What are you pretending to be?

The few people inside the room held their breath instantly, not daring to make a single sound.

The knocking on the door continued.

"Is he really not here?" Wei Xian asked the soldier beside him in a cold voice.

The surviving soldier hurriedly replied, "Captain, I truly saw him leave the Patrol Guard Station with my own eyes."

Wei Xian pondered, then suddenly heard movement behind him.

"Brother Wei."

"Captain Wei."

Su Yuan and Chai Nian had arrived behind them.

"Su Yuan, you motherfucker, you ran off again!" Seeing that Su Yuan was unscathed while thinking of his cousin's mangled remains, rage surged in Wei Xian's heart. He lunged forward, intending to grab Su Yuan by the collar.

Chai Nian unfurled his folding fan, blocking the space between them. "Brother Wei, calm yourself. This matter has nothing to do with Su Yuan. Even if he were here, he would have struggled to escape such a lethal blow. If you must hate someone, hate those remnants of the Cloud-Striding Palm and the Jiguang Society."

"Those damned rats! Hiding so deep! I should just plow through Ji City, slaughter the whole place, and see where they hide then!" Wei Xian said hatefully.

Not only had he lost his cousin, but a Savage Strength martial artist from the Wei family had also been killed.

As soon as these words were spoken, the atmosphere instantly stagnated.

The three people eavesdropping inside the room felt their breathing grow heavy.

Chai Nian's expression stiffened slightly. "Brother Wei, don't joke like that."

If it were the early stages of the war, slaughtering a city might not have mattered.

But now, after operating in Ji City for several years and establishing a foundation, how could they just slaughter it on a whim?

However, the Jiguang Society was indeed a stubborn ailment, like rat droppings ruining a pot of porridge—scattered everywhere, with people in the shadows and accomplices in the light, making them difficult to eradicate.

"Brother Wei, it is better to listen to our superiors. If the people under our rule live better than they did under the Great Jing, they naturally won't want to return. This matter requires time to accumulate and cannot withstand too much slaughter. If I am not mistaken, there are still many instances of your troops acting arrogantly toward the local populace, right? This time, it might even be considered retribution," Chai Nian said, waving his fan.

"Hmph, Chai Nian, you sure have a way with empty words. Who doesn't know your true face in private? You really can put on a show, motherfucker." Wei Xian did not hold back.

Chai Nian's eye twitched, but he maintained his smile, elegantly waving his fan. "If Brother Wei wishes to vent, perhaps save it for the upcoming martial arts duel between our two nations and display your skills then."

Su Yuan glanced at Chai Nian, wondering what kind of person this young master really was in private.

However, Wei Xian was right; this guy loved to put on airs more than anything.

Ever since he won the tournament, Chai Nian had been dying to have Su Yuan pull his carriage every day, parading him through the streets for all to see.

Su Yuan then asked, "What is this duel between the two nations?"

"The Jiguang Society is currently spreading rumors everywhere that Great Jing martial arts are superior to those of Great Liang, so we shall let strength do the talking. Those rats dare not show their faces, but the martial arts schools and noble families in the city that surrendered are still here. When the time comes, everyone from the Blood Condensing realm to the Vein Splitting realm can enter the ring to dampen their spirits and prevent these fence-sitters from being incited to rebel," Chai Nian said in a relaxed tone, as if victory were already in his grasp.

Su Yuan knew with his toes that those surrendered martial arts schools and families would definitely not dare to win.

In this battle, Great Liang was destined to win.

"Then I don't have to participate, right?" Su Yuan truly did not want to stand out anymore; there were too many headaches.

"It won't be your turn. I will step out myself when the time comes. Sigh, I haven't moved in a long time; my hands are getting itchy." Chai Nian clenched his fists, his knuckles emitting a faint, crisp sound.

Wei Xian also chimed in with a sneer, "What can you do if you go up there? This is a stage for us Liang People to perform. Why don't you go take a piss and look at yourself in the reflection? Does a coward like you deserve to be on that stage?"

"That's fine then." Su Yuan breathed a secret sigh of relief, unaffected by Wei Xian's words.

At this moment, a man appeared silently at Wei Xian's side.

The man was about fifty years old, his temples already frosted with white. His face was as cold and hard as iron, and his entire body was shrouded in the chilling aura of one who had long endured the battlefield.

He gave a slight nod to Chai Hong.

"Uncle Shi, did you find anything?" Wei Xian asked.

"The attacker was very cautious and left no traces. However, according to the survivors' descriptions, he wore a ghost-face mask and stood nearly two meters tall with a hulking physique, though that may have been a disguise. The palm technique used was likely the Cloud-Striding Palm, and his cultivation was at least mid-stage External Force. Wei Han had been an early-stage Savage Strength martial artist for a long time and was not far from the mid-stage, yet he didn't last long and was almost killed instantly," Shi Guanlin said in a deep voice.

"Mid-stage External Force, ghost-face mask, Cloud-Striding Palm... I haven't heard of such a figure before. Never mind, let's draw up a wanted poster based on the description first." Wei Xian pondered for a moment, then looked at Su Yuan.

Su Yuan understood and went to recreate the portrait.

