"Hu Sixi, you bald old fox! Bullying the young and weak, bring my old woman out! Don't think you can get away with hiding inside. If you don't come out for a day, I'll block your door for a day. If you don't come out for two days, I'll block it for two. If you don't come out for a month, I'll block it for a month! I'll cut off your business and extinguish your lineage. Then we'll see if you come out!"
I picked at my ear, not quite believing what I was hearing. Who was this old woman, sitting cross-legged on a chair, looking no taller than a child, yet speaking with such a commanding tone?
Who was Hu Sixi? He was the uncle of Hu Dejin, the current head of the Hu family, a man whose stomp could cause a minor earthquake. And now he was being blocked at his door and cursed at by an old woman. Wasn't that like a birthday star hanging himself, thinking his life was too long?
And judging by Hu Sixi's words, she had been blocking the entrance for three days. It seemed the Hu family knew about the illusion array and the soul-confusing array at the intersection, and they weren't incapable of breaking them. But because of this old woman, they were too scared to even try.
Who was she?
What was her relationship with Chen Yun?
The tightly shut main door was opened from within. Hu Sixi emerged with a dark expression, followed by Hu Dejin, whose face was even blacker than the bottom of a pot. Hu Dejin's left cheek was swollen to an alarming degree, as if he had been hit by someone.
"You scruffy old fox, I thought you'd hide inside forever!" the old woman said mockingly, her eyes half-closed.
Hu Sixi's face was cold, his lips twitching. "If I'm a scruffy old fox, then what are you? Is it fun for one of your own to curse at you? You've been blocking here for three days, that's enough. If it weren't for the fact that you were once part of my Hu family, I would..."
"Would what? Would you kill me, this old woman, just like you killed my granddaughter's husband? Come on... come on... sit here and let you kill me. Let the ancestors inside see how you, Hu Sixi, killed me, a lonely old woman."
"You... forget it. A true man doesn't fight with a woman. I'll say it again, that kid's death has nothing to do with me, and I didn't kill him."
The old woman was not one for pleasantries. She directly stated her condition: "You say you didn't kill him, so you didn't? Then tell me, where is he? Tell me where he went, and this old woman will leave immediately and never bother you again." Sudian Novel Network
"Hmph, how would I know where he went? He's a living person, not a cat or dog that I keep tied up."
The old woman's face darkened, and she looked at Hu Sixi with a displeased expression. "It seems I have to take action?"
"Are you afraid of me? I'd like to see how strong Huang Zu was back then."
"As you wish." The old woman finished speaking. Without any visible movement, a yellow talisman suddenly appeared in her hand. With a flick of her wrist, the talisman ignited, and in an instant, a large black-furred bear formed from smoke appeared before them, roaring towards the sky.
Seeing this, Hu Sixi didn't rush to attack. Instead, he looked at the old woman seriously and said, "Sister Huang, we were family once. Do we really have to fight over an outsider?"
"Outsider? Who says he's an outsider? He's my granddaughter's husband!" Before the old woman could finish speaking, she pointed at Hu Sixi. The black-furred bear roaring on the ground had grown impatient. With a bear's roar, it charged forward.
"A mere trick." Hu Sixi bit his middle finger, took out a blank yellow talisman, and wrote on it with swift strokes. In an instant, a fierce tiger radiating red light appeared out of thin air, letting out a tiger's roar and charging towards the black-furred bear.
The tiger and the bear collided. The black-furred bear raised its massive paw and slammed it down fiercely on the tiger. The tiger retreated, and the black bear's full-force strike landed on the ground with a thud. Its front paws, due to excessive force, sank into the earth.
The yellow tiger, seeing this, retreated, gathered its strength, and leaped forward, landing in front of the black bear. It opened its massive jaws and bit down on the black bear's neck.
The black bear, its neck bitten, let out a painful howl. It pulled its front paws out of the ground and brought them together, slamming them down on the tiger's head like swatting a fly.
*Bang—*
The black bear missed. The tiger, as slippery as a loach, dodged the black bear's attack. Instead of engaging in close combat, it took advantage of the black bear's clumsiness, circling around it and taking bites whenever it had the chance.
In a short time, the black bear was covered in numerous wounds. Initially, a lot of black smoke emanated from within. As the black smoke diminished, the black bear's attack frequency also decreased. The black bear was on the verge of defeat.
"You've lost. Please leave and don't continue this. It's not good for anyone to keep this up."
The old woman retorted, unwilling to concede, "Lost? Who says so?"
While Hu Sixi was speaking, the black bear, which had been lying on the ground feigning death, suddenly exploded into action. Its front paws tightly gripped the yellow tiger, and it opened its massive jaws, biting down on the tiger's head.
*Crack—*
*Roar—*
The tiger turned into a cloud of dust. The black bear let out a roar of victory, cast a "disdainful" glance at Hu Sixi, and then disappeared from the spot.
"You... you cheated..." Hu Sixi felt utterly wronged! He had intended to save face, after all, they were from the same family. But he hadn't expected that while he was trying to save face, the other party wouldn't return the favor and had directly destroyed his soul beast.
One had to understand that wild animals were very rare nowadays, and those that could be refined into soul beasts were even rarer. Losing one was losing one forever. Moreover, this tiger had cultivated to the Ghost General realm and was about to reach the Ghost King realm. To have it vanish just like that, Hu Sixi was so heartbroken he almost fainted.
"Don't you understand that all's fair in war? You've lived so long, have you lived it all to the dogs? Stop babbling, old woman. I won. Now tell me where my granddaughter's husband is."
"You..." Hu Sixi's whiskers twitched with anger. Finally, he gritted his teeth and said, "That kid was thrown into Beishan Mining Town by Xiao Yuan. If you have the ability, go find him yourself. Hmph!" With that, he snorted coldly and, ignoring everyone else, turned and went back into the residence.
"Beishan Mining Town?" The old woman frowned and looked at Chen Yun.
"Thrown into Beishan Mining Town?" Hearing this news, Chen Yun stumbled, almost falling to the ground. She hadn't known what Beishan Mining Town was before, but after following the old matriarch for the past few days, she had learned its secret: it was a place where those deemed guilty were sent, and from which none returned.
"Old matriarch, I..." As she spoke, Chen Yun's tears began to fall. It was all because of her. If she hadn't gone, perhaps Song Qingyun wouldn't have died. If the old matriarch had appeared a few days earlier, could this tragedy have been avoided?
Alas, there was no such thing as a regret pill in this world. If there were, she would have spent all her possessions to buy one.
Looking at Hu Yuan, who was hiding behind Hu Dejin, Chen Yun's eyes turned red. "Hu Yuan, if you have the guts, keep hiding in the Hu family and never come out. Otherwise, even if I have to risk my own life, I'll send you into Beishan Mining Town."
Facing Chen Yun's threat, Hu Yuan flinched. He wasn't afraid of Chen Yun herself, but of the old woman beside her. Even before she left the Hu family, she had been decisive and ruthless, not only towards outsiders but also towards her own people. She killed without mercy.
"Good child, you can find another husband if you lose this one. You mustn't do anything foolish for him!" The old matriarch stroked Chen Yun's hair, knowing that few who entered Beishan Mining Town ever came out intact.
"No, old matriarch, you don't understand. I..."
Chen Yun suddenly froze. She saw someone, someone who filled her heart with both guilt and longing.