Free Web NovelChapter 390: Chapter 390: Safe and Sound
Under Commander Jia’s cold, murderous gaze, Qin Yu’s face turned ashen. He knew this matter was now out of his hands.
"Inform my father at once," he said to the steward beside him. Then, he spoke coldly, "Fine, Commander Jia. I, Qin Yu, will grant you this much respect and go with you. But let me be clear: the Qin family will not let what happened today rest."
As soon as he finished speaking, Qin Yu stepped out from the crowd and was immediately surrounded by a large group of Celestial Dragon Guards.
"’Will not let it rest,’ he says," Master Xuli sneered from the side, his voice ice-cold. He then turned to Ye Xuan and made a solemn promise. "Master Xuan Ye, rest assured. No matter who it is, if they dare to harm you, our Artifact Refining Workshop will not stand for it. We will fight them to the bitter end. I’d really like to see if there’s any law or justice left in this empire."
"Patriarch Luo Min, after you’ve handled matters concerning Master Xuan Ye, please come to the Celestial Dragon Guard headquarters. We will need your cooperation with our investigation."
In front of so many people, Commander Jia couldn’t show any particular emotion.
The disturbance quickly subsided.
Under the escort of the Celestial Dragon Guard, Qin Yu was taken to their headquarters. Even the Qin Clan’s Pill Pavilion was temporarily sealed.
Celestial Dragon Guards across the city mobilized, searching everywhere for the assailants.
It felt like the calm before a storm.
Meanwhile, the heavily injured Ye Xuan and Luo Cheng were taken back to the Luo family’s estate. With the help of the Artifact Refining Workshop, an elder from the Imperial Capital’s Alchemist Association soon arrived at the Luo residence to diagnose them.
"How is he? Is Master Xuan Ye alright?"
Master Xuli asked nervously.
"The young man named Luo Cheng is not in serious danger. He just took a powerful blow of Profound Power and needs time to recuperate. As for Xuan Ye... his injuries are grave. His internal organs have been severely damaged. It will be very difficult to treat him."
"What?" Xuli’s heart leaped into his throat.
"Heh heh, Master Xuli, you can relax. Although Xuan Ye’s injuries are severe, I fortunately arrived in time. He is no longer in mortal danger. It’s a good thing my treatment was timely."
The elder said, stroking his beard.
Master Xuli wanted to throttle the elder. ’Does he enjoy scaring people half to death by drawing things out like that?’
After giving a few more instructions, the elder took his leave.
Knowing Ye Xuan was out of danger, Xuli breathed a sigh of relief. After exchanging a few words with Ye Xuan, he hurried away to report to Master Lu Li.
He had to tell his master what happened today.
As one of the empire’s great noble houses, if a true conflict were to erupt with the Qin family, it wasn’t something a mere disciple of the Artifact Refining Workshop like him could handle.
"Young Master Ye, what happened today was my fault. I was negligent and failed to stop them in time."
Luo Min said with a look of shame, standing by Ye Xuan’s bed.
If he hadn’t been so far from Ye Xuan, Ye Xuan wouldn’t have suffered such a devastating blow.
However, he was also extremely confused. ’According to Luo Cheng’s original account, Young Master Ye’s power should be terrifying. How else could he have killed Qu Rufeng of the Qu family? But his performance in the market today showed none of the characteristics of such a master.’
"Heh heh, Patriarch Luo Min, what happened today had nothing to do with you."
Ye Xuan, who had been lying there grievously injured, suddenly flipped over and sat up, a faint smile on his face.
"Young Master Ye, you’re..." freewebnovёl.ƈom
Luo Min’s eyes went wide. ’What’s going on? A moment ago, Young Master Ye was grievously injured. How is he suddenly acting as if nothing happened?’
"You’re... not injured?"
He rubbed his eyes vigorously, as if he were seeing things.
"Relax. I was never really hurt. Take me to see Luo Cheng."
Ye Xuan patted Luo Min’s shoulder and said faintly, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes.
Soon, Ye Xuan and Luo Min arrived at Luo Cheng’s room.
"Young Master Ye, you’re alright! That’s great!" Luo Cheng exclaimed in delight upon seeing Ye Xuan unharmed. But his cry aggravated his own injuries, and he immediately grimaced in pain.
"Could a mere Martial Venerable injure me?" Ye Xuan smiled slightly. His Profound Sense permeated Luo Cheng’s body, scanning it completely. Then he took out a Pill. "Take this. By tomorrow, you should be back on your feet."
Luo Cheng gave a silly grin and swallowed the Pill from Ye Xuan in one gulp.
"Young Master Ye, what in the world is going on?"
Luo Min was completely bewildered.
"It’s nothing. I was just putting on an act."
"Putting on an act? Don’t tell me... you were the one who hired the assassin, Young Master Ye? Wasn’t it Qin Yu?" Luo Min’s eyes bulged.
"No, that’s not it. The assassin has a different employer. If I’m not mistaken, they were hired by the Qu family."
Ye Xuan said, his gaze profound.
"Hired by the Qu family?" Luo Min grew even more confused. If the Qu family had hired an assassin, shouldn’t the target have been him, the Patriarch of the Luo family? Why would they go after Ye Xuan?
