Martial Peak
chapter-4694

“I’ve applied some medicine and dressed up her wound. It seems that she’s a cultivator, so as long as she has enough time to recuperate, she’ll be fine,” the woman said.

“Many thanks, Madame!” Zhao Ye Bai cupped his fist as he was evidently relieved.

The woman examined his face for a moment before pretending to be nonchalant as she asked, “You are Brother and Sister? You don’t look alike.”

Zhao Ye Bai replied, “Xiao Ya and I are not biological siblings; however, since we grew up together, we’re just as close as the real Brother and Sister.”

The woman’s eyelashes fluttered as she looked down at Zhao Ya, “Did you offend someone?”

Zhao Ye Bai shook his head, “I have no idea. The reason Xiao Ya and I arrived at this place was to look for a family member, but it was to no avail. When we were about to go back, we came across a formidable enemy. Xiao Ya was hurt because she wanted to save me.”

The woman nodded, “In that case, we can’t stay here any longer. Who knows where the attacker is hiding? Your Sister is now wounded, so she’ll be in danger if that person finds her.”

Zhao Ye Bai replied, “I’ll bring her back to Green Mountain Town now.”

“Green Mountain Town is several dozen kilometres away from here. What if her wound exacerbates during the long journey? If you don’t mind, you can stay at my home for some time. My house is just at the bottom of the mountain, which is not far away from here.”

Zhao Ye Bai appeared to be hesitant and asked, “Will it cause you any trouble?”

He was worried that the enemy might retaliate against them and barge into the woman’s house.

The woman put on a smile, “Don’t worry. To be honest with you, my Son is a disciple from Spirit Sea Temple, and he’s a pretty successful cultivator now. That person would never dare to make a scene in my house.”

Zhao Ye Bai became startled for a moment, “Are you a family member of the Village Chief, Madame?”

She just said that her house was at the bottom of the mountain, which would put it in the village they had visited earlier. There was no way there were two people who were the disciples of Spirit Sea Temple in such a tiny village. If Zhao Ye Bai wasn’t mistaken, the woman should be the Village Chief’s Wife.

As expected, the woman nodded, “That’s right.”

Zhao Ye Bai rose from the chair and cupped his fist, “Many thanks for your righteousness, Madame. I, Zhao Ye Bai, am truly grateful.”

“Don’t be overly polite with me. I have a Daughter who is about the same age as her. If you don’t mind it, you can call me Aunty Mei.”

Zhao Ye Bai nodded and obediently called her Aunty Mei.

It was then that the woman smiled and nodded before she got up, “It’s getting late now. We should be on our way.”

Zhao Ye Bai nodded and carried the unconscious Zhao Ya up before following Zhen Xue Mei, who nervously reminded him to be careful so as not to irritate Zhao Ya’s wound. It appeared that she was even more anxious than Zhao Ye Bai.

As they moved forward, Zhen Xue Mei asked Zhao Ye Bai some questions while he replied to her honestly. Upon learning that it took them half a year to go from Seven Stars Town to this place, she was quite surprised.

Soon, they arrived at the manor that was located at the entrance of the village. Zhen Xue Mei pushed the door open and personally helped settle Zhao Ye Bai and Zhao Ya down in a guest room. Following that, she ordered two clever maidservants to serve them before she returned to her room to get some rest, though she kept looking back as she left.

The candlelight flickered inside the room as Zhen Xue Mei was facing her dressing table. With reddened eyes, she started crying in silence.

A middle-aged man in extravagant clothes pushed the door open. He was the Village Chief, Xu Liang Cai, whom Zhao Ye Bai and Zhao Ya had met some time ago.

There was a dark expression on Xu Liang Cai’s face as he took a seat and poured himself a cup of tea. Upon finishing the tea, he said, “I heard from the servants that you’ve brought two strangers home.”

Zhen Xue Mei fell silent.

Xu Liang Cai landed a fist on the table and yelled, “That’s ridiculous! Those people obviously have some kind of powerful enemy! By bringing them back here, it’s no different from inviting trouble to ourselves! What if their enemy invades our house? Although there are bodyguards here, they’re not very strong. How are they supposed to survive? Do you want our family to be destroyed?”

Looking at him through the reflection of the bronze mirror, Zhen Xue Mei asked, “Husband, do you remember Dong’er?”

Xu Liang Cai’s fury came to an abrupt halt, and then he knitted his brows, “Why did you bring that up all of a sudden?”

Zhen Xue Mei put on a cheerless smile, “She was just five days old when she was dumped on the mountain in the middle of winter. I quickly went to look for her, but I couldn’t find her regardless of how hard I tried. No one knew whether she was taken away by some beast.”

It was Xu Liang Cai’s turn to fall silent now.

Presently, Zhen Xue Mei’s face was covered in tears, “I carried her for ten months of pregnancy before I finally gave birth to her, but you secretly threw her away. How could you be so ruthless?”

Xu Liang Cai let out a sigh, “I had no choice back then. We were poor, so having another baby would put a strain on our finances. How were we supposed to provide for her? I was forced to do it. Now, I can even provide for ten kids, let alone one.”

Zhen Xue Mei sneered, “How much food would a baby need? You were forced to do it? Would you still have the heart to throw her away if she were a boy?”

An impatient Xu Liang Cai snapped, “Many years have passed, and you should put this matter down! Moreover, I looked for her in the past, but how was I supposed to find her when there are so many people in the world? You’re also aware that it was winter when the incident happened. She was just five days old. Even if she was not taken away by some beast, she would’ve been frozen to death.”

“I can never let this matter go!” Zhen Xue Mei said through clenched teeth, “She’s my Daughter!”

