Martial Peak

Chapter 2060, Missing

Translator: Silavin & Ashish

Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys

Yang Kai was finally back at Maplewood City after a few days.

Yang Kai didn’t have the time to go and inform Kang Si Ran about his safety after entering the city gate. Rather, he hurried back to the cave mansion he had rented before.

Yang Kai took out the token and poured his Source Qi into it, trying to deactivate the cave mansion’s barrier.

But what left him in a great shock was that the cave mansion’s barrier didn’t respond at all. It was as if his token was useless.

This made him furrow his brow, but very soon, he recalled a matter.

When he arrived at Maplewood City, he had rented the cave mansion for about a year, and counting the days, this one-year period seemed to have been over two months ago already.

Once the deadline passed, the right to use the cave mansion would naturally be withdrawn.

Yang Kai’s heart started pounding as he realized that something was wrong.

He didn’t care about the ending of the cave mansion’s lease. It wasn’t a big deal as he could go to the City Lord’s Mansion to register and rent another one, it was just a matter of Source Crystals.

He also hadn’t kept anything valuable in the cave mansion, so he wasn’t worried too much about it either.

However, before he left, the little girl of the Zhang Family was still in the cave mansion.

Back when he left with Kang Si Ran for the Yuan Furnace Mountain to explore Gong Sun Mu’s cave mansion, such a long delay had never crossed his mind. He believed that they would return relatively quickly. He didn’t even explain anything to Zhang Ruo Xi before leaving. He only told her that he was going out on a trip and left her here alone.

Now, the lease of the cave mansion had already expired. His right to use the cave mansion had been withdrawn. But what about Zhang Ruo Xi?

Yang Kai looked left and right, but he couldn’t find that delicate figure. He couldn’t help but be anxious.

When he left, Zhang Ruo Xi was only a First-Order Saint King. In Maplewood City, where snakes and vipers crept among the dragons, she had no power to protect herself. If she was targeted by someone with malicious intentions, the consequences would be disastrous.

“She could have gone back to the Zhang Family herself!?” Yang Kai murmured to himself.

If he was in Zhang Ruo Xi’s place, he would have returned to the Zhang Family first if the right to use the cave mansion was withdrawn and he was expelled from the cave mansion. In that case, he wouldn’t be worried about anything. The Zhang Family might not be strong, but they still had two Origin King Realm masters.

Just when Yang Kai was in a hopeless tangle, the barrier next to him suddenly fluctuated.

Yang Kai was stunned. He turned his head to look and discovered that the cave mansion’s door had actually opened as a pretty young woman came out. The young woman seemed to be in her thirties. She suspiciously asked, looking at Yang Kai with extreme vigilance, “Who are you?”

Yang Kai hastily cupped his fists and introduced himself, “This one’s Yang Kai. This cave mansion’s previous owner.”

The young woman furrowed her brow and stated, “I am renting this cave mansion now. There was nothing inside when I came in.”

“I know. I’m not here to find something.” Yang Kai smiled. He tried his best to be gentle.

“You are not here for anything?” The young woman, on the other hand, grew even more suspicious at the sight of this. “Then what are you doing here?”

“I’m looking for someone, a young girl to be exact,” Yang Kai hurriedly explained himself. “She should have been here but I can’t find her. Madam, have you seen her?”

Hearing that Yang Kai was looking for someone, the young woman furrowed her black brow. Her expression changed ever so slightly, but she hurriedly shook her head and replied, “I have not seen her.”

While speaking, she retracted her head and closed the door at the same time.

“Wait!” Seeing this, Yang Kai immediately understood that she must know something. Or else, why would she retreat like this? He immediately reached out and blocked the door.

The young woman’s expression worsened drastically. She screamed, “What do you want? Don’t forget, this is Maplewood City!”

Yang Kai let out a cold snort as he teleported into the cave mansion right away before closing the doors. He then stared at her coldly as a fearsome aura suddenly erupted from him, pressing down on the young woman right away.

“Dao Source Realm!” Sensing Yang Kai’s fearsome aura, the young woman’s face suddenly turned pale as she blurted out in despair. The look in her eyes when she was looking at Yang Kai finally changed.

The level of cultivators in Maplewood City wasn’t generally that high. There weren’t that many Dao Source Realm masters, but they all had a great background that ordinary cultivators could never provoke.

So, as soon as she noticed Yang Kai’s cultivation realm, the young woman was a little flustered.

She was only a First-Order Origin King, that’s all. How could she resist the pressure of a Dao Source Realm master? She might be somehow holding on but her body softened all of a sudden. She could only stop herself from falling after taking the support of the wall next to her.

She nibbled on her red lips and begged, looking at Yang Kai pleadingly, “Little Brother, you and I have no grievances. I have never offended you. Please don’t make it difficult for me…”

“I’m not making it difficult for you.” Yang Kai, maintaining a cold look, indifferently stated, “I only have a few questions. You have to answer them truthfully. If you dare to deceive me, I will make things so hard for you that you will beg me to kill you! You should know that I can indeed make it happen!”

The young woman nibbled her lips and gently nodded after hearing this.

“Very well. Then tell me, have you seen that little girl?” Yang Kai focused his pair of eyes on the opposite party, making sure that he wouldn’t miss the slightest change in her expression.

