Chapter 72

Chapter 72: The Terrifying Huang Yan

Huang Yan’s voice was loud and his eyes were filled with intense anger. He seemed to feel that the shopkeeper’s words weren’t humiliating Xu Qing but himself.

After all, among the items on the counter, there were three that he had given to Xu Qing previously.

Facing Huang Yan’s fury, the shopkeeper’s expression became more and more gloomy. He raised his right hand and grabbed the bone that Huang Yan had thrown at him.

Holding the bone, he gave Huang Yan a cold stare.

In his heart, he thought, ‘You’ve been stuck in the Pilotage Department for eight years, all to chase after some senior sister who’s probably some random village girl from the countryside, giving her countless presents. Everyone knows about it, and you’re the butt of so many jokes. Since you’re looking for trouble now, you can’t blame me for accommodating you.’

Thus, the shopkeeper spoke slowly.

“Exactly, these are all stolen goods. It seems that you’re also an accomplice in the Vajra Sect robbery. Someone, report to the Homicide Department! The main criminals of the Vajra Sect robbery case have fallen into the trap!”

As the shopkeeper spoke, a staff member took out a voice transmission jade slip in a pretentious manner. He understood what the shopkeeper wanted him to do with a look, so he sent a message to the Homicide Department.

All the disciples from various peaks in the shop watched this scene with bright eyes.

Most of the disciples who could enter Seven Blood Pupils and survive in the harsh environment were all intelligent people. They naturally saw through this little trick, and they understood that the crux of the matter wasn’t in the Vajra Sect robbery. Instead… it was that someone from the Sixth Peak wanted to find trouble with Xu Qing and Huang Yan.

As for whether the matter was targeting both of them or only one, it was hard to tell. However, the onlookers felt that it was probably targeting Xu Qing, who had taken out the items in the first place.

But nobody spoke, only watching from the sidelines. Zhang San was the same.

Xu Qing didn’t care about the expressions on the faces of the onlookers. At this moment, he was very surprised by Huang Yan. Although he had some relations with the little fatty, they didn’t have any deep friendship after all. Thus, Huang Yan’s reaction somewhat puzzled him.

At the same time, Xu Qing was even more puzzled by the shopkeeper’s report to the Homicide Department and the pretentiousness of the staff member at the side. This made him feel like the situation was somewhat different from his expectations. It didn’t seem like they wanted to kill him.

After all, if they really wanted to kill him, they could just attack right now. There was no need to complicate matters by involving the Homicide Department. If a higher up wanted to deal with a mountain-foot disciple, there was absolutely no need to drag in so many people. It was unreasonable.

This matter seemed more like they wanted to put him through some suffering so they could give the Vajra Sect an explanation.

Moreover, when he entered the shop just now, he had sensed that there weren’t any powerful fluctuations around. It was the same even now, so it didn’t seem like there were any experts present.

As Xu Qing fell into deep thought, Huang Yan glared angrily when he heard the shopkeeper mention the Homicide Department.

"Homicide Department? Xu Qing is part of the Homicide Department!"

“Oh? Since he already knew the law and still committed the crime, his punishment will be more severe!” The shopkeeper looked at Huang Yan and frowned as he slowly spoke.

Huang Yan began to laugh out of extreme anger and was about to step forward. The doubt in Xu Qing’s heart grew even deeper, so he raised his hand to stop Huang Yan and spoke softly.

"Huang Yan, this matter has nothing to do with you. You should leave first."

Casting a glance at the shopkeeper’s neck, he opened his mouth slowly with a calm expression.

“These are things I took off the bodies of wanted criminals. There’s no need for you to slander me. If you have anything you want to say, just say it.”

The shopkeeper immediately grew vigilant. Xu Qing’s reaction made him realize that this person wasn’t simple. In fact, in his superiors’ original plans, they would have directly gone to Xu Qing and forced him to cough up the items. However, the disciples who knew about the matter, including this shopkeeper, had wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to squeeze out a fortune from Xu Qing. Thus, the current situation had come about.

But now, the other party had clearly seen through his tricks. Actually, he also knew a little bit about Xu Qing. Someone who could rise up in the Homicide Department was naturally not a simple person.

As a shopkeeper, he had some backing in the sect. He wasn’t among those who had to kill and plunder each other to survive, so for the most part, mountain-foot disciples wouldn’t dare to touch him.

But the cold feeling on his neck still made him change his mind. He didn’t want to get into an irresolvable conflict with Xu Qing, and he felt that the humiliation should have already been enough. Thus, he was about to open his mouth to ease the tension and state his superiors’ conditions for resolving the matter.

But at that moment, Huang Yan let out a furious roar after being stopped by Xu Qing.

“Xu Qing, you don’t need to help me. This matter has nothing to do with you, it’s clearly aimed at me! It must be that Zhao Zhongheng who instigated this. He has a grudge with me and knows that I come to this shop often, so he colluded with them to slander me!”

