Having lost the auction, Cao Yun was a little dejected. On the other hand, Feng Yingyue was furious.
"This disgusting pervert dare to threaten you?! He even forces you to bid all your money and even then...! AH!" It was the first time Cao Yun saw her this angry and frustrated. During his stay at her shop, he had watched her forge some pills and no matter how many times she failed, she would open a book, study, and try again without any complaint.
They were both back at the City Lord's mansion and he was there.
"Senior Dun!" Dun Mofan who was listening without really caring was jolted back to reality. "You let him threaten Chen Guo and did nothing!"
"Well, hmmm... This is delicate. I mean, the rules of..."
"The rules?! What rules?! Isn't it forbidden to threaten someone in the auction?! Hell! In the entire Auction Hall, even when there's no auction. Do you think I don't know the rules?!"
"But he did not actually threaten him?"
"What?!" As soon as the words left his mouth, Dun Mofan knew that he had misspoken. Feng Yingyue's eyes just stared right at him with an ominous glare.
"I mean... what I meant was... He was cunning and devious in his way of speaking. Otherwise I would have stricken him down." Despite his status as the City Lord, Dun Mofan was scared by the sudden change of behavior of this little girl. He had seen her grow up since her birth in the Yinmen City. And after the death of her father a couple of years ago, he regularly visited her. The first reason was because he genuinely cared for her. But another reason was that she had the potential to become a great alchemist one day and that could only be good for him and his town. She was always so obedient and shy. To be honest, he even wanted her to rebel some times. Well, he just got what he wanted.
Feng Yingyue was fuming and she took out her anger on this grandfather figure. For more than an hour, Dun Mofan accepted her berating, letting her act as a spoiled child for once.
When she was finally done, she left the room while adding some words. "I'll do some alchemy to calm my nerves!"
"Ah, ah, ah!" Dun Mofan waited for her to be away before laughing loudly. "Impressive, young boy! It seems like she really cares about you. Ah, ah, ah!"
Not knowing how to respond, Cao Yun changed the topic.
"City Lord, I'm sorry if I'm too impudent. Yesterday I asked you for two things. I know that I already took advantage of you by receiving this manual, but I really need to get informations on the neighboring cities. Being a hunter, and being alone, my life could depend on these informations."
Dun Mofan examined Cao Yun and answered. "It's a good thing to be cautious. Of course, there are some reports that I can't show you, but I already gathered all the reports without any sensitive materials in them. You can browse through them in my study, follow me."
"Thank you, City Lord." Cao Yun cupped his fists politely and followed Dun Mofan to the same room as yesterday. On the huge desk, there were several piles of scrolls, books and parchments. This time, the City Lord left him alone to read. There was a little bit of trust between them. Anyway, Dun Mofan was a 1st-grade Spirit Warrior, his senses were heightened and he would immediately see if someone had touched the books on the shelves or not.
Cao Yun decided to read everything, in order to hide what he was really trying to find, just in case. There were many reports about uninteresting things: some promotions of officials or public servants; not very prominent figures attempting, succeeding or failing a breakthrough; the movement of some small vagrant tribes; a few changes of territory for dangerous demonic beasts; ...
He still read everything and decided to keep some of these news in mind. After all, even though he was not searching for it, there was useful stuff mixed in there, especially if he wanted to survive in the wild. Amidst all these reports, he finally found what he was looking for.
A book was listing the recently dead. Among the unfamiliar names, he found a character he knew too well, his own family name, Cao. Cao He. Cao Lifeng. Cao Bui... At least a hundred names from the Cao family were written there. He scanned them all and found his parents Cao Guang and Cao Shui, then his great-grandfather Cao Beiwen. Some lines under them, he found Cao Sheng.
His own name was absent from the list because no one had found his corpse. There even was a small note in the margin. 'Cao Yun, not found, presumed dead.' His heart was beating like a madman in his chest as he was coming to the last name, Cao Huiying, his little sister. Once he saw it, his mind went blank. He had hoped for his little sister to still be alive. He had clung to this possibility... for nothing. This wisp of hope had turned into despair.
While he was lost in this black fog, the Drop of Wrath activated and began to pulse deep within his heart.
After more than an incense stick, Cao Yun got back to reality. Father, mother, big brother, little sister, patriarch, everyone! I swear on my life that you will be avenged! No matter how long it takes, I will gain the power I need to find and kill the culprits with my bare hands! Let the Heavens be witness to my oath! In this life or another, you will be avenged. Your grievances will be addressed.
