Chapter 137: Trouble Arises at the Foot of Nanhua Mountain

Nanping Dao, outside Nanhua City.

Nanhua City is only thirty li from Nanhua Mountain. Although the city is not large, it thrives as it sits under Nanhua Mountain.

An Jing and Lou Xiangzhen rode the Thousand-year-old Black Python all night and arrived in Nanping Dao’s territory after three days of travel, and it took them another two days to reach the base of Nanhua Mountain.

Upon entering Nanping Dao, they could feel the temperature gradually rising.

The attire of the people on the streets also changed, with more colors compared to the monochromatic styles of Jiangnan Dao, and there were fewer refugees and beggars along the way.

It’s important to note that Nanping Dao is considered very poor among the nine daos of Great Yan, and its geographical location at the edge next to the Southern Barbarians makes it a mixed and tumultuous area, with the Great Yan Court having relatively weaker control here.

Along the way, they even saw a few Southern Barbarians merchants wearing strange attire with various bizarre weapons at their waist and a lean stature, slightly different in appearance from the citizens of Great Yan.

Next to a small hill, the Thousand-year-old Black Python coiled itself on the ground.

An Jing leaned against the back of the Black Python, playing with a paperman in his hand, shouting loudly, “Are you done yet?”

“What’s the rush?”

Soon, Lou Xiangzhen shook his hands, walked out of the bushes, and said with a dark face, “This is supposed to be a pleasurable affair, but your rushing made it less enjoyable for me.”

An Jing smiled and said, “I was just worried that you might have had an accident since Nanping Dao is filled with many mountains, including some miasmatic and venomous insects.”

Lou Xiangzhen waved his hand and then looked puzzled at the paperman in An Jing’s hands, “Who are you in contact with?”

He was well aware of the Ghost Valley Paperman and could also make them himself, but ever since he retired from Jianghu, he had destroyed all his papermen, leaving only Jiang Sanjia’s contact paperman.

However, they hardly ever contacted each other.

All the way from Jiangnan Dao, Lou Xiangzhen often saw An Jing playing with the paperman.

“I’m communicating with my wife.”

An Jing put away the paperman and sighed deeply.

He did not know when he would see his wife again; this trip to Nanping Dao was going to delay them further, and he hoped he could find her before she returned to Jiangnan Dao.

An Jing still didn’t understand why that Mister Jiang wanted to kill him.

But one thing he was sure of was that Mister Jiang definitely did not know he was the Ghost Swordsman.

Had he unintentionally offended this master?

“Oh?”

Upon hearing this, Lou Xiangzhen’s eyes lit up; he hadn’t thought that the paperman could also be used for communication between the two.

An Jing glanced at Lou Xiangzhen and asked, “Elder Lou, what do you think of this method?”

“Indeed not bad.”

Lou Xiangzhen nodded slightly and said, “If I were to use it, I’d have to mark the paperman to tell them apart; otherwise, it would be too confusing since there are so many….”

An Jing smiled outwardly, but inside, he didn’t believe Lou Xiangzhen’s words at all.

Old Man Li, when young, was also a handsome and imposing man; however, Lou Xiangzhen always seemed like a sleazy old man no matter how one looked at him.

Moreover, their time spent together had taught An Jing that although Lou Xiangzhen was a Grandmaster, he was an extremely unreliable talker who always had to compete over everything.

If An Jing ate one roast chicken, he insisted on eating two; if An Jing drank one pot of wine, he insisted on drinking two….

It seemed as if he never wanted to lose in anything, and he wasn’t targeting others, just him.

An Jing urged the Thousand-year-old Black Python to open its mouth.

“Whoosh!”

A streak of cold light emerged, and then the Evil Suppressing Sword turned into a beam of cold light and landed in his palm.

Blood was still flowing on the blade.

“Hmm!?”

Just then, Lou Xiangzhen’s eyebrows furrowed tightly, “This must be the Evil Suppressing Sword, right?”

