Chapter 3817: Couldn't Stand By

Lu Yin heard people gossiping, as did the patriarch of Linlu Manor. The man’s expression changed just slightly. He’s from the Skyward Gate’s Luo family? That’s a problem.

Just moments ago, the patriarch of Linlu Manor had seen the man making things difficult for the Autumnspring Slip’s disciples, and he had stepped forward on impulse. When the women from Deathmound’s Third Peak had started to cause trouble earlier, the man had not dared to interfere, but he had decided to make a stand against Lu Yin. It was unexpected for the young man to be from the Skyward Gate’s Luo family.

While the Luo family was just a family, the same as Linlu Manor, the gap between the two was vast. The Luo family was no weaker than any of the great sects, and they were fully qualified to stand on the same level as the Autumnspring Slip.

This is big trouble. No wonder the brat was willing to offend the Autumnspring Slip.

With that, the patriarch’s expression grew much softer. “Young man, these disciples of the Autumnspring Slip work hard to operate their stalls. Why not go easy on them? If you like a character, I’ll buy one for you. What do you say?”

The man did not dare to risk offending the Luo family, but he also did not want to be humiliated in front of the Autumnspring Slip. As such, he needed to pay a price.

Lu Yin glanced at the hand on his shoulder, and the middle-aged man quickly snatched it back while showing a big, friendly smile.

“You’re offering to buy a character for me?”

“I am. Which one caught your eye? I’ll buy it. Just please, don’t make things difficult for these disciples. They really do have a tough enough time as it is.”

The mustachioed disciple glanced from the patriarch of Linlu Manor to Lu Yin. It was clear that the middle-aged man was unwilling to offend the Luo family. Frankly, neither did the vendor. He was nothing more than an ordinary disciple of the Autumnspring Slip and was in no position to start a conflict with the Luo family. This was the best outcome that he could hope for.

Lu Yin nodded. “In that case, thank you.”

With that, he pointed at the Sever (绝) character. “That one. The brushwork isn’t bad.”

The middle-aged man looked over at the mustachioed vendor. “I’ll buy that one for this young man here.”

The disciple was thrilled. Selling even just one character would net him a tidy profit. At the same time, he silently praised the middle-aged man for his tact. By not openly revealing the troublesome man’s identity, the patriarch appeared quite generous. If things had been stated explicitly, his favor would lose almost all weight.

Suddenly, the vendor’s expression fell.

At some point in time, three women had appeared, and they had surrounded the stall and the three men. They were women from Deathmound’s Third Peak.

The mustachioed man’s expression turned bitter. He had been so focused on the troublemaker targeting his stall that he had completely forgotten about the dangerous fanatics from Deathmound. This was the end; his stall would be destroyed, and he might even end up being beaten.

The middle-aged man’s expression did not change at all. In fact, he felt that the women’s sudden appearance was perfect. This meant that he would not need to buy anything. Simply getting the young man away from trouble would be good enough. As for the Autumnspring Slip disciple, the patriarch could do nothing more. He had already stood up for the sect, and that would have to be good enough.

“We suspect that a criminal is hiding in your stall. You, with the mustache, come with us.” One of the women reached out and grabbed the vendor by the back of his neck, holding him tightly.

The disciple did not dare to resist, even though his face grew deathly pale.

All of the characters from the book stall were scattered, some across the ground, while a few stuck to the disciple’s body.

Lu Yin moved forward, and while no one could see how he managed it, he was already standing beside the vendor as he effortlessly grabbed the Sever (绝) character.

Lu Yin’s actions shocked everyone watching. His movements proved that he was a true expert.

The patriarch’s pupils shrank. Not even he had been able to see how the young man moved, but how was that possible? How could someone so young pull something like that off?

The women from the Third Peak stared at Lu Yin in surprise. After he grabbed the character, he waved at the women. They gave him a long look, but then they dragged the vendor away.

“That’s my character! I wasn’t even paid for it! Let me go...”

Lu Yin smiled.

Excellent! I got another one for free.

Shui Su’s eyes sparkled as she stared at the character in Lu Yin’s hand. As unbelievable as it seemed, the man had taken action twice in a row and obtained two characters for free. It even seemed possible that he might have gotten one of the Worldscript’s hidden characters. If that was true, then the character was incredibly valuable.

The women from Deathmound did not cause any trouble for Lu Yin. They merely took the mustachioed disciple away.

The middle-aged man invited Lu Yin for a drink, but Lu Yin declined. “Didn’t you say that you’d buy me a character? Let’s go.”

The patriarch was stunned, and he looked down at the “绝” character in Lu Yin’s hand.

