Chapter 42: The Death of the Martial Marquis

"Little girl, are you here alone?"
Two tall, thin men approached the young girl, one of them asking.

"Yes, uncles, is there something you need?"
Her large eyes fluttered with innocence, her face the picture of naivety.

This display only made the two men's eyes burn hotter; a certain place on each of them even swelled with anticipation.

"They're from the Ge clan of Serpent City,"
one of the Red Guards whispered to his companion.

"Filthy degenerates,"
Wang Lin muttered coldly.

"The Ge clan of Serpent City,"
Lu Yan mused inwardly.

As a Red Guard, he had some knowledge of the great families in Lian'an County. It was said that the Ge clan's martial arts were unique—renowned for their first-rate Serpentine Seven Venoms Palm. This style was most effective when fueled by delicacies prepared from snake-type spirit beasts.

But snakes themselves are lustful by nature.

Those of the Ge clan were notorious for their debauchery—every direct descendant was said to keep three wives and four concubines, at the very least.

Of course, abducting and raping women was common practice for them.

This girl was in trouble.

Though Wang Lin and the others were indignant, none stepped forward to intervene. They were merely Red Guards under the Liu clan; the others were members of the powerful Ge family—a gulf of status lay between them.

Never mind status—even in terms of strength, they were unlikely to be a match.

"Little girl, isn't it lonely by yourself? Come keep us company, have a drink or two,"
one of the thin men chuckled lecherously.

"No, I’m quite content on my own,"
the girl replied.

"Today, you don’t get to choose,"
the other man declared bluntly, reaching out to seize her.

In the next instant, he recoiled with astonishing speed. Blood streamed from a fresh cut on his palm.

"What speed!"
Lu Yan's eyes narrowed; even his keen gaze had barely caught the movement.

As the man reached to grab her, the girl had flicked her hand—a small knife appeared, slicing open his hand.

"Leave. Or I’ll cripple you both,"
the girl's expression hardened at last.

"You wretched slut, you’re courting death!"
The injured man, shamed and furious, lunged forward, his arm snaking out with uncanny flexibility.

His companion attacked at the same time.

Both were fourth-level limit breakers.

The moment they struck—blood and energy surging—everyone present recognized their level of cultivation and inwardly thanked their luck for not interfering.

With such skill, especially when paired with a first-class martial art, anyone else would have been killed before even knowing what happened.

The two men moved in tandem, conjuring a flurry of serpent-like shadows in the air, all converging on the girl.

At that moment, she sprang into motion.

Her long legs tapped lightly on the floor, her graceful form twisting impossibly as she slipped past every attack from the two Ge clan members.

Then, a flash of the blade.

Splurt! Splurt!

Blood sprayed as both men staggered back, clutching their groins and howling in agony.

Two short, thin objects fell to the floor.

"Disgusting. I've lost my appetite,"
the girl wrinkled her nose, tossed down two silver ingots, pushed off with her foot, and shot out the window, vanishing from sight.

Lu Yan leaned out the window, but the girl was already gone.

"Was that... lightness skill?"
he murmured, astonished.

This was the fifth floor—over ten meters high. With his current cultivation, a jump would not kill him, but he’d leave a crater in the ground.

Yet the girl had floated away like a drifting feather.

He had trained in leg techniques, but those only enhanced strength and speed, not the supernatural lightness of legendary martial heroes—walking on snow without a trace, skimming across water.

He had thought this world, for all its martial prowess, lacked such skills. Today, he was forced to reconsider.

Only now did the innkeeper emerge, brow furrowed in distress.

Zhou's Diner, backed by the Zhou clan, had never seen this kind of trouble before. But now, with so many great families gathering and the Zhou clan’s power waning, he dared not offend any of them.

"Quick, fetch a doctor! Where’s the best doctor in Qingyang City?"

"Show us the way!"
the two injured men shouted, clutching their mutilated treasures as they hobbled downstairs in search of medical help. Whether anything could be reattached remained uncertain.