“Yes, this is the Evil Suppressing Sword,” An Jing nodded.

His acquisition of the Evil Suppressing Sword was no secret in Jianghu, and there was no need to hide it from Lou Xiangzhen.

Lou Xiangzhen somersaulted onto the head of the Thousand-year-old Black Python and said gravely, “Lend me this sword for a look.”

“Here.”

An Jing directly handed the Evil Suppressing Sword to Lou Xiangzhen, knowing that since the sword was spiritually bonded to him, it would only be an ordinary treasure sword when used by anyone else.

Lou Xiangzhen extended his fingers, as if he was caressing the blade, then touched the blood on it, soon exclaimed, “What strange blood this is, it doesn’t look like human blood at all.”

An Jing asked doubtfully, “Could it be that even our senior doesn’t know what kind of blood this is?”

Originally when he acquired the Evil Suppressing Sword, he had tried to remove the fresh blood on the blade but was completely unable to find a way to clean it off, no matter what he did.

Unexpectedly, even Lou Xiangzhen from the Ghost Valley Sect didn’t know the origin of this blood.

“Not really sure,”

Lou Xiangzhen hesitated for a moment, then shook his head, “But this blood is definitely not ordinary. I’ll try now to see if I can draw this fresh blood out of the sword.”

An Jing nodded, “Alright.”

Lou Xiangzhen clapped his hands together, and a surge of True Qi flowed out from his palms.

“Sizzle! Sizzle!”

The next moment, the fresh blood on the sword emitted a strange sound, beginning to divide into countless strands of blood that wrapped around the Evil Suppressing Sword, as if resisting the True Qi from Lou Xiangzhen.

“It won’t work.”

Lou Xiangzhen only tried once before shaking his head and speaking.

An Jing felt even more curious in his heart. Why was this blood on the sword unknown to someone like Lou Xiangzhen who was a Grandmaster, and he could not remove it either? What exactly was this blood?

Lou Xiangzhen pondered and then said, “This might be the blood of an Exotic Beast, possibly even more ferocious and violent than the Thousand-year-old Black Boa beneath you, but it could also be…”

Speaking to this point, his tone suddenly paused.

An Jing also furrowed his brows, his mind involuntarily recalling Grandpa Jiang.

Originally, he too had appeared atop Three Temple Mountain and had taken away that mummified corpse. The Evil Suppressing Sword was embedded in that corpse, and he had also mentioned his need to find Undying Blood.

Could it be that this blood on the sword was Undying Blood!?

At that thought, An Jing was inwardly shaken.

According to what Grandpa Jiang had said, this Undying Blood was connected to longevity, something that even top Grandmasters coveted.

“Never mind, for now, it’s more important to enhance my own strength.”

After that, An Jing took over the Evil Suppressing Sword, his mind fully immersing in it as he delved into his Sword Dao.

Every top Swordsman’s Sword Intent is unique, each having their own Dao, and An Jing was no exception.

Chu Nanying feeling the heartbeat within the Sword Intent was actually the essence of An Jing’s Sword Intent, also marking An Jing’s first attempt at condensing his Sword Intent.

However, recently, he felt he had hit a bottleneck.

Glancing at Lou Xiangzhen beside him, an idea struck An Jing.

Although Lou Xiangzhen was also in the Fifth Realm, his foundation was undoubtedly much deeper than his own. It wouldn’t hurt to seek some advice from him; if he could reach the Sixth Realm sooner, his strength would also increase a lot.

“Senior Lou, my Sword Intent seems to have hit some bottlenecks. I wonder if you could give me some guidance.”

“Oh?”

Lou Xiangzhen saw An Jing lowering his stance, and the corner of his mouth lifted slightly, “Although I dare not speak of other skills, I can give you some pointers on swordsmanship. Show me your Sword Intent first.”

“Alright.”

An Jing nodded, then extended his arm.

“Swoosh! Swoosh!”

