Zhao Yunxiao stopped in his tracks.
Did he hear wrongly? Or did Lan Guyue really just order his men to stop them from leaving?
The busy activity around him answered his questions.
Loud footsteps echoed through the air as the guards of the Lan Clan rushed to the scene upon hearing Lan Guyue's orders, crowding outside the room with swords pointed towards them.
How absurd.
Zhao Yunxiao turned around to look at Lan Guyue, his eyes now shining with a cold light.
As that cold gaze fell upon the young master of the Lan Clan, the latter instantly felt a chill running down his spine. It felt as though he was being watched by an entity of higher existence – a feeling of danger that he was extremely unaccustomed to.
Yet it was also this unfamiliar sense of crisis that triggered him to double down on his earlier decision.
"What are you just standing there for? Seize them!" Lan Guyue shouted while pointing right at the duo.
"Yes, Young Master!"
The guards did not hesitate. The five nearest guards charged all at once, their swords raised in the air and ready to drop at the faintest sign of resistance.
In the end, their swords did drop, but not in the threatening manner that they had imagined.
Invisible Snap. This was the fastest move in the Xuanwu Fist Art. Executed against ordinary mortal guards like these, the latter never stood a chance.
Five low thuds sounded out before any of them realised it. The next moment, all five of them had fallen to their knees, their swords slipped out of their grip, and their hands were holding their stomach area in pain.
"Argh!"
"That hurts!"
"What just happened?"
Groans of agony sounded out from the five as they remained on the ground, unable to find it in themselves to get back to their feet. Behind them, the other guards subconsciously took a few steps back in a mix of confusion and fear.
Zhao Yunxiao had not even turned around to face the five guards from the beginning, his gaze locked onto Lan Guyue without blinking.
"G-Guards- argh!"
Before Lan Guyue could spit another word, Zhao Yunxiao had appeared directly before him, his hand shooting out to grab the former by the neck.
His grip was firm. Not tight enough to completely block all air from reaching Lan Guyue's lungs, but caused just enough pain to make it known that he could snap the neck off at any moment.
"Don't mistake our kindness for weakness!" Zhao Yunxiao warned. "Just because we have been treating you with respect, don't start thinking that you have anything on us."
Not only was he representing the Black Tortoise Sect right now, but he was also with his close companions. How could he possibly tolerate Lan Guyue's blatant attempt to use force on them?
With a claw-like hand locked onto his neck and the eyes of a predator staring upon him, Lan Guyue found himself unable to say a single word. Instead, it was his father who cut in after regaining his senses.
"G-Great cultivators! Please be appeased!" City Lord Lan Huolian hurriedly put his hands together in a desperate plea. "The kid is too young and ignorant. On top of that, he must have been in a state of panic after seeing such blasphemous records of our beloved ancestors. Considering all that, please forgive his transgression!"
"How convenient," Zhao Yunxiao smirked in response. "You have been standing there all this time, acting like you are too shocked to react. But do you really think that I don't know what you are thinking? Isn't the reason why you haven't tried to stop your 'young and ignorant' son simply because you wanted to test us as well?"
"N-No way! Great cultivator has mistaken! I'm innocent! I have truly been too shocked to react until now!" City Lord Lan Huolian fell to his knees in fear. "All of you! What are you waiting for? Kneel and seek the great cultivators' forgiveness!"
"T-This..."
The guards exchanged confused looks before falling to their knees as well. "Please forgive us, great cultivators!"
"Let's try not to blow up the matter. Senior Martial Brother Nie still needs to make it back for the wedding," Gu Qiansi reminded in a soft whisper that only Zhao Yunxiao could hear.
"Tch!" Zhao Yunxiao clicked his tongue in irritation before throwing Lan Guyue to the ground by the neck, causing the latter to cough in pain while trying to regain his breath. "I will let you go this time. But do not even think about trying it again. Should such a thing ever happen again, I will not be stopping until I see blood!"
"Thank you for your magnanimity, great cultivator!" City Lord Lan Huolian shouted in relief.
"Thank you for your magnanimity, great cultivator!" the guards echoed.
Only Lan Guyue did not echo the chant. Though to be fair, he could not possibly do so, as he was still trying to catch his breath after being thrown by the neck.
Zhao Yunxiao did not acknowledge the calls of the city lord and guards. Instead, he turned around and left, not forgetting to shoot a cautionary glare at the panting Lan Guyue while doing so.
Gu Qiansi kept a composed expression, but inwardly let out a sigh of relief as she followed Zhao Yunxiao out. For a moment there, she had been slightly worried that Zhao Yunxiao would lose control and end up killing City Lord Lan's son.
