Inquiry

After the two argued for a while longer, Hu Meier began telling Hu Donghan about her life over the past three months.

After Hu Meier's Ghost Spirit Root talent had been detected, Soul-Devouring Ancestor arrived shortly afterward and took her as his disciple, bringing her directly back to Bloodbone Peak.

Soul-Devouring Ancestor had lived for five hundred years and had never taken a single disciple in all that time. Hu Meier was his first disciple. Her talent was the astonishing Ghost Spirit Root, and she was obedient and well-behaved, so from the moment she entered his sect, Soul-Devouring Ancestor doted on her as much as he possibly could. First, he found the Ghost King Heart Sutra in the Scripture Repository, a special cultivation method suited for Ghost Spirit Roots, to replace the commonplace Profound Yin Heart Method. Then he bestowed upon Hu Meier a High-Grade Ghost Fiend he had treasured for years, along with a Mid-Grade Ghost Fiend as a spare—

The reason Ghost Spirit Roots were most suited to cultivating the Ghost Way was mainly because each time a Ghost Spirit Root advanced by a major realm, its owner could contract one more ghost fiend than ordinary cultivators!

Yin Soul Sect disciples could command only one ghost fiend, yet they had already made a tremendous name for themselves throughout the Southern Heaven Region. Hu Meier could contract more than one ghost fiend, so it was easy to imagine just how formidable she would become in the future! Setting aside everything else, the fact that Hu Meier had reached the Sixth Layer of Qi Refining Realm after cultivating for barely three months showed just how terrifying the talent of a Ghost Spirit Root was!

To avoid wasting Hu Meier's talent, Soul-Devouring Ancestor had already begun searching for a second High-Grade Ghost Fiend for her. A Mid-Grade Ghost Fiend was utterly unworthy of her talent. However, since Soul-Devouring Ancestor had already given the Mid-Grade Ghost Fiend to Hu Meier, he could not be bothered to take it back. That was why Hu Meier could so generously give away a Mid-Grade Ghost Fiend.

During Hu Meier's time with Soul-Devouring Ancestor, he also discovered that although this delicate woman lived atop Bloodbone Peak, she did not hold much revulsion toward the corpses and bones scattered everywhere across the peak. He called Hu Meier over again and questioned her about it in detail.

Though Hu Meier was quite scheming, before Soul-Devouring Ancestor's absolute strength, she had no ability to conceal anything. She directly told him everything, from beginning to end.

After hearing of Hu Meier's experiences, Soul-Devouring Ancestor clicked his tongue in wonder. Seeing that her disposition was much like his own, he was so pleased that he directly declared he would train Hu Meier as the next Hall Master of the Enforcement Hall. Naturally, he was also very interested in Hu Donghan, the instigator who had taught six-year-old Hu Meier how to stab people in their sleep when he himself was only three. However, upon hearing that Hu Donghan possessed merely a Middle-Grade Four-Spirit Root, he sighed and no longer asked about him.

Clearly, in Soul-Devouring Ancestor's eyes, a talent like Hu Donghan's had no value worth cultivating.

Hu Meier chattered on, recounting all she had experienced over the past three months. Only at the end did she smile self-mockingly and say, "Who would have thought that you taught me how to kill people from such a young age, Little Brother, and shaped me into the person I am today? Yet this very nature of mine actually won Master's favor. Becoming the next Hall Master of the Enforcement Hall... I truly never even imagined such a thing..."

Hu Donghan smiled faintly. "Girl, then you'd better work hard. Don't let anyone snatch your position away! From now on, if I'm going to run wild through the Yin Soul Sect, I'll be relying entirely on you to cover for me!"

"Hmph! You brat!" Hu Meier reached out and smacked Hu Donghan on the forehead. "If your sister becomes Hall Master of the Enforcement Hall, even if you wiped out the entire Yin Soul Sect, I'd clean up after you! Of course, you'll first need to have the ability to do it."

