Chapter 333: and translation of chapter title

339. Chapter 339: Scavenging

Sleeping Willow River.

Lotus Heart Boat, located on the most central pleasure boat.

A woman whose appearance and demeanor closely resembled that of Miss Hu the Second sat before the vanity.

This woman is one of the illegitimate daughters of Commander Hu, the current witch master of the 'Witch Enchantress' organization that punished Yun Xinying from afar, Hu Songqi.

Thus translation: "This woman is one of the illegitimate daughters of Commander Hu, the current witch master of the 'Witch Enchantress' organization that remotely punished Yun Xinying, Hu Songqi."

What is shown on the vanity mirror is not Hu Songqi's reflection, but a distant view of Hu Suqi's villa.

Thus translation: "What is shown on the vanity mirror is not Hu Songqi's reflection, but a distant view of Hu Suqi's villa."

Ever since she tried every means to infiltrate the 'Witch Enchantress' organization and take over Hu Suqi's position as witch master, Hu Songqi has never relaxed her surveillance of Hu Suqi.

Hu Songqi knows that, in terms of magical attainment, even though she mainly studies evil witchcraft and took a shortcut, she is still far inferior to Hu Suqi.

Therefore, after Hu Songqi assumed the position of witch master, she conducted herself extremely discreetly.

Unexpectedly, this low-key style actually earned her the support of the members of the 'Witch Enchantress' organization.

Nevertheless, no matter how much support she gained, Hu Songqi dared not act in Hu Suqi's name.

Even her surveillance of Hu Suqi was wrapped in a layer of disguise.

The image in the vanity mirror before Hu Songqi is extremely blurry, precisely because she used the 'Ghost Eye' technique to monitor only the latest mechanical achievement—a camera, whose real-time footage she watched, rather than directly using the 'Ghost Eye' technique to monitor Hu Suqi's villa.

This was done to avoid the risk of being discovered by Hu Suqi.

She feared that one day Hu Suqi, disregarding blood ties and their meager sisterly affection, would come to kill her.

The reason she so severely punished Yun Xinying, beating her to a full-body fracture and reducing her to a cripple, was actually a manifestation of her guilt and caution.

In order to further advance in the way of magic, Hu Songqi must explore the Dead Person's Valley secret realm to obtain a secret manual of evil witchcraft.

Targeting Li Shuwen was also a last resort.

There are not many Void-Realm martial artists that Hu Songqi can scheme against.

After weighing options, the most suitable candidate turned out to be the unaffiliated Li Shuwen.

After the scheme failed right at the outset, Hu Songqi urgently ordered the 'Witch Enchantress' organization to cut off all contact.

When Lin Ke left Fuli County and went to the provincial capital to investigate, Hu Songqi didn't panic at all.

Anyway, all preparations had already been made in advance.

Even if Lin Ke were incredibly capable, even if he traced Yun Xinying through the Wei father-son line, it wouldn't be a big problem.

Hu Songqi had long arranged Yun Xinying's exit strategy.

By then, all leads will be cut off at Yun Xinying.

I reckon that even if Lin Ke still wanted to investigate further, by then he wouldn't be able to.

Afterwards, by stirring up some things in Fuli County to divert Lin Ke's attention, this matter would come to an end.

Who would have thought that Yun Xinying would act on her own, defy the plan, and secretly go to ambush Lin Ke?

Do you really think Hu Songqi is blind and deaf, unable to notice that very clever surveillance mark?

One can't guess what Yun Xinying has encountered.

From the moment she discovered Yun Xinying's defiance, Hu Songqi had a gut feeling that something was wrong, knowing that Lin Ke would eventually uncover her existence—it was only a matter of time.

But she couldn't just flee alone, abandoning the wealth, status, and power she had painstakingly acquired.

So she didn't go anywhere; she simply waited on her home turf.

Let's see who will eventually come knocking.

Hu Suqi, Shi Gangan, or Lin Ke?

What she actually looks forward to most is still Hu Suqi!

Having imitated Hu Suqi for nearly thirty years, deep down Hu Songqi still harbors a strong desire to break free from the rut and be herself.

The prerequisite for breaking free from the rut is indeed to shatter the cage in her heart.

If she could personally defeat Hu Suqi in a frontal confrontation, Hu Songqi feels she might be able to start life anew.

Thus, Hu Songqi watches Hu Suqi's villa with a complex mix of feelings and an inexplicable anticipation.

Eight Extremes Martial Hall.

Senior Brother Shi hesitated for over two hours after Lin Ke left, then finally made up his mind.

He tidied himself up, donned his most formal attire, set aside the martial hall's disciples, went alone, and drove to Hu Suqi's villa.

Passing a flower shop, Senior Brother Shi recalled a strategy he had seen before and bought a large bouquet of roses.

Getting out of the car, he held the bouquet from the passenger seat, Senior Brother Shi squeezed the small square box in his pants pocket, took a deep breath, and rang the villa's gate bell.

"Who?"

A moment later, a cold female voice came from the speaker beside the doorbell.

