Chapter 33: Turmoil

Soon, more than a dozen mountain wolves devoured Liu Xingren’s corpse until nothing was left. Lu Yan turned away and found a concealed crevice in a cliff, where he picked a leaf resembling a plantain, wrapped up the “Diamond Body” manual and the silver notes, and placed them inside the crevice, sealing it with stones. The spot was not only hidden but also strategically placed so that rainwater wouldn’t seep in; there was no risk of the silver notes being ruined by moisture.

After securing his goods, Lu Yan hurried back to the mountain stronghold. The Liu clan’s martial marquis had not yet returned. Lu Yan went to the site where he’d fought Liu Xingren, found the scattered scales on the ground, buried them, and then entered the stronghold, making his way to the altar.

Despite being mentally prepared, the sight at the altar sent a chill through Lu Yan’s heart. All the Red Sleeve soldiers stood upright upon the altar, their eyes and hearts removed. Even two Scarlet Guards and two Wind Patrols stood among them. The remaining Scarlet Guards and Wind Patrols sat around the altar, faces calm and eyes closed, utterly still, but their breathing showed they were alive.

“Lucky,” Lu Yan thought to himself. He surmised that during the demonization ritual, Wu Ling had intended to use all the Scarlet Guards and Wind Patrols as sacrifices. Clearly, the ritual hadn’t reached its climax before the two Liu clan martial marquises arrived and drove Wu Ling away, saving these lives.

“Should I take all the silver?” Lu Yan pondered, but ultimately dismissed the idea. The Liu clan’s martial marquises could return at any moment; if he were caught moving the silver, he’d have no way to explain himself. Moreover, if the bandit lair were completely depleted of silver, it would arouse suspicion from the Liu clan’s higher-ups and invite trouble. Better to be cautious, not greedy.

Lu Yan settled cross-legged beside the altar, imitating the Scarlet Guards, closing his eyes and waiting quietly.

Time passed slowly, and the sky began to pale with the first light of dawn.

“Huh? What’s happened to me?”

“Why am I sitting here?”

“That’s the demonization ritual of Wu Ling.”

Voices rose from those nearby. Lu Yan opened his eyes at the right moment, feigning bewilderment. Around the altar, the Scarlet Guards and Wind Patrols awoke one by one. None of them were fools; seeing the altar’s grisly scene, they quickly realized what had happened, their faces filled with lingering fear.

Yet curiosity gnawed at them—what had interrupted Wu Ling’s ritual and saved their lives? And where had Wu Ling gone?

Lu Yan mingled among the crowd, displaying the proper confusion and terror.

At that moment, a sense of foreboding made Lu Yan look toward the stronghold. Two burly elders were approaching swiftly.

“It’s the elders! The elders are here!”

“We pay our respects to the elders!”

The Scarlet Guards bowed in unison, while the Wind Patrols paled, apprehensive. With two Liu clan martial marquises present, they could not hope to escape if the elders decided to act against them.

But the marquises seemed disinclined to make trouble; they merely glanced at the group and said, “You’re awake.”

“Elders, did you save us? Thank you for your rescue!” The sharp-minded were already bowing in gratitude.

“Mm, Wu Ling has been driven off,” one Liu clan elder nodded.

The Scarlet Guards bowed again, Lu Yan following their lead.

“Where is Xingren? Why isn’t he here? Has anyone seen him?” the other elder asked. Before entering the stronghold, they had searched the surrounding area for Liu Xingren without finding him, assuming he had come inside. Yet he was nowhere to be seen.

Everyone looked at each other in confusion. Liu Xingren was indeed missing. They only remembered entering the stronghold, witnessing Wu Ling’s ritual, feeling their minds go blank, then waking up as they were now. Liu Xingren had always been with them—why was he gone?

The two Liu clan elders felt a vague sense of unease.

Just then, two more figures arrived hurriedly. One was an older man in his sixties, the other younger, around forty, but both shared a common trait: they were tall and imposing. The Liu clan marquises were already burly, but these two were even more massive, standing about two meters twenty centimeters, but broader and covered in thick layers of fat and muscle, resembling two giant bears.

“It’s the elders! The elders are here!”

“We pay our respects to the elders!”

This time, it was the Wind Patrols who were delighted. The newcomers were the two martial marquises of the Wu clan. The Wind Patrols finally breathed a sigh of relief; facing the Liu clan marquises had been an immense pressure. The difference between martial marquises and ordinary warriors was vast. Without a martial marquis, a clan could not truly call itself a gatekeeper, nor occupy a “blood vein territory.”

“Liu Yuansong, Liu Yuanfu, you two came early. I heard Wu Ling appeared here—so? Where is Wu Ling? Did you kill him?” the Wu clan elder asked.

“Wu old man, don’t try to probe. You saw it yourself—Wu Ling was conducting a demonization ritual, about to become a martial marquis. Even with both of us combined, we could only seriously wound him; he managed to escape in the end,” replied Liu Yuansong, one of the Liu clan marquises.

“He escaped?” The Wu clan marquises were skeptical, but having arrived too late, they saw nothing and could not verify Liu Yuansong’s words.

Lu Yan, listening to their exchange, discerned several implications.

First, Wu Ling could indeed be killed—not immortal—but it was extremely difficult.

Second, Liu Yuansong deliberately concealed the fact that the Liu clan ancestor had come. Why? Did it mean the ancestor had the power to kill Wu Ling, perhaps even succeeded, but wished to hide this from the Wu clan?

Last night, only the two Liu clan marquises, Liu Xingren, and Lu Yan had witnessed the ancestor’s arrival. Liu Xingren was dead; only the marquises and Lu Yan knew. He intended to keep this secret. If he spoke out, he wouldn't even know how he might die.

The two Wu clan marquises, realizing they could get nothing more from Liu Yuansong and Liu Yuanfu, said coldly, “Search!”

“Let’s search together!” Liu Yuansong ordered.

Soon, the Red Sleeve soldiers’ silver ingots were discovered. Naturally, the two clans would not go to war over a mere stash of silver; in the end, they agreed to split it evenly, then each took their men and departed for Changfeng City, leaving only a few behind to search for Liu Xingren.

Three days passed in the blink of an eye, and Liu Xingren was still missing. Everyone concluded he was most likely dead.

The Liu clan’s higher-ups were furious, ordering a thorough investigation. The two marquises knew clearly that Liu Xingren hadn’t been killed by Wu Ling, nor had he died at Wu Ling’s hands; he must have been slain by someone else.

During this period, everyone who had participated in the bandit raid was interrogated one by one. But Lu Yan had left no traces, and as a mere second-limit breaker, no suspicion fell upon him. After some commotion, the matter was dropped.

News soon came from the Wu clan as well: their contemporary standout, Wu Chao Kong, had also disappeared in Giant Tooth Mountain. Lu Yan surmised that Wu Chao Kong had most likely been killed by Wu Ling. He and Liu Xingren had fought Wu Ling together, ending in one dead and one wounded. Wu Chao Kong, slain in the wilderness, had probably been devoured by beasts, leaving no remains—finding him would be impossible.

A month had passed since the mountain raid, and only now did the matter begin to settle. At last, Lu Yan disguised himself and slipped into the mountain to retrieve the “Diamond Body” manual and the silver notes.

Counting his haul, he found a total of six thousand taels in silver notes. Combined with the thousand-plus taels he had yet to spend, Lu Yan now possessed over seven thousand taels—a fortune.

“Diamond Body.”

Lu Yan opened the manual and began to read it carefully.