Chapter Forty-One: The Return to Yang Family Village

"Hongye, help me! Please beg them for mercy! Save me!" Seeing that Yue Qi was about to kill him, Wang Jian had completely lost the will to resist. These were cultivators—people who could end his life with a mere flick of their finger. With his meager skills, how could he possibly stand against them?

"Get lost!" The youth called Hongye slapped Wang Jian to the ground, then stared fiercely at Yue Qi. Suddenly, his knees buckled and he knelt on the spot.

Yue Qi vaguely remembered this person. It seemed he had seen him back when he was still in Wang Jian’s camp, at a banquet hosted by Wang Jian for himself and Bai Lian. The youth had come in then, whispered something in Wang Jian’s ear. Yue Qi still recalled the resentment in the youth’s eyes as he looked at Wang Jian, yet he hadn’t expected Hongye would plead for Wang Jian now.

"If you want me to pardon him, forget it..." Yue Qi glanced at the handsome youth and spoke.

"No!" The youth’s reply was curt, then he cast an angry, venomous look at Wang Jian, who lay on the ground. "I want to ask the immortal to hand this beast’s life over to me. I want to kill him with my own hands!" As he spoke, Hongye knocked his head hard against the ground, refusing to lift it.

"Why?" Seeing Bai Lian move to help Hongye, Yue Qi stopped her with a gesture and asked.

"Because this beast killed my mother!" Hongye raised his head, his eyes bloodshot, his whole body trembling. "Wang Jian, you never expected this, did you? You tried to defile my mother, but she resisted... Then you called your accomplices to help you... In the end, she could not bear the humiliation and hanged herself..." Tears streamed down Hongye’s cheeks, but he stared at Wang Jian unflinchingly, his eyes burning with murderous intent.

"You—you—you’re her... No, no, you must be mistaken, it wasn’t me! Maybe it was my elder brother, yes, that’s right! It had to be my brother!" Wang Jian glanced at Hongye, shuddered in terror, and retreated several steps.

Hongye ignored him, knocking his head again toward Yue Qi. "If the immortal is willing to hand this beast over to me, I’m willing to be your slave, to die at your command without a word of complaint!"

"Go now, do it, kill him!" A wave of emotion stirred in Yue Qi—not out of pity, but because he thought of his own mother, still unconscious. If his mother had been murdered by villains, he too might have acted like this... Thinking of his family, Yue Qi felt an inexplicable urgency. The Yang Family Village... Hopefully nothing has happened there.

"Thank you, immortal!" Hongye knocked his head once more, then picked up an axe—apparently Liu Kui’s, who had died—walking step by step toward Wang Jian.

"Hongye! What are you doing?! Don’t, please don’t come any closer... It really wasn’t me, it wasn’t!" Wang Jian kept retreating, then fell to the ground.

"You’ve long deserved this day. I’ve endured humiliation under you for so long, all so I could one day take your life!" Hongye grinned—a cruel smile, chilling to the bone.

"You can’t betray me like this! If not for me, you’d have died when disaster struck! I saved you! I saved you!" Wang Jian, sprawling on the ground, kept retreating, looking at Hongye approaching with the axe. To Wang Jian, it was as if a demon from hell was coming for him.

"Hah! You saved me? You really did? And then?" Hongye’s face twisted in humiliation. "After you saved me, who did you hand me over to? Liu Kui, that pervert who likes boys? Ha, what a rescue! The only thing I regret is not mutating back then—otherwise, I’d have killed you first!"

"It’s not my fault, it was Liu Kui! Liu Kui asked me for you!" Despair filled Wang Jian’s face—a skilled fighter, now forced into hopelessness by a powerless youth. It was a pitiful sight.

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Yue Qi shook his head, astounded at Wang Jian’s depravity. He treated even his own subordinates this way; perhaps, in his eyes, anyone without use was just meat for the slaughter.

"Let’s go. There’s nothing left worth seeing," Yue Qi said to Bai Lian, taking her hand and walking toward the camp.

"Ah!!!" Behind them rose a blood-curdling scream as Hongye swung his axe again and again, hacking Wang Jian’s body until not a piece of flesh remained whole. Wang Jian’s cries faded, his face frozen in terror, his body lifeless.