Deep within his soul, Cao Yun forged this solemn oath with his dead family. He still had no way to find the culprits and even if he did, the main killer was at least a 6th-grade Spirit Warrior. It would probably take him several decades before he could do anything, but Cao Yun had decided. From now on, his goal was set in stone!
He continued browsing through the reports. He saw that the corpses of his family members had been found. Some had been partially eaten by beasts or animals. Luckily, his family was renowned and appreciated enough that Baziyun City's City Lord paid for a proper burial. Apparently, although his body had not been found, Cao Yun also was officially buried, everyone thinking he was dead deep within the mountains.
There was no clue as to who did this, just speculations. It was probably the act of a demonic sect. Demonic cultivators were humans following the Evil path. Techniques like torturing, killing, raping, eating human flesh, stealing souls, ... were used by these people. It allowed them to grow stronger way faster, but it influenced their state of mind, making most of them insane, and often limited the peak of their strength. They were able to advance very fast for a period of time and then, it would take a toll on them that many demonic cultivators could never overcome.
Demonic cultivators killing humans was not unheard of, but slaughtering an entire family was. The main culprit was even an advanced Spirit Warrior. Most demonic cultivators were unable to advance very far in this realm considering it dealt with their very soul. The forbidden techniques used to gain power tended to damage their soul, greatly limiting their progress in the Spirit Warrior realm.
Anyway, Cao Yun was the only witness. Apart from him, it was unlikely for anyone else to find out the truth. He had engraved in his memory every details of that night.
-
Finally, as the night was getting darker and darker, Cao Yun decided to head back to Feng Yingyue's shop. He bid farewell to Dun Mofan and left.
Arriving there, she was still mad but her mind was entirely focused on her alchemy. Cao Yun did not want to disturb her and tried to sneak past her. As soon as he put a foot on the stair he heard her voice.
"Guo?" He turned back to her. She saw his face and felt a deep sadness. "Are you okay? Did something happen?"
"It's..." His face blackened and he dropped his dead. "I'm sorry, I just can't talk about it. Please."
Feng Yingyue rushed toward him and took him in a warm hug. "You don't have to tell me anything. You don't have to say anything at all."
They stayed this way for several minutes. Cao Yun even cried a little. He had always thought that it was disgraceful to cry before someone, but before her, he could.
Ending their embrace, Feng Yingyue kissed him on the left cheek. Cao Yun felt her warmth on his cheek and all over his body. He could also smell her fragrance all around. She was getting back to work but he stopped her.
"I have something to give you." While speaking, he took out the green 'Sealing the Seven Demons in the Nine Peaks' manual. "This manual deals with mind cultivation. It's perfect for an alchemist. I got some understanding of it, so let me guide you."
"But, this manual is yours, now. I can't accept."
"You don't have to take the manual to cultivate it. I'll stay here for at least a week, maybe two. We can study it together for the time being. After that, there will still be time to decide who keeps it." Seeing her hesitation, Cao Yun pressed on. "Come on, you know it's really useful for alchemists. You were ready to use your personal money to help me. And you did not want me to refuse, right? So please, don't refuse me either."
"... okay."
They both sat down in the living room upstairs. Cao Yun explained all he had learned about the manual and the characters. He explained to her the feeling he felt just before fainting so that she could know exactly when to stop.
Without knowing, they were holding hands when they both started to draw the Yi symbol, the Earth Intent, in their mind. Once. Twice. ... Seven times. Eight times. ... Twelve times. Cao Yun had a huge improvement. He easily achieved Small Success, eight repetitions, and advanced up to twelve repetitions.
When he opened his eyes, he saw Feng Yingyue through new lenses. He was able to note every part of her face. Even with the eyes closed he would be able to visualize her face perfectly.
"How did you do?"
"Six times."
"Great! The first time I did it, I fainted after only four."
"Well, it's thanks to your explanations. And... I also felt... I don't know. I felt as if we were connected."
Unknowingly, they had shared their mental strength by holding hands and both of them had progressed rapidly thanks to that.
"The result of this cultivation is incredible. I feel like I have a new understanding of the pill recipe I was just studying. Maybe, I could try again when I'm well rested."
