Chapter 104: 104. Chapter 104: A Token of Allegiance

104. Chapter 104: A Token of Allegiance

“Hurry up, Li Yi, you must hold on, don’t you dare die.”

A car sped down the highway.

Behind the wheel, a young woman around twenty-five with short hair drove frantically, racing into the abandoned district and following the last known location signal.

Lin Yue was now frantic with worry for Li Yi’s safety.

She never imagined Yang Yilong would suddenly turn hostile and strike Li Yi with lethal intent.

Could Yang Yilong have figured out that Li Yi taught him fake fist techniques? No, that was impossible—only she knew about Li Yi teaching the fake fist techniques; no third person was aware. Even if Yang Yilong suspected something was off with the fist techniques, it would only be suspicion—he could never have ordered a kill, especially now that Li Yi had joined the Investigation Bureau as an external operative.

Killing an Investigation Bureau external operative without cause would be catastrophic if exposed—Yang Yilong would be finished. How could he do something so stupid?

Lin Yue’s mind was a chaotic mess.

If Qin Qing hadn’t suddenly contacted her and leaked this vital information, she’d still be completely in the dark, unaware of such a critical matter.

“I hope my earlier phone call served as a warning and helped Li Yi avoid this crisis,” Lin Yue silently prayed, wishing only for Li Yi’s safety.

Suddenly.

A scream echoed from somewhere in the abandoned district.

As a Spirit Perception realm cultivator, Lin Yue immediately sensed the signal—her face paled, and she stomped the accelerator, racing toward the sound.

The car tore through the deserted roads of the abandoned district.

As abandoned buildings slipped past her view, she spotted something at an open intersection and slammed on the brakes.

Tires screeched against the ground, spewing white smoke.

The car had barely stopped when the door flew open with a bang.

Lin Yue moved like a startled hare, leaping out with agile grace, landing and instantly activating her Spirit Perception, scanning the surroundings for any trace of Li Yi.

But there was none.

Corpses.

Around her lay one corpse after another.

Blood still flowed, not yet congealed, still steaming.

The bodies lay scattered and broken—chests caved in, skulls split open, deaths horrific. On several corpses, Lin Yue recognized familiar fist marks, each deeply embedded into the bone, lethal in their precision.

“These are all vagrants roaming the abandoned district,” Lin Yue’s expression darkened.

From the scene’s brutality, it was easy to deduce.

These people must have been part of the ambush against Li Yi—but somehow, Li Yi turned the tables and slaughtered them all.

Lin Yue didn’t dare linger; she followed the blood trails, swiftly searching ahead.

Soon.

Her eyes sharply contracted.

A familiar corpse came into view.

It was an Investigation Bureau investigator—Wang Jian.

“Investigator Wang Jian is dead?” Lin Yue’s heart lurched—she recognized him.

Too ruthless.

The Yang family was too ruthless—they didn’t just want to kill Li Yi; they killed his superior Wang Jian too, aiming to wipe out everyone here and leave no witnesses.

Further ahead.

Lin Yue doubted her eyes.

A corpse with a shattered skull and multiple severe injuries lay before her.

This body was unlike the others.

Because Lin Yue recognized its identity.

It was a cultivator named Daozi, one of vagrant Wei Bin’s men. Daozi was no weakling—he was well-known in the abandoned district. But that wasn’t the key point; the crucial fact was that Daozi was a Spirit Perception realm cultivator.

“A Spirit Perception cultivator was killed too? Was this Li Yi’s doing—or the Yang family’s?”

At that moment, Lin Yue couldn’t believe Daozi had fallen to Li Yi’s hands. She even suspected the Yang family had faked the scene—killing everyone after the mission to silence them, since Yang Yilong had learned Li Yi’s fist techniques, meaning all Yang cultivators now knew them.

But what if Li Yi had truly done it?

A Foundation Establishment cultivator had slain so many vagrants—and one Spirit Perception cultivator. Was he replicating the old district massacre?

“Li Yi, are you nearby? It’s Lin Yue—I’ve come to find you.”

But Lin Yue couldn’t bear to look further—she feared finding Li Yi’s mangled corpse. She shouted desperately, hoping for a reply.

Her voice echoed across the area.

No response. Only silence.

Lin Yue kept calling.

Then, a blood-soaked figure slowly emerged from the ruins.

Li Yi, barely holding himself upright, showed himself—he had passed the peak effect of the Superb Water, his injuries now erupted, nearly rendering him unconscious. He couldn’t even move to find shelter. Had he not heard Lin Jie’s cries, he would have collapsed somewhere and left his fate to chance.

“L-Lin Jie, I’m here.” His voice was faint, weak.

“Li Yi.”

Seeing him, Lin Yue trembled, then rushed forward, catching his collapsing form and gently laying him on the ground.

“Don’t move. Your injuries are severe—any movement will worsen them. Let me check you over to ensure you’re not in immediate danger.”

