Long Chen and Liu Lan stared at each other amidst the roaring flames.
When they first met, Liu Lan was his Administrator and was much stronger than him, while Long Chen was just someone who had just joined the Lingwu family. At the time, she teased him many times and he couldn’t do anything about it.
But now Long Chen was almost as strong as her and his position in the Lingwu family was much higher than hers. Liu Lan felt her breath rapidly increasing when she saw Long Chen’s bright eyes in the flickering flames.
I guess this is what they mean when they say nothing in this world is permanent. Liu Lan shook her head and smiled bitterly.
She had matured a bit more after tonight’s events and Ling Xi’s warning.
“If you’ve recovered, you should go back now.” This wasn’t a good place to linger in for too long. And Long Chen wasn’t in the mood to tease Liu Lan, not with Ling Xi staring at him.
“Okay.” Liu Lan nodded obediently.
While walking back from the broken temple to the base, Long Chen kept thinking about the identity of the man in black.
“Who do you think the man in black that helped Jin Sheng’en and Chu Yunxi was?”
Liu Lan smiled bitterly and shook her head. “He came so suddenly. He didn’t look strong, but I was not his match.”
They soon arrived back at the village, but they didn’t know that someone was waiting for them.
Long Chen could sense that the atmosphere at the village was different. As soon as it came into view, he noticed that the Gold family and the Chu family were waiting for them at the entrance, and Liu Yuan was with them.
“Brother has returned!” Chu Yunyao excitedly shouted, and everyone looked out from the entrance.
The skies were dark and it was raining, so both of them ran quickly in.
Chu Tianxiong and Jin Luan were smiling as they had thought that Chu Yunxi and Jin Sheng’en had returned, but their smiles soon froze.
“It’s Long Chen and Liu Lan!” Chu Tianxiong was shocked!
They had been searching for the missing Chu Yunxi and Jin Sheng’en in the village and the vicinity ever since they went missing. They also knew that Long Chen and Liu Lan were missing as well.
But they had no choice but to wait here.
Chu Tianxiong and everyone had mistaken Long Chen and Liu Lan for Chu Yunxi and Jin Sheng’en due to the bad visibility, but they were shocked when they saw who it was.
Everyone stared at them gloomily, but Long Chen was not afraid. Dongfang Xuanxiao was guarding this place, so no one would dare to touch him.
Liu Yuan sighed in relief when he saw that Long Chen and Liu Lan had returned. “Long Chen, Lan’er, come here, quick!”
As he spoke, he glanced cautiously at Chu Tianxiong.
The four of them had gone missing at the same time, and everyone had guessed that they had gone out to fight. Liu Yuan was also thinking that that was the case, so he was worried too.
“Stop!” Chu Tianxiong shouted and blocked Long Chen. The old man was so angry that he almost spat out black blood.
Everyone had a bad feeling upon seeing how agitated Chu Tianxiong was.
“Aren’t you the Grand Elder of the Turquoise family? Why are you calling for me?” Long Chen answered calmly.
“What did you all do out there?”
Long Chen laughed. “You old geezer, has your brain gone rusty? We are interested in each other, and we left dead in the night … Naturally, we went to a place to get to know each other better! Do you think we were so bored that we would go out to hunt wild boars?”
Long Chen had announced something so taboo without reservation, even calling Chu Tianxiong an old geezer. Everyone’s faces darkened, finding it difficult to accept.
When they saw Liu Lan’s face redden without even refuting his words, everyone privately called him shameless.
But Chu Tianxiong did not buy it. Long Chen was shocked to see Chu Tianxiong staring at him with hatred. Maybe he figured out I killed Chu Yunxi?
Long Chen thought about it and came to a conclusion.
The Universe Pouch!
Chu Yunxi’s Universe Pouch was in his clothes!
Long Chen knew that the rune in a Universe Pouch could be personalized. Two cultivators might have similar Qi, but every single person had something inherently unique about their Qi that differed from everyone else. Mo Xiaolang had given Long Chen his personal Universe Pouch in the past because it could act as an endorsement within the Lingwu family!
Seeing how Chu Tianxiong was acting, Long Chen was sure that Chu Yunxi’s Universe Pouch was something Chu Tianxiong had given him!
Chu Tianxiong smiled coldly. “Getting to know each other better? Then I’ll ask you, Long Chen, what’s going on with that Universe Pouch in your pocket? That’s the Universe Pouch I gave Yunxi! Why would it be with you?!”
Everyone was shocked to hear this.
If Chu Yunxi’s Universe Pouch was with Long Chen, that meant it was likely that Long Chen had killed both Chu Yunxi and Jin Sheng’en!
Long Chen had forgotten about the Universe Pouch!
Damn. Looks like I messed up. But this is something I would’ve had to face sooner or later anyway.
It was reasonable to make mistakes from time to time.
