Chapter 32 Who is the Fool_1

Yun City, Liu Mansion.

"Chengfeng, my precious son! Who did this?! Who dares to murder the son of Liu Chuanxiong?!"

Inside the room, Liu Chuanxiong held Liu Chengfeng's corpse, weeping loudly. His roars of grief echoed throughout the entire Liu Mansion.

"Family Head, we found several strangers in the mansion and have captured them all."

At that moment, guests of the Liu Mansion brought Huang Xuan, Fang Long, and Yu Wei forward.

"Was it you bastards who killed my son, Chengfeng?"

A hint of murderous intent shimmered in Liu Chuanxiong's eyes as he looked at the trio.

"Master Liu, we know nothing about this! Where are Xu Ruoyan and Ling Chen? Why aren't they here? This must have been Xu Ruoyan and Ling Chen's doing! They framed the three of us! Please, Master Liu, uncover the truth!"

Huang Xuan and the others were dumbfounded upon seeing Liu Chengfeng's corpse. They had a few drinks, went back to their rooms, and slept soundly, completely unaware that such a major incident had occurred.

"Xu Ruoyan? Ling Chen?" Liu Chuanxiong suddenly glanced at Han Cuier beside him. "Where are those two now? And what exactly happened?"

Han Cuier's heart skipped a beat, and she quickly stepped forward, saying, "Those two are no longer in the mansion. These people were all invited by the Young Master to deal with the 'flower thief.' I never imagined the 'flower thief' wouldn't appear, but the Young Master would die instead. If those two weren't guilty, why would they flee in the dead of night?"

"I truly never thought that after the Young Master kindly invited them to be guests at our mansion, those two would be so heartless and ungrateful..."

Han Cuier spoke with such genuine emotion, tears streaming down her face, that even if it were a lie, most people would likely believe her.

"Despicable curs!" Liu Chuanxiong slammed his fist on the ground, cracking the floor. "These Divine Intent Sect disciples are utterly audacious and lawless! The enmity from my son's murder is irreconcilable! Immediately organize our men and track down Ling Chen and the other one!"

"Yes!" The Liu Family's experts all responded.

"Then what about these people?" one of the guests asked, pointing at Huang Xuan and the others.

"Kill them. Avenge my son," Liu Chuanxiong said coldly.

"Master Liu, this has nothing to do with us! It's a misunderstanding! We're innocent..." Huang Xuan and the other two turned ashen. Just as they were about to beg for mercy, they received a heavy blow to the back of their necks. Blood spurted from their mouths and noses, and they died on the spot.

"Family Head, Ling Chen and the other one escaped in the dead of night. They've likely already left Yun City. The chances of capturing them now are slim," said one of the Martial Master-level guests.

"Don't worry. One of them is poisoned and can't have run far. Cast a wide net and pursue them; we'll definitely be able to catch those two," Han Cuier said, her expression cold.

"Those two must accompany my son in death!" A chilling murderous intent radiated from Liu Chuanxiong's eyes.

「A forest a hundred li away.」

The sky was just beginning to brighten. In a cave, Ling Chen slowly opened his eyes and exhaled a turbid breath.

After most of the night spent recuperating, Ling Chen's Vital Energy and spirit had recovered significantly, and his depleted True Qi was about seventy to eighty percent restored.

This was largely thanks to the Top-Quality Pills provided by Liu Chengfeng. Before leaving, Ling Chen had taken everything he could from Liu Chengfeng. Liu Chengfeng, a First Layer Martial Master and the young master of the Liu Family, was indeed very wealthy, lacking nothing in Elixirs or Silver Bills.

These riches could be exchanged for a considerable amount of Cultivation Resources. Furthermore, with Liu Chengfeng dead, the Ten-Mile Fragrance mission was complete. Upon returning to the Divine Intent Sect, he could exchange them for many Contribution Points.

Ling Chen planned to exchange all these Contribution Points for resources.

The reason Ling Chen was able to kill Liu Chengfeng, a First Layer Martial Master, was not solely due to that burst of sword qi, but also his calm mind and precise judgment.

Of course, luck played a part as well. Otherwise, even with that sword strike, he couldn't have killed a Martial Artist with a single blow.

Just as Ling Chen was replaying yesterday's battle in his mind, Xu Ruoyan, lying beside him, stirred. Her long eyelashes fluttered, and then she awoke.

Ling Chen was about to greet her when Xu Ruoyan's sudden shriek pierced his ears. Then, a fierce palm wind abruptly struck out towards him.

SWISH!

Already prepared, Ling Chen dodged the palm strike. The force of the wind stung his face; if that slap had connected, the consequences would have been dire.