Without needing to listen closely, Senior Brother Shi could tell it was Hu Suqi's voice.

"It's me."

Senior Brother Shi swallowed his saliva and forced himself to speak calmly.

"Who are you?"

Hu Suqi didn't just let Senior Brother Shi in so easily, pretending not to have recognized his voice.

However, as the daughter of a commander who greatly advocates mechanical development, Hu Suqi's villa had cameras installed on both sides of the gate for surveillance.

She could clearly see Senior Brother Shi's face; how could she not know who was standing outside the gate?

Senior Brother Shi felt a slight bitterness in his heart.

He knew this was Hu Suqi being angry about last night's incident.

Taking a deep breath, Senior Brother Shi said, 'Suqi, it's me, Shi Gangan; open the door, I have something very important to tell you.'

"Shi Gangan? Which Shi Gangan?"

Hu Suqi asked curiously, counter-questioning, "Is that the one who claimed to have something important to say, so he sneaked into a woman's boudoir in the dead of night, and then left without rhyme or reason?"

As soon as these words were spoken, Shi Shixiong immediately felt embarrassed.

If it weren't for worrying about his image, he would really want to take off his shoes and socks, dig a hole with his toes, and crawl into it.

A squeak.

But the villa's gate opened at that moment.

"Come in, I want to hear what important matter you, Senior Shi, the head of the hall, have to discuss with me in broad daylight."

This sentence immediately stirred Shi Shixiong's emotions again.

Embarrassed?

What's there to be embarrassed about?

As long as she opens the door to let him in, it shows that Su Qi isn't really angry with him.

Then there is still room for reconciliation.

Before the gate was fully pulled open to both sides, Shi Shixiong exerted force with his feet, his figure flashed, and he quickly leapt inside.

So fast was his speed that an afterimage lingered where he stood.

The roses he held in his hands were protected by Shi Shixiong's true qi, keeping them intact.

Not a single petal fell.

"How about it? Do you think my senior brother can achieve his goal?"

Inside the Lotus Heart Pavilion.

In the room where Hu Songqi was.

Lin Ke's voice suddenly sounded softly behind Hu Songqi, who was intently staring at the scene of Hu Suqi's villa gate in the dressing mirror.

Even "appearing and disappearing like a ghost" is insufficient to describe Lin Ke's manner of appearance.

It is clearly visible that Lin Ke's appearance greatly startled Hu Songqi.

His whole body shuddered violently.

"How did you get in?"

Hu Songqi slowly turned around, looking at the expressionless Lin Ke, and said, "I have set up so many warning spells and traps; even if your master Li Shuwen, a cultivator of the Dongxu realm, came, he might not be able to sneak into my room without alerting me."

"Ah, you're asking about that." Lin Ke curled the corner of his mouth, "That's a secret; how could I tell you?"

Hu Songqi narrowed her eyes, did not press further, but merely prepared her defenses and readied herself to strike at any moment.

"No need to be so tense; if I really wanted to strike you, why would I bother to warn you?"

Seeing this, Lin Ke spoke to soothe, indicating that Hu Songqi need not be so cautiously on guard, as if facing a great enemy.

"What do you want?"

oco

Hu Songqi's guard remained, and she posed the question.

If the matter before her could be simply resolved, Hu Songqi also did not want to engage in a fight.

She found it increasingly impossible to see through this person before her.

Rumors in the martial world say this person is merely a peak Condensed Truth realm cultivator, a genius martial artist of the human immortal dao.

However, Hu Songqi inferred from some clues that this person had most likely already entered the Return to Unity realm.

From seeing through Yun Xinying's technique and leaving that monitoring mark on her, Hu Songqi further inferred that this person must have mastered some profound arts.

Moreover, judging by the way that mark exists, the arts this person masters are likely even more orthodox and traditional than Hu Suqi's ancient witchcraft, leaning more toward "fangshu" (directional techniques)!

Thus, Hu Songqi truly does not want to fight Lin Ke, whose hidden cards are unknown.

"I only have two conditions; if you can agree, I might let you go."

Lin Ke raised two fingers, his tone extremely calm, yet the words he spoke were extremely arrogant.

Seeing Hu Songqi's brows tightly furrowed, Lin Ke kindly gave a warning: "Believe me, if I wanted to kill you, I wouldn't need more than three moves."

After reading the large volume given by Hu Suqi, the ten years of arduous practice in human immortal martial arts, for Lin Ke, now only remains as one reference for perfecting the "structure" system, and whether breaking through the Dongxu realm could aid his advancement to a fourth-rank sage upon returning to the wizard world, serving as a whetstone—these two aspects' significance.

What Lin Ke can now rely on to roam the world is, under bursts of inspiration, constantly self-created secret arts that conform to this world's rules, based on mental power.

Movement, stealth, breaking barriers, defense, attack—whatever he wants to do, he can accomplish.

Therefore, Lin Ke also developed curiosity about the history of "fangshu" and fangshi in this world.

