The Entry-plundering Demon Hunter

Yang Yong composed himself.

He forced a calm smile. "You just woke up and you’re already worried about others? Focus on healing your own wounds first!"

"I had Lin Yi go back to Xinghai. He couldn’t have been of much help here, and he would only have worried about you all!"

"Old Mo and Xiaoxue are back, but they were all injured to some extent. They came to see you for a moment and then went to heal. Teacher and Elder Mu Ru killed the Blood Lord and the Demon King!"

"This whole affair can finally be considered over, it’s just..."

Hearing this, Chu Zhengxiong quickly looked at him.

"Just what?"

"Sigh... It’s just that many people died in the battle at Wushan. All the squads in your Demon Hunting Bureau suffered heavy losses. The Tiger Guard and the Golden Robe Guard also lost more than half their members."

"It seems we’ll have to regroup and reorganize when we get back to the New District."

Yang Yong’s eyes darkened.

He hid the sorrow in his eyes.

The losses from the battle at Wushan were truly too great.

Whether it was the Demon Hunting Bureau, the Tiger Guard, or the Golden Robe Guard, every single person was an elite warrior, forged through countless trials.

This was especially true for the Demon Hunting Bureau squads, which each had one or two interns.

Of all of them, Qin Zhaoxue was probably the only one who actually survived.

The interns from the other squads had almost all been killed in battle.

Although they didn’t need to worry about the aftermath, as the Demon Hunting Bureau would handle it...

...as captains, Chu Zhengxiong, Han Bin, and the others would naturally blame themselves for what happened.

When they led them out, they were all perfectly fine.

Now, on their return, not even half of them were left...

Chu Zhengxiong said no more. He turned his head away, no longer looking at Yang Yong.

But tears slowly trickled from the corners of his eyes.

Yang Yong glanced at him but said nothing more.

This was a moment where silence was more eloquent than words; anything more he might say would be superfluous.

Letting him be alone with his silence for a while, letting him cry, would perhaps make the tough man feel a little better.

Before long, Zhao Jian hurriedly entered the hospital room with a doctor and a nurse.

They gave Chu Zhengxiong a check-up, and after confirming that his body was steadily recovering, they left.

"Old Yang, you guys should... step out for a bit," Chu Zhengxiong’s weak voice suddenly said.

Yang Yong and Zhao Jian exchanged a look.

They nodded. "Alright. You get some rest. We’ll take a walk outside."

Yang Yong was a perceptive man.

He understood that after such a monumental event, Chu Zhengxiong was on the verge of a breakdown.

He needed his own space right now to sort through his emotions.

So, neither of them said anything more and walked out of the room.

The very moment they closed the door,

a heart-wrenching wail echoed from inside.

Yang Yong and Zhao Jian quickly glanced inside.

They saw Chu Zhengxiong with the blanket pulled over his head, sobbing his heart out.

Yang Yong didn’t go back in. He leaned against the hallway wall, his head bowed and eyes slightly red.

He and Zhao Jian were both waiting. They would go back in after Chu Zhengxiong had let it all out.

But just then,

a flurry of urgent footsteps in the hallway made them instinctively turn to look.

They saw an old man with a full head of white hair, dressed in a Tang suit, hurrying toward them.

"Teacher?"

Seeing Yi Nanshan, Yang Yong quickly straightened up.

Zhao Jian also hurriedly asked, "Teacher, what brings you here?"

Walking up to them, Yi Nanshan said with a grave expression, "I heard Chu Zhengxiong has woken up?"

"He’s awake. He’s in the room, crying."

Yi Nanshan glanced back at the window on the door.

All he could see was a white shape on the hospital bed; Chu Zhengxiong was completely hidden under the blanket.

He sighed softly and said, "Let him get it all out."

"After all, so many of his comrades-in-arms died on Wushan."

"Yes, Teacher!"

Yang Yong nodded quickly.

Yi Nanshan glanced at him again. "The Alliance just contacted me. I have to go back."

"For now, I’m leaving you in charge of things here. Don’t shut down the Martial Arts Hall; keep it running as usual.

Also, I just met with Elder Mu Ru."

"The 7-star Demon Beast that was killed... it wasn’t the real Demon King!"

"In other words, the Demon King isn’t dead. It’s still alive. I’ve ordered Guo Wu and Lei Sheng to stay in Wushan for the time being and continue searching for its whereabouts."

"As for everyone else, please help take care of them."

"Especially Chu Zhengxiong and the others. You must pay close attention to their emotional state."