As Huang Yan’s words rang out, the shopkeeper’s expression immediately turned strange. He gave Huang Yan a deep stare as if he was looking at a total nutcase. Xu Qing’s eyes narrowed as he also turned to look at Huang Yan. He had wanted to resolve the problem himself, but it seemed like Huang Yan was intent on inserting himself into the matter.

At that moment, Huang Yan slammed his hands on the counter with a bang. He was about to continue shouting, but footsteps suddenly came from outside the shop and a cold voice rang out.

“Who dares?” With these words, several figures stepped into the pharmacy.

Xu Qing glanced over, narrowing his eyes.

The figures who stepped inside wore gray Daoist robes with conspicuously displayed Homicide Department badges. Coupled with their cold aura, these figures were obviously Homicide Department disciples, and in the lead was the captain of Earth Division Team Three, the merfolk youth whom Xu Qing had been stalking for the past half month.

Behind him were four other member of Team Three. As they entered, the merfolk youth cast an indifferent glance at Xu Qing.

"So it's you."

Xu Qing didn’t speak, but the vigilance in his heart had reached an extreme. The Homicide Department had responded so quickly, and the person it sent was even that merfolk youth who had a deep conflict with Xu Qing. This was very strange.

He felt that today’s matter was extremely complicated, and there were already three different issues hidden under the surface. The first was that the shopkeeper wanted to humiliate him. However, it was clear that the shopkeeper didn’t want to go too far and it should be possible to resolve.

The second was that Huang Yan seemed to have intentionally inserted himself into the matter. His objective was unknown.

The third issue was the arrival of the merfolk youth. Xu Qing wouldn’t believe that this was just a coincidence.

Thus, before understanding the whole situation, Xu Qing didn’t plan to act rashly.

As Xu Qing was pondering the matter, the merfolk youth had fully stepped into the pharmacy and glanced at the surrounding disciples with a contemptuous gaze.

In fact, joining Seven Blood Pupils wasn’t his own intention. Although the merfolk race wasn’t large, he had a very high status and that caused him to develop an extremely arrogant personality. His arrogance was even greater towards humans, whom he looked down on from the bottom of his heart.

As for today’s incident, when the department received the report, it originally should have been handled by the Black Division. However, since a member of the Black Division was directly involved in the matter, it was arranged to be handled by the Earth Division. When the merfolk youth heard that it involved Xu Qing, he remembered the fight over the Night Dove chief’s head and the disgust he felt that day, so he volunteered to handle the case and personally led his team over.

Now, after walking into the pharmacy, he pointed at Xu Qing and Huang Yan.

“Since they are the main culprits in the Vajra Sect robbery and all the stolen goods are here, bring them back to the department for interrogation.”

When Huang Yan saw that the Homicide Department were unexpectedly unable to distinguish between right and wrong, he became completely incensed. He ran between Xu Qing and the merfolk youth and glared furiously as he let out a low shout.

“You’re fucking blind! You think my stuff is stolen goods?!”

As he roared, he took out a storage bag from his body and shook it. Suddenly, before everyone’s eyes, a small hill of materials piled up in front of him.

Most of these various mutated beast materials were clearly from the same mutated beast as the bones and feather he had given Xu Qing.

When the onlookers saw this, their eyes widened and all of them inhaled sharply. They all had discerning eyes and could tell that this small hill of materials was probably worth several thousand spirit stones. Moreover, Huang Yan actually had a rare and expensive storage bag, making the spectators’ eyes reveal a strange light.

“My things are stolen goods? These are all stolen goods? Can the Vajra Sect even afford this? There’s an entire windwalking beast here. I gave the most precious part, the skull, to my senior sister! You bastards actually called my things stolen goods!”

As the little fatty’s words rang out, the eyes of the onlookers all shone. Xu Qing also looked at the small hill of materials and couldn’t help but gasp.

He knew that Huang Yan was rich, but he was shocked by exactly how rich.

The merfolk youth glanced at the shopkeeper, who felt a headache coming on.

The shopkeeper hadn’t expected the Homicide Department to arrive so quickly, so his rhythm was disrupted. He had a look of hesitation on his face, but the arrow was already on the bowstring, so he could only grit his teeth and open his mouth to speak.

“The Vajra Sect’s report also mentioned a windwalking beast!”

Seeing that the situation was developing in an unpredictable direction, Xu Qing remained silent and continued observing calmly.

“The beast is stolen goods, so the skull is also stolen goods. You said that you gave it to your senior sister? Good, so there was actually also a female criminal who is helping dispose of the stolen goods. What are you guys waiting for? Arrest them, take them back, and interrogate them carefully. We have to catch that female criminal as well.”

With the shopkeeper’s words, the merfolk youth spoke coldly. The four team members behind him immediately walked towards Xu Qing and Huang Yan. One of them went to take care of Huang Yan and the other three headed straight for Xu Qing.

“You’re the criminal, your whole family are criminals!” Huang Yan stomped his feet and rolled up his sleeves, rushing over in fury.

Xu Qing looked coldly at the three people running towards him. He didn’t want to act rashly before understanding the whole situation, but since they were attacking him, he raised his right hand to retaliate.