"You don’t need to know the details. In any case, when you go to the Celestial Dragon Guard later, just insist that Qin Yu hired the assassin."
Ye Xuan smiled faintly. "That Qin Yu is so arrogant, isn’t he? Let him be the scapegoat. We’ll see how arrogant he is after this."
After he spoke, a cold, sharp light flashed deep in Ye Xuan’s eyes. ’I wonder if Crazy Battle will still suspect me after this performance,’ he thought darkly. ’To dare to make a move in the market... truly ruthless methods. If I don’t go to the Profound Mystery Sect one day and settle this score, my heart will never be at peace.’
He had sensed the assassin’s presence even before entering the Qin Clan’s Pill Pavilion. The reason he had maintained such a large distance from Luo Min was deliberate; he wanted to give them an opportunity to strike.
He knew that his aura alone was not enough to make Crazy Battle dismiss his suspicions. Knowing Crazy Battle’s personality, he was sure the man would devise other methods to test him.
And the simplest way to verify whether he was the one who killed Gale was to test his strength.
Therefore, from the moment he sensed the assassins, Ye Xuan was certain they had been sent by Crazy Battle.
So he simply played along and put on an act.
The only question now was whether Crazy Battle had fallen for it.
「Meanwhile, in a dense forest outside the Imperial Capital.」
SWOOSH! SWOOSH!
Two figures zipped through the air, coming to a swift stop in a mountain hollow.
They were none other than the burly man and the skinny Martial Artist who had attacked Ye Xuan earlier.
After they landed, two other men slowly emerged from the hollow. One of them possessed an extraordinary presence, his aura so overwhelming that one dared not meet his gaze. It was, as Ye Xuan had guessed, Crazy Battle. The other man, standing respectfully by Crazy Battle’s side, was none other than Patriarch Qu Aoyun of the Qu family.
"Patriarch Qu Aoyun, we Weei brothers have done what you asked. Isn’t it time you gave us our payment?"
the burly man said, staring at Qu Aoyun with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes.
"Does that mean you killed the boy?" Qu Aoyun asked, raising an eyebrow as his eyes lit up.
"Not exactly, but it’s close enough," the burly man chuckled. "The boy took a palm strike from me and a kick from my brother. Even if he’s not dead, he’s definitely not lightly injured."
"You two, tell me exactly what happened, from beginning to end," Crazy Battle said indifferently, stepping before the Weei brothers.
"It happened like this. At the time..."
The burly man immediately recounted the events in detail.
"When you first hired us, you never said we had to kill the boy. You just said we needed to attack him. So, when the Celestial Dragon Guard arrived, we feared exposure and left at the first opportunity," the burly man explained.
The two were known as the Weei brothers. The burly man was Weei Da, and the skinny Martial Artist was Weei Er. They were two infamous assassins from the vicinity of the Imperial Capital who would do anything for money.
They had attacked Ye Xuan because they were hired by Qu Aoyun.
Qu Aoyun had found them and tasked them with finding an opportunity to strike at Ye Xuan within the Imperial Capital.
The Weei brothers had initially been unwilling. After all, the Imperial Capital had strict rules. If they dared to make a move so openly and were discovered, they would undoubtedly face the full wrath of the Celestial Dragon Guard.
However, Qu Aoyun offered them a payment they simply couldn’t refuse. He also promised that as long as they attacked with their full strength, the mission would be considered complete regardless of whether Ye Xuan lived or died. Only then did the two accept the job.
"So you’re saying the boy’s strength is actually quite average? How does he compare to a Tier Six Second Layer Martial Venerable?"
After hearing the Weei brothers’ account, Crazy Battle’s brow furrowed deeply.
"I wouldn’t say average, exactly. He’s at least the most powerful genius I’ve ever seen. He’s definitely no weaker than an ordinary Tier Five Peak Martial Sect, and perhaps even close to a Tier Six First Layer Martial Venerable. But compared to a Tier Six Second Layer Martial Venerable, he should still be a long way off," the burly man replied earnestly after careful consideration.
"Are you certain he wasn’t holding back?" Crazy Battle asked again.
"You jest, Your Excellency," Weei Da snorted coldly. "I, Weei Da, wasn’t born yesterday. I can tell whether a mere boy is holding back or not. To be frank, if it weren’t for that Luo Min, the boy would be dead ten times over."
"Even with Luo Min, the boy has probably lost half his life. My kick was enough to shatter his internal organs. An ordinary Alchemist would have a hard time saving him," the skinny Martial Artist added confidently.
Crazy Battle pondered for a moment before asking in a grave voice, "At the time, did you sense any other experts secretly protecting the boy?"
"Other experts?"
The burly man and the skinny Martial Artist glanced at each other, and both shook their heads.
"There shouldn’t have been. If there was, then that expert has slow reflexes and is a complete idiot. After all, if the Celestial Dragon Guard hadn’t arrived just in time, and if we hadn’t been afraid of exposing our identities, that boy would have died a hundred times over by now." ƒrēewebnovel.com
Crazy Battle proceeded to ask several more questions, which the Weei brothers answered one by one.
