The rain from the sky fell in threads, like dancing fine sand across the heavens; it brought hope to the greenery on earth, moistening the tips of leaves, eaves, and corners of walls. Gradually, the entire Luo River City was wrapped in a cool and hazy autumn atmosphere. The sky grew darker, and the roads seemed covered by an invisible gray filter, making everything appear hazy and indistinct.
Li Tan held Cheng Xuan’s hand, strolling slowly through the rain. Soon, their clothes were soaked, but he showed no sign of urgency. Cheng Xuan likely wanted him to hurry, but upon seeing his solemn expression, she swallowed her words and instead gave him a concerned look.
The path they walked back had far fewer pedestrians. Occasionally, they saw groups of young women with oil-paper umbrellas, soldiers in neat rows wearing armor and helmets, or women rushing to retrieve clothes caught in the rain. Everything seemed peaceful, yet Li Tan felt anxious inside. Luo River City seemed to be undergoing a subtle change, silently tugging at his mind.
Quickly passing through street after street, the Taicei Inn gradually came into view. However, in front of the main entrance stood a wall surrounded by thick layers of people, their chattering voices slightly overpowering the sound of raindrops hitting the ground.
“It seems something happened over there,” Cheng Xuan murmured in confusion.
“Hmm,” Li Tan replied casually, while his spiritual awareness had already passed through the crowd and reached the center.
At the base of the tall wall sat a blood-soaked youth with a dazed gaze. He made hoarse, unintelligible sounds, his limp hand somehow pressed against the wall behind him, trembling slightly. The merciless autumn rain poured down on him, and life seemed to drain away with every drop of blood.
Li Tan and Cheng Xuan stood motionless outside the crowd like two tiny black dots beneath the sky. Cheng Xuan didn’t understand why Li Tan was staring at someone’s back, but sensing the faint sadness on his face, she felt puzzled and curious about what was happening among the crowd.
A dull sound of footsteps approached from afar, growing louder and clearer. About twenty Yu Lin soldiers of the dynasty marched in order toward the wall, dispersing the onlookers. They drove their sharp halberds into the youth’s heart. Except for the rain, there was no sound. Blood flowed down the halberd like a mountain spring, spilling onto the ground before being quickly washed away by the rain.
The Yu Lin soldiers carried the youth’s corpse away in an orderly manner. Soon, the curious crowd dispersed, the blood and autumn rain vanishing together. Sunlight pierced through the clouds, and everything returned to its age-old, unchanging state.
Li Tan and Cheng Xuan were completely soaked.
“Master, what’s wrong with you?”
“Was there anything strange about that dead man?” Cheng Xuan couldn’t help but ask.
“No, nothing strange at all,” Li Tan replied without turning back, walking into the inn.
“Huh?” Cheng Xuan tilted her head, somewhat worried, and followed him inside.
From then on, the Jiuzhou lost a man named Zhang Cong.
Li Tan didn’t stop because of the rain, but because of a disturbingly familiar scent on the youth—a nauseating smell that clung like a parasite, impossible to shake or forget.
It was the scent of You Kuang!! The very You Kuang who had betrayed him and the human race!!
“Master, are you really okay?”
Inside the room, Cheng Xuan sat beside Li Tan.
“Listen to me,” Li Tan said seriously.
“Huh?”
“I need to go out for a while. You stay here.”
The desolate autumn wind pushed open the window, gently blowing into the room like ocean waves, bringing a faint chill like scattered droplets of water.
“Okay, I understand.”
Cheng Xuan said no more. She could see Li Tan was serious, so what more could she, just a maid, say?
Li Tan left a storage ring for Cheng Xuan and left the inn alone. With great agility, he leaped across the ground and rooftops, quickly tracking the previous Yu Lin patrol unit, who were now on routine patrol.
What’s the fastest way to ask someone a question? The answer is simple: put a knife to their throat. Li Tan once again proved this method to be immediately effective. He learned where Zhang Cong’s family lived and what had happened to him.
Zhang Cong lived beside the market in the eastern district. His house wasn’t large but sufficiently spacious, easily accommodating three or five servants and maids. It was an ordinary merchant family.
However, this house, once filled with laughter and joy, was now in ruins—blood, corpses, broken swords, shattered vases. All of it indicated how inhumanely brutal the recent events had been. The official seal on the front door openly declared the perpetrator: the Great Xia Dynasty.
Why would such an ordinary merchant family suffer this calamity?
And why was You Kuang involved? Li Tan’s expression turned grave. He leaped down into the center of the courtyard. He had two goals: to uncover the truth behind Zhang Cong’s family’s murder and to find traces of You Kuang. He had already prepared for the worst by leaving the gold and treasures in the storage ring for Cheng Xuan. He knew it wasn’t the time for revenge, but how could he let such a good opportunity slip away?
At this moment, You Kuang probably had no more than a Zongshi-level cultivation at most.
The opportunity not only existed but was significant!
Li Tan walked through the courtyard and rooms, stepping through puddles, carefully searching for any trace of You Kuang’s presence. In the end, he didn’t find what he hoped for, but his search was not entirely fruitless.
He discovered a ring—it was You Kuang’s ring. The instant he picked it up, an overwhelmingly domineering force surged toward him. Before it even reached him, all the doors and windows were shattered into fragments! Li Tan’s pupils contracted sharply. Under the pressure of imminent peril, he swiftly activated the Moye Steps and leaped straight out of the rear window.
Bang! The next second, the entire house collapsed into ruins.
“Li Tan, dear older brother!”
A voice both familiar and chilling rang out. A youth in black robes descended from the sky, his face twisted into a cruel smile.
Brother Li Tan drew his rusty sword, pointing it at You Kuang: “Do you remember everything?”
“Of course I do.”
“Did you also reincarnate?”
“Yes! And what luck! It seems we’ve reunited again, dear brother. I’m so delighted! So thrilled I could die! Never did I expect to eliminate my older brother so soon! From now on, no one across the Jiuzhou will be able to stop my path!”
“Hehehe…” “Who will prevail is yet to be seen. I, too, am eagerly anticipating it!”
The End.
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