Flipping himself off the saddle, the young master landed lightly and strolled into the quiet village. His boots crunched against the dirt as he cast his gaze across the abandoned homes.
“Why don’t you come out? Haven’t you been trying to draw us out?” His voice echoed beneath the heavy gray sky. “Now, I’ve come.”
The final word had barely faded when a figure materialized beside the old well at the village center.
A person draped in tattered black robes stood there, long, unkempt hair spilling down its shoulders. Its arms hung lifelessly at its sides. Head bowed, it revealed nothing of its face—only the outline of a motionless form staring directly at the young master. The horse Lu Quanan had left earlier had vanished; only a single ration bag sat abandoned beside the well.
“We’ve long laid down an agreement not to interfere with each other’s matters. What is the meaning behind your attacks?” the young master asked coldly.
SWISH!
No words came back—only an iron ax slicing through the air, hurling straight toward his flank. Spinning furiously, the blade screamed against the wind, its momentum carrying it right across the young master’s temple.
CHI.
A spray of blood blossomed outward.
The ax split open his skull, carving a finger-deep gash. Yet the young master stood unmoving, not even blinking.
“Is that an attempt at intimidation?” he murmured, still staring at the robed figure without a flicker of emotion.
Before the blood had time to pool, the wound began knitting itself closed—like a flower folding its petals back into place. In seconds, smooth skin replaced the torn flesh. No trace of injury remained.
The ax clattered onto the dirt, its head smeared only with dust and mud—yet strangely free of blood.
Calm and composed, the young master stepped forward, walking straight toward the figure by the well.
…………
Half a mile away, along the winding mountain trail…
Lu Sheng sat astride his horse, twenty subordinates lined up behind him. He remained silent as he watched the distant village, his eyes fixed on the faint silhouette of rooftops far ahead.
He had stopped halfway up the mountain, the wind sweeping past as he gazed toward the plateau where the deserted village rested. For an ordinary person, the distance would have blurred everything into indistinct shapes—but Lu Sheng’s eyes were anything but ordinary.
He focused on the lone Young Master standing at the village entrance, replaying the scene he had just witnessed.
‘His skull was split open… and he healed as if nothing happened. Is he still human?’ Lu Sheng’s brows knotted, a dull frustration pressing against his chest.
He had seen ghosts, even Anomalies. But this was the first time he had seen a Nobleman take action—and it was nothing like the stories.
‘Or… maybe he isn’t a Nobleman at all. Could that young man be another supernatural entity lurking among the forbidden grounds?’ he wondered. Yet the old Sect Master had specifically warned him before departure: if he saw a smiling young man in green walk fearlessly into a forbidden zone, that would undoubtedly be someone from the Zhen Family.
‘Are all members of the Zhen Family this strange?’ His brows furrowed deeper.
Seated firmly atop his horse, one hand rested on the hilt of his saber while the other gripped the reins.
‘Noble Families are said to be the only ones capable of fighting supernatural beings… That’s what Duanmu Wan told me. But what gives them the strength to resist such monstrous powers?’ His mind drifted to Duanmu Wan and to Daoist Yan Kai—whom he also suspected to be a Nobleman—yet neither had displayed anything resembling supernatural might.
Yan Kai, for instance, had killed ghosts using nothing but his own blood. Even then, his performance at the temple had not been as impressive as Lu Sheng’s current capabilities.
A soft voice broke the silence behind him.
“Aren’t we going over, External Head?” one of the men from the Soaring Eagle Squad asked. Their vision was nowhere near Lu Sheng’s; they couldn’t see what was unfolding in the distant village. To them, his sudden halt mid-trail was inexplicable.
Lu Sheng watched the Young Master disappear behind the row of mud-brick houses. Only when the figure was fully swallowed by the village did he draw in a long breath.
“Let’s go take a look.”
“Yes, sir!”
