The leader was the last one. He was at peak Star Lord, same as Qingfeng. He was trembling now.
"You... you are just a bastard... how..."
Qingfeng walked towards him slowly, his fan dripping blood on the wooden floor. His face, which was always smiling, was now cold.
"Because my master taught me how to kill, not to beg."
He swung once. The leader raised both arms to block. The green wind from the fan cut through his arms, his mask, and his head in one clean line.
Silence.
Seven bodies lay around the noodle shop. Snow was blowing in from the open door, mixing with the blood.
Qingfeng closed his fan with a soft click. He untied the spirit pouch from his waist ,took out. A mid grade spirit stone and threw it on the counter.
"For the damages," he said to the terrified owner.
Now he was just going to leave the area when a terrifying pressure fell upon him. He looked up at the sky, where an old man was standing on the air, one of the outer elders of their Gu family, Elder Gu Shan.
The elder sneered, "You dare to kill your own family's people! You deserve to die."
Gu Qingfeng laughed, blood on his teeth. "Hahaha! Old man, where is the logic in your own words? Your young master was the one who sent those people to kill me, and when I, an illegitimate son of your filthy family head, tried to defend myself, you are talking about morality? Ptui!" He spat the mouthful of blood that came because of the pressure.
The elder was a Star Venerable realm powerhouse. He could easily trample him. His family even had Galaxy-level experts. Although this planet was big and the Eternal Sect was here, would they intervene just to stop a 2nd-tier force without any gain?
He gritted his teeth. The elder looked coldly at him and said again, "You dare to disrespect even the family head? You dare? When your master was alive it was really difficult to touch you! But now, hahaha! Now it is like killing a mosquito... now die!"
He slapped his palm towards Gu Qingfeng. Qingfeng couldn't move at all. He knew he was going to die anyway. A wave of sadness swept over his body. At least he wanted to see Zhao Tie for the last time before his death... Except for his master, Zhao Tie was the only one who showed mercy on him.
But the next second went by and nothing happened. He looked in front of him to see a black cloth fluttering in the air. A tall, handsome young man had appeared in front of him. No one knew when, but his presence alone shattered the pressure of the old elder. His long black hair was moving along the wind.
Qingfeng looked at the person mesmerized.
"Zhao... Zhao Tie!" His eyes turned moist, tears started falling unknowingly. He thought that he'd never meet Zhao Tie again in this life. But he met him again when he was on the verge of death. He remembered yesterday's incident, how Zhao Tie saved him. His ears turned red just by thinking about it.
Gu Shan's face changed.
A man who could shatter a Star Venerable's domain just by standing there wasn't someone he could measure. The pressure around Qingfeng vanished like snow in summer.
He steadied himself in the air and forced his voice to stay cold. "Your Highness! This is an internal matter of my Gu family, a 2nd-tier family of the North Star Territory. Please stay out of it!"
Qingfeng's heart tightened. He didn't want Zhao Tie dragged into the Gu family's mess. He pushed himself up, stepped in front of Zhao Tie, and spread his arms as if his thin body could shield him.
"He won't intervene," Qingfeng said quickly to Gu Shan. "He is just..."
Zhao Tie let out a short, cold sneer from behind him.
"So what if you're a 2nd-tier family?"
His voice wasn't loud, but the street shook.
"Do you think my Eternal Sect is something you can bully in front of?"
Boom.
A pressure far heavier than Gu Shan's fell from the sky. It wasn't just qi, it was the weight of the Eternal Sutra, boundless and ancient. Gu Shan crashed straight down, his knees breaking the stone pavement. Two front teeth shattered against the ground.
He tried to lift his head but couldn't. Same realm, completely different world.
Qingfeng turned around slowly, stunned. "So... you really are a disciple of the Eternal Sect."
On the ground, Gu Shan was coughing blood. "I... I'm sorry, young master! I did not know he was under your protection! I just came to execute a family criminal..."
Zhao Tie took one step forward. The pressure doubled. The earth sank around Gu Shan, burying half of his body into the ground..
"Qingfeng is my sword boy," Zhao Tie said, each word like ice. "You dare to kill my sword boy?"
Gu Shan's face went white. Death was right in front of him. He slammed his head to the ground, begging for the first time in a hundred years. "Mercy! Your Highness, show mercy!"
Qingfeng sighed and tugged lightly at Zhao Tie's sleeve. "Young master, please let him go. He's just a dog of the real culprits." He glanced at Gu Shan with pure disgust.
Zhao Tie looked at Qingfeng's hand on his sleeve for a second, then withdrew his pressure with a flick of his fingers.
Gu Shan collapsed forward, gasping.
Zhao Tie looked down at him. "Go back. Tell your family head: Zhao Tie, direct disciple of Blade Peak, Eternal Sect, will visit the Gu family soon."
