On the lower reaches of the Min River, two figures scrambled out of the water, battered and bruised.
As soon as they reached the bank, Fukada Ichiro couldn't help but grab Ihuan's collar and slap her hard across the face. "Bageyarou!!"
The blow sent Ihuan spitting blood.
Yet, she didn't fall. Instead, she lowered her head, wiped the blood from her lips, then picked up a stone from the ground and hurled it at Fukada Ichiro's head.
This strike shattered Fukada Ichiro's skull.
Fukada Ichiro had not expected Ihuan to fight back, and being struck so brutally left him dazed. He sat down heavily on the ground.
Ihuan threw away the stone, breathing heavily. "Do you really think you couldn't beat Yan Shouyi and the others because I drained your cultivation?"
Fukada Ichiro, clutching his head wound, spat venomously, "Isn't it true?"
"Don't you have any self-awareness about your own limitations!" Ihuan sneered. "I didn't drain your cultivation; you couldn't beat Yan Shouyi and the others even then, and you wouldn't be able to in another ten years either!"
"You bitch, I'll kill you!!"
Fukada Ichiro, enraged, lunged at Ihuan, intending to kill her.
He pinned her beneath him, choking her with all his might.
Ihuan struggled to breathe, her face paling as she felt herself suffocating.
But at that very moment, Fukada Ichiro grunted and then, looking at Ihuan with shock, fell powerlessly to his side.
A dagger was lodged in his chest.
Ihuan pushed herself up, coughing violently, and then burst into laughter.
Fukada Ichiro, sensing death, pulled out the dagger despite the pain and crawled desperately towards the bank.
Ihuan watched him crawl more than ten meters away, blood staining his trail.
She suddenly stood up and picked up another stone, this one as large as Fukada Ichiro's head.
She walked behind Fukada Ichiro and brought the stone down with brutal force!
Once!
Twice!
Countless times!
Only when Fukada Ichiro was completely still, his body washed by the rising tide, did Ihuan stop and then let out a wild, maniacal laugh.
She dropped the stone and sat on Fukada Ichiro's corpse.
Suddenly, several souls erupted from Fukada Ichiro's body – the Shikigami he had subjugated.
However, Ihuan, unfazed, proceeded to swallow all these Shikigami!
This time, Ihuan had truly taken all of Fukada Ichiro's cultivation.
Fukada Ichiro's corpse shriveled and withered, his skin peeled away to reveal only bone.
Having completed her task, Ihuan sat silently by the river, next to Fukada Ichiro's corpse. She thought of her crushing defeat at Yan Shouyi's hands earlier that day, feeling an unspeakable frustration.
She had believed she controlled everything, only to be easily subdued by Yan Shouyi.
This sense of failure irked Ihuan immensely!
Just then, a sedan chair appeared behind Ihuan.
Ihuan's expression changed. Before she could react, Chu Liang's cold arm pressed down on her crown.
"Who are you?" Chu Liang asked.
Ihuan felt an unprecedented sense of danger emanating from Chu Liang.
She swallowed and replied, "A disciple of Abbess Gu Hong from the Wuzhen Sect, Ihuan."
"So, you're the disciple of that slut," Chu Liang remarked, eyeing Ihuan's back and then noticing the corpse beside her. He asked, "Whose corpse is this?"
"The son of the Zhao family patriarch from the Northeast, Fukada Ichiro." Ihuan dared not lie at this point.
Chu Liang appeared somewhat surprised. He asked again, "How did he die?"
Ihuan gritted her teeth. "Killed by Yan Shouyi, the descendant of Lu Ban!"
"The descendant of Lu Ban?!"
Chu Liang immediately thought of Yan Shouyi, whom he had just met, and fell into a brief silence.
He hadn't expected the young man to be Yan Shouyi, Yan Chou's son.
Then Chu Liang said, "Do you think you can fool me?"
Ihuan's heart tightened, and she dared not utter a sound.
Suddenly, Chu Liang's hand lifted from her crown.
Ihuan breathed a sigh of relief, and Chu Liang's voice reached her ears: "Inform the Zhao family about this, tell them Fukada Ichiro was killed by Yan Shouyi."
"Why?"
As Ihuan turned her head, Chu Liang had already vanished.
She thought for a moment and understood the reason.
By framing Yan Shouyi for Fukada Ichiro's murder, the Zhao family would mobilize their entire clan to hunt Yan Shouyi down!
A masterful use of borrowed power!
Though Ihuan didn't know Chu Liang's identity, she knew Yan Shouyi had many enemies.
Looking at the corpse beside her, Ihuan sneered, "Yan Shouyi, you'd best wait. The Zhao family is notorious for their protectiveness; you'll have a difficult time ahead!"
...
After Zou Xiazi died, everyone collected his body. He lay in state for three days before being cremated and then was taken for burial.
During this time, Yan Shouyi, Wang Jiwang, and Wang Zhilai all wore mourning attire. Yan Shouyi did not sleep for seven days and nights, expressing his gratitude and sorrow for Zou Xiazi.
