Chapter 14: The Dugu Family

The group made a makeshift stretcher in the woods and placed Dugu Baitian on it. They noticed that he was holding something in both of his hands. In one hand, he was holding a Black Jade Stone, which had turned somewhat translucent milky white at the moment. Everyone was amazed and tried to take it off, but couldn't loosen his grip. In the other hand, he was holding something that looked like a jade pendant, but it was not clear what it was.

Li Shi's face turned hot, and she secretly blamed herself for not retrieving the jade pendant earlier. Fortunately, they couldn't pry open his hand, otherwise, if they found out that her statue was clutched in that scoundrel's hand, it would be a big trouble.

"What about these people? What should we do with them if the officials find out?" Li Shi pointed at the bodies of Liu Feng, Luo Jinlong, and others.

"It's okay. The beasts here will take care of them after dark, and there will be no trace of their remains. It looks like there will be a heavy rain tonight, and by then, it will be as if nothing happened here," said Sutu Haoyue with a very experienced look. "Alright, let's hurry up and go."

The group carried Dugu Baitian and hurried towards the small town. Li Shi had originally planned to return to her sect at this point, but when she saw the essence stone in Dugu Baitian's hand, she hesitated. Although the essence stone had lost its essence, she had a feeling that things were not that simple. In the end, she followed the group to the small town. Seeing everyone behaving as if it was only natural, she couldn't help but feel annoyed.

People on the street pointed and whispered.

"Look, those thugs are fighting again. Wow, this time it's serious. They actually brought one back."

"Look at all that blood they left behind."

"Oh my, look at that hand, it's fallen off. How horrifying."

"They are good people. Last time they saw me pitiful, they gave me a lot of money."

"Yeah, they helped me too. They chased away the ruffian who bullied me."

"How could good people behave like this? Child, you must study well when you grow up, don't learn from them, otherwise, you will be brought back too. Ah, stupid demon, close your eyes quickly, so you won't have nightmares at night."

"Look, they brought back a woman."

"So beautiful, like a fairy."

"They must have rescued her to be the wife of that thug Wang lying on the stretcher."

"How do you know?"

"That guy is a pervert. He frequents brothels and even smiled at me last time."

"It's impossible. He must have sand in his eyes."

"What do you mean?"

"If he didn't have sand in his eyes, why would he be interested in you? He must be sick."

"You're such a gossip. You're already 38 and still not married."

A quarrel broke out.

"I envy that thug. I wish I could lie on that stretcher right now."

"Yeah, I wish I could be that thug."

"Dad, didn't you say not to learn from those people?"

"Shut up, adults are talking. Kids should keep quiet."

Everyone felt annoyed, especially Sutu Aoyue, who had always considered himself handsome. Now he was being associated with someone else's "nightmare." Li Shi was also angry to be talked about like this. She had a further understanding of this group of people. Especially the guy lying on the stretcher, he was absolutely disgusting. He used to visit frequent brothels and had even hugged her before. Just thinking about it made her sick, but fortunately he was already dead.

Finally, they arrived at the Dugu Baitian's family. Judging from the appearance, it was just an ordinary big family. Who would know about the glory of this family thousands of years ago? There were a pair of stone lions at the entrance, a red gate, tall courtyard walls, and several tall phoenix trees in the courtyard. Under the trees were two stone tables and several stone chairs. Not far away from the flowers and grass, there was a rattan chair, and a middle-aged man was lying leisurely there, basking in the sun. He looked very similar to Dugu Baitian. He had a lazy look, and it was obvious that he was someone who enjoyed life.

"Uncle Dugu, my brother-in-law, he..." Miyue said, pointing to the stretcher.

The middle-aged man stood up with a "whoosh", and his eyes flashed with a sharp light. Li Shi felt that those two gazes were like solid objects, piercing into her heart, and her heart shook. What kind of realm was this, to have such power even with just a glance? A master among masters, a top-notch expert.

It seems that the information from the sect is incorrect. The sect's information clearly stated: "For a thousand years, the Dugu family has been in decline, with only one exceptional master appearing three hundred years ago on the continent, believed to be from the Dugu family, but later disappeared and has been missing since. Since then, no master has emerged from the Dugu family. In the past three hundred years, the Dugu family has been declining, with at most mediocre martial arts skills. In recent years, it has been declining even more, with few people and generations passing down their skills to only one heir, and their martial arts have declined to the level of ordinary people, no longer belonging to the martial arts world."

According to the intelligence, Dugu Baitian's grandfather, Dugu Feiyu, had terrible martial arts skills and was addicted to gambling and drinking in his youth. He often incurred debts and sold everything he could from home. However, he married a good wife, who was the daughter of a county magistrate, beautiful and dignified. It caused a sensation when she married the playboy Dugu Feiyu. After marrying a good wife, Dugu Feiyu became more restrained, and soon gave birth to a son named Dugu Yanzhi.

According to the intelligence, Dugu Baitian's father, Dugu Yanzhi, although not skilled in martial arts, was good at making money. He owned many cloth shops, inns, and grain stores, and was a well-known small wealthy man in the vicinity. However, he did not expand his business further, only maintaining a certain scale. Interestingly, Dugu Yanzhi opened a tavern and a gambling house specifically for his father Dugu Feiyu's hobby. After the old lady found out, she scolded him severely, just like she did with his father. Like his father, Dugu Yanzhi also married a good wife, who was the daughter of a scholar, not particularly beautiful, but a renowned talented woman.

There is very little information about Dugu Baitian, only a brief mention when introducing Dugu Yanzhi: "He has a son named Dugu Baitian."

Just then, a roar came: "How could it be like this?"

Li Shi woke up, only to see Dugu Yanzhi's face full of sorrow, exuding a terrifying aura all over his body. The surging true energy billowed his clothes, making them move without wind.

Everyone was shocked, especially the Sutu brothers. They never expected that Dugu Yanzhi would be such a formidable opponent, and they had never seen him display such imposing aura before. Li Shi was also astonished, thinking to herself: It seems that the intelligence was indeed inaccurate, and Dugu Yanzhi's martial arts are not inferior to my master's.

Dugu Yanzhi seemed to realize something, and instantly, the overwhelming aura disappeared.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

"Miyue, tell me in detail who killed Baitian and what happened," Dugu Yanzhi said.

Miyue recounted in detail, saying, "This is what happened before I lost consciousness. After that, I heard Miss Li talk about the rest. You can ask her, she knows more."

Facing this super master who had just lost his beloved son, Li Shi knew she couldn't hide anything. Such an emotionally unstable master was dangerous, and if he found out she was lying, her life could be in danger. However, she couldn't reveal the secret of the essence stone in front of these thugs. She couldn't help but show a troubled expression and looked around.

Dugu Yanzhi understood and said, "Come with me to the study." He then led the way, and Li Shi followed closely.

At this time, the madam and the old madam were alarmed and came from the backyard to the front yard, hugging the corpse of Dugu Baitian and crying inconsolably.

"Why did it turn out like this? Heaven..."