They did not keep them waiting long. Before long, Ning Chaoyi and the other two returned.
The reason they came back rather late was because it was almost dawn. The villagers would not wait for the sun to rise before starting work. Before the sun came out, the village was already bustling with people coming and going. Added to that, they did not know what else was hidden in the village. The three of them had been a bit careful to avoid detection, so their return speed was not that fast.
For those waiting, they no longer cared about this. Their eyes were all fixed on the bundle wrapped in a tattered quilt that Ning Chaoyi carried in his hand. It felt so long, like that thing.
Yu Qing and the others could not help but look toward the golden halberd thrown in the corner, subconsciously making a comparison. This included Lu Xingyun and her daughter who were walking over.
There was no helping it. They had gone specifically for this thing. When the three suddenly brought back something of this shape, it was hard for the few of them not to make that association.
However, they did not dare to be certain. They had only sent them to investigate. Had they directly brought the halberd back just like that?
Ning Chaoyi did not say a single word either. He did not play games with them. He directly unrolled the bundle, revealing the hard object inside. Another golden halberd appeared before everyone’s eyes.
“Another one?” Nan Zhu was stunned.
Shen Qingcheng looked at the one in the corner. “It looks exactly the same. Could Rift Valley Manor have made many counterfeits?”
Ning Chaoyi said with certainty, “This one is real.”
Those who had not experienced the search process showed confusion. They did not know how he could be so certain, since it looked exactly like the one thrown on the ground.
They had gone to the village silently and brought back the real one? Yu Qing said disbelievingly, “How does Mr. Ning know it is real?”
Ning Chaoyi held the halberd horizontally, pushed it out, and let it rest in his palm. “I do not believe this one was made as a counterfeit. You will know if it is real or fake once you hold it.”
Yu Qing made a sound of acknowledgment. Naturally he wanted to try. He immediately went over and grabbed it. The moment he grabbed it, he let go. His reaction was like he had been slapped, staggering back a step.
Fortunately, Ning Chaoyi had anticipated this and caught it again.
Those who had not experienced it were all shocked and suspicious. They did not know what Yu Qing’s big reaction meant.
Nan Zhu asked Yu Qing, “What happened? What is the situation?”
Gradually calming down, Yu Qing answered indirectly, nodding repeatedly there. “Correct. This is real.”
The others were naturally curious. What did he mean by knowing if it was real or fake by holding it? Naturally they wanted to try too.
The first to try was Nan Zhu. He had already prepared himself mentally before going for it. Only after grabbing it did he realise that mental preparation was useless. It seemed this halberd contained enormous energy within it, capable of bringing a huge impact to body and mind. An ordinary person might drop dead on the spot from touching it.
Mu Aotie, Qiao Qie’er, Lu Xingyun and her daughter tried one by one. All of them were struck by the internal power of this metal weapon itself.
Seeing everyone’s reactions, Ning Chaoyi held the halberd horizontally again and stared at Yu Qing, asking, “What exactly is this thing? I do not think it is an ordinary magical instrument. Tell me, which craftsman in the world today could create such an object?”
Yu Qing spoke evasively, “I am not clear what exactly it is either. This thing, you found it after going there silently. It seems there was no resistance at all. Was there no guard? Was it just placed there for you to take?”
To put it plainly, he felt this thing had been obtained too easily. It seemed somewhat abnormal.
“Actually we were puzzled too. It really was almost like picking it up for free. That dirty old man smoking a dry pipe, the villagers all call him Old Master Wu. His seniority is indeed very high. The three manor lords are all polite when they see him. When we snuck into his house, he was already home, cooking. We subdued him, searched his house, and indeed discovered something abnormal. In a cellar in the stable, we found three corpses…”
Nie Pinlan roughly narrated the course of events. When speaking of the situation in the underground stone chamber, she was clearly still shaken.
Yu Qing was already listening with rapidly flashing eyes. Nan Zhu and Mu Aotie also had faces full of shock and suspicion.
Ning Chaoyi stared at Yu Qing. “If you had not set your sights on that Old Master Wu, it would truly be hard to believe that a broken-down old man in a broken-down house in a broken-down village would have such a thing hidden underground. It must be said that your judgment was accurate. Otherwise, with thousands of households, if our few people searched house by house, we probably could not finish searching in a month.”
These words seemed like praise, but the meaning of doubt was very obvious. The tone clearly suspected whether Yu Qing knew something.
Nan Zhu suddenly blurted out, “The three corpses with their hearts gouged out that you found in the cellar, were they dead not long ago?”
At these words, Ning Chaoyi and the Thief Couple were stunned. This was because Nie Pinlan had not detailed the corpses just now, nor had she said the three corpses had died recently.
Thus it aroused Nie Pinlan’s shock and suspicion. “Correct. They had just died. How did you know?”
Nan Zhu immediately looked at Yu Qing. “Looks like we ran into it. What do we do?”
Yu Qing was already secretly gritting his teeth. He also asked, “Sister Nie, think carefully. How long do you estimate those three corpses have been dead by now?”
Ning Chaoyi said suspiciously, “Is this still important? We currently cannot figure out the situation with that sleeping old man. We took his things, especially something that is not an ordinary item. We cannot figure out what consequences this might bring. The safest course of action now is to leave here first.”
Yu Qing ignored him, staring at Nie Pinlan and continuing, “Sister Nie, this is very important!”
Nan Zhu also nodded repeatedly, “Yes, very important.”
Qiao Qie’er also interjected at this time, “Since everyone is already in this together, please explain clearly.”
Ning Chaoyi and the others looked at her. Clearly they agreed with her words, pausing the disagreement.
