Chapter 19: A Parting Gift? I Wish the Zhao Family Good Luck!

The night once again became Lin Xuan's best partner.

Like a bat in the dark night, he shuttled silently through the intricate alleys and under the shadows of the eaves of Qingyun City. He pushed the Shadow Concealment Art and the Turtle Breathing Technique to their limits, his entire being seemingly transformed into an incorporeal ghost.

He did not choose to leave the city immediately; that would make his target too obvious. Since the Zhao family dared to search the Four Seas Trading Firm so blatantly, they must have set up a dragnet at every city gate.

His target was the north of the city—the core area of the Zhao family estate!

A "gift," naturally, had to be delivered into the "master's" hands.

He snuck along the way, avoiding several waves of patrolling city guards and a few obscure spiritual sense scans. The closer he got to the Zhao family estate, the tighter the security became, with sentries and hidden guards everywhere, and even warning arrays set up.

But for Lin Xuan, who possessed the Turtle Breathing Technique and the Shadow Concealment Art, and whose perception had been enhanced multiple times by the system's energy, this was not insurmountable. Like an experienced thief, he patiently looked for gaps in the defenses and blind spots in the arrays, approaching bit by bit.

Finally, he lurked under the outer wall of the Zhao family estate, in a shadow near the backyard woodshed. The security here was relatively weak, and it was close to the area where servants were active, making the atmosphere chaotic and difficult to detect.

From the system space, he took out that special reward obtained from the "Victory Through Rot" achievement—the Misfortune Curse Doll (one-time use).

This was a rough and crude-looking straw doll, with eerie runes drawn on it in cinnabar, exuding an ominous aura.

[Misfortune Curse Doll (one-time use): Used on a designated target, it can cause them to encounter a series of uncontrollable "minor troubles" and "accidents" over the next twelve hours, with a high probability of interrupting their important affairs, and a certain probability of attracting the attention of nearby hostile units. Note: The effect depends on the target's strength and fortune.]

"Zhao Wuji, oh Zhao Wuji, you racked your brains trying to catch me, and even colluded with the Nether Sect..." Lin Xuan looked at the doll in his hand that exuded bad luck, a wicked smile curling at the corner of his mouth. "I, Lin Xuan, am not a stingy person; I'll gift this 'good luck' to you!"

Following the system instructions, he held the doll in his hands, silently recited Zhao Wuji's name and visualized his appearance in his heart, then channeled his spiritual power to gently activate it.

Hum!

The cinnabar runes on the doll glowed slightly, then quickly dimmed, as if they had lost all spirituality, turning into a pile of real withered grass. At the same time, an invisible and intangible, yet bone-chilling, gloomy fluctuation spread out like ripples, silently merging into the night, locking onto a figure deep within the Zhao family estate who was plotting in a study...

"Done!" Lin Xuan put away the discarded doll and clapped his hands.

This "grand gift" had been delivered; as for the effect, it would depend on the Zhao family's own "fortune."

After doing all this, he did not linger and immediately returned along the original path, preparing to find an opportunity to leave the city.

However, just as he was about to leave the core area of the Zhao family, a sudden change occurred!

A sharp, peerless sword Qi struck out from the side without warning, carrying a thunderous sound, aiming straight for his back! This sword Qi was pure and overbearing, completely different from the death energy of the Nether Sect, yet even more lethal!

Ye Chen?! How could he be here?!

Lin Xuan was horrified. There was no time to think; he instantly activated the Ghost Shadow Step, his body forcibly twisting away in an extremely awkward posture!

"Screech!"

The sword Qi grazed his ribs, carving a deep mark into the wall, with lightning sparks jumping, leaving half of his body somewhat numb.

"Lin Xuan! It really is you! You rat hiding your head and showing your tail!" Ye Chen's figure emerged from the shadows, holding a lightning-lit longsword, his eyes cold as frost, his killing intent almost solidifying. "Your concealment technique is indeed brilliant, but I have a fresh memory of your 'scent'!"

He had actually locked onto Lin Xuan using some kind of special sensing!

Lin Xuan's expression was ugly. He knew that as a Child of Destiny, it was not strange for Ye Chen to have some special means. He just didn't expect to run into him at this time, in this place!

"Ye Chen, how about we settle the grudges between us another day? I don't have time to play with you right now." As Lin Xuan spoke, he secretly accumulated power, preparing to activate the Blood Escape Technique at any moment.

"Another day? Today is your death day!" Ye Chen didn't give him a chance at all. With a shake of his longsword, even more violent thunder sword Qi swept over like a storm! "Hand over the Saintess's item, and then die!"

The Saintess's item? Saintess Yun Yao? When did I take her things? Lin Xuan was stunned, then realized that perhaps it was from the previous peeking (though he didn't see anything) or a later conflict where the other party misunderstood something, or it was simply an excuse to attack!

There was no reasoning with a protagonist affected by a "brain-lowering halo"!

