Chapter 96: Nie Yuan

After Cheng Feng killed Nie Hu, he left behind no traces, forcing the county government to find an innocent person to take the blame.

The turmoil in the upper echelons of Qingxi County temporarily subsided, but the hatred in Cheng Feng's heart for that Alchemist, Nie Yuan, had not diminished.

Nie Hu was dead, yet Nie Yuan remained nowhere to be found, which made Cheng Feng even more anxious to find him for revenge. Therefore, he only arranged for eight hundred men to guard the Hutou Gang's territory and closely monitor Langu to see if she had any news of Nie Yuan.

What made Cheng Feng curious was that, according to Langu, she had been abducted by Nie Yuan and had promised to help make medicine in order to survive.

Yet Cheng Feng had already given her the Bone-Eroding Powder.

After the poison was neutralized, shouldn't she have left immediately? Why was she still wholeheartedly helping?

Cheng Feng had the eight hundred men keep a secret watch on Langu's movements, but Langu never stepped out of her door, so he could only wait.

The news that the Yihong Pavilion murder case had been closed was quickly publicized by the County Magistrate and spread throughout all of Qingxi County.

The County Magistrate only cared about suppressing the news on the surface; as long as the real culprit did not appear again, it did not matter. Among those in gangs, who didn't have some fighting and killing?

The Hutou Gang also gradually calmed down under Wang Hu's control. Without a leader, how could they carry on? They had no choice but to let the gang's second-in-command take over. It was a fact that the gang leader was dead, but the living still needed to go on living.

This was the nature of gangs; fighting and killing was just for survival.

Only the family of the person involved, Nie Yuan, felt grief in his heart upon hearing the news.

Nie Hu's aptitude was mediocre, and wanting to break through required an extremely precious medicinal ingredient that was not sold on the market at all. After settling Langu in, Nie Yuan prepared to make a quick trip to help his son advance further in the Martial Dao; only with higher strength could the path of being in a gang be more stable, and he himself could rest easy in his old age.

Who would have thought that one trip out and back would result in a white-haired man burying his own son.

Looking at the Black Ridge Tiger Blood in his hands, Nie Yuan was beyond tears.

What had all his hard work over the past half-year been for?

Why was the Martial Dao so arduous?

Nie Yuan was filled with resentment; he had a son in his old age, and his son's Martial Dao aptitude was only average.

Because of his own aptitude, he had also joined an Alchemist's tutelage, but to this day, there had been no results.

Although he did not know who had committed the act, his intuition told him that this was definitely not the work of an ordinary enemy. Thus, he immediately rushed to the scene and began to examine it carefully.

Relying on his keen perception, Nie Yuan soon caught a whiff of a familiar scent. This scent made his heart stir, as if he had thought of something.

After confirming it repeatedly, he headed straight for the Hutou Gang's pharmacy.

Nie Yuan walked toward Langu in a rage, questioning her if she knew the cause of Nie Hu's death.

Looking at Nie Yuan's angry gaze, Langu's heart sank; she knew that things had changed.

She knew well that she was no match for Nie Yuan.

Fortunately, she had already neutralized the poison in her own body; she had been waiting for this moment when the truth would be revealed.

Secretly scattering a bit of medicinal powder, she felt slightly more at ease: "Master Nie, what are you talking about? I don't understand what you mean."

Nie Yuan said angrily, "My son is dead. You are the only one who knew the relationship between Nie Hu and me. My son died at Yihong Pavilion; do you have anything to explain?"

Nie Yuan was not certain in his heart right now, but his angry mood made him almost lose his reason.

Looking at Nie Yuan's predatory expression, Langu knew that no matter what she said now, Nie Yuan would not listen.

Fortunately, her measures were already in place; wait a little longer, just a little longer and it would take effect.

She had no choice but to stall: "I don't know? I have been in the pharmacy making medicine the whole time and know nothing about what happened outside. As for your son, I hope you will accept your grief."