Lin Yue deeply cared for Li Yi’s safety and knew basic first aid; she began examining his wounds.

“I shouldn’t die. During the fight, I drank a bottle of Superb Water. The effect has worn off, but it repaired much of my injuries… cough, cough.” Li Yi coughed weakly, yet his condition had improved—he no longer bled.

“Superb Water? The Investigation Bureau’s special supply? I know what that is—a precious life-saving elixir. I didn’t expect you, after joining so recently, to get your hands on something like this.”

Though she spoke these words, her hands didn’t stop—she discovered multiple fractures across his entire body.

Some were comminuted fractures.

His injuries were grave.

She couldn’t tell yet if his internal organs had ruptured or bled—if they had, he might die here from blood loss.

Fortunately.

After a rough examination, Lin Yue judged his internal organs were intact, no major bleeding—likely due to the Superb Water’s immediate repair. Now that the effect had faded, the fractures couldn’t heal.

“Good. Close call. You’re stable for now, but I need to take you to a hospital for a full scan to be certain.”

Lin Yue lifted Li Yi and prepared to drive him to the hospital.

“Lin Jie, wait—” Li Yi stopped her.

“Are you worried about your other teammates? Don’t think about it—they’re all dead. No signs of life. Getting you treated is the priority,” Lin Yue shook her head, disappointed.

Li Yi fell silent, grief swelling inside him.

It seemed not only Wang Jian had died—Chen Hao had also succumbed.

Then Li Yi remembered something and gritted his teeth: “One person might still be alive—his name is Yang Ye. He’s connected to Yang Yilong. He organized this operation.”

He pointed.

A short distance away.

A blood-covered man lay motionless.

“Yang Ye? I know him—he’s Yang Yilong’s uncle, a ruthless figure in the Yang family, handling their dirty work. He’s still alive? Fine. I’ll take you there and finish him off. He can’t leave alive,” Lin Yue nodded, ready to clean up the mess.

She immediately helped Li Yi walk over to Yang Ye.

Yang Ye was drenched in blood, unconscious—but still breathing.

“Wait—Yang Ye is a Spirit Perception cultivator. Did you defeat him too?”

Lin Yue noticed the half-fist imprint on Yang Ye’s head and suddenly realized—her eyes widened in shock.

Add this one to the previous one—that means Li Yi killed two Spirit Perception cultivators alone?

This had to be a joke.

Li Yi nodded: “Lin Jie, do you remember when I taught Yang Yilong the fake fist techniques?”

“Only the two of us knew about it—I remember,” Lin Yue said.

Li Yi stared coldly at Yang Ye: “Yang Yilong taught the fist techniques to Yang Ye too. Yang Ye learned them—and inherited the hidden flaw. During our fight, he tried to kill me using the guiding technique combined with the fist techniques—but the hidden injury erupted unexpectedly. I seized the chance and defeated him.”

“Good.”

Lin Yue felt a surge of satisfaction—she wanted to clap and cheer: “This is karma. You reap what you sow. Back then, we were weaker and had to swallow our humiliation. Now Yang Ye, empowered, wants to kill us all? He deserves this.”

“Li Yi, don’t move. I’ll end Yang Ye myself. If Yang Yilong seeks revenge later, don’t fear—I’ll take the blame.”

She acted swiftly, cutting off his reply.

Her slender, pale fingers pierced Yang Ye’s heart with a single thrust.

Yang Ye shuddered—blood gushed from the wound. Moments later, he was a cold corpse.

“I’m sorry, Lin Jie—I dragged you into this,” Li Yi said, filled with guilt.

Lin Yue had no obligation to involve herself in his feud with Yang Yilong—but she chose to kill Yang Ye, staining her hands with Yang family blood.

Yang Ye’s life was a token of allegiance, binding Lin Yue and Li Yi together.

“Hah, why apologize? I’m the one who should apologize,” Lin Yue laughed. “I misjudged people—I introduced you to Yang Yilong, and this mess happened. Now they’re trying to kill you on my watch—if I did nothing, wouldn’t I be a coward?”

“Remember when you came to my uncle’s meditation chamber? I told you to call me ‘Jie’—from then on, in the cultivation world, I, Lin Yue, would protect you. Anyone who harms you insults me—and I’ll defend you.”

She spoke with bold, commanding authority—like a senior sister.

But then Lin Yue shook her head: “Now you’ve defeated two Spirit Perception cultivators—you’ve surely broken through to Spirit Perception yourself. Soon, it might not be me protecting you, but you protecting me. How the hell do you cultivate? From beginner to now—less than three months?”

“Thank goodness I was the one who brought you in—I’ll keep your secret. If anyone else found out, they’d have captured you and dissected you to see if you’re even human.”

She was stunned by Li Yi’s cultivation speed.

Li Yi was about to speak.

But at that moment, Lin Yue’s phone suddenly rang.

Lin Yue glanced at it and immediately frowned: “Bad news—it’s Yang Yilong calling.”