A Sword Light surged towards Lou Xiangzhen.

Lou Xiangzhen’s expression remained unimpressed; to him, An Jing’s Sword Skill seemed rather bland, the oppressive force of the Fifth Realm’s Sword Intent having no effect.

But the next moment, he felt his heart starting to beat rapidly, though very faint and only for an instant, it still disrupted his rhythm.

“Crack!”

Lou Xiangzhen waved his arm, dispersing the Sword Light, then his expression changed, “Was that your Sword Intent controlling my heartbeat just now?”

“Sort of,” An Jing admitted. “But I’m still just trying it out, controlling the heartbeat to slay opponents…”

When Lou Xiangzhen heard An Jing’s calm tone, a surge of emotion rose within him.

Heartbeat Killing!

This Sword Intent was extremely bizarre, almost describable as magical. Especially since a moment ago, he even felt a slight panic.

This was truly terrifying. If Ghost Swordsman’s cultivation reached the Grandmaster Realm, and his Sword Skill deepened a bit, Lou Xiangzhen might actually not be his match.

In that moment, Lou Xiangzhen’s respect for this Ghost Swordsman increased significantly.

“Not bad.”

Lou Xiangzhen’s heart trembled, but his face remained utterly calm as he said, “Your Sword Intent and my Peach Blossom Sword Intent are not much different, we could indeed exchange some insights.”

Upon hearing this, a smile appeared on An Jing’s lips, “That would indeed be excellent.”

He then began to share his own thoughts on Sword Intent and his understanding of the Sword Dao.

Even Lou Xiangzhen felt enlightened by some of these insights and couldn’t help but ask, “May I know who your master is?”

He naturally recognized Yan Shaoshan, whose strength was in the Heavenly Flower Realm, and who wasn’t a master of cultivating the Sword Dao, so he couldn’t possibly be teaching a Ghost Swordsman of such caliber.

“I don’t have a master, I enjoy reading this normally.”

An Jing took out two books from his bosom and then pulled one out.

It was indeed the “Sword Dao Tao General Outline.”

However, Lou Xiangzhen’s eyes were unbearably focused on the other comic book An Jing had.

The next moment, An Jing subtly put it away.

“The ‘Sword Dao Tao General Outline’!?”

Lou Xiangzhen coughed once and said.

He was naturally familiar with the “Sword Dao Tao General Outline,” as it could be found in any book stall, and was considered a beginner’s book for practicing swordsmanship.

An Jing nodded and said, “As the saying goes, governing a great country is like cooking small fish, great joy must come simply, so I believe the deeper Sword Dao is within these basic foundations. I have read this ‘Sword Dao Tao General Outline’ no less than ten thousand times.”

His statement was no exaggeration; he had indeed read the booklet that many times, or else An Jing’s Sword Skill would not have reached the Fifth Realm.

Lou Xiangzhen, realizing this, responded, “You’re right, the profound Sword Dao is indeed within these basic swordsmanship practices. I have some feelings about your Sword Intent as well, listen and see if they are helpful.”

Seeing An Jing sharing his understanding of the Sword Dao without any reservation, Lou Xiangzhen did not keep any secrets either. He shared all his insights and understanding of An Jing’s deadly Sword Intent.

Upon hearing Lou Xiangzhen’s insights, An Jing experienced a moment of sudden clarity and gained a new layer of perception.

An hour later, both of them had reaped significant benefits.

Lou Xiangzhen took out a booklet and said, “This is my collection of sword drawings, which contains the insights of my lifetime in Sword Dao; you can take a look.”

“Thank you very much, Elder Lou.”

An Jing gratefully said.

The sword diagrams, created from the lifetime insights of a swordsman like Lou Xiangzhen, were extraordinarily unique, something truly not accessible to anyone but his direct disciples. Yet, Lou Xiangzhen was willing to let him take a look, which was unquestionably a great token of trust.

