Chapter Forty-Six: The Silent Town

"Thank you, Third Young Master." Mu Yudie stood up, calmly and unhurriedly packing away the ancient zither. She gazed at the flickering-eyed Envoy of the Nether Moon and said, "After so long chasing, did you ever expect you'd bury yourself as well?"

"Bei Mingce, this is a matter between the Dark Nether and the Mu family. Your Bei Ming family would do best not to interfere!" The Envoy of the Nether Moon did not look at Mu Yudie, but stared straight at Bei Mingce. "If you let me take Miss Mu away, our Nether Lord will surely reward your Bei Ming family. Anything can be negotiated."

"No need," Bei Mingce shook his head, his voice tranquil. "Since you've come, don't bother leaving."

Behind him, two elderly men, one stout and one slender, suddenly darted forward again.

They moved like fiends, lunging directly at the envoys of the Dark Nether. Within seconds, including the Envoy of the Nether Moon, all the envoys had been disemboweled, dying violently on the spot.

Having finished, the two sinister elders silently returned to stand behind Bei Mingce, like two shadows.

Di Yalan stood beside Mu Yudie, witnessing the gruesome deaths of the envoys, her face filled with horror.

Though she knew the Bei Ming family was formidable in the business alliance, she had not expected their dominance to be so absolute! The Bei Ming family paid no heed to the Dark Nether, acting ruthlessly, killing without hesitation and showing no courtesy.

"Lanie, do you still think our decision was mistaken?" Mu Yudie asked with a smile.

Di Yalan's expression was complicated; she sighed softly. "You were right, but I..."

"Don't dwell on it. For our future, it's best to forget what should be forgotten," Mu Yudie advised gently.

"Mm." Di Yalan nodded, resignation written all over her face.

"May we depart now?" Bei Mingce's dark eyes drifted over Di Yalan and Mu Yudie for a moment, his manner courteous.

"Of course."

...

Elsewhere in the stone forest.

Shi Yan had just entered a side path when he suddenly sensed danger and quickly retreated.

"Swish!"

An arrow flashed past him, and at the same time, a Blue Smoke Bomb from the Mo family shot skyward.

"Hmph! So it's you again! How reckless!" Shi Yan's face was grim as he snorted coldly.

Mo Yanyu, holding a crossbow, emerged cold-faced from a stone cave, staring at him icily. "You've finally shown yourself!"

The one-armed Qiangsen and Li Han also stepped out from behind rocks, blocking Shi Yan on either side, their faces wary.

"Courting death!"

Shi Yan roared, his body suddenly shooting forward like a sharp blade, lunging at Mo Yanyu.

As he sped toward her, white mist swirled around his body, murderous intent soaring, like a ferocious demon.

"Miss, be careful!" Li Han cried out, darting toward Mo Yanyu like a floating leaf struck by lightning.

Li Han possessed the cultivation of Second Heaven of the Human Rank. At a glance, he could see the terrifying explosive power hidden within Shi Yan's body! Such fierce force would be hard for Mo Yanyu to withstand.

"Shhh!"

Shi Yan's heels scraped the ground, his body leaning back, gouging out a long trench in the earth. He abruptly halted mid-charge, spun around, and with even greater speed, rushed at Qiangsen.

"Boom!"

Qiangsen had not yet understood what was happening when a white blur slammed into him, the force like a mountain collapse crashing into his body.

"Crack, crack, crack!"

Qiangsen's bones shattered throughout his body, blood streaming from his mouth and eye sockets. He fell to the ground, groaning in agony.

"Qiangsen, is it? Was it satisfying when you whipped me before?" Shi Yan stood beside Qiangsen, kicking his chest repeatedly, each kick accompanied by a cold laugh. "Is it even more satisfying now? Hmm?"

Qiangsen's face was terrified; the broken bones in his chest had pierced his heart, his eyes rolled back, and he died instantly.

"Such cruelty!" Li Han's expression changed drastically. He wanted to step forward and kill Shi Yan, but worried Mo Yanyu would suffer the same fate as Qiangsen. He hesitated, shouting but dared not intervene.

Mo Yanyu's beautiful eyes were filled with shock, watching as Shi Yan brutally killed Qiangsen. She stood frozen for a moment.

Qiangsen's essence quickly vanished into Shi Yan's acupoints; in just a few seconds, Qiangsen's life energy was utterly gone.

Shi Yan turned, his gaze burning as he stared at Mo Yanyu, sneering coldly. "Beautiful lady, we will meet again. Believe me, you will regret provoking me."

With those words, he ducked into a hollow stone, wandered the stone forest for a while, and disappeared.

"Old Li, why didn't you kill him?" Mo Yanyu exclaimed angrily after Shi Yan vanished.

"That fellow has at least the cultivation of Second Heaven of the Innate Rank, and his methods are ruthless—every move is a killing strike. He's so fast I can barely keep up. If I leave your side, you'll become his target. I feared for your safety..." Li Han replied helplessly.

"Second Heaven of the Innate Rank!"

Mo Yanyu drew a sharp breath, her eyes growing even more frightened. She muttered, "Impossible. Two months ago, he had only a thread of vital energy, barely at First Heaven of the Postnatal Rank!"

