Chapter 3051 - All Are as Silent as Cicadas in Winter

Someone was knocking on the door of Su Yi’s private pavilion. Su Yi was seated in meditation, but when he heard the noise, he silently opened his eyes.

His calm voice emanated from within. “Is there a problem?”

His divine sense had already informed him that the one knocking on his door was one of the black-robed ship guards.

“Dear guest, my subordinates informed me that one of your companions, Miss Yun Rong, has been led away by her sectmates,” said the black guard, respectfully clasping his fist. “Forgive the interruption, but I thought it necessary to report this to you immediately.”

Yun Rong’s sectmates led her away? Su Yi’s brow furrowed, and he silently rose to his feet. A moment later, he appeared outside the pavilion.

It was so sudden that the guard’s pupils constricted, and he instinctively took several steps back, his whole body tensing. A moment later, he realized he’d lost his composure, and he hurriedly lowered his head.

“The Dragonbone Worldship is the Luo Family’s territory, and all of its passengers are under your protection, yet now, this has happened to my companion. Don’t you think... you owe me an explanation?” Su Yi said flatly.

The black-robed guard explained, “I’m just a messenger, but the Luo Family chose not to intervene because this is Crimson Kite Daoist Court’s private business.”

“Oh,” said Su Yi. “I hope that’s true. Tell me, where did the people who took Yun Rong go?”

The black-robed guard promptly gave him an address. Su Yi turned and left without a word.

It was only after Su Yi faded away that the guard exhaled, his heart still quivering with lingering fright. This Mo Hanyi person doesn’t emanate any kind of aura or have any sense of presence whatsoever. It’s as if he’s an ordinary mortal. But for some reason, just now... I felt an overwhelmingly terrifying pressure bearing down on my heart. I could barely even breathe!

Only now did the guard realize that his clothes were completely drenched in sweat.

It’s true; anyone capable of booking one of the private pavilions is sure to be extraordinary, sighed the guard.

He turned and dashed off.

......

A thoroughly lamplit room.

Yue Qiu sat casually, holding a cup of steaming hot tea. Outer-sect disciples Yun Liu, Peng Shanqi, Mu Lu, and several others stood to his sides.

Yun Rong sat in a heap at the center of the room, hair disheveled, a plaintive look on her swollen face.

“Yun Rong, do you know what you’ve done wrong?” Yun Qiu said coldly.

Yun Rong looked at him in bewilderment, then said in a quavering voice, “Senior Apprentice Brother Yue, what... did I do wrong?”

Yue Qiu snorted coldly. Peng Shanqi promptly stepped forth, his eyes flashing with sinister light. “How dare you keep up the act even now? Where did a lowly wench like you get her hands on Destiny Jade?”

He shook his wrist, and all manner of treasures fell to the ground in a dense pile. These were the delicacies Yun Rong had just purchased from the street vendors. She’d been on her way to deliver them to Su Yi.

“You’ve yet to even become an official outer-sect disciple. Where did you get the money to spend so lavishly?” Peng Shanqi bellowed imposingly.

When the other outer-sect disciples saw the gleaming pile of treasures, their gazes heated up, and their hearts filled with jealousy.

As outer-sect disciples, they’d yet to step into Eternity. They’d never seen so many Eternal treasures in one place before.

Yun Rong was incomparably aggrieved and angry. She tried to explain, “Senior Mo gave me money to buy these things on his beha—”

“Shut your mouth!” Yun Liu walked up to her, then said bitterly, “A’Rong, we’ve already investigated. The ‘Senior Mo’ you speak of is a highly suspicious character. He’s an ill-intentioned villain! And you... betrayed the sect, aiding and abetting an evildoer, all for the sake of luxury and wealth! How dare you deny it even now? Do you really want us to punish you?”

I betrayed the sect? I aided and abetted an evildoer? Yun Rong’s mind buzzed. When did I do anything of the sort?

Her eyes bulged, her delicate frame quivering with anger. “You’re... slandering me! I never betrayed the sect in any way!”

Bang!

Peng Shanqi sent her flying with a kick, then planted his foot on her head and said coldly, “Yun Rong, if you know what’s good for you, we’ll naturally give you a chance to make amends!”

He took out a jade bottle. “All you have to do is go back, make Mo Hanyi a pot of tea, and add this to the water. Of course, you have to make him drink it, too. If he discovers you... Even if he forgives you, we won’t!”

Yun Rong suddenly understood. All that talk of betrayal and crimes is pure nonsense. They’re really just targeting Senior Mo Hanyi!

