The feeling was strange.
It was like having another pair of eyes, ’seeing’ a whole other world through scent.
Every person had a unique scent, and even inanimate objects were all different.
The countless scents mixing in the air were untangled one by one by the Talent of the Golden-Nosed White-Haired Celestial Rat.
With the Divine Technique active, he could clearly smell even the faintest, most imperceptible traces from days ago.
Nursing Director Zhang, Qian Hu, Zhu Ying...
’Found them!’
Zhu Ju’s eyes lit up.
A scent with a faint hint of mint appeared before his ’eyes.’ It first stretched toward South City, then abruptly veered toward the eastern market.
Meanwhile, Nursing Director Zhang and the others, completely unaware, continued toward South City, getting farther and farther away.
Another earthy scent clung to Zhu Zhenzhen. ’That must be the kidnapper.’
"Quite cunning!"
Zhu Ju whispered. His body flickered, and he vanished from the spot.
...
「East City.」
THUMP!
Shenn Youcai threw the bound and gagged Zhu Zhenzhen to the floor.
He flexed his wrists and chuckled.
"A bunch of trash, thinking they could catch me, ’Earth Shadow’?"
"But..."
He crouched, pulled the gag from Zhu Zhenzhen’s mouth, and squeezed her chin. "I could have taken two of them, but I only ended up with one. What was the name of the kid who spotted me?"
"Mmph..." Zhu Zhenzhen’s eyes blazed with anger as she struggled desperately.
"My brother won’t let you get away with this!"
"Your brother?" Shenn Youcai sneered.
"Zhu Ju, right?"
"He offended Young Master Yue. He can’t even protect himself, so expecting him to save you is pure fantasy."
"Speak!"
His face darkened as he barked, "Who was that kid?"
"I can use a Yin Soul to hide my presence. Even a Seventh-Grade Expert would have trouble detecting me. How did that kid spot me?"
SLAP!
Seeing Zhu Zhenzhen’s stubborn expression, Shenn Youcai’s eyebrow twitched, and he struck her across the face.
"You really think you’re still some rich young miss?"
"You dare stay silent? I’ll carve up that pretty face of yours. No... a ruined face won’t be worth much. You little brat, you haven’t fully blossomed yet, but you have the makings of a beauty. You should fetch a good price."
"Ah!" Zhu Zhenzhen screamed in terror, her body trembling. Seeing the dagger inch closer, she cried out, "It was Qian Hu!"
"Qian Hu is very sensitive to Yin Souls! I don’t know anything else."
"Qian Hu?" Shenn Youcai narrowed his eyes.
His most prized technique had been seen through. His entire livelihood was on the line.
"Interesting."
Pressing his lips together, he stuffed the rag back into Zhu Zhenzhen’s mouth, pushed open the door, and walked out.
It was a courtyard.
Piles of medicinal herbs were stacked in the yard, where several men dressed as herb farmers were busy at work.
In the main hall.
A man smoked a long-stemmed pipe, his brow furrowed.
"Wuh Tou."
Shenn Youcai strode over and greeted him, "Things didn’t go so smoothly. I only managed to bring a girl from the Zhu Mansion, but it should be enough to complete the job."
"We can use this girl to lure out Zhu Ju, then find someone to kill him."
"Hmph..." Wuh Tou set down his pipe and sighed.
"It seems you don’t know what just happened."
"What happened?"
"The Young Master is dead."
"What?!"
Shenn Youcai was stunned, his face a mask of disbelief.
"Young Master Yue is dead? How is that possible? Who did it?"
"A woman passing through Taiyuan Prefecture. Possibly Sixth-Grade Peak, or maybe even Fifth Grade," Wuh Tou sighed.
"They say the Young Master harassed her, and she killed his entire party of more than a dozen men. Not a single survivor was left. The woman is an absolute Demon."
Shenn Youcai’s face turned pale.
In Taiyuan Prefecture, even though the Celestial Eagle Thieves were reviled, it was always they who bullied others.
When had it ever been their turn to be bullied?
But upon hearing of a Cultivation at Sixth-Grade Peak, or even Fifth Grade, his eyes widened in shock.
’The Celestial Eagle Thieves will just have to swallow this loss!’
"So... what do we do now?"