Afterward, Nie Pinlan thought about it. She looked at Ning Chaoyi while pondering, saying, “When I first saw the corpses, I estimated they had been dead less than half an hour. What does the gentleman think? You examined the corpses.”
Ning Chaoyi agreed with a slight nod. “Less than half an hour. Before we arrived, they should have been dead for about a quarter of an hour. We searched Old Master Wu’s house for a while before discovering the corpses.”
Nie Pinlan thought again and said, “After we messed around in the cellar for a while, we broke into the underground stone chamber. Actually we did not spend much time in there before coming out. Including the return trip, it took about another half hour. Up to now, I estimate the three corpses have been dead for about an hour.”
Yu Qing immediately said, “Can you confirm it is within one hour?”
Ning Chaoyi said, “This is a rough estimate. We do not know exactly how long, but it is definitely within one hour. Look at the sky outside and you will know. From when we set out to leave until now, added together it probably has not been an hour yet? What exactly is wrong with those three corpses? Is there a problem?”
Nie Pinlan thought of something and asked, “People killed by monsters must be burned as soon as possible. There seems to be such a custom here. Is it related to this?”
What was this woman thinking? The three martial brothers thought inwardly. It was also hard to tell them the truth.
From the moment they heard them say they discovered a sleeping old man in the underground secret chamber, and then they took the real golden halberd from beside the old man, and the old man remained asleep from start to finish without any reaction, they immediately associated it with those three dead corpses.
Because the man in black had said that the terrifying sleeper at Rift Valley Manor needed to rely on heart blood to maintain his undying fleshly body. After consuming heart blood, he would fall into a state of complete slumber within one and a half hours. External movements could not easily wake him.
As a result, when they asked about the time of death of the three dead people, it indeed matched. Within one and a half hours. No wonder they could take the real golden halberd so easily.
As for why the sleeper suddenly consumed three people’s heart blood at once, it was not hard to understand. Something had happened at Rift Valley Manor. The method of consuming heart blood once every few months to maintain the fleshly body state was no longer suitable. Clearly he was already making preparations.
In any case, ignoring their questions, Yu Qing urged urgently, “Stop guessing. If you keep guessing it will be too late. Quick, where is that underground secret chamber? Quickly take us there.”
Nie Pinlan asked, “We left with our hearts in our mouths with great difficulty. Why run back again?”
Mu Aotie suddenly said urgently, “Quickly lead the way. If we delay any longer it will be too late. Once that old man wakes up, we probably may not be able to take the golden halberd away.”
He rarely spoke, especially saying so much in one breath. Qiao Qie’er looked at him, then swept her eyes over the anxious appearances of the three martial brothers. She immediately also urged, “Quickly lead the way.”
Ning Chaoyi immediately used tattered quilts and such to quickly wrap the golden halberd. He could not just throw this thing down.
Very quickly, the group successively jumped out from the cave.
Nan Zhu was the last to jump out. He still carried a counterfeit golden halberd on his shoulder, hurrying after everyone behind him. He could not find anything to wrap it in for the moment.
There was no helping it. This thing, even if not sold as an antique, even if just talking about the gold’s value, was worth quite a bit of money. Who knew if that whatever Golden Ruins could be entered in the end? He felt it was not yet time to throw away the counterfeit golden halberd.
A man in black stood on the mountaintop facing the morning wind. His long hair draped over his shoulders fluttered. His gaze noticed the group of people flying toward the village at the foot of the mountain. Suddenly his eyes widened considerably, an obvious look of shock. His gaze followed Nan Zhu the fatty, fixing on the golden halberd he carried on his shoulder…
This time entering the village, there was no more sneaking around. They directly leaped and flew across the rooftops of every household in the village.
This was Yu Qing’s meaning. They were racing against time!
If any hidden cultivators came out to block them, they would immediately charge through and kill past. They must not engage in any entanglement. The meaning was to reach the target location at any cost. It was truly urgent!
Their flying speed was strange. If they passed overhead, unless one happened to see them, ordinary people who heard a sound and reacted, unless in a place with open views, otherwise ordinary villagers would not easily discover them.
The group quickly arrived at Old Master Wu’s earthen-walled courtyard. They directly found the stable cellar and went in. Nie Pinlan had just opened the secret passage entrance when the three martial brothers had already pulled out fluorescent stones and rushed in.
Going down the stairs all the way, seeing the stone door, Nie Pinlan had just said, “It is right inside.”
Before she could open the door, Yu Qing had already drawn his sword with a swish. Bang! He kicked the stone door to pieces and charged in.
Nan Zhu casually clanged and threw down the golden halberd in his hand. He and Mu Aotie also drew their swords and charged in.
Seeing the old man lying quietly on the jade couch, Yu Qing did not even have time to examine him carefully. He directly brought his sword down with a fierce chop. One sword cut off his neck, sending his head flying. Blood sprayed out. Even the jade couch below was directly chopped apart. This was a merciless killing blow from the very start.
Seeing their fifteenth junior brother strike first, the excited Nan Zhu shouted, “Chop him!”
He and Mu Aotie rushed forward competitively. When they rushed over, they followed Yu Qing in swinging their swords wildly.
The three martial brothers stood side by side swinging their swords without stop, wildly stabbing, chopping, and hacking. They did not stop even after chopping the jade couch to pieces, as if afraid the chopped-up corpse would come back to life.
The group at the doorway were all dumbstruck. They could be described as staring with mouths agape. It was the first time they had seen cultivators behave like this. They were acting like bandits and robbers. Even like this, the three of them still worked together in unison and would not let go. What the hell?
The person was chopped to pieces. The jade couch was also chopped to pieces along with him.
Of course, there was also the evil energy spraying and exploding from within the corpse, concealing the figures of the three people who were still swinging their swords and clanging as they chopped at the ground.