The innkeeper who witnessed this from the foot of a wall also shook incessantly. The group of thugs under Third Master Jing were arrogant and domineering enough already, but they never imagined that they would meet someone even fiercer than they. This young man looked so gentle and quiet, so why did his methods contrast so much with his appearance?
The innkeeper suddenly felt faint, as if the world had just fallen on his head. He knew he was ruined this time because Third Master Jing’s men were killed inside his inn. Even if he had nothing to do with it, Third Master Jing would levy blame for his loss and subject the innkeeper to his wrath all the same. The innkeeper’s legs weakened as strength departed his body. He could clearly sense the looming catastrophe. Murdering the third master’s men was like stabbing the heavens themselves. The man’s fury could cause the entire Frostmoon City to tremble, much less his tiny, insignificant inn.
He completely lost any intention of watching the fight unfold any further and half crawled away from the scene. He ran to the entrance of the inn and gathered all the inn’s attendants. “Take your wages, disperse and leave Frostmoon City as quickly as you can. Quickly, quickly!”
The pale-looking innkeeper didn’t even bother verifying the amount of money he gave out to his attendants. He issued the wages haphazardly, packed some clothes for himself and escaped like the wind.
Seeing that their boss had left in such a hurry, every attendant in the inn knew that the sky was about to fall on their heads. They too scampered with deathly pale faces. The entire inn was abandoned, just like that.
…...
“You… you dare kill Third Master Jing’s men?” The brawny man was just as shocked as the now ex-innkeeper. He could hardly believe the sight of his lifeless companions lying motionlessly on the floor.
The cool-faced young man asked expressionlessly, “Who’s Third Master Jing? And why are you all here? If you can’t give me an explanation, then none of you are leaving this place today.”
The brawny man s.h.i.+vered involuntarily. He was a first level emperor realm cultivator and a lot stronger than his two companions, but he still couldn’t escape the horrifying feeling that washed over him when the young man trained his gaze on him.
A bit of regret finally dawned on him. He was regretting his brash actions. Worse still, this young man didn’t seem to be the person he was looking for. This mess was absolutely not worth it if he had provoked the wrong person. After all, how could he not know who Third Master Jing was if he was their target’s accomplice? Also, this cool-faced young man was clearly a maverick. There was no other way to explain why he’d murdered a person in a completely unfamiliar environment without feeling any pressure or hesitation whatsoever. And how did the brute know that? Just look at young man’s face! It was as stiff as a corpse’s!
Humans were such despicable things sometimes. They might not look one in the eye if one bowed and sc.r.a.ped to them, but they would certainly treat one seriously if one attacked them without mercy.
“Friend, Third Master Jing… Third Master Jing is vice sect master of the first division of Moon G.o.d Sect in Frostmoon City. That’s why even the lord of Frostmoon City has to give him some face.”
“Moon G.o.d Sect?” The young man stared blankly at him for an instant before shaking his head. “I’ve never heard of this sect. Are they very strong?”
The brawny nearly burst into tears. He knew he had run into a real madman this time. After all, a man who dare say that he had never heard of the Moon G.o.d Sect before was obviously not an ordinary person. The brute didn’t believe that the young man actually didn’t know of Moon G.o.d Sect. Everyone in the human domain knew of the Moon G.o.d Sect. The young man must be very confident for some reason, to claim that he didn’t know the sect even though he was currently in their territory.
“Let’s just go at him already, boss. There’s no way we can’t stop him if we jump him together. He killed our brothers, and Frostmoon City is Third Master Jing’s domain, not to mention that the entire Tilted Moon Region is Moon G.o.d Sect’s territory. Whatever his background may be, is it really okay to let him behave like this?”
“Yeah, you’re at Frostmoon City right now, boy. I don’t care if you’re a tiger or a dragon, you’re going to have to bow…”
The young man abruptly raised his eyebrows. “What if I refuse?”
“You…”
“You asked for this!” This time the brawny man was completely triggered by the young man’s att.i.tude. He grabbed something and shot a firework into the sky. It was a signal to his companions. His companions in the first division of Moon G.o.d Sect would arrive in a short time. In fact, Third Master Jing himself would be arriving soon. When that happens, who cared if this guy had three heads and six arms?
“Boy, if you surrender to us quietly now we can plea for forgiveness on your behalf before Third Master Jing.”
“That’s right. No matter who you are, you’re going to eat s.h.i.+t as long as you’re in Frostmoon City!” These thugs grew confident after they sent out the signal for help. Besides, there were six of them and only one of him. Even if they couldn’t beat the young man, they could at least defend themselves until reinforcements showed up, right? When their main force arrived, this guy was as good as dead!
“How noisy.” The young man’s face darkened as he swept a steely gaze across everyone’s faces. “Since you asked for this, I’ll send you all on your way.”
