Chapter 209: Chapter 189: 2 People’s Guess, Le Family’s Reaction

He mimicked Le Rong’s scornful, entitled tone. "’What’s the rush? What are you afraid of? You’re my legitimate husband! Those men outside are just playthings. You need to be more magnanimous. It’s not like the Le Family can’t afford to provide for you, right?’"

"Senior! Do you hear that? She cheated on me, and then she told me to be magnanimous! Where in the world is there such a principle!"

Lin Qingshan’s chest heaved violently, clearly beside himself with rage. It took him a long moment to calm down before he continued, his teeth clenched, "After that, she couldn’t even be bothered to pretend anymore. She brought those men straight home! Right under my nose... in the very place I lived...!" He clenched his fists so tightly his knuckles turned white.

"At first, I thought I could just grit my teeth and swallow this humiliation. After all, this was the path I chose for myself." Lin Qingshan’s tone was filled with despair and self-loathing.

"But the Le Family went too far! They... they actually tried to force me to change my surname to ’Le’! They wanted me to completely sever ties with my past and become a dog for the Le Family! I, Lin Qingshan, all I wanted was a slightly easier life. How did I... how did I end up in such a wretched state, neither human nor ghost!"

Just as Lin Qingshan’s emotions flared and he seemed about to sink back into a mire of self-pity, Lu Zhao’s indifferent voice cut in like a splash of ice water. "Get to the point. I’m not interested in your personal affairs."

Lin Qingshan shuddered as if jolted awake. A flash of shame crossed his face as he quickly composed his Heart Spirit. "Yes, Senior. The crucial events began half a year ago..."

He organized his thoughts and began to speak more quickly. "About a year and a half ago, Brother Mu wrote to me, saying that prices in the Immortal City were too high and it was simply too unsafe."

"He brought his wife and Wan’Er here to Celestial Mirror Lake to find me. I thought the heavens were finally smiling on me, that I would have some solace from my wretched life and a loved one to talk to. But I never imagined... it would be the beginning of a nightmare!"

Lin Qingshan’s expression turned solemn and grief-stricken. "Half a year ago, Brother Mu came to me in a panic, telling me that his wife, Wang Hui, had disappeared! He had taken Wan’Er out to play, and when they returned, she was gone! There were no signs of a struggle in the house. It was as if she had vanished into thin air!"

"I panicked as well and immediately thought to file a report with the Le Family’s Law Enforcement Team. But the team members were dismissive. They just said they would keep an eye out, and that was the end of it."

"What was even more bizarre was that on that very night, my ’wife,’ Le Lingrong, approached me. She warned me, both directly and indirectly, to stay out of my sister-in-law’s business, not to go snooping around, and to just act as if nothing had happened!"

"I knew something was wrong right then and there! At first, I suspected that some reckless young rake from the Le Family had taken a fancy to my sister-in-law’s beauty and had her secretly abducted. I was hesitating whether to tell Brother Mu about Le Lingrong’s warning, but before I could decide, Brother Mu came to me again."

A glint of anger and residual fear flashed in Lin Qingshan’s eyes. "Brother Mu told me he had been investigating in secret these past few days and had uncovered something utterly terrifying! In recent years, around Celestial Mirror Lake and even on the outskirts of Xuan Yang Immortal City, a large number of Low-Tier Independent Cultivators have been disappearing for no reason! The numbers and the scope were so vast, it couldn’t possibly be the work of an ordinary band of Tribulation Cultivators!"

"Brother Mu was certain that a local power like the Le Family had to be orchestrating this from behind the scenes. Otherwise, it would be impossible to abduct people so secretly and on such a massive scale without being detected!"

"When he finished, he just stared at me intently... I knew he was waiting for me to state my position." Lin Qingshan’s voice trembled. "But I... I hesitated! Senior, isn’t it pathetic? After how the Le Family treated me, I was actually hesitating to speak the truth! I’m truly spineless!"