She took the cold cup of tea that was still on the table and was ready to drink when she stopped herself. After this session, her intent was stronger and so were her senses. Something was strange with this cup of tea. She focused her nose on the smell and tried to pinpoint what was bugging her.
"Yingying, what's wrong?"
"I don't know... I feel like..." Closing her eyes, she focused on the smell. Suddenly, she opened her eyes again. "Thousand Torments Jade Soup!"
"What?!"
"This tea is poisoned! The smell is very thin, but I'm positive, this is the Thousand Torments Jade Soup. A single drop of it and your death is certain unless you're a Mortal Warrior. The poison energy will spread through your body and you will bleed through every skin pore. This death is particularly long and cruel."
As she finished her sentence, Cao Yun signaled her to be quiet. There was some noise on the roof.
He rushed toward the noise. "Yingying, stay here!" He saw a man dressed in black trying to climb out from the window of Feng Yingyue's father's chamber. Cao Yun jumped him and grabbed his legs to pull him back in. Falling down on the floor of the chamber, the face of the running man got lit by the moon, Gu Ouyang.
Gu Ouyang tried to fight. He was a 6th-grade Mortal and Cao Yun should only be a 4th-grade Mortal. The only reason why he had not tried to kill him with his bare hands was for fear of being discovered by the City Lord. As a Spirit Warrior, he could detect Qi more easily and maybe even find out who had dealt a lethal blow to someone.
'Scorpion Stinging its Prey'. His fingers stuck together and stabbed toward Cao Yun's throat.
'Dance of Slaughter', second movement, 'Pushing the Sky'. Cao Yun parried the attack, directing all its strength in the void.
'Dance of Slaughter', first movement, Shake the Earth. Taking advantage of the fact that Gu Ouyang was still kneeling on the floor, Cao Yun tried to trample over him with a descending kick.
Gu Ouyang was not a good fighter. His cultivation was mainly due to resources he got from his grandfather and he never fought a life-and-death battle. On the other hand, Cao Yun loved learning martial arts and had trained against demonic beasts for several months. Although he should have had the speed to avoid the attack, Gu Ouyang did not react in time and his left leg was broken. He screamed as he leapt straight toward his target.
'Ten Thousand Bites'. He tried to plunge his fingers directly into Cao Yun's chest.
'Dance of Slaughter', third movement, 'Forging the Fort'. Unable to avoid in time due to the speed of his opponent, Cao Yun put his forearms before him as a defense. Red blood gushed out as Gu Ouyang's fingers stabbed through his flesh, almost piercing his bones.
'Dance of Slaughter', sixth movement, 'Breaking the Formation'. As Gu Ouyang was trying to press on with the attack in order to push Cao Yun to the ground, the boy rotated and hit him with a shoulder strike, right in the ribs. Throughout the room, the sound of broken ribs echoed. Not used to pain in an actual fight, Gu Ouyang lost his momentum and just screamed.
'Dance of Slaughter', fifth movement, 'Dyeing the Ground'. With fingers still lodged in his forearms, Cao Yun opened his hands and used the saber of his two palms to cut off the fingers in a huge sweeping movement. Ten pieces of flesh hit the ground at the same time.
'Dance of Slaughter', eighth and last movement, 'Slaughtering the Enemy'. Following his sweeping move, Cao Yun closed both hands and sent a double strike in Gu Ouyang's chest. It cut off his breath and sent him to the floor, bawling.
A 4th-grade or even weak 5th-grade Mortal would have been instantly killed by such a strike. But even though Gu Ouyang had not the fighting experience, he still had the cultivation. His body was strong enough to resist to the vibration power of the 'Dance of Slaughter'.
Cao Yun was ready to kill him. He approached him, lifted his hand.
"Mercy. Have mercy. Please!"
Instead of Gu Ouyang, Cao Yun saw the image of Huang Lixin and simply could not give the final strike. Deep within his heart a pulsation was affecting his mind and pushed him to the brink. Yet, he decided to circulate the Yi character in his mind and was able to control himself. He put his hands down and stepped away from the wanna-be assassin.
"Let the City Lord give out justice!"
Barely had he spoken, Dun Mofan was behind him. Feng Yingyue had used some kind of talisman. It was a signal he had given her to call for help. As a 1st-grade Spirit Warrior, he had rushed here with all his speed and understood everything in an instant with his spiritual senses.
Seeing the City Lord and his own blood and flesh on the floor, Gu Ouyang fainted.