As soon as he said this, the expressions on Yang Yong and Zhao Jian’s faces changed.

"Teacher? The Demon King isn’t dead? How is that possible? Even a 7-star Demon Beast wasn’t the Demon King?"

This news left Yang Yong utterly shocked.

’If even a 7-star Demon Beast doesn’t qualify as the Demon King...’

’...then just how powerful is the Demon King’s cultivation?’

’Could it have already stepped into the Star Shattering Realm? Or an even higher level of cultivation?’

Yi Nanshan shook his head. "I don’t know. No one knows the Demon King’s whereabouts. I heard this from Elder Mu Ru. The Blood Lord of Blood Drop told him right before he died."

"Regardless of whether this is true or not, do not spread this information!"

"Also... take good care of Lin Yi. Don’t let him feel too burdened."

When he mentioned Lin Yi, Yi Nanshan’s eyes changed, growing much softer.

And that trace of paternal affection in Yi Nanshan’s eyes was caught by Zhao Jian, sparking his curiosity.

After Yi Nanshan gave Yang Yong a few more instructions, he glanced back at the hospital room a few times, then pushed open the door and went inside.

Yang Yong and Zhao Jian tried to follow, but were stopped.

After the old man entered the room, he sat down in a chair.

Chu Zhengxiong, who had been hiding under the covers, finally peeked out.

Neither Yang Yong nor Zhao Jian knew what they talked about in the room.

After just ten minutes or so, Yi Nanshan left.

"Senior Brother, why do I get the feeling Teacher is being exceptionally concerned and caring toward Lin Yi?" Zhao Jian asked, puzzled.

Yang Yong glanced back at him.

"What’s so strange about that? That kid, Lin Yi, is talented and matures quickly.

Barring any surprises, he’s a lock for first place in the entire city on this martial arts exam. He might even become the Old District’s Martial Arts Examination Champion Scholar!"

"Teacher is someone who cherishes talent. There’s nothing wrong with him showing a little extra care for Lin Yi."

Yang Yong had never really thought about it any other way.

He had always believed that it was simply because Lin Yi was talented and matured quickly.

The old man cherished talent, so he took special care of him. That was all.

But Zhao Jian didn’t think so.

Although he hadn’t been in the Old District for long and wasn’t clear on many things, the look of paternal affection in Teacher’s eyes just now was definitely not as simple as Yang Yong made it out to be.

Besides, while it was true that Teacher cherished talent, he had never doted on any other disciple like this.

He just didn’t refute his Senior Brother’s words.

Even if he did, it would be useless.

His Senior Brother wouldn’t see anything wrong with it at all.

Just as Zhao Jian was mulling this over, Yang Yong pushed the door open and walked into the hospital room.

Zhao Jian snapped back to his senses and hurried in after him.

...

The sun set, and twilight deepened.

"Brother Chu, you just focus on getting better. I won’t come over to see you. I’ll come find you when you get back from Wushan County!"

The call was from Chu Zhengxiong. When Lin Yi heard his somewhat weak voice, the weight on his heart was finally lifted.

"Mhm, when I get back and my injuries are healed, I’ll definitely treat you to a meal..." Chu Zhengxiong said once again.

Lin Yi laughed. "Brother Chu, you don’t have to promise me that. I’ll treat you instead! I’m loaded now!"

"Pfft... you’re treating me? Alright, it’s a deal then. You’re treating when I get back!" Chu Zhengxiong couldn’t help but laugh.

The two of them chatted on the phone for a while longer.

They only hung up when Lin Yi heard Chu Zhengxiong’s voice growing increasingly weak.

Afterward, he glanced out the window. The sky was ablaze with fiery clouds.

’It’s this late already?’

Lin Yi thought, stunned.

He had spent the entire afternoon first cultivating the Purifying Heart Technique a few times, and then entering the state of the Star River Qi Transformation Technique.

Who would have thought that an entire afternoon had passed so quickly, without him even noticing?

Chu Zhengxiong’s call had forcibly pulled him from the state of the Star River. If it hadn’t, he probably would have kept cultivating indefinitely.

He got out of bed and walked to the bathroom.

The moment he stepped over the threshold, his expression suddenly changed as he remembered something.

He hurried to a corner of the bathroom.

As it turned out, he found that the egg soaking in the basin was still there.

But the basin of water had frozen solid into ice.

A look of utter astonishment on his face, Lin Yi reached out and knocked on the ice.

"Holy shit, it’s solid?"