Otherworldly Desert Dust

Zeng Zhanpeng??

Wu Hen looked on in astonishment at the person standing at the bronze door.

Despite wearing quite luxurious clothes, the man looked as if all of the life had been drained from him, like a half-old man, standing there awkwardly.

Isn’t this the second son of the Zeng Mansion, the one who harbour the delusion of making Ruan Muhuan serve him?

Mrs. Zeng’s spine had been crushed?

And although he managed to survive in the subsequent struggles, looking at his ghostly appearance, being alive seemed more painful than death!

No wonder the moment they arrived at the Xia Mountain Gate, the entire Sect was on high alert, as if facing a great enemy.

It turns out that Ruan Muhuan had crushed these people, leaving them with no dignity left, letting them continue to exist in this world as if only to serve as a warning to all others who dared to obstruct her, showing them the pitiful state of the Zeng Family and Xia Mountain Gate, the fate that awaited those who opposed her!

Ruan Muhuan stood on Fengyu Street, her eyes devoid of the slightest sympathy.

Even when mentioning someone whose spine she had crushed, her gaze was colder than icy rain, her entire being exuding the terrifying presence of millennia-old glaciers!

"Resisters, die!"

Ruan Muhuan’s command was issued, brooking no presence in Wudou that dared to draw their weapons against her.

As her words fell, the Silver-Hanging Martial Saints erupted with a terrifying True Qi, like a tidal disaster of ice spikes and cold, flooding towards the Xia Mountain Gate’s mansion.

Those who laid down their weapons, lived.

Those who held their weapons, died.

The Silver-Hanging Martial Saints easily tore apart the Xia Mountain Gate’s armed forces and broke into the mansion, slaughtering all who wore armor and brandished weapons!

After a brief struggle, the Xia Mountain Gate was completely subdued by force, the once faithful Martial Artists of the Sect now groveling on the ground, not daring to entertain any thoughts of resistance.

Before the large bronze door, Zeng Zhanpeng could barely stand steadily.

He leaned against the door, his breathing uneven, his eyes full of humiliation and rage, yet he could not help trembling as this heartless and cold woman approached!

"You killed me!!"

"Ruan Muhuan, you killed me!!!"

Zeng Zhanpeng had had enough of the humiliation, mustering all his courage to roar at her.

Ruan Muhuan didn’t even bother to glance at him, simply drawing a sword from a nearby Silver-Hanging Martial Saint and throwing it in front of Zeng Zhanpeng.

Zeng Zhanpeng picked up the weapon.

Facing his close enemy, he wanted to use all his remaining strength to strike at her, but the Ruan Muhuan he saw was no longer a minor official serving the Zeng Mansion but instead the dazzling Northern Guardian Lady now commanding Wudou’s powers, like a majestic and towering ice mountain, an insurmountable obstacle to a broken man like Zeng Zhanpeng.

Even with the weapon thrown before him, Zeng Zhanpeng lacked the courage to swing it at her.

What’s more pathetic was that Zeng Zhanpeng didn’t have the dignity to turn the blade on himself, to leave his family some final shred of decency in this world.

"Northern Guardian Lady, no traces of the Demon Clan have been found," a Martial Saint Commander reported as he approached. Find your next read at NovelBin.Côm

Gu Luoshui dared not speak this time, well aware of the grudge between the Northern Guardian Lady and the Zeng Family Sect, not expecting that even when the remnants of the Zeng Family hid within the Xia Mountain Gate, she would crush them outright.

Sects, in the face of a True Martial Monarch, are nothing but a rabble, albeit a larger number.

"Let’s go inside and look," Wu Hen was not quite satisfied with the Silver-Hanging Martial Saints’ search.

Ruan Muhuan nodded and walked towards the now-wide-open, blood-stained bronze door.

The Martial Saint Commander looked puzzledly at Wu Hen, not understanding why this Foreigner would be by the Martial Arts Queen’s side, and that she seemed more willing to accept his advice.

"My search was quite thorough," Martial Saint Commander Lei Kang spoke.

"It’s not just about searching for the Demon Clan," Wu Hen said.

"Wait here," Ruan Muhuan ordered.

Martial Saint Commander Lei Kang saluted and did not dare to follow any further.

Stepping into Xia Mountain Mansion, Wu Hen saw a large group of people prostrating themselves on the empty ground, Sect members who had lost the will to fight, too intimidated to even look up at the Northern Guardian Lady; they only saw a pair of ice-jade boots, striding into their home with detached coldness...

"Strange," Wu Hen felt something odd.

"What’s wrong?" Ruan Muhuan asked.

"They are truly afraid of you, not even harboring the Demon Clan. Previously, I heard from Gu Luoshui that this matter is not solely about the Demon Clan’s resurrection of their ancestors; it pertains to your ascension to Martial God of Heaven Rank. If I were your enemies, I would certainly band together, using all means to obstruct your ascension. Once you become a Martial God, they wouldn’t stand a chance of survival, not just in Wudou but in the whole True Martial Continent, hence, I believe the Sect allied with the Demon Clan is likely harboring ill will towards you—they unite in their objectives: the Demon Clan to steal bones, the Sect to suppress you," Wu Hen shared his perspective.

"You mean, this theft of the Demon Bone could also be aimed at me?" Ruan Muhuan inquired.

