Long Yu

More than a dozen consecutive slaps left Qin Feng stunned, teeth flying out along with blood.

The two lackeys standing outside the small courtyard were stunned as well. They had never imagined that Qin Yu, usually timid as a mouse and weak beyond measure, would dare fight back—and even injure the Second Young Master.

"Y-you dare!" One of the quicker-witted lackeys recovered first, his eyes widening as he put on a show of bravado.

Qin Yu did not even glance at him. He viciously kicked Qin Feng in the abdomen.

Having been drinking, how could Qin Feng withstand such a heavy blow? His body flew backward and crashed into the lackey.

Wine, food, and blood all sprayed from Qin Feng's mouth, splattering the lackey across the face. Whether from fright or something else, the lackey happened to have his mouth open, and all that filth went straight into it. He looked as though he had eaten shit, vomiting ten times harder than Qin Feng.

"Get lost! If there is a next time, I will sever your meridians!" Qin Yu's voice was chilling, and the baleful aura between his brows was incredibly dense.

Only then did the other terrified lackey come to his senses. Dragging Qin Feng away, he ran while shouting, "The days ahead are long! The Cui Family will never let you off! The Eldest Young Master has returned—you're dead..."

The retching lackey shot Qin Yu a resentful look as well. After dry-heaving a few more times, he departed with venomous hatred.

Qin Yu did not spare the three of them another glance. Looking at Xiao Tao and Xiao Hua, the baleful aura between his brows receded somewhat. He picked them up, one in each hand, carried them into the room, and placed them inside the pill cauldron. Though he had absorbed nearly all the medicinal power within, what remained was enough to heal their injuries and temper their bodies somewhat.

Afterward, Qin Yu set up a Defense Array in the room, shut the door, and left.

The Cui Family and Eldest Young Master mentioned by that lackey had served as a warning. Qin Yu had no choice but to prepare his counterattack in advance.

The Cui Family referred to Cui Hong, the current Great General Zhenyuan of the Wu Kingdom. Rumor had it that Qin Zhan had been injured years ago while blocking a fatal blow for Cui Hong. To repay Qin Zhan, Cui Hong had married his youngest daughter, Cui Liu, to him. Cui Hong had contributed greatly to Qin Zhan's ability to build the Qin Family into a fortune rivaling a nation in barely a dozen years. Eldest Young Master Qin Yong was Cui Liu's eldest son and Qin Feng's blood brother. It was said that he was already a commander of a thousand in the Wu Kingdom.

Having injured Qin Feng this time, the Cui Family would certainly not let the matter rest. Yet Qin Yu had always been one to avoid trouble when there was none, but never fear it when it came. Qin Feng's repeated provocations had truly enraged him.

Just as Qin Yu left the Qin Family—

Qin Feng's drunkenness completely wore off. Recalling Qin Yu's ferocity and ruthlessness, Qin Feng did not want to admit it, but he had no choice but to accept reality. A trace of fear rose in his heart as well.

Could it be... Qin Yu had been pretending all along? Could Qin Yu truly be that Chen fellow?

Impossible. Absolutely impossible.

Ever since the incident at the Myriad Phenomena Pill Shop, Qin Feng had felt every day drag by like a year. He drowned his sorrows in drink day after day. Those were connections he had painstakingly cultivated for years, yet that bastard surnamed Chen had ruined them all. Qin Feng wanted nothing more than to pull out that Chen fellow's tendons and drink his blood, but since he could not figure out his background, he could only swallow his rage.

Today, Qin Feng had again drunk to drown his sorrows. Numbed by alcohol, his thoughts became unusually active. He suddenly remembered that Chen fellow giving him a familiar feeling. The more he thought about it, the more Qin Feng felt that Chen's figure and back looked remarkably like that worthless Qin Yu.

Though he knew such a guess was impossible, in his drunken state, Qin Feng vented all his rage on Qin Yu, leading to the earlier scene.

"D-don't..." Qin Feng was about to speak through gritted hatred when he discovered that he could not even form words properly. He licked around inside his mouth and found that Qin Yu had slapped several teeth from both sides of his mouth.

Touching his burning-hot cheeks, Qin Feng's face gradually twisted into something sinister. He began screaming wildly, as though mad.

"Qin Yu... I'll make sure you die without a place to be buried!" Qin Feng roared hysterically.

"Xiao Feng?"

Just then, a steady voice carrying killing intent rang out. Qin Feng, his face twisted in fury, abruptly turned his head. When he saw the burly young man standing at the doorway in the Wu Kingdom's standard armor, imposing and majestic, tears streamed down Qin Feng's face. His entire body collapsed limply to the ground as he said in grief and indignation, "Big Brother... you have to seek justice for me..."

