Chapter 105: Enough—The Evil Cultivator Withdraws!

If Zhou Yun'e still behaves as unreasonably as just now, with a hard attitude, Lin Ziyu would mercilessly force her out.

But unexpectedly, the Zhou Yun'e who was just dominant collapsed in an instant, hysterically crying out, which left her unable to act for a moment.

Her heart is still not hard enough.

"Crying here won't help you. Don't you have a clear idea of what happened back then? The Lord hasn't specifically sought revenge against you and Hu Youquan all these years; that's already as much as he can do. If you still don't get the hint and keep demanding more, it will only backfire. Don't ever think the Lord still harbors any old feelings for you, that he can't bring himself to kill you…" Lin Ziyu earnestly concluded his persuasion.

After Zhou Yun'e's inner resolve shattered, she lost her icy, beautiful exterior, knelt on the ground in utter misery, and no longer wished to argue with Lin Ziyu about anything.

She only let tears stream from her eyes like broken pearls, and shouted toward the Jia Yi Cave Residence: "Zhangqing, if you have truly let go of old feelings and only cling to the fact that I left you back then, forgetting the more than ten years we shared, and you want to kill me to vent your anger, then come out and kill me! I've said it, I bear you no hatred nor resentment; after all, I have no way out. Dying by your hand would be the best destiny for me."

……

……

The cave residence, inside the bedroom.

Zixi at this moment was no longer lying in Xiao Zhangqing's arms for warmth; she had already put on clothes.

Compared with her sister Lin Ziyu, who upon seeing Zhou Yun'e's condition felt a little reluctant and couldn't bring herself to forcefully drive her away, Zixi would be far more ruthless.

She was not at all deceived by Zhou Yun'e's pitiful expression.

"Lord, don't go out. This kind of person, just let her know that she doesn't even have the qualification to see you now; she's unworthy, and that will make her even more desperate!"

Zixi couldn't help but speak.

How could she possibly utter words about lingering old feelings?

Although when Xiao Zhangqing was betrayed by Zhou Yun'e, Zixi had not yet come to Nanshan Fang and was still stuck within their family suffering, over the years, in order to understand the Lord's past, she has come to know the events of those days crystal clearly.

In Zixi's view, Zhou Yun'e is vain, willing to abandon worldly wealth and pleasures for her, even to become a low‑ranking Dao Partner in the Cultivation World.

The crux is that she doesn't even directly break up; she squeezes the Spirit Stones earned by the Lord while secretly looking for a new patron elsewhere.

When she found a new patron, she didn't even part amicably; she publicly humiliated the Lord and even nearly took his life!

If it were her, a person who repays every grudge, once she gained strength she would have immediately retaliated tooth for tooth!

Now, she dares to come back with a flattering face begging forgiveness, still dares to look down on her sister as if she were the legitimate one? How dare she? She even looks quite respectable, yet can be so shameless? "It seems you're very angry, huh? You've learned quite a bit about my past, haven't you?"

Xiao Zhangqing said with a smiling face.

He at this moment, though in a good mood, did not feel as carefree as imagined.

It's not that he lacks compassion; rather, from the height he now stands at, he is already far beyond Zhou Yun'e and Hu Youquan, whose progress remains stagnant.

It's like an elephant crushing a tiny ant; it's hard to feel any great sense of achievement.

If Zhou Yun'e and Hu Youquan had also completed Foundation Establishment, or reached Qi Refining Realm's great perfection, becoming among Nanshan Fang's top few, his revenge would certainly be much more satisfying.

Unfortunately, the two don't even qualify to be his opponents.

Forgot the more than ten years of feelings? If Xiao Zhangqing remembers correctly, this former in this flesh also said similar words when he last tried to keep Zhou Yun'e.