He paused.
"And from today, anyone from the Gu family is forbidden from setting foot on Blue Star."
Gu Shan scrambled up, robes torn, several bones broken. He bowed so low his forehead nearly touched Zhao Tie's boots. "I... I will inform the family head immediately!"
He didn't dare stay another breath. He turned into a streak of light and vanished.
The street was quiet again. Vendors peeked out from windows.
Qingfeng stared at Zhao Tie's back for a moment, then his usual foolish smile returned. He dusted his cloths in his chest dramatically.
"Young master! You were so heroic just now! So, so handsome my eyes almost popped out of my head!"
Zhao Tie didn't answer. He just reached out and flicked Qingfeng hard on the forehead.
Pak!
"Ow! Young master!"
Qingfeng yelped and clutched his forehead, tears forming. Zhao Tie kept walking down the snowy road, the corner of his mouth lifting just a little.
Qingfeng hurried after him, still holding his red forehead, grinning like an idiot.
"Wait for me, young master!"
***
On Yuxin Star, Huai and Wuhe were walking with Yan.
Yan had already gained his memories back, the memories of being the Dragon Ancestor. But he was pretending he hadn't, acting dumb and lazy as usual.
On the other side, Huai and Wuhe both knew Yan had already regained his past memories of the Dragon Ancestor. They just didn't say anything because they didn't want Yan to get embarrassed.
They came upon a beautiful inn on the main street. It wasn't a normal inn, it was a high-class pleasure pavilion. But there were no women selling their bodies here. They sold their talents, singing, dancing, music, and poetry.
A wooden plaque hung above the gate, carved with flowing script: Moonlit Jade Pavilion.
Wuhe glanced at it and asked, "Huai, do you want to see a performance?"
Huai's eyes lit up instantly behind his white veil. On Earth he was just a poor boy who didn't even have a mobile phone. He only had that mountain where he always went to see sunrises and sunsets. He had never seen anything like this.
He nodded quickly at Wuhe.
Wuhe just smiled and, alongside Yan, the three of them entered the courtyard. Huai's face was still covered by the white veil. Seeing three strangers enter, everyone in the hall looked at them for a moment. But they had never seen them before, and with their plain robes, they just ignored them and went back to drinking.
Huai got surprised as he looked around. There were many good-looking men and women both serving the guests. So this pavilion had many male performers too, playing guqin and pouring wine with elegant movements.
A beautiful girl in a light blue dress came to serve them, bowing gracefully.
Wuhe ordered calmly, "Your best wine. Plum wine."
The girl smiled. "Young masters have good taste. Please wait a moment."
Yan leaned back lazily, stealing a glance at Huai who was looking around like a curious child, his eyes shining. Wuhe watched Huai and smiled to himself, not saying anything.
After a few minutes, the girl came back with an exquisite jade bottle, alongside her there were many attendants carrying dishes to place on their table.
The girl poured the liquor into Wuhe and Huai's cups, the clear plum wine shining like amber, and placed the dishes on the table.
Huai took the cup near his nose and immediately got attracted by the smell, sweet, cold, with a hint of flowers. He drank it in one gulp. Wuhe also followed the same action, smiling.
They both liked the wine.
While they were drinking, the first performance started. A male performer wearing a beautiful red robe, and a beautiful girl in a pink and white long dress, stepped onto the central stage. It was a sword dance performed by both of them. Their blades moved like water, never touching, but flowing together. Many musicians played guqin, flute, and drums with them.
Cultivators from various forces in the hall were already giving money to their attendants to show their appreciation towards the performers, throwing mid-grade spirit stones onto the stage.
Huai watched, mesmerized. Then he also took out a plain spirit ring, filled with millions of high-grade spirit stones, and gave it to the blue-clothed attendant.
The attendant froze. Her hands shook.
She stammered, "Young... young master!"
Wuhe chuckled and said nonchalantly, "Take it. You don't need to think about it anymore. He gave it to you means he just likes the performance."
The attendant bowed deeply, almost crying, and hurried towards the highest platform where a beautiful lady was sitting alongside a guqin. She was veiled in light purple silk, her eyes calm like a still lake.
The attendant whispered everything in her ear. The lady looked at Huai from a distance, trying to see through him.
But she couldn't see through him at all. It was like looking into a void.
Her whole body shuddered. She was actually the 7th Elder of the Jade Serenity Palace, Elder Leng Yuehua, here undercover for the sect, watching over the people from this pavilion.
She immediately stood up, her fingers tightening on her guqin.
"This person... who is he?"
Huai just smiled at her from the distance.
He didn't say anything, didn't use any qi. But that small smile alone, behind the thin white veil, was enough.
Elder Leng Yuehua froze on the high platform.
Those light brown eyes gave her a terrifying pressure just by looking at them...