I quickly turned around, wanting to see where the woman named Song Rou had gone. But she was nowhere to be seen.
Damn! Could she really be a master? A woman, looking no more than twenty or thirty, how could she possibly have a cultivation level higher than mine?
I must have been mistaken. Maybe I was just thinking and momentarily careless? Hmm, that might be it. How could I assume everyone I bumped into was a master? I must have been too nervous.
Thinking to myself, I shook my head, found a secluded spot, and flew back to the Xia family.
Cultivation is indeed amazing; at least being able to fly has saved me a lot on travel expenses.
After greeting Uncle Fu, I went to the backyard to find the old man. He’s currently in charge of household affairs, while my aunt manages the Xia family’s businesses.
If it weren’t for my aunt being a woman, I probably wouldn’t be the head of the Xia family.
Actually, I don’t really want to manage the family’s affairs. After all, I’m a person who yearns for freedom. When the time is right, I’ll hand over the position of family head to my aunt.
The old man was tending to his flowers and plants; I really don’t understand the point of these things.
“I’m back!” I greeted the old man.
The old man stopped what he was doing, looked at me, and smiled, saying, “What did you find?”
I took out the transparent bead and handed it to the old man, saying, “I found a second bead.”
“What?!” The old man was stunned.
I sighed helplessly, “While finding this bead is a good thing—we have another clue—it also brings bad news.”
“Tell me,” the old man said, placing the bead on the table and looking at me.
“It seems no one in the ancient martial arts world recognizes this. I suspect the people who killed my parents might be even stronger than those in ancient martial arts families!” I couldn’t directly tell the old man that my guess was that he was a cultivator; after all, cultivation was too terrifying for him to accept.
Besides, if I revealed it, the old man would definitely stop me from seeking revenge because his opponent was too strong.
“Although I don’t know why those people haven’t attacked our Xia family, keeping the bead with you isn’t a long-term solution. Let me keep it safe!” I said to the old man.
Although the bead only contained a trace of spiritual energy, I was afraid they would eventually come after the Xia family. It was better to keep it with me.
The old man knew my current strength, so he nodded and we went back into the Xia family’s secret chamber.
I took the bead out of the brocade box and began to compare it. The two beads were identical, both transparent, and my spiritual power couldn’t detect any difference.
What did it mean that the two beads were exactly the same? Also, this piece of cloth was left behind by the people who killed my parents, but this kind of cloth is extremely peculiar, somewhat resembling ancient clothing.
How am I supposed to find it? There are so few clues. Although there’s only one truth, I’m not Conan, what should I do!
Seeing me lost in thought, the old man quietly left sometime during the night, seemingly not wanting to disturb me.
I sighed and stored the two beads and the tattered cloth in my storage ring.
I got up and left the study, returning to my room.
At the early Lunar Reflection stage, simply sitting and cultivating is not a solution; the spiritual energy is far too scarce.
Moreover, there’s only one Thousand-Year Blood Ginseng King left, which I’m saving for when I break through to the mid-Lunar Reflection stage.
Foundation Building Pills are useless to me now; at most, they can detoxify and have a beautifying effect.
That’s it! I can give the Foundation Building Pills to Zhang Yu and the others, so they can become experts capable of contending with Ancient Martial Profound Rank masters.
Putting everything else aside, at least I can protect myself when investigating information.
Looks like I’ll have to collect some martial arts techniques and internal energy cultivation methods for them.
As for the Nine Revolutions of Heaven and Earth, it’s strange. I seem to only know how to perform the rotations, but I can’t teach it to anyone else. This must be Niu Shisan’s doing.
Just then, Uncle Fu suddenly walked in and said to me, “Master, tomorrow is the 70th birthday of the Hao family’s old patriarch. The Hao family has specially sent someone to deliver an invitation, inviting you to attend.”
Hao Shuai mentioned it to me last time, but I forgot. My memory is really not very good. Since Hao Shuai specially sent someone to deliver the invitation, I’ll go tomorrow. I can also see Fatty and bring Zhang Yu and the others along; it’s been a long time since we’ve all gotten together.
“Okay, tell the messenger I’ll be there tomorrow. Just put the invitation on the table!” I said to Uncle Fu.
“Then this old servant will take his leave!” Uncle Fu said, and left. Uncle Fu is clearly a Profound-rank expert, a very impressive figure in the secular world. So why is he working as a butler in the Xia family?
Actually, the Xia family was one of the top four families in the old man’s generation, only slightly stronger than the Li family, which was wiped out.
As for why they were ranked first among the four families, it’s likely due to Uncle Fu. A Profound-rank expert plays a significant role in the secular world.
But the old man and Uncle Fu never mention their youth. They don’t want to talk about it, so I won’t ask. Anyway, for the Xia family, this is a good thing.
“Wow, an invitation! Remember to invite me to this big birthday celebration!” Wu Ming suddenly appeared, fiddling with the invitation, and said.
This guy always shows up unexpectedly, it’s really annoying. Right! Wu Ming is knowledgeable; he must recognize those two beads, and maybe even that tattered cloth! Thinking it over, I took out the two beads and said to Wu Ming, “Do you recognize these?”
“What?” Wu Ming threw the invitation on the table, picked up the two beads, and frowned. “I feel like I’ve seen these somewhere before, but I can’t quite place them.”
“You’ve seen them?! That’s great! You must think carefully; this is very important to me!” I said anxiously to Wu Ming, afraid he wouldn’t understand the gravity of the situation, and told him the true cause of my parents’ deaths.
Wu Ming also frowned. “You mean your parents didn’t die in a car accident?”
Wu Ming suddenly closed his eyes, his fingers tapping incessantly on the table. After a while, his face darkened, he opened his eyes. “Your parents’ fates were shielded by magic, and the spellcaster was quite skilled, so I couldn’t see through it…”
“You mean the person who killed my parents was more powerful than you?!” If that were true, then I might never be able to take revenge!
Upon hearing my words, Wu Ming immediately became anxious: “Are you kidding me? What cultivation level do I have? No one could possibly be better than me! It’s just that my cultivation isn’t exactly twice as high as the spellcaster’s, so I can’t figure out what’s going on!” Wu Ming suddenly changed his tone, looking at me and saying, “Don’t you still have a piece of cloth? Take it out and let me see it; maybe it can provide some clues.”
That’s right! I still hadn’t shown him the cloth. Thinking this, I took out the cloth and handed it to Wu Ming.
Wu Ming’s previously relaxed expression suddenly turned serious. He handed the cloth directly to me: “Xia Tian… I can’t help you this time. Everything depends on yourself. No matter how strong I am, it’s not yours. It’s better to rely on yourself than others. When you’re strong enough one day, you’ll know the identity of your enemy without me having to tell you.”
Hearing Wu Ming’s words, my chest felt like it was being hammered.
What cultivation level did Wu Ming have? Someone who could cleave through heavenly tribulations with a sword, and he said he couldn’t help me? Just how powerful was my enemy?!
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Check out my other projects: My Dream Goddess (Adu1t, M@ture, ξcchi, H@rem), My Midnight Livestream (Horror), Flower Stealing Master, Ask the Mirror (recommended), The Way of Restraint (recommended), Immortal Divine Tribulation, Hedonist Prodigy