After informing Xie Liufeng about the situation, Chu Xinghui walked in the direction Qin Suyun had left, while reporting his whereabouts: “Should I follow her?”

Xie Liufeng didn’t stop him and reminded him: “Be careful. I’ll go find Fang Yan to confirm Mu Zeqing’s situation.”

After they agreed, Chu Xinghui ended the transmission and silently followed Qin Suyun.

She was looking for someone and had to avoid the scattered disciples passing by, so her movements weren’t fast.

Qin Suyun followed the faint trace for about a quarter of an hour before reaching a secluded area in the sect.

This area was rugged and complex in terrain. Few people passed through here, except for some disciples who took shortcuts. It was indeed a good place to hide.

The trace had disappeared.

Qin Suyun stopped and looked around, trying to find another clue.

Chu Xinghui, hiding in the shadows, suddenly sensed something and frowned.

Qin Suyun’s tracking skills weren’t very good, and Mu Zeqing had probably noticed her.

Sure enough, in the next moment, a short knife silently pressed against Qin Suyun’s neck.

Mu Zeqing’s figure emerged from the shadows.

He didn’t speak, and the knife in his hand came down immediately.

Anyone who dared to follow him, no matter the reason, deserved to die!

Qin Suyun felt a sharp pain in her neck. Looking down, she saw the blood on her neck and was shocked. She immediately said: “Wait!”

She spoke while grabbing Mu Zeqing’s hand holding the knife.

Mu Zeqing didn’t want to listen to Qin Suyun, and immediately tried to break free from her grasp and continue trying to kill her.

With danger imminent, Qin Suyun didn’t care about anything else and immediately revealed her identity: “Zeqing, I’m Qin Yuwen, your senior brother!”

Upon hearing this, Mu Zeqing’s grip loosened.

He frowned as he looked at the person under his knife, confirming: “Senior brother?”

Looking at him, he suddenly felt that this person’s figure seemed somewhat familiar.

It wasn’t like the familiar feeling he had with Qin Yuwen, but… he felt like he had seen this person somewhere else.

Qin Suyun didn’t know what he was thinking or what Yue Yao had done with her body before, so she hurriedly nodded: “It’s me. We grew up together. If you don’t believe me, I can answer a question that only the two of us know.”

Mu Zeqing’s gaze became darker as he stared at Qin Suyun, thinking carefully for a moment.

Then he sneered and continued without hesitation, swinging the knife toward Qin Suyun’s neck: “Even if you are senior brother, so what? I don’t like women.”

Whether this female cultivator was really Qin Yuwen or not, back then, he was willing to treat Qin Yuwen well because he wanted him to be his Dao partner. Now that Qin Yuwen had turned into a woman, he was no longer in his aesthetic range.

Moreover, he had gone through a lot of trouble to infiltrate the Beiyue Sword Sect, and now that he had been recognized, for his own safety, anyone who knew must die.

Qin Suyun didn’t expect him to be so heartless. She was stunned for a moment before finally reacting and fighting back desperately.

The two immediately started a fierce fight.

Chu Xinghui, hiding in the shadows, watched the scene with amazement.

He didn’t expect things to take such an absurd turn.

The family of Lingxiang Sect, whether in terms of intelligence or mental state, was really strange.

On the other side, the battle between Mu Zeqing and Qin Suyun soon escalated to a fierce level.

Qin Suyun was at a disadvantage and quickly fell into the lower hand.

Chu Xinghui, watching their fight, couldn’t help but frown.

Mu Zeqing’s strength… seemed off.

The last time he saw Mu Zeqing, he had just entered the Foundation Establishment stage, but now the aura surrounding him… was already at the early Golden Core stage.

However, though he was at the early Golden Core stage, his aura was unstable, and his moves were not steady. It was as if he had used some special method to forcefully pile up his cultivation.

Qin Suyun had been at a disadvantage for some time and was soon caught by Mu Zeqing’s opening. He stabbed her in the chest.

She barely avoided a fatal blow, and her eyes filled with increasing hatred as she looked at Mu Zeqing.

Should I… use that power?

In desperation, Qin Suyun suddenly realized that this was the territory of the Beiyue Sword Sect.

And now… at least in terms of identity, she was still a disciple of the Beiyue Sword Sect.

Qin Suyun gathered her spirit and immediately infused her spiritual energy into her throat, shouting loudly: “Someone, come! There’s an enemy attack!”

Although this area was remote, her voice was loud enough to attract the attention of the nearby patrolling disciples.

At the same time, she crushed the sect’s standard emergency spirit talisman.

Mu Zeqing’s expression changed, and he became even more ruthless. Within moments, he had inflicted several new injuries on Qin Suyun.

Qin Suyun rolled twice on the ground in a sorry state, spitting out blood.

At this rate, Yue Yao might sense that Qin Suyun was about to die and come to possess her body again.

Seeing that things had reached this point, Chu Xinghui couldn’t continue hiding. He quickly placed a recording stone at the spot.

After all, neither of these two was a good person, so he had to be prepared in case they tried to turn things around.

Then, Chu Xinghui casually walked out of the shadows, pretending to pass by.

Seeing Chu Xinghui, Qin Suyun’s eyes lit up, and she immediately called out emotionally: “Senior Brother!”

Chu Xinghui: “…”

He momentarily ignored Qin Suyun, who was lying on the ground, and drew out his spirit sword to face Mu Zeqing.

Mu Zeqing saw his face and was momentarily stunned: “You are… Chu Xinghui?”