"What?" Li Han was stunned, staring at her in disbelief. After a long pause, he said, "If that's true, forgive my bluntness, Miss—you've brought the Mo family a serious calamity!"

...

Shi Yan moved calmly, darting quickly through the stone forest, lingering nowhere.

He had seen that Li Han was of the Human Rank, and with the Mo family's Blue Smoke Bomb now in the air, experts would soon converge. He needed to leave quickly, lest he be surrounded.

It was his vigilance that allowed him to escape the dangerous area long before Mo Chaoge and his party arrived.

There seemed to be few true killers lurking in the stone forest; as Shi Yan fled, no stranger ambushed him. This surprised him and made him suspect the forest's unusual emptiness might be linked to the important figure Mu Yudie was waiting for.

Toward evening.

Shi Yan finally made it through the stone forest and headed toward the nearby Silent Town.

He slowed his pace, taking time to sift through the memories of the body's original owner, carefully learning all about the Shi family.

He needed the identity of this body's original owner.

As one of the five great families in the business alliance, the Shi family possessed unparalleled advantages in martial cultivation resources: martial skills, gravity training halls, rare medicinal herbs, guidance from powerful experts...

He needed to exploit these advantages to maximize his own power.

Long ago, at the edge of the blood pool, he had decided to go to the Shi family. Because of this plan, he refused Mu Yudie's invitation.

The identity of this body's original owner was special; joining a foreign force would only lead to unnecessary trouble.

Besides, a foreign force would never use their best resources on him.

The Shi family was different...

The original owner of this body was a young master of the Shi family. As long as he displayed enough talent, the Shi family would spare no effort to nurture him, never stingy with cultivation resources.

With such advantages, not using them would be a waste.

...

Stepping into Silent Town, without hesitation, Shi Yan headed straight for a shop that purchased all kinds of rare ores. He entered boldly and called out, "Someone come here!"

A shop assistant, with the look of a servant, greeted him with a fawning smile. "Young Master Yan, welcome back! The family head was worried since you hadn't returned from the Dark Forest and sent Elder Han to fetch you. Young Master Yan, Elder Han is in the backyard. He's been waiting for you a while, though now he's a bit... occupied. Would you like to wait a while?"

The assistant's expression was ambiguous, his gaze toward the backyard full of meaning.

"No need, I know what he's doing." Shi Yan ignored him and strode toward the backyard.

In the backyard, several Shi family martial artists were gambling. Seeing Shi Yan approach, they grew flustered, hurriedly stashing the dice and greeting him in unison, "Young Master Yan!"

"Carry on," Shi Yan waved, striding through them, heading for a private room at the rear.

The gamblers were surprised as Shi Yan left without a word of reproach.

"Hey, Young Master Yan didn't scold us this time. That's odd."

"Yeah, he used to lecture us every time he caught us gambling, saying we were neglecting our duties and letting vice ruin us. This time, nothing—strange!"

"Young Master Yan seems different now, like he has some presence, a certain authority. Did you notice?"

"Now that you mention it, I really do!"

"......"

Shi Yan reached the private room, pushed open the door, and strode in. "Uncle Han, when did you arrive?"

Inside, Han Zhong was energetically engaged with a voluptuous young woman, shouting in excitement, "Nine shallow, one deep! Let you feel my nine shallow, one deep! Powerful enough? Little minx, see if I don't wear you out!"

"Oh, Lord Han, you're so mighty!" The woman, flushed and sweating, lay beside him, her snow-white legs tightly wrapped around Han Zhong's waist, calling out loudly.

Caught at their moment of passion, neither noticed Shi Yan's entrance, continuing their cries.

Shi Yan grinned, sat naturally in a chair, poured himself tea, and watched them with a smiling gaze.

Two minutes later.

Han Zhong, after a low groan, collapsed on the woman like a dead dog, lazily saying, "How was that? Am I better than your husband Wu Gui?"

"That turtle can't compare to you, Lord Han!" The woman stretched languidly, then glanced aside, suddenly seeing Shi Yan sipping tea. She shrieked, "Ah—!"

Han Zhong froze, hurriedly dressing, laughing awkwardly. "...Um, Young Master Yan, when did you come in?"

"For a while now," Shi Yan smiled, took another sip, and waved his hand. "No worries. If you're not satisfied yet, go ahead and do another round of nine shallow, one deep. I'm bored anyway, might as well observe and learn a thing or two from you, Uncle Han."

"Cough, cough, cough!" Han Zhong coughed violently, embarrassed. "Satisfied, very satisfied. Well, Miss Fengxian, shouldn't you get back to your business?"

"Yes, I'm going now." The woman hurriedly dressed, blushing as she slipped off the bed. At the doorway, she turned to glare at Shi Yan. "Everyone says Young Master Yan of the Shi family is the most proper, but I think their eyes are blind. I’ve never seen such a wicked ‘proper’ young master! Hmph!"

With that, Miss Fengxian giggled, tossed Shi Yan a coquettish wink, and left in a graceful swirl.

...