Chapter 1060: Unbroken Past Twenty-Nine

As the saying goes, unexpected events can strike at any time. Given the Sun family's current circumstances, their good fortune could not have lasted indefinitely. Its sudden demise, though seemingly orchestrated, might also be interpreted as an act of fate, for which Heaven offers no mitigating circumstances.

Lu Shan-jun halted, sat back down, and showed no intention of immediately heading to the noodle stall. His previous movement had been a mere subconscious reaction, and he had already stated he wouldn't assist Hu Yun this time.

"Let's see how that boy resolves this. Master, who do you believe is responsible?"

"They possess some abilities. He's already gone; there's no point in guessing."

It wasn't that Ji Yuan was disinclined to guess; rather, guessing alone held little meaning. The other party clearly possessed considerable cultivation, capable of obscuring heavenly secrets. Perhaps it was the Great Sage Mihuang, or some of Ji Yuan's old adversaries, or simply a coincidence.

The old dragon pondered for a moment, then looked at Lu Shan-jun and spoke.

"How many of Mr. Ji's adversaries remain?"

Lu Shan-jun offered a cold smile.

"Most have already been consumed by me. The rest are either incredibly difficult to locate or are keeping themselves well hidden. Now that I am cultivating myself, I shall let them be."

At a bend in a large river, Hu Yun finally located the people he sought. He landed a short distance away, then leaped, skimming across the water with a swallow-like agility, until he reached a small boat.

Before he even reached the small boat, a strong scent of blood assailed him. As Hu Yun's feet landed, the boat gently rocked on the water, sending out ripples that mirrored the turmoil in his heart.

There were five individuals on the boat, or more accurately, five corpses. The elderly couple were unmistakably among them, lying face-up with several knife wounds. At the stern, two unfamiliar bodies lay, along with a third, identified as the scholar Hong, who lay on the ground with a pained and bewildered expression, clutching a half-severed punting pole.

Hu Yun's expression was grim. Though their deaths were unrelated to him, he felt an inexpressible distress. Had he accompanied Sun Yiqiu and the others to the Confucius Temple earlier, perhaps he might have sensed the impending danger.

"I request the River God of this domain to appear before me."

As he spoke, Hu Yun gently stamped his foot, and ripples spread across the water. Immediately, a pillar of water rose from the river beside the boat, lifting a hunched old woman who regarded Hu Yun with surprise. Upon understanding the situation, she quickly bowed.

"This humble deity, Shang Mo, greets the Immortal Master. May I ask why the Immortal Master has summoned me?"

Hu Yun knelt and gently closed the eyes of the deceased scholar, who had died with them open. This scholar, though somewhat annoying, was kind-hearted and did not deserve such a demise. After performing this act, Hu Yun rose and turned to the River God.

"You are the River God here. Do you know how the people on this boat died?"

The River God looked at the small boat, then replied.

"To the Immortal Master, this humble deity, though the water spirit of this area, is not omniscient regarding all happenings within the river basin, unless someone on board invokes my divine name. However, there have been several incidents of river bandits raiding boats in these nearby waters, so I presume this was their work."

"River bandits?"

Hu Yun shook his head. If the matter were truly so simple, then when they parted ways in Ning'an County that morning, he should have discerned changes in the three individuals' fortunes, such as dark complexions or impending bloodshed. Yet, he had sensed nothing that morning.

"Immortal Master?"

"It's nothing. You may leave."

"May I inquire about the Immortal Master's name?"

Hu Yun glanced at the River God.

"I am merely a wandering cultivator; there's no need to disclose my name."

As he spoke, dark clouds suddenly gathered over Ning'an County, and thunder boomed. Hu Yun's heart lurched, and a strong sense of foreboding washed over him.

This is bad!

"River God, please arrange to report this to the authorities. I'm taking these three bodies with me for now."

Having spoken, Hu Yun waved his sleeve, collecting the three bodies, then ascended into the air and swiftly flew back to Ning'an County. Upon his return, rain still fell, though the wind was not as fierce as before.

Hu Yun hurried to the location of the Sun family's noodle stall. By then, the Sun family had already packed up and returned home. He squatted, examining a specific spot, and picked up a small remnant of a broken dish from a crack in the flagstone pavement—the precise place where the bowl had shattered.

The rain fell from the sky, appearing to land on Hu Yun, yet it merely slid off the surface of his robes.

Hu Yun gripped the shattered dish pieces tightly. He knew the Sun family's good fortune had been broken and understood that the deaths of the elderly couple and scholar Hong were inextricably linked to this event. His opponent had used this as a ruse to lure him away and, in that brief interval, dismantle the Sun family's good fortune.

"Excellent, truly excellent!"

A fierce glint appeared in Hu Yun's eyes, and a faint, illusory fox mask seemed to hover over his face. Heat radiated from him, evaporating the falling rain and shrouding him in a swirling mist.

Despite his anger, Hu Yun was somewhat dejected upon returning to Ju'an Pavilion. Seeing everyone in the courtyard looking at him, he slumped his head and spoke.

"Sir, Shan-jun, I seem to have messed up. I couldn't protect your bowl of noodles."

Ji Yuan nearly choked, and retorted playfully.

"What do you mean you couldn't protect my bowl of noodles? Is it necessary for me, Ji, to choose the very last bowl when I wish to eat noodles?"

Hu Yun cautiously glanced at Lu Shan-jun, who seemed unangered, his expression towards Hu Yun showing no abnormality.