Lou Xiangzhen waved his hand nonchalantly, “No matter, just remember to return it to me when you’re done, as I need to keep it to find a successor for my Ghost Valley Sect.”

An Jing’s Sword Intent had also benefited him greatly, and Lou Xiangzhen did not want to take advantage of An Jing.

The two chatted leisurely for a while and then made plans to find a place to stay.

After five continuous days of rushing, they were quite fatigued.

Soon, they spotted what seemed to be an inn up ahead, its large flag whistling in the fierce wind.

“Within dozens of miles, this seems to be the only tavern,” Lou Xiangzhen stated, relying on his experience.

“Let’s spend the night here, and I’ll head into Nanhua Mountain later tonight to check out the situation,” An Jing suggested before making the Thousand-year-old Black Python conceal itself and following Lou Xiangzhen into the inn.

Upon entering, the inn felt peculiar.

Night had fallen, and the inn was dimly lit, eerily quiet, resembling the mystic ambiance of the Underworld, which sent shivers down one’s spine.

Candles burned around the room, casting faint light, the air was damp and cold, carrying a hint of a rotting smell.

Observing the surroundings, it felt like countless insects were crawling on one’s skin, creating an unbearable and uncomfortable feeling.

“Are you guests here to stop for a meal or to stay overnight?”

Just then, a woman in her thirties approached.

Her dress was peculiar, wearing a hat typical of the Southern Barbarians, and her accent was also slightly different from that of Jiangnan Dao.

Her features were charming and vulgar, her body voluptuous, seductively enchanting.

“This might be an inn run by people from the Southern Barbarians,” Lou Xiangzhen said with a faint smile, “Let’s eat something first, then stay overnight.”

“Good eye, sir,”

The flamboyant woman grinned and said, “My husband and I are from the Southern Barbarians. It has been seven years now. Yesterday, we received a new batch of our Southern Barbarians’ specialty, king snake. I wonder if you gentlemen would be interested?”

An Jing raised his eyebrows slightly, “Snake meat?”

In his impression, snake meat was not particularly delicious; he did not like it much.

Lou Xiangzhen waved his hand, “Then let’s have two. I haven’t tasted the Southern Barbarians’ King Python in many years either. Bring up two jars of good wine as well.”

“Alright.”

The woman revealed a sinister smile and quickly walked toward the counter, “Boss, get some snake meat.”

“Got it.”

Next to the counter was a one-eyed man whose voice was somewhat unusual.

Having said that, he headed toward the kitchen.

Lou Xiangzhen sat down and said indifferently, “The King Python is a Southern Barbarian specialty. It is said that adult King Pythons are seven meters long. Their meat is tender and considered a delicacy.”

An Jing sat down and habitually touched the table top, which was spotlessly clean, impeccably so.

Lou Xiangzhen poured himself a cup of tea and said, “The Southern Barbarians were civilized later, and most tribes live deep in the mountains. Some tribes still live primitively to this day. If you have time, you should visit the Southern Barbarians.”

Through their interactions over the past few days, Lou Xiangzhen had clearly perceived that An Jing lacked experience traveling in Jianghu. A true swordsman is forged through countless bloodshed.

A comfortable, tranquil life simply cannot hone a true swordsmanship master.

This was Lou Xiangzhen’s understanding.

“Come help me sharpen my knife.”

Soon, a man’s voice came from the kitchen.

The enchanting woman nodded at An Jing and Lou Xiangzhen and then headed toward the kitchen.

An Jing also got up and took a few steps, peering into the kitchen through a crack.

The inn’s floor was very clean, but the kitchen behind was frighteningly dirty. Grease and stains were everywhere; the floor was littered with trash, bits of meat, and bone scraps, the air filled with a strong scent of blood.

At that moment, the enchanting woman seemed to sense something and instinctively looked out of the kitchen.

The hall outside was empty, An Jing and Lou Xiangzhen were sitting at the table having tea and chatting, which made her sigh in relief.

