"You're the First Person to Kill My Father"

"Aren't you going to run?" Chen Fan glanced at Old Demon Jiangbei drinking tea, picked up his cup, took a light sip, and asked casually. "If you're not running, why should I?" Old Demon Jiangbei shielded Gongyang Yue behind him, his expression grim as he ground out word by word, "Since you dared to come to the Jiangbei Chen family, you must have anticipated this moment, haven't you?" "Nope." Chen Fan shook his head candidly. "I really didn't expect the old man to play such a vicious game. As things stand, if I hadn't shown up, this grand array probably would have been activated during the rainy season, bringing a massive haul of ghost stones to the Jiangbei Chen family." "Quite the scheme." "Mother!" Inside the Jiangbei Chen family compound, a terrified Chen Quan rushed to the glamorous woman's side, his voice trembling with sheer panic. "So many scarlet pillars of light have lit up across the city! Did something happen? Did Chen Fan come?!" "No." The glamorous woman's expression was grim, devoid of her former charm. Gritting her teeth, she spat out each word, "It's the array that old bastard spent years laying down. He intends to sacrifice every living soul in the city!" For years, she had known the Chen Family Head had schemes of his own. However, she had never pried them out, nor had she cared much. After all, in her eyes, Jiangbei was merely a backwater. Even if he had schemes, what grand scheme could he possibly pull off? She never imagined the scale would be so massive that even she might die here today. Had that bastard lost his mind?! "Father's array?" Chen Quan was taken aback, then suddenly breathed a sigh of relief. "Then it shouldn't affect us, right?" "..." "...?" The glamorous woman furrowed her brow for a long moment before letting out an exhale of relief. "That seems to be true." For now, no scarlet pillars of light had risen within the ancestral estate. "Regretting it now?" Inside the teahouse. The Chen Family Head glared at Chen Fan, his face twisted in madness. "It's too late! The Myriad Spirits Blood Transformation Array is complete. No one can escape!" Right at that moment— Outside the window, the scarlet pillars of light that had already spread across half the city abruptly stopped rising. As if encountering some resistance, the pillars that had already surged into the sky began fading away one after another, and the red membrane of light covering the Chen Family Head rapidly dissolved. "How can this be?!" "How is this possible?!" The Chen Family Head stood frozen in place. It took him a long while to register what was happening before shrieking in hysterical frenzy, "I inspected it myself last night! How could something go wrong?! Where on earth did it fail?!" "How could this be..." In his shattered state of mind, he lunged toward Chen Fan, only to be struck aside by Sick Monkey's spear, sending him flying through the air. "There," Chen Fan glanced at the knocked-away Chen Family Head and looked toward Old Demon Jiangbei. "I heard Gongyang Yue call you 'Old Demon,' so I assume you've killed plenty of people. Help me kill him?" "Are you sure?" "Sure." "Fine." A glint of appreciation flashed in Old Demon Jiangbei's eyes. Without even turning his head, a ray of sword qi shot from his fingertip, striking the Chen Family Head squarely in the back of his heart. Blood spurted forth, and after twitching on the floor a few times, the Chen Family Head breathed his last. "Done killing him?" "Done. Killing people is just that simple." "Looks to me like you don't know how to kill." "I don't know how to kill?" Old Demon Jiangbei bristled, unable to stop himself from retorting, "I didn't even turn my head and struck his heart dead on, and you say I don't know how to kill?" "What if he took a feigned death pill?" "..." Old Demon Jiangbei fell silent for a good while before nodding. "You're more thorough than I am." Dozens more rays of sword qi shot forth. The Chen Family Head's corpse was riddled with bloody holes. "Even a feigned death pill won't save him now." "Not enough." "Still not enough?" "At the very least, you ought to chop him into mincemeat, right?" "Chop him into mincemeat?" Old Demon Jiangbei went silent again for a long time. Then he stood up, covered Gongyang Yue's eyes with a piece of cloth, drew his longsword, and strode over. Never in his life had he wielded a sword like this; he felt rather like a butcher. "Is this enough now?" "Just about. Setting a fire to it would be even better." Chen Fan stood up, stretched, and walked toward the stairs with Sick Monkey, smiling. "I need to go buy some supplies, so I won't stay to drink tea with you any longer. Until our paths cross again." "All right." Old Demon Jiangbei looked at Chen Fan with admiration. "I can let you in on my past. Like