Chapter 142 – A Strange Black-Market Underworld, Uniting the Power of Three Counties - Part 1

A few days later, at the Hundred Lotus Manor.

Unlike little Ping’an, who was constantly in tears, Sheng'er was all giggles.

Tap, tap, tap...

Using her tiny walking cane, she struck the ground under the eaves, listening to that clear, crisp sound, and watching herself walk from the crow’s vantage point.

If someone always saw themselves from a third-person perspective, what would they feel in their heart? For an adult, it might be like playing a video game. Putting it nicely, you could call that detachment. Put less nicely, it was outright indifference.

But for a child who’d never once seen the world from her own eyes, who also realized that, aside from her father, everyone around her was entirely different—well, that was something beyond any mere game. No one else had ever experienced such a thing, so no one really knew what it was like.

After a snowfall, the sky cleared.

Sheng'er, dressed in soft pink and fair as jade, was a delight. Though only a bit over one year old, she was already toddling around without much fuss, to the utter envy of Xue Ning. It was easy to imagine she’d soon become one of those

other children

whose shining example would cast poor Ping’an’s childhood under a long shadow.

Once Li Yuan departed, Sheng’er whacked her little cane in frustration, clung to her mother’s hand, and piped up with her latest new word, “Go!”

Yan Yu took a while to figure out what she meant. At last, she squatted down and asked gently, “Are you looking for your father?”

Sheng'er’s eyes shone like milky glass, strange at first glance but surprisingly adorable the more you saw them. She continued tugging on her mother’s hand, like a boatman hauling a barge, as though trying to drag her mother outside. But after just one step, her tiny foot wobbled, and she toppled forward onto the ground.

Yan Yu scooped her up with an exasperated laugh. “Your father will come back soon. Let’s be good and wait for him at home, alright?”

“Waaah!” Sheng'er burst into tears. Yan Yu quickly cradled her and began humming a lullaby to calm her down. The crow on the rooftop quietly observed the scene, as though watching a play. Once Sheng'er was done bawling, she sniffled and demanded again, “Go!”

Yan Yu sighed. “Alright, then. Mama will take you out to have a look around.”

With that, she picked Sheng'er up and went to invite Xue Ning. But since little Ping’an couldn’t yet walk and would undoubtedly cry in an unfamiliar place, Xue Ning politely declined.

Before long, a carriage slowly rumbled out of the estate, driven by Zhou Jia.

This man with speckled white hair had listened as Li Yuan revealed himself to be the Blood Blade Patriarch. He’d even witnessed Li Yuan unleash that move called City Toppler.

Afterwards, Li Yuan had patted him on the shoulder, just as he had done with Zhao Chunxin, and said, “Old Zhou, if it’s your heart that’s wounded, heal it now. I’ll teach you this move.”

To Zhou Jia, it felt like a dream. At first, he was left dumbstruck, unable to believe it. Then he trembled with excitement. Afterward, he spent restless nights tossing and turning, thinking only of that single attack—City Toppler.

Why such obsession? If it were just about raw power, he wouldn’t care this much. The real reason was that Zhou Jia recognized traces of Spring Thunder, Spring Awakening, and Leaping Abyss in City Toppler—the three signature forms of the Fallen Moon School—combined and taken one step further.

Once upon a time, he’d only wanted to guard the Fallen Moon School’s final seedling from the sidelines. Now, though, his hopes had grown. A new vitality took root in him. While everyone else called Li Yuan the Blood Blade Patriarch, Zhou Jia found himself believing a different, far-fetched possibility. It was that Li Yuan was a once-in-ten-thousand-year genius. Otherwise, why would he avoid using his own style? Why did every trace of City Toppler look so distinctly like the Fallen Moon School’s moves?

Zhou Jia’s once withered heart suddenly began to blossom again. In the past, he had simply longed to protect that tiny glimmer of hope for the Fallen Moon School. Now, that hope had turned into his very faith. So, before Li Yuan left, Zhou Jia nodded his silent agreement. In the ashes of his once despairing heart, a fierce new desire had arisen.

At present, Zhou Jia raised the reins with calm steadiness, about to set the carriage in motion, when a black shape leapt out with a sudden

whoosh

.

A hulking outline, like a small mountain, planted itself before the carriage. Zhou Jia pulled on the reins to stop, staring at the towering black demon dog, bigger than a grown man. Its eerie green eyes glowed with murderous intent, and drool dribbled from its jaws as though it might devour someone at any moment. Between its fangs, it was gripping something he couldn’t quite make out.

If they weren’t still within the inner courtyard, Zhou Jia would have already drawn his blade. He’d heard rumors about the estate’s guardian demon dogs, but never imagined they could look like this.

Sensing the carriage had stopped, Yan Yu, holding Sheng'er in one arm, lifted the curtain for a look. She immediately recognized the formidable seventh rank ebony marquis, fully capable of biting an expert like Tie Sha to death.

Li Yuan had told her about everything, so she understood at once. He must have seen them heading out through his gyrfalcon, then ordered one of the ebony marquises to go along as their bodyguard. In Gemhill County, where even eighth rank martial artists could run roughshod over most folks, a hound that could kill a sect master was an absolute top-tier guard.

𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

Before Li Yuan revealed his identity as the Blood Blade Patriarch, he had kept his beast taming skills carefully hidden. Now that his secret was out, the demon dogs in the inner courtyard no longer needed to be chained. Naturally, when she went out, a proud seventh rank demon dog could openly accompany her.

“Old Zhou, it’s our own dog. It wants to get in.” Yan Yu called out.

Zhou Jia made room.