The group descended the mountain in a controlled line, making their way toward the abandoned settlement. They had taken a narrow shortcut—faster than the main path, but dangerous. Only those with precise balance and sharp instincts dared to traverse the cliffside trail.
Following the winding path down, Lu Sheng led his men to the village’s entrance but stopped short, refusing to step inside. They dismounted one after another.
“Pssst…”
The horses snorted and shuffled nervously, their breaths heavy, ears twitching toward the village as if sensing something unseen lurking within. Several tried to turn away, but the men held firm, tying the reins to a thick tree beside the path.
Aside from Lu Sheng, none of them truly knew the purpose of this mission. They only understood two things: these were Lu Sheng’s orders, and the task demanded caution.
“Are we going in?” asked Duan Hongying, the Soaring Eagle Squad’s leading expert, her voice low.
“No hurry. Someone’s already inside. We wait here and lock down the perimeter. Don’t let anyone enter or leave.”
“Understood!”
The twenty men moved with discipline, spreading out around the village in a loose formation, each positioned within sight of another. Sentries rose silently around the settlement like an unseen net.
Lu Sheng stood at the outskirts, eyes lowered in concentration, listening for any sign of movement. From one of the mud houses came faint tremors—muted thuds that ordinary ears would miss. Yet to him, they were clear.
Someone was fighting inside.
‘Noble Families… what kind of power do they truly wield?’ A deep curiosity tugged at him.
In truth, Lu Sheng had become the strongest expert of the Crimson Whale Sect. Even if the old Sect Master gave everything in a life-or-death struggle, Lu Sheng would still come out on top.
He had battled ghosts and survived every encounter without ever brushing against true danger.
And so, for the first time, an irresistible urge rose within him—a desire to understand how he measured up against the Noblemen of this world.
Gripping the hilt of his saber, Lu Sheng slipped into the village, his footsteps light against the dirt.
‘The sounds are coming from the largest mud house on the right.’
Once certain of the direction, he crept toward the structure. When he reached the window, he leaned in, breath slow and controlled, and peered inside.
Only darkness greeted him—thick, impenetrable.
Lu Sheng frowned, pressing closer in hopes of catching even the faintest hint of movement.
“What are you looking at? Can you tell me?”
A gentle voice sounded behind him.
Lu Sheng jolted, every muscle tightening. He spun around in an instant, nearly drawing his saber into a reflexive slash.
“You!!!?” He stumbled back two steps before recognizing the figure— the green-robed Young Master who had entered the village earlier.
The man stood unarmed, a calm smile on his face, as if he had simply appeared out of thin air. They were scarcely two meters apart.
“Who are you?!” Lu Sheng growled. For someone to approach without a sound… he had never encountered such mastery.
“Me?” The Young Master’s smile remained soft. “I’m Zhen Yi. You’re from the Crimson Whale Sect, here to handle the aftermath, yes? There are no ghosts left. But this place must remain sealed for ten days. No living being is allowed to enter.”
“So it’s Young Master Zhen. You said ‘no living being’?” Lu Sheng bowed quickly.
“You can take it to mean ‘no human being.’” Zhen Yi chuckled lightly.
“Got it,” Lu Sheng replied with a nod.
“Good.” Zhen Yi returned the nod. “Handle it properly. Once I leave, no one steps inside.”
“Yes, sir.” Lu Sheng bowed again.
“Oh, and next time, tell Hong Mingzi not to be so brash…” Zhen Yi added, pushing himself upright with one hand on the windowsill before turning away. With unhurried steps, he walked off into the distance.
Lu Sheng kept his head lowered until the green-robed figure disappeared completely. Only then did he lift his gaze.
Turning back to the window, he noticed a dark imprint pressed into the sill—a perfectly clear black palm print.
A complicated expression flickered across Lu Sheng’s face. Slowly, he reached out and brushed the black palm print with the tip of his finger.