"I understand. It simply means the Sun family's future welfare will now depend on their own efforts. How many people's blessings are truly heaven-sent? What is there to regret about returning to normalcy? Since matters have reached this point, you need not watch over the Sun family anymore."

The old dragon stroked his beard thoughtfully, personally refilling the teacups of both Ji Yuan and Lu Shan-jun. Even Zaoniang did not make an appearance.

With no one scolding him, Hu Yun felt even more uneasy. Mr. Ji's reaction was one thing, but why had Lu Shan-jun not reprimanded him, despite the subtle sarcasm in his previous statement?

Hu Yun frowned and sat on the remaining stone stool. He sat for a moment, then stood, then sat down again, truly restless and uneasy.

"I'm going out for a moment."

Hu Yun angrily rose and departed. As he stepped out, an umbrella slid from his sleeve. He opened it, spun around, and vanished in a swirl of robes, reappearing on a secluded street.

Midway down the street stood a tavern, its lanterns already lit in the deepening twilight. Their glow appeared particularly hazy in the moderate rain.

Two men, swords at their waists, emerged, arm in arm, sharing an umbrella, their steps a little unsteady as they chatted and laughed.

Hu Yun stood at the end of the street, observing them. After walking for a while, the two men stopped and looked up. They paid no mind to the sparse pedestrians around them, their gaze fixed solely on the tall figure holding an umbrella. The rain striking the umbrella created a hazy mist that made the figure appear particularly ethereal.

"Brother!"

"Hmm, the newcomer bodes ill."

A faint, alcoholic mist seemed to rise from the two men as they slowly and gently straightened their postures.

"Who are you, sir? And why do you block the path of my brother and me?"

The person in red gently twirled the umbrella, and the rainwater on its surface formed a swirling curtain around them. While the drops posed no threat when scattered generally, as they flew near the two men, both suddenly shivered and darted away to the left and right.

"Thump," "Thump," "Thump."

The raindrops landed with a thud where the two men had just stood, splashing the ground's rainwater several feet high.

The bearded man wasted no words. He slapped his waist, shifting his saber to his back, then surged forward towards the person in red with immense power, moving so swiftly that he seemed to cleave through the sheets of rain. A fist, imbued with formidable energy, whistled through the air.

The red-clad figure, holding the umbrella in their left hand, flicked their wide right sleeve and met the bearded man's fist head-on.

With a muffled "thump," ripples spread through the rainwater at Hu Yun's feet, causing the water to splash up and momentarily separate from the flagstone street.

At the exact moment the fist and sleeve connected, the bearded man's left heel subtly tapped backward, landing on the tip of his saber sheath.

"Zheng!"

The long saber was drawn. As the residual energy from his right fist's collision with the sleeve surged, his right hand twisted clockwise, transforming from a fist into a claw, seizing the red-clad figure's right arm. Simultaneously, his left hand gripped the saber hilt and slashed downwards.

A half-foot length of saber energy enveloped the blade, parting all the rain for several yards above it. It descended towards the red-clad figure with the force capable of splitting mountains and sundering peaks.

The red-clad figure's eyes gleamed faintly. Their left hand released the umbrella, and the cold glint of the long saber illuminated their serene face.

The bearded man's brow furrowed slightly the instant his long saber descended. With a subtle twitch of his left wrist, the saber, imbued with its fierce energy, chopped down.

"Clang!"

With a crisp clang, the internal energy exploded, sweeping away the falling rain and standing water within several yards. The bearded man's pupils dilated as he stared in disbelief at the scene before him.

Two slender fingers, like white spring onions, had clamped onto the saber blade, severing its seemingly invincible energy.

At that moment, the red-clad figure's umbrella fell to the ground. He looked up at the bearded man, who was half a head taller than himself.

"Your martial arts cultivation is quite decent."

The bearded man's pupils constricted. He only managed to shout, "Brother, run!" before a terrifying force struck his stomach.

With a "bang," the bearded man was sent flying by a kick. The red-clad figure took a single stride and was instantly beside the other man. The latter threw out crisscrossing fists, but his vision blurred, and he received a heavy blow from behind.

"You, however, are far less skilled."

As the red-clad figure spoke, they shifted their body, evading another punch from the bearded man. They then seized his fist, twisted it backward, and flung him to the rear. Just as the bearded man was flipping over, attempting to land on his feet, the red-clad figure delivered a backward kick, sending him flying to crash and slide a considerable distance across the ground.

A moment later, the red-clad figure picked up the umbrella from the ground and, standing in the rain, let out a long sigh of relief.

"Phew, that feels much better!"

This red-clad figure was none other than Hu Yun. He walked forward with his umbrella, stopping after ten paces. At his feet lay two raggedly dressed men, covered in bruises, their faces swollen to resemble pigs' heads, with only enough strength left for gasping and twitching.

Hu Yun lowered his head to look at the bearded man.

"Had your saber strike not held back, you would have received a far more brutal beating today. It is indeed commendable to possess such cultivation at your age, but to cultivate malevolence without restraint means your martial path has strayed. No wonder you are so easily exploited by demons. How lamentable!"

After speaking, Hu Yun walked forward, umbrella in hand.

The two men still struggled on the ground. The bearded man strained to lift his head, looking in the direction the red-clad figure had departed, only to see the silhouette vanish at the end of the street.

After a long while, the people who had been hiding inside the taverns and residences along the street finally dared to emerge and assess the situation.