Chapter Forty-Nine: Must Be Killed (Second Update)

After tidying up, Feng Yuan and Hu Xiao left the house and hired a donkey cart to return to the village. All the way, Feng Yuan was preoccupied with the events of the previous night. This Master Zhang was truly ruthless—without a word, he had sent someone to kill him, and that assassin was a wolf demon. It seemed likely that Master Zhang himself was also a wolf demon.

No wonder the Zhang family had managed to become one of the great clans of Feng City in just a few years. So it was because they were monsters.

It was a pity he wasn't strong enough. If he had been able to handle last night's wolf demon, Feng Yuan would never have let Master Zhang off the hook—he'd have stormed straight to his door and cut him down.

“Should I report this to the authorities and let Prefect Liu deal with Master Zhang?” Feng Yuan wondered to himself. But he quickly shook his head, dismissing the idea. For all he knew, Prefect Liu might also be a monster. After all, both of them wanted Feng Yuan's help in writing novels; their goals were the same, and it was hard to say they weren't the same kind.

Monsters could disguise themselves as humans, and ordinary people couldn’t tell the difference. Even Feng Yuan, a cultivator himself, couldn't see through their facades.

Besides, even if Prefect Liu wasn’t a monster, he might not be willing to help. Master Zhang had been entrenched in Feng City for years—surely Prefect Liu knew about him already, but probably chose to ignore him, perhaps because he couldn't defeat Master Zhang either. This was not unlikely.

After pondering for a while, Feng Yuan looked at Hu Xiao and asked quietly, “Xiao Xiao, if a monster were to take on human form and stand before you, would you be able to recognize them?”

“I could,” Hu Xiao replied, nodding.

“Then tell me, is Master Zhang a monster?”

“He is. That’s why I suggested you return to the village, young master,” Hu Xiao said, looking at him.

“Oh, so that’s why you suddenly made that suggestion!” Feng Yuan realized. “What about Prefect Liu—do you think he’s a monster?”

“No, he’s human—and a powerful cultivator at that. Both Master Zhang and Prefect Liu are very strong. If I fought either of them, I wouldn’t last a single move. Also, Butler Qiao is a monster too—another wolf demon.”

Feng Yuan nodded thoughtfully and continued, “Then tell me, if Prefect Liu saw Master Zhang and Qiao Si, would he be able to recognize their true identities?”

“Absolutely,” Hu Xiao answered.

“That matches what I was thinking,” Feng Yuan murmured to himself. Master Zhang and Prefect Liu were equally powerful, and surely both knew the other’s identity as a cultivator. Yet the Zhang family remained, which meant Prefect Liu didn’t want to confront Master Zhang directly. Otherwise, things wouldn’t be as they were now.

So even if he asked Prefect Liu for help, it would be pointless. Prefect Liu wouldn’t dare move against Master Zhang, and Feng Yuan might even be forced to write novels for Prefect Liu—or else be killed by him before Master Zhang had the chance.

It seemed he’d have to retreat for now—a gentleman’s revenge can wait ten years.

“By the way, Xiao Xiao, how can you tell who they really are?” Feng Yuan asked.

“Young master, in my previous life, you placed a protective talisman within me. It allows me to see through the various clans among cultivators and helps me conceal my own identity—most cultivators can’t see what I truly am,” Hu Xiao replied.

“Seriously? My past self was too generous, giving you something so useful. Why didn’t he leave me something good—just a cultivation method, and even that’s vague!” Feng Yuan grumbled.

“Young master, don’t be discouraged. Though your past self only left you a cultivation method, I believe it must be extraordinary. Study it well, and you’re sure to discover its secrets,” Hu Xiao comforted him.

Feng Yuan nodded. His past self was so powerful—surely he wouldn’t set his reincarnation up for failure. Perhaps there were indeed hidden mysteries within this nameless technique. Once he returned to the village, he would study it carefully.

…

Feng City, Zhang Residence.

“Master, bad news! Something’s happened! The wolf guard we sent to assassinate Scholar Feng last night never returned and has disappeared. I just checked where Scholar Feng was staying—the place is empty. It looks like he’s run away!” In the back courtyard, Butler Qiao Si hurried to Master Zhang, face full of panic.

Master Zhang had been resting with his eyes closed. At these words, he sat up and frowned. “What did you say? The wolf guard is missing, and Scholar Feng has fled? How is that possible?”

“I find it strange as well. The wolf guard we sent out was very powerful—already at the mid-stage of breaking mortal limits. Dealing with a weak scholar should have been easy, but now he’s vanished. Do you think Liu Chengwan is behind this? Maybe he killed our wolf guard and took Feng Yuan away?” Qiao Si asked.

“Unlikely,” Master Zhang shook his head. “Liu Chengwan doesn’t have the guts to act against us. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have tolerated us all these years. He lacks both the nerve and the strength to take us on. Even if he did act, he wouldn’t dare kill our people. I think there’s something else going on here.”

“What else could it be?”

“I suspect there’s a member of our demon clan protecting Feng Yuan. The aura I sensed that day must have been real, but yesterday it was masked, which made us think there were no fellow demons around Scholar Feng,” Master Zhang said to Qiao Si. “But we were wrong. There must be a demon at Feng Yuan’s side, though probably not a very powerful one—otherwise, they wouldn’t have left.”

“But how do you explain Feng Yuan writing novels? If his protector is one of us, wouldn’t they have signed the stories themselves instead of letting Feng Yuan take the credit?” Qiao Si asked in confusion.

“Hmph! Here’s what I think: that Scholar Feng is a cultivator too. When I met him yesterday, I could sense an unusual aura about him—he’s definitely a cultivator, though he has some way to conceal it from us. As for why our kin wants Feng Yuan to sign the novels, I believe the plan is to let Feng Yuan cultivate, and once he’s achieved some accomplishment, to seize his power for themselves. It’s against the laws of heaven and makes future tribulations harder, but it’s much faster than cultivating alone—worth the risk.”

Qiao Si nodded gravely. “I never thought of that. What should we do now?”

“What else? Send people to search everywhere. Also, send someone to Prefect Liu to see if Feng Yuan is with him. We can’t miss any chance to find Feng Yuan—we must kill him. We can’t let Liu Chengwan use him, or if Liu gets hold of Feng Yuan, we’ll be no match for him in Feng City. We’ll fail the king’s mission and all be doomed!”

“Understood, I’ll see to it right away!” Qiao Si replied, then hurried off.