Blood-Clad Cult's Retribution

Two days later.

Zhao You and his group returned.

Jiang Yuan was sitting in the teahouse hall, drinking tea. When he saw them push through the door, none of them looked particularly pleased.

The moment they returned, they each went back to their rooms to rest.

Guan Ling nodded at him in greeting, but she too looked weighed down by worries.

Holding his teacup, Jiang Yuan drank slowly, already understanding what had happened.

Judging by their expressions, they had not caught Xue Tu.

That afternoon, Zhang Yong arrived.

"Didn't catch him?" Jiang Yuan asked.

"Don't even mention it."

Zhang Yong wiped his mouth. "We chased him for two days and two nights, yet he still got away."

"Even stranger, Xue Tu had already fled, but who knew what madness took him—he turned around and came charging back."

Jiang Yuan raised a brow. "He came back?"

"Exactly."

Lowering his voice, Zhang Yong said mysteriously, "That fellow insisted his treasure vault had been looted clean. He bit down hard on the claim that the Azure Profound Sect and the Black Market had joined forces to do it."

"The two sides fought again and nearly went to the bitter end!"

"And then?"

"Then Xue Tu ran off again, of course."

Zhang Yong sighed. "But before he ran, he spat out some vicious words, saying the Blood-Clad Cult would stop at nothing to kill everyone who had been there that day."

"Old Li, you'd better watch yourself these days too."

Jiang Yuan nodded without speaking.

He was puzzled as well.

That day, he had clearly taken only a sword case, some pills, and cultivation manuals. Everything else had been left untouched. Who, then, had swept it all away?

From the expressions on the Azure Profound Sect group's faces that morning, it was obvious they had come up empty-handed.

Could it have been the Black Market?

Most likely.

Those people were black-market bandits to begin with, rising early for no profit. They had probably set their sights on the Blood-Clad Cult's treasure vault long ago.

Zhang Yong sat for a while longer, chattered on about a few things, then rose and left.

After seeing Zhang Yong off, Jiang Yuan stood at the entrance of the teahouse and began making calculations.

The Blood-Clad Cult was now crazed with vengeance.

If anyone discovered the sword case in his possession, the trouble would be immense.

It seemed this was not a place to linger for long.

That night.

In the Mei family residence, in Zhou Yun's room.

Zhou Yun was packing his things. Tomorrow, they would return to the Azure Profound Sect.

"Little brother, you're leaving already?"

Zhou Lian stood beside Zhou Yun, her eyes slightly red.

Zhou Yun's face was expressionless, and he was in a poor mood. He nodded. "Yes. The Blood-Clad Cult is causing trouble in Jiangning City. We need to return to the sect and report this matter."

"Elder sister, take good care of yourself."

"This time, your little brother won't be coming down the mountain again for another eight or ten years. My cultivation is still far too lacking!"

As he spoke, Zhou Yun's eyes were filled with unwillingness.

When he had descended the mountain this time, he had been full of high spirits. Yet Jiang Yuan had publicly beaten him like a son, and his performance during this mission had been poor as well. His fighting spirit had nearly been ground away.

Zhou Lian bit her lip. After hesitating for a moment, she finally spoke.

"Little brother, could you... take care of that Jiang Yuan before you leave?"

"Hm?"

Zhou Yun frowned and looked at Zhou Lian. "Elder sister, what grudge do you have against that old bastard?"

"That old fellow is no kind soul."

"You can't outfight him."

"Then... then what am I supposed to do?"

Zhou Lian's voice tightened, and panic filled her face. "Little brother, that old fellow has leverage over me. If it gets out, how am I supposed to face anyone?"

"What leverage?"

Zhou Yun asked in confusion.

He truly did not know. Could it be that his elder sister had something in Jiang Yuan's hands?

"Little brother, it's actually like this..."

Zhou Lian seemed to find it difficult to speak of, but she still explained everything from beginning to end, leaving Zhou Yun dumbfounded.

