Chapter 46: Tonight

“Young master, your meal is ready.” Li Youling brought the food upstairs, only to find Gu Changqing lying on her couch with his legs crossed, lost in thought.

Of course, that couch now belonged to Gu Changqing.

He had been staying here for two days and was growing increasingly bored. Still, he intended to remain a little longer, just to avoid the Yu family pinpointing his movements. These days also gave him a chance to observe Li Youling; every day, Gu Changqing wore a single earring that allowed him to detect any disturbances outside immediately.

Nothing much had changed in the Li household, except that no one else was permitted to enter the backyard, not even the kitchen staff—A Yue now handled all the cooking.

Each day, it was Li Youling herself who brought his meals to the second floor.

“If you’re idle, you might as well dance for me—one of those dances where you take your clothes off,” Gu Changqing said.

“Forgive me, young master, I am not skilled in song or dance. I fear I would offend your eyes. Would you rather I read to you instead?” Li Youling replied with a gentle smile, her ears tinged pink. Gu Changqing’s flippant words left her a little embarrassed.

Over the past two days, she had come to realize that Gu Changqing, despite his fierce appearance, was not a bad person. He had not forced her company, which put her at ease. Moreover, Gu Changqing was dignified and impressive, a cultivator no less, which made her feel less averse to his presence.

“If you can’t dance, you should learn! You’re already a servant—are you still hoping to earn scholarly honors instead of serving with your beauty?” Gu Changqing grinned.

Li Youling considered this seriously, then made a graceful bow. “You are right, young master. But learning to dance is no simple matter. Would you like to hear me read today?”

“Damn,” Gu Changqing cursed in annoyance.

Clever as she was, Li Youling seemed pliant, but in truth, she was quite steadfast.

“What do you want to hear?” Li Youling asked, turning toward the bookshelf.

“Travelogues, tales of intrigue—something light,” Gu Changqing replied casually.

By now, dusk was settling in.

When night fell, Gu Changqing checked the time and gestured for Li Youling to stop reading. “I’ll be away for a few days,” he said.

“Please take care, young master,” Li Youling answered softly.

With Li Youling’s help, Gu Changqing now found things much easier. He had a place to stay and someone to gather information for him, allowing him to finally get a sense of the county’s situation.

The walls of Pingyao County and the surroundings were heavily guarded. Ordinary people could still pass, but inspections were frequent.

Nearly two hundred members of the Yu family were now stationed within the city.

The area where the Yu family disciples resided was not far from here.

Late at night, Gu Changqing landed in a secluded courtyard. He took a fog pouch from his bag, placed it in a cloth sack, and lowered it into the well.

Within moments, white mist began to billow from the well, a sight both eerie and beautiful.

The fog pouch was riddled with tiny holes, and once submerged, it began to release mist ceaselessly.

According to the data from Chongming, this mist had a name: Rooted Fog.

Like roots sinking into the earth, no wind or rain could disperse it.

As the mist covered the courtyard and spread outward, Gu Changqing placed his earring behind his ear, allowing the sounds from within a hundred meters to reach him clearly.

A savage smile flickered across his lips, his eyes filled with bloodlust and excitement.

So, Yu family of Yuan Lake, is it?

When the mist was at its densest, Gu Changqing retrieved the pouch and vanished into the fog.

Two hundred meters ahead lay the main Yu family residence.

But the main house was sparsely populated; most disciples lived in the surrounding courtyards.

Gu Changqing’s targets were those Yu family disciples.

The fog pouch’s range was five hundred meters—enough to cover half the Yu family compound.

“Do you think that fiend is still in the city? We’ve searched for days! He’s probably long gone!” Several Yu disciples sat drinking and talking in the courtyard.

“It’s not just him—there’s that one using hidden weapons. He’s killed plenty. We can’t let him go either!”

“Now any stray dog thinks they can challenge us!” one muttered.

Another disciple snorted, “If anyone does think the Yu family is easy prey, we’ll make an example of them!”

The Yu family had searched for so long and still couldn’t find the murderer of their core disciples. What would outsiders think? The disciples seethed with frustration.

Though they did not bear the Yu surname, their fates were tied to the family’s honor.

“I heard the Wang family at Yuan Lake was wiped out. Over three hundred people—no survivors!” one disciple said, his eyes glinting.

They fell silent. “When did this happen?”

“Three days ago.”

“Good, serves them right! The Wang family always looked down on us just because they had a Foundation Establishment ancestor. For a hundred years, they haven’t produced anyone remarkable. It’s about time they were erased.”

“Wiped out, just like that. Must be that fiend again!” They exchanged knowing looks.

The search for the fiend had included the Wang family’s area. It wasn’t openly stated, but they all guessed that the elders had used the Wang family as an example.

“When did this fog appear?” As they laughed and drank, they suddenly noticed the thickening mist.

“No matter. Daoist Xu’s disciples are guarding the city wall tonight. They’re cultivators—no fiend can escape in this fog,” one disciple said.

“It’s unusual for such heavy fog at night, especially outside of winter, and it’s so dense, so sudden…” another, more cautious, remarked. Within moments, visibility dropped to a mere ten meters.

“Let’s hold off on the drinks—stay alert.”

“Who’s there?” someone’s ears twitched. He looked around, but the fog was too thick to see anything.

The others gripped their weapons, tense.

“What did you hear?”

“It sounded like someone…” He peered into the mist, but blood had already begun to seep across the ground, hidden by the fog.

“There’s blood on the ground!” a disciple cried out in alarm.

But as soon as he spoke, the blood twisted into dozens of crimson threads that snared them before they could react.

Agonized screams pierced the night as the blood burrowed into their eyes, noses, and ears. They clawed at themselves uselessly, wracked with pain.

Within moments, they were reduced to pools of blood, which then vanished into the mist.

The screams quickly roused others nearby.

Some were startled awake, grabbing weapons only to find the fog so dense they could barely see three meters ahead. Ten meters away was lost in a shroud.

“Be careful, we have an enemy!” someone shouted.

The fog made people reluctant to move, so they huddled in small groups, shouting to keep track of each other.

But every so often, another scream would ring out, sending cold sweat down every disciple’s back.

“It’s that fiend!”

Yu Xuanzheng saw the mist and gritted his teeth. The fiend dared show himself. Clearly, this fog was his doing. They would never find him in it, but if they could just delay him until the Third Elder arrived, they could trap him here.

Yu Xuanzheng shouted, “Everyone, gather to me!”

He was the strongest and most respected among them, so the disciples began converging on his location.

Gu Changqing stood in a courtyard, lifting his hand as a dozen blood threads returned to him, the pure blood essence transforming into spiritual energy within his body.

In just a short time, he had devoured the life force of over a dozen Yu disciples.

He didn’t know how much more was needed to break through to the third level of Qi Refinement…

But he felt it would be soon—perhaps tonight.

Hearing Yu Xuanzheng’s call and the movement of others, Gu Changqing’s lips curled into a bloodthirsty grin.

His eyes blazed with killing intent.

He moved, dozens of blood threads flying into the mist, vaulting over the courtyard wall, leaping more than twenty meters.

Even as he soared, the blood threads from his hands plunged into the fog on either side.

Behind him, screams erupted as several Yu disciples fell, writhing in pain. Within seconds, the cries faded.

The blood threads soon caught up to Gu Changqing.

As disciple after disciple fell, the spiritual energy within Gu Changqing surged without pause.