the peak of the Blood Refining Realm, just like Huang Yu?

Chu Fan's expression shifted slightly.

Although he had not found Huang Yu tonight, he had still gained quite a bit of valuable information.

"Kill him?" Huang Shouliang said unhappily. "What good would killing him do? It would only invite trouble! That Moon Worshipping Sect is extremely sinister. Even the Seven Star Gang and Blood Saber Sect do not dare provoke them lightly!"

"According to Yu'er's arrangements, obtain those commoners' residences as quickly as possible."

The steward hurriedly replied, "The other households have all compromised. We'll be able to get the House Deeds within the next two days."

"Only the Chu Family Ancestral Mansion remains. That Chu kid has been acting strangely lately. He neither goes fishing nor can often be seen."

"Hmph!" The steward's tone turned vicious. "Tomorrow, I'll send two men over to kill that Chu kid and the entire Zhao Hu family, then seize the residence. That will save us from letting matters drag on and creating trouble."

Listening from outside the window, Chu Fan's murderous intent suddenly surged!

Inside the room, Huang Shouliang fell silent for a moment before finally nodding slowly. "Keep things clean. Go do it tomorrow. It cannot be delayed any longer."

"Yes, my lord!" the steward and Master Wang answered in unison.