Immediately, water droplets appeared all around him and an intense pressure suppressed on the three Homicide Department members, causing their faces to change drastically. Horror appeared in their eyes and their bodies trembled violently, but they couldn’t take a single step.

Although they had worked with Team Six in the operation against Night Dove that day, they hadn’t seen Xu Qing’s power with their own eyes and only heard about it from others. Now that they experienced it themselves, mighty waves surged in their hearts.

“Resisting arrest.” The merfolk youth smiled, revealing his sharp teeth. He instantly stepped forward, setting off a sonic boom as he appeared in front of Xu Qing the next moment. Raising his right hand, he reached out to grab Xu Qing by the neck.

His nails were sharp and emitted cold light. If it were someone else, they would find it hard to react to his speed, but as soon as he approached, a black iron skewer appeared in front of his palm.

Although the merfolk youth was fast, Xu Qing was even faster. As he swung the iron skewer in his hand, he bent his knee and ruthlessly kicked out at the merfolk youth.

The merfolk youth quickly withdrew his right hand and bent his own right knee, kicking out to match Xu Qing.

A boom rang out, and Xu Qing’s body swayed slightly. As for the merfolk youth, he was forced back five steps. When he raised his head, his eyes revealed a bloodthirsty glee.

“Interesting.” As he spoke, a rumbling sound came from his body, and fluctuations of the ninth level of Qi Condensation spread out. Behind him, a ferocious merfolk phantom appeared, holding a black trident.

This wasn’t Qi and Blood Forming a Shadow; rather, it was the innate power of his bloodline. As he erupted forth with power, he charged out again, instantly closing in on Xu Qing. Inside the shop, they directly collided with each other.

The two exchanged seven or eight moves blows in a single instant, and each blow was accompanied by powerful shockwaves and loud booms. Fortunately, there was an array formation in place, so the shop didn’t collapse despite being shaken.

Nevertheless, this scene caused the onlookers dodging around to inhale sharply.

“They’re so strong!”

“That Team Three captain has the innate power of the merfolk race’s bloodline, making his power comparable to a peak Qi Condensation disciple of a major sect. But Xu Qing… can actually match him!”

“There were rumors that a non-captain from the Black Division killed one of the Night Dove chiefs. It must be this Xu Qing!”

Hearing everyone’s words, Huang Yan blinked as he hid at the side. There was a faint smile on his face, but it quickly disappeared. His expression contorted in fury again and he let out a low roar.

“Xu Qing, come on! Kill that fish! He dares to frame us? Kill him, we’re eating fish tonight!”

At that moment, the merfolk youth backed up again. There was blood at the corner of his mouth, but the bloodthirsty light in his eyes only grew more intense. It seemed that the fresh blood only made him more excited. Furthermore, he still had a trump card that he hadn’t used yet. Grinning, he lifted both hands and rapidly started to form hand seals.

However, he didn’t notice that at some point, Xu Qing’s shadow had crept beneath his feet.

Xu Qing’s expression remained calm from beginning to end. At that moment, he narrowed his eyes and a flash of killing intent appeared in them. But just as he was about to attack, several powerful auras suddenly spread over from outside and locked on to him.

“You all can just watch.” The merfolk youth grinned, and those auras fell silent. But just then, an even more terrifying aura suddenly appeared outside the pharmacy.

With a rumbling sound, those few auras that had locked on to Xu Qing were directly suppressed.

This scene stunned the merfolk youth for a moment. When he looked outside the pharmacy, his expression suddenly changed drastically. Sensing the aura outside, Xu Qing also raised his head, and his pupils suddenly contracted.

As a figure walked into view, a woman’s cold voice rang out from outside the pharmacy.

“Just now, who was it that said my things are stolen goods?”

The voice was like a winter wind, instantly causing everyone in the pharmacy to freeze. Whether it was the merfolk youth or the Sixth Peak shopkeeper, all of them trembled uncontrollably when they heard this sentence. They couldn’t help but turn their heads to look at the person walking over.

This person was a tall and muscular woman with bronze skin that exuded a sense of strength. Her long hair fluttered in the wind, but it didn’t add any grace to her bearing. Instead, it gave her a sense of wildness.

She wore a dark purple Daoist robe and dragged a huge black sword that was a meter and a half long in her hand. As she walked, the tip of the sword created sparks as it scratched the ground, slicing open the floor tiles as she dragged it through the entryway.

This scene made everyone inhale sharply. It was unknown who was the first to bend over, but the next moment, everyone lowered their heads and cupped their fists respectfully.

“Greetings, Second Highness!”

“Greetings, Second Highness!”

“Greetings, Second Highness!”

This person was someone who was like the crown princess of the Seventh Peak. She was someone who could easily decide the life and death of these mountain-foot disciples, and even a core disciple couldn’t offend her out of fear of their status being revoked. She was… the Peak Lord’s second direct disciple!

“Senior Sister, you’re finally here!” Huang Yan excitedly left his hiding spot and ran over…

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