He ended up being humiliated by Zhou Yun'e to the point of blood splattering, and she said he should feel ashamed for the past ten‑plus years of feelings toward her, because he didn't give her enough…

"Of course I'm aware," Zixi said without holding back, admitting directly, "Not only the past, I occasionally keep tabs on this woman's recent situation. She and her useless Dao Partner, before the Evil Cultivator's invasion, when Nanshan Fang's cave residence and shop prices were at their peak, borrowed a huge amount of Spirit Stones to purchase several cave residences and shops. After the war, property prices plummeted, and the two were forced by creditors into a dead‑end, with all assets mortgaged and a massive debt remaining. Not long ago, I heard that Hu Youquan was forcibly sent by creditors to the front lines to earn Spirit Stones to repay the debt, and he died in a clash with the Evil Cultivator…"

Xiao Zhangqing's eyebrows twitched slightly, surprised, "Died at the hands of an Evil Cultivator?"

Zixi nodded, voice tinged with hatred, "You could say he got a cheap death. Yet before he went to the battlefield, he endured endless torment, both physically and mentally, utterly desperate, and his death wasn't exactly painless."

Xiao Zhangqing smiled and asked, "So Zhou Yun'e is once again alone, without support, and that's why she came to me?"

"It's more than just being alone. I heard Hu Youquan died, but his debt wasn't fully cleared; he still owed several hundred Spirit Stones, and those creditors are pressing her to repay. If she can't, she'll be forced, like Hu Youquan before, to go to the battlefield to earn Spirit Stones." Zixi curled her lip and said, "So I guess she doesn't want to go to the battlefield, doesn't want to die, which is why she seeks you, my Lord. Deep down she probably knows the chance of you forgiving her is almost nil, but she's been driven into a corner and has no choice but to try."

Xiao Zhangqing nodded.

Zixi continued, "Let me drive this woman away. Rest assured, Lord, she's the epitome of selfishness, despising poverty and coveting wealth, only wanting to cling to a man to climb the ladder; she would never willingly sacrifice herself! She fears death, which is why she comes to you, Lord; she could never wish to die at your hands. It's merely a pretentious excuse to win your sympathy!"

"Alright, you may go." Xiao Zhangqing, looking at Lin Ziyu, though not soft‑hearted, still couldn't entirely harden his heart, thus consented to Zixi's voluntary offer.

He doesn't want to go out again.

First, he is a respectable person; he can't do something as disgraceful as Zhou Yun'e. He has already completed Foundation Establishment, is truly Nanshan Fang's top figure, and targeting such a woman would tarnish his reputation; secondly, as Zixi said, making Zhou Yun'e not even see his face will completely crush her hope.

This matter.

Let it end here, fully concluded.

The original vengeance I harbored when I first crossed over, the thing I most hated and wanted to avenge, has finally been accomplished.

As for Zhou Yun'e's future life or death, he will no longer care, nor wish to know; he'll treat her as a stranger.

"Awaiting orders!"

Zixi's eyes brimmed with resentment, her temper flared as she went out. ……

"Sister, you go back; I'll handle this."

Zixi stepped outside the cave residence, said a word to her sister, then walked straight to the kneeling, sobbing, pitiful Zhou Yun'e, standing above her and coldly said, "The Lord will not come out to see you, nor will he kill you. It's not that he can't bear to, but that he doesn't want to dirty his hands. So, if you demand death, then take your own life. Rest assured, I'll take care of your corpse. I won't give you a grand burial, but granting you a simple coffin is no problem."

Zhou Yun'e looked at Zixi's face, somewhat similar to Lin Ziyu's, yet with a completely different aura, and guessed the other's identity in her heart.

She was another concubine of Xiao Zhangqing, the younger sister among the Lin sisters, who is now the behind‑the‑scenes boss of Guangju Lou.

Seeing Zixi's domineering, unfeeling demeanor, Zhou Yun'e was stunned, her tears temporarily halted, but tears still streaked her face; shaking her head in resentment she said, "Impossible, Zhangqing can't not see me! You're talking nonsense! You two sisters are just concubines of Zhangqing; you're afraid I'll return to Zhangqing and steal your favor, so you deliberately blocked me!"

Zixi sneered, "To be frank, the Lord inside the cave residence has long seen clearly what's happening outside! The reason he doesn't come out to see you is because you now don't even have the qualification to meet him! You're unworthy! Understand?"

"Fox temptress! Little slut!" Zhou Yun'e completely broke down, hysterically.

Buzz! Zixi flicked her hand casually, and Zhou Yun'e's head buzzed, the pain nearly knocking her unconscious; it took a good while for her to regain consciousness.