This movement caused the loose robe draped over Xu Ruoyan to slip off, once again exposing her fair skin and curves to Ling Chen's eyes, making him take a couple of extra glances.

Hurriedly pulling her clothes back on, Xu Ruoyan's pretty face was unsightly. "Ling Chen, you lecher! What did you do to me?"

"What could I have done to you? It was you who almost did something to me," Ling Chen said, a teasing smile playing on his lips.

"That was because I was poisoned by that lecher Liu Chengfeng!" Xu Ruoyan vaguely recalled some scenes from the previous night; it seemed her body had indeed been out of her control, causing her to act inappropriately.

"You claim you didn't do anything to me, so what about my clothes? How did they end up like this?" Xu Ruoyan was still indignant. She only vaguely remembered bits and pieces of what happened yesterday. Who knew if Ling Chen had taken advantage of the situation?

Looking at the shredded pieces of cloth on the ground, Ling Chen felt quite innocent. "Please, you ripped your own clothes. Last night, you were like a cow in heat; I couldn't hold you back at all. If I hadn't stopped you in time..."

"Shut up!" Xu Ruoyan was starting to remember. Her pretty face flushed with shame, and at the same time, she felt like grinding her teeth at Ling Chen. A cow in heat? Was this bastard so happy to see her make a fool of herself?

"Besides, if I had done anything to you, wouldn't you be able to feel it yourself?"

As he spoke, Ling Chen took out a set of his own clothes from his bundle and handed them to Xu Ruoyan. "Your bundle was left at the Liu Mansion. We left in too much of a hurry to grab it. These are my clothes; you'll have to make do with them for now."

Xu Ruoyan accepted the clothes and nodded her delicate head. Escaping this time was already a great fortune; losing a bundle was a small matter.

"Then turn around first," Xu Ruoyan said, her face blushing.

"What could be seen, I saw yesterday. What couldn't be seen, I can't see now anyway. Why bother with this unnecessary act?" Ling Chen turned his back, muttering.

"What else are you trying to see?!" Xu Ruoyan wished she could press Ling Chen to the ground and teach him a harsh lesson. But thinking about it, this fellow truly hadn't taken advantage of her; he had maintained his distance. Moreover, Ling Chen had risked his life to save hers.

But this raised a new question: if this guy wasn't a Saint, how could he have resisted such temptation at that moment?

The actual answer, of course, was not that. Ling Chen was, after all, still a youth inexperienced in worldly matters. Faced with such a situation, it was inevitable for his mind to race with desire. But he was not an ordinary person; he possessed this degree of self-control. No matter the considerations, he could not touch Xu Ruoyan in the slightest.

He could not take advantage of her predicament, much less ruin her innocence.

"You can turn around now." After some rustling sounds, Xu Ruoyan's voice came from behind him.

Ling Chen turned around, and his eyes lit up slightly. The Xu Ruoyan before him now had her hair tied up, losing some of her girlish beauty but gaining a touch of heroic spirit, giving her a unique charm.

"No matter what, thank you for saving me." Although somewhat reluctant, Xu Ruoyan still thanked Ling Chen.

"No need. We're teammates," Ling Chen said, waving his hand dismissively.

Hearing this, Xu Ruoyan couldn't help but want to retort. Huang Xuan and Fang Long were also his teammates, so why didn't he save them?

This guy was clearly being duplicitous. He obviously treated her specially, yet he was as stubborn as a mule, feigning indifference. It was infuriating to look at.

Ling Chen's words left Xu Ruoyan speechless. The atmosphere between them became somewhat stiff, and they fell silent for a while.

"You... were the words you spoke last night from the heart?" Xu Ruoyan suddenly broke the silence.

"What words?" Ling Chen paused, surprised.

"The words you said in front of Liu Chengfeng." Xu Ruoyan deliberately looked elsewhere, feigning indifference. "You even spouted some nonsense about how as long as you were alive, you could risk your life for your wife, or something like that. Anyway, it was all just rubbish."

"Of course, it was fake." Ling Chen replied without thinking. "You already know it was nonsense, so why ask? It's just as you said. Don't overthink it, and save me the trouble of explaining it to you again."

"Fake?" Xu Ruoyan's expression changed slightly, her pretty face looking somewhat stiff.

Ling Chen nodded. "Yes. I only said that to make Liu Chengfeng think I was a fool. That man is very shrewd. If I didn't make it sound somewhat convincing, how could I have deceived him..."

As Ling Chen spoke, completely engrossed, he utterly failed to notice that Xu Ruoyan's expression had completely darkened.

"He was right about one thing. You really are a fool."

Before Ling Chen could finish, Xu Ruoyan furiously threw the clothes she had changed out of at his face. Leaving behind that sentence, she stormed out of the cave in a huff.