The character was quickly put away. “I got this one on my own, which has nothing to do with you. Let’s look elsewhere.”

With that, Lu Yin immediately moved to look for the next book stall. “These Autumnspring Slip disciples run faster than rabbits. Where did they all go?”

The middle-aged man stared at Lu Yin’s back, dazed.

He’s completely shameless!

The members of the Luo family were also observing Lu Yin. They stared at the middle-aged man, having no idea what had just happened and were feeling thoroughly confused.

The same scenario repeated again. Lu Yin continued to search for stalls, only to move on after just glancing at each one. The Autumnspring Slip disciples did not want to deal with Lu Yin, but they could not move fast enough to escape from him. They had nowhere to hide.

The women from Deathmound had already understood what they needed to do: just follow Lu Yin. He would invariably catch up to an Autumnspring Slip disciple, force them to stop, and check their characters for sale. Even the brief glance that Lu Yin needed was enough for Deathmound to make their arrests.

For a time, chaos reigned in Ridgeplain.

the patriarch of Linlu Manor was trapped; he could not caution the brash young man he traveled with, but it was also wrong to stay silent. The problem was that the man could not stop Lu Yin, and it had become clear that Lu Yin was deliberately stirring up trouble. If the man tried to intervene, he would only bring disaster upon his Linlu Manor.

The members of the Luo family also did nothing to try to stop Lu Yin. They carried a strong grudge against the Autumnspring Slip. If not for Qian Shu, Luo Ning would not have suffered an accident, and the family still did not know if the man had survived or not. They had been sent to Ridgeplain by the Luo family to demand an explanation from the Autumnspring Slip, despite them knowing that they would likely return without anything.

With someone deliberately making trouble for the Autumnspring Slip, the members of the Luo family did not care if that man was borrowing their name. They would sort things out with him later, after he caused a bit of trouble.

Soon after, an important member of the Autumnspring Slip moved out. His name was Mr. Mo, and he had reached the Senior Scribe realm.

The Autumnspring Slip had a unique cultivation system, much like the Everchange Valley. In fact, all of the megaverse’s major powers had started preparations for the competition for the title of Lesser Sancte long ago. Each group had attempted to create their own, unique cultivation system. This was just in case if one of their members was otherwise qualified to compete for the position of Lesser Sancte, their cultivation method would not become an obstacle. Without such precautions, it would be incredibly difficult for someone to forge a new path for themselves so late in their path.

The Everchange Valley had the Ten Changes realm, Hundred Changes realm, Thousand Changes realm, Myriad Changes Realm, and the Heaven and Earth Phenomena realm.

The Autumnspring Slip used the ranks of Junior Scribe, Senior Scribe, and Master Scribe.

While the Autumnspring Slip had fewer realms in their system, progressing from one stage to another was exceedingly difficult.

At the moment, there was only one person in all of the Autumnspring Slip who had reached the realm of Master Scribe: Ying Mei, the Autumnspring Slip’s sect master.

Qian Shu’s guardian, Granny Ya, had reached the Senior Scribe realm.

Qian Shu himself had only reached the Junior Scribe realm.

As for Mr. Mo, he was another Senior Scribe cultivator.

When Mr. Mo appeared, he immediately protected the Autumnspring Slip disciples who were being harassed by the women of Deathmound. As soon as the man appeared, the women grew more cautious.

Mr. Mo completely ignored the women. No matter how much trouble Deathmound might cause, all their efforts only cost the Autumnspring Slip some time. Rather, the man was genuinely concerned about Lu Yin. That was because the “绝” (Sever) character that Lu Yin had acquired had been drawn by Mr. Mo himself. For someone to succeed in finding one of the hidden characters so quickly, it was clear to Mr. Mo that the young man was no ordinary individual.

“I am Mr. Mo, a Senior Scribe cultivator from the Autumnspring Slip. May I ask who you are, sir?” Mr. Mo spoke slowly while observing Lu Yin.

The pressure of a Dukkhan surged out, making it difficult for anyone in the area to even breath.

Shui Su barely managed to endure it. She gasped for breath as she stared at Mr. Mo in fear.

In clear contrast, Lu Yin was completely unaffected. He just calmly met Mr. Mo’s gaze.

The moment the two men’s eyes met, Mr. Mo’s oppressive aura vanished.

His expression changed, and his eyes grew sharp as he focused more intently on Lu Yin. “You are not a member of the Skyward Gate’s Luo family.”

