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--- Chapter 5 ---
Hong Wuji is dead.
This news hit Yu Long like a truck.
After all, Yu Long just got to know his martial arts instructor. Although they weren't very close, Yu Long showed Hong Wuji his aptitudes while hiding them from others.
A connection formed when Hong Wuji agreed to hunt some profound beasts for him, and Yu Long fully believed Hang Wuji's character as an honest and dependable person.
Just how many people are close to Yu Long after he got reincarnated?
He could count it with his fingers.
But now, he lost one of them.
Yu Long grasped Lily's hand tightly and coldly asked, "Tell me, what happened?"
"It was an accident. Mr. Hong was hunting profound beasts in the Drifting Cloud Mountain Range, but he seemed to 'accidentally' catch the attention of a powerful beast and ended up heavily injured."
"There are claw marks all over his corpse, which was 'recently' found on the border of the forest."
"Powerful beast?" Yu Long snorted indifferently. From his observation, Hong Wuji is not the type of person who would seek trouble.
On the surface, it might look like an accident, but Hong Wuji always told Yu Long no one is more familiar with Drifting Cloud Mountain Range than himself.
Someone with such deep knowledge can easily dodge 'powerful beasts.' as he recognizes their habitats, behavior, and movement patterns.
No matter how Yu Long sees it, something shady definitely happens.
But then, Yu Long suddenly remembered something.
Before the teaching session, Hong Wuji always told Yu Long about his younger sister to ease the awkwardness. And that sister is Hong Wuji's only family member left.
"Hong Guan..." Yu Long mumbled the name of Hong Wuji's sister.
"Lily, prepare the carriage. We will go to the north area."
"Y-Yes, young master," Lily responded, never seeing her cute young master like this.
That cold, indifferent face left a lingering shock on her.
A carriage pulled out by horses from the Yu Clan's stable.
The galloping noises echoed far away.
Yu Long calmed himself down, bringing tranquility to his anger.
Yes, anger.
"I underestimate [Kaiju Maker]'s power." He doesn't know why, but Hong Wuji brings more anger than sadness.
They arrived at the north area of the Drifting River City. Remembering the story Hong Wuji had spoken, Yu Long ordered the driver to take a few turns and stopped at an ordinary-looking house.
It was a one-story building, not too big or too small, enough for a family of three to live.
Yu Long jumped from the carriage and approached the house. He heard a sobbing noise.
Hic! Hic!
Yu Long gently pushed the front door open and saw a black-haired young woman kneeling on the floor. She's facing a white wood coffin.
Upon seeing the coffin, Yu Long's golden eyes dimmed slightly. He sighed and approached the young woman.
"Are you... Hong Guan?" Yu Long stood behind the black-haired young woman.
The black-haired young woman turned around and stared at Yu Long's figure. "Yes." She answered with a gloomy expression as tears were flowing from her eyes.
Hong Guan is a young woman around the age of 17 or 18. She has long and scattered black hair, fair skin, and rosy lips. She has a pair of red eyes due to crying so much.
She currently wore mourning clothes, not showing her figure at all.
Yu Long offered a handkerchief and said, "My name is Yu Long."
"Your older brother is my teacher."
"Although he didn't teach me for long, I... I appreciated him from the deepest part of my heart."
"That's why I'll shelter you from now on."
"Will... You follow me?" Yu Long asked with a weak smile.
"You're the kid my brother talked about..." Hong Guan gratefully picked up the handkerchief and wiped her tears. "He talks a lot about you recently."
"Every day, he'd praise you for being a genius."
"He even told me about hunting profound beasts because you want it."
"I'm sorry..." Yu Ling grabbed the corner of his clothes and looked down on the stone floor.
If he hadn't asked Hong Wuji to hunt profound beasts, the martial arts instructor wouldn't have visited the Drifting Cloud Mountain Range.
"Hnn, it's not your fault." Hong Guan shook her head gently. "If we want to blame, we should blame profound beasts."
"Being a practitioner in a profound way is dangerous, to begin with."
Yu Long's expression froze as he gazed into Hong Guan's eyes and said with seriousness, "What if I told you Teacher Hong's death wasn't an accident."
"Think about it... Your older brother is a skilled hunter and has grown all his life near the Drifting Cloud Mountain Range."
"How could such a man accidentally meet a dangerous beast."
"T-This is..." Hong Guan contemplated.
Yu Long took a deep breath and continued, "This is just my assumption, but I know how to find the truth about his death."
"Regardless, I need you to trust me."
"I trust you! I want to know the truth!" Hong Guan's eyes light up in determination.
Yu Long sighed in relief, "When will his corpse get buried?"
"Tomorrow morning..." Hong Guan answered honestly.
"Good, I'll handle the burial." Yu Long smiled at her.
"For now, follow me back to the Yu Clan."
...
The next day, Yu Long and Hong Guan attended the burial of Hong Wuji's coffin. Yu Long's mother and father also followed, watching a group of people putting the coffin and burying it with soil.
After the burial, Yu Long and Hong Guan burn incense to pay respect to the dead.
"Let's go." Yu Zhan patted Yu Long's small shoulder.
Yu Long nodded and pulled Hong Guan's arm, "Sister Hong."
"Mm." Hong Guan followed them back to the Yu Clan.
Returning to his courtyard, Yu Long rested on the bed and pulled out a black-colored sphere.
"Hong Wuji..." He muttered to himself, noticing some white spots on the sphere. "If my guess is correct, I'll do my best to avenge you."
Memories flowed into Yu Long's head.
A vision of Hong Wuji appeared. He was walking in the wild with some profound beast's corpses on his shoulder.
'Let's return...' Hong Wuji said to himself.
'Young master will be happy with my hunts. I caught some rare profound beasts, haha~!'
Hong Wuji turned around and noticed abnormal movement from far away.
He hid behind a tree, showcasing his skill as a hunter.
'What is that?' Hong Wuji's eyes widened as five white-clothed individuals ran to his position. Behind them is an injured mountain tiger of Earth Profound Realm.
'The king of the mountain.' Hong Wuji finally recognized the profound beast.
'Run!'
Hong Wuji ran away quickly because his life depended on it, but one of the white-clothed individuals caught up and mercilessly slashed his Achilles tendons.
"Be proud, peasant. Your lowly life will be helpful for the Heavenly Spear Thunderfire Fortress." The white-clothed individual's arrogant voice penetrated Hong Wuji's ears.
They actually exploited him to buy more time!
The mountain tiger was in a frenzy state, attacking everything in its path.
Hong Wuji screamed in pain. The mountain tiger's claws struck him continuously.
After a few seconds, the mountain tiger left him and chased after the white-clothed individuals again.
Hong Wuji should have died with these extreme injuries, but his survival instinct is still running.
He crawled for an unknown period, reaching the edge of the Drifting Cloud Mountain Range.
At his last breath, Hong Wuji hoped someone would take care of his younger sister.
BAM!
Yu Long slammed his little hand against the bed and smashed the wooden frame.
He opened his eyes, revealing a pair of cold golden rays.
Herbology (D) Acquired.
Danger Sense (E) Acquired.
"Heavenly Spear Thunderfire Fortress!" Yu Long roared in fury.
Discovering the truth, Yu Long finally have a target to vent his anger.
However, not now.
He's still too weak.
He needs more power and influence to absolutely decimate Heavenly Spear Thunderfire Fortress from existence.
Revenge is best served cold!
Yu Long stared at the open window, gazing toward the vast azure horizon.
"Mark my words, vengeance will be mine..."