Chapter 280 - Mysterious Murderer

The carriage driver wiped the sweat on his forehead and smiled. “That’s good. Well, yesterday a young man ordered me to send this person here…” He carefully put down Mo Hengyu as he spoke.

“Now that I’ve brought him here, I’ll be excusing myself…” The driver saluted the two men in black robes before turning around and walking down the mountain. He hadn’t taken more than ten steps down the stairs when a jeering sound echoed in his ears. His head became severed from his shoulders. Blood spilled everywhere.

The man, along with his head, rolled down the mountain. Mo Hengyu trembled in fright and whined noiselessly. The two men in black robes exchanged glances. One of them tapped on Mo Hengyu’s body, releasing the seal that Xiao Chen placed.

“I’ll speak! I’ll tell you everything! Please don’t kill me! It’s a man in Heavenly Water City. He previously pretended to be my Junior Brother Wang Luo. His cultivation is high and he has a cat and a pretty lady in red with him. He calls the lady Xin’er…”

Over on Xiao Chen’s side, the two of them continued traveling northward after waking up in the morning. Even when twilight fell, they still saw no sign of habitation. Zhiluan, sprawled on Xiao Chen’s shoulder, was feeling bored to death. “Kid, how much longer are you walking? You’re going to work me to death…”

He was speaking when smoke suddenly rose in the distance. When they walked closer, they saw several wooden houses stitched together in a neat row with many tables and chairs placed outside. There were ten or so muscular men seated at the tables, drinking wine and enjoying meat. Two servants were busy serving them food and drinks.

It turned out that they had arrived at a tavern in the outskirts, whose customers were typically traveling merchants. It seemed that they were still a fair distance away from the next town.

When a servant spotted them approaching, he immediately walked up to them with a bright smile. “We’re several hundred miles away from the Burg of the Feral Phoenix. You two must be tired from your journey. Do you need to spend the night here?”

Ten or so heated stares landed on them. Their hearts thumped when they saw Huangfu Xin’er. “What a beautiful lady,” they thought.

Xiao Chen flicked his sleeves and swept away the withered leaves on the table and chairs. “Please bring us some dishes.”

“Of course! Please wait for a moment, esteemed guests!”

Moments later, the servant served them several plates of piping hot dishes. Huangfu Xin’er said emotionlessly, “Please bring us a pot of fine wine as well.”

“Why don’t we skip the wine? Your injuries haven’t healed,” Xiao Chen said, reaching out with his hand.

Huangfu Xin’er didn’t say anything. Suddenly, laughter rang from a bearded muscular man. “Lady, come over here if you want a drink! We don’t have anything else but you can drink to your heart’s desire with us!”

When he was done speaking, the other burly men roared in laughter as well. Xiao Chen frowned. These men were ordinary martial artists that warranted no fear from them. Huangfu Xin’er put on a weak smile. “Sounds good. I hope you all don’t fall into eternal slumber after drinking with me.”

“Yo! This lady is feisty!”

The ten or so burly men walked over to them while guffawing. The bearded man joined Huangfu Xin’er’s side and said with a great laugh, “Let’s go, lady! This pretty boy won’t let you drink, but I’ll let you drink as much as you want! So much so that you’ll burst!” He reached out to pull her arm.

Xiao Chen slammed his palm on the table. His Core Forming Realm aura immediately enveloped the place. The leaves nearby trembled and the burly men from the Jianghu were frozen in place.

“Culti-cultivators?”

The burly men immediately lowered their heads and returned to their tables. Fearless now that Xiao Chen was acting as a deterrent, Zhiluan stretched his paws and said proudly, “Shopkeeper, take out the best dishes your shop has to offer!”

The burly men and the diners sitting inside the tavern were flabbergasted. “As expected of a cultivator. Even his cat can speak human language.”

Upset at the stares coming from all directions, Zhiluan crossed his paws in front of his chest and said proudly, “I’ll have you know that this great one isn’t this kid’s cat. I came here under the direct order of the Jade Emperor…”

“Shut your mouth if you don’t want to be turned into a pill ingredient!” Xiao Chen glared at him.

Shortly after, delicacies of all kinds and wine were served on their table. The servant didn’t dare to say much after seeing that Xiao Chen was a cultivator. After serving them two cups of wine, he bowed with a smile and said, “Please enjoy your meal, esteemed guests.” With that said, he excused himself.

Huangfu Xin’er picked up a cup of wine and said emotionlessly, “I’ll drain my cup. You can do as you please.” She raised her head and finished the wine in one shot.

