CHAPTER 181: CHAPTER 49: GREEDY WOLF MERCENARY CORPS

There were two people in black who sneaked into Gu Qingqing’s room. After entering the room, they carefully closed the door, exchanged glances, and tiptoed toward the bed.

Once near the bed, the two of them immediately raised their weapons and slashed down.

Gu Qingqing wasn’t on the bed at all. They only hit empty space. Realizing something was wrong, they were about to retreat when a white flash suddenly streaked past, scratching one of their faces, causing a scream of pain.

"What was that?" the other person asked in a low voice.

"I don’t know, but it’s very fast!" the other replied, clutching his bleeding face.

Both of them watched their surroundings warily, wanting to back towards the door, but after taking just one step, another white flash passed by, scratching the shoulder of the other person.

Being consecutively scratched without seeing what had harmed them filled their eyes with terror, and they desperately rushed to the door.

Just as they turned around, a ball of light suddenly appeared in front of them, and in their horrified eyes, a never-before-seen demon beast appeared. It was Little Yu, transformed from its juvenile form to its adult form.

"What is that?" the man whose face was scratched asked, his teeth chattering as he looked at the demon beast nearby.

"I don’t, don’t know," replied the other, clutching his shoulder, trembling all over.

Little Yu licked its paws, gazing at the terrified pair before it. A trace of amusement flashed in its eyes. With a wave of its hand, three claw marks appeared on the other side of the black-clad man’s face, mirroring the scratches on both sides. Little Yu nodded in satisfaction.

"Ah!"

Clutching their cheeks and feeling the sticky sensation of the blood on their hands, the man in black finally couldn’t help but scream in agony.

His companion shuddered at his cry, eyes filled with fierce light, brandishing his weapon at Little Yu.

Little Yu leaped out of the way, dodging the attack, landing above him. Its claws slashed from top to bottom, from his forehead to his chin, leaving the man in black disfigured, his eyes gravely affected.

He held his face with one hand, wielding his weapon to attack Little Yu with the other.

"Stop whining and move already! If we don’t act, we’ll both die!" he coldly told his still-screaming companion.

His companion, reminded, quickly silenced himself, gritted his teeth, and swung his weapon toward Little Yu.

Little Yu’s eyes gleamed, deftly dodging their attacks, and quickly moved behind them. It jumped, pounced on one of them, and knocked open the door, pinning him to the ground.

Seeing the door open, his companion fled, not caring about his comrade’s fate. Little Yu glanced at the fleeing man, and its gaze returned to the one it pinned beneath. In his terrified eyes, its claws slashed across his neck.

Blood spurted out. Little Yu dodged, and the man widened his eyes, struggled for a moment, then collapsed, head tilted, losing his breath.

The previously quiet courtyard was now bustling, as the other men in black, driven from the rooms they invaded, gathered in the courtyard, facing off against Yue Zhao and the others.

Leisurely, Little Yu approached Gu Qingqing, licked its paw, nudged Gu Qingqing’s hand with its head, turned around, and glared at the man it had previously scratched, wagging its tail.

That man trembled, clutching his face, and hid behind the others, avoiding Little Yu’s gaze.

"Leave one alive, kill the others," Yue Zhao instructed, pulling out the Flowing Light Zither.

"Got it!" Nan Hua replied cheerfully. With a flick of the now-giant Glazed Frost Flower Fan, a whirlwind blew towards the men in black.

"Understood, Second Senior Brother," Mu Chen responded, thrusting the Red Flame Spear forward, conjuring a sea of fire trapping several men in black.

Jun Wu followed closely, flinging his scimitar, which spun in the air, slashing one man’s arm and slicing another man’s throat, before returning to his hand.

Gu Qingqing extended her hand, and the Mixed Immortal Silk wound itself like a spiritual snake around the nearest man in black. The soft silk turned razor-sharp as it passed through his body, making him cry out in pain.

Little Yu leaped up, darting towards the man it had initially scratched, chasing him playfully around the courtyard, occasionally inflicting another wound on him.

Yun Ran and Zhuo Tingqiu joined the battle, each engaging a man in black.

Every so often, flashes of light appeared in the courtyard, and before long, another man in black fell.