“Hao’er is also your child! How much care have you given him over the years? Why can’t you forget a dead person?”

“She is not dead!”

“Enough!” Xu Liang Cai landed his fist on the table again and stood straight up, “I think you’ve gone mad. You always go up the mountain whenever you feel like it. What could there be on that mountain after all those years? What do you think you can find? I’ve never interfered because I feel guilty, but I never expected that you would become so impudent now! Tell those people to scram tomorrow morning, or else I’ll personally chase them out!”

As he spoke, someone was heard knocking on the door from outside.

“What’s the matter?” Xu Liang Cai bellowed.

The servant outside the room replied, “Master, Madame, the Young Master is back, and he’s brought back some of his Fellow Brothers.”

Upon hearing that, Xu Liang Cai became elated as he quickly rose from the chair.

Before he even stepped out of the room, he heard someone calling out in an energetic voice, “Father, Mother, I’m back!”

Following that, a well-built young man stepped into the place.

An agitated Xu Liang Cai clenched the young man’s arms, “It’s really you, Hao’er!”

Xu Hao called out with joy, “Father!”

“That’s great! I’m glad that you’re back.” Xu Liang Cai examined him, “It’s been three years since we last met, and you’ve become stronger. How’s life in Spirit Sea Temple?”

Xu Hao replied with a smile, “Don’t worry, Father. My Master and Senior Brothers treat me very well.”

Xu Liang Cai felt relieved and gratified hearing that.

After Zhen Xue Mei was done with wiping her tears off, she came out and smiled amicably, “You’re back, Hao’er.”

“Mother!” Xu Hao called out excitedly. The Mother and Son then shared some joyous small talk.

Worried that his Son might notice that something was off about Zhen Xue Mei, Xu Liang Cai interrupted them by saying, “I heard from the servants that your Fellow Brothers have come here as well.”

Xu Hao nodded, “Yes. They’re outside right now, so I’ve ordered the chefs to prepare a banquet.”

“They must have helped you out a lot. As your Father, I have to personally thank them. You should come and introduce them to me.”

“Good.” Xu Hao nodded before turning to Zhen Xue Mei, “You should get some rest, Mother. I’ll visit you again tomorrow.”

“Go on,” Zhen Xue Mei looked smilingly at him.

A moment later, Xu Hao introduced his Senior Brothers to Xu Liang Cai. After the introductions were over, they were all seated.

Xu Liang Cai could see that there was a bulging package in front of the Senior Brother who was clearly the leader of this group, and he couldn’t help wondering what was inside.

When Xu Hao introduced his Senior Brothers, he had placed some emphasis on this person. That was the reason Xu Liang Cai found out that this Senior Brother, named Hu Xun, was the most powerful among them, and they all regarded him as their leader.

In fact, Xu Liang Cai was aware of who Hu Xun was even before today, but it was the first time he had met him. That was because Xu Hao had repeatedly mentioned this Senior Brother in the letters that he sent home. He said that this Senior Brother took good care of him in Spirit Sea Temple, and they were Disciples of the same Master. Hence, they were truly Senior and Junior Brothers.

That was the reason Xu Liang Cai was especially fond of Hu Xun. Although he was just an ordinary mortal, he was as hospitable to Hu Xun as possible because of his Son.

“Noble Nephew Hu, if I may ask, what is that?” Xu Liang Cai inquired curiously while looking at the package.

In an instant, the expressions of the people by the table became awkward.

Hu Xun looked smilingly at Xu Hao, who replied in his place, “Father, don’t be afraid, but the truth is it’s a head.”

Xu Liang Cai was stunned, “A head? Whose head is it?”

“It’s the head of a criminal!” Hu Xun explained, “The reason we came down the mountain this time was to hunt down this person. He had committed atrocious crimes in a lot of places, so the Sect Master ordered us to execute him. Upon receiving the order, we left the mountain together. We had exchanged some moves with him before, but this person was indeed powerful. Although we had badly injured him, he had managed to flee. We went on to hunt him down for a few days but to no avail. Not long ago, Junior Brother Xu said that his home was around here, so he proposed we get some rest here before continuing with the hunt. It never crossed our minds that we would come across our target’s corpse in the wild on our way here. Our task was completed just like that. Junior Brother Xu is truly our lucky Star!”

Xu Hao burst into laughter, “I didn’t expect that there would be such a coincidence.”

They still couldn’t believe it when they came across this guy. The target they had spent days tracking suddenly appeared in front of them, and he was already dead.

“I see,” Xu Liang Cai was still reeling from shock, but he wasn’t willing to lose his cool in front of his Son’s Senior Brothers and embarrass him, so he sported a calm expression.

Hu Xun said, “It’s a shame that we have no idea who killed this guy. If we knew, we could have thanked them.”

Xu Liang Cai said, “Noble Nephew Hu, perhaps the injuries you had inflicted on him were so severe that he was unable to recover and that was why he passed away.”

Hu Xun shook his head, “That’s not the case. I examined his wounds and realised that he was killed with a spear. We didn’t inflict such an injury on him when we exchanged moves with him some time ago. The person who had made a move might not be very powerful, but they had good timing. However, I believe that the person who finished him off was also badly injured after killing this thug.”

Xu Liang Cai became startled upon hearing that and muttered, “Could it be them?”

Xu Hao asked curiously, “Who are you talking about, Father?”

After giving it a thought, Xu Liang Cai briefly told them that Zhen Xue Mei had brought back two people from the mountain. He had heard everything from the bodyguards. When Zhao Ye Bai had a chat with Zhen Xue Mei, he talked about a fight previously, which was the reason Xu Liang Cai associated them with the killing of this criminal.