you, I once committed patricide. I know you might still feel a twinge of sorrow right now, but don't be weak. We are the same kind of people. In the future, if you ever need my help, I can assist you." "We're not the same. I didn't kill my father, don't talk nonsense." "?" "Didn't you kill him?" "??" "You're the first person to kill my father." "???" "So if you're not busy recently, how about coming to the Fan Domain to teach my subordinates how to cultivate faster? Consider it making amends." "????" "Don't look at me like that. I'll pay you handsomely. Oh, right, if possible—the structures in the Jiangbei Chen family ancestral estate will soon collapse once they lose power. Watch this place for me and don't let anyone escape. We're all friends here, so you'll definitely help me, right? Besides, you just said that if I ever needed your help, you'd assist me." "..." Old Demon Jiangbei stayed silent for a long time before gritting his teeth. "Fine!" "Whew..." Chen Fan stepped out of the teahouse's back door and reached the Nine-Five Dragon Carriage parked in the alley, sighing with emotion, "Having a high-level cultivator at your disposal really makes getting things done so convenient." He had gone to the teahouse specifically to find Old Demon Jiangbei. After all, the Jiangbei Chen family had quite a few cultivators, and he couldn't beat them himself. The Heaven and Earth Chessboard could easily wipe them out, but wasn't that using a butcher's cleaver to kill a chicken? A pure waste. The Heaven and Earth Chessboard couldn't withstand being worn out like that. In a situation like this, having a high-level cultivator do the work was best. "Sick Monkey," Chen Fan patted Sick Monkey's shoulder. "The Fan Domain has the Spirit Accumulation Pavilion, which no other faction possesses, and next there will be plenty of ghost stones for you all to cultivate with. You need to raise your cultivation as quickly as possible, so that when I go out to handle business, I don't have to ask outsiders for help. It's quite troublesome." "Hear me?" "Understood!" Sick Monkey answered with a solemn nod, a sense of urgency welling up inside him. "Let's go. First we'll pick up Zhou Mo and the others, then go buy supplies." Outside Jiangbei City. Panting heavily after fleeing outside the city, Qi Feng and the others looked back toward the sky over Jiangbei City, where the scarlet pillars of light had already vanished. "The... the array failed?" Qi Feng collapsed onto his rear, panting heavily with eyes full of lingering dread and terror. "The outside world is just too dangerous! How could a mere Jiangbei Chen family lay down an array like this?!" Standing beside him, Elder Xu was also trembling uncontrollably. Just earlier, he had sensed clearly that if the array had succeeded, their entire group would have died without a doubt! In stark contrast to them were the cheering commoners nearby. The grand array hadn't formed. No casualties had occurred. These common folk had no idea what had happened; they only thought it was quite a sight, like watching a magnificent fireworks display. "How did Chen Fan manage to stop the array?" "He couldn't." The youth from the One Sword Sect carrying a heavy ruler strode over, shaking his head. "Once such a grand array is activated, unless someone is a master of formations, it's impossible to halt it. Chen Fan must have disrupted the array lines beforehand." "He knew about the array in advance?" "Likely." "Damn it," Qi Feng cursed under his breath, clambering up from the ground while gasping for breath. "Those two are downright terrifying. Are these really Jiangbei factions? Why does it feel like each is more ruthless than the last?" "Come on, back to the city!" Time passed. The walls outside the Jiangbei Chen family's ancestral estate were collapsing continuously, and anyone who attempted to flee had their legs pierced by Old Demon Jiangbei's sword qi, pinning them to the ground, unable to move. Among them were... A glamorous woman, a man in white, and a rather dirty-looking beggar. "Shao Qiu!" Pinned to the ground, the glamorous woman glared furiously at the man in white. "Didn't you boast that stealth was your greatest specialty? How could you fail to break out?!" "Have you ever seen anyone good at stealth in broad daylight?!" The man in white was equally enraged. "I told you long ago to keep an eye on the Chen Family Head, but you insisted you had everything under control! Under control, my ass!" "Stealth?" Old Demon Jiangbei squatted curiously before Shao Qiu, prodding the man's head with his longsword. "Stealth while wearing white? Quite the show-off, aren't you?" "Do a little stealth for me. Let me see how you do it." "Falling into your hands is no disgrace." Shao Qiu, pinned to the ground by sword qi, glanced at the Chen clansmen pinned around