NOVPUB
Chapter 68: City Lord’s Manor
Aldrian dodged another flying knife, but his opponent followed up with a strike of the blade, bringing the fight into close combat. The three envoys from the city lord manor joined in, supporting the assassins who had been sent to ambush Aldrian.
To their surprise and growing anxiety, this young man’s cultivation was not consistent with his combat power. His strikes were deadly, making the whole situation feel like a dream due to the sheer absurdity. They had expected to easily suppress an Earl stage cultivator like him and even thought it was excessive for their superiors to send Marquess level fighters like them.
"He must be concealing his true cultivation with some technique!" they thought. But at this point, it didn’t matter. What had started as a simple apprehension, with orders to kill if he didn’t comply, had escalated into a fight for their lives.
Aldrian deflected the incoming blade with ease, stretching his other hand toward one of the masked men in the back. In his palm, he formed a spear of wind and launched it like a dart. The spear flew at an unbelievable speed, too fast for even the Marquess-level fighters to react. It struck one masked man in the head, dissipating immediately after killing him.
With his free hand, Aldrian summoned a sword of fire and slashed at the two remaining masked men. They weren’t just waiting to die, though, and dodged with the nimble movements of trained assassins. One of them tossed a small ball at Aldrian. When it hit the ground, it released a cloud of poisonous purple gas that instantly engulfed him.
The masked men regrouped with the three envoys, all of them staring at the smoke where Aldrian had disappeared.
"Even if he’s strong, there’s no way he survives after inhaling the Black Venom from Death Valley," one of the envoys said.
"Let’s move. We don’t want that woman to breathe in the poison. Let’s bring her and the child here."
They swallowed antidote pills from their storage rings and approached the house. The purple smoke was still too thick to see through, but it completely blocked the door. As they neared, their bodies suddenly felt heavy—so heavy they couldn’t move their limbs. Then, a hand emerged from the smoke, choking one of the masked men.
And with a swift movement, Aldrian decapitated the other masked man with a slash of his fire sword. He then paralyzed the last assassin by unleashing his energy, following it up by dashing towards two of the envoys. All of them, having let their guard down, were caught completely off guard and were unprepared for the incoming assault.
Aldrian grabbed the heads of two envoys and smashed them into the ground with a hard hit, rendering them unconscious. As for the last one, he seized him by the neck and injected his energy, sealing his meridians and dantian, effectively ending the brief battle.
In less than 30 seconds, Aldrian had captured four of his opponents. He needed their information.
With a wave of his hand, Aldrian dispersed the poisonous gas. Shortly after, the door to the house creaked open, revealing Yu Ruomei and Yu Fenglian peeking from behind her. Yu Ruomei cautiously stepped forward, surveying the aftermath. Upon recognizing the clothes of the fallen enemies, she clenched her teeth in frustration.
"Why are the people from the City Lord’s Manor here?" she asked.
"Does your family have any grudges with them?" Aldrian inquired.
"No, but the City Lord’s Manor is one of the main suspects I’ve been thinking about, no they might be the true main suspect. I don’t have concrete evidence, but if someone could wipe out the Yu family, they would be among the top suspects."
"Was your family’s relationship with the City Lord’s Manor bad?"
"No, it was actually quite good. But ever since that night and the series of events that followed, I’ve been reflecting on what happened and wondering what wrong we could have committed. At some point, I remembered the City Lord’s Manor acting suspiciously. They constantly asked about our hidden treasure, and on several occasions, they would bring it up."
Aldrian’s ears perked up at the mention of a treasure, his curiosity piqued.
"This could be the missing piece of the puzzle," he thought.
The little thing from the massacre of the Yu family still puzzled him. If they knew about the existence of Yu Ruomei and Yu Fenglian, why had they kept them alive? What was their purpose? This hidden treasure might hold the answer.
"What treasure?" Aldrian asked.
"It’s our legacy treasure—some kind of strange material that our ancestor discovered near the Everlasting Silent Forest millions of years ago. No matter what we tried, we couldn’t break it, but the material has given us tremendous comprehension of laws and has been a symbol of fortune for our family, we call it the ’Heavenly Rock’ because of its appearance. It’s kept in one of the secret underground chambers of the Yu family manor."
"Can we visit your family’s manor now?" Aldrian asked.
Yu Ruomei and Yu Fenglian fell silent at his question, their expressions filled with sadness.
"Our manor has already been sealed by the city guards," Yu Ruomei replied after a pause. "It’s been abandoned for a long time, and no one has used it...at least, that’s what I’ve heard."
"It’s alright," Aldrian reassured her. "We can go there first and decide our next steps afterward. But before that, let me deal with the corpses and check the memories of the survivors." He gestured toward the unconscious men from the City Lord’s Manor.
With a wave of his hand, the remains of the corpses floated into the house, and Aldrian followed, bringing the survivors inside with him.
The once blood-soaked ground was now clean, leaving only a few peeled patches and cracks in the ground. Yu Ruomei and Yu Fenglian waited outside, they are waiting for a few minutes, when he emerged alone, his face calm and smiling as though nothing had happened.
"I’m sorry, but it looks like you can’t stay here anymore," Aldrian said gently. "The City Lord’s Manor will likely send more people soon. Do you have anything you need to bring with you?"
"No," Yu Ruomei replied. "There’s nothing precious here. We’re ready to follow your lead."
"Mother, are we leaving this place?" Yu Fenglian asked.
"Yes," Yu Ruomei answered softly. "From today onward, we’ll follow Young Master Aldrian."
"Let’s go," Aldrian said, turning to them with a reassuring nod. "It’s time to visit where your family used to live."
Together, they walked away from the place that had sheltered the mother and son for the past three years.
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The most notable feature of the City of Peak of Dual Horns is, without a doubt, the two towering peaks shaped like horns, visible from every corner of the city. These twin peaks, standing side by side, are the city’s symbol and the location of its center of authority.
Atop the twin peaks sit two mansions. The west peak houses the city lord’s residence, while the east peak is the sacred cultivation ground of the City Lord’s Manor.
Inside the west mansion’s grand hall, all the elders from the manor had gathered. Seated in the center, on the leader’s throne, was the city lord—the Peak Sovereign of this city. His mere presence was intimidating, with a demonic aura so thick it filled the room and even spilled out beyond its walls. He was a middle-aged man with a small, black mustache and beard, dressed in a red and gold robe.
"Is there still no word from the envoys I sent?" the city lord asked, his tone sharp.
"No, my lord," replied one of the elders. "It’s odd, given that they were only dealing with an Earl-stage cultivator. The envoys, along with the group from the Shadow Blade, should have been more than enough to capture or kill him."
The city lord brought his hand to his chin, deep in thought.
"There’s something strange about that young man, an Earl stage cultivator was able to take all those kids from the city guards headquarters, and there’s still no word from them. I have a bad feeling about this. We can’t let them find out about that ’thing’!"
He then gave his next order, "Send more people. I need to know what those devil collaborators are planning, and I want results as soon as possible!"
"Yes, my lord!" the elder responded.
The city lord sighed and glanced to his right, where a man holding a fan sat quietly.
"Once again, you’ve proven most helpful to me. Thanks to you, we’ve been able to detect the devils trying to infiltrate our territory," the city lord said, his tone softening slightly.
The man smiled, fanning his face as he bowed. "Thank you, my lord. I’m only doing my duty as your advisor. I don’t deserve such praise."
"Hahaha, no need to be so humble! I’ll make sure you receive a generous bonus after this."
The elders exchanged dissatisfied glances but remained silent, not daring to voice their opinions. Unbeknownst to them, the advisor was grinning menacingly while still bowing.