The serving was quick, and soon a plate of equally fragrant meat arrived, exuding an irresistible smell.

After serving the King Python meat, the enchanting woman left.

An Jing glanced at the snake meat, then transmitted his voice, “It’s not poisoned.”

Lou Xiangzhen nodded, then picked up his chopsticks and put some snake meat in his mouth. However, he did not chew more than a few bites before frowning deeply and spitting it out.

“What’s wrong?” An Jing asked.

“This meat tastes strange… It doesn’t seem like King Python meat, but it’s even more delicious than King Python meat,”

Lou Xiangzhen’s expression became exceedingly odd.

The two exchanged glances, neither speaking further, not even touching the wine on the table.

An Jing casually stirred the meat with bamboo chopsticks and called out loudly, “We are done eating. Is there a place to rest?”

Upon hearing this, the enchanting woman emerged from the kitchen and asked incredulously, “That fast?”

An Jing smiled and replied, “Yes, we always eat quickly.”

The enchanting woman shrugged, wiped her hands on a cloth, and approached them. She bent down to look at the meat on the table and asked in a grave tone, “Sir, does the taste not suit you?”

Lou Xiangzhen said indifferently at the side, “I have a poor appetite.”

The enchanting woman stared at them for a moment, then laughed out loud, “Well then, I’ll take you to your room to rest.”

The enchanting woman then led An Jing to the back house, which had a row of guest rooms.

“All the rooms here have been cleaned. Please,”

The room felt stuffy and smelled musty, but it was still fairly clean.

“That didn’t seem like snake meat.”

An Jing sat in a chair inside the room, surveying his surroundings as he spoke quietly.

“Definitely not.”

Lou Xiangzhen cautioned, “Let’s rest first. These two have some skill, but they can’t cause any serious trouble. Aren’t you still planning to explore Nanhua Mountain tonight? There are skilled masters in the mountains.”

An Jing nodded. When the time came, he would take the Thousand-year-old Black Python with him up the mountain. As long as he didn’t encounter a master of the Grandmaster Realm, there would be no danger to his life.

The Seven Evils Sect couldn’t even be counted as one of Great Yan’s seven sects, so it was unlikely they had a Grandmaster Realm master.

Soon afterward, Lou Xiangzhen returned to his own room.

An Jing then took out the sword chart of Lou Xiangzhen and began to study it.

At this moment, he was eagerly wanting to enhance his own strength.

“Heartbeat Murder….”

……

Yu State City, Datong Tea House.

The night was growing deeper, and Datong Tea House was about to close.

The manager of Datong Tea House said to the waiter, “Lai Fu, go pour some leftover food for that little black pup. It truly is a loyal dog.”

“I understand.”

Hearing this, Lai Fu poured all the leftover food from the kitchen and quickly headed to the door of Jishi Hall.

There lay the little black pup at the entrance, drowsy, and seeming to hear the footsteps, it slowly lifted its head to look.

“Eat up, poor little fella.”

Lai Fu looked at the little black pup and shook his head, sighing, “It’s only been about ten days, and it has already lost so much weight.”

He clearly remembered, when Doctor An’s family was around, this black dog used to jump around so happily and was fattened up nicely, its belly almost touching the ground.

Now, in just ten days, the black dog had noticeably lost weight.

“Awoo!”

The little black pup barked at Lai Fu, then slowly approached the food bowl and licked it a few times.

Lai Fu, feeling emotional, said, “Life is so unpredictable. Jishi Hall used to be so bustling, and Doctor An and his wife were so kind-hearted, alas!”

“Even though they are gone, you must take care of yourself.”

The little black pup licked a bit and then slowly laid down far away, seemingly unwilling to eat more.

“Not eating more?”

Lai Fu couldn’t help but say when he saw this.

The little black pup lay listlessly on the ground, paying no attention to Lai Fu.

“I’ll just leave this here, eat some more if you want.”

Lai Fu sighed and then walked away.

