Chapter 228

HSSB228: The results of the investigation

The other Broad Creed Mountain martial practitioners ignored Lian Ying’s body, lying on the ground .

Earlier, when he, Jun Luo, and Lian Cheng were trapped in the Black Dragon Dread, Yan Zhaoge had rescued them . No one had thought that this unassuming boy would repay this kindness with evil . In the critical situation that had just occurred, Lian Ying had almost been able to deliver a fatal strike .

If Yan Zhaoge hadn’t been able to get them out of their predicament in such a short time, they would have been forced to simultaneously defend against the Black Dragon Dread aboveground, while also guarding against the White Dragon Dread at their feet .

Considering the death of Elder Li, the very fact that the Broad Creed Mountain martial practitioners hadn’t vented their rage against Lian Ying was already quite good .

Looking at Lian Ying’s corpse, Lian Cheng let out a sigh . After a moment, he went forward to gather up Lian Ying’s remains .

Back in the clan, both he and Lian Cheng suffered from the same sickly body and had many of the same difficulties . Because of this, they were quite close .

Both of them were born to concubines and lost their parents at an early age . Moreover, their temperament was often seen as effeminate and weak, causing them often be bullied in their clan .

Stumbling along the bumpy road of growing up together, they considered each other as one of the pitifully few friends and family they possessed .

It was only that Lian Ying had gradually become alienated from him since some unknown time, causing Lian Cheng to be puzzled .

After hearing what Lian Ying had said and observing his actions, only now did Lian Cheng realize that Lian Ying’s behavior changed after meeting Jun Luo .

In fact, it was the same for Lian Cheng . Wasn’t Jun Luo a rarely seen light in his life?

Even though Lian Ying had unkind intentions and had almost caused him to sink into the White Dragon Dread, Lian Cheng still had a soft spot for him in his heart . Even now, he could not bear to let Lian Ying’s corpse be left in this empty expanse of the desert .

Even though he was already dead, his final resting place should at least be in his birthplace .

Looking at Lian Cheng, Jun Luo hesitated for a moment while biting her lip .

When her gaze landed on Lian Ying’s corpse, her emotions were extremely complicated . When her gaze landed on Lian Cheng, her expression softened .

After a long pause, Jun Luo also sighed before stepping forward to help Lian Cheng . After resolving the matter with Lian Ying’s corpse, they prepared to leave the Great Western Desert .

The Broad Creed Mountain martial practitioners looked at this scene, neither offering to help nor stopping to wait for them . Bearing the body of Elder Li, they stood silently as they waited for Yan Zhaoge’s instructions .

Yan Zhaoge glanced at Jun Luo . “Luo Luo, this is the true, normal state of the outside world . Rather, this isn’t something which would be considered special–just like there is a glamorous, bright side of world, there is also a side which is filled with underhanded, bloody affairs .

Bloody and callous sudden assassination, prompted by exploiting the most vulnerable part of a person’s psyche . The struggle between two great powers would always drag others into the conflict .

Black Nightmare Mountain had been destroyed a long time ago, but even now, its remnants wanted to retaliate . Their target was not someone from the upper echelons of Broad Creed Mountain, but rather the Yan Zhaoge of great repute . Despite his lofty status and impressive achievements, his cultivation was still rather low since he had not even stepped into the Martial Grandmaster realm .

Of course, the impact of their conflict could not compare to the likes of a battle between two Sacred Grounds .

Even so, the ripples from such a conflict were still far more than enough to destroy people like Lian Cheng, Lian Ying, or Jun Luo .

Even if they didn’t wish to be involved, once they were drawn in their participation would be completely involuntary . If they died, they probably wouldn’t even know how they died .

Even at the moment of the death, Lian Ying still didn’t really understand that all along, he was just a pawn of Yao Shan . Even Yao Shan himself could only be considered someone else’s chess piece in the greater scheme of things .

Yao Shan wouldn’t even be considered to be a key piece of the plan, just an auxiliary piece .

After gathering Lian Ying’s remains, Lian Cheng stood up beside Jun Luo . Jun Luo bit her lower lip as she looked toward Yan Zhaoge .

Yan Zhaoge calmly said, “The enmity between my clan and Black Nightmare Mountain is something that you do not have the strength to participate in . However, you also cannot prevent being involuntarily dragged into this conflict . This is not your fault . Rather, it can only be blamed on this war itself . ”

For people like Jun Luo or Lian Cheng, their status made it almost impossible to avoid the ripples caused by these high-level conflicts .

Speaking of being dragged into a conflict, such a thing could happen with almost no warning at all .

“And your Howling Wind Sword Sect, amongst other power of its level, its influence is not small . If a war erupted between your sect and another, such methods would also come into play . ”

Jun Luo was silent for a moment, before responding in a low voice . “Brother Yan, I understand what you mean now . ”

Then, she stubbornly added, “But I still believe that there is more to the outside world than just this bloodshed . ”

Seeing Jun Luo’s eyes which were still bright with anticipation, Yan Zhaoge laughed lightly . “I didn’t mean to dictate anything for you . Rather, I just wanted to give you a reminder . Don’t forget that if anything terrible happens for you, Uncle Jun and the others will be heartbroken . ”

Jun Luo nodded her head . “Yes, Brother Yan . ”

Yan Zhaoge spoke again . “Alright, let’s set off . Let’s wait until we are out of the Great Western Desert before we discuss other things . ”

The others all nodded their agreement . Following Yan Zhaoge, the group began to retrace their steps as they headed back on the road to Suzhou City .

As they were walking, Feng Yunsheng sent a sound transmission to Yan Zhaoge . “The little girl isn’t bad . ”

Yan Zhaoge held the stone pillar with his right hand as he continued walking . Laughing slightly, he responded, “That year, did you also pass by this area like she did?”

Feng Yunsheng laughed, “More or less . I was almost captured by a human trafficker and sold as a slave . ”

Yan Zhaoge turned around to look her in the eye .

Feng Yunsheng was quite calm as she recounted . “When I was in the Sacred Sun Clan, even though I often went outside the clan to train, it was mostly with regard to fighting and killing . Even then, I always had someone from the senior generation watching over me so even if I suffered a defeat, I never truly had to worry about my life . ”

“Afterwards, when I fled from the clan and had no one to rely on, I had to escape from my pursuers while staying low-key . In this way, I had traveled through roughly half of the Fire Domain . ”

“In the course of my escape, I experienced many things and met many people . I even made some friends, but…” Feng Yunsheng paused and lightly laughed before continuing . “The very first friend I made while escaping seemed to be just and warm . When he treated me as a friend, I was extremely touched . ”

“At that time, I had just narrowly escaped from an attack by the Sacred Sun Clan . Even though I had managed to escape, I was also grievously injured . When that person met me, he kindly brought me to someplace safe where I could recover from my injuries . ”

Feng Yunsheng smiled . “Who would have thought, he was actually a human trafficker who wanted to drug me and sell me off to other people . He even had a buyer already lined up . If it wasn’t for the fact that I found out his plan, I would probably be caged up in some person’s household . ”

Yan Zhaoge’s mouth twitched . “I won’t need to ask about the outcome of that trafficker then . ”

Feng Yunsheng let out a laugh, and didn’t say any more .

After leaving the Great Western Desert, even though the scenery was still endless yellow sand, that constant fear of Black Nightmare Storms was left behind .

Before they had reached Suzhou City, Ah Hu’s interrogation had yielded some results .