"That woman is no ordinary person,"
a Red Guard remarked.

"And here we are, worrying about others,"
Wang Lin said with a self-deprecating smile.

Lu Yan recalled a saying from a martial arts master in his previous life: among the wanderers of the Jianghu, beggars, monks, and women were the ones to avoid at all costs.

Especially beautiful women traveling alone.

This incident proved that when desire clouded the minds of the Ge clan men, they lost all reason.

With the city full of powerful families and countless experts, provoking a stranger could mean offending the inner circle of any of them.

Didn't they see how everyone else kept their heads down, avoiding trouble?

After this, the crowd lost their appetite, quickly finished eating, and made their way downstairs.

The others returned to their lodgings, but Lu Yan, finding an excuse, wandered alone through the marketplace.

He was searching for spirit food.

He wandered the alleys where antiques were sold, but after a full circuit, found nothing.

Curiously, within the "Forbidden Land," his Daoist book had been highly sensitive—he could sense spirit food from far away.

Back in Changfeng City, however, it only reacted within close range.

He couldn’t fathom the reason and could only attribute it to the unique nature of the Forbidden Land.

In the following two days, Qingyang City grew even livelier.

It was rumored that all nearby Marquis-level clans had arrived—eleven in total, an astonishing number.

Soon, word spread from the Zhou clan itself: their master chef, Zhou Hezhen, would begin preparing the mutated Nine-Segment Heart Meat in seven days.

It was expected to be ready in ten. The Zhou clan would keep three portions; the remainder, however many, would be auctioned to the great families.

Every clan was eager, awaiting the competition ten days hence.

But five days later, a bombshell exploded across Qingyang City.

The Zhou clan’s master chef, Zhou Hezhen, was dead.

The first reaction of the clans was disbelief.

Zhou Hezhen was not only a master chef, but also a bone-strength martial expert—a powerful Marquis. How could he die so suddenly? And at such a critical moment?

Was this a ruse by the Zhou clan to avoid selling the mutated Nine-Segment Heart Meat?

But confirmation came quickly.

Upon hearing the news, the Marquis-level experts of the great clans rushed to the Zhou clan’s bloodline estate and saw Zhou Hezhen’s corpse with their own eyes.

Soon, the cause of death emerged: a dagger had pierced his heart.

Shock and suspicion rippled through the crowd.

Zhou Hezhen was a bone-strength expert—his body like iron, his vitality immense. How could he be killed so easily? Was the assassin also a bone-strength expert?

Would Zhou Hezhen have let his guard down around a peer?

No wall can keep word from leaking, and with so many powerful families involved, details soon emerged.

Zhou Hezhen had first been poisoned; then, during a tryst with a woman, the poison took effect and she killed him with a dagger.

So that was it. Everyone understood.

Zhou Hezhen’s lechery was no secret—at his age, he kept eighteen concubines.

Clearly, the assassin knew his weakness. A female killer, poison, both used to deadly effect.

Yet questions remained.

Who had administered the poison?

Who had sent the female assassin?

At this precise moment, assassinating Zhou Hezhen was clearly meant to prevent the heart meat from being prepared.

Who didn’t want the mutated Nine-Segment Heart Meat to come to light?

All the clans present certainly did—otherwise, what were they here to bid on?

Could it be...?

A chill ran through them at the thought, and none dared pursue it further.

The Zhou clan acted swiftly. Upon discovering Zhou Hezhen’s murder, they ordered the city gates sealed and martial troops to guard the walls, preventing the killer’s escape.

They were certain the murderer was still in Qingyang City—blood traces were found on Zhou Hezhen’s fingertips, not his own, but the culprit’s.

Obviously, he had wounded his attacker before dying.

His death throes had raised a commotion, alerting the guards and servants.

They rushed in, saw the female assassin, and a few were killed as she fled.

With so little time elapsed, the killer could not have escaped the city and was certainly hiding somewhere within.

The Zhou clan issued a bounty: ten thousand silver for any clue, thirty thousand for capture.

The news set the city ablaze.