Chapter 696: Wuxia: Even Archrivals Can Become Lovers 30

No one can escape punishment! If you go in, the evil here will drag the whole town into it!

The house guardian's hands were covered in mud, he lunged at Jin Chen, his eyes wide and bloodshot, looking extremely eerie.

Mu Huaizhi stepped in front of Jin Chen, almost drawing his sword.

It's nothing, I was just asking.

Jin Chen pressed down his hand and walked forward.

What is this evil? Why are you only telling me?

Hehe… hehehe…

The house guardian's clear gaze lasted only a few seconds before he reverted to his mad appearance; before anyone could react, he drew a knife from his waist and stabbed straight into the heart.

Hey!

Sang Ning stood right beside him, but it happened too fast to stop.

The house guardian possessed immense strength; gripping the knife handle, he collapsed dead on the ground, leaving no chance for anyone to save him.

Damn.

Jin Chen kicked the corpse, 'Speaking half of it to a ghost.'

Hurry up and go in.

Mu Huaizhi urged, 'What was just said might have been a coincidence.'

He didn't want Jin Chen to think too much.

Let's go.

Just as Jin Chen was about to return to his position at the rear right, Mu Huaizhi grabbed his hand; he blinked slightly, turned his head to look, but saw Mu Huaizhi staring straight ahead, as if it were an absentminded gesture.

He then smiled, said nothing more, reversed their grip and walked side by side.

Mu Huaizhi's tense expression relaxed considerably.

The six of them climbed over the wall and entered; upon landing, they all became alert, each with their weapons ready in hand.

Inside the residence, apart from faint crying, it was overly quiet.

The interior is very spacious, a three-courtyard compound; the grass in front of the courtyard grows lush, as if well nourished.

Shush—

A faint sound came from behind.

Someone is following.

Jin Chen's ear twitched slightly, and he exchanged a glance with Mu Huaizhi.

The two signaled the others to keep moving forward, falling to the rear of the group.

Jin Chen glanced at Mu Huaizhi's left rear; the latter blinked and shifted his body slightly sideways.

In an instant, the sleeve blade was flung out.

The Jade Hilt Dragon was immediately drawn from the cloth bag, turning to face backward.

A black-clad figure collapsed in the grass, the sleeve blade lodged in his heart.

Mu Huaizhi caught up with another, swiftly slit his throat and knocked him down, then pulled off the mask to take a look.

This one had facial skin.

His phoenix eyes narrowed slightly; from these few exchanges, Mu Huaizhi gleaned some information.

The black-clad with facial skin is poor at disguise and weaker; those without facial skin, controlled by gu worms, are immortal and relentless, thus stronger.

Thus, the lowest-grade black-clad seem to be deliberately sent out as a decoy.

Also, the act of bending to take the mask made Mu Huaizhi hear the crying more clearly; he lingered two extra seconds to confirm he wasn't mistaken.

He stood up, looked at Jin Chen approaching, and said solemnly, 'The crying is from below.'

Ah?

Jin Chen crouched to listen carefully, 'Indeed.'

Could there be rooms underground?

The two hurried to catch up with the group and told them.

Sang Ning paled in shock, 'You… you're sure the crying underground is from a person…?'

Jiang Zhu glanced around but found no entrance to the underground.

It seems we must first go inside to find the secret door leading down.

Although this mansion has many doors, thanks to the prior breakthroughs of the Blades Gate and the True Martial Sect, they can now correctly locate the door leading into the courtyard.

Who knew the interior would be even more gloomy.

The moonlight was dim, furniture covered in a thick layer of dust, spiderwebs everywhere, swaying with the night wind blowing through the broken windows, eerily still.

Sang Ning clung tightly to Jiang Zhu's arm, not even noticing whether they were still arguing.

Jin Chen tightly held Mu Huaizhi's hand to avoid complications, his spiritual sense covering the entire residence.

Besides the six of them, there were three other living people inside the residence.

Upon pushing open the second door, Jin Chen abruptly halted, coldly saying to the corner cabinet, 'Get out.'

The other five looked over in response.

All they saw was the pitch-black cabinet door trembling, its lock slowly shaken open, a withered hand reaching out and clutching the door.

Mu Huaizhi instantly drew his sword to protect everyone, watching warily.

Then came the feet landing, covered in mud, the calves full of scabbed wounds.

Finally, a frail body emerged, messy hair obscuring the face, making it impossible to see clearly.

In this room, the brightness from the moonlight dwindled further; that person fully emerged, staggering toward the group.

Hehe… hey…

That person suddenly raised his head, tilted it, and smiled at them.

Sang Ning, who directly faced the impact, almost fainted in one breath.

He stretched out his hand shakily, his voice trembling.

"No… isn't he dead?"

This person is none other than the manor guardian who just committed suicide before their eyes!

But having known about the human skin mask beforehand, their shock only lasted an instant before they swiftly drew their swords and faced each other.

"Playing tricks."

Mu Huaizhi spoke coldly, the Jade Hilt Dragon pointing at his throat, "What are you trying to do?"

"Heh…"

That person only knew how to laugh, turning straight toward them, not even caring that the sword's tip had drawn blood from his neck.

"Young Master…"

He knelt down, bowed his head to the ground toward Jin Chen, and in a hoarse voice shouted, "Greetings, Young Sect Master of the Nine Abyss!"

Mu Huaizhi's sword came a step too late; he had already shouted it out.

Jin Chen: "……"

He spent half a second considering whether to admit it or just kill him, then finally met Mu Huaizhi's gaze and blinked.

"This manor has nothing to do with me."

"You're the Young Sect Master of the Nine Abyss?!"

The only two who were unaware, Fang Xun and Fu Zhiyuan, exclaimed in unison, their faces full of shock.

Seeing the others completely unfazed, the two exchanged a glance and asked again, "Are we the only ones who don't know?"

"Well, as things stand now, that's how it is."

Jiang Zhugan chuckled twice, silently thinking it was fortunate that this strange person hadn't also shouted out his own identity.

"We'll talk about it later." Jin Chen rubbed the tip of his nose, yet felt no guilt.

Mu Huaizhi thrust his sword into the person's shoulder, his voice icy to the extreme, "Who told you that?"

Having said that, he tried to tear off the face mask, and after a few seconds of force, indeed ripped off a human skin mask.

On the face were blurred flesh and writhing gu worms.

"Huh……"

The pain cleared his mind a little; he trembled as he reached out to grab Jin Chen, his voice hoarse.

"Young Master! Young Master… why are you killing me! Why!"

Jin Chen stepped back half a step, furrowed his brows tightly, and said, "Impudent, when have I ever killed you?"

"You killed me! It's you!"

He spat out a mouthful of fresh blood, together with the gu worms inside his body, writhing in the pool of blood, and finally lost all vitality.

That person also collapsed face‑down, his hand still posed as if reaching out.

Swish——

Fu Zhiyuan and the other man shifted their stances, pointing their long swords at Jin Chen.

As he moved, Mu Huaizhi also stepped in front of Jin Chen, gripping the Jade Hilt Dragon in his hand.

"Senior Brother?!"

Fu Zhiyuan's brows were knotted so tight they could trap a fly; he couldn't fathom why Mu Huaizhi, who hated evil like an enemy, was now protecting Jin Chen.

Fang Xun could see their feelings for each other and even tried to play matchmaker, but that was before he learned Jin Chen's identity.

"Huaizhi, you and Jin Chen were originally mortal enemies, locked in a death‑to‑the‑end feud."