Blood Slaughter Aftermath

Liu Xiaofeng killed Guan Jiayu?

Was it the Liu Xiaofeng she knew? How could he be linked to Guan Jiayu? And how could a mere mortal child kill a Foundation Establishment cultivator like Guan Jiayu?

These simple words overwhelmed Su Qing. She opened her mouth, but no words came, only bewilderment.

“…Is it true?” she managed.

Chen Yu, seeing Su Qing’s flustered expression, knew she was genuinely clueless but pressed for confirmation. “You really know nothing?” @Infinite Good Reads, Only at Jinjiang Literature City

Su Qing nodded dazedly. “I really don’t.”

Her mind raced. She recalled Liu Xiaofeng’s sharpness, enduring bullying at the Spirit Tea Shop without leaving. She’d thought he had some hidden reason. Now, was it because the shop was a Guan family property, and he’d been lying in wait to kill Guan Jiayu?

Did he avoid working at her shop, fearing he’d implicate her when his plan came to light?

But he was only eleven or twelve. If he’d been plotting for years, he’d have started at eight or nine.

That was… uncanny!

Su Qing shared everything she knew with Chen Yu.

Chen Yu seemed to know more but didn’t explain. Instead, she said, “Guan Jiayu was a Sword Sect student, killed within the sect. Even without the Guan family’s pressure, we’d investigate thoroughly. They’re pushing hard, but the sect won’t grant them the full authority they demand.”

She reassured, “Don’t worry. If you’re uninvolved, it’s fine. You’re linked to Liu Xiaofeng, so you might be questioned later. Knowing the truth now may not be wise. Wait until it’s settled, and I’ll tell you everything.”

Her expression was cold, laced with deep disgust. “It’s a sordid affair.”

Su Qing didn’t press further. After seeing Chen Yu off, she stood frozen for a long time until Chen Minjing’s call snapped her back. She returned to the shop.

Seeing her pale face, Chen Minjing asked, “What’s wrong?”

“Something happened,” Su Qing murmured. “I need to process…”

All afternoon, she was restless.

She pondered Liu Xiaofeng’s motive, then hoped he’d escaped with his life.

It hit her: no wonder he claimed spirit tea gave him gas but still drank it eagerly. He had cultivation—otherwise, he couldn’t have killed Guan Jiayu. That explained why he refused her offer to teach him cultivation. His skills likely surpassed hers.

His knife skills, so honed, were probably for this assassination.

Details she’d overlooked now seemed glaringly odd. It sank in: Liu Xiaofeng had truly killed Guan Jiayu.

Guan Jiayu was gone forever. Could Liu Xiaofeng escape the Guan family’s wrath and survive?

Her heart felt heavy, aching.

No matter what, Liu Xiaofeng had been decent to her. Plus, Guan Jiayu was detestable. Reason and emotion tilted her toward Liu Xiaofeng.

He must have had a reason!

…

After closing the shop and training, Su Qing returned to her dorm.

Perhaps it was her imagination, but the sect was eerily quiet, doors shut, an air of unease hanging heavy.

She hurried back. Tang Yueling and Tianning were absent.

Tianning’s absence was normal—she trained late. But Tang Yueling rarely left, usually meditating with spirit stones on her bed for hours.

Su Qing realized Tang Yueling was likely at the Spirit Tea Shop.

Having worked there, she recalled today was the Orchid-Bamboo Society’s monthly gathering.

Liu Xiaofeng killed Guan Jiayu that morning, likely during the event. Tang Yueling probably witnessed it.

Her absence now was surely related.

Given Tang Yueling’s noble status, even the Guan family wouldn’t dare touch her. She was safe, but seeing a murder… would her mental health hold?

Worried, Su Qing sent a message. Soon, a reply confirmed both were fine, just held for questioning and would return soon.

Relieved yet curious, Su Qing wondered why Tianning was there. She avoided such gatherings.

A flash of insight hit. Tang Yueling had said, “I’m going somewhere you can’t, so the outfit’s your stand-in.” Why did she need to be “present”?

With Tianning there, it likely involved avenging slights from the Qi family. Having Su Qing “there” would’ve been ideal.

Piecing it together, Su Qing felt a mix of sourness and warmth.

She was the weakest, poorest among them, aided countless ways. Now, they’d acted on her behalf.

Her heart swirled with complex emotions.

Sleepless, she sat at her desk, pulling out a sword manual from Wuya Pavilion.

No matter how much she thought or felt grateful, nothing beat growing strong enough to return their help.

Under the glow of a night pearl, she studied the manual page by page until dawn.

*

The next week, all sect shops were forced to close.

The Guan family’s reach stunned Su Qing. With Honey Spirit Tea shuttered, she helped at the cafeteria.

After earning money from Senior Sister Weiyue, she’d stopped her subsidy but still helped when free—until her shop’s demands halted it.

The cafeteria auntie was no-nonsense, assigning familiar tasks. In the bustle, Su Qing found calm.

At mealtime, the auntie piled her plate with glossy braised pork, saucy ribs, and a heap of greens.