But he managed to react in time and shamelessly answered, “The Universe Pouch? I picked it up.”
Since he had been discovered, all he needed to do was deny it. He wanted to see if Chu Tianxiong would do anything even with Dongfang Xuanxiao present. Would Chu Tianxiong ever dare to hurt someone from the inner family?
Long Chen was very clear about the power dynamics of the outer and inner families. He had already observed that even Chu Tianxiong was very polite to Dongfang Xuanxiao. That meant that the Grand Elder’s rank was below everyone in the inner family!
And the Eastern Azure Dragon family was waiting to see who would be joining them. If Long Chen were killed by Chu Tianxiong, that would be a slight against the Eastern Azure Dragon family, and they would never allow such a disgrace to exist. Chu Tianxiong could do nothing here!
“Picked it up?” Both Chu Tianxiong and Jin Luan had a good idea of what had happened.
Jin Luan’s eyes were cold from anger. The overwhelming pressure covered Long Chen, and his icy words penetrated everyone’s hearts.
“Long Chen, you’ve killed Jin Sheng’en and Chu Yunxi! Is that true?!”
No one knew how to react.
Chu Yunxi’s and Jin Sheng’en’s families were in despair.
Every single one of them was crying, especially Chu Fengqing and Chu Yunyao. If it wasn’t for Chu Tianxiong, they would’ve already attacked Long Chen!
“Aren’t you afraid of being struck by lightning when you make such accusations?”[1] Even under the intense pressure, Long Chen remained calm. “I won’t spout bullshit with you. I picked it up, and I don’t know where they went. This doesn’t concern me.”
After he spoke, he pulled Liu Lan into his arms and gave her a peck on the cheek. “My darling Lan’er and I were busy having fun, so why would we concern ourselves with what Chu Yunxi and Jin Sheng’en are doing? But don’t worry, I’m guessing they are interested in each other and probably ran off to have their own fun too, haha! Those two are always shooting each other intense looks, so I’ve always thought that something was off. The night is dark and the breeze is strong tonight; maybe they’ve finally gotten together?”
“Shut up!” Both the Chu family and the Gold family wanted to kill Long Chen now!
“Everyone, it’s a beautiful night tonight, and I still have many more rounds to go with Lan’er. You guys wouldn’t ruin our fun, right? Please move aside and let Master Long walk through.”
Since he had decided to be haughty, he was going to push it all the way. That was Long Chen’s style.
Both the Chu family and the Gold family’s eyes were red. They were willing to risk their entire families just to kill Long Chen!
Especially Chu Tianxiong and Jin Luan. They knew Dongfang Xuanxiao’s temper better than anyone. If they killed Long Chen now, every single member of their families would be wiped out!
Also, they weren’t a match for Dongfang Xuanxiao even if they worked together. This was their biggest worry.
But Long Chen was relaxed. Liu Lan was blushing furiously at his words. She wanted to hide herself in a hole!
She had previously tricked Long Chen and made him face a similar situation. Long Chen wanted to punish her tonight, but he had saved her instead. So now he was punishing her by returning the favor.
Liu Yuan, however, did not know how to react. His face was contorted in conflict.
Any father would probably react the same.
Chu Tianxiong suppressed his killing intent and tried to speak as calmly as possible. “Long Chen, let me ask you this one last time. Where are Chu Yunxi and Jin Sheng’en?”
Long Chen squinted. “I said I don’t know.”
“You have the guts to kill them, but not to admit it?” Jin Luan came up from beside him to surround Long Chen.
Long Chen wanted to answer him when Dongfang Tianyu appeared again. He had seen Long Chen from afar and smiled, but he managed to suppress his smile up close.
“Grand Elder Chu and Grand Elder Jin, what is going on? Why are you gathered here?” Dongfang Tianyu asked.
When Chu Tianxiong saw Dongfang Tianyu, his eyes brightened and he said reverently, “Young Master Tianyu, Yunxi and Sheng’en, as well as Long Chen and Liu Lan, went missing together this evening. However, when these two returned, they had Yunxi’s Universe Pouch with them! I dare conclude that Long Chen killed Yunxi and Sheng’en. They are evil-hearted; they killed and robbed Yunxi and Sheng’en!”
Dongfang Tianyu’s face was grim when he looked at Long Chen. “Did you kill them?”
“No,” Long Chen answered mildly.
“You’ve only just joined the inner family, yet you’ve already become so arrogant, thinking you’re above the law?” Dongfang Tianyu demanded coldly. “Long Chen, although you are decently talented, you have a terrible attitude. How dare you kill the innocent just because you are an inner family member! And they are the family members of the two Grand Elders too! Your behavior is disgraceful, and you are not fit to be an inner family member! That is why I hereby sentence you to death!”
1. A cultural belief that one would get struck by lightning when they lied after swearing otherwise ☜