"Even if he's a powerful Evil Soul Master," Ling Yun Analytic calmly, "Killing these three hundred people might be as easy as crushing ants for him. But to completely evacuate the entire village, along with hundreds of corpses, in such a short time without anyone noticing is absolutely difficult. And the fact that even the Spirit Hall's enforcement team couldn't find any trace of them afterwards is even more terrifying. What does this mean? It means they have an extremely tight organizational structure. Some people are specifically responsible for killing people, some are responsible for moving the corpses or the living, some are on guard duty on the perimeter, and there's even a special group left behind to clean up the scene and cover up the traces."
Xue Qinghe's gaze towards Ling Yun became increasingly filled with undisguised admiration and seriousness. "Brother Ling is indeed astute; our royal think tank ultimately reached the same conclusion."
Ling Yun pushed the report back to Xue Qinghe: "This is a well-organized group of Evil Soul Masters, no doubt about it. Have you found out the names of these bastards?"
I'm ashamed to say I know nothing about it.
Ling Yun shut his mouth and remained silent. He certainly couldn't utter the words "Holy Spirit Cult" now. With his current information network, he had no way of knowing the name of this organization hidden in the deepest darkness. However, images of Tang San, that madman; Yu Tianheng, drained of his life force; Bai Tu, his gruesome death... those bizarre images of corpses drained of their life force were constantly replaying in his mind. Now, there was the strange disappearance of entire villages.
This is no longer just a few psychopaths acting independently. These seemingly isolated tragedies are slowly connecting to form a blood-stained venomous snake.
Xue Qinghe stared intently at Ling Yun's face. "Brother Ling, are you interested in joining forces with me to dig out these rats from the gutter?"
Ling Yun decisively shook his head. "Not interested."
Xue Qinghe was genuinely surprised. "This isn't like you, Ling Yun. How can you sit still after hearing about this indiscriminate killing of innocent people?"
"I used to be like a firecracker, easily ignited," Ling Yun sighed. "But now, I'm not as foolish as I used to be."
What do you mean by that?
"If I got carried away with my passion, I'd grab a sword and charge with you to the southwestern border." Ling Yun looked at Xue Qinghe. "At best, we'd just get Haozi and catch a few lowly errand boys who collect scraps, kill them, and then what?"
Xue Qinghe was stumped and could not answer.
"Then, by stirring up trouble, those big rats who are truly controlling everything behind the scenes will immediately cut off all leads, hide even deeper than before, and once the heat dies down, they'll move to another country, another place, and continue killing and Leech Life," Ling Yun leaned back in his chair. "I, Ling Yun, am a human being, not a god. I don't have the time to follow these bastards around every day, putting out fires and cleaning up their messes."
"So, according to you, you're planning to just stand by and watch?"
"I said I want to practice my sword first." Ling Yun took a deep breath, his eyes sharper than ever before. "I'll wait, wait until these bastards can't hold back anymore and reveal their big, deadly fox tails."
Xue Qinghe placed her hands on the table, staring intently at him. "Aren't you afraid that more innocent people will die while we wait?"
Ling Yun fell silent. This time, he didn't immediately retort with his usual glib tongue.
The pavilion remained quiet for a long time, with only the sound of the wind rustling through the bamboo leaves.
After a long silence, Ling Yun finally spoke, his voice slightly hoarse. "Fear. Of course I'm afraid. But I know very well that even if I rushed over now without regard for anything else, I might not be able to save the next group of people being targeted. On the contrary, I'm more likely to alert them and cause the big fish behind them to retreat back into the deep sea. Like I said, I'm not a god. I can't be omniscient and omnipotent, and I can't just grow wings and fly over to save people whenever I hear that someone has died in some territory."
Looking at the young man before him, Xue Qinghe's eyes, for the first time, shed their political considerations and revealed a genuine awe that could be described as "scrutiny."
Ling Yun continued, his voice growing increasingly steady. "Now that your Heaven Dou Imperial Family has discovered this, continue your investigation. Our Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect will also utilize our intelligence network to investigate, and that old fox, Old Poison, will certainly be busy investigating as well. Once you've gathered all the clues, once we've finally determined what these things hiding in the mud really are..."
Ling Yun raised his right hand, bent his fingers, and flicked the chessboard hard from a distance.
"Zheng--,"
A crisp, invisible sword cry, carrying a chilling aura, resounded in the pavilion, causing the chess pieces on the table to bounce.
"When the time comes, I, Ling Yun, will personally take up my sword and chop off their dog heads one by one."
Looking at the spirited Ling Yun, Xue Qinghe finally smiled from the bottom of his heart. He stood up and straightened his robe. "Brother Ling, I have a growing premonition that failing to do everything in my power to bring you into the Heaven Dou Imperial Family's camp this time would be the biggest loss of my Xue Qinghe."
Ling Yun also stood up, chuckling, "Don't be so quick to judge, Your Highness. Maybe later you'll be hiding under the covers every day, thankful you didn't take in this troublemaker today."
The two exchanged a smile, and neither of them touched upon that heavy topic again.
Half an hour later.
Before the towering gates of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, the luxurious carriage of the Heaven Dou Crown Prince was ready, and the guards stood at attention, preparing to return to Heaven Dou City.
As the host, Ning Fengzhi graciously escorted Xue Qinghe to the gate. Xue Qinghe remained the same gentle, polite, and impeccable Heaven Dou Crown Prince, smiling as he bowed to everyone present in farewell.
Finally, he walked to the Carriage, turned around, and looked intently at Ling Yun standing on the steps. He clasped his hands in a fist and said, "Brother Ling, may our paths cross again someday."
"Of course, Your Highness, please take care." Ling Yun waved casually.
Xue Qinghe nodded, turned around, and was about to step onto the footstool to board the Carriage.
Just then, Ling Yun suddenly shouted from behind, "Hey, Your Highness, wait a moment!"
Xue Qinghe abruptly stopped in mid-air, turned around and asked, "Brother Ling, is there anything important I forgot to tell you?"
Ling Yun stood on the high steps, his hands casually tucked into his wide sleeves. "It's nothing major, just something I'd like to trouble Your Highness with. If it's convenient, could you please pass on a message to the Great Enshrined Master?"
Xue Qinghe slowly turned around, staring intently at Ling Yun, his smile remaining flawless, "Brother Ling, it seems you are truly exhausted. I already said in the hall earlier that I, Xue Qinghe, do not know any of the Great Enshrined of the Spirit Hall."
Ling Yun nodded, giving him an "I understand, I understand" look. "I know, don't you recognize it?"
"Then what did you mean by what you just said?"
"Hey, I'm all about fate. I was just saying, what if one day you're walking down the street and, by sheer luck, you bump into that Great Enshrined?" Ling Yun's smile had an undeniably irritating quality. "If you do run into him, could you please tell him... on the day of the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament Grand Finals in the Papal Hall, I'd like to thank him for sparing my life. Thanks!"
Xue Qinghe stood beside the Carriage, quietly watching Ling Yun on the steps. The two of them stared at each other for a full three breaths, separated by a dozen steps.
Finally, Xue Qinghe took a deep breath and put on his standard princely smile again, "Brother Ling's words today are becoming increasingly profound; Qinghe really doesn't understand them."
Ling Yun grinned, revealing a set of white teeth. "It's best if you don't understand. Understanding it will only make it harder to fall asleep. Your Highness, please take care. I won't see you off any further."