The ebony marquis loped over, bounded up onto the driver’s seat, causing the whole carriage to sink slightly. It squeezed into the compartment, sticking its muzzle right in front of Yan Yu. Clamped in its jaws was a collar and leash.

Yan Yu couldn’t help but smile, silently praising her husband’s thoughtfulness. He must’ve realized that letting a seventh rank demon dog run freely on the streets would terrify the townsfolk, so he had arranged for it to bring its own collar.

“Alright, Old Zhou, let’s go,” she said. Then she began to fasten the collar around the hound’s neck.

The big dog stayed perfectly still, while Sheng'er—seated beside her mother—fearlessly petted it, letting out a childish giggle. “Woof, woof~!”

The carriage wheels turned, and two crows spread their black wings, slicing through the cold wind as they accompanied the carriage.

Before long, Silver Creek’s main street was treated to an arresting sight—a petite, graceful beauty walking a dog. This was no ordinary dog but a massive black demon dog, easily bigger than she was. Its body radiated a fearsome aura that could stop a wailing child mid-cry and send passersby running for cover. Even the local butchers, cleavers in hand, went stiff at the sight.

To top it off, a sweet little girl perched on the dog’s back. Anyone could see the child’s eyes were blind, yet no one dared mock her.

Though Zhou Jia figured his presence barely mattered compared to this beast, capable of biting him in half if it wanted, he still carried his blade, quietly following behind as a secondary bodyguard.

The demon dog might be fearsome, but many people in Silver Creek knew this gentle young woman.

“Madam Yan, taking a walk?”

“Oh, merciful Saintess Yan!”

She smiled and nodded to everyone. Of course, she couldn’t actually take Sheng'er to see Li Yuan. This outing was simply to humor her daughter, taking her on a stroll through town.

Yan Yu bought Sheng'er some candy. When the girl began slurping it, she settled down and stopped fussing. After some thought, Yan Yu led the dog toward the shanty district.

The district manager hurried over to greet her, nervously polite and visibly sweating. Before, she was merely Elder Li’s wife; now, she was the Blood Blade Patriarch’s wife. Her already lofty status had risen to the highest pinnacle.

Strolling along with the ebony marquis, Yan Yu passed by the cramped little shelter where she and her husband had first stayed. Inside, someone was bragging, “This place might be a dump, but the Blood Blade Patriarch lived in this very room once...”

The manager’s face darkened. He was about to knock on the door and scold the braggart, but Yan Yu raised a hand to stop him. She had not come here for any of that; her real destination was Feng’er’s home.

That house had neither been rented out nor had its locks changed. The manager rushed ahead to unlock the door, while Zhou Jia slipped inside first, giving every corner a quick inspection before signaling that all was clear.

Yan Yu stepped in. A layer of dust covered the wooden table, the vanity, the wardrobe. Cobwebs clung to the corners. On the table, the letter written two years ago was still there, along with a pile of coins, left untouched.

She sighed softly.

But Sheng'er abruptly burst into gleeful babbling, waving her tiny hands at the old mirror as if asking it to pick her up.

Yan Yu walked over to the mirror, breathed on it, and wiped away the dust, revealing the reflections of herself, her daughter, and the ebony marquis.

“It’s just a bronze mirror,” she said with a laugh.

Then, in the next instant, she felt something wasn’t right. Her daughter’s crows hadn’t flown inside, so Sheng'er should technically be unable to see anything...so why was she waving at the mirror?

She circled the place a bit but noticed nothing else amiss. With that, she led her daughter out of the shanty district.

Not long after they left, a bearded man in the uniform of the Fortune Trading Company appeared outside the very same house. He stared at the door that had just been shut with a conflicted, frustrated look, clenched his fists, and spat on the ground.

A voice called from nearby, “Ya little punk, Lu! Get over here and help!”

“I’m coming!” the bearded man answered hastily, then hurried away.

That man was Bear.

Back during the unrest in the Fragrant General’s camp, he’d been separated from his unit and ended up fleeing in a panic. He went back to being called Lu Ergou and grew out his beard to hide his identity. Drifting about from one place to another, never truly able to settle, he eventually avoided returning to Antelope Pass and lingered around Flowerpath and Southsky, scraping by on odd jobs.

Recently, he happened upon a recruitment notice from the Fortune Trading Company. He passed with his sturdy frame and ended up back in Gemhill. Yet he still didn’t dare set foot in Little Ink Village. Today, he had a job in Silver Creek’s shanty district and used the chance to check on his old residence.

By now, Bear was well aware of the most startling news in Gemhill. Li Yuan was in fact the Blood Blade Patriarch.

Logically, that shouldn’t have provoked any reaction from him. But right now, his heart was suddenly consumed with hatred.

From a distance, he watched that graceful woman walking her giant dog, with a little blind girl riding on its back, and rage burned in his eyes.

“Why?” he muttered to himself. “Why? Damn them!”

“Li Yuan, Yan Yu... you both deserve to die! Why did you have to destroy my future? If not for you two, maybe Gemhill would have long since fallen to the Fragrant General!”

“I was a hundred-man captain, A captain!”

Once Bear learned that Li Yuan was actually the Blood Blade Patriarch, the embers of hatred in his heart flared to life.

It has to be a treasure!

he thought.

He can’t really be some centuries-old monster. He must be carrying a treasure around!

What sort of treasure? He had no idea, but he was certain it existed.

Grinding his fists together, seething with this dark obsession, he spat, “In this world, everyone dies in the end. I’ll see how

you

die!”

Just then, an abrupt, raspy caw sounded above him.