Shenn Youcai looked lost. "The Young Master wanted to deal with the Zhus, which is why I snatched someone from the Zhu Mansion. But now that something’s happened to him..."
"We get money," Wuh Tou said, waving his hand dismissively.
"Have someone send a message to the Zhu Mansion. Tell them to bring ten thousand taels of silver to ransom her. If they don’t bring the silver, we kill her."
"Cut off one of the girl’s fingers and send it with the note. We can’t have worked for nothing, can we?"
"Yes." Shenn Youcai nodded.
"I’ll do it right away."
He found a water vat, gulped down two mouthfuls of cold water to wet his throat, rolled up his sleeves, and went back into the room.
At that moment, another person was in the room.
Zhu Zhenzhen, who should have been bound hand and foot, was now free and flexing her wrists.
"Who are you?"
Shenn Youcai’s expression changed, and he shouted, "Guards!"
"An intruder has broken in!"
"Brother," Zhu Zhenzhen said, her voice crisp.
"He’s the one who tried to kidnap me and my sister, but... he only managed to grab me."
"Mm," Zhu Ju nodded and said slowly,
"Close your eyes."
"Huh?"
Zhu Zhenzhen was taken aback.
Before she could react, she saw Zhu Ju suddenly throw a punch.
His movement didn’t seem fast, yet it landed solidly on Shenn Youcai’s face.
BAM!
A Giant Power erupted.
Shenn Youcai’s head exploded like a ripe watermelon, sending red and white matter flying everywhere.
The headless body swayed for a moment before collapsing to the ground.
"Ugh..."
"BLEGH!"
Zhu Zhenzhen froze for a second, then her stomach churned violently, and she bent over, dry-heaving uncontrollably.
Meanwhile, Zhu Ju frowned slightly, as if he too disliked being spattered with blood. He flicked his long sleeve toward a nearby cleaver used for processing herbs. Light flashed from the blade as it flew through the air, followed by spurts of fresh blood.
The men who rushed in were cut down like stalks of wheat, collapsing to the ground in unison.
"Zhu Ju!"
Wuh Tou, rushing out from the main hall, narrowed his eyes.
"Impressive skill, impressive methods!"
"I never would have thought a mere cloth merchant like yourself would possess such exquisite skill."
"You are..." Zhu Ju tilted his head, then chuckled.
"It doesn’t matter."
SWISH!
Before he finished speaking, the pipe in Wuh Tou’s hand suddenly trembled, and countless sparks flew toward him.
The sparks were faint, but propelled by Qi Force, they instantly erupted into a raging Fierce Flame.
But Wuh Tou didn’t take the opportunity to attack. Instead, he performed a kestrel flip and leaped toward the courtyard wall.
If he were ten or twenty years younger, he wouldn’t be afraid to fight. But the older he got, the smaller his courage became.
Now, he just wanted to live.
WHOOSH...
The sound of something tearing through the air rushed toward him.
Wuh Tou whipped his head around just in time to see a cleaver burst through the vast Fierce Flame and pierce his chest with unstoppable force.
PFFT!
The bloody cleaver passed clean through his body and embedded itself in a nearby wall.
"BLEGH!"
Just as she was recovering, Zhu Zhenzhen walked out into the courtyard, only to be greeted by the sight of bodies.
She immediately began to vomit violently again.
*
*
*
「Zhu Mansion.」
"Young Master."
Nursing Director Zhang wore a look of shame.
"I was incompetent. I allowed a scoundrel to break into the mansion and nearly bring harm to Miss Zhenzhen."
"The enemy’s methods were bizarre. It’s normal that you didn’t notice," Zhu Ju sighed softly. "In the end, we just have too few experts."
"What’s wrong with Yangg Yi?"
In the center of the courtyard, Yangg Yi had been stripped to the waist and was kneeling on the ground, being punished.
"As I recall, he was the one who stopped Shenn Youcai from taking Zhu Ying. He should be rewarded for that."
"Young Master," Nursing Director Zhang said.
"He secretly learned the Primordial Yang Qi Technique!"
"When that thief attacked Miss Zhu Ying, Yangg Yi’s Palm Force was scorching hot, which the other members of the Nursing Home saw. He confessed that he secretly learned the Primordial Yang Qi Technique, which only the Young Miss and Young Master are permitted to cultivate."
"Young Master."
"Please decide his punishment."