After all, she knew best how easily the calculated Zhao Yunxiao could lose his usual bearings when his close ones fell into danger.
Then again, perhaps it would be a bit of a stretch to describe their earlier situation as being dangerous...
Not long after they left the room, the recovered Lan Guyue quickly turned his attention to City Lord Lan Huolian.
"Father! We can't let them go just like that!" Lan Guyue insisted. "They have been misguided by these fake records. We need to help them get things right!"
"You don't want to let them go?" City Lord Lan Huolian let out a bitter smile. "How? By force? The way you just did?"
"This... But... They are going to..." Lan Guyue was panicking, but the use of force had already been proven not to work.
What else could he do? He truly could not think of any other options!
"Furthermore..." City Lord Lan Huolian let out a resigned sigh before gesturing to the guards. "You lot may leave for now. Nothing happened here today, understand?"
"Yes, Master!"
As the guards made their exits, City Lord Lan Huolian slowly closed the door, leaving just he and his son remaining in the room.
"Father...?" Lan Guyue asked in confusion.
"You have also grown up now. I guess it's time for you to learn the truth," City Lord Lan Huolian said with a tired sigh.
"The truth?"
"Yes, the truth – about what exactly happened all those years ago during the time of the great ancestors."
***
After leaving the Lan Clan's Residence, Zhao Yunxiao and Gu Qiansi returned to their inn, where they waited patiently for Nie Hanchang and Lu Zhiying's return. Following which, the four got together to share what they had learnt from visiting the two most influential factions of Demonfall City.
"I see," Zhao Yunxiao rubbed his chin in contemplation after hearing the report from Nie Hanchang and Lu Zhiying. "So, the Lan Clan and the Chang Clan currently see each other in such a negative light."
"I wonder who is speaking the truth?" Lu Zhiying asked while rubbing her chin with a serious look on her face, clearly emulating Zhao Yunxiao's actions.
"Does this really matter, though?" Nie Hanchang asked. "I don't see how current politics would have anything to do with the spirit in the pendant."
"It has everything to do with it, Senior Martial Brother Nie. Only by identifying the spirit can we proceed with the safest form of elimination," Zhao Yunxiao corrected. "The truth would give us a hint to the identity of the spirit. For example, if the diary by Lei Tingyi is true, then there is a high chance that it could be the soul of Lan Fangyan or Qian Qiqi in the pendant, aggrieved to have their lives taken by someone whom they had taken in. After all, Lan Fangyan had been wearing the pendant at his point of death."
"Or they could be aggrieved to have their lives taken by someone whom they had already planned to get rid of," Gu Qiansi added.
"Or that," Zhao Yunxiao did not discount that possibility.
"Or it could also be the soul of the enraged Lei Tingyi, unwilling to let off the descendants of whom she considered traitors," Lu Zhiying suggested.
"Or that," Zhao Yunxiao agreed.
Of course, he had also considered those possibilities. However, none of them explained why the spirit in the pendant had weakened temporarily during the previous exorcism when they called out Lei He's name.
Unless...
"Anyway, it's good that we have the accounts from both clans," Zhao Yunxiao put an end to the speculation. "For now, let's go watch the performance again. Perhaps there we would notice something that we have missed before."
The Good Luck Theatre Group's performance of the origin story of Demonfall City would show every evening, and it was almost time for today's show.
Zhao Yunxiao led the group back to the open plaza located right in the middle of the city, where a large crowd had gathered in front of the stage as usual. There, they stood along the fringes of the plaza, watching with keen eyes as the performance eventually began.
The performance was not perfect, and Xi Hei's depiction of Lei He had yet to reach the refined level at which Ling Jiping played the character. However, it was still enough to evoke intense emotions from the crowd.
More importantly, the group confirmed that they had not missed anything. As per before, the energy undulations only appeared at the delivery of Lei He's final line.
Just like the first night, Zhao Yunxiao and the rest of the group headed to the Good Luck Theatre Group's shophouse after the curtains fell on the performance.
But this time, they were no longer as welcomed as they were before.
"My dear Young Heroes, please let me off this time!" Cai Caoyuan pleaded. "We have just completed the performance, and I really want Xi Hei to immerse himself in the success of his first two nights instead of being frightened by your antiques! We still have many nights of performances lined up, and he needs to be mentally ready for them. The rest of the new actors are still not ready to take on the role of Lei He if anything goes wrong with him as well!"
"We've already had this conversation," Zhao Yunxiao narrowed his eyes. "Back then, I told you that we will be back within three days."