him, then looked up at Old Demon Jiangbei and said word for word, "Sword qi so solid that it lingers without dispersing." "A sign of approaching the Martial King realm." "To think Jiangbei harbored someone of your caliber. Given time, you might even be able to fight a ghost king single-handedly." "Mhm." Old Demon Jiangbei nodded in satisfaction. "I like hearing this. Say some more." "Your aesthetic sense is impeccable. This green robe looks very sharp on you." "I think so too. Anything else?" "You're handsomer than me." "Naturally." "Then can you let me go?" "What do you think?" Jiangbei City, Guihua Tower. This was the largest and most famous brothel in Jiangbei City. Wang Mazi finally fulfilled the promise he had made during the rainy season to treat everyone to a good time at Guihua Tower—though it wasn't Wang Mazi footing the bill. Chen Fan paid for everything. Also— Wang Mazi looked somewhat bashful, seemingly embarrassed. "Sir, come on~" The group arrived at the top-floor private room of Guihua Tower. The madam led in a bevy of girls clad in sheer gauzy silks. One in a red dress sat beside Wang Mazi with a coquettish smile, melting into his arms as if boneless, and gave him a hearty kiss right on the cheek. "..." Sitting in the center, Chen Fan saw this, and the corner of his mouth twitched slightly. These brothel women were truly professional. With a face full of pockmarks like that, ordinary people really wouldn't be able to bring themselves to kiss him. He had found a girl for Sick Monkey and each of the others. Da Yu didn't want one, sitting quietly in the corner. Da Yu had always been like that—hardly noticeable in a crowd, silently doing his work without making a sound. And... Chen Fan looked down at the ghost stone fragments in his hand, lost in thought. Being a stationmaster was a high-risk, high-reward job, earning ten ghost stones a month. A waiter or clerk's monthly wage was around three ghost stones. For daily living expenses, intact ghost stones couldn't possibly serve as the base currency. The base currency was these ghost stone fragments in his hand. Inside the Living Workshop, one ghost stone could be divided into one hundred ghost stone fragments. They functioned just like ghost stones; for instance, three hundred ghost stone fragments could craft one ghost fire. These fragments served as the foundational currency. The price for a brothel girl was eighty ghost stone fragments. He had chosen higher-quality ones for Sick Monkey and the others, so naturally the price was steeper. Just then— The door to the private room was pushed open. Patriarch Wang entered alone, standing before Chen Fan with a respectful yet uneasy demeanor. "Domain Lord, the people have been brought back. The dismissed stationmasters and the rest are all standing outside." "..." Chen Fan looked up at the crowd standing outside the private room, about forty or fifty people in total, and asked casually, "Are you willing to join the Fan Domain?" "We are! We are!" Before his voice even faded, the crowd outside nodded vigorously like chickens pecking at grain, terrified that Chen Fan might change his mind. "Wait outside the building." "Sir," the madam sashayed over to Chen Fan, covering her mouth with a coquettish giggle. "Won't you have some fun as well?" "You go wait outside too." An hour later. Chen Fan led Sick Monkey and the others out of Guihua Tower. Sick Monkey and the crew were glowing with satisfaction. Glancing at Patriarch Wang waiting outside, Chen Fan led the sizable entourage toward the Jiangbei Chen family compound. Once they cleaned up the Jiangbei Chen family, they would prepare to head home. This trip, they had purchased plenty of daily necessities, all loaded into the carriages. The purchasing power of ghost stones was genuinely strong; all told, they hadn't spent many intact stones. Right at that moment— "Domain Lord Chen!" At the end of the street, a man in short clothes led a large crowd striding toward him. "The Wild Wolf Gang," Stationmaster Qi whispered into Chen Fan's ear. "This group belongs to Jiangbei City's Wild Wolf Gang. I used to work under them." "..." Soon, the short-clothed man walked up to Chen Fan and dropped straight to his knees without another word, pressing his forehead hard against the ground. "I have long heard Domain Lord Chen's great name! This humble one is the leader of Jiangbei City's Wild Wolf Gang. During the rainy season, our gang exhausted almost all its resources defending the city." "We originally intended to form a merchant guild to scrape a living, but with the rainy season hitting Jiangdong, Jiangxi, and Jiangnan, the trade routes are cut off." "Now the gang lacks the funds to pay wages to the brothers." "These brothers have followed me for so long; I want to secure a future for them." "I heard the Fan