"Senior Brother!"
A clear voice rang out.
Qi Yuan put on his clothes and rubbed his sleepy eyes.
Yawning, he glanced at the black fish in the fish tank and walked out of the courtyard.
"What's going on, this early in the morning?"
Outside the courtyard, Jiang Lingsu and Jiang Ran, two beautiful women, stood side by side. One was innocent and cute, the other pure and elegant.
Qi Yuan felt a wave of comfort.
Indeed, beautiful things always lift the spirits.
"Senior Brother Qi Yuan, I have some good news to share with you!" Jiang Ran's pretty face was lit with a smile. "Yesterday, the disciples of the Black Mountain Sect were killed by a mysterious master while staying overnight in Rong City! Chu Tianxiong is dead, and Patriarch Bai Ji is also dead!"
Hearing this, Jiang Ran's face was full of excitement.
Qi Yuan slapped his thigh. "I didn't expect my divination skills to be this accurate!"
However, thinking of something, he corrected himself, "I told you I was good at divination. I could see at a glance that that kid was destined for bloodshed. See? He didn't listen to me and died. Serves him right!"
Jiang Lingsu sighed helplessly. "I really wonder which high master did such a great deed!"
"I heard that today, an Elder from the Black Mountain Sect, who happened to be nearby, arrived to investigate the scene. And last night, our Shenguanzong also had elders go to Rong City. Although the scene was burned, they have already gathered quite a few clues," Jiang Lingsu, who always kept up with the news in Shenguanzong, reported.
Qi Yuan's heart tightened. "What clues?"
"The one who massacred the Black Mountain Sect disciples was a masked man. The elders said that the mysterious masked man should be a sword cultivator, but to avoid revealing any traces of sword techniques, he deliberately used a knife to slaughter the Black Mountain Sect disciples," Jiang Lingsu explained.
"What kind of knife?"
"I don't know," Jiang Lingsu shook her head.
"Could it be a kitchen knife?" Qi Yuan took out a knife and waved it.
Jiang Lingsu covered her mouth and chuckled. "How could it be!"
Jiang Ran's innocent face also broke into a smile, a hint of charm naturally flowing through it. "If they were killed by a kitchen knife, that would be both frustrating and satisfying!"
Jiang Lingsu added, "It is said that Bai Ji Laozu's protective Dan light was shattered with a single blow, his golden Dan crushed to death. This indicates that the knife must be a powerful magic weapon, not comparable to an ordinary kitchen knife."
Qi Yuan immediately retorted, "All things are equal. How can you look down on my knife! My knife can also chop off that guy's head with one strike!"
Jiang Ran smiled and said nothing.
Jiang Lingsu continued to argue with Qi Yuan, "If all things are equal, why do you insult dogs?"
Qi Yuan didn't continue on this topic. Holding the knife, he said worriedly, "I have a kitchen knife, and the Black Mountain Sect disciples died by a knife. Do you think the Black Mountain Sect will suspect that I killed Chu Tianxiong?"
Jiang Ran was stunned, trying to hold back a laugh despite not being professionally trained.
Jiang Lingsu smiled lightly, "Senior Brother, you're overthinking. You should focus on reaching the Foundation Establishment stage first!"
"Don't say 'base' without saying 'base', let's be civilized!" Qi Yuan quipped.
"???"
"???"
Jiang Ran and Jiang Lingsu were completely lost with Qi Yuan's train of thought.
Qi Yuan, still worried, said, "I kindly warned Chu Tianxiong yesterday, but in the eyes of others, it might seem like we had a dispute. Do you think people might suspect that I held a grudge and went to kill them all at night?"
Jiang Ran and Jiang Lingsu were utterly speechless.
"Senior Brother, don't worry, no one will suspect you!"
"But if someone asks, you must testify for me. Say that I didn't go out last night and stayed on the Seven-Color Peak with you two, drinking and playing games!"
"Alright, alright!" Jiang Lingsu sighed.
Jiang Ran's mouth also curved in a smile.
Clearly, with Chu Tianxiong dead, her mood had improved significantly, and the gloom on her face had temporarily lifted.
Qi Yuan, head lowered, still looked fearful. "What if the Black Mountain Sect doesn't believe your testimony and comes to capture me? Will Shenguanzong protect me?"
Jiang Lingsu was completely speechless. "Senior Brother, I think you should stop worrying about yourself. You should be like us, worrying about that masked man. After all, he's facing the Black Mountain Sect and the Black Chicken Demon!"
After a bit more conversation, Jiang Lingsu and Jiang Ran left.
Jiang Lingsu still had a look of helplessness on her face. "My Senior Brother, he's a good person, but his personality, as you can see, is quirky and eccentric."
Jiang Ran smiled sweetly. "Actually, I find Senior Brother Qi Yuan quite interesting."
"Sigh, he really is interesting. No worries or troubles." Jiang Lingsu sighed, thinking of the heavy burden in her own heart that she couldn't let go of.
"Senior Brother Qi Yuan, no worries or troubles?"
Qi Yuan was alone in his room, pacing back and forth.
His face was full of worry.
"I was careless last night!"
"Just wearing a mask isn't perfect. I should have dressed as a woman to hide my gender!"
"Oh no, they know the killer used a knife. What if they connect it to me?"
"Would the Black Mountain Sect come after me?"
The more Qi Yuan thought, the more worried he became, and the angrier he got.
Even though he had done things almost flawlessly, what if there was a congenital sage in the Black Mountain Sect who figured out it was him?
He had already imagined the elders of the Black Mountain Sect coming to Shenguanzong, laying siege to his peak.
He, alone, weak and helpless.
The more he thought, the more upset he became, his face turning red with anger.
"By the long pavilion, by the ancient road, in the evening, the green grass sky."
"The Black Mountain Sect really has no shame!"
"I was just representing the moon to eliminate some evil, right?"
"And now they team up to bully a 229-month-old kid?"
"Is there no justice, no reason?"
"Too much bullying!"
"Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west, don't bully the poor!"
"No, I need to take revenge!"
Qi Yuan sharpened his knife, put on a hat to cover his head, and smeared soot on his face for disguise.
Looking at himself in the mirror, Qi Yuan felt a bit more secure.
He tucked the kitchen knife at his waist and sneaked out of the Seven-Color Peak.
Not long after, Jiang Lingsu arrived outside Qi Yuan's courtyard. "Senior Brother, are you there?"
She called out, but there was no response.
"Strange, Senior Brother was just here. When did he leave? How did I not notice?"
She had just reached the Foundation Establishment stage last night, becoming an official Foundation Establishment cultivator. Her perception had significantly increased.
If her Senior Brother had left, she should have sensed it.
"Very strange."
She looked at the glass water tank, noticing the swimming black fish.
"Is this the fish Senior Brother caught last night? It doesn't seem like a wild fish."
She pondered for a moment but didn't think much more of it and left the courtyard.
At this moment, in the Shenguanzong library.
Qi Yuan was on the third floor, hiding in a corner, secretly looking up information on the strength of the Black Mountain Sect.