The little black pup still lay there, its glistening eyes looking into the distance, as if waiting for something.

Before long, two sneaky figures appeared not far away.

One of them was the bully Song Lin.

Song Lin stood in the distance, staring at the little black pup, “That’s the black dog, it’s lost a lot of weight now, somewhat a pity.”

“Brother Lin, should we really be doing this?”

A hesitant young man at his side said, “I heard that this dog was left behind by Doctor An. It lies in front of Jishi Hall every day and is a good dog.”

Since An Jing’s death, the little black pup had been lying at Jishi Hall; passersby were deeply moved, and some even threw food to the little black pup, making it quite renowned.

Song Lin slapped the young man on the head, “Others keep a dog and know it’s loyal, I keep you, and when it comes to doing something simple, you can’t even manage that.”

Am I worse than a dog!? the young man thought to himself, but he dared not speak out loud.

“The dog is thin now; the taste might even be better. If it loses more weight, there’ll be no meat left.”

Song Lin stared at the little black pup, chuckling, “We’ll catch it later and take it to Chef Wang at the Wuyang Tavern. His dog meat is peerless.”

As he spoke, Song Lin took out a cloth bag from his waist and handed it to the young man.

“Okay… okay then.”

The young man sighed and cautiously approached the little black pup.

The little black pup seemed to smell something, its ears twitching as it looked into the distance, seeing a young man with a cloth bag carefully approaching it.

“Woof woof woof!”

The little black pup suddenly stood alert and began to bark furiously at the young man.

“Hurry up, don’t waste time,” Song Lin shouted urgently when he saw this, “It would be troublesome if other people come.”

“I know.”

The young man, hearing this, opened the cloth bag and charged forward, only to dive into nothing but air, accidentally spilling the leftovers.

How clever was the little black one?

Seeing the bag open for an instant, it bolted straight for the distance.

The young man fell flat, but in the process, he accidentally knocked over the leftover food.

“Where do you think you’re running!?”

At this point, Song Lin also rushed over, trying to block the little black one’s path.

The little black one sped up, trying to dash between Song Lin’s legs.

But Song Lin was quick and nimble, stretching out his hand to grab the little black one’s tail, then smirked triumphantly.

“Hahaha, you think you can outsmart me, Song Lin?”

“Bro Lin is Bro Lin.”

Seeing this, the nearby youth burst into laughter.

“Ouch!”

Just then, the little black one flipped over and bit Song Lin right on the arm.

Song Lin felt a sharp pain and instinctively let go.

The little black one rolled on the ground a couple of times before quickly running away into the distance.

“Bro Lin, are you okay?” the youth hurried over to ask.

“Damn it!” Song Lin glanced at his wrist; because spring was coming, he had just switched to a thinner shirt, and the little black one had bitten him hard enough to draw blood.

“Bro… Bro Lin, you’re not going to get rabies, are you?”

The youth turned pale upon seeing this.

Commoners all knew that being bitten by a dog could either mean nothing or, with bad luck, lead to rabies, which, if untreated, could even result in death.

Heard the youth’s words, a chill went down Song Lin’s spine.

“Woof woof woof!”

Just then, the little black one stood by the Yu State River bank and, seeing that the two hadn’t followed, began to bark furiously at them.

“Motherfucker! This dog is taunting us!”

Song Lin saw this and seemed ready to breathe fire.

A mere dog, daring to challenge him.

“Bro Lin, what do we do now?” the youth stammered.

Song Lin roared, “Are you dumb? Help me get to a doctor. If I can’t be cured, I’ll bite you before I go.”

Upon hearing this, the youth’s face fell.

It was the dog that bit you. If you’re thinking of revenge, shouldn’t you bite the dog? Why bite me?

Besides, the dog bit your hand, not your leg; you need help to walk?

“Hurry up, hurry up,” Song Lin urged.

“Yes, yes, yes.”