A wave of commotion swept through the crowd. Was this man not a member of the Luo family?

the patriarch of Linlu Manor looked grim. He knew that he had been deceived, but he still did not dare to make any fuss. Mr. Mo’s pressure had been completely neutralized, evidently by the young man. That required astounding strength, which meant that he was not someone whom the patriarch could afford to provoke.

When the patriarch thought back to when he had clapped a hand onto the young man’s shoulder, he could not suppress a sudden chill. His back was instantly soaked with cold sweat.

Lu Yin clasped his hands behind his back. “Whether I am or not, does that change whether I can buy a character?”

Mr. Mo’s expression grew cold. “But you didn’t buy one.”

The mustachioed disciple came running up from behind the elder, completely disheveled in a panic. “Mr. Mo! That man stole my character! He didn’t pay!”

Lu Yin arched a brow. “Hey, mustache man, are you deaf? Did I ever say that I’d pay? Talk to him.”

He pointed right over at the patriarch of Linlu Manor.

The middle-aged man’s expression grew worse than ever.

The disciple tried to speak, but Mr. Mo raised a hand, cutting him off. The elder’s eyes remained locked onto Lu Yin. “Since you haven’t paid, there’s been no sale. Return the character.”

Lu Yin chuckled. “What is it with you people from the Autumnspring Slip? Are all of you deaf? Talk to

him

. Do you not understand basic language?”

Mr. Mo did not even glance at the patriarch of Linlu Manor. Instead, he stepped closer to Lu Yin. “You have insulted my Autumnspring Slip too much. You want a character without paying for it? That’s not how the Worldscript works. Return it.”

Even as he spoke, Mr. Mo lashed out with a palm strike. A Seize (抓) character was hidden in his grasp. While the man might be wary of Lu Yin, Mr. Mo did not fear the young man. After all, they were in the Autumnspring Slip’s own territory. No matter how strong the man might be, could he fight against all of the Autumnspring Slip?

On top of that, many families and sects that were allied with the Autumnspring Slip were also present for the Worldscript.

While they might be forced to tolerate whatever trouble Deathmound caused, why did they need to tolerate this solitary young man?

Lu Yin calmly watched Mr. Mo attack. All eyes were focused on Lu Yin at this moment, as people eagerly watched to see how he would react.

Lu Yin never moved, because there was no need to. Someone else would deal with the attack for him.

A graceful figure appeared between the two men, and the cold glint of a short blade flashed out, cutting through the sky and the ground while slicing the “Seize” character.

Mr. Mo quickly fell back, stunned from having his character cleaved in two. In front of him was a fierce, warped face. “Long Yin?”

A thin figure had appeared in front of Lu Yin, yet they gave off a faint scent of blood. From the woman’s neck alone, it was clear that she had to be quite beautiful. Her skin was pale, yet it flushed an unhealthy red. Her conical hat moved with the wind, and the sheathes of two short blades hung at her sides. The cold edges of her knives were chilling to see.

This was Long Yin, the Peak Lord of Deathmound’s Third Peak.

Every time Deathmound caused trouble for the Worldscript, Long Yin inevitably appeared. However, no one had expected her to defend Lu Yin.

All the nearby women from Deathmound quickly bowed. “Greetings, Peak Lord.”

“Greetings, Peak Lord.”

“Greetings, Peak Lord...”

The onlookers froze stiff, going as silent as cicadas in winter. They gaped at Long Yin, feeling multiple emotions, including fear, envy, awe, and unease. It was hard to say if the feelings were roused by the woman herself or by Deathmound.

Deathmound was truly unique.

The patriarch of Linlu Manor, the members of the Luo family, and all the disciples from the Autumnspring Slip who were close by stared at him, wondering just what Lu Yin’s identity might be. Could he be another person from Deathmound?

Mr. Mo’s face fell. “Peak Lord Long Yin, what is the meaning of this?”

Long Yin lifted her eyes to meet the man’s gaze. The cold glow of her twin blades continued to emanate for a full meter around her. Anyone looking at her would feel as if their vision itself was being cut, and their eyes stung. “Couldn’t stand by.”

Mr. Mo laughed. His voice dripped with sarcasm. “This man has been harassing the Autumnspring Slip and has stolen from a disciple. I intervened, as I should. What is it that you can’t stand?”

Long Yin’s voice was hoarse, sounding like a blade scraping across a metal block. “It’s just an excuse. Did you actually believe me? No matter who causes trouble for you... I’ll help them.”

Everyone was stunned. That was just too blunt.

Lu Yin was speechless, and he was instantly reminded of Chao Yi. The two peak lords were exactly the same. Their behaviors were practically indistinguishable from each other. Was this a signature trait of Deathmound’s people? Brutal honesty?