The number of standing men in black dwindled; the leader, who had the highest cultivation and was the most cunning, kept hiding behind the others. Seeing the unfavorable situation, he attempted to escape. But Gu Qingqing noticed his movements; she gave up her current opponent and sprang forward to confront the leader.

Recognizing Gu Qingqing’s approach, a glimmer of light flashed in his eyes, and he raised his weapon to attack her, hoping to take her hostage and secure his escape!

Unfortunately, his weapon didn’t even land before it was tightly wrapped by the Mixed Immortal Silk. With a pull from Gu Qingqing, he was flung hard to the ground, his weapon knocked aside, kicked away by her. Struggling only made the silk tighten, and he stared in shock, utterly unable to believe Gu Qingqing’s strength!

"Don’t bother wasting your energy. My Mixed Immortal Silk can’t be untangled by just anyone, and certainly not by you," Gu Qingqing said, delivering a kick to his side. Seeing him grimace in pain, she dusted her hands off with satisfaction.

A gang of eighth-tier men was no match for Gu Qingqing and her mostly ninth-tier allies. The leader watched helplessly as his comrades fell one by one, their lives extinguished, his expression turning increasingly grim.

After dispatching the other men in black, Yue Zhao and the others sheathed their weapons, surrounding the sole survivor, who now helplessly stared at Gu Qingqing and her group with hollow eyes.

"Mu Chen, feed him an Elixir," Yue Zhao instructed, his face adorned with his usual smile.

"Understood, Second Senior Brother," Mu Chen replied, rummaging through the Qiankun Ring before producing a Jade Bottle. He approached the man in black and, under his resisting gaze, tossed an Elixir into his mouth.

Once released by Mu Chen, the man in black immediately opened his mouth wide, retching, trying to spit out the Elixir.

"Don’t bother; my refined Elixirs dissolve instantly. They’re perfectly digestible!" Mu Chen shook his head, remarking coolly at the man’s attempts.

The black-clad man, hearing this, a glint of despair flashed in his eyes. He looked up at Mu Chen, his expression grim, his voice hoarse, "What kind of elixir did you give me?"

"Relax, it’s not poison," Mu Chen looked at the black-clad man and, seeing his eyes brighten at the words, added, "It’s just an elixir that makes you tell the truth!"

The joy in the black-clad man’s eyes had not yet dissipated when he heard Mu Chen’s words, and he was directly stunned, seemingly incredulous. He had never heard of an elixir that could make people tell the truth, so he somewhat doubted Mu Chen’s claims.

"Don’t believe it?" Mu Chen raised an eyebrow, "You’ll soon experience its effects!"

After speaking, Mu Chen stepped back and gave the floor to Yue Zhao.

Yue Zhao took a step forward, squatted down, looked at the black-clad man, and his smile was impeccable, appearing as a graceful gentleman.

"Tell us, who are you?" His tone was very calm, even tinged with curiosity.

The black-clad man looked at Yue Zhao, and for some reason, his body shivered. He thought he would never betray his brothers, but then he heard his voice, eyes filled with terror.

"We are members of the Greedy Wolf Mercenary Corps, sent by the leader." The black-clad man closed his mouth, his expression terrified, unable to believe that those words had come from his own mouth. He recalled Mu Chen’s previous words and involuntarily looked at Mu Chen, receiving a reassuring look from Mu Chen, which made him even more fearful.

"What’s your leader’s name? What’s his cultivation level?" Yue Zhao, still smiling, continued to ask.

"The leader’s name is Li Zhanbiao, he’s at the ninth level of cultivation." The black-clad man couldn’t control his mouth at all, even though he didn’t want to speak!

"Why did your leader attack us?" Yue Zhao’s eyes flickered slightly as he asked.

"You seem young, but your attire is very refined, so you must be wealthy. The leader wanted us to rob you of your assets, kill the men, and bring the women back to the group!" The black-clad man had given up, speaking with a numb expression.

Upon hearing this, Yue Zhao’s face turned cold, and the others all showed anger.

It wasn’t the robbing of their assets that angered them, but the intention to harm Gu Qingqing and Yun Ran!

