Truth be told, if they had not seen the evil aura bursting out, the three martial brothers would not have hacked away so frantically. Now, if they did not chop him into minced meat, they really could not rest easy.
It was not for any other reason. People possessed by evil aura were uncanny. They had suffered losses before. If they did not eradicate evil thoroughly, they feared endless future trouble.
Within the dense, swirling evil aura, besides human figures and the chaotic clanging of hacking sounds, there was also Big Head’s “di-di-di” chirping mixed in. The entire scene was smoky, chaotic, and utterly messy.
The evil aura was too dense. Even though Ning Chaoyi and the others could use spells to resist it, they were unwilling to stay inside it for long. Staying in the evil aura for too long was hard to endure. The key point was that they could not see anything at all, which gave people an inexplicable sense of danger. Apart from Qiao Qie’er, the others had no choice but to retreat quickly while blind.
However, just as the few of them had retreated back into the cellar, having just rushed out from the end of the evil aura, they suddenly saw the evil aura rolling back like a tornado. It actually withdrew back along the underground secret passage. The situation was very strange.
“What is happening?” Nie Pinlan asked in alarm and uncertainty.
None of those present could answer. Behind them were still the three corpses in the cellar.
Outside the stone chamber, Qiao Qie’er blinked her bright eyes again and again. She once more witnessed the scene of the evil aura rapidly converging back onto Yu Qing’s body.
Yu Qing also ran out quickly carrying his sword. Not seeing those people, he then asked Qiao Qie’er in a low voice, “They did not see, right?”
Qiao Qie’er shook her head and also replied in a low voice, “Rest assured. They were forced out by the evil aura. They did not see.”
“Having one’s own wife around is truly good.”
Yu Qing, chuckling with a “hehe,” suddenly took advantage of Qiao Qie’er’s inattention while she was looking back at the steps, and quickly gave her fair, tender cheek a loud smack.
Qiao Qie’er did not know whether to laugh or cry. Her face held a slight reproach mixed with a hint of bashfulness, and her eyes also contained some tender affection. Of course, she did not forget to punch him and push away this improper fellow who still wanted a few more kisses. Did he not see what kind of occasion this was? He was holding a sword in one hand to kill people, yet he still had the mood to think about this. Was it not disgusting? Furthermore, there were other people present. It was embarrassing.
Right at this moment, Ning Chaoyi and the others hurriedly came back along the steps, looking around in alarm and doubt, not knowing where so much evil aura had suddenly gone. How could it be there one moment and gone the next?
The stone chamber had also quietened down. Nan Zhu and Mu Aotie also came out carrying their swords.
“We have checked. We did not find any hidden passages or secret rooms inside.”
Nan Zhu gave an explanation. At the same time, he bent down and picked up that golden halberd. His long sword returned to its scabbard, and the golden halberd was in his hand.
Unable to understand these fellows, Ning Chaoyi and the others quickly entered the stone chamber again with lighting objects. That jade couch was certainly smashed to pieces. How could it withstand three Profound-level cultivators going wild like that? As for the sleeping old man, forget about his corpse being intact. He had already been mixed together with broken stones and could not be separated. He was deader than dead.
After coming back out, Ning Chaoyi stared at the few of them and asked, “Killing a person only requires letting the head touch the ground. Was there any need to chop the person into pieces?”
Yu Qing: “Seeing the evil aura emerge, I thought of the escaped Second Manor Lord Wu. I feared something might happen.”
Qiao Qie’er spoke up. “Eliminating future trouble, is that not good for everyone?”
Ning Chaoyi was silent for a moment, then changed the question. “Where did the evil aura just now go?”
Nan Zhu pointed the weapon in his hand upward. “It suddenly went through the cracks in the stones.”
Went through the cracks in the stones? The few of them stared at the stone cracks for a while but did not see anything remarkable.
Ning Chaoyi immediately flew up and hung upside down from the vault, prying off a stone to investigate what was happening.
Watching sand and soil trickle down from the gap in the vault, Nan Zhu immediately shouted again, “Mr. Ning, if you want to dig, wait until we have left before digging. Do not collapse it and bury us alive.”
Ning Chaoyi also did not see anything remarkable, so he jumped down.
Afterward, the group left just like that.
Having eliminated the sleeper, the moods of the three martial brothers were truly different. Without that terrifying sleeper suppressing them, not only were their moods different, but they felt they no longer needed to act with fear and caution.
Arriving at the cellar and seeing the three corpses, Yu Qing suddenly thought of something and asked, “That Old Master Wu, are you certain he is an ordinary person without cultivation?”
Nie Pinlan said, “The person is on the bed in his bedroom. If you do not believe it, go and see for yourselves.”
Yu Qing was indeed somewhat puzzled. The scene of that dirty old man silently appearing near him still flashed through his mind. So after leaving the cellar, in order to set his mind at ease, he actually ran into the house, into that dirty, old, and messy bedroom, and saw the dirty old man lying there quietly after being subdued.
Old Master Wu, lying there unable to move, could only force his turbid eyes to turn, staring at the group of guests who had intruded once again. He could not speak either.
Walking to the bedside, Yu Qing personally used his hands to cast a detection spell on Old Master Wu’s body. After passing his hands over him, he slowly straightened his back and also let out a sigh of relief. Confirmed. He was indeed just an ordinary old man without any cultivation.
Confirming that on that day he had indeed been distracted and had not noticed, a knot in his heart was finally removed. He turned around and called out to everyone, “Let’s go!”
The group turned around and left one after another. They had not taken a few steps when everyone suddenly stopped and looked back, their eyes wide open.