The youth quickly supported Song Lin, and they quickly disappeared into the night.

After the two men completely vanished, the little black one, appearing tired, made his way to the doorstep of Jishi Hall and licked the cold leftovers on the ground.

……

Nanping Dao, inn.

As time slowly passed, it soon reached deep into the night.

An Jing was sitting cross-legged on the bed, single-mindedly cultivating, when he suddenly felt something move below him.

“The floorboard!?”

In the darkness, An Jing’s expression remained stoic.

With a creaking sound, it seemed like a secret door was opened beneath the bed. Then, faint panting sounds were heard.

Before long, the shadow under the bed began to move, and slowly a person in black clothes emerged.

An Jing saw it clearly but remained motionless.

The man in black carefully straightened up, standing silently by the bed like a ghost, his hand clutching a pitch-black iron hammer.

An Jing squinted his eyes, sizing up the other person secretly. Since the man in black was standing with his back to the window, backlit by the light, An could not clearly see his face. However, from his feeling, he had never seen this person before.

Though he couldn’t see the person’s face clearly, An Jing clearly knew the person was smiling – from his wide-open mouth, he could see the ghastly white teeth.

The man in black reached out his hand, seemingly wanting to touch An Jing’s face.

His hand was black and rough, even his fingernails were black, and carried a strong scent of blood.

An Jing could see clearly, and he smelled it clearly too; the odor caused his stomach to churn, nearly making him vomit out the gastric acid.

But just as his hand was about to reach An Jing’s face, his right hand wielding the iron hammer suddenly lifted, his mouth curling into a cruel smile as he swung it towards An Jing’s head.

That hammer carried a terrifying force.

At that moment, An Jing’s eyes suddenly snapped open, and his body moved as fast as lightning, grabbing the man’s wrist.

“You!”

The man in black showed an expression of great shock.

This man was the innkeeper, and his cultivation had reached the Third Grade, barely considered among the Upper Three Grades.

An Jing sneered coldly, his inner strength gathering entirely in his palm.

“Crack! Crack!”

“Aah–!”

The innkeeper only felt an intense, piercing pain, followed immediately by his whole arm being dislocated. He couldn’t help but let out a wail.

However, the sound seemed as if it were cut off from the outside; absolutely no noise could be heard outside the room.

“Who exactly are you?”

An Jing asked coldly.

The innkeeper’s forehead was slick with cold sweat, “I am a member of the Seven Evils Sect. Today I misjudged; I hope you might grant me a path of life and perhaps form a good connection.”

He could never have expected that this unremarkable man in a black robe had such high cultivation.

With his Third Grade skill, he had almost never failed, yet today he was subdued with just one move.

No, it was not even one move.

“Too late.”

At that moment, the door opened, and a figure slowly walked in.

It was Lou Xiangzhen.

“You…”

The innkeeper felt a chill in his heart upon seeing him, “You killed Elder Zhang?”

Elder Zhang was of Second Grade, but he had been silently killed by this old man.

He had kicked an iron mountain… no, a mountain of iron!

“Are you talking about that despicable woman?”

Lou Xiangzhen spoke indifferently, “If so, she’s already gone below.”

Despicable woman!?

Upon hearing this, An Jing couldn’t help but feel a bit puzzled.

Lou Xiangzhen turned towards An Jing, saying, “They must be people of the Seven Evils Sect, this inn must have harmed many people, just kill them all.”

An Jing nodded, then placed a palm on the innkeeper’s heavenly spirit cover.

“Bang!”

A loud, violent sound was heard, and the innkeeper instantly stopped breathing.

An Jing asked, “Senior Lou, did you kill that woman?”

“I did.”

Lou Xiangzhen nodded slightly.

An Jing, puzzled, said, “She wasn’t planning to do something to you, was she?”

“Hmph!”

Lou Xiangzhen’s expression shifted slightly, then he snorted coldly, “Such a filthy woman, wanting to engage with me?”

