Once Gu Changhuan had gone, Gu Shixin emerged to inspect his work. Satisfied with how he had destroyed the bodies and cleared away the traces, she nodded. She lingered in thought for a moment, then left.

Gu Changhuan, having just slain a formidable enemy, sat atop the Barbarian Bull Beast with a trace of puzzlement knitted between his brows. Was he overthinking? He could not shake the feeling that something was amiss.

Still, he had burned all three to ash. Even if they could rise from the dead, there was nothing left to rise.

Upon returning to Emerald Maple Mountain, Gu Shixin recounted the entire scene in detail to Gu Wanchang. Hearing of Gu Changhuan's performance, Gu Wanchang appeared immensely pleased.

"To think this child at the Qi Condensation Seventh Layer could simultaneously activate two Magical Artifacts! It seems Changhuan's foundation is exceptionally solid," Gu Shixin remarked with admiration.

Few young people had the patience to refine their Spiritual Power so carefully, but the benefits were clear.

Gu Wanchang nodded in agreement.

Indeed, Gu Changhuan's conduct throughout the encounter had been flawless. The only question was how he had managed to pierce through Zhao Pin'er's disguise.

He had seen through the trap and turned it against his attackers, fought decisively, and killed without hesitation. Few beginners venturing out into the world could manage all three.

It seemed the Twenty-First Uncle's worries had truly been unfounded.

Before nightfall, Gu Changhuan finally arrived at Nine Perches Market. He presented his permanent residency token to the guards, who granted him entry without hesitation.

Back in Wanbao Pill Pavilion's rear courtyard, he found Gu Changde chatting with Gu Shizhuo.

"You're back, Changhuan!" Gu Changde said happily.

"Brother Changde, Uncle Shizhuo," Gu Changhuan greeted them.

Gu Shizhuo noticed that Gu Changhuan was low on Spiritual Power. "You seem drained. Did something happen on the way?" he asked with concern.

Before Gu Changhuan could reply, Gu Changde erupted.

"What happened? Did someone try to rob you, Seventeenth Brother? Are you hurt?" Gu Changde fired off one question after another.

Gu Changhuan smiled wryly. "A little trouble, but I dealt with it. Don't worry. I'm not hurt, just tired."

Gu Shizhuo nodded. "The Great Elder is inside."

Gu Changhuan's depleted state could not be concealed from Gu Shizhuo, let alone Gu Wanhao.

Seeing that Gu Changhuan was unhurt, Gu Wanhao relaxed. He asked a question he already knew the answer to. "Did you get into a fight on the way?"

Gu Changhuan nodded, recounting every detail of the journey.

After hearing the story, Gu Wanhao smiled. "How did you work out who she was? And how did you stop Black Fiend from using his Spiritual Power?"

Gu Changhuan replied candidly.

"First, she was weak, but when she first appeared, she was exhausted without a scratch on her. That didn't seem right. Second, the man who died had been wounded in the back. That's unlikely in a head-on fight. Someone probably attacked him by surprise.

"Third, the wound didn't match Black Fiend's greatsword. Fourth, she cremated him. Clans like ours do that so no one can steal our ancestors' bones and use them to harm their descendants. Otherwise, cremation is rare among cultivators. It's considered disrespectful to the dead. If she'd really been close to him, she wouldn't have done it.

"Fifth, she was safe, but kept finding reasons to stay with me. Becoming my maid, an ancient cave abode... probably just excuses. Qingzhou was established fairly recently, so finding an ancient cultivator's abode here is unlikely.

"Finally, rogue cultivators tend to be wary. They don't hand over their Storage Bags easily. But she gave hers up after a few threats.

"Each thing was small on its own, but there were too many of them to ignore."

Once suspicion had taken root, preparing countermeasures was only prudent.

Gu Changhuan suddenly fell silent. Now he knew what had felt wrong. The Fiends and Zhao Pin'er had appeared far too conveniently. They did not seem to have chosen a victim at random. Perhaps someone had set this trap specifically for him!

His mind raced. Who could have orchestrated such a scheme?

Still thinking, he continued, "As for Black Fiend's Spiritual Power, there was no great trick to it. I put two Stagnating Spirit Pills in the campfire. They burn for a long time in an ordinary fire. I'd taken the antidote beforehand, so I was safe. I should thank those three for putting so much effort into their little performance. Without it, Black Fiend wouldn't have been so easy to kill."

When burned, Stagnating Spirit Pills gave off a colorless, odorless vapor. Cultivators would not easily notice inhaling it, but once they had breathed in enough, it could block the circulation of Spiritual Power when they tried to use it at full strength. Just the thing for murder and robbery.

Regrettably, it remained a First-Tier Middle Grade pill, effective only against those in the Qi Condensation Realm and losing much of its potency against cultivators in the late stages.

Listening to this well-reasoned account, Gu Wanhao stroked his beard and nodded inwardly in approval.

"There's still one thing I'd like to know."

Gu Wanhao was intrigued. "After working all that out, you still have questions?"

"Was it you who set this up, Grandfather, or the Patriarch?" If so, all was well. If not, he had something far worse to worry about.

Gu Wanhao stared in astonishment before bursting into hearty laughter.

Seeing his reaction, Gu Changhuan's lingering anxiety finally dissipated.

"You really are a child at heart," Gu Changhuan said. Still, he had to admit the plan had served two purposes.

It had removed bandits who might threaten the clan while giving a young cultivator experience. A clan expert must have followed him from the moment he left Emerald Maple Mountain. He had never even noticed.

That annoyed him greatly.

After offering a few comforting words, Gu Wanhao resumed chuckling. For the future pillar of the clan to possess such intellect and cunning was a cause for genuine celebration.

Perhaps exhausted by the day's eventful trials, Gu Changhuan slept with exceptional soundness that night.

Awakening the following morning, he produced the three Storage Bags acquired as spoils of war.

As he unsealed them, the multicolored radiance of Spirit Stones dazzled his eyes.

The three had been wealthy. There must have been three or four thousand Spirit Stones alone! No wonder people said murderers and robbers grew rich.

There were no unusual treasures and not many talismans. He did find some women's underclothes in Zhao Pin'er's bag. Without a change of expression, he tossed them aside and burned them.

The rest consisted of low-tier Magical Artifacts, various mundane sundries, and several jade slips.

One by one, the jade slips yielded Qi Condensation arts of the sort sold at any street stall. Good cultivation arts really were hard to find. These three had been wealthy, yet all their arts were ordinary.

"Interesting. This one is about formations, not a cultivation art." Gu Changhuan read on, intrigued. What came next startled him even more.

"There really is an ancient cave abode!"