Domain is short on hands." "If Domain Lord Chen deems them worthy, you can take them in. They are all capable men." "Moreover, I will not join the Fan Domain myself." Behind him, the crowd of men knelt in succession on the street. The sight was striking, causing passing pedestrians to halt and gawk. "Domain Lord, during the rainy season, the Wild Wolf Gang..." Patriarch Wang quickly whispered the context into Chen Fan's ear. "..." After a moment, Chen Fan gave a slight nod and looked at the Wild Wolf Gang leader kneeling on the ground. "Why don't you want to join the Fan Domain? Are you not a capable hand?" "I..." The Wild Wolf Gang leader looked up at Chen Fan, hesitated for a moment, and said raspily, "I was their former chief. If I join the Fan Domain... it might look like I'm trying to form a clique." Chen Fan didn't reply, merely sweeping his gaze across the crowd. "All of you, get up." "Go back tonight and pack your belongings. Those with families, bring them along. We will head to Nameless Mountain together; I intend to build a new city at Nameless Mountain." "You come along as well." With that, he didn't linger. Bypassing the Wild Wolf Gang entourage, he continued walking forward. He didn't ride the Nine-Five Dragon Carriage; the carriage simply followed behind him. It had been a long time since he had strolled through a city like this. At the Jiangbei Chen family compound. Clansmen of the Chen family were pinned to the ground by sword qi. The green-robed man stood with his arms crossed, appearing utterly aloof, flanked by Gongyang Yue and the Gongyang clan's Grand Elder, Gongyang Yiyue. The courtyard walls had already collapsed. Passersby gathered around, pointing and whispering among themselves. "The young master is here!" Someone in the crowd yelled, and the onlookers watching the commotion hastily scattered as Chen Fan arrived with his large retinue. "Thank you for your trouble," Chen Fan said with a smile, glancing at the Chen clansmen pinned to the ground before turning to Old Demon Jiangbei. "Hmph." Old Demon Jiangbei snorted softly and said nothing. Chen Fan swept his gaze over the crowd, his eyes finally landing on Chen Quan. Squatting before him, he smiled with genuine emotion. "Chen Quan?" "Still remember me?" "You can't kill me! You can't kill me!" There wasn't a trace of his former arrogance left in Chen Quan's eyes; shaking uncontrollably, he screamed, "My mother has immense backing! You can't kill me, or it will bring down catastrophic retaliation!" "..." Chen Fan's brows furrowed slightly. Glancing at the pale yellow liquid pooling beneath Chen Quan's crotch, he felt rather displeased and disappointed. Standing up, he scanned the surroundings and looked toward the glamorous woman pinned to the ground. He stepped forward, crouched down, and gently caressed the beautiful woman trembling beneath his hand. "Should I call you Mother, or Yu Ning'er?" "Fan... Fan'er..." Yu Ning'er lay prostrate on the cold ground, her body spasming faintly from sheer terror. Her gauzy gown, once gorgeous and alluring, was now stained with dirt and blood. It clung messily to her body, tracing curves that shook uncontrollably. Her hair was disheveled, strands plastered against cheeks damp with sweat. Meekly and submissively, she rubbed her head against Chen Fan's palm, managing with great difficulty a smile uglier than crying. "I am your stepmother. Can you spare my life? In the past, I never targeted you—it was always Chen Quan targeting you." "Just kill him." "I really never went against you!" "Mother!" Pinned by sword qi to the side, Chen Quan looked at his mother in disbelief, his eyes drowning in despair. In the end, he said nothing more, slumping dazed onto the ground. He had thought only his father was a mystery. Now it turned out even his mother was an unknown. Was this really his mother? What mother could say such things? "..." Chen Fan gave Yu Ning'er a bizarre look, then glanced at the crushed Chen Quan. "Is he really your son?" "We can test the blood!" Yu Ning'er pleaded anxiously from the ground. "No hurry for that." He tugged at Yu Ning'er's earlobe, tilting her face up, and asked with an earnest expression, "Your son said you have immense backing." "I'm quite curious." "Tell me, what kind of immense backing?" "I'm a very timid person." "There's no deep-seated feud between us anyway. If your backing is truly immense, perhaps I might just let you both go." "Also—" "Since you have such great backing, what have you been after all these years staying in the Jiangbei Chen family?" "I..." Prostrate on the ground, her voice was no longer that sultry, bone-melting tone, but a faint, broken whimper and plea. Trembling, she stammered, "I can't say..." "Master gave explicit orders that we must never reveal we come from the Immortal Slaughter Holy Land."