"I'll fight you!" Lin Xuan feigned a desperate struggle, suddenly throwing the last few "lime powder smoke bombs" and "soul-bewitching smoke" he was holding at Ye Chen, while simultaneously exerting force under his feet, making a move to charge forward!

Ye Chen had suffered once before and was already prepared. He rolled his sleeves, his spiritual power billowing, blocking all the smoke.

However, Lin Xuan's charge was just a feint! The moment the smoke exploded, his figure suddenly veered, rushing toward a luxurious residential area next to the City Lord's Mansion, which was in the opposite direction of leaving the city!

That was... where several major families of Qingyun City lived!

"Want to run?!" Ye Chen shouted angrily, his body turning into lightning, chasing relentlessly!

The two chased and fled, causing a huge commotion that instantly startled the entire silent night!

"Who goes there?!"

"Audacious! How dare you act wildly in the noble district!"

The guards of various major families were startled one after another, shouting angrily as they rushed out.

This was exactly the effect Lin Xuan wanted! Like a slippery loach, he shuttled crazily between the roofs and walls of the major mansions, specifically diving into those family territories that were heavily guarded and looked like they shouldn't be trifled with!

"Stop him! He's an assassin!" Ye Chen was anxious in his pursuit and couldn't help but shout loudly.

It would have been better if he hadn't shouted; once he did, those family guards became even more chaotic! They couldn't see Lin Xuan's disguised appearance, only seeing one figure fleeing in a panic, followed by a murderous sword cultivator in hot pursuit, shouting "assassin"—how could they let this slide?

"Protect the Patriarch!"

"Activate the defensive array!"

"Stop the one behind! He might be an accomplice!"

For a time, it was chaos, alarms rang out, lights of various spiritual powers lit up, and all kinds of attacks indiscriminately blanketed the two who were chasing and fleeing!

Relying on his nimble movement technique and the Ghost Shadow Step, Lin Xuan was like a fish in water amidst the chaos, narrowly avoiding most of the attacks. But Ye Chen was miserable; his target was clear, his momentum was fierce, and his lightning-attribute technique was particularly conspicuous, immediately becoming the target of public criticism!

Several powerful attacks locked onto him directly, forcing him to swing his sword to block, his speed greatly reduced.

"A bunch of idiots! I am Ye Chen! I am pursuing a wanted criminal!" Ye Chen was so angry his face turned blue.

"Ye Chen? Which Ye Chen? Never heard of him!"

"I don't care who you are! Daring to trespass on my Li family's restricted area, take him down!"

The chaos escalated further!

Taking advantage of this precious gap of chaos, Lin Xuan finally rushed out of the noble district and arrived at the relatively chaotic West City. Without hesitation, he immediately activated the Blood Escape Technique!

"Pfft!"

A mouthful of blood sprayed out, his figure turning into a streak of blood light that was almost impossible for the naked eye to capture, instantly crossing several streets and rushing directly to the vicinity of the West City Gate!

The guards at the city gate had just been distracted by the commotion in the city center when they saw a streak of blood light rushing over at an incredible speed. Before they could even react—

"Boom!"

Lin Xuan smashed through the side gate that had not been fully closed due to the commotion and disappeared into the darkness outside the city!

"So... someone broke through the gate!" The guards finally exclaimed in hindsight.

At this moment, the chaos in the noble district in the city center was still continuing. Ye Chen was entangled by the guards of several families and could not get away, watching helplessly as Lin Xuan escaped, so angry he almost vomited blood.

[Ding! Detected Ye Chen's extreme frustration and anger, emotion points +2888!]

[Ding! Detected the confusion and anger of the various major families in Qingyun City, emotion points +5666!]

[Ding! Detected the panic of the city guards, emotion points +1333!]

Listening to the pleasant notification sounds in his mind, Lin Xuan, who was miles away, finally breathed a sigh of relief and stopped the Blood Escape Technique. His face was a bit pale, but his mood was incomparably comfortable.

"Old friend Ye Chen, thanks for the assist! I'll treat you to a meal next time!"

"Patriarch Zhao, I hope you like the 'good luck' I sent!"

"Qingyun City, goodbye... or, never see you again!"

He identified the direction and headed toward the general location of the Black Wind Shanzhai, his figure merging into the vast mountains and forests.

Behind him, in Qingyun City, at the Zhao family estate.

Zhao Wuji in the study was about to perform an important spiritual power circulation when he suddenly felt restless, a breath of spiritual energy went the wrong way, and he almost suffered a Qi deviation.

Immediately after, the tiles on the roof of the study loosened for some reason, and one fell, smashing his favorite inkstone.

He walked out of the study angrily to get some air, slipped, and almost fell into the lotus pond...

The Zhao family's "good luck" had only just begun.

And this night-running drama directed by Lin Xuan, with Ye Chen's "friendly" appearance, as well as the Zhao family's continuous "little accidents," was destined to become the most talked-about topic for the residents of Qingyun City for a long time to come.

(End of Chapter Nineteen)