Gu Qingqing was their Ni Lin, they could be touched, but Gu Qingqing could not!

Jun Wu immediately raised the scimitar in his hand, ready to slash at the black-clad man’s neck, but was stopped by Yue Zhao. He turned his head, looking somewhat displeased at Yue Zhao.

"Kill him later!" Yue Zhao’s smile had vanished, and he looked at the black-clad man with icy eyes.

Jun Wu thought for a moment and retracted his hand.

"This isn’t the first time you’ve done something like this, is it? Confess, what have you all done?" Yue Zhao looked at the terrified man and asked.

The man was extremely frightened, but he still honestly confessed to the activities of their mercenary group. Being in a relatively high position in the group, having been involved in countless such incidents, he knew more than the ordinary members. Yet he found himself spilling every detail, leaving him dazed after speaking.

During his confession, Jun Wu and the others, who initially wanted to kill him, turned pale with anger, as did Yue Zhao. After the confession, Yue Zhao stood upright.

"Mu Chen, let him try your elixir," his voice gentle, but the words were cruel.

"Alright, I’ll make sure he fully experiences it!" Mu Chen’s lips curled into a hint of a smile, speaking with a touch of excitement.

Initially, Jun Wu and the others intended to kill the man outright, but recalling the bizarre elixirs Mu Chen crafted, they thought letting the man try them might be more satisfying, so they didn’t stop him.

Mu Chen took the man aside to test the elixir, and to ensure he didn’t disturb the others, he first fed the man a Silencing Medicine before starting the trial.

"Second brother, how do we deal with these bodies?" Nan Hua looked at the bodies of the black-clad men on the ground and asked.

"Return them from where they came," Yue Zhao replied with unwavering calm after a glance.

"Alright," Nan Hua responded, then looked at Jun Wu and Zhuo Tingqiu, "Come, let’s send them back together."

Jun Wu and Zhuo Tingqiu exchanged a glance, reluctant but joined Nan Hua to find Mu Chen, ask the address of the Greedy Wolf Mercenary Corps from the black-clad men, and returned the bodies.

"Geng Geng, it’s late, go rest. We’ll handle this," Yue Zhao gently said to Gu Qingqing after checking the sky.

"Second brother, I want to join. If you go attack the Greedy Wolf Mercenary Corps, you must take me!" Having heard the black-clad man’s confession earlier, Gu Qingqing was very displeased with the Greedy Wolf Mercenary Corps and wanted to take action against them.

"Alright, get some rest first," Yue Zhao nodded, gently patting Gu Qingqing’s head.

Gu Qingqing, holding the now infant-sized Little Yu, went back to their rooms with Yun Ran, leaving the courtyard silent again.

...

The Greedy Wolf Mercenary Corps’ base was located in the rich district of Daxing City, in a courtyard owned by the leader, Li Zhanbiao!

The corps was not originally called the Greedy Wolf Mercenary Corps; it was named the Greedy Star Mercenary Corps, and the leader wasn’t Li Zhanbiao but Lin Yecheng, with Li Zhanbiao as a mere squad leader.

Li Zhanbiao was talented and clever. During a mission, he had a fortuitous encounter and accidentally consumed a Spirit Washing Grass. While Spirit Washing Grass could enhance one’s talent, it needed to be balanced with other herbs, otherwise, it could cause one’s body to explode. Li Zhanbiao barely survived, tremendously increasing his talent, leading to rapid improvement in cultivation.

As a squad leader, Li Zhanbiao not only had high cultivation but also completed missions exceptionally well, quickly standing out. While accompanying Lin Yecheng on a mission, he saved Lin Yecheng’s life and was promoted to vice leader, earning Lin Yecheng’s trust.

However, Li Zhanbiao’s ambition couldn’t be contained by just a vice leader position, and it only made him aim higher. He waited for the opportunity, and finally, during a mission in the Red Moon Forest, he orchestrated Lin Yecheng’s death.

Even with Lin Yecheng’s death, his son was still capable and the rightful successor to the leadership, not Li Zhanbiao.

Li Zhanbiao laid low, spending a year eroding support for Lin Yecheng’s son, eventually usurping the leadership and deposing Lin’s son.