Chapter 136: Are You My Brother’s Subordinate?

Chapter 136: Chapter 136: Are You My Brother’s Subordinate?

"Why are you here?" Lu Yuan frowned.

"I came from the Demon Suppression Bureau. I heard about what happened yesterday morning," Mu Lingche said. He glanced at the several pretty young girls beside Lu Yuan and turned around. "Let’s chat over there."

"Alright." Lu Yuan nodded. He told the three little ones to wait in the courtyard, then walked over.

"I heard you killed two Seventh-Grade martial artists..." Mu Lingche asked directly.

"Five," Lu Yuan replied.

"Five!" Mu Lingche’s pupils shrank instantly, his voice unnatural. Two was already unbelievable, and now five... "Are you sure?"

"You..." Lu Yuan looked at Mu Lingche, his brows involuntarily knitting together. His aura had grown much more vigorous, but he hadn’t broken through to the Seventh-Grade. "Why did you ask for a leave of absence yesterday?"

"I... was improving my innate aptitude," Mu Lingche answered. "The family gave me a pill to enhance my foundation, so I stayed home to consume and refine it."

"Innate aptitude..." Lu Yuan came to a sudden realization. Even a high-grade aptitude could be further improved. Before reaching the Seventh-Grade, the cost was relatively small, and doing so would open up more room for growth and potential after breaking through. The Marquis Mansion had the resources, so naturally, they wanted to lay the best and solidest foundation for their younger generation. This way, their future martial path would be smoother, and they could go further.

"Who gave it to you? Isn’t it a bit too coincidental that they gave it to you yesterday?"

"What do you mean?" Mu Lingche frowned.

"Don’t misunderstand!" Lu Yuan reached out to stop him from blowing up. "I’m just trying to find discrepancies, the mastermind behind the scenes, and evidence. They didn’t dare touch you, so they devised a way to keep you at home..."

"Impossible!" Mu Lingche shook his head. "Our Marquis Mansion’s pills are crafted by dedicated Alchemy Masters. Experts in the clan above the Fifth-Grade personally collect them. Outsiders couldn’t possibly interfere or influence the process."

The Marquis Mansion’s pills came either from the Court or from allied Great Alchemy Sects. For these two sources, anyone with Cultivation below the Third-Grade couldn’t get involved. And if a Third-Grade expert or higher wanted to harm Lu Yuan and Chen Qiang, they wouldn’t need to go through so much trouble.

"Maybe during the handover process? The handlers?" Lu Yuan didn’t give up easily.

Mu Lingche thought about it and shook his head. Important pills were handled entirely by the Mu Family’s direct descendants; they never passed through anyone else’s hands.

"Could it be that they knew I received the pill and was going to consume it at home, so they decided to act on the spur of the moment?"

"Huh?" Lu Yuan’s gaze sharpened instantly. Yes, that had to be it! Since Mu Lingche had to make preparations before taking the pill, the maids, guards, or servants would have known and leaked the information. He had fallen into a common cognitive trap.

"In that case, there shouldn’t be many people who knew you received the pill. We can find some clues."

"And what if we do? What’s the use? What’s the point?" Mu Lingche asked. The maids and servants couldn’t possibly be in direct contact with the mastermind; there were definitely several layers of intermediaries between them.

"If there’s substantial evidence, I will use the rules to bring him down. If not, I will..." Lu Yuan clenched his fists tightly. In short, vengeance must be served, and the culprits must die!

"Mere words and simple evidence won’t bring down an expert. In the grand scheme of things, this incident isn’t that major, and it’s extremely difficult to take down a Fifth-Grade expert. Ultimately, this world values strength above all else, and the strong are revered," Mu Lingche reminded him.

Ruining a Fifth-Grade martial artist over a Seventh-Grade one without ironclad proof of catching them red-handed? Even with ironclad evidence on the spot, it was highly unlikely. He shouldn’t harbor any unrealistic fantasies.

"I have to do something, don’t I?" Lu Yuan countered. If he did nothing, how could he live with himself?

Mu Lingche nodded in understanding. "I’ll look into it when I get back."

