Chapter 423 - 257: 1 Move

Chapter 423: Chapter 257: 1 Move

"To think such a thing was happening?"

Su Xing remarked with some amazement. In reality, he wasn’t very surprised. Corruption like this was all too common, especially among self-important people who had no regard for the lives of others. The chances of them committing such acts were much higher.

"Of course it’s true. Everyone in our village knows what kind of person Lou Fuzhao was. If you don’t believe me, Immortal Master, feel free to go investigate for yourself."

"When Lou Fuzhao was still alive, we didn’t dare say a word, of course. But now that he’s dead, we finally have the courage to speak up."

"So that’s how it is."

Su Xing nodded.

"Sigh... It might be disrespectful to say this, but even though Elder Lou was an Immortal, his death does us more good than harm. The reason I stopped you, Immortal Master, was to ask who the Cyan Cloud Sect plans to have manage us now?"

"If it’s someone righteous and kind like Elder Ling, then that would be one thing. But if we get another one like Lou Fuzhao, then we..."

"Sigh!"

The man trailed off, letting out a heavy sigh.

’The Cyan Cloud Sect...’ Su Xing thought to himself. ’Even though they’re a legitimate power officially recognized by the special organization, and the sect has a good reputation from what I’ve heard since arriving, things within the sect itself seem incredibly complicated.’

’If what he says is true, then this Elder Lou was hardly a good person. I wonder if Tong Yinyin targeted him by coincidence, or if it was deliberate?’

’And if Lou Fuzhao was that kind of person, who were the other two victims the Cyan Cloud Sect found turned into puppets?’

’I can probably ask Elder Gong about this. Since those two weren’t from the Cyan Cloud Sect, asking about them shouldn’t cause any offense.’

At this thought, Su Xing nodded and said:

"I’m not a member of the Cyan Cloud Sect, but I’ll look into this for you."

"Wonderful! In that case, I thank you in advance, Immortal Master!" the man said gratefully.

After bidding farewell to the man, Su Xing didn’t hesitate. He tore open the fabric of space and left. Although Su Xing’s actions were subtle, his sudden disappearance still caused the villagers to drop to their knees, calling out for the Immortal Master to have a safe journey. Only the bamboo farmer, who seemed more worldly, did not kneel. He simply watched the scene unfold and then slowly sighed.

"Hm?"

Steward Gong was in the middle of his cultivation when he suddenly felt a faint spatial fluctuation in front of him. He immediately opened his eyes and was startled to see Su Xing’s figure appear a short distance away.

"Elder Su, you’ve returned."

Steward Gong said very courteously.

"Yes, Steward Gong. I have a few more questions for you. You mentioned before that besides Elder Lou, there were other victims. Can you tell me more about them in detail?"

Su Xing asked, getting straight to the point.

"Of course, there’s no reason why not."

Steward Gong gave a magnanimous wave of his hand. "There were three victims in total that day. Besides our Cyan Cloud Sect’s Elder Lou, the other two were the Cyan Wood Daoist of Spirit Flower Mountain and Zu Yuan of the Poison Blade Sect."

"To be honest, I don’t know much about those two myself—just what I’ve heard through the grapevine. Spirit Flower Mountain isn’t actually a sect; it’s just a prefix the Cyan Wood Daoist liked to use when introducing himself. His reputation, however, was not very good."

"Not very good?"

Su Xing asked.

"Mm... you could say it was terrible. He was said to be a sanctimonious, lecherous Daoist. The Qi Cultivation Technique he practiced was a vile art of plundering Yin to supplement Yang, and he brought ruin to countless women. It didn’t matter if they were ordinary people or weaker Extraordinary Beings—as long as they were beautiful, he would take them without exception."

"The organizations in both Luocheng and Liu City have extensive files on him. They tried to apprehend him several times, but he always managed to escape. To think he would end up dead just like that."

"As for the Poison Blade Sect... in this day and age, they’re more like a criminal syndicate. Their hands are stained with an unknown amount of blood, and they remain hostile to the special organization even now."

"However, both of them were quite powerful and skilled at evasion, which is why the special organization hadn’t been able to bring them to justice yet...."

"Wait..."

Steward Gong stopped mid-sentence as if he’d suddenly realized something. He hesitated. ’Could it be... that Tong Yinyin’s killings follow a pattern?’

But he didn’t say this out loud.

After all, Su Xing was an outsider. And at the end of the day, Elder Lou was still an elder of the Cyan Cloud Sect. If he were to say that, wouldn’t he be lumping an elder in with two criminals? As a steward, that would be a grave offense.

However, even though he didn’t say it, Su Xing was thinking along the same lines. He had a growing suspicion that Tong Yinyin was specifically choosing to kill wicked people. This aligned with what Yao Yixiao had told him.

Though it was still vigilantism, Su Xing was beginning to get a sense of what kind of person this mysterious expert—the daughter of Li Longxuan’s friend, Tong An—truly was. What she was trying to accomplish, however, remained a mystery.

"Aside from that, Steward Gong, there’s one more thing I’d like to ask."

"What is it? Please, ask away."

Steward Gong replied readily. Although the Cyan Cloud Sect hadn’t gone to Desperate Gorge, news of Su Xing defeating Elder Lu during his visit had reached his ears. That alone was enough to prove that Su Xing was someone worth befriending.

The Cyan Cloud Sect was in decline. Hit by one setback after another, the sect was left with only Gu Che as its sole eighth-rank expert. Their number of masters was now far inferior to Dragon Gate’s. It was hard to say if the Cyan Cloud Sect could still claim to be one of the two great sects alongside Dragon Gate. Under such circumstances, befriending a powerful expert was not just advisable—it was essential.