But she did not know that Nie Yuan had discovered a piece of evidence at the scene: the lingering scent of a Fragrant Bottle that only disciples of the Tianxiang Sect possessed.

Following that trace of scent, Nie Yuan had also found the courtyard where Cheng Feng had burned the black clothes. Perhaps due to the passage of time, Nie Yuan had no further clues after that.

But it was still enough; there were only two people in Qingxi County who had a Tianxiang bottle: himself and Langu. There were no others.

Hearing that Langu was still covering up, Nie Yuan struck out fiercely, throwing a punch at Langu's chest.

Although Langu's strength was not bad, facing the extremely enraged Nie Yuan, she still appeared somewhat unable to keep up.

Both were Blood Refining Late Stage Martial Artists; they traded blows, fighting to a standstill. For a time, the entire pharmacy was shrouded in a murderous atmosphere.

Cheng Feng, who was hiding in the shadows after being called back by the eight hundred men, watched all of this and secretly rejoiced. He had originally thought his plan would invite Nie Yuan's crazy revenge, but he had unexpectedly seen the fierce battle between Langu and Nie Yuan. He calculated in his heart whether he should take this opportunity to strike and reap the benefits as the third party.

However, Cheng Feng also knew that doing so carried great risk. Once Nie Yuan discovered his presence, the consequences would be unimaginable. He had to act cautiously and find the most suitable moment to strike.

Just at this moment, the battle situation suddenly changed.

The force of Nie Yuan's strikes suddenly weakened, as if he were drunk.

Langu seized the opportunity and struck Nie Yuan's chest with a palm. Nie Yuan could not dodge in time and spat out a mouthful of blood, which formed a blood mist.

Nie Yuan seemed to understand something; he quickly took several small porcelain bottles from his pocket, pulled off the stoppers, and poured the medicine directly into his mouth.

Langu prepared to press her advantage, but Nie Yuan also waved his hand, and a cloud of medicinal powder attacked Langu.

The sky-filling powder forced Langu to retreat and take cover.

Nie Yuan had rich combat experience; he broke through the medicinal powder and rushed toward Langu's vital chest area.

Under one of Nie Yuan's fierce attacks, Langu was accidentally injured and fell to the ground. Seeing this, Nie Yuan felt a surge of joy in his heart. Just at this moment, a black shadow suddenly flashed out from the shadows and headed straight for Nie Yuan.

This was Cheng Feng! He saw his chance and finally decided to strike. His figure was like lightning, and in an instant, he arrived behind Nie Yuan. Nie Yuan sensed something unusual and hurriedly turned to respond. However, he was already a step too late. Cheng Feng struck out with a palm, aiming directly for the vital point on Nie Yuan's abdomen.

Although Nie Yuan reacted extremely quickly, he was ultimately a step too slow. He only felt a massive force strike him, and his entire body flew out.

Cheng Feng covered his mouth and nose and shouted, "Eight hundred, fire arrows!"

The eight hundred men, who had been standing on the high wall at some unknown time, bent their bows and fired arrows, aiming straight at Nie Yuan.

Seeing the suddenly appearing Cheng Feng, Langu was somewhat stunned, but she immediately helped by scattering some medicinal powder toward Nie Yuan.

The medicinal powder drifted in the air like white smoke, quickly shrouding Nie Yuan's figure. Nie Yuan was struggling to get up when he suddenly felt an indescribable sense of dizziness wash over him. His movements instantly became sluggish, as if he were bound by an invisible force.

The arrows were like meteors piercing the night sky, carrying a sharp whistling sound as they headed straight for Nie Yuan. Nie Yuan rolled in the air, trying his best to dodge, but the density of the arrows far exceeded his imagination. His figure traced dangerous arcs in the air, but several arrows inevitably struck him.

Nie Yuan let out a miserable cry and fell heavily to the ground. His clothes were stained red with blood, and his face was as pale as paper. He lifted his head with difficulty and looked at the eight hundred men on the high wall, his eyes full of anger and unwillingness. Cheng Feng took the opportunity to rush forward and slammed a fist into Nie Yuan's face.