The matter itself was not complicated.

She had been having an affair with Ma Shan. To satisfy one of Ma Shan's particular little fetishes, she had allowed him to keep an erotic painting.

Later, Ma Shan seemed to have been killed by Jiang Yuan.

The first thing she thought of was this matter.

Then... she discovered that the hundred taels of silver in Ma Shan's room, along with the erotic painting, had all vanished without a trace.

There was a strong chance that painting was in Jiang Yuan's hands!

Though she did not know why Jiang Yuan had not spread it around, having such leverage held over her made it impossible for her to sleep or eat in peace.

By this point, Zhou Lian could not help covering her face and weeping. "Little brother, your elder sister is an unfaithful woman. If this gets out, not only will I lose all face and be unable to go on living, even our Zhou family will be looked down upon by others."

"Father is already advanced in years. If he learned of this..."

After hearing it all, Zhou Yun was speechless. If the woman before him had not been his elder sister, he would have wanted to slap her across the face.

What had she been doing before this?

Only now did she remember their father?

"Elder sister, Jiang Yuan is no ordinary man. I'm not confident I can deal with him either," Zhou Yun said helplessly.

Zhou Lian's expression changed in alarm. "Little brother, even you can't handle that old fellow?"

"Hmph."

Zhou Yun snorted coldly. "If not for that old bastard, I would never have fallen to such a state today. He made me lose every shred of face before my fellow disciples!"

Hearing this, Zhou Lian grew even more anxious. "Little brother, you can't just stand by and watch your elder sister's reputation be utterly ruined!"

Zhou Yun did not answer. Sitting on the edge of the bed, he thought for a long while.

"I'll ask Senior Brother Zhao."

Before long, Zhou Yun arrived at Zhao You's room.

After hesitating for a moment, he still explained why he had come.

Naturally, he did not mention Zhou Lian and Ma Shan. He only said that he suspected Jiang Yuan had not gone after Xue Tu that day and might have discovered something.

Perhaps the treasure they were trying to recover was on Jiang Yuan.

After listening, Zhao You nodded. "Junior Brother, your reasoning does make some sense. But at present, the Black Market is still more suspicious, and they even made us take the blame for it together."

"That bunch from the Blood-Clad Cult probably thinks so too."

"You're saying all this for your elder sister's sake, aren't you?"

Zhou Yun's expression stiffened.

"No need to explain. I know everything."

Zhao You waved a hand and smiled. "Still, you are right. That old fellow called Jiang Yuan is highly suspicious as well. Not only does he know the Azure Lotus Immortal's self-created sword technique, he deliberately hides his cultivation too. Who knows what kind of person he truly is?"

"It seems Junior Sister and that old fellow... really do have some connection."

"You know Junior Sister's identity too, don't you?"

As he spoke, Zhao You gave Zhou Yun a meaningful look, and Zhou Yun's expression became even uglier.

"I know."

"But even if I'm not worthy, is that old bastard with one foot already in the grave worthy of Junior Sister?" Zhou Yun asked unwillingly.

"Junior Brother, I think you've misunderstood. Based on my many years of experience among the flowers, Junior Sister and that old fellow definitely do not have the kind of relationship you imagine."

"Junior Sister still carries the fragrance of a maiden~"

Zhao You winked at Zhou Yun, revealing a somewhat lecherous smile.

"Really?"

Joy flashed across Zhou Yun's face. It felt as though spring had returned to him once more.

"Really. Would I lie to you?"

"That's wonderful!"

"In that case, Senior Brother, are we really just going to let that old fellow go?"

Zhao You pondered for a moment, then suddenly smiled. "Junior Brother Zhou, sometimes, if you want to deal with someone, you don't necessarily have to do it yourself."

"Isn't Xue Tu madly looking for someone?"

Zhou Yun's eyes lit up. He raised a thumb. "Senior Brother, that's truly brilliant!"