Dust billowed from the four-story building. At the windows, gaps, and other openings of the unfinished structure, the swirling clouds of dust obscured the view.
People outside could barely make out what was happening inside, while those within had no idea what was going on outside.
After activating Phantom's active ability, Luo Bin stepped into the building. A lascivious woman's voice drifted into his ears, accompanied by ragged panting, as though she had just finished some indescribable exercise...
Then came the rustle of clothes being put on.
Following the sound, Luo Bin reached the second floor. At a glance, he saw a woman dressed as a student of Ping City Women's Normal School. She was one of the two women who had been beside Chen Jing at Qunyu Pavilion. She was straightening her clothes, her face flushed, lips slightly parted, and expression still savoring the moment.
"Why is the air so damp?"
"She's just a person? Could it really be that she isn't some kind of Demon Specter..."
Luo Bin held his patience and carefully observed his surroundings. Suddenly, his eyes caught sight of a young man in a spotless white shirt lying on the dust-covered floor.
It was Chen Jing!
After fixing her clothes, the lascivious woman crouched down and straightened Chen Jing's clothes as well. Then she turned and called upstairs:
"Old Daoist, I'm done! This kid's about to wake up. Hurry and use your Spirit Binding and General Commanding."
"And the idiot behind you even left the Sun Family Eldest Miss you kidnapped upstairs. The Sun Family may not measure up to the Chen Family, but they're no pushovers.
"Once we're done, we should leave at once."
A hoarse, aged snort came from upstairs.
"You wanton woman! It's rare to find anyone in Entangling Emotion Valley as debauched as you!"
The woman giggled. "Old Daoist, you work yourself to the bone for the Pei Family, but isn't it because you have a 'relationship' with that old thing Pei Song's concubine? Why are you laughing at someone else when you're in the same boat...?
"I don't really care if other people hear this, but they'll call you an old man with no shame..."
Luo Bin stood by another stairwell, peering through a crack in the wall. The old man they called the Old Daoist had several people with him.
Their auras were all weak, probably only at the early or middle stages of Golden Skin... They shouldn't be much trouble.
But Luo Bin couldn't quite see through the Old Daoist, whose robe sleeve showed at the edge of his view. Judging from the wisp of energy he had let slip while arguing with the woman, though, his oppressive presence wasn't very strong.
As for the conversation, Luo Bin carefully memorized the information it revealed: "Entangling Emotion Valley," "Spirit Binding and General Commanding," "the Pei Family," and "the Sun Family Eldest Miss."
Su Yunong had recently told him that Chen Manqing's excessive sleepiness was caused by a Pei Family Daoist who knew the strange art of Spirit Binding and General Commanding. The Daoist had extracted one of her souls.
Now it seemed that this old Daoist before him was the one she had meant.
Luo Bin did his best to rein in his aura and lie low, waiting to see if he could glean more information from their conversation.
The old Daoist swept his sleeve, and dust instantly surged through the building. A powerful yet aged flow of blood and qi rushed through his withered body, forcing the people behind him to retreat several steps.
"Daoist, Jiang He is still a member of Entangling Emotion Valley. Don't act rashly!" a woman behind the old Daoist said.
It was none other than the other woman who had been beside Chen Jing.
The old Daoist snapped, "Get lost. I won't shortchange you on what you want..."
"Good. I hope you keep your promise."
The student-dressed woman, whose figure was practically wanton, glanced around the floor and then leaped outside, vanishing into the shrubs. The "dampness" that had affected Luo Bin's senses ebbed away like a receding tide.
"So that's how it is. Chen Manqing's problem, and one of the crises facing the Chen Family right now, are both tied to this place."
"Entangling Emotion Valley can make this old Daoist wary, so it must be no ordinary faction. Chen Jing really is a lucky bastard. He even got to enjoy one of their women..."
Luo Bin continued to steady his mind, quietly circulating Primordial Stance as he began to channel his blood and qi.