The brawny man’s expression changed. “Don’t spread out. Take up positions in a formation.” He then yelled at the cool-faced young man. “Stop this foolishness already, young man! Even if you managed to beat us, death is your only option when the main bulk of our branch arrives. We’re not even here for you in the first place! We’re just looking around for a swindler.”
“Swindler? What swindler?” The cool-faced young man asked blankly.
“He’s the guy who swindled Third Master Jing with some fake sky rank spirit herbs.”
This caught the young man slightly off guard. “Is he a guy in his twenties looking for antidote spirit herbs in the spirit herb stores around this place?”
“Huh? You know him? He swindled a Smiling Bodhi from our third master. Are, are you really his accomplice?” The brawny man’s expression changed again.
The cool-faced young man grinned. “In that case, yes. You do have the right person.”
This cool-faced young man was of course Long Xiaoxuan in human form. At the beginning, he was a bit confused by this unexpected intrusion, but now that he learned they were coming for Jiang Chen, a grin began to spread on his face.
“You are his accomplice!” The brawny man’s expression changed drastically.
“What are you planning to do with him after you find him?” Long Xiaoxuan asked calmly despite his situation.
“Hmph! The punishment for lying to our master is death!” One of the thugs hooted.
The brawny man nearly dropped to his knees when he heard this. You meddlesome idiot! Why are you talking tough right now? We need to delay him long enough so our companions arrive. Once they do, we can do whatever we want with him, so why the tough front right now?
The cool-faced young man chuckled and nodded suddenly. “Very good, very good. Since it’s already a death sentence, I may as well do him a favor and add a few more to his name.”
While speaking, the cool-faced young man suddenly moved like a ghost. His figure flashed to and fro, making a thin fog rise. As the fog spread, they seemed like walls that’d sprung out of nowhere to confine these thugs in a terrifying prison.
“Not good! This is an emperor domain!” The brawny man was a first level emperor realm expert himself, so of course he knew of this the particular power. But knowledge was one thing and action another. Despite gathering all of his strength to break through this prison-like domain, he discovered that his efforts were completely futile. The black colored fog was completely impenetrable, as if made of steel.
“Watch out!” This time the brawny man was finally afraid. His life depended on this one instant.
A thug’s skull abruptly cracked horribly. In the next moment, the thug suddenly turned into dust as if some invisible energy had struck his body and blew him away. Everyone was scared out of their wits by this terrible scene.
“Ahhh! Run!” A giant claw abruptly appeared out of nowhere and caught yet another cultivator. The poor b.a.s.t.a.r.d didn’t even get to screamed before he was literally pulled away from this plane of existence. He vanished as if he was never there.
One by one the thugs were pulled away…
All six thugs were killed in the blink of an eye.
Long Xiaoxuan’s devour ability could literally devour and digest anything. A peak sage realm and a first level emperor realm cultivator was just the kind of meal he was looking for. When the fog dissipated, the scene returned to the way it was before they came in. No combat traces and not even the two cultivators who’d been disemboweled earlier could be found. Long Xiaoxuan dusted off his hands and went back inside as if nothing had happened.
At the same time, Emperor Peerless was slowly awakening from his slumber. When he saw the scene before him, he asked in puzzlement, “Where am I, brother?”
“You literally just came back from a walk with death, brother.” Jiang Chen relayed everything that happened.
Emperor Peerless was completely stunned. “Little sister Qing… poisoned me and Ah Yun? She…”
“What can you do? You’re so charming that Miss Qing is willing to take your life and her own just to be with you.” Jiang Chen joked.
“Ai, brother. It’s my fault for being careless this time. How is Ah Yun? Is my wife safe?”
“It’s inconvenient for me to treat your wife, brother, but don’t worry, the antidote has already been prepared. You may cure her yourself… and Miss Qing too, if you wish. I won’t interfere with your decision.” It wasn’t his place to interfere with Emperor Peerless’ family business.
“I’ll go save my wife first.”
Jiang Chen was pa.s.sing the antidote to Emperor Peerless when his ears suddenly twitched. He smiled wryly. “It looks like someone just threw me into a lot of trouble.”
Emperor Peerless obviously detected some commotion himself. His face turned frosty. “Why are there so many cultivators heading our way? What is this place?”
“We are in an inn right now. Come, let us head out and take a look.”
By now, several hundred experts had gathered around their rooms. They all wore the same attire and they were led by two powerful cultivators. Surprisingly, the two were both high level emperor realm experts. One of them was eighth level emperor realm, and the other seventh level emperor realm.
“This should be the place, senior brother Cai.” The seventh level emperor realm expert dressed in silver robes reported.
“Hmm? Where are they?” The eighth level emperor realm expert was confused. “Third Master Jing ordered them to come here, so why have they left without a word?”