152: The oriole is behind

The proprietress looked at the token radiating an ominous aura in front of her, her heart practically leaping out of her throat.

She forced out a smile that was uglier than a cry.

“Follow me.”

She bowed, leading the three toward the dry well in the backyard.

The middle-aged man leading them frowned slightly, seemingly impatient.

“Where’s the item? Just hand it over here, why make it so troublesome?”

The proprietress quickly explained, “To… to answer, my Lord, those ‘fish’ are too heavy and too strong. I was afraid they’d wake up midway, so I… I tied them up securely and hid them in the cellar.”

The middle-aged man nodded upon hearing this and asked no further questions.

The group soon arrived at the underground stone chamber, filled with blood and a foul stench.

When the three black-clothed men saw Lin Fan, Yang Yi, and Nanny, who were bound tightly and thrown onto the stone slab, already “unconscious,” they all looked astonished.

“Is this it?”

One of the black-clothed men sneered, a look of disdain on his face, “Two snot-nosed brats and a yellow-haired girl? Are these really ‘big fish’?”

“What do you know!”

The proprietress’s heart tightened, and she quickly pulled out an ancient beast-skin Secret Manual from her bosom, handing it over as Lin Fan had instructed her beforehand.

“My Lord, please see, this item was found on the older Young Master.”

The middle-aged man leading them took the Secret Manual and quickly scanned it, his eyes, which had still held a hint of disdain, instantly burst forth with brilliant light!

“Earth Rank… Earth Rank Cultivation Technique?!”

He gasped in surprise, his breathing becoming heavy!

Earth Rank Cultivation Technique!

Such a treasure, let alone in the Southern Region, even across the entire Heavenly Martial Continent, was enough to incite countless powerhouses, and even supreme overlord-level forces, to madly contend for it!

“Good, good.”

The leading middle-aged man nodded repeatedly, the disdain on his face long gone, replaced by endless fervent desire.

“To possess such a treasure, this boy’s origin must be extraordinary! This is indeed a big fish!”

He carefully put the Secret Manual into his bosom, then his gaze fell upon the three who were still “unconscious.”

When he noticed that Lin Fan and Nanny had not the slightest Internal Energy fluctuation, like two Mortals with no power to restrain a chicken, a hint of confusion flashed in his eyes.

When his gaze fell on Yang Yi, his face suddenly stiffened!

“Shattered Void Realm?!”

He again gasped in surprise, his voice filled with disbelief.

He suddenly turned his head, his eyes like venomous snakes, staring intently at the proprietress.

“How did you take down a powerhouse of the Shattered Void Realm?!”

The two black-clothed men behind him also simultaneously unleashed their Shattered Void Realm pressure, covering the proprietress.

The proprietress’s legs went weak, almost collapsing on the spot.

She forcibly suppressed the fear in her heart and pulled out a small incense burner she had prepared earlier from her bosom.

That incense burner was the “Heavenly Soul Incense” Lin Fan had given her.

“To… to answer, my Lord, it was all thanks to this item.”

The proprietress’s voice was tearful, “This item is called ‘Heavenly Soul Incense,’ which this servant girl obtained by chance years ago when robbing and murdering. This incense is colorless and odorless, but it can invisibly invade one’s Divine Soul. Even a powerhouse of the Heavenly Human Realm, upon smelling it, will fall into a coma for three days and three nights!”

“This servant girl also tried it with a ‘let’s see’ attitude, but never thought that it would truly… truly even affect a powerhouse of the Shattered Void Realm.”

The middle-aged man took the incense burner with a mix of belief and doubt, examining it carefully for a moment, but he couldn’t make sense of it.

One of the black-clothed men beside him sneered, “What a cunning slave, still daring to hide secrets! Aren’t you afraid the Palace Master will find out about such a treasure and flay you alive?”

The proprietress’s heart trembled, but she forced a charming smile onto her face, even winking at the black-clothed man who spoke.

“My Lord, you jest.”

“Isn’t this humble servant girl’s meager belongings all for the sake of serving the Palace Master, that old man, better?”

“Hehehe…”

Seeing this, the three black-clothed men all let out strange laughs.

The lewdness in their eyes was no longer concealed.

If not for their mission, they would have probably staged a good show of “Three Heroes Battling Lu Bu” right there in the bloody cellar.

“Alright, we’re taking the items.”

Putting away the incense burner, the middle-aged man gave a look to the other two.

The three stopped talking nonsense, each picking up Ye Fan, Yang Yi, and Nanny like little chicks, and turned to leave.

“Farewell, my Lords.”

The proprietress bowed, and only when the three figures completely disappeared at the end of the tunnel, did she, as if all her strength had been drained, slump onto the ground.

Cold sweat had already thoroughly soaked her clothes.

She survived…

Finally, she survived…

Just as she felt relieved and was about to get up from the ground.

Three figures appeared silently before her.

They were Yang Yi’s three Dao protectors who had been hiding in the shadows.

“Well done.”

The proprietress was startled at first, then her face was filled with the wild joy of escaping disaster.

“Three Seniors, this servant girl has done everything you said. Now, can this servant girl leave?”

“As you wish.”

The old man waved his hand, as if he didn’t even put her in his eyes.

The proprietress felt as if she had been granted a great pardon upon hearing this, and without daring to linger for a moment, she rushed out of the tunnel.

She seemed to have already seen her beautiful future of taking her accumulated wealth and fleeing far away, living the rest of her life in luxury and carefree enjoyment!

However, just as half of her foot had stepped out of the tunnel.

“Pfft!”

A soft sound.

A head, soaring into the sky.

The smile on her face remained.

Hot blood splattered everywhere.

The headless corpse fell heavily to the ground, and until her death, she did not know how she had died.

Inside the stone chamber, the old man slowly sheathed his precious sword.

This was also what Lin Fan had instructed earlier.

To cut the grass, one must remove the roots.

…

After doing all this, the three Martial Emperor elders did not delay.

One of them drew his precious sword across the ground, and a wisp of flame flew out, instantly igniting the inn that was already soaked with blood and sin.

Blazing flames shot into the sky, illuminating the surrounding several miles as bright as day.

And the three figures had already transformed into three streams of light, indiscernible to the naked eye, following the black-clothed men who had already left with Lin Fan and the other two.