The Person Behind Chen Kuang, the Village's Hardships

Lu Yuan left the path. About two hours later,

A black shadow, ghostlike in its movements, silently descended upon the site of the recent battle.

The five corpses that had originally lain there,

Had all vanished without a trace.

Only a faint scent of blood and the stains on the ground remained in the air.

At the sight,

The man in black dipped a finger into the bloodstains that had yet to fully dry.

Then he examined the drag marks on the ground.

His brows could not help but knit together.

South of the city, an outer residence beyond Willow Alley.

The room was brightly lit.

"Things have become somewhat complicated!"

Chen Kuang stood by the doorway, his hands behind his back as he looked at the half-moon in the sky.

His arrangements this time could be said to have been foolproof.

Those four men had all been First-Rank Upper Martial Artists.

There was no way Lu Yuan could have survived.

Yet two hours had already passed. By all rights, Dou Chu should have returned to report by now.

But there had not been the slightest movement.

Whoosh!

A gust of sinister wind blew the window open, and Yue Lun, dressed in black, appeared in the room like a ghost.

"Brother Yue."

Chen Kuang hurriedly went to greet him.

Yue Lun spoke in a voice devoid of warmth. "No corpses were found at the scene. There were only large amounts of blood and traces of beasts dragging something away."

"Moreover, that aura seemed to belong to our people."

Yue Lun's words

Made Chen Kuang's heart suddenly clench.

"What? You mean Lu Yuan is still alive, and those four brothers all died by his hand?"

Chen Kuang's brows furrowed into a deep crease.

Those were four First-Rank Upper Martial Artists.

Although Dou Chu was merely a First-Rank Lower Martial Artist, with those four skilled men beside him, they should have been able to entangle even a Second-Rank Martial Master for a while. How could they have been killed in return by a corpse collector who had not even entered the ranks?

"The weapons and scraps of clothing left at the scene did indeed belong to the four of them. Not only did Lu Yuan survive, he slaughtered them all cleanly. He even knew to use scraps of flesh to lure wild beasts into destroying the corpses and erasing the evidence. His methods are extremely seasoned."

Those words made Chen Kuang's back turn cold.

"Clearly, this brat was still just an auxiliary yamen runner ten days ago... How could he be like this?"

Yue Lun cut him off.

"I must remind you of something."

"This Lu Yuan is very likely an undercover agent sent by the Demon Suppression Office on a covert inspection."

"He hid his cultivation precisely to fish for big catches like you people who collude with demons. Do not touch him again for now, lest you startle the snake in the grass."

"For now, those above do not wish to clash head-on with the Demon Suppression Office."

Yue Lun's tone was exceedingly cold.

"An undercover agent!"

Chen Kuang found it impossible to believe, but Yue Lun had been assigned by those above.

Since Yue Lun had said so, Chen Kuang could not very well refute him to his face.

"I will truthfully report Lu Yuan's situation to those above. During this time, you had best behave yourself."

After saying that, Yue Lun ignored Chen Kuang. He put his face covering back on, flashed away, and vanished once more into the night.

Chen Kuang was left alone in the room, his expression shifting between light and dark.

If Lu Yuan truly belonged to the Demon Suppression Office, then he was indeed a major problem.

But that fellow's family were nothing more than ordinary villagers from Green Mountain Village.

Did he truly have ties to the Demon Suppression Office?

Impossible!!!

Chen Kuang simply could not swallow the insult of letting Lu Yuan shit on his head.

"Since I cannot touch him directly for now,"

"Then I'll seize his weak point—Green Mountain Village and his family. I'll start there and see how he handles it."

Chen Kuang felt that he now had to force Lu Yuan to reveal his hidden cards.

The only choice was to move against his family in secret.

Afterward, Chen Kuang took a black carrier pigeon from a hidden compartment in the room.

He tied a note to the pigeon's leg.

Then he went to the window and released it.

Flapping its wings, the carrier pigeon flew toward the bandit stronghold on Black Wind Mountain.

Early the next morning.

Sunlight streamed through the window as Lu Yuan woke from his sleep.

