Chapter 89: Picking up a Rumor

Chapter 89: Chapter 89: Picking up a Rumor

Yun Xi adopted a coy, girlish air and pleaded with Chu Fan, "Husband, I know I was wrong. From now on, if any other man sits next to me, I’ll break his legs immediately."

The moment she finished speaking, before anyone could react, Yun Xi’s eyes narrowed and her body simply shuddered.

A wave of energy sent the burly man flying. His thigh slammed into a nearby pillar, and a sharp CRACK of bone breaking could be heard.

It was followed by the man’s agonizing scream.

This scene left everyone in the main hall utterly dumbfounded.

Because their Cultivation Realms were too low, they couldn’t even tell who had made the move, let alone how.

"You... what kind of Demon Technique did you use?" The four men who had been at the same table as the man all stood up, pointing at Yun Xi and Chu Fan.

Ignoring everyone else, Chu Fan shook his head at Yun Xi and said, "Your control over your True Qi still isn’t precise enough. Look, our table moved several inches."

Yun Xi pouted and said, "I’ll be sure to control my strength better next time."

"But, seeing as his leg is broken, I’ll forgive you this time."

Chu Fan and Yun Xi continued their conversation as if no one else was there, making the four men’s faces turn livid with rage. Two of them grabbed swords from the table and pointed them at the pair.

"You injured our senior brother, which means you’ve thoroughly offended our Chaixian Sect! Neither of you is leaving today."

In the crowd, a few clever individuals had already noticed that Chu Fan and Yun Xi were extraordinary.

However, these four were not among the clever ones. Or perhaps, they had grown so used to throwing their weight around that they thought merely mentioning their Sect’s name would make others cower in fear.

Besides, a Cultivator in the Heartbeat Realm walking the mortal world was indeed worthy of some respect.

"Noisy," Chu Fan said, slapping the table. Four chopsticks shot out from the holder on the table, flying toward the four men like sharp arrows.

The four had no time to react. The four chopsticks hovered right between their eyebrows, pressed against their skin without falling.

Instantly, sweat poured down their faces like rain. Their bodies trembled uncontrollably, yet they didn’t dare move an inch.

Now they knew they had picked a fight with someone they couldn’t afford to offend. Their opponents’ Cultivation Realms were so high they were like insurmountable mountains; they couldn’t see through them at all.

So it wasn’t that these two had no Cultivation, but that their Cultivation was so high that they were unable to perceive it.

At this time, the man with the broken leg was still screaming. After all, a broken femur was an agonizing, heart-wrenching pain.

Chu Fan simply flicked a finger in his direction. A stream of True Qi hit the man’s Mute Acupoint, and the screaming stopped abruptly.

Several people in the crowd couldn’t help but feel a mix of lingering fear and relief. ’Thankfully, we were sitting far from Chu Fan’s table, letting that other group get to them first. Otherwise, wouldn’t we be the unlucky ones right now?’

"Waiter, what are you waiting for? Aren’t you going to bring our food?" Chu Fan called out to the Waiter, who was standing a short distance away, holding a tray but too scared to approach.

The Waiter acknowledged with a yelp and walked over, trembling.

’He was truly terrified. Didn’t he see that not a single one of the Cultivators in the inn dared to move?’

’And to think I was just worried they couldn’t afford their meal and hesitated to serve them. Thank goodness I didn’t say anything out loud.’

Soon, all the dishes were served. But the chopsticks hovering before the four men’s foreheads remained there, not moving an inch, not falling.

The four men remained frozen in their original poses, not daring to move even as their bodies grew numb.

"These dishes look pretty good. No idea how they taste, though. Let’s try them," Chu Fan said, taking two pairs of chopsticks from the holder and handing one to Yun Xi.

"They definitely won’t be as delicious as your cooking," Yun Xi replied as she began to eat. "But we didn’t just come here to eat, did we."

Chu Fan picked up a piece of fish with his chopsticks. After eating it, he said to the four men, "I’ll ask, you’ll answer. Answer well, and there’s a reward. Answer poorly... well, I imagine you’ve done plenty of evil in the mortal world recently. In that case, I’ll just cripple your Cultivation."

"S-Sir, please don’t! Ask away, please, just ask! We promise to tell you everything we know," the short, chubby one with a handlebar mustache hastily said.