Over these seven days, Yan Shouyi and Wang Jiwang's relationship improved significantly. Perhaps it was Zou Xiazi's dying words that had an effect. Wang Jiwang trusted Yan Shouyi deeply, implicitly considering him a brother.
Of course, Yan Shouyi's own character also earned Wang Jiwang's respect.
After the seventh day memorial, Yan Shouyi and the others went to Zou Xiazi's grave to burn incense and paper.
As the ceremony was underway, Yan Shouyi's phone vibrated. He initially intended to ignore the call, but upon looking at the caller ID, he frowned and walked aside.
"Dad."
"How is Zou Xiazi's condition?" Yan Chou's voice came through, tinged with anxiety.
Yan Shouyi remained silent for about ten seconds before sighing, "Today is Uncle Zou's seventh-day memorial."
Silence followed from the other end of the line.
This silence stretched on, for a good five or six minutes, during which Yan Shouyi remained quiet, waiting for Yan Chou to speak first.
After a long while, Yan Chou's voice trembled as he asked, "How did he die? Were you by his side when he passed? Did he have any unfulfilled wishes?"
"Before Uncle Zou died, he wished to see the child taken away by the credit-selling vendor. We happened to find him and fulfilled Uncle Zou's wish. But on the night Uncle Zou died, a group of strange individuals pursued us, and Uncle Zou drove them away for us before he passed. In the end, we were all with him when he died. Uncle Zou said he had no regrets."
Yan Shouyi's calm reply, devoid of emotion, was also a form of accusation.
He was blaming Yan Chou for not answering his phone and for being unreachable at critical moments.
Upon hearing Yan Shouyi's answer, Yan Chou sighed heavily and fell silent again.
Yan Shouyi couldn't bear it any longer. He questioned, "Dad, what exactly are you plotting?!"
Although Zou Xiazi had instructed Yan Shouyi not to question Yan Chou before his death, Yan Shouyi couldn't hold back.
"You always disappear without a trace, and I can never contact you. Several times, when I was facing life and death, in my most desperate moments, you weren't there! Didn't you say you were taking Grandma to Mount Emei? Why is Mount Emei sending people to hunt me down? Uncle Zou, before he died, must have really wanted to see you both again, even just to hear your voice, but you were still missing... Uncle Zou said you were doing something very important, but I truly can't understand, what is more important than me, what is more important than Uncle Zou!?"
The suppressed emotions of the past seven days erupted at this moment, and Yan Shouyi, regardless of who was on the other end of the phone, raised his voice.
Disturbed, Lin Zitong quickly came to Yan Shouyi's side, comforting him and saying to Yan Chou on the phone, "Dad, please don't be angry. Shouyi is just too sad, and he couldn't control himself for a moment."
"I understand," Yan Chou said calmly. "Zou Xiazi was my lifelong brother. His death pains me more than anyone. But I am a man. If I were to cry, what would happen to those who follow me? Anyone else can fall, but not me. Anyone else can show weakness, but not me."
"Tell him to call me back when he calms down!"
However, Yan Shouyi said, "I am calm now. Go ahead, tell me what you've been busy with, how you've been saving the world!"
A heavy sigh came from Yan Chou's end, as if he were composing himself.
After a moment, Yan Chou slowly began to speak.
"When I was young, I founded an organization called Xuanshan. Initially, thirteen people followed me. We playfully called ourselves the Thirteen Protectors of Xuanshan, and your Uncle Zou was one of them, ranking fifth."
"We didn't ask about your background, wealth, or social standing. Regardless of who you were, as long as you cared about the world, you could join us, and together we would uphold justice and punish evil."
"But later, because your mother became pregnant, I decided to retire from the jianghu. Soon after, I was imprisoned for ten years. The people of Xuanshan at that time all returned to their homes and lived ordinary lives. I thought Xuanshan had disbanded."
"However, before my release, I discovered that Xuanshan had not disbanded but had been rebuilt by some individuals of dubious character. They no longer recruited righteous individuals, but rather notorious scoundrels. These people gathered together, committing all sorts of evil under the banner of Xuanshan. Countless people have been harmed by them over the years!"
"Xuanshan was founded by us together, and its meaning is self-evident. After my release, I naturally had to deal with these people, and this was also Uncle Zou's wish! After picking up your grandmother, Daoist Dog and Monk Miaoji and I traveled west, dealing with these Xuanshan villains along the way, which is why our progress has been slow, and we haven't reached Mount Emei yet!"
"A few days ago, we infiltrated one of Xuanshan's strongholds. We fell into their trap in the mountains and were trapped for half a month. Miaoji was seriously injured, but we managed to escape. Upon our release, we received the devastating news from you."
Yan Chou sighed again. "If we had emerged earlier, we would have certainly returned to see Zou Xiazi off. But alas, there are no 'ifs' in this world... Shouyi, I know you harbor resentment, but your Uncle Zou hated evil and injustice throughout his life. He surely wouldn't want to slow us down, which is why he didn't want you to notify us. To be honest, if I were dying, I wouldn't let them know either!"