When he pushed open the door, his mother Liu Ying and second sister Lu Qing saw him emerge.

Their faces immediately broke into delighted smiles.

"Xiao Yuan, you're back from work? Hurry and wash up."

"Mother will make you some pancakes."

Liu Ying pinched and felt Lu Yuan all over.

After confirming that his injuries had healed completely,

She hurried into the kitchen.

"Brother! You're back!"

"When are you taking us to see the martial arts halls in town? Shengnan said she wants to learn martial arts too."

Lu An and Xu Shengnan also ran over from the courtyard, tugging at Lu Yuan's clothes and chattering away.

"After a while, after a while."

Lu Yuan felt rather embarrassed.

He had previously promised Lu An that he would take him to a martial arts hall to learn martial arts.

But with his current standing at the Withered Wood Fist Hall, he did not yet have that ability.

If he brought the two of them over, Chen Wang, his master, would likely not permit it either.

He would wait until he had gained a firm foothold.

"Give your third brother some peace and quiet..."

Lu Qing smiled as she pulled the two little ones away.

Breakfast was served. It was still sorghum pancakes with a little pickled vegetables, looking rather meager.

Lu Yuan took a bite of pancake and casually asked, "How has the family been these past few days? Is Grandfather's arm any better?"

His second sister Lu Qing sighed and explained softly, "Grandfather's injury is much better. It's just... these past few days, the village restarted its project of forging ice-chill weapons in order to make ends meet."

"Ice-chill weapons?"

Lu Yuan was slightly taken aback.

"Yes. They use water from the Cold Pool on Azure Cloud Mountain for tempering. The weapons forged that way carry a trace of icy chill and are quite sought after."

"But because the Cold Pool's water is too cold, it is easy to freeze and injure one's hands and feet while smithing. The village stopped this project many years ago."

"Now Green Mountain Village is short of money, and the day to pay the head tax is drawing near again, so the village resumed the project. Grandfather even joined in despite his injury."

Lu Qing spoke helplessly.

Ever since the incident during the last mountain hunt,

The hunting party had lost several capable hands.

That had also caused their harvests to plummet.

The village's expenses had become greater than its income.

Hearing this, Lu Yuan's heart sank.

There was very likely a great demon lurking in the depths of the Cold Pool.

Even ordinary demons

Could cost people their lives.

For the villagers to fetch water from the Cold Pool to make a living was no different from dancing on a knife's edge.

But in this world, those at the bottom had been forced into such a predicament.

He said nothing more. Instead, he took three taels of loose silver from his chest and gently placed it on the table.

"Mother, keep this money. Buy Grandfather some good medicine, and improve the food at home as well."

The moment Liu Ying saw it, she hurriedly pushed it back. "Xiao Yuan, you need money everywhere while learning martial arts at the hall. Keep this money for yourself. With your grandfather forging iron, the family can scrape by."

"Mother, please take it."

"If you make me worry every day about the family being unable to keep the pot boiling, how could I have the mind to practice martial arts at the hall? Only once things at home are settled can I train my fists in peace."

Lu Yuan pressed down on his mother's hand.

"Fine, fine, Mother will take it. You must also take good care of yourself out there. Don't begrudge yourself food."

Hearing those words, Liu Ying's eyes reddened.

She put away the silver.

Looking at his family's faces, a warm current rose in Lu Yuan's heart.

After breakfast,

Lu Yuan took a walk around the outskirts of the village.

There did not seem to be any movement.

He had killed Dou Chu and the others last night, yet Chen Kuang had not shown himself at all.

It seemed things were as he had expected. Chen Kuang had no proof that Lu Yuan had killed anyone, so he could only hold his nose and suppress the matter.

However, Lu Yuan knew well that with Chen Kuang's vindictive nature, he would never let things end like this. Things could not remain peaceful forever.

Afterward, Lu Yuan left Green Mountain Village.

He headed for the Withered Wood Fist Hall.

The moment he entered the hall and reached the rear courtyard, Lu Yuan sensed that something was amiss.