"Remember to cut off his head, or he’ll turn into a zombie..." Bai Lian glanced back, the gruesome scene making her uncomfortable, but out of kindness she frowned and reminded him.

Hongye stopped, drenched in blood, his gaze dull. Hearing Bai Lian’s words, he snapped out of his stupor, a flicker of gratitude in his eyes, then severed Wang Jian’s head with one last blow.

Yue Qi did not stop Bai Lian’s reminder, only nodded to her. After so long together, Yue Qi had come to understand how kind-hearted this seemingly cold girl truly was.

"Immortal, please wait..." Yue Qi was about to climb the wall when Hongye suddenly spoke behind him. Was this youth so ungrateful? He’d already granted him revenge—what more did he want?

Yue Qi glanced back at Hongye, who felt as if he’d plunged into an icy lake, not daring to harbor any other thoughts. He hurriedly said, "Immortal, I know Wang Jian had a secret chamber filled with treasures, some rumored to be used by cultivators. Perhaps you could make use of them..."

"This..." Yue Qi frowned. He was pressed for time, eager to check on his family. But if the treasures were as Hongye claimed, he didn’t want to abandon them. If he left now, Wang Jian’s brother in Qingzhou would surely plunder everything.

"A Qi, you go back first. I’ll handle the rest," Bai Lian suddenly stepped forward.

"That’s... not wise. What if there’s an ambush?" Yue Qi said, though he didn’t really believe it. Their leader was dead; the remaining thugs were unlikely to stir up trouble.

"Don’t worry. If there’s an ambush, I’ll retreat and catch up with you immediately," Bai Lian gave him a reassuring look.

"Alright..." Yue Qi hesitated, glanced at the blood-soaked Hongye, and finally agreed.

"Tell me where they keep their horses, then take her to the secret chamber," Yue Qi said to Hongye, his voice brooking no argument. Hongye nodded hastily.

Relief washed over Hongye. The pressure from this cultivator was overwhelming, but thankfully he was leaving now. The fairy by his side was clearly more amiable—even offering him a reminder earlier.

"Bai Lian, be careful. Once you have the goods, hurry back to Yang Family Village," Yue Qi reminded her, then followed Hongye toward the stables.

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Racing through the countryside, Yue Qi wished he could strap wings to his horse. The road was rough, and after a day’s gallop, his mount was foaming at the mouth, yet he still hadn’t reached his desired speed.

He kept using the Water Nourishment spell—not for himself, but for the exhausted horse beneath him. No matter how he pushed, even a heavenly steed would surely falter. Each time he felt the horse slowing, he cast Water Nourishment to keep it going a bit longer.

The sun had slid from east to west, and finally, Yue Qi glimpsed the outline of Yang Family Village. But before he could approach, a strong stench of blood wafted toward him.

"Something’s wrong!" Yue Qi leapt from his horse, cast Wind-Borne Spell, and raced toward the village. The path ahead grew rough; expecting the horse to keep pace was unrealistic.

"Please, let nothing have happened..." Yue Qi prayed, his steps quickening. Trees flashed past, his speed rising to its limit.

Upon reaching Yang Family Village, the scene before him sent a shock through his body and soul. Two zombies wandered aimlessly at the gate. Seeing Yue Qi approach, they lunged at him.

"Out of my way!" Yue Qi roared, swung his sword, and cut off both their heads. Their clothing clearly wasn’t from Yang Family Village, making Yue Qi uneasy. It seemed that the man called Xiao Ke was right—they really had drawn zombies here.

Without pausing, Yue Qi rushed toward the makeshift camp he’d built. But once he arrived, the sight struck him again: a dozen zombies had trampled the newly built camp, and the courtyard was packed with them, but no living person could be seen.

"Leaf Slash!" Yue Qi closed his eyes, recited the spell, and a fierce wind arose, sending leaves raining from the trees, slicing toward the zombies.

"Slash, slash, slash..." The sound of heads splitting was like a death knell, and soon, not a single figure remained standing on the ground.

"Mother? Second Brother?!" Yue Qi entered the courtyard. Many had died; looking at those who’d fled from Yue Family Village with him, their bodies now torn and mangled, Yue Qi felt a chill in his heart.

"Who’s there?!" Suddenly, a voice called out from the nearby latrine. Yue Qi started, then raised his sword and charged over...

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