The two returned to the Hundred Herbs Hall, and Jun Fei'er immediately stepped forward, pulling Xiao Man to look her over from head to toe, "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine, Grand-Uncle-Master took me to buy a pill-refining furnace."
"Where did you buy it?"
"Wen Nan City."
Jun Fei'er glanced at Lu Qing, who was walking away directly, and lowered her voice to ask, "Did you make him angry again?"
"No, when we were in the city, we heard that the people from Yan Family Fort were killed, so I went with Grand-Uncle-Master to take a look, and then Grand-Uncle-Master's mood wasn't very good." Xiao Man looked at Lu Qing's retreating back, her voice trailing off. She was almost certain that Lu Qing was related to the Qin family, but she didn't yet understand what that relationship was.
"Your Grand-Uncle-Master dislikes killing innocent people the most, probably..."
"I'm afraid there isn't an innocent person among the inhabitants of Yan Family Fort," Xiao Man interrupted Jun Fei'er. It was a shame she didn't see the bodies; otherwise, she could have obtained some information from them. When she arrived, there was only dried blood everywhere.
"You brat, you can't say things like that in the future," Jun Fei'er said with a solemn expression, "Yan Family Fort cooperates with us a lot; they are important partners."
Xiao Man nodded, "It's just a pity that Yan Family Fort was wiped out. From now on, there will likely be no more Yan Family Fort in this world."
"Wiped out? Do you know who the killer is?" Jun Fei'er was somewhat surprised. Yan Family Fort was not weak; it even had a late-stage Golden Core expert guarding it. Yet, it was so easily wiped out. Unless the perpetrator was a Nascent Soul stage cultivator.
"Master, if I knew, do you think we would have returned intact?"
Jun Fei'er paused for a moment, then sighed, "Fine, if it's gone, it's gone. I don't like dealing with people from Yan Family Fort either. Senior Brother Xuan Hu is always in charge of these matters."
"Yan Family Fort was wiped out, should we intervene?"
"They were once partners, so we should at least inquire about it," Jun Fei'er patted Xiao Man's shoulder, "Learn well from your Grand-Uncle-Master. He is a top-tier pill-refining master in the sect. If the former sect leader hadn't saved his life, he wouldn't have stayed at the Hundred Herbs Hall. With his skills, he could have gone to the Heavenly Spirit Sect."
"Does Master want to go to the Heavenly Spirit Sect?"
"Of course, I do. But the Heavenly Spirit Sect is very strict in selecting disciples. They cannot be older than thirty, must have reached the Foundation Establishment stage, and be able to refine pills of grade four or higher."
"Master's age has exceeded the limit?"
Jun Fei'er flicked Xiao Man's forehead, "You imp, you're actually inquiring about your Master's age. Didn't anyone tell you not to ask a woman her age?"
"Master isn't already hundreds of years old, right?"
Jun Fei'er stomped hard on Xiao Man's instep. Xiao Man quickly dodged, "Master, Grand-Uncle-Master still has something to instruct me. I'm going to find Grand-Uncle-Master."
"You've already blown up Grand-Uncle-Master's cave abode. Where are you going to find him?"
Xiao Man stopped. That's right, she had blown up Lu Qing's cave abode. "Where is he living now?"
"North Courtyard," Jun Fei'er pointed north, "next to Senior Brother Xuan Hu's courtyard. Don't blow up another courtyard, or my Pill Spirit Courtyard will really be unable to afford the repairs."
"Disciple understands. Thank you for the reminder, Master."
Zhu Qing returned, his expression somewhat solemn. Both Jun Fei'er and Lu Qing were summoned to the council hall.
Lu Qing brought Xiao Man with him.
The atmosphere in the council hall was extremely heavy.
"Uncle-Master, you went to Yan Family Fort?"
"I did."
"Then you know the situation at Yan Family Fort?"
"I don't," Lu Qing's voice was cold, just like his demeanor, clear and tasteless. "By the time I arrived, the bodies had already been moved, leaving only dried bloodstains."
Zhu Qing sighed, "I went to see the bodies. The killer should have been a single person. They acted decisively. Most people were killed with one blow. Only a few had their blood drained."
Lu Qing's eyes flickered, but he said nothing in the end. He vaguely had a guess: the person who wiped out Yan Family Fort must have been a cultivator with profound skills, someone who had been persecuted by Yan Family Fort. This person might be related to the Qin family.
"Why did the killer drain the blood of these few people?" Zhai Ge asked with confusion.
"When I was in the city, I heard people say that Yan Family Fort captured some people and used them specifically for bloodletting to refine medicine," Xiao Man chimed in. "Could the killer have drained their blood as a form of 'an eye for an eye'?"
"You went too?"
"I took her to buy a pill-refining furnace, and she accompanied me," Lu Qing said without batting an eye.
"Any other discoveries?"
"Yan Family Fort had a secret chamber with many iron cages inside, seemingly used for imprisoning people," Xiao Man hesitated. "Sect Master, could the rumors outside be true, that the people of Yan Family Fort used human flesh to refine medicine?"
Zhu Qing was stunned. He clearly hadn't expected Xiao Man to ask so directly. Xuan Hu quickly interjected, "This is just a rumor. Who uses human flesh to refine medicine? As a cultivator, you shouldn't believe such rumors."
"Xiao Qin, when is it your turn to speak?" Lu Qing glanced at her and reprimanded, "Get out."
"Yes, Grand-Uncle-Master."
Xiao Man left calmly. A small green snake quietly hid in the room, continuing to listen to the discussion of the people in the house.
Xiao Man stood outside, looking at the bright sunlight, a strange emotion in her eyes. She then took her sword and left the Hundred Herbs Hall.
Kong Qing saw Xiao Man return and then leave again. There was a look of deep confusion in his eyes. "Didn't Junior Brother Xiao just come back? Why did he leave again?"
"Senior Brother, what are you doing here?" Poison Lady suddenly appeared, interrupting Kong Qing's thoughts.
"Junior Sister Shi Lan, I was just curious about Junior Brother Xiao..."
"Senior Brother, I've encountered a problem. Can you help me?" Shi Lan entwined her arm around Kong Qing's. Kong Qing's face flushed red. How could he care about Xiao Man's affairs anymore? All his thoughts were captivated by Shi Lan.
Xiao Man returned to Wen Nan City. She had doubts in her heart and had to see the bodies first. The bodies were now collectively placed in the city's southern mortuary. Yan Family Fort was a top household in Wen Nan City, yet it was wiped out overnight without anyone noticing. The City Lord of Wen Nan City was somewhat apprehensive, fearing that the City Lord's mansion would suffer the same fate, and was desperately searching for the killer.
Xiao Man infiltrated the mortuary to examine the marks on the bodies. As the Sect Master had said, apart from a few individuals, the others had either their throats cut or their Dantian pierced, their Golden Cores destroyed. Such a swift and precise technique felt somewhat familiar to her.
Xiao Man stood before a corpse whose blood had been drained. Her gaze fell on the wound on the body. The wound was very peculiar; it was cut in a cross shape, like a ritual. Xiao Man reached out and touched the wound, a shock in her eyes. Ah Yu!