Sensing Meiyue's distrust & fear, he didn't prolong the wait. He decided to quickly bring her to her cousin. But he couldn't do so in the auction hall as he didn't have as much control over the place as his own residence. Unfortunately, taking over the array formations of the entire city was a very lengthy process. Besides, he couldn't simply activate array formations he had altered or he would simply reveal his hand. Thus, the best course of action was to reunite the two girls in his residence where no prying eyes could see them.
As he was about to leave with Meiyue, Sister Lisha came to him. She was wearing the black and dark red robe of the Sisters of the Abyss. Under the right light, it truly looked like she was clad in demon blood. Besides, the complex ornaments in her hair and her jewelry even made it look like Golden Blood as they were glistening. Like many demons, her hair had streaks of red in them but they also looked like they were made of bronze now that he was seeing her in the full light of the day, not in the shadows of her balcony. She had voluptuous forms clearly highlighted by her robe and her ornaments. And although he couldn't be sure of her cultivation, she was undoubtedly an Accomplished Demon like he was pretending to be. His own spiritual senses could feel hers.
Looking at her, he knew that even his senses could not pierce through the face she was putting on. Cao Yun could tell whether someone was lying and what they were feeling most of the times. Even Spirit Warriors could not always hide it from him. But this woman was clearly well versed in the arts of the mind and the soul. For a demon, this was dangerous as it was the only thing making humans superior. Demons had powerful wills and souls but were not very good when it came to controlling them minutely. Apparently, the Sisters had ways of developing such a subtle control. But Cao Yun had no idea how well she was trained in that domain, or how many Sisters were as well trained as she was. For all he knew, she might still be an exception.
Refusing to make Meiyue wait any longer, Cao Yun asked a servant who had come with him to bring her to his residence. He had already sent Xixue back earlier as he didn't want her to meet her cousin in the auction hall. Either she wouldn't be able to control her emotions, or she would be forced to suppress them. In any event, he didn't want a joyous reunion to be muddied by such considerations. So he stayed to talk with Sister Lisha who was adamant on the matter.
"Red blessing on you, child. Our Order heard great things about you, Brother Mo. This is nice to see that those were still inferior to the truth. Congratulations on your purchases."
"Sister Lisha. I am sorry if I offended your Order today. But there was just something about this calligraphy that spoke to me. If your Order wishes it, I could allow you to admire it and even study it to make a copy."
"This will not be necessary, Brother. As long as it is within your hands, we are certain that it will be well protected and treated with respect. After all, this is a very important piece of our history that you just bought. But I wanted to talk to you about other matters. As I said, your talent has been recognized by our Order. Thus, we would be fortunate to have it be put to our uses. Indeed, our Order would like to craft a contract with your Blazing Swallow."
While he was speaking with Sister Lisha, Cao Yun could clearly feel that she was trying to sense something in him. Once again, the two of them were hiding things from each other. What really worried Cao Yun was that he couldn't see anything through her, but he felt as if she was able to sense something. Deep in his heart, the Drop of Wrath was reacting from time to time. Since the Sisters of the Abyss were connected to blood, he was sincerely afraid she might discover it. Besides, she might even be able to discover that he simply wasn't a demon but only a human masquerading as one. Anyway, he didn't want to keep this conversation going in such a place. In his residence with all of his defenses set up, he would feel more at ease.
"Sister, I will be glad to discuss such a proposition. It would be my delight to help your Order. Unfortunately, I am still too busy right now setting up shop in this Duma City. I will have my servants send you a formal invitation very soon. Then, we'll be able to discuss it at length later on. I hope this is agreeable to you..."
"Of course, Brother. I will be looking forward to your invitation. And if our Order can do anything to help your shop, do not hesitate to ask us."
There was such a confidence in her statement that Cao Yun felt as though Sister Lisha was ruling over Duma City. However, she officially had no authority. It belonged to Boss Gui. And speaking of her, her representative Miss Wo came walking toward the two of them. In the distance, Cao Yun also noticed Weiji Nian. Her eyes were burning with indignation and hate. She didn't look toward Cao Yun though, most likely because of the other two women. Since she had taken her purchases, the woman simply left the auction hall without looking back. Cao Yun knew that she would be a problem. But enraging her had been part of the plan. Unfortunately, he couldn't kill her easily.
First of all, she was an Accomplished Demon. Killing someone in Duma City was also harder than in Ruohe or in the wild. And finally, her uncle would truly become a problem. For the time being, Cao Yun's influence would protect him from her.
Miss Wo reached Cao Yun and Sister Lisha. While they were still speaking, she interrupted. Like Sister Lisha, she had red streaks in her hair but her hair was mostly black. Her eyes were also black. Up close, Cao Yun could tell that she had no Slavery Brand in her, but her behavior showed that she had been a slave for a very long time. Most likely, she had somehow earned her freedom and was now working for Boss Gui. Her face was emotionless and very harsh, just like her body was sturdy and muscular. She seemed to be made of muscles despite her slender figure.
"Lord Mo, my mistress would like to talk business with you. She will send you an invitation later in the day."
After few words, Miss Wo simply saluted both of them and left. Letting out a small laugh at Miss Wo's very direct behavior, Sister Lisha also bid Cao Yun farewell.
"May the Blood flow in you."
Finally, Cao Yun could go back to his residence in peace. Since his conversation hadn't lasted very long, he quickly found Meiyue and his servant walking toward his residence in Duma City. Xixue had probably already come back. But this wasn't the only thing he saw. Although they were trying to hide, a few people were clearly following Meiyue. There were five figures trying to conceal their presence. Against someone who had learned Huang Liyue's stealth art, they were unable to hide anything. In fact, the mere fact that they were trying to be concealed revealed their presence to Cao Yun. In his eyes, they were very conspicuous. However his servant had not noticed anything.
