Chapter 23: Fuyu has Crow (1)
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After filling his stomach with a few bites of lamb and tasting the chicken soup, Bai Chunsheng found the ingredients themselves to be average for the mortal realm, but fortunately, they were generously seasoned with spices, making the meal passable. Bai Chunsheng wasn’t picky and ate faster than Yan Yi.
Once they had eaten their fill, Bai Chunsheng dispelled the sound suppression array and carefully wiped away their scent traces.
“Let’s go,” Bai Chunsheng urged.
He had intended to ask about the origin of the Crow Puppets when the chance arose, but now that the original owner was dead, there was no need to inquire anymore.
Bai Chunsheng didn’t care who the murderer was. The person was dead, which was of no concern to him. His earlier anxiety was merely symbolic, as he had never done anything wrong and was slightly displeased at being falsely accused.
Later, Bai Chunsheng realized he had been expelled from the ranks of reputable sects, and his mindset changed. As a wanted criminal, the more accusations, the better, and it sounded quite impressive!
It’s good that the person is dead. Since we can’t get any clues about the inheritance, it’s a good thing that we can keep our tracks hidden.
Bai Chunsheng’s ideal scenario was to recover to his peak with the help of the Fire Spirit Stone. Then, he would cultivate in secrecy in the Wutong Tree Sea until he reached the Mahayana stage and returned to the Middle Realm.
Looking at it from another perspective, if they could catch the murderer, it would help divert suspicion away from them.
The two finished their meal and were ready to leave when they heard a commotion downstairs in the restaurant. Bai Chunsheng peered out and saw a group of Foundation Establishment cultivators in uniform, likely maintaining order in the market.
Bai Chunsheng quietly speculated, “It must be because Yan Yi took away the Crow Puppet that maintained the passage, preventing the cultivators at the entrance from coming in. That’s why they discovered that the person responsible for this area had died, and now they’re probably investigating the murderer.”
Leaning back in his soft chair, Bai Chunsheng watched the scene unfold outside and found himself strangely reluctant to leave.
There was a knock at the door, but neither of them moved.
In the next moment, the door was forcefully pushed open by the group outside.
Leading them was a tall, dark-skinned man with a determined look in his eyes. Wang Yu was only in the late Foundation Establishment stage, but he was the highest-cultivated person among the group that had arrived.
He pointed at Yan Yi, who was sitting at the table with his arms crossed, and then gestured towards Bai Chunsheng, who was leaning against the window and watching the commotion: “Take them first, we’ll question them when the people from the Yusheng Sect arrive.”
Arrest them?
Bai Chunsheng found it somewhat amusing. He glanced at Yan Yi, but saw Yan Yi raise a finger to his lips, gesturing for silence.
Yan Yi sent a message via sound transmission, “Wait.”
What was Yan Yi up to?
He continued, “Yusheng Sect controls all three major spirit stone veins in the Shattered Stone Mortal Realm.” This was recorded in the Immortal Spirit Register. Bai Chunsheng vaguely remembered it. One of his previous plans was to infiltrate the Yusheng Sect to see if there were any top-grade Fire Spirit Stones that could nourish his bloodline.
If someone from the Yusheng Sect was coming to interrogate them, this Fuyu Market should be under their jurisdiction. Perhaps this was an opportunity to explore further.
What Yan Yi said made sense, and Bai Chunsheng turned his head with a cold snort, agreeing to Yan Yi’s words, indicating he wouldn’t act.
Although the two knew why these people had come, they still had to follow the formal process.
Impatiently, Bai Chunsheng said, “What are you planning? Is this how Fuyu Mountain treats its guests? Today, I’ve seen something new.”
Wang Yu didn’t mention anyone’s death, just saying, “Once we’ve clarified the truth, if you two are not involved, Fuyu Mountain will compensate and ensure your satisfaction.”
Bai Chunsheng detected his arrogance in his words and chuckled coldly, “What I want, you may not be able to afford.”
Wang Yu didn’t pursue the topic further, only stating, “It won’t delay you two for long.”
Earlier, they had heard from the innkeeper downstairs that today, two strangers arrived with considerable wealth, but they were cultivators they had never seen before. Their cultivation was at the late stage of Foundation Establishment. Hong Chunfeng, who had died, had been stuck at this stage for a long time, with a very solid foundation. Even Wang Yu admitted he wasn’t as skilled as Hong Chunfeng. To kill Hong Chunfeng, one would need at least the late stage of Foundation Establishment or even Golden Core cultivation.
In the past few days, Fuyu Mountain had not hosted any true Golden Core cultivators, only a few Foundation Establishment cultivators coming and going. These two individuals raised suspicions, although their guilt among these Foundation Establishment cultivators was not very high. To be safe, they couldn’t let them leave before the envoy arrived.
“I guarantee Fuyu Mountain’s honor,” Wang Yu said. “We will not wrongly accuse you.”
Bai Chunsheng and Yan Yi’s disguised cultivations were similar to Wang Yu’s. Bai Chunsheng couldn’t use his status to pressure people and said politely, “Please follow us to the city of Fuyu Mountain. In the afternoon, an envoy from the Yusheng Sect will come to investigate the truth. If you are innocent, we will definitely clear your names.”
Wang Yu’s men behind him quickly cleared a path. After a long silence, Yan Yi suddenly became lively, putting on an angry expression, waving his sleeves and saying, “Let’s go, I’m not afraid of anyone!”
Bai Chunsheng replied calmly, “I’ll be waiting for compensation.”
The two followed behind Wang Yu, surrounded cautiously by several early-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators, who escorted Yan Yi and Bai Chunsheng into the deep mansion of Fuyu Mountain.