She then stepped forward, grabbed Zhou Yun'e's collar, lifted her, and used her magical power to firmly bind her, rendering her immobile and mute, and said coldly, "How dare you insult me again?! Sister, I'll drag this disgusting woman away so she won't disturb the Lord here. Today I'll see whether she dares to die for me."

Just as Zixi was about to leave.

Suddenly a figure descended from the sky, its aura unfathomable to a cultivator of the Qi Refining Realm.

The person was Cao Hao, the head of the Cao family, who had been training for two months.

"I have met both Miss Lin."

Cao Hao, at the mid‑Foundation Establishment stage, is the top cultivator in Nanshan Fang; even a Qi Refining Realm's great‑perfection cultivator must bow respectfully before him, scarcely daring to draw a breath, and they rarely meet otherwise.

But now, in front of the Jia Yi Cave Residence, facing the two Lin sisters, he instead became exceedingly cautious, seeking a foothold.

"I've seen the Cao family head."

Lin Zixi didn't put on any airs; she returned a bow, but very casually.

Back then, the two sisters had even schemed to cling to the Cao family's influence, using the Cao family's tiger‑skin banner to curry favor with some of the Cao family's officials and elders.

Now, even the Cao family head can stand on equal footing with them.

"Miss Lin, what's going on? Need my help?" Cao Hao looked at the restrained Zhou Yun'e and asked with a smile.

"No need, I can handle it myself." Lin Zixi waved her hand and said, "The Cao family head is here to see the lord, right? The lord is free right now; sister, you take the Cao family head inside."

Lin Ziyu nodded, made an inviting gesture, and said, "Cao family head, please come in."

Immediately, Cao Hao followed Lin Ziyu into the cave residence.

Meanwhile, Lin Zixi seized Zhou Yun'e and left.

Zhou Yun'e struggled desperately, her mouth emitting a "wu‑wu‑wu" sound, but it was of no avail.

She overheard the Lin sisters' conversation and learned that the middle‑aged man before her was indeed the Cao family head, the only mid‑Foundation Establishment cultivator in Nanshan Fang, who had recently slain a major Evil Cultivator that had infiltrated Nanshan Fang's Foundation stage…

Someone like that, with a casual word, a breath, a flick of a finger, could grant her endless benefits, free her from trouble, and make no one in Nanshan Fang dare to bully her!

Her creditors—let alone the Cao family head, even a single Cao family elder—could make them not even dare to lift a finger! Yet the Cao family head, in front of the Lin sisters, seemed to lower his stance even further? That should have been the treatment she enjoyed!

She should be the one who commands wind and rain in Nanshan Fang, not now being hauled around like cargo.

In the end, she stared hopelessly at the Jia Yi Cave residence, her anger burning like a raging fire.

Xiao Zhangqing, you truly have a cruel heart! How could you treat me like this? Has your conscience vanished entirely? ……

……

"Cao family head, why are you free to come here today? Is there any good news?"

Xiao Zhangqing saw Cao Hao arrive, a hint of delight in his eyes, and asked curiously.

Cao Hao quickly nodded, his spirit radiant, and said, "Nothing can hide from Senior Xiao! I've recently found that the Evil Cultivators' attacks on Nanshan Fang have clearly weakened. The number of Evil Cultivators besieging Nanshan Fang has also dropped. Even that second‑rank formation master hasn't appeared for quite a while. I suspect the Evil Cultivators may be retreating!"

Xiao Zhangqing heard this and was pleased, "The Evil Cultivators are retreating? Is that true?"

Cao Hao nodded, "At least an eighty‑percent chance!"

If the Evil Cultivators retreat, it would be a tremendous piece of good news for him and for the Cao family.

Should the Evil Cultivators break through Nanshan Fang, the Cao family would have to fragment themselves, slip away secretly, and find a new foothold.

Because for Evil Cultivators, ordinary Scattered Cultivators in Nanshan Fang might not yet be dealt with harshly; they wouldn't launch a full‑scale slaughter.

But having long been the main resistance and having even 'slain' a mid‑Foundation Establishment Evil Cultivator, he and the Cao family would almost certainly be wiped out.

ps: please give me a monthly ticket~ (Chapter end)