They saw Lu Xingyun standing beside the couch, having already thrust her sword straight through Old Master Wu’s heart.
Old Master Wu, unable to move, stared at her with wide eyes. His turbid eyes revealed disbelief.
The others, frozen in place, were also shocked.
Puff, puff, puff! Lu Xingyun stabbed several more times before pulling out her sword. She smoothed the small white flower by her temple and walked away with a dignified and gentle appearance as if nothing had happened. It made people shudder.
Yu Qing flashed over and reached out to check Old Master Wu. At such an advanced age, he could not withstand such torment at all, let alone having been fatally stabbed by a sword. Personally sensing that there was no vitality left, there was no need for further treatment.
Blood gradually dripped from beneath the bed board.
Seeing a group of people blocking the doorway, Lu Xingyun, walking past, asked softly, “Why are you not leaving?”
Yu Qing also quickly walked back, carrying some anger. “Such an unarmed, defenseless old man. Why did you kill him?”
Lu Xingyun: “An old man guarding an evil object cannot be simple. Killing him eliminates future trouble. It is good for everyone.” She then looked around at everyone. “I said before that I want everyone from Rift Valley Manor to be buried with my mother. In a moment, I will use the mirage ants to gather everyone in the entire village. If anyone thinks that my daughter and I are in the wrong, they can try to turn against us.”
Shen Qingcheng at the side wanted to speak, but seeing the remains of her maternal grandmother that her mother had been carrying behind her back all along, she lowered her head and said nothing.
Ning Chaoyi and the others also wanted to speak but stopped themselves. They had concerns and did not look like they could say anything.
Yu Qing realised this woman was truly mad. She even wanted to slaughter those villagers who sought their meals in the fields. Thinking of those lively, bouncing children in the village, he said in a deep voice, “If you want to do this, we will not stop you. But do not blame me for not warning you. The mirage ant antidote we fed you only lasts for one day. It is almost up now. Do not end up failing to affect the villagers and instead getting your mother and daughter caught up in it first. Time is running short. I advise you to destroy those mirage ants now. Do not harm yourselves.”
Actually, he was not very clear either about how long the water boiled by Big Head could resist the mirage ant poison, especially for these people who had only taken it once. But certain measures had to be used. He could not just watch tens of thousands of innocent villagers be killed.
Lu Xingyun immediately frowned and said nothing.
Nie Pinlan spoke up. “Actually, those villagers and Rift Valley Manor are two different matters. Seeking revenge on Rift Valley Manor is no problem. There is no need to involve the villagers. You cannot kill everyone who does business with Rift Valley Manor, can you?”
Ning Chaoyi: “Since that is the case, then destroy those mirage ants first, lest we ourselves fall victim to them.”
And so it was decided. The group quickly left the earthen-walled courtyard, rapidly flew over the village, and headed straight for the cave where the mirage ants had been stored previously.
However, right at this moment, a figure suddenly descended from the sky. With a thud, he landed as if smashing into the ground, raising a shockwave of dust and smoke, and blocked in front of everyone, forcibly stopping the group.
Slowly straightening up from the dust and smoke was precisely that black-clothed man with long flowing hair.
The three martial brothers were somewhat surprised. Nan Zhu noticed the other party was staring at the golden halberd in his hand.
Seeing everyone’s highly alert appearance, Yu Qing immediately raised his hand to indicate that everyone need not be nervous. He stepped forward and asked, “Why have you come?”
Hearing these words, Ning Chaoyi and the others knew this was someone Brother Lin knew.
Black-clothed man: “I was drawn here by the bell sounds. I arrived last night. There seems to be no one left in the manor. Where did they go?”
Yu Qing: “I reckon they probably ran away.”
Black-clothed man: “Ran away? How is that possible? What happened?”
“Probably scared away by us…”
Looking back at Ning Chaoyi and the others, Yu Qing narrated the course of events, from Ning Chaoyi and the others taking measures to kill people, then Rift Valley Manor secretly dispatching killers, the group being trapped in the mirage ant nest, then using the mirage ants to counterattack, all the way until now. He roughly recounted the entire process.
Ning Chaoyi and the others naturally listened in alarm and doubt. They did not know who this person was. He did not look like Brother Lin’s superior or anything. Was there a need to tell this person all these inside details?
After hearing this, the black-clothed man was also shocked. “You killed the sleeper?”
Yu Qing: “It can only be said to be a fortunate coincidence. Anyway, he is deader than dead. He has already been chopped into minced meat by us. He should not be able to revive.”
The black-clothed man had still wanted to go see the sleeper’s corpse. Hearing that he had been chopped into minced meat, he was immediately speechless. He could not help muttering, “So he was not hidden inside the manor after all. No wonder he could never be found.”
These words made Ning Chaoyi and the others even more alarmed and uncertain. Had this person been looking for that old man in the stone chamber all along?
Yu Qing: “Yes, he was too cunning! First, he made a fake golden halberd to confuse people. After the incident, the three manor lords of Rift Valley Manor actually took everyone and ran. Our attention was almost misled by them. One scheme after another, impossible to guard against. He was truly too treacherous. We were almost fooled.”
Black-clothed man: “You are also quite formidable. To think you could find him like this, and even seize the moment to kill him.”
Yu Qing: “It is not that I am formidable. It is the result of everyone’s cooperation. It was also truly luck. If he had consumed the heart blood half an hour earlier, then it would have been our turn to be unlucky. It can only be said to be retribution!”
The black-clothed man’s gaze fixed on the wrapped object in Ning Chaoyi’s hands. He asked, “Is that real?”