Shen Yanlan's remains were incomplete, so the people from Onizuka couldn't completely control her. It was during their unfiltered conversation that Shen Yu learned that Onizuka had sent people to guard several suspicious villages in order to find Shen Yanlan's remains.
Shen Yu guessed that after the old man suffered a setback, he would definitely seek help from his companions, and the most likely place he would go was the nearest village, He Village.
Just as the three of them were heading towards He Village, the old man was indeed in He Village, just as Shen Yu had guessed, and they even met an important figure.
"...It is definitely the Red Lotus Karmic Fire, I would never be wrong!" Large beads of sweat streamed down the old man's forehead. He was no longer the arrogant man he had been before. He wished he could swear to the heavens that he regretted not taking a hit from Qin Moyu. Being injured would have been better than living in fear here.
Sitting in front of him were the man in the blue robe and the faceless man.
"I understand, you can leave now." The man in the blue robe waved his hand, too lazy to listen to his nonsense.
After the others left, he raised an eyebrow, turned to look at the faceless man, and said with interest, "Did you arrange this too? To lure them here?"
"No." Unexpectedly, the faceless man denied it.
He said with some displeasure, "Shen Mo has been acting strangely lately. I've been keeping an eye on him. This is an accident."
The man in the blue robe chuckled, "How rare! There really was an unexpected turn of events. I thought you had everything planned out, since you love to create these kinds of surprises."
He was smiling, but his eyes were full of sarcasm.
The faceless man ignored his sarcastic tone and snorted, "Whether it was my arrangement or not, as long as the goal is achieved, that's all that matters. Has Fen Gong arrived?"
"Here we are, we'll be here soon." The man in the blue robe said with feigned sorrow, "I quite liked that child. Although he was stupid, he was loyal. It's a pity that he died like this."
"What a pity?" The faceless man couldn't help but laugh out loud as if he had heard a joke. He imitated the sarcastic tone that the man in the blue robe was used to say, "Didn't you say that you loved your wife very much? I saw that you didn't hesitate at all when you killed her and set up the formation. You even beat her soul to pieces in order to ensure stability. When it comes to ruthlessness, you, Fen Qi, are the number one in the world."
The man in the blue robe—no, it was Fen Qi—rarely put away his smile upon hearing these words. He chuckled, then suddenly brought his face close to the faceless man's hat, staring at him for a long time before revealing his signature smile again: "But isn't this exactly what you wanted? Lord Heavenly Dao."
To be fair, Fen Qi has sword-like eyebrows and bright eyes, and he exudes a righteous aura. His smile is cheerful and his eyebrows curve. But only those who have met him know how crazy he is under his seemingly harmless smile.
The one who drove him mad was the person standing right in front of him.
“That’s right, so I’m very satisfied.” The Heavenly Dao clearly had no eyes, yet it could meet Fen Qi’s gaze directly.
His tone was unusually uplifting, and he was generous with his praise:
"You are my most satisfying work."
Fen Qi's smile widened, but his eyes held no trace of a smile, only endless darkness.
They remained silent, the atmosphere in the small room heavy and stagnant.
"This junior respectfully pays respects to the Ancestor!"
An excited shout rang out from outside the door, interrupting the burning indignation.
Fen Qi slowly retreated to his seat, slumped in the chair as if boneless, and nonchalantly played with his nails, saying lazily, "Come in."
Fen Gong had rushed over, disregarding his appearance in his haste, so his clothes were inevitably disheveled and dusty. Upon hearing Fen Qi's voice, he subconsciously straightened his clothes, nervously walked in, and immediately knelt down and shouted, "Junior Fen Gong is honored to be summoned by the Ancestor. Please tell me what you need, Ancestor!"
Fen Gong was so excited by being personally summoned by the Ancestor that he blushed and even forgot to ask Fen Qi why he had been summoned to Xizhou so early but had not been given any tasks.
"Come here." Fen Qi glanced at him and beckoned him with her finger.
Fen Gong crawled directly to him on his knees, his eyes filled with filial piety.
When Fenqi saw the look in his eyes, he couldn't help but think of his and his wife's first child, whose eyes also held that same pure and passionate gaze.
"You're a good boy." He sighed softly and stroked his hair. Fen Gong lowered his head somewhat embarrassed, but unexpectedly, Fen Qi suddenly tightened his grip on his hair, forcing him to look up and meet his eyes.
"Ancestor..."
Fen Gong was forced to look up, and when he saw Fen Qi's eyes, he seemed to be frozen for a moment. Even after Fen Qi had released him, he still maintained that posture.
Fenqi's expression was slightly somber.
It's such a pity... that child died young, and even if he slaughtered his entire enemy family, he couldn't bring that child back.
"Do you know what to do?" Fenqi recalled the child's lovely face. It was strange; none of the children after that could compare to this deceased child.
“Kill… Qin Moyu… Mo Yuan ordered…” Fen Gong managed to utter a few words, his whole body trembling as if he were fighting against something, until a faint array appeared in his eyes, and he finally calmed down.
"I will obey the ancestor's orders." After calming down, he lost his previous excitement and looked no different from when he came in. But if you looked closely, you would find that there was only an endless emptiness in his eyes except for the array, like a puppet being manipulated.
"Go." Fen Qi waved his hand, and Fen Gong obediently left the room.
"Alright." Fen Qi yawned, tilted his head, and asked the question he had been wanting to ask for a long time: "Speaking of which, was it really necessary to go through all this trouble?"
Tiandao picked up the teacup on the table, used the lid to smooth the tea leaves floating on the surface, and said calmly, "People only believe what they investigate, don't they?"
Fen Qi recalled the trip to the frigid land and smiled: "Yes."
—They went to great lengths to lure the enemy into their trap.
Chapter Thirty-Nine: A Deal. Let's make a deal, to fulfill your wishes...
He Village is located on the border of the Western Continent, near the Southern Continent. The three of them inevitably had to cross the border between the two continents. As is normal for the border area between the two continents, it has given rise to trading posts of varying sizes. Merchants and cultivators from the two continents, dressed in completely different styles and speaking different accents, moved about among the people, creating a very lively atmosphere.
When people are in a lively atmosphere, gossip is inevitable. Even if you don't stay to listen, you're bound to overhear some. After listening to a lot of gossip, Qin Moyu discovered that these gossips can be divided into several categories.
One type is against power, such as when the Southern Continent royal family sends troops to the Western Continent, which creates a major upheaval.
One type is related to items: what good things have appeared in this place, or what secret realm has appeared in that place.
The last type is the most discussed and the most popular, focusing on discussions about people.