“There really is something off about Mo Hanyi. Yun Rong, this is your chance to make amends,” Yue Qiu said calmly. “Once we’ve succeeded, we’ll naturally show you leniency. We’ll even permit you to claim a spot in the outer sect!”

Everyone eyed Yun Rong, who was still pinned beneath Peng Shanqi’s foot. All of them were waiting for her answer.

She looked up at them with great difficulty, then stared intently at Yue Qiu. She said slowly and clearly, “I won’t do it even if you kill me!”

Peng Shanqi’s eyes flashed with viciousness. “Then don’t blame us for our poor manners!”

He suddenly leaned forward, seized Yun Rong’s hair, lifted her off the ground with one hand, and pried her mouth open with the other. “Junior Apprentice Brother Mu, it’s your turn!”

“Don’t be afraid. This medicine goes down nice and sweet,” said Mu Lu, smiling broadly as he approached to stuff a pill into Yun Rong’s mouth.

Yun Rong’s eyes filled with terror, and she struggled with all her might, but it was useless.

Yun Liu watched from not far away, her heart full of indescribable satisfaction and smug pride. Who said a bitch like you could stay in a private pavilion? You’re unworthy of such luxury. You brought this on yourself!

The other outer-sect disciples watched this play out calmly. None of them felt that anything was wrong with this, as they’d never truly seen Yun Rong as one of their own.

But it was then that the door to the lamplit room silently shattered into powder. A chill as sharp as the edge of a knife poured into the room, filling every last nook and cranny.

The lights instantly went out.

Chills coursed down everyone’s spines.

Mu Lu had been just about to force-feed Yun Rong when he stiffened. It was as if an invisible hand had seized him by the wrist. He couldn’t even move a muscle.

Peng Shanqi, the one holding Yun Rong by the hair and prying her mouth open, stiffened, locked in place.

A strange silence descended over the room.

Everyone looked to the entrance. They weren’t sure when he’d gotten there, but a man in blue was walking toward them.

They recognized him at a glance. This was the wealthy client Yun Rong was guiding, the one staying in the premium pavilion, Mo Hanyi!

“There really is something off about you!” Yue Qiu said coldly. “If you’re here, that makes things simple. Tell us: who exactly are you, and why are you trying to lead Yun Rong astray?”

He spoke with calm composure and complete confidence in his background. And indeed, he had reason to be confident, as he was the nephew of one of Crimson Kite Daoist Court’s outer-sect grand elders.

Moreover, the Dragonbone Worldship belonged to the Luo Family, and he was close with their young master.

Thus, he wasn’t at all afraid that anything would go wrong!

When Yue Qiu spoke, the others were reassured. All of them looked at Su Yi coldly.

Crimson Kite Daoist Court was one of the three top Heavenly Monarch factions in the Southern Sea. They refused to believe that anyone would dare to treat them with disrespect!

Throughout the ages, not even bandits and outlaws dared to offend them. When they saw disciples of Crimson Kite Daoist Court, even they had to take a step back.

When Su Yi arrived, he glanced first at the pile of treasures, then at the disheveled, battered Yun Rong. She looked as helpless as a lamb awaiting slaughter.

His brow furrowed.

Suddenly, Yun Rong cried out, “Senior, you... hurry up and leave! You’re the one they’re really after!”

Su Yi said warmly, “I understand.”

His voice had only just rung out when Peng Shanqi’s eyes widened. He glanced down in shock, only to discover that both of his arms had crumbled into ash.

He opened his mouth to scream, but much to his horror, he found that he couldn’t make even a single sound.

“You...” Yue Qiu’s expression darkened. “Do you plan to declare war on Crimson Kite Daoist Court?”

Su Yi ignored him, then walked over to Yun Rong. A strange scene followed.

No one saw Su Yi move, but the rest of Peng Shanqi’s body suddenly disintegrated into ash, while Mu Yu, the one holding the pill, collapsed onto the ground like a puddle of mud. His face paled, his eyes lost focus, and his whole body quivered.

He stammered, “Don’t kill me! Don’t kill me! Senior Apprentice Brother Yue Qiu made me do it!”

Everyone who saw this looked stricken. Their hair stood on end.

Peng Shanqi had died inexplicably before their very eyes, silently crumbling into ash, while Mu Yu seemed to have had a complete mental breakdown.

From beginning to end, none of them saw how Mo Hanyi attacked. Of course they were terrified!

This time, even Yue Qiu realized that something wasn’t right here. He shot to his feet and roared, “I don’t care who you are. There’s no way you’ll escape now that you’ve killed a disciple of Crimson Kite Daoist Court!”