After speaking, Hu Meier paused before asking, "Little Brother, how have you spent these past three months? Could it be that you really were cultivating every day?"

Hu Donghan smiled. "Of course! I don't have talent as impressive as yours. Over these three months, I've only just reached the Qi Refining First Layer."

Though Hu Donghan said it lightly, Hu Meier was deeply worried when she heard it—Hu Donghan had spent three months just reaching the Qi Refining First Layer. His talent was truly far too poor. Moreover, judging by Hu Donghan's demeanor, he was unwilling to let her help him.

The two chatted on and off, and before they knew it, night had already fallen.

Outside, an Enforcement Hall disciple knocked on the door to remind them that Hu Meier had to return. Only then did the two turn their gazes toward Mu Zhengfeng, who was lying nearby.

Mu Zhengfeng had merely been knocked unconscious by Hu Donghan's kick, and he had awakened not long afterward. However, though he was awake, he kept his eyes shut and pretended to remain unconscious, afraid that making a sound would draw Hu Donghan and Hu Meier's attention. Yet the two had long since noticed that Mu Zhengfeng was awake; they simply had not felt like dealing with him yet!

"Little Brother, how should we deal with this piece of trash?" Hu Meier stood up, kicked Mu Zhengfeng, and asked Hu Donghan.

"Naturally, we should give him a proper lesson. But before that, I have a few questions I want this fellow to answer." Hu Donghan narrowed his eyes, grabbed Mu Zhengfeng's other ear, and tore it right off.

Mu Zhengfeng cried out in pain. How could he continue pretending to be unconscious? He immediately fell to his knees and begged for mercy without pause.

Hu Donghan looked coldly at Mu Zhengfeng and asked in an icy tone, "Mu Zhengfeng, you and I bore no grudge against each other. I would very much like to know why you were so determined to kill me."

Mu Zhengfeng's head was covered in blood, and terror filled his face. He stammered, "No... no... I didn't mean that! I... I only wanted to play a joke on you, Senior Brother Hu..."

"A joke?" Hu Donghan gave a disdainful laugh. He grabbed Mu Zhengfeng's left hand and, with a slight exertion of force, tore off one of his fingers.

Hu Donghan had never been a kind-hearted person. When facing enemies, his vicious methods were enough to make even some utterly evil criminals feel chills crawl down their spines.

Mu Zhengfeng screamed, his face twisting in agony. "I... I really only wanted to play a joke on you..."

"Little Brother, how could you leave your sister out of something this entertaining?" Seeing that Hu Donghan seemed to be interrogating Mu Zhengfeng, Hu Meier grabbed Mu Zhengfeng's right hand and likewise tore off one of his fingers with a slight exertion of force.

The two divided their work with clear precision, and even their methods were identical. Clearly, this was not their first time doing such a thing.

Seeing that Mu Zhengfeng still refused to speak, Hu Donghan did not waste words. He merely reached out and tore off another of Mu Zhengfeng's fingers, while Hu Meier cooperated from the other side.

Only when Hu Donghan tore off his third finger did Mu Zhengfeng finally break down, crying miserably, "Don't... don't torture me anymore! Give me a quick death! I'll talk! I'll tell you everything!"

Yet Hu Donghan did not stop. Only after tearing Mu Zhengfeng's palm completely bare did he ask, "All right, now you can speak. I imagine that after all this time, you've had enough time to recall every detail, haven't you?"

Mu Zhengfeng nodded repeatedly. "It was Senior Brother Wu from Jade Finger Peak! Senior Brother Wu told me to do it! When I was investigating your identity, I met Senior Brother Wu from Jade Finger Peak. Senior Brother Wu said he knew your identity and that you had no background at all. Then he said he had a grudge against you and gave me ten thousand Spirit Stones to kill you. He also said that if I could kill you, he would introduce me to Martial Uncle Lin of Jade Finger Peak... Other than that, I truly don't know anything! I've told you everything!"

(End of Chapter)