"Thank you." Lu Yuan cupped his fists. This Mu Lingche was much better than his sister, Mu Lingyan.

"Um..." Mu Lingche called out, stopping Lu Yuan from leaving. "How exactly did you kill five Seventh-Grade martial artists?"

"I’ll tell you once you break through to the Seventh-Grade." Lu Yuan waved his hand, not looking back.

Mu Lingche stood there, stunned. He wondered what that meant. Was Lu Yuan planning to kill him?

Later, Lu Yuan took the three little girls to the river to fly kites and fish. Watching the trio play so happily, his mood inevitably improved. However, something weighed heavily on his mind, preventing him from truly opening up and enjoying himself.

At noon, Lu Yuan changed into a black outfit and brought his Wind Thunder Saber to the Chen Family. The residence was already draped in white silk and white lanterns for a simple funeral. When a young person died prematurely, the funeral was typically not an elaborate affair. Since Chen Qiang was unmarried and left no descendants, it had to be even simpler. Thus, only a plain coffin was set up for the family to mourn. Any friends and relatives who wished to visit would only do so at night. As a result, only a few women and children wept in the courtyard, with hardly any visitors around. Lu Yuan walked in, offered his simple respects, and then stepped to the side, not in a hurry to leave.

"Are you my brother’s colleague?" A tall woman in black walked over. Her features were elegant and plain, her expression a mix of sorrow and stubbornness. "Are you my brother’s subordinate?"

"Yes." Lu Yuan nodded.

"Then do you know how he died?" Chen Qian immediately asked. She refused to accept that he had simply died of exhaustion during a mission. Moreover, why was there a dangerous mission that exceeded his rank? What was the Demon Suppression Bureau’s intelligence department doing?

"I’ve already killed all but one of them," Lu Yuan said, shaking his head. "And I will deal with the last one."

"Who?" Chen Qian stared fixedly at Lu Yuan. Her vital qi surged, revealing her to be an Eighth-Grade Middle Tier Martial Artist.

"If you run into any trouble in the future, you can find me at the Demon Suppression Bureau or the Lu Family. I can handle any problems below the Sixth-Grade for you." Lu Yuan didn’t answer her question. He handed her a slip of paper and turned to leave.

"What’s your name?" Chen Qian asked.

"Lu Yuan," he replied.

"Lu Yuan... below the Sixth-Grade..." Chen Qian’s eyes flickered as she watched his retreating figure. He looked younger than her, yet he spoke with quite a bit of arrogance. She wondered which Fourth-Grade Noble Family he was from. The Lu Family...

"Qian’Er..." someone called out from in front of the altar.

"Coming, Mother." Chen Qian quickly went back. Clutching the paper in her hand, she made a decision.

Returning from the Chen Family, Lu Yuan’s mood hadn’t improved. However, his motivation for practicing martial arts had grown stronger. He needed to achieve great mastery in organ refinement and perfect his astral qi as quickly as possible, then break through to the Seventh-Grade. Once he reached the Seventh-Grade, he would be able to do much more. He wouldn’t be as restricted, suppressed, and helpless as he was now. With Seventh-Grade Cultivation, he could better protect the people around him. At the Seventh-Grade, he would tear the Jade Capital apart!

Preparing to break through to the Seventh-Grade, Lu Yuan planned to start with the Sound Dao. He would use the Sound Dao to connect with the Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi and shatter his limitations. Having a Prodigy Level talent, he couldn’t afford not to utilize it.

Therefore, he went next door to seek guidance from Song Yumeng. By now, Song Yumeng treated Lu Yuan like half a son, eager to share everything she knew with him. She gave him advice, provided pointers, and dug out some books on Sound Dao and music theory. With his Prodigy Level talent, he easily absorbed and understood the material without needing the aid of any external system. He advanced by leaps and bounds in the Sound Dao, his skills improving drastically.

Afterward, he took the initiative to exchange ideas with Lin Siyao and Song Yumeng. These two were also top-tier geniuses in music, and their colliding thoughts sparked endless inspiration.

The next day, another person joined them—Su Wan.