"You said before that the Lingyun Sect’s Sect Leader was gravely injured by people from the Red Blood Mansion, and that an Elder died. Which Elder was it?" Chu Fan asked.

"It was the Ninth Elder. The Second Elder and Third Elder were also gravely injured, and six Steward Elders died. We heard the Sixth Elder’s wife even lost an arm."

Yun Xi froze for a moment upon hearing this, but she quickly composed herself.

’Although Yun Xi claimed to have cut ties with her parents, that’s easier said than done. How could the bonds of flesh and blood, and the debt of being raised for over twenty years, be severed so easily?’

’The Ninth Elder is dead?’

’Originally, the Lingyun Sect’s Ninth Elder had been his eldest senior brother. After he died, the former Tenth Elder was promoted to Ninth Elder.’

’Chu Fan’s impression of this person wasn’t particularly good or bad, but hearing he was dead still felt strange. To think that the Lingyun Sect had fallen into such a state after his Master’s death.’

"They brought it all on themselves," Yun Xi said coldly.

Chu Fan remained noncommittal and asked another question, "Has the Lingyun Sect truly been removed from the Six Sects?"

"N-no, not at all. We were just lying to make ourselves look more important."

Chu Fan shook his head with a cold smile and asked, "Then why are there so many Cultivators in the city? Has the pact of the Eastern Domain Cultivation Realm been abolished?"

"Ever since last year, on the day of the Celestial Derivation Sect’s Saint Heir’s wedding, when someone crashed it... during Mr. Hong’s auction, the Six Sects and Eight Gates started fighting amongst themselves. Then the Red Blood Mansion raided the Lingyun Sect and destroyed the Celestial Derivation Sect’s Medicine Valley. After people won treasures at the auction, several Sects were ambushed. Since then, the Six Sects and Eight Gates have been too busy protecting themselves and are suspicious of each other. The Cultivation Realm’s pact exists in name only, so many Minor Sects have entered the mortal world to expand."

’The words were brief, but they revealed a great deal of information. With Chu Fan’s understanding of the Six Sects and Eight Gates, this was enough for him to piece together much more.’

’It seems the Red Blood Mansion’s ambitions are quite large.’

’Then again, the Six Sects and Eight Gates have been on top for too long; they’ve become corrupt. This calamity is something they brought upon themselves.’

’They deserve no sympathy.’

"Did anyone cause trouble at Mr. Hong’s Auction House?" Chu Fan asked.

"Who would dare? At the time, the Wuji Sect and the Mixed Element Sect came to blows over an Elixir. Two Elders from the Wuji Sect and the Sect Leader of the Mixed Element Sect were killed on the spot by a single, ruthless-looking man from the auction house. The auction house sent out just one person, and in the span of a few dozen breaths, he killed one expert at the Integration Realm, one at the Divine Separation Realm, and three at the Soul Emergence Realm. Since then, no one has dared to cause trouble at Mr. Hong’s Auction House. There are rumors that an Earth Immortal might be backing them."

Chu Fan’s brows furrowed deeply upon hearing this. ’Others might not know the truth about Mr. Hong’s Auction House, but how could he not? A ruthless-looking man, killing five masters, including the Sect Leader of the Mixed Element Sect?’

’Who had such great ability? The eight of them were only in the Nascent Soul Realm.’

’Could it be that Liu Yicai spent a fortune to hire an assassin at least at the Integration Realm?’

Of course, it didn’t occur to him that because he had consumed the Earth Spirit Pill, Ying Xiao and the others had also gained the combat power of at least three Great Realms for that one hour.

’He probably couldn’t get much more information from these guys. Chu Fan decided he should personally make a trip to Mr. Hong’s Auction House to see Liu Yicai. Perhaps he could learn more that way.’

While Chu Fan was questioning them, he and Yun Xi had nearly finished their meal.

Seeing them stand up to leave, everyone in the tavern breathed a collective sigh of relief.

However, just as Chu Fan was about to step out the door, he pulled his foot back.

He smiled at the crowd and said, "When we first came in, some of the looks you were giving my wife made me very unhappy. And when I’m unhappy, what should I do?"

Those people, who had just breathed a sigh of relief, tensed up again at Chu Fan’s words.