This armored young man had a rugged face, thick brows, large eyes, a tiger's back and a bear's waist. He was Qin Zhan's eldest son, Qin Yong—Qin Feng's blood brother.

"Who did this?" Though Qin Yong had not understood what Qin Feng said clearly, the sight of him made his thick brows knit sharply as killing intent burst forth.

"Eldest Young Master, you must seek justice for the Second Young Master! It was that bastard Qin Yu! He knocked out all of the Second Young Master's teeth..." The lackey who had gotten a mouthful of Qin Feng's vomit wailed as though Qin Yu had murdered his parents.

"Qin Yu? That Qin Yu born of a maid?" Dense killing intent erupted from Qin Yong's brows. No matter what, Qin Feng was his own younger brother. How could a son born of a lowly maid bully him? He then said, "Come. Big Brother will obtain justice for you. I saw that beast leave Qin Manor earlier!"

As Qin Yong led Qin Feng in a menacing search for Qin Yu, Qin Yu had altered his appearance and was wandering through the marketplace of Tianwu Main City.

After leaving Qin Manor, Qin Yu had visited nearly every shop selling spirit artifacts. Yet most of them sold only low-grade spirit artifacts, none of which caught his eye.

Left with no alternative, Qin Yu followed his memories to the largest marketplace.

With the grand gathering close at hand, the marketplace was exceptionally bustling. Shouts and cries of hawkers rose without end.

Many cultivators sat directly on the ground, displaying the items they wished to sell before them. Others placed wooden boards in front of themselves, listing what they needed.

"The man I encountered when leaving earlier should have been Qin Yong, Qin Feng's elder brother. They are probably already searching for me. Qin Yong is at the Eighth Level of the Martial Realm. Defeating him in a short time will be difficult!" Qin Yu weighed matters in his heart as he examined the goods displayed by the cultivators.

"I could have Zi Xun'er help refine a Subtle Origin Pill. It could triple my strength in a short time, but even then, I would only barely be able to fight a cultivator at the Martial Realm Sixth Level. Even if I set up a killing array, my chances would not reach fifty percent." Qin Yu muttered to himself.

"Wait, this is..."

Lost in thought as he walked, Qin Yu casually swept his gaze over the items displayed before a cultivator. His eyes suddenly froze.

It was a palm-sized wooden sword. The wooden sword looked exceedingly ordinary, but an insignia was carved into its hilt.

"The insignia of the Myriad Sword Sect. This is... a Sword Talisman unique to the Myriad Sword Sect?" Qin Yu stared at the palm-sized wooden sword as records concerning it surfaced in his mind.

"A Sword Talisman. This is a Sword Talisman refined by an expert of the Myriad Sword Sect. It contains three attacks from its refiner. Judging by the refining method, it should only have been made by a Gangqi Realm cultivator..." Information about the Myriad Sword Sect's Sword Talismans surfaced in Qin Yu's mind.

"With this Sword Talisman, even if Qin Yong comes for me, I have nothing to fear." With that thought, Qin Yu walked straight over to the Sword Talisman. He glanced at its seller and was just about to speak when a crisp voice, like pearls falling upon a jade plate, rang out. "How much is this wooden sword?"

Qin Yu frowned and turned his head slightly, only to see a youthful, beautiful woman.

She wore a pale white palace gown, elegant yet possessing an otherworldly air. The broad hem of her skirt trailed behind her, graceful and noble. Her glossy black hair, like dark jade, was simply coiled into a flying-immortal bun, with several plump, lustrous pearls casually adorning it, making her cloudlike locks appear all the softer and more radiant. Light flowed through her beautiful eyes as they moved, and coupled with her exquisite features, she resembled an immortal maiden descended from beyond the dust of the world.

Who else could this woman be but the Thirteenth Princess, Long Yu?

"Th-this... ten Low-grade Spirit Stones." Seeing Long Yu's peerless beauty, the seated cultivator's gaze turned dazed. Only after a long while did he swallow and answer. He had merely picked the item up by chance and placed it here today to try his luck. He had never expected anyone to actually buy it.

"Here are ten Low-grade Spirit Stones." Long Yu directly tossed ten taels of silver to the cultivator, crouched down to pick up the wooden sword, and examined it. Then she handed it to Qin Yu and said, "Brother Chen, it has been many days since we last met. I hope you have been well. This is a small token from Xiao Yu."