From the secret arts he currently creates, if it were not for the ancient fangshi of this world having made a fundamental directional mistake, the fangshi could have developed into a scale and achievement comparable to the true spirit wizards of the wizard world.

The reason they embarked on a path of shedding the flesh and ascending consciousness must have a cause.

Perhaps the origin of evil witchcraft is not as late and simple as Hu Suqi speculated.

And since Hu Songqi obviously majored in evil witchcraft, she naturally became the point of entry for Lin Ke's investigation of these hidden matters.

"You speak first; after you speak, I will consider it before agreeing to you."

Although Hu Songqi was very angry at Lin Ke's arrogance, as an evil witchcraft practitioner whose ordinary-state realm and combat power are comparable to the peak of the Return to Unity realm human immortal martial artist, she possesses a certain ability to avoid misfortune and attract good fortune.

After Lin Ke calmly spoke his threat-laden words, Hu Songqi truly sensed a mortal danger.

However, Hu Songqi did not simply yield so easily; she still wanted to bargain.

"You have no choice; only agree or refuse—there is no path of agreeing after consideration."

Lin Ke gave a very clear attitude, while also emitting a faint killing intent.

Hu Songqi immediately felt it.

She gritted her teeth, and ultimately, under a crisis warning triggered at a frequency that could be called mad, she yielded: "I've agreed; go ahead and speak."

"The first condition: hand over all materials you have regarding witchcraft, fangshu, and fangshi."

Lin Ke retracted his right hand's middle finger, leaving only the index finger raised, and emphasized, "Remember, I want everything, including all information about secret realms like the Valley of the Dead. Don't think of hiding or glossing over; I can tell."

"The second condition: kill everyone who participated in targeting my senior sister Li Sisi."

After a pause, Lin Ke added: "As for yourself, never mind, but you must withdraw from the 'Witch Charm' organization and not remain a witch lord."

The first condition is fine. The second condition is too much.

Even though Hu Songqi had braced herself mentally, she never expected to hear such an outrageous condition.

This made her extremely angry, her fury blazing.

Yet under the increasingly oppressive killing intent locking onto her and the threatening killing aura, she didn't dare to loudly object.

She could only voice her objection lightly.

Lin Ke suddenly chuckled: 'You can refuse, and then I'll kill you, spend a few more days, and slowly look for someone else.'

Hearing those words that completely disregarded her life, Hu Songqi felt a chill run through her body.

She really wanted to go all out, perhaps she could still fight her way to a path of survival.

But she didn't dare, and she was unwilling.

As a child, she grew afraid of poverty, afraid of hardship.

Hu Songqi couldn't bear to give up her current luxurious life of fine clothes and jade food, to become a wretched fugitive fleeing and dodging pursuit, a stray dog.

'Alright, I agree to both!'

With the thought of 'as long as the green hills remain, there's no fear of running out of firewood,' Hu Songqi gritted her teeth and agreed to these two extremely outrageous conditions.

Soon, several ancient books, two bamboo scrolls, a map, and a thick handwritten secret manual of techniques were placed before Lin Ke.

'These are the materials you wanted.'

Hu Songqi pointed to the items she had taken from the room's safe, speaking with heartache.

These are the foundation of her livelihood; giving them up like this is truly hard to bear.

'Hmm.'

Lin Ke nodded, confirming Hu Songqi hadn't concealed anything, then with a casual wave of his right hand, instantly sent those materials somewhere unknown.

Seeing this, Hu Songqi's eyes widened in shock, envy, and all manner of feelings.

'As for the people you want, I've already ordered them to come here to see me; we need to wait a bit.'

After Hu Songqi finished speaking, she prepared for full resistance, fearing Lin Ke might not keep his word.

'Alright, I'll wait.'

Lin Ke, however, truly waited in silence.

He wasn't afraid that Hu Songqi would openly summon people to kill him while secretly calling others to surround him.

After about ten or more minutes, a knocking sounded at the door.

'Come in.'

Hu Songqi glanced at the silent, standing Lin Ke, then spoke.

The door opened, and a dozen or so people in varied attire filed into the room.

There were scholars, courtesans, peddlers, clerks, and constables……

'Greetings, Shaman Chief.'

These people seemed unable to see Lin Ke; upon entering, they immediately knelt on one knee and paid homage to Hu Songqi.

'Everyone's here; I hope you keep your word.'

Hu Songqi ignored her subordinates and instead said to Lin Ke:

'Hmm. I naturally keep my word.'

Just as a dozen or so members of the Witchcraft organization who had participated in targeting Li Sisi were feeling uneasy, Lin Ke struck.

Without seeing how he moved, in almost an instant he shattered their hearts into pieces.

A dozen or so people collapsed simultaneously to the ground, losing their lives.

The next second, Lin Ke's figure vanished without a trace, just as he had arrived, and Hu Songqi didn't notice how he left.

The room now held only a dozen or so corpses, and Hu Songqi, clutching her heart, still trembling with fear.

Before leaving, Lin Ke lightly pinched Hu Songqi's heart.

To prove his words were not empty.

Killing her is like killing a chicken!