The young woman pondered for a moment before she nodded with difficulty. “I don’t know if that little girl I saw is the one you are looking for, but I have indeed seen a little girl at the cave mansion’s door…”

“Tell me, what was her age, cultivation, and characteristic features?” Yang Kai hurriedly asked.

“She was sixteen or seventeen years old. As for her cultivation, she was at the peak of the Second-Order Saint King Realm and was on the verge of breaking through to the Third-Order Saint King Realm. She looked a little weak. She was slender and spoke very softly. Her hair was black and straight…”

“Yes, that’s her.” Yang Kai’s eyes lit up immediately. He was sure that the girl this young woman had seen was Zhang Ruo Xi. What he didn’t expect was Zhang Ruo Xi’s cultivation to advance from the First-Order Saint King Realm to the peak of the Second-Order Saint King, just on the cusp of breaking through to the Third-Order, in just a year.

[I guess, her aptitude isn’t that bad. Of course, some part of the credit definitely belongs to the Marrow Washing Pill.]

“You said that you saw her at the gates of the cave mansion? What was she doing at the gates?” Yang Kai asked again, frowning.

The young woman replied, “She was standing at the entrance…”

“Standing!?” Yang Kai was confused.

“That’s right. She was just standing there. When I rented this cave mansion two months ago, I found her at the entrance of the cave mansion. I didn’t care much about it. Later, when I found her standing all the time there, I became curious. I asked her and she told me that she was waiting for Sir Yang… Little Brother, you wouldn’t happen to be that Sir Yang?”

While asking, the young woman timidly looked up at Yang Kai. And she was shocked to find Yang Kai dumbstruck.

At this moment, Yang Kai’s heart was crazily pounding.

He couldn’t help but imagine the scene where a sixteen, seventeen-year-old girl was standing quietly by the entrance of this cave mansion in Maplewood-like bustling city. She stood still there, withstanding the sun and winds, gazing left and right at the passing by figures but never found the familiar figure she was waiting for…

In a bustling city, she was like an abandoned kid, lonely, hesitant, and at a loss.

When the night fell and the cold wind blew, she would curl on the ground, shivering…

And when the sun rose again, she would open her eyes and continue to wait.

An inexplicable heaviness burdened Yang Kai’s heart.

“I found her pitiful. I even invited her to come in and sit down but she didn’t agree. She told me that she would stand there and wait… Sir Yang, Little Brother, I really didn’t do anything to her. Don’t make it harder for me.” The young woman looked at Yang Kai with trepidation. She was afraid that Yang Kai would vent his anger on her.

“Since you haven’t done anything to her, why didn’t you tell me the truth in the first place? You wanted to seal the cave mansion instead when you heard me asking about her whereabouts! Obviously, you have a guilty conscience!” Yang Kai coldly gazed at the young woman as his eyes flickered with intense murderous intent.

The young woman seemed to have sensed it. She was struck with panic. She hurriedly waved her hands and justified herself, “No, no, no, it’s not what you think… I really haven’t harmed her.”

“So tell me, where is she now? By the look on your face, you seem to know something,” Yang Kai’s voice grew colder.

The young woman shook her head.

Yang Kai let out a chuckle. “I guess you are afraid of something!”

“Little Brother, please don’t force me. Please let me go. As long as you don’t force me to do anything, I will do anything you want me to do,” the young woman begged for forgiveness. While speaking, her expression turned a little coquettish as her pair of pretty eyes suddenly turned shiny.

Yang Kai remained indifferent and unmoved. A strange power suddenly lingered around his fingertips as he asked with impatience in his voice, “Speak or die!”

While speaking, he slowly poked towards the young woman’s forehead.

Realizing Yang Kai to be iron-hearted, the young woman finally panicked and promptly answered, “Go to Jiang Family… perhaps you can find her there!”

“Jiang Family!?” Yang Kai’s fingers stopped just three centimetres away from the young woman’s forehead as the energy around the fingertips suddenly dissipated. He looked at the young woman and asked as if he was thinking something, “No wonder you were so afraid. So, it’s the Jiang Family! However… what does the Jiang Family want with her?”

“I don’t know!” The young woman shook her head. “One month ago, several men came and talked to her. Then, she left with those men. I was curious, so I secretly followed after them. I discovered them going into the Jiang Family, but I don’t know anything else. Even if you kill me, it will be useless!”

“She went with them on her own?” Yang Kai furrowed his brow.

“Yes!” The young woman nodded.

“Alright, madam, thank you for telling me everything. Goodbye.” Yang Kai cupped his fist and rushed out with a flash.

After Yang Kai left, the young woman finally slumped on the ground like a puddle of mud. Her clothes were completely drenched in sweat.

She wasn’t from any Sect or family and was only able to cultivate the First-Order Origin King Realm by her own efforts and various opportunities. She had never come in contact with a Dao Source Realm master, so after having been threatened at such close quarters by Yang Kai, she was frightened to death.

Fortunately, Yang Kai was reasonable. He really hadn’t done anything to her. If he had, she would be absolutely powerless to resist.

After a long time, the young woman finally regained her wits. She fiercely stood up and hurriedly rushed into the cave mansion and started packing up her things.

After a short while, the young woman left the cave mansion, made a beeline to the city gates, and very soon, left Maplewood City.

She didn’t dare to remain in Maplewood City anymore. If the Jiang Family men tracked her down, she would be in big trouble. [As far as I know, the Jiang Family men weren’t as reasonable as that Sir Yang.]