The blood-and-qi cultivation and attack methods he had gained by adding points to Crimson were essentially the best available at his level. He had already mastered those finer points while training with Zhang Huai and Hu Junzhi during his seclusion at Qufang Garden in the Chen Residence.
So, in his eyes, the few people behind the Old Daoist were all soft targets, ready for the chopping block. They were nothing to fear.
But this Old Daoist was different. His oppressive presence wasn't strong, but the inscrutable feeling he gave off made Luo Bin keep watching him a little longer.
At the same time, Luo Bin's right arm tensed, secretly gathering power... As soon as he had enough information, he would strike first and drive the Old Daoist back with a punch...
"Daoist, go ahead and use Spirit Binding and General Commanding. We'll keep watch for you."
"Thank you. I'll begin now."
Luo Bin cursed under his breath. Damn it, he'd wanted to pry a little more valuable information out of them, but the man wasn't saying anything and was going straight to work...
Then he could only interrupt the technique.
His right fist was poised to strike. All the destructive power of White Ape Through-Arm Fist was concentrated in his arm. The surging strength of the late Golden Skin stage, combined with the pure, yang-strong blood and qi he had gained from adding points to Primordial Stance, made the damp air sizzle even before he swung.
Just as the Old Daoist formed hand seals, preparing to perform his strange art to seize a person's soul, he abruptly turned at the sudden noise beside him and barked, "Who's there? Come—"
He only got one syllable into the word "out" before a fist packed with immense force crashed into his chest, its blow searing hot.
BOOM!!!
The sound shook the heavens.
The Old Daoist seemed somewhat frail. When Luo Bin's punch slammed into his chest, it was as if a cannon had rammed into him. He couldn't dodge, and had no choice but to retreat and absorb the force.
The sheer, surging power sent his whole body flying.
He smashed into the wall behind him, his body forming a spread-eagled shape as he sank slightly into it...
The punch's terrifying force shook the dust that had settled throughout the building right off the ground, filling the air... This was the very scene of dust billowing and the building trembling that Chen Tianren, Chen Mansheng, and the others had witnessed from outside.
The people beside the Old Daoist quickly retreated.
When faced with an enemy who had appeared out of nowhere, the first thing to do was figure out whether he was friend or foe... After all, that fierce punch hadn't hit them... Perhaps he wasn't here for them. If so, there was no need to fight someone that dangerous.
They knew the Old Daoist's strength.
Even with some warning, he had been punched into the wall and was practically stuck there... They'd better figure out what was happening first, before they accidentally got hurt.
A wise man knew when to yield. There was no shame in doing what it took to stay alive.
"Young master, we have no quarrel with you..." one of the men began, but the bold, spirited woman beside him cut him off.
The woman said quietly, "He's Luo Bin."
Luo Bin had no time to waste arguing with this bunch of dead weight. If he hadn't had the advantage of a sneak attack, along with the speed boost from Phantom's remaining duration, he could never have reached Chen Jing so easily.
"Chen Jing, wake up!"
He slapped Chen Jing's face. Under everyone's horrified gazes, Luo Bin swung again, his fist aimed straight at the man who had just spoken.
Thud!
The man went flying.
Luo Bin hoisted Chen Jing's body onto his back and, while the Old Daoist was still suffering from severe internal pain, leaped out of the building and hurried toward Long Wind Pier.
He had made up his mind not to turn back and get dragged into a drawn-out fight. After taking Luo Bin's punch, the Old Daoist hadn't even spilled a drop of blood from the corner of his mouth, and his eyes still seemed clear...
Yet that punch had been close to eighty percent of Luo Bin's maximum strength.
He was a master.
Chen Mansheng saw a figure in the distance dart and weave out of the dust-choked building. She pushed up her gold-rimmed half-frame glasses and shouted excitedly to Chen Tianren:
"Dad, look! It's Luo Bin!"
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