"This..." Cai Caoyuan was stumped for a moment, remembering that he had agreed to just that. "Fine, how about tomorrow morning? That way, the kid can at least relish in the success of tonight before having to face reality tomorrow."
"We will return tomorrow," Zhao Yunxiao compromised. "Even if nothing else, think about Xi Hei. The longer we drag this out, the more likely it is for him to be afflicted by the curse."
"Don't worry, I don't hear any voices or see any shadows," Xi Hei walked up from behind Cai Caoyuan, clearly having overheard their conversation. "I don't know about this curse, but I have never felt healthier!"
After speaking, he shot a nervous glance at Cai Caoyuan, as though looking for some sort of compliment.
"And we are trying to help so that you won't end up having to swallow those words," Lu Zhiying snapped back.
"Thank you for the concern, but I don't think it is necessary."
"Oh, really?" Lu Zhiying smirked.
"In any case, it doesn't matter what either of you feel. It only matters what we think we should do," Zhao Yunxiao added. "We will be returning here tomorrow around noon. At that time, the two of you, as well as the pendant, better be here and ready."
With his declaration, the group from the Black Tortoise Sect turned and was just about to leave when they noticed two familiar figures shuffling among the crew from the Good Luck Theatre Group – Wen Guoping and Jue Qishi.
It would appear that they had managed to join as part of the stage crew.
Good. With the wages from the Good Luck Theatre Group, they would no longer have to worry about covering basic necessities.
But as they were slowly making their exit, the group noticed the duo being separately pulled aside by a senior each.
"Guoping, don't say that I am not giving you a chance," the senior secretly whispered to Wen Guoping at a corner. "A slot has opened up for new actors to train for the role of a main character in the daily play, and I immediately thought of you and your acting talent. How about it? Are you interested?"
"A main character?" Wen Guoping lit up in excitement. "Of course! Which role is it?"
"Sir Lei He."
The words struck Wen Guoping like a bolt of lightning.
Yes, this was indeed one of the main characters of the performance, but it was also a role that had been embroiled in some dark rumours. In fact, if not for how the performance embodied what they believed in and how they desperately needed a source of income, the duo had almost decided to leave the Good Luck Theatre Group after hearing about Ling Jiping's mysterious death this morning!
Yet this senior was actually telling Wen Guoping to train to take on that exact role?
"I know what you are thinking - the rumours, right? Don't worry, that's mere hearsay. Ling Jiping has just been leading an extremely unhealthy lifestyle, that's all! It's not surprising that his poor health has finally caught up to him," the senior followed up after seeing Wen Guoping's awkward expression. "More importantly, if you really took on the role of Lei He, you can immediately say goodbye to all the financial concerns that you currently have! Isn't that wonderful?"
"Even so, I-"
"Ah, ah, don't decide so early," the senior quickly interjected. "You really have to think this through carefully – it's not just about what you want, but try to also think through the perspective of your beloved as well. I heard that she willingly abandoned her family to elope here with you? Are you really going to allow such a precious girl to endure insults and poverty, all because you dare not grasp such a great opportunity due to some baseless hearsay?"
As he was saying that, the senior slowly guided Wen Guoping over to the mouth of a dark alleyway, where they could secretly eavesdrop on the conversation between two people standing within.
And these two people were none other than another male senior and Jue Qishi.
They arrived just in time to hear a part that instantly caused Wen Guoping's blood to boil.
"I have to admit that you are a really beautiful girl, Qishi, perhaps the most beautiful that I have ever seen. It is really a shame for you to be with that Wen Guoping," the senior started. "If you are willing to be with me instead, I promise that I will devote myself to you and take care of your every need. You will never have to worry about financial issues again!"
"This... I'm sorry, Senior," Jue Qishi apologised. "I truly appreciate your interest, but I am deeply in love with Guoping. There is no way that I will leave him."
"I thought so," the senior let out a helpless sigh. "It is unfortunate that I did not get to know you before him. Otherwise, I would never have allowed you to suffer all your current problems. That said, I am still willing to help you out financially, as long as you are willing to, you know, provide some benefits."
"Benefits?" Jue Qishi's apologetic expression vanished, replaced with a deep frown.
"Yes, benefits," the senior said with a confident smile. "For example, you could come visit my house every once in a while, and I could provide you with some compensation for that. You can continue staying with your beloved Guoping without letting him know, and I will still help you get rid of all your financial worries. How about that?"
From behind the corner, the other senior shrugged at Wen Guoping.
"See that? It's great that your beloved Qishi is a beautiful girl, but that comes with its own set of problems as well. How much longer are you willing to subject her to such a life, while you take your time to slowly work your way up?"