Chu Xinghui couldn’t be bothered to answer and immediately attacked him with his sword.

Once they truly began fighting, the issues Chu Xinghui had noticed when observing Mu Zeqing earlier became even more apparent.

Mu Zeqing’s spiritual power had indeed reached the Golden Core stage, but aside from that, his other attributes were still stuck at the early Foundation Establishment level.

Moreover… it seemed like he couldn’t fully control his own spiritual power.

After exchanging several blows, Mu Zeqing realized he was no match for Chu Xinghui and immediately tried to divert his attention: “Wait! Do you know why I came to the Beiyue Sword Sect?”

Chu Xinghui paused his attacks and waited for him to speak.

To his surprise, Mu Zeqing immediately began shedding tears: “I came to the Beiyue Sword Sect because my mother is seriously ill, and only the Crimson Crane Feather collected by the sect can save her life. This item is so precious that I couldn’t find another one. I had no choice but to resort to this desperate measure.”

Chu Xinghui thought for a moment and realized he didn’t know anything about this and wasn’t sure if the sect had this item.

But he didn’t believe Mu Zeqing’s words for a second.

If he really needed this item to save someone, he could have simply asked Fang Yan through proper channels, rather than sneaking into the sect so secretly.

Mu Zeqing, already in a state of emotional turmoil, looked at Chu Xinghui with tears in his eyes: “She’s not just the mother of me and Lingxuan, she’s your mother too. Now we’ve lost our sister, we can’t afford to lose our mother as well. Big brother, although we’ve had many misunderstandings in the past, after all, blood is thicker than water. How can there be lingering hatred among family members?”

Chu Xinghui: “…”

The expression on his face was indescribable as he confirmed: “Did you just call me… what?”

Mu Zeqing paused, but still maintained his emotional tone and called again: “…Big brother.”

Chu Xinghui: “…”

He found it utterly disgusting and didn’t want to speak to him any further. He immediately moved and gave Mu Zeqing a beating, then knocked him unconscious with the hilt of his sword.

Qin Suyun, watching his way of dealing with Mu Zeqing, felt a wave of bad memories surge within her. Her lips trembled as if she wanted to say something.

Chu Xinghui treated her the same way and casually knocked her out as well.

He placed both of them together on the ground and stood by, waiting for the patrolling disciples that Qin Suyun had called for to arrive.

After waiting for a while, Chu Xinghui didn’t see any patrolling disciples, but he did see Xie Liufeng.

Seeing Xie Liufeng, Chu Xinghui was somewhat puzzled: “Why are you here?”

Xie Liufeng explained: “The patrolling disciples from nearby were supposed to come, but I arrived first and told them to return.”

Since Chu Xinghui was already here, it made sense that he would be the one to handle it.

No matter who came, the outcome would be the same, so Chu Xinghui immediately started explaining everything that had happened to Xie Liufeng.

Xie Liufeng thought for a moment and then shared new information: “After you contacted me, I went to inquire. The message sent this morning was that Mu Zeqing was still in the same location, with no special movements. But by noon, he found a nearby patrolling disciple, knocked them out, stole their disciple token, and snuck into the sect.”

It was a coincidence. If Qin Suyun hadn’t happened to stop Chu Xinghui on that road today, causing Mu Zeqing to accidentally reveal his whereabouts, it’s possible he could have gone unnoticed.

Chu Xinghui frowned: “Didn’t the sect’s great formation just get upgraded? If the disciple token doesn’t match, how did the formation let him through?”

Xie Liufeng glanced at the unconscious people on the ground: “That’s something to ask him about.”

He extended his spiritual power and examined Mu Zeqing’s condition.

Chu Xinghui noticed his strange expression and asked: “How is he?”

Xie Liufeng withdrew his spiritual energy and briefly explained: “His spiritual roots are damaged, and his meridians are in chaos. Normally, he should already be a cripple.”

He thought for a moment, still not fully understanding: “…And it doesn’t seem like this damage was caused by external forces. It seems like he intentionally made himself like this.”

Chu Xinghui frowned again.

When Mu Zeqing was attacking Qin Suyun earlier, he didn’t seem like a cripple.

But there was no point in pondering further without answers. So, Chu Xinghui asked Xie Liufeng: “What should we do now?”

Xie Liufeng thought for a moment and suggested: “Since he’s here illegally, we should follow the rules and arrest him, then send him to Cultivator Biyun to handle. As for the other one… let’s send her back for now.”

Chu Xinghui had no objections.

But when he glanced at the two unconscious bodies on the ground, he felt disgusted and didn’t want to touch them.

So, he turned to Xie Liufeng.

Xie Liufeng asked: “Should I do it?”

Chu Xinghui nodded: “Yes.”

Xie Liufeng smiled at him: “Is that it?”

Chu Xinghui raised his head, a little confused.

Xie Liufeng stretched his voice and teased: “At least… say something nice?”

Chu Xinghui looked at him and said his name: “Xie Liufeng.”

When they weren’t together before, his partner didn’t seem so annoying.

Xie Liufeng nodded happily: “Mmm, I know my name sounds great, but that doesn’t count.”

Chu Xinghui thought for a moment and then uttered a soon-to-be-legal title: “…Husband?”

Xie Liufeng: “…”

He rubbed his ears and chose to surrender: “Alright, alright, stop calling me that, I’ll agree to everything. I’ll send Mu Zeqing to the prison and send the other one back. Do you have any other requests?”

Chu Xinghui nodded: “Yes.”

Then, he motioned for Xie Liufeng to lower his head and kissed him on the cheek.

 

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