Staring at the chrome-yellow, limpid wine inside the jar, Xiao Chen sighed quietly and drained his cup as well. However, wine only worsened worries. When a person in dilemma would only feel worse after drinking wine. On the one hand, he was estranged from Huangfu Xin’er. On the other hand, he had no idea what was going on in Tianyuan City. He had gone missing for almost two months. Xian’er and the others must be worried out of their minds…

“I’ll drain my cup as well! You two can do as you please.” Zhiluan produced a cup out of nowhere and filled it with wine. He used his paw to stir it before testing it with his tongue. He then spat it out. “Compared to the Bejeweled Nectar that Queen Mother of the West serves at her Banquet of Immortality Peaches, this wine is pretty much tasteless…”

Xiao Chen, deeply frustrated in the first place, couldn’t help smiling when he saw how Zhiluan feigned seriousness. “You Leopard Cat Spirit, will you die if you don’t boast?”

That rubbed Zhiluan the wrong way. He put down the wine up and whined, “Since when am I boasting? Had that monkey not make a mess of the Banquet of Immortality Peaches and cause the Immortal Wood to fall in the Human World… Forget it. What would a little human like you know?”

“Immortal Wood? There’s an Undying Nation in the Great Desolate where they feed on Immortal Wood. Could it be that the legendary Undying Tree fell from the Heavenly Palace?”

“Huh! I didn’t think you’d know a thing or two!”

“Tsk.” Xiao Chen shook his head with a snort and ignored him. When he saw Huangfu Xin’er downing the wine without touching the food, he said, “Xin’er, are you not going to eat something?”

Huangfu Xin’er put down the cup in her hand and said, after a long time, “Do you treat her this way too?”

“What?” Xiao Chen was stunned. Perhaps he himself didn’t notice that this was how he treated everyone around him and lacked the kind of gentleness reserved for a special someone.

“Nothing.”

Xiao Chen smiled. “When we return…” Before he could finish his sentence, he felt an incredibly powerful disturbance coming from the southwest direction. He hastily pulled Huangfu Xin’er up and into the air. A loud explosion resounded and a ravine appeared in the place where they previously sat.

Twigs and branches splashed across the forest. Several wooden houses collapsed under the powerful Sword Qi and ten or so diners either died or suffered injuries. No one knew what happened. By the time they recovered their senses, they could only see seven men in black robes coming out of the forest.

“Meow! What’s going on?!” Zhiluan was so frightened that he unfolded his wings and flew into the air.

Placing Huangfu Xin’er behind him, he stared coldly at the black-robed men who had appeared out of nowhere. Their murderous aura was too thick for them to be ordinary assassins.

“Who are you people?”

Without saying anything, the seven men attacked with incredible sharp killer moves at a lightning-fast speed. In an instant, half of the little forest was ruined. Those who survived the earlier attack had long fled to safety.

Huangfu Xin’er began summoning her True Energy when she saw how ferocious and unrelenting these men’s attacks but Xiao Chen pressed down on her wrist to stop her. “You’re still injured. Stay put!” he said as he took out the Blood Lotus Demon Blade at the same time. He swung his blade, producing a blood-red radiance that expanded more than a hundred feet, and forced the seven black-robed men to step backward.

Unfortunately, the men had such great teamwork that they were able to attack almost immediately. Xiao Chen sent Huangfu Xin’er flying backward. Seeing this, Zhiluan instantly grabbed her and flew upward.

“Take her away!” Xiao Chen yelled.

He immediately summoned all of his True Energy and unleashed the Dragon Slay in its entirety, causing the earth to quake so hard that it felt like the world was collapsing. However, as great as his move was, the seven men easily neutralized the threat with their teamwork.

Xiao Chen couldn’t help feeling stunned. Every one of the men had strength close to the peak of the Core Forming Realm. They were completely different from the assassins who worked purely for money that he met at the Thousand Summits Mountain. These men must be from a certain formidable faction similar to the Hidden Fragrance Wafting Under the Moon.

“I’ll ask you again! Who exactly are you people?” Xiao Chen stared coldly at them as he emanated an overpowering murderous aura. The clear sky became filled with dark clouds in an instant.

“We’re people who will take your life!” the leader of the black-robed men retorted as he struck Xiao Chen with a palm attack. His palm strength evolved into a purple Qi in midair and swirled like a tornado charging at Xiao Chen with overwhelming force. Unable to withstand the pressure, boulders and trees nearby were reduced into fine powder.

When Xiao Chen blocked the attack with his blade, he felt his arm sinking from the force. To his surprise, it almost felt as if he was too weak to resist the attack. The other six black-robed men took advantage of the moment to attack him in unison.

Facing one overpowering palm attack after another, Xiao Chen was forced into a dire situation. He couldn’t help taking backward steps in retreat. Huangfu Xin’er, who saw everything from a distance, cried, “Leopard Cat Spirit! Put me down!”

“No way! Those men are too powerful! You’d be useless even if you go! If something happens to you, that kid will surely have my head!”

“I’ll say this again! Put me down!”

Her voice was so cold that anyone who heard her would feel a chill run down their back. However, Zhiluan ignored her. Clenching his teeth, he carried her northward. Seeing this, two of the group of black-robed men chased after them, leaving five to deal with Xiao Chen.