“Eating so little? Have more!” she scolded, hands on hips. “You’ve slimmed down in days. Eating enough? Eat now, or you’ll stop growing once you’re set!”

Su Qing eyed the meat mountain, smiling wryly. “I’m eating, I’m eating.”

Satisfied, the auntie said, “Good. Finish it. Want more, find me.”

Watching her sturdy, dependable figure, Su Qing thought: only the auntie treated her like a kid.

Still, with Liu Xiaofeng’s case weighing on her, her appetite was poor. The meat mountain felt daunting.

Glancing around, she frowned.

That familiar orange fur, curled into a massive ball—wasn’t that Orange King?

Wasn’t it terrified of the auntie? Why was it napping in the cafeteria, drooling messily? What a sloppy cat.

Su Qing crept over, sat beside it, and studied its wrinkled, sleeping face. She rubbed its back, trying to wake it.

Its solid heft shocked her—a real loaf of a cat.

After several rubs, Orange King stretched lazily, yawning. “What, what? Got urgent news for this meow?”

Same punchable tone.

Su Qing whispered, “What’re you doing here? Stealing food again?”

Orange King, roused, glared. “Stealing? How dare you call a cat’s business stealing? Uncultured!”

Su Qing, bemused by its deflection, said, “Aren’t you scared the auntie will thrash you?”

“She won’t!” Orange King’s whiskers twitched proudly, tail high. “I did a great deed—she’s praising me!”

A great deed? Catching rats?

The auntie had griped about rats eating spirit rice and flour, growing large with budding intelligence, evading traps.

But no rat could outsize Orange King.

Su Qing figured its laziness didn’t dull its rat-catching instinct.

“Impressive, Orange King! You’re a capable cat!” she praised. “I’ll treat you to a meal, how’s that?”

“A meal? Not bad.” Orange King sighed grandly. “But I’m stuffed. You owe me!”

The gluttonous cat, full? Su Qing blinked, incredulous. From rats?

As it dozed off, she left it be, returning to tackle the auntie’s hefty love, eating every bite.

…

The next day, Tang Yueling and Tianning still hadn’t returned. Su Qing was summoned to the Disciplinary Hall.

Since the Xu Wenqing incident, she’d entered this grim building once before. Inside, two awaited: Qin Suzhi, the elder she’d met, and a stranger—a gaunt, pale male cultivator with cold, snake-like eyes and potent aura.

This was Guan Xuyan, the Guan family’s investigator.

With Qin Suzhi present and Chen Yu’s heads-up, Su Qing stayed calm, sitting composedly. Experienced, she avoided Guan Xuyan’s gaze, waiting for questions.

Qin Suzhi began, “What’s your relationship with Liu Xiaofeng?”

Su Qing answered honestly, “Nothing special. We worked together at the Spirit Tea Shop, got familiar, chatted a bit.”

“Oh?” Guan Xuyan’s eyes narrowed, tone sharp. “Just that? I heard you two were close, even looking out for each other.”

His stare was piercing.

Unfazed, Su Qing thought like them. “We got along fine, sure. Busy times, we covered shifts. But close? I’d say there’s a gap—immortal and mortal.”

Guan Xuyan teleported before her. Qin Suzhi, caught off guard, stood warily. “Guan Xuyan, what are you doing? Back off!”

A faint, bewitching fragrance wafted from his sleeve toward Su Qing.

Qin Suzhi roared, “Soul-Bewitching Incense?!”

“I’m being polite by not using soul-searching!” Guan Xuyan snapped. “Stay back, or I’ll use it—unless you want your student a fool!” He glared at Su Qing, voice low. “Tell me, you really know nothing? Why meet Liu Xiaofeng later? What did you say?”

His snake-like eyes pinned her, dark and eerie, his aura like a python’s, chilling. @Infinite Good Reads, Only at Jinjiang Literature City

Su Qing kept her face blank, mind racing.

Oddly, the incense didn’t affect her. Was it because her soul was from another world, immune?

Being questioned didn’t scare her, but if they noticed the incense failed, that’d be trouble.

She couldn’t explain that.

Unsure how the incense should work, she assumed it induced stupor. Staring blankly ahead, she spoke flatly, haltingly. “I said, Xiaofeng, my shop needs help. Want to join? I’ll give good pay…”

“Then?” Guan Xuyan pressed. “What’d he say?”

“He said…” Su Qing hid his warning to stay away, saying, “He’d been there long, didn’t want to leave. Refused me.”

“That’s it?” His tone turned almost gentle, chillingly so. Su Qing suppressed goosebumps.

“Did you tell him about Guan Jiayu? You suspected he was behind Xu Wenqing, right? He wronged you—aren’t you angry? Didn’t you want revenge? Tell me, what did you do?”

“Liu Xiaofeng… mortal, no help. Didn’t tell,” Su Qing droned. “Wanted revenge, but couldn’t… planned to avoid him…”

Before she finished, Qin Suzhi roared, “Guan Xuyan, you’re courting death! Release my student!”