His voice boomed like thunder, but as loud as it was, an invisible power blocked it, preventing it from leaving the room.

Yue Qiu’s heart thudded in his chest. A powerful sense of unease washed over him. Who is this person? Does he... seriously dare to kill us in a place like this? No, there’s no way! This is the Southern Sea. Who’d be so stupid as to offend Crimson Kite Daoist court here?

And this is a Dragonbone Worldship. Who’d dare to offend the Luo Family?

As Yue Qiu’s thoughts raced, Mu Lu suddenly took out a snow-white robe, his gaze hollow and his voice drifting. “I deserve to die. I took something that didn’t belong to me. My sins... are unforgivable!”

Before his voice had even finished echoing through the air, the crowd watched in horror as he lay on the ground, his life force flowing away.

He was dead!

“This...” Everyone’s heart shook, their scalps practically exploding from sheer fright. What exactly is going on here?

Yun Rong finally broke free, but when she witnessed this terrifying spectacle, she, too, fell into a daze. Just what kind of existence is Senior Mo? He just made... Mu Yu seek death of his own accord!

Su Yi leaned over and picked the robes off the ground. He said warmly, “Did you buy these for me?”

Yun Rong instinctively nodded. “I bought it for you, Senior, and I planned to give it to you, but...”

Su Yi smiled. “No need to explain. I understand.”

The robe was dirty, wrinkled, and bloodstained. Su Yi shook it, and all of the filth and wrinkles vanished. He nodded in satisfaction. “You’ve got good taste. I like it.”

Everyone stood there in stunned silence, afraid to even breathe too loudly. All of them were completely intimidated.

Su Yi ignored them, then stretched out his hand and wiped the blood from Yun Rong’s face. “They’re your sectmates, so what do you think we should do with them?”

Yun Rong hesitated, then said, “Senior, I’d hate for you to invite trouble onto yourself on my account. My conscience wouldn’t be able to bear it.”

Su Yi laughed. “Invite trouble? Don’t worry about that. I’d actually be rather interested to see where they got the guts to use you to target me.”

He finally looked at Yue Qiu. “Care to explain yourself?”

Yue Qiu shuddered, but his tone remained cold and unyielding. “If you’ve got the balls, just...”

Bang!

He’d barely opened his mouth when his knees slammed to the floor, and blood gushed from the seven apertures of his face. He let out a muffled, agonized grunt.

The others watched in horror, practically giving in to despair. Just what kind of terrifying existence did we provoke this time? He doesn’t care about our background at all!

He doesn’t care that this ship is Luo Family territory, either. He kills suddenly and without warning, as if it’s nothing at all!

The most terrifying part was that even now, none of them had seen him attack. They had no idea how he was doing this!

It was far too strange and far too terrifying!

“Was it because of you?” Su Yi’s gaze shifted, landing on Yun Liu. He’d noticed that Yun Liu was a dark-hearted, two-faced woman when they’d crossed paths during boarding.

They were from the same clan, but there was no disguising Yun Liu’s hatred for Yun Rong.

Yun Liu panicked beneath Su Yi’s gaze, the blood draining from her beautiful face. Her tears fell like rain, her voice choked with sobs. “Senior, there’s no grudge between us. I would never dare to do such a thing!”

“Oh,” said Su Yi. He looked at Yun Rong. “You should resolve your enmity with her yourself. You need such enmities and grudges as whetstones in your pursuit of the Grand Dao. It’s only by dealing with her yourself that you can untangle your mental knots and let your thoughts flow clear and unimpeded.”

“Me?” Yun Rong blinked in surprise, then came to her senses. “Thank you for your guidance, Senior!”

As a Lesser God, Yun Rong was naturally aware that obstacles were opportunities to temper her cultivation base. Overcoming the obstacle that was Yun Liu would bring inestimable benefits.

Yun Liu obviously felt differently; she just knew that Su Yi wasn’t going to kill her, and she was inwardly mad with delight.

But on the surface, her tears still fell like rain. She looked lost, helpless, and pitiful.

Meanwhile, Su Yi approached the kneeling Yue Qiu. He didn’t understand. This was his first day on the Dragonbone Worldship. It seemed inexplicable that someone would target him out of nowhere.

Both Yun Rong and the Crimson Kite Daoist Court disciples bullying her were obviously being exploited. Someone was using them as pawns to test him.

Simply put, Su Yi suspected that someone else entirely was behind all this.

He lifted Yue Qiu into the air and searched his soul without a single wasted word. The others watched in stunned silence. None dared to interfere, or even utter a single word.

All were as silent as cicadas in winter.