The mansion was hidden in the thick fog of Fuyu Mountain, with paths on either side planted with a low-level spirit grass called Star-Containing Grass. This spirit grass wasn’t particularly useful; it only emitted a faint green starlight in the dark. By mortal standards, it could be considered luxurious.
During the journey, perhaps seeing that they were cooperative, Wang Yu began to share some details.
The owner of the Crow Puppets was named Hong Chunfeng, a well-known figure in the vicinity. He used to be a demonic cultivator in his earlier years. Here, “demonic cultivator” doesn’t refer to someone practicing demonic arts from the evil realm, but rather as another way of describing those outside the orthodox path.
Hong Chunfeng was born a mortal. Normally, someone as ordinary as him wouldn’t have the chance to encounter immortality in his lifetime. But somehow, he was exceptionally lucky. He said that when he was in his teens, wandering the rivers and lakes, he encountered a severely injured Qi refining elder. This elder was near death and, in a desperate attempt, passed on his cultivation and half of his incomplete technique to Hong Chunfeng, seeing his potential for cultivation.
This technique suited Hong Chunfeng well. Despite its incompleteness, within a few years, he managed to reach the threshold of cultivation.
Hong Chunfeng completed his training as a rogue cultivator, having no sect or school to claim but a dubious master to acknowledge, thus being categorized as a rogue cultivator.
During his time as a rogue cultivator, he committed numerous crimes such as murder, robbery, and kidnapping, leaving countless innocent lives stained with his blood. In recent years, realizing his hopeless prospects and declining strength, he feared retaliation in his old age. He sought refuge with Fuyu Mountain several years ago, barely making it ashore.
Little did he expect to die so suddenly.
After hearing the whole story, Bai Chunsheng sneered, “In that case, you should be looking for his enemies. Why are you focusing on us two brothers? We don’t even know him.” Bai Chunsheng had casually mentioned earlier that he and Yan Yi were brothers.
Wang Yu fell silent for a moment and said, “He’s dead.”
“What do you mean by ‘dead’?” Yan Yi asked. “Is it just one person who died, or…?”
“They’re all dead,” Wang Yu replied.
“Were they killed?” Yan Yi asked.
“I don’t know,” Wang Yu said.
This seemed to be quite shocking news. After saying this, Wang Yu remained silent.
This news didn’t particularly shock Bai Chunsheng and Yan Yi. Bai Chunsheng had the leisure to pass on a message to Yan Yi: “Do you think this is too much of a coincidence?”
Bai Chunsheng conveyed, “Hong Chunfeng’s whole life was full of coincidences. He coincidentally encountered a severely injured dying Daoist who just happened to have a cultivation method perfectly suited for him, so he coincidentally entered cultivation.”
“While he was wreaking havoc, he didn’t encounter any trouble. Instead, it was when he tried to settle down that he died.”
“Almost all of his enemies coincidentally died too.”
“The coincidence is that after he died and before anyone discovered it, one of his items caught the attention of two notorious fugitives from the Grand World. Even more coincidentally, one of them managed to detect and take away two of his items using spatial fluctuations.”
“Of course, the most coincidental part is that when the Fuyu Mountain cultivators arrived to track the clues at the market, these two wanted fugitives who should have left were still there.”
Yan Yi calmly asked, “Do you suspect foul play?”
Bai Chunsheng had some suspicions initially, but upon hearing Yan Yi’s question, he became uncertain. Yan Yi didn’t know it himself, but Bai Chunsheng knew that Yan Jingqiu was a powerful cultivator who had crossed tribulations. Even if he had regressed to the Nascent Soul stage, if someone wanted to set a trap, they would need to have cultivation at least above the Mahayana stage.
There were only a few people who had crossed tribulations. If someone wanted to kill the two of them, they could come directly, so why bother with such a cover-up?
Bai Chunsheng conveyed back through mind transmission, refuting his own view: “I just find this person’s luck strangely marvelous.”
As the two whispered to each other, they had already arrived at the arranged room, which was just one room. It seemed that someone had been arranged next door, but fortunately, there were barely enough beds in the room.
Bai Chunsheng could still accept this.
Wang Yu said, “The envoy from the Yusheng Sect just sent a message, saying they were delayed by the situation and might not arrive until tomorrow morning. If there’s any inconvenience, you can inform the attendant outside, but please refrain from moving around without permission. Thank you for your understanding.”
Bai Chunsheng nodded. “Alright.”
Outside the door, there was a foundational stage cultivator, accompanied by two beautiful Qi refining maids.
Bai Chunsheng saw a bronze mirror on the table beside the bed. Out of habit, he picked it up and looked at himself. He didn’t have much of a concept of human appearance. Even though his current appearance was disguised, he didn’t mind at all.
Looking into the bronze mirror, Bai Chunsheng imagined his original form. For a moment, he fantasized about having magnificent and dazzling feathers like a peacock, a bird body as large as his grandmother’s but not bulky, and if he could have a melodious voice like an oriole, that would be the best…
On the other side of the room, Yan Yi also stood in front of another bronze mirror. He had been using a face he casually conjured for so long that he hadn’t seen his current appearance yet.
Yan Yi frowned. Why did he look so ugly?
The foundational stage cultivator guarding the door watched the two of them, preventing Yan Yi and Bai Chunsheng from escaping. He couldn’t help but think to himself as he saw both of them coincidentally looking into the mirrors, “These two don’t look that great, yet they’re both quite narcissistic. No wonder they’re brothers.”
Huge shoutout to @_nyanmaru_ on Discord for commissioning this! The chapter will be posted regularly, show your support for Ciacia at Kofi.
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