He cursed himself harshly before continuing, "In the end, I told Brother Mu about Le Lingrong’s warning and my own suspicions. After listening, he immediately refuted my theory."

"He said that if someone in the Le Family had truly taken a fancy to my sister-in-law, with the family’s power, they could have openly ’invited’ her or used a combination of threats and inducements. There would be no need to abduct her so furtively."

"’And what about all the other missing Wanderers? It’s impossible they were all taken for their looks!’ Brother Mu’s face was ashen at the time. He said, ’Qingshan, this probably isn’t a simple case of abducting women. It’s very likely the Le Family is using these Wanderers... to cultivate some kind of Demon Skill!’"

Upon hearing this, Lu Zhao’s gaze sharpened like a knife. He asked in a cold voice, "So, you’re saying that the Le Family capturing Wanderers to cultivate a Demon Skill is just your speculation?"

"No, Senior!" Lin Qingshan denied vehemently, a resolute light shining in his eyes. "We dared to risk escaping with Wan’Er, even to the point of making an enemy of the Le Family, because we have irrefutable evidence! Otherwise, how would we dare act on mere speculation?"

As he spoke, he carefully retrieved several items from his Storage Bag: a Jade Bottle sealed with a Talisman, which contained a viscous, dark-red liquid that emitted a faint bloody stench and a bizarre Spirit Light.

Several dull, gray-colored pills that gave off a cloyingly sweet, strange fragrance; and a few bizarrely shaped metal instruments, complete with barbs and grooves, that were chilling to look at.

"Senior, please look!" Lin Qingshan pointed at the Jade Bottle. "This is a Cultivator’s Essence Blood! Moreover, it has been refined with a special method and is saturated with Vengeful Qi!"

"This bottle, these ’Enchanting Pills,’ and these wicked Magical Artifacts designed specifically to extract Essence Blood and bone marrow—Brother Mu and I found all of it half a month ago. We set a trap to ambush and kill a cultivator from a Le Family branch clan who was often sneaking out alone. We retrieved these from his Storage Bag!"

He picked up one of the gray pills. "This is called an ’Enchanting Pill.’ It makes a person groggy and completely pliable. And these Magical Artifacts..." He gestured to the barbed tools, his voice thick with suppressed rage, "are wicked artifacts used to extract a Cultivator’s Essence Blood, bone marrow, and even their Spiritual Soul—while they’re still alive!"

"That bottle of Essence Blood was what he extracted and created through Refining from a living, innocent Wanderer using these very tools! Doesn’t that prove everything?!"

Lu Zhao’s gaze swept over the items, all of which radiated an ominous aura, and his eyes grew colder still. He said in a low voice, "Finish the story. Where is Wan’Er’s father, Mu Qingquan, now?"

At the question, Lin Qingshan’s face was instantly flooded with immense grief and self-recrimination. His voice choked with sobs. "Later... later, we underestimated the Le Family. We underestimated how seriously they took the matter and how quickly they would react... Shortly after Brother Mu and I obtained the evidence, before we could make further preparations, the Le Family seemed to sense something was amiss."

"They immediately dispatched men to search for the missing branch-clan member and began to place us—people who might be connected to the other missing Wanderers—under strict surveillance."

"When we realized something was wrong, we immediately fled Celestial Mirror Lake, but members of the Le Family still managed to track us down."

"Just seven days ago, we were cornered in an abandoned mine by an elite Le Family squad. Brother Mu... to cover my escape with Wan’Er..." Lin Qingshan’s voice was breaking, full of despair. "He deliberately drew most of the pursuers away!"

"I fled desperately with Wan’Er and managed to get away... As for Brother Mu... I don’t know... I truly don’t know if he’s still alive... Perhaps... perhaps he was captured by the Le Family... perhaps..." He couldn’t continue, and just closed his eyes in anguish as two lines of silent tears streamed down his face.