An Jing blinked his eyes and then touched his own cheek.

Has the world changed?

An Jing thought back to the daytime when he had pulled out the “Sword Dao Tao General Outline” and a comic book, and recalled Lou Xiangzhen’s peculiar expression.

“Elder Lou, you wouldn’t still be a virgin, would you? That’s a real pity for that woman’s graceful figure….”

An Jing examined Lou Xiangzhen closely.

“Nonsense! Utter rubbish! Making things up out of thin air!”

As if struck by pain, Lou Xiangzhen pointed at An Jing, angrily saying, “If you mention this matter again, I will go to Qing Feng Hall right now and claim tens of thousands of silver.”

Lou Xiangzhen’s face rapidly changed, quite a sight to behold.

An Jing felt a jolt in his heart, realizing that he had inadvertently spoken a truth.

The two of them stared at each other, neither speaking.

Time seemed to stand still.

After a long while, An Jing finally soothed, “Elder Lou is highly ethical and pure, untainted by worldly hatred, wholly devoted to the arduous practice of swordsmanship—a true model for our generation.”

He still needed Lou Xiangzhen to safeguard and guide him; he absolutely couldn’t afford to offend this person at this moment.

Lou Xiangzhen’s expression fluctuated, only calming down somewhat after hearing An Jing’s words.

An Jing changed the subject, “From what I see, the people from the Seven Evils Sect running this dark inn must have other motives; it seems there’s a tunnel beneath this bed.”

He vividly remembered that the innkeeper had just run out from this tunnel.

“Let’s go down to see, a shady inn in Nanhua City is certainly not ordinary.”

Lou Xiangzhen took a deep breath, saying, “Aren’t you looking to probe the bottom line of the Seven Evils Sect? This is a good opportunity.”

An Jing nodded, aware in his heart: this old virgin didn’t want to follow him.

Afterward, An Jing quickly prepared himself and opened the secret compartment beneath the bed.

Thud!

With a crisp sound, An Jing landed on the ground; he looked downward only to find a tunnel half a zhang high.

The tunnel was narrow, allowing only one person to pass through; An Jing bent over and walked towards the deeper end of the tunnel.

The air inside the tunnel was moist, a mix of stench and mildew, nauseating.

An Jing’s brows furrowed, feeling that this place extended very long.

The tunnel had many branches, clearly leading to different rooms; An Jing ignored them, focusing on moving deeper.

The further he went, the stronger the smell of blood in the air; after slowly advancing for about the time it takes half an incense stick to burn, the way ahead was blocked, and there was no path forward.

An Jing hurried forward and saw that it was an iron door blocking the way; he placed his hand on it, and instantly, a chill spread from the iron door to his palm.

It was a coldness that chilled to the bone.

He gently pushed, but the iron door did not budge. An Jing took a deep breath, his inner strength circulating due to his injury, and pushed hard again. With a quiet sound, the iron door opened.

An Jing didn’t immediately leap forward but quickly retreated a few steps backward, and after seeing no danger, he quietly looked outward.

The iron door led to an ice cellar.

The ice cellar was not large, narrow and long, and very dim, and in this not-so-large ice cellar, hung more than a dozen garments, hanging like pork on iron hooks; but what was inside the garments was not pork—it was people.

Ghastly naked corpses, both male and female, many of which were so mutilated that their flesh had turned eerily pale.

This was the first time An Jing had seen such a scene, and he felt a chill surge to his heart, shivering involuntarily.

Stupefied, he slowly walked out of the tunnel, staring at the hanging corpses, his heart feeling hairy with dread.

The scene was terrifyingly appalling.

Suddenly, a black shadow crawled out from among the corpses.

It was a palm-sized insect, snow-white and translucent, seemingly connected by blood vessels inside.@@novelbin@@

A gu insect!?

An Jing saw this and his brow furrowed tightly.

“Who’s there!?”

The next moment, a cold shout, sharp like a sword, came from a distance.