A sword cultivator and a rooster. Gu Han’s identity was practically shouting itself out.
The Hehuan Sect Master exclaimed with absolute certainty, “It’s him!”
As for the rooster, Elder Zhang couldn’t have cared less. He only wanted to know exactly how much the Zhang family had lost. He forced himself to remain calm. “Speak! What exactly did he take?”
The man was already in tears. “Everything he could! I suspect he’s a seasoned thief! He easily found all the saint herbs and resources we’d stashed away.”
“And the saint herb?”
“He took that first!”
It was as if a lightning bolt had struck Elder Zhang. He trembled violently, barely managing to stay on his feet.
For three thousand years, he had stopped at nothing to build the Zhang family into a third-rate force, using every method at his disposal! Those resources were the foundation for his family’s growth. Moreover, that saint herb was incredibly rare, capable of nourishing one’s soul power. He’d treasured it like his very life!
Even though he was a sixth-stage Feather Transformation cultivator who had lived for several millennia, he still felt as though the sky had fallen and the earth had caved in! It was as if all hope was lost!
The other five were secretly gloating, but they offered words of comfort. “It’s alright, Fellow Daoist. There’s no need to fret. Losing resources is nothing... You can always gather more. At least no one was hurt.”
The elder suddenly remembered. “T-that’s right! What about Zhang Xun?! That worthless wretch! What was he doing?!”
The clansman broke down again. “The first thing that man did was cut down the family head!”
The elder’s eyes were bloodshot. “Impossible! Absolutely impossible! Besides Zhang Xun, there were also three Saint realm clan elders. Four Saint realm in total. No matter how strong he is—”
The man was weeping harder than before, “He cut down all of them at once!”
Elder Zhang’s face turned ashen. The other five exchanged glances, feeling a bit of sympathy for him. After all, Elder Zhang was now the Zhang family’s only survivor.
They started comforting him again, with a bit more sincerity this time, “It’s alright. Even though the people are gone, at least you still have the resources. He couldn’t possibly take them all—”
The clansman murmured, “They’re all gone... Everything he couldn’t take, he fed to his rooster on the spot!”
Elder Zhang could no longer hold it in and coughed up a mouthful of blood. The five looked at each other in dismay. They didn’t dare offer any more comfort, afraid they’d end up angering the old man to death. A chill ran down their spines. How is that scavenging?! He’s taking him to the cleaners!
Even the Hehuan Sect Master was so shaken by Gu Han’s methods that she stopped thinking about Chongming for the moment.
Suddenly, Elder Zhang seemed to snap back to his senses. “No! He isn’t supposed to know about me. We’ve never even met! In fact, only those of us here know about him! How did he think to go after the Zhang family to get revenge on me? Someone must have tipped him off! There’s a traitor among us!”
The other five realized it at the same time as their gazes immediately locked onto the Hehuan Sect Master.
Her face paled. “W-what? Fellow Daoists, don’t tell me you’re suspecting me?”
Elder Zhang shot her with a venomous stare, grinding his teeth. “Not you! It’s that dog you keep!”
Ah Gou!
From start to finish, only the seven of them knew about this matter. Even the Hehuan Sect disciples were unaware of the details. Only Ah Gou, who’d been involved in every step of the plan, could leak the information.
The Hehuan Sect Master couldn’t understand it. Ah Gou had been raised through a special method. He had almost no humanity or emotions to speak of, just obedience. Why would he do something so completely out of character?!
She trembled with rage. “Y-you beast! You’ve got a death wish!”
In rage, Elder Zhang had completely forgotten about dual cultivation, his eyes bloodshot. “Bitch! I kindly helped you, and your dog repays me by selling me out!”
The Hehuan Sect Master gritted her teeth. “Fellow Daoist, please, calm down. I will certainly give you an explanation for this. I will compensate you for your losses...”
She still valued these partners and old lovers quite highly.
Elder Zhang was practically frothing at the mouth. “Compensate?! Can you even afford to? You’d have to pay with your life!”
He fully unleashed his cultivation. The Hehuan Sect Master went pale from the sheer pressure, stumbling back several steps.
The young man moved in a flash, stepping directly in front of her. “What do you think you’re doing?! You’re frightening her!”
He scoffed at Elder Zhang. “Don’t forget her status. You think the Emotionless Sect can’t cover the losses of some tiny, insignificant third-rate force? You think far too highly of yourself!”
Elder Zhang felt a chill run through him as he recalled that she was backed by Ling Ya’s disciple. Never mind a third-rate force like his, even a second-rate force could be wiped out with a single word from her!
With that thought, he regained a sliver of reason and didn’t lay a hand on her.
The Hehuan Sect Master shot the young man a grateful look, then gritted her teeth. “Exactly! You won’t find my compensation lacking. For now, the most urgent matter is to capture that man as soon as possible! Not only is he ruthless and powerful, but he’s also someone who always settles scores! He’ll definitely become a threat now that he knows we’re after him. We can’t let him run free!”
She was quite calculating. With just a few words, she had bound the others to her cause.
She then added, “Also, since he’s seeking revenge, he won’t stop with just Fellow Daoist Zhang...”
The other's expressions changed dramatically. Given that man’s disposition, the Zhang family was his first target for revenge, but definitely not the last. The next one to suffer could very well be them. None of them had any desire to stay any longer. If they didn’t head back now, they would probably end up spitting blood right alongside Elder Zhang.
The Hehuan Sect Master called out to them, “Wait. We can’t just go back like this. If anything, we’d play right into his hands. That man’s wounded and still this powerful. If we give him enough time to heal, he’ll be even harder to deal with once he recovers fully!”
Though she had peculiar tastes, she was never arrogant or overconfident. Even if Gu Han was only at the Saint realm and wounded, his various displays of strength still made her uneasy.
Elder Zhang shot her a cold look. “It’s simple! Just have that one from the Emotionless Sect make a move. Wouldn’t dealing with him be effortless?”
The Hehuan Sect Master’s expression soured. All of this had happened because she could never let go of Chongming and made such a huge fuss over a single rooster. Even if she was favored by that disciple, she wouldn’t dare bring this up with him.
She took a deep breath. “Rest assured, Fellow Daoist! I have my own ways of finding him.”
“How?”
“Ah Gou!”
The elder flew into a rage. “What?! How dare you bring him up again?!”
The Hehuan Sect Master turned her hand over, revealing a blood-red jade talisman in her palm. “I’ve been careless. I never expected a dog to dare turn on its master! Worry not, there’s a slave brand in his soul, so he can’t escape my grasp! He’ll have no choice but to obey! I’ll find him soon enough, and when I do, that man won’t be able to hide!”
The young man’s eyes gleamed with barely concealed excitement. “Sect Master, don’t forget, there’s still that rooster!”
“Right! The rooster too!”