He was one of the bodyguards Cao Yun had freed from Tu Jianhe. Even though he was a late Golden Blood Child, he had failed to notice them at all. Using his Flying Poison, Cao Yun sent him a telepathic message so he would take a very precise road. Thanks to his training, the servant didn't let this surprise affect him at all. And he did change his course. He was still walking toward the residence of course, but through a very different path. Very quickly, he understood what was going on since the path he was taking was favorable to an ambush. Even in the city, it wasn't too rare for people to be killed, especially after an auction. Obviously it didn't happen every single day, but violence was common place enough.
As long as they could pay Boss Gui, killers wouldn't get into too much problem. But if they couldn't pay or if their target's death was offending someone too high, they would suffer for a very long time before being put to death. Killing the alchemist Mo Yun would probably be a problem in that situation. After all, both the Sisters of the Abyss and Boss Gui had expressed their interest in him. But if his servant was killed and his newly acquired slave stolen, it could be resolved with some money and maybe by sacrificing some pawns.
Most likely, those five pursuers had been hired by Weiji Nian. She could sacrifice them if they were to fail, or even if they succeeded, in order to calm the anger of Boss Gui or the Sisters. On the other hand, if Cao Yun killed them, she would deny any connection with them. Unfortunately, Cao Yun couldn't extract their memories with Dian Mo's current weakened state. And torturing them would not give him any more information. What he would need was proof. But Weiji Nian's move would give him enough to pressure her into being a bit less aggressive.
As soon as his servant walked into a narrow alley, the five figures drew their weapons. Even though he knew he was being followed, the bodyguard didn't see or feel anything at all. For a former hunter, this was a very alarming situation. He knew that predators were stalking him but couldn't detect them at all. Hopefully, his new master would protect him.
Because the five figures were concealing their presence, they had reduced their Wei Qi to a minimum. In other words, their defenses were extremely weak. Furthermore, not a single one of them was an Accomplished Demon. They were all late Golden Blood Children. Fighting them would be a problem for Cao Yun though as it could reveal his real cultivation. However, he had no reason to fight them fair and square. Since they were acting as assassins, he would treat them as such.
Using his own stealth, Cao Yun appeared behind the first would-be assassin. His sword slid through his ribs in his back. In an instant, the blade had gone through his heart. At the same moment, Cao Yun used his Flying Poison to assault his mind and crushed his throat with his bare hand. From his sword, a powerful surge of Qi exploded his heart in an instant. Then, the assassin's lifeless body was sucked in his spatial ring.
Very efficiently, Cao Yun took down all five of the pursuers. He had chosen this alley because it would lure them out, but also because he had set up a few array formations here already. Indeed, he had prepared a few ways out of his own residence in case of trouble. Because not a single one of them was weary of being attacked while they were stalking their prey, killing them turned out to be extremely easy. Even Cao Yun was surprised how weak they were. Weiji Nian had chosen poorly. Or maybe she simply didn't have any good men. Most of her influence really came from her uncle. After today, she would think twice before attacking Cao Yun in any way. Even now, she had not attacked him directly, proving that she was afraid of the consequences.
Just to be sure that his message would be heard, Cao Yun took the heads of the five would-have-been assassins. Later on, he would have them sent to Weiji Nian discreetly. Although he had no way of proving she was behind it, he wanted to make sure that she knew that he knew.
"Boy, are you sure this is a good idea to search more conflict with that woman?"
"Apart from her uncle, she's no danger at all. But you are indeed right. I can't antagonize her more than what is necessary. Unless she comes after me again, I'll put a stop to it. Maybe I'll have a few pills sent to her and her son to try and calm things down for the time being. However, since I'll be in conflict with City Lord Sihe anyway, I will have to take care of her at some point. The moment isn't ripe though."
"I thought you didn't like unnecessary conflicts?"
"I don't! But this is necessary."
"Really...?"
Once more, Dian Mo seemed to doubt Cao Yun. As a consequence, Cao Yun began to doubt himself a bit. Was he truly acting reasonably? Maybe his emotions, namely his anger, were controlling him, or at least influencing too much... But no matter how he thought about it, he knew that he would get in conflict with that woman. Besides, since she wanted Meiyue as a sex slave for her son, he couldn't avoid some friction at the auction hall. Honestly, it was possible he had gone a bit too far. Anyway, he would deal with it when the time came.
-
At last, he reached his residence. From Xixue's chambers, he could distinctively hear a lot of crying. But this was good crying. After making sure everything was going well, he didn't intrude on the two cousins. He didn't want Xixue to have to suppress her feelings in front of him. And he put himself in her shoes. If he had reunited with a member of his family, namely his little sister, he wouldn't want a stranger interrupting them.
Besides, Cao Yun had something else to do. In his own chambers, he took out the parchment. The seven characters were sitting in front of him. Now, he could literally smell the odor of blood in the room. Although the calligraphy was old, the blood still appeared to be rather fresh, thanks to the blood essence of the Deafening Thunderous Liger in most part. But the young human could feel a familiarity not only with the writing but even with the blood of the writer. There was no doubt that whoever had written those seven characters had also written his mind cultivation manual.
Studying the seven characters, he tried to copy them in his own sea of consciousness. Although they appeared in his mind, they had no effect at all, unlike the Insight Writings in the 'Sealing the Seven Demons in the Nine Peaks' manual. Surely, there was some secret hidden in this calligraphy though.