"Yes, the Demon Clan does not wish for you to become a Martial God, and neither do the Sects of Wudou. It is likely they would conspire to set this disaster upon you…" Wu Hen continued.

"But there are no clues here," Ruan Muhuan said.

"Yes, either we’re being too one-sided or we’re overthinking a situation that’s actually quite simple," Wu Hen concluded.

"What Gu Luoshui told you was not comprehensive; even if all four Demon Bones are stolen, it might not impede my ascension," Ruan Muhuan stated bluntly.

"Why, if you fail in your duty, the Rotating Martial God would punish you, strip you of your power and resources," Wu Hen countered, somewhat puzzled.

"Whether I become a Martial God is my decision, not anyone else’s," Ruan Muhuan said.

This statement stunned Wu Hen.

He couldn’t help but take another look at her, feeling both unfamiliar and incredibly familiar.

Han Han, don’t be so cool!

Too man-slaying!

His heart started beating unexpectedly, especially when he recalled those difficult times when they had to take turns wearing a single straw cloak, and now compared it with her current peerless independence... Weren’t you supposed to be trained into a Valkyrie by my own hands? Why have you turned into the figure of my fantasies??

Indeed, it is when there are no men in one’s heart that one can be the most beautiful.

"I understand, then we need to broaden our approach. Let’s take a stroll in the marketplace, perhaps we’ll find something," Wu Hen said.

"Is the Sect visit over?" Ruan Muhuan asked.

"Yes, eliminating the Sects means the Demon Clan can only hide in the marketplace. To investigate the market, we must conduct undercover inquiries, and causing a big stir will only make the marketplace tense and unnatural," Wu Hen explained.

"It’s getting late."

"Nighttime acts as a protective color for both humans and demons, showing us sights we don’t usually see," Wu Hen said.

"Mhm," Ruan Muhuan nodded.

As she agreed to travel with him at night, Ruan Muhuan suddenly felt puzzled.

Why had she subconsciously agreed? Despite the day’s search yielding little, she found herself involuntarily following his lead.

Why was she subconsciously complying with his way of speaking, his tone, his calm and organized approach when focused on a task?

...

Ruan Muhuan had Gu Luoshui start investigating the professions Wu Hen had mentioned to seek out the old demons lurking in the Twenty-four City Regions.

Wu Hen and Ruan Muhuan, dressed in the most common straw cloaks like ordinary wandering heroes, walked through the night-covered streets of Wudou.

Ruan Muhuan, wearing a straw cloak, finally gave Wu Hen a sense of great familiarity.

It was this familiarity that caused some of his habitual actions and words to gradually reveal themselves.

Throughout the entire day, Ruan Muhuan had been observing his every word and deed.

From initially searching for traces of the Demon Clan’s ways in him to slowly experiencing that feeling of familiarity, the silhouette in her memory often overlapped with him, causing her pure ice heart to slowly thaw.

But she did not ask.

She just quietly observed.

"Here’s a Lu Yun Commerce. I’ve heard that the jade here comes from your Ya City?" Wu Hen pointed out a brightly lit commerce still open at night.

"Yes, those pieces of jade laid a solid foundation for my current Cultivation," Ruan Muhuan did not avoid the topic.

"Since it’s your business, should we not conduct an undercover inquiry then?" Wu Hen asked.

"Ya City has been managed by Qing Lei for the past two years; I haven’t interfered, so I’m not very familiar with the commerce’s situation," Ruan Muhuan replied.

"The people inside should recognize you. I’ll go in to ask some questions; you wait for me here," Wu Hen said.

"Okay."

Wu Hen entered Lu Yun Commerce.

He didn’t actually think there was an issue with Lu Yun Commerce; rather, he needed to use the power of his homeland to collect some more critical data.

He had been in Wudou for too short a time and wasn’t very familiar with many things. Fortunately, his fellow countrymen had a big data cloud—put the keywords in, and surely it would list the information he wanted.

Upon entering Lu Yun Commerce, Wu Hen caught the eye of the receptionist at the door and knew she was a compatriot.

He wondered which female student was part-time working here to earn her living expenses, with clear yet foolish eyes. No matter how dangerous the otherworldly dimension or how bloody the True Martial Continent, nothing could tarnish their hearts.

"Which Jade craftsman is the strongest?" Wu Hen approached with this question first.

"This young master, please follow me!" The woman immediately led Wu Hen through another door.

Behind this door were several questions; Wu Hen answered them all easily and penetrated into the underground organization of Lu Yun Commerce.

"I need the data on Wudou’s Demon Clan and Foreign Guests, and key mappings for the Twenty-four City Regions," Wu Hen requested.

"No problem."

Although Wudou had its own civil officials who recorded extensive information about foreign visitors and the Demon Clan, this official data was certainly not comprehensive.

However, his compatriots had their own information network that had been rooted in Wudou for many years, gathering all sorts of civilian information, including about the Demon Clan and Foreign Guests, forming very complete profiles of these people.

Combining Ruan Muhuan’s official data with the compatriots’ civilian information, and narrowing the scope to the Twenty-four City Regions, they were sure to identify a few outliers. Through these outliers, they could trace back and find the hidden Demon Clan in the Twenty-four City Regions!

In this day and age, with big data, why bother wracking your brains to solve cases?

All through the day, seemingly busy here and there, Wu Hen didn’t expect any real leads—the key was to rekindle an old flame with Han Han!!