Listening to the witnesses describe the attacker in a chaotic jumble, he suppressed his laughter and sketched according to their words, depicting the man in the painting with broad shoulders and a thick back, wearing a fierce mask.

After repeated revisions based on their opinions, the final product looked quite imposing, though it still bore little resemblance to the actual person.

Once the drawing was finished, Chai Nian had already reached an agreement with Wei Xian to take Su Yuan back, meaning he would no longer need to return to the army.

However, Wei Xian insisted on collecting the fine of four months' salary.

Chai Nian told Su Yuan to handle it himself, so he had no choice but to cough up one hundred and twenty taels.

"My money!" Su Yuan felt a pang of heartache.

Meanwhile, inside the old house, Ji Haoyang confirmed that the outsiders had left and whispered excitedly, "Senior Green Ghost has actually appeared again!"

This past month, he had desperately wanted to find the other party's trail to prove it wasn't Su Yuan, but unfortunately, there had been no news.

Regrettably, the person did not appear again.

"Senior Sister, a mid-stage External Force cultivation—that was confirmed by a Vein Splitting martial artist. Even if Su Yuan had top-tier talent, it would be impossible for him to advance so quickly, let alone with his bottom-tier talent," Ji Haoyang became even more certain of his judgment.

He even felt a trace of admiration for Green Ghost.

To slaughter the entire South City Patrol Station single-handedly—what a terrifying display of skill!

He could never achieve such a feat.

"Could it be that I was truly wrong?" Yun Xu's face also betrayed her confusion.

Zhou Xing reminded her, "If Su Yuan is not Green Ghost, he will surely discover us upon returning home, and his whereabouts will be exposed. We must leave quickly."

Ji Haoyang sneered, "Su Yuan is merely at the Blood Condensing realm. If he dares to come, we shall simply capture him. For now, there are still Vein Splitting martial artists outside; we must hide a while longer."

Su Yuan, pressed against the shadows outside the door, was speechless upon hearing this.

Does this man hate me that much?

He had already vaulted into the courtyard and stood silently outside the room.

A cold smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth as he listened; he decided to give them a good scare.

Creak—

The three people inside held their breath, falling instantly silent.

But they soon realized this wasn't the sound of the courtyard gate; it was the outer door of the room where they were hiding!

The door was being pushed open just a crack, a scene that felt eerily familiar.

Yet, once the door was pushed open a sliver, it stopped moving.

The sound ceased just as abruptly.

What was going on?

The three exchanged glances and cautiously crept toward the door.

They waited for a moment, but there was still no movement.

As the only man present, Ji Haoyang gathered his courage and pushed the door open a little further.

The courtyard was empty; there was no one in sight.

"Nothing? Was it the wind? Or did I see a ghost?" Ji Haoyang muttered, then gave a bitter laugh. Perhaps he was just too tense from being hunted for days.

But the next moment, his smile vanished.

An inverted ghost face dropped down before his eyes without warning, the blood on the mask still wet.

"Holy hell! A ghost!" Despite his long experience in battle, this sudden sight made Ji Haoyang gasp in terror. He retreated several steps, shrinking behind the two women.

Yun Xu flashed forward to shield him, closing the distance and striking directly at the ghost face with her palm!

Su Yuan met her with a punch.

Bang!

As fist and palm collided, Su Yuan felt a soft yet overwhelming force surge through him. His arm went numb, and he was actually knocked down from the rafters by that single strike.

He flipped and landed on his feet, retreating two steps to dissipate the force.

So strong?

He was secretly surprised. He had only used Flying Star Strength initially and had nearly failed to hold his ground; it was only by hastily channeling Vajra Strength that he had barely managed to block it.

He raised his eyes to size up his opponent.

Yun Xu still possessed that elegant, beautiful face, though her complexion was pale, unable to hide her illness and exhaustion. Her eyes remained deep, yet there was a dampness at the bottom of them, the corners slightly reddened, as if cold stars were veiled in a thin layer of mist.

She was currently wearing a black martial outfit that didn't quite fit, so she had cinched the waist tightly, which instead accentuated her slender waist and the rising curves of her chest—perfectly proportioned and graceful.

Yet, her brows were filled with wariness and a sharp, heroic spirit.

It made it hard for Su Yuan to associate her with the pitiful, helpless captive he had once seen beneath the rafters.

But then, Su Yuan froze: Why is she wearing my clothes?

In that split second of distraction, Yun Xu surged forward again, her palm shadows aiming straight for his face.

"Senior Sister, stop!" Ji Haoyang shouted urgently, "He is Senior Green Ghost!"

Yun Xu's palm strike stopped an inch away.

Su Yuan stood with his hands behind his back, feigning indifference to change the subject: "Little Ji, your courage is truly a bit too small."

Ji Haoyang gave a sheepish laugh: "Anyone would be startled by that move just now, Senior. But I truly admire you. You remained silent for a month, but the moment you struck, you slaughtered the entire South City Patrol Station. You are truly a role model for our generation!"

Su Yuan found this quite satisfying and nodded slightly.

Just then, Yun Xu suddenly spoke, her voice cold and clear, yet it struck like a thunderclap:

"Su Yuan, how much longer are you going to keep up this act?"