Sensing Lin Qingshan’s sorrow, Wan’Er gently tugged on the corner of his sleeve with her small hand and called out timidly, "Uncle Lin..."

Lu Zhao fell silent for a moment after hearing the whole story. A mountain breeze swept through the valley, carrying the fresh scent of grass and trees, but it could not disperse the oppressive weight in the air. He gazed toward Celestial Mirror Lake, his eyes as deep as a Cold Pool. ’The Le Family? It seems a personal "visit" is in order.’

’I need to know what happened to Wang Hui and Mu Qingquan. More importantly, I need to find out just what the Le Family is up to! Are they really capturing my old friends to use in their cultivation? If that’s true, then there’s no longer any need for the Le Family to exist.’

Meanwhile, inside a secret chamber within the Le Family’s estate at Celestial Mirror Lake—a place dense with Spiritual Qi and protected by formidable Restrictions—Le Zhongshan sat on the master’s Rosewood Chair, his face so grim it looked like water could drip from it. Standing before him was a middle-aged man who bore some resemblance to him but possessed a far more sinister air. This was the Le Family’s other Foundation Establishment Cultivator, his eldest son—Le Mingcheng.

"Worthless! A bunch of worthless trash!" Le Zhongshan slammed a hand on the armrest, producing a dull THUD from the hard rosewood. "They couldn’t even catch one Qi Cultivation Sixth Layer cultivator dragging along a child! They even let Mingyu get seriously injured! They’ve completely disgraced the Le Family!"

Le Mingcheng, by contrast, appeared relatively calm. He unhurriedly lifted the cup of Spirit Tea from the table and took a sip before speaking. "Father, calm yourself. Mingyu was seriously injured, but that’s because they were both too reckless."

"However, according to the description from the disciples who escaped, the person who took Lin Qingshan and Mu Wan’Er away... their strength is unfathomable. Mingyu’s Tier One High-Grade defensive magic tool, the Cyan Turtle Shield, was shattered to dust by a single, casual blow. And yet, the attacker had enough control to only wound him, not kill him. Such skill is far beyond what an ordinary Early-stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator could possess."

Hearing this, the fire in Le Zhongshan’s eyes subsided somewhat, replaced by a hint of solemnity. "Oh? A casual blow? Are you certain?"

"Absolutely." Le Mingcheng set down his teacup, his eyes glinting. "The disciples who escaped said the person didn’t even turn their head. Just a backhanded Ice Cone... and that was all it took to leave Mingyu in his current state."

"Moreover, that person seemed to... recognize those two."

"Recognized them?" Le Zhongshan’s brow furrowed. "I remember they came from Changfeng County in the Chen Country, didn’t they? That county seems to be controlled by a Foundation Establishment Clan called the Zhou Family... Could it be someone from their clan?"

Countless possibilities flashed through his mind. ’Could it really be someone from the Zhou Family, here for the Thousand Waters Assembly, who just happened to run into them? But wasn’t Lin Qingshan a Wanderer? Why would he know a Foundation Establishment Cultivator... especially one willing to meddle in the Le Family’s business on their behalf?’

Watching his father’s expression shift, Le Mingcheng gave a sinister smile. "It doesn’t matter who he is. Since he dared to interfere in our family’s affairs and injure a Le Family Elder, he must pay the price."

"However... the most urgent matter at hand is ensuring that nothing about ’the other matter’ gets out. Father, we’re running out of time. We must eliminate the escaped Lin Qingshan and that little girl as quickly as possible to prevent any future trouble."

"As for that mysterious Foundation Establishment Cultivator..." A vicious glint flashed in his eyes. "If he knows what’s good for him, he’ll back off. But if he insists on wading into these muddy waters... Hmph. The Le Family’s Hundred Waters Array is no pushover!"

Inside the secret chamber, the candlelight flickered, stretching their two shadows long against the cold stone walls, creating a particularly sinister and eerie scene. A much greater storm seemed to be brewing silently beneath the placid surface of Celestial Mirror Lake.

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