Chapter 188: The Death of Cao Xin

It turned out that the little chubby fellow knew quite a bit. It seemed that most people present knew nothing about it, and they listened to him with rapt attention.

After the little chubby fellow finished speaking, the crowd dispersed, but I stayed behind and stepped forward to ask, "Senior brother, how do you know so much?"

Seeing that I was a junior brother, the little chubby fellow immediately began to show off. "Of course! Look at who I am. Junior brother, you must cultivate diligently. Look at me, I'm already in the Spirit Flower Realm."

Suppressing a smile, I continued to ask, "Then, senior brother, will that person have a miserable time after going to prison?"

Seeing my reaction, the little chubby fellow went on to explain, "Definitely! Our prison is the strictest of all, rumored to be so secure that not even a fly can escape. That guy is bound to die in there, I reckon."

Hearing this, I nodded and asked directly, "Yet I haven't seen any place that looks like a prison. Could it be outside the Seven-Color Sect?"

The little chubby fellow smiled and said, "That's where you're wrong. The prison is located right beneath the Enforcement Hall, just very well concealed so ordinary people don't know about it."

By saying this, the little chubby fellow was implicitly boasting about how great he was—knowing what others did not. I seized the opportunity to flatter him a bit. "Indeed, senior brother is truly formidable, and your cultivation base is so high."

Hearing this, the little chubby fellow puffed up with pride and began telling stories endlessly. Lacking the time for this, I made up an excuse and left.

Now that I knew where the prison was, I just had to wait for the right opportunity to make a move. Chen Chen also chimed in from the side, "That fat guy is truly an idiot, haha."

Whispering to each other about our plan, we walked back toward our room.

By now, we knew the general location of the prison, but the sect-guarding treasure's whereabouts remained unknown. Since we needed to prepare for both contingencies, we had to scout out both locations clearly before taking action.

Therefore, there was no need to rush; we just had to wait for the right opportunity.

Upon returning to the courtyard, I noticed that the lights in the adjacent room were already out. There probably weren't many people left there—how miserable.

Entering the room, I threw myself directly onto the bed, preparing to sleep.

Yet, the thing I dreaded most happened anyway. Suddenly, a squad of people arrived outside, every single one of them exuding a murderous aura, and the person at the very front wore an expression of intense rage.

It was obvious that someone had discovered Cao Xin was missing, and the man leading them was none other than Cao Xin's father.

Each member of this squad carried an oil lamp. As soon as they stepped into my courtyard, they began to shout, "Everyone out!"

I saw that the big brute was still following behind them, but it seemed he hadn't figured out who I was yet, or else they would have stormed right in.

I hurriedly woke Chen Chen, changed my clothes, and pushed open the door.

"You two, have you seen Cao Xin?"

The man at the front looked relatively young, but he already had a beard and some wrinkles, and he appeared thoroughly exhausted.

Since he was asking me, I continued to play the fool. "Cao Xin? I don't know any Cao Xin."

At that moment, the big brute on the side seized the opportunity to chime in, "That's right, Elder Cao. They are both newcomers; they certainly wouldn't know. Perhaps you should look elsewhere."

It seemed this Elder Cao held a high position within the sect, and his cultivation had reached the astonishing Ninth Rank of the Spirit Lotus, just a fraction away from a breakthrough. His strength was terrifying.

"Hmph! Look elsewhere? Look where? It's been an afternoon and nothing has been found. The gatekeeper said she never went out, and our Seven-Color Sect is only so big—how are we supposed to find her?"

Hearing this, the big brute wore an embarrassed expression. It was true; the Seven-Color Sect was small, and Cao Xin certainly couldn't be found, considering I had already killed her.

Elder Cao now wore a look of utter melancholy, unable to utter another word. The big brute instructor turned to us and asked, "The two of you, have you seen a girl wearing braids, quite good-looking?"

I wasn't a fool, so naturally I wouldn't admit to having seen her. "No, ah. We've spent almost the entire day staying in our room."

The big brute nodded. Naturally, he didn't want the two of us dragged into such a mess, especially since he wanted to win us over.

Hearing that we had seen nothing, Elder Cao had nothing more to say. He led his men away in silence. It appeared that storms would be stirred up within the Seven-Color Sect for the next few days.

"Lin Yao, did you kill her?"

Chen Chen smiled faintly. Others might not understand me, but he was the one who knew me best. Seeing that he had already figured it out, I pulled him into the room and revealed the whole story.

"Well... I've long found that girl unpleasing to the eye anyway. Killing her is better."

Chen Chen's thoughts had always been similar to mine, so what I did might seem absurd to others, but to Chen Chen, it was entirely correct.

"Alright, let's rest. We'll observe the situation for a few days and take action once this blows over."

Chen Chen nodded and lay down to bed. After such a commotion, I was even less able to sleep, believing that there are no walls in the world that can keep out the wind; this matter would be exposed sooner or later.

Yet I still couldn't figure out who could have reported me. At the time, there was not a single soul nearby, and I had wiped out everyone present.

Therefore, I didn't need to worry for the time being, and I sat up on the bed to begin my cultivation.

I had spent every night of the past few days in serious cultivation, which caused my cultivation base to advance at full speed. Tonight, I didn't need to consolidate my foundation anymore; I could just continue cultivating.

The Tan Zi Scripture circulated rapidly, and with every complete revolution, a surge of spiritual energy flowed from my fingertips into my body.

The sensation was akin to soaking in a hot spring—exceedingly comfortable. I cultivated for the entire night, waking up only a little past five in the morning.

When I woke up, the sky was just beginning to brighten, but I no longer felt like cultivating, so I decided to go out for a stroll.

After changing my clothes, I quietly pushed open the door and gazed at the distant sun while hearing sounds coming from next door.

Glancing sideways, I saw the remaining four people from the neighboring room coming out together, unsure of what they were up to, but I soon understood.

They just wanted to wash up!

I was being far too cautious now; this was probably a sequela of the Ghost King Game.

After drawing a bucket of water, I simply washed my face and brushed my teeth before returning to the room.

No sooner had I closed the door than footsteps sounded in the courtyard. Unsurprisingly, it had to be the big brute.

I hurriedly woke Chen Chen and stepped out into the courtyard.

Sure enough, it was him, but today the big brute didn't seem to be in high spirits, sporting prominent dark circles under his eyes. It appeared he hadn't slept a wink last night on account of Elder Cao.

"Um... instructor, has Elder Cao's daughter been found?" I asked cautiously.

Yawning, the big brute replied, "Well... not yet. My guess is she's dead."

By now, any normal person would assume Cao Xin was dead, and indeed, that was the truth.

"Right, I came today to let the two of you know—there's no testing today; we'll talk about it tomorrow."