Szzzzzz…
A searing pain shot through him like lightning, darting from his fingertip straight into his heart before flooding his entire body like a venomous tide.
He stared in grim disbelief as the flesh of his index finger darkened, turning pitch black before shriveling as though corroded by a deadly toxin. It withered rapidly, collapsing in on itself like a punctured sack.
CHI!
Without hesitation, he sliced off the corrupted flesh. The severed piece hit the ground with a soft pat, then dissolved instantly into curling black smoke. His inner Qi surged wildly toward the injured finger, desperately resisting the remnants of the poison.
“What terrible poison…” Lu Sheng inhaled sharply. Cold sweat beaded across his forehead as veins bulged along his neck. He focused on the discoloration creeping along his finger. Only after consuming a vast amount of inner Qi did the blackness finally begin to recede.
A mere speck of flesh—no larger than a sesame seed—had devoured nearly eighty percent of his inner Qi, the combined strength of both the Yin-Yang Jade Crane Skill and the Ultimate Crimson Mantra… and even then, it was only barely contained.
Gritting his teeth, Lu Sheng raised his saber once more and carved out the remaining corrupted flesh.
The pain was sharp enough to lance straight through his chest, yet he forced himself to endure, cutting cleanly until every trace was gone.
‘Noblemen… is the gap between us truly so vast?’
A heavy weight settled in his chest. His gaze drifted back to the blackened palm print on the windowsill.
‘I can’t stay here any longer.’
He turned swiftly to leave—only to pause as his eyes caught on an object beside the well. A dark-red cloth bundle rested on the rim, embroidered with a single large character:
Lu.
‘That’s the fabric used only by my family!’ His heart trembled. He strode forward quickly, seized the bundle, and unfolded it with care.
Inside lay some rations—and a letter.
Without a moment’s hesitation, Lu Sheng tore the letter open.
The letter was addressed to Lu Chenxin. It contained directions to Mountain-Edge City and instructions about the markers the family would leave along the road.
‘It’s a message for Lu Chenxin. That means my family really passed through this village… and Lu Chenxin went missing.’ Lu Sheng pieced it together quickly. ‘Fortunately, nothing serious befell the rest of them. As for Lu Chenxin… he was never a virtuous person to begin with. Whether he lives or dies is none of my concern.’
But another thought surfaced, sharp and unsettling. ‘When I first traveled to Mountain-Edge City, there wasn’t even a village here. So why did nothing happen until my family passed by?’
He stepped out of the village boundary. Zhen Yi had vanished without a trace—only the Crimson Whale Sect experts remained, stationed around the perimeter like silent sentinels.
Lu Sheng drew his sleeve over the wound on his finger.
“Guard this place closely. No one is to enter. Two of you, return immediately and arrange reinforcements to rotate shifts here!”
He issued the orders briskly. Twenty men were far too few to seal off the area; they needed far more people to secure a place connected to a Nobleman’s decree.
“Yes, sir!”
After delegating the tasks, Lu Sheng mounted his horse and sped toward Mountain-Edge City without another moment’s delay.
His family was in the middle of relocating. If anything happened along the road—or if they wandered into another forbidden zone—they would be in grave danger. He had to reach them as soon as possible.
A tight feeling gnawed at him. His instincts screamed that this incident was no coincidence.
He urged his horse forward, galloping at full speed along the main path. Time slipped by. Dusk slowly draped itself across the sky.
He had been pursuing them for a long stretch, and his horse was beginning to tire, its breaths growing harsher.
Then, at last, the Lu Family caravan appeared in the distance. Even from afar, he could see they were in disarray.
Lu Sheng exhaled in relief. He flicked the reins, pushing his mount to close the distance. But even before he drew close, something unusual caught his eye.
A giant red lantern hung from one of the carriages.
And through the window, he could see two more identical red lanterns glowing inside.
Lu Sheng’s gaze locked onto them instantly.
ns216.73.216.33da2
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