A hundred and eight pitch-black soul blades formed an array around Guan Xuyan, each targeting a vital point. A killing formation—Qin Suzhi meant business.

Guan Xuyan had what he needed: Su Qing was uninvolved.

He smirked coldly, turning from Su Qing to face Qin Suzhi’s wrath, feigning innocence. “Just a low-talent Qi Refining girl. If the sect needs students, I’ll send more. Why so angry? I’m leaving.”

With a student present, Qin Suzhi avoided escalation. Her hawk-like eyes tracked him. Once he retreated safely within the blade array, she flashed to Su Qing’s side.

Watching Guan Xuyan for tricks, she channeled pure qi into Su Qing’s temples.

Feeling the cool qi, Su Qing knew to “wake.” Blinking, she feigned confusion. “Teacher, what… happened?”

“Nothing,” Qin Suzhi patted her shoulder, her pale eyes softening. “Don’t worry. Go rest.”

…

The next day, the case stalled. The Guan family sent hundreds of shadow-wind dogs to search the sect. Nothing.

A week later, a Soul Transformation cultivator scoured every inch with divine sense. Nothing.

Another week, Tang Yueling and Tianning returned.

Su Qing’s heart eased. “Finally back! You okay? No injuries?”

“Trouble? What trouble?” Tang Yueling tilted her chin, carefree. “Anywhere we go, people roll out the red carpet. Who’d dare cross us?”

Su Qing saw faint exhaustion beneath her vibrance. Glancing at Tianning—still expressionless, unreadable. @Infinite Good Reads, Only at Jinjiang Literature City

Su Qing sighed. “You’re saying ‘fine’ to spare me worry. But you said ‘we,’ lumping you and Tianning together. That’s new. Something happened, and you two got closer, right?”

Tang Yueling’s eyes widened. “You noticed *that*?”

She added quickly, “Wrong. Something happened, but we’re not closer.”

Tianning, deadpan, said, “You’re right.”

Tang Yueling whirled, snapping, “Don’t say that now!”

Tianning blinked, puzzled, delivering a rare long sentence. “Didn’t you tell me to say ‘you’re right’ to everything, or you’d get mad? I did, so why’re you mad?”

Su Qing stifled a laugh.

Tang Yueling fumed. “Your wooden head’s gonna kill me.”

Su Qing sat them down. “Enough bickering. What happened?”

“It’s not complicated,” Tang Yueling said, calming herself. “Result first: Liu Xiaofeng wasn’t found. The Guan family thinks he fled to the back mountains. They’re searching there, losing men already. I bet it’ll fizzle out soon. The Guan family has more than just Guan Jiayu—his brother, Guan Jiabi, takes precedence. They’re likely posturing for compensation talks with the sect.”

“As for why Liu Xiaofeng killed him,” her expression grew complex, voice low, “you know the marrow-cleansing, bone-forging herb, Cold Domain Snow Lotus?”

…

Qin Suzhi crossed her arms, voice cold. “I told you, the Trial Sword Forest is clear. Satisfied?”

Guan Xuyan fake-smiled. “Elder Frostcliff, how can I be without seeing for myself?”

He seethed inwardly: impossible! Even with wings, Liu Xiaofeng couldn’t evade their net. The physician reached the scene right after Guan Jiayu’s death, witnessing Liu Xiaofeng’s escape through a window. Worse, the Heaven-Devouring Serpent Dragon was dead, its body missing. Strange!

They’d scoured Little Mirror Lake’s depths, only getting chased by a giant turtle. Nothing. The back mountains were the only option.

Irritated, he saw a massive orange cat saunter over. He jabbed, “The sect’s got time to raise a cat into a pig?”

Big mistake.

“Meow meow meow!” The cat’s curses were filthy, charging like a runaway cart, shredding his shoes and pants. Guan Xuyan couldn’t dodge, left with tattered cloth.

This pig-like cat was a spirit beast.

“Why provoke it?” Qin Suzhi mocked, her gaze sharp. “That’s our sect’s senior. Don’t get any ideas.”

Guan Xuyan, venomous but focused, brushed it off. “Of course. I wouldn’t stoop to feud with a beast.”

…

After everyone left, a plain-looking, delicate-featured student emerged, utterly unremarkable.

Jiang Xiaocao squatted by Orange King, napping in the shade. “Senior, they’re gone. The shadow-wind dogs and outsiders have left.”

Orange King woke, smacking its lips, savoring. “That fish was delicious. Haven’t had such crispy roast fish in ages.”

“Senior,” Jiang Xiaocao corrected, “that was a serpent dragon, technically between snake and dragon, not a fish.”

The uneducated cat bristled. “Questioning me? If it swims, it’s a fish!”

No reasoning with seniors.

Or he’d have graduated by now.

Jiang Xiaocao switched to business. “Can we release that human? I’m worried your stomach acid will digest him soon.”

“Senior?”

He turned into a blade of grass, poking the dozing cat, exasperated. “Can we hurry? I want to wrap this up. Su Qing invited me for lunch. She’s been busy—rarely free. I don’t want to be late.”