Night Without End
Chapter 97 - 62: Turmoil

Chapter 97: Chapter 62: Turmoil

The mansion was as bright as daylight; although it was the season of drifting snow, the place felt as warm as spring and summer, with purples and reds blooming in the flower beds, and the grass and trees in the courtyards verdant and dripping with life.

In the spacious hall, the authoritative middle-aged man did not speak immediately. The brief silence made Cui Hong, who was standing at attention, feel as if he were facing a towering mountain.

"Leave him some more Day Gold, let him live a life of ample food and clothing there, living prosperously for a lifetime."

The man with very long arms, Cui Hong, immediately nodded in agreement, but then cautiously sought confirmation again: "If he has already been reborn, do we need to..."

The middle-aged man spoke, "The skill from the silk scripture cannot be cultivated."

"What if he has abandoned the silk scripture and, for the sake of survival, turns to cultivate another skill in that remote and poor region, embarking on the path of rebirth..." Cui Hong asked cautiously.

The middle-aged man stood up and positioned himself in front of a thick pillar etched with cloud patterns, looking out over the garden dotted with pavilions, terraces, and towers, each step revealing a different scene. He said, "Let him lead the life of an ordinary person, deeply rooted there, wealthy, and peaceful. That’s enough."

Although Cui Hong nodded, he felt it rather tricky. The matter was easy to handle for now, but who knew if trouble would come seeking him in the future.

Before he left, he said, "If he is no longer alive and did not make it, I will ensure he is properly buried."

The authoritative middle-aged man hummed in acknowledgment, signaling that he could leave.

...

The fall of Jinji Ridge was like a hurricane sweeping across the region, naturally eliciting cheers from villages outside the mountains.

Powers rooted in this area were stunned and shocked, such as certain merchant associations, the Patrol Team, and it even alarmed the Alien Species living within the mountains.

"The scene was extremely tragic. I went to see it. There were predators feasting there, and not a single intact bone was left."

"Jinji Ridge was honorable; the last time they collected protection money, they said it was for our safety, and they nearly got completely annihilated fighting the Alien Species in Dalie Valley. At the time, I didn’t believe it. But now I am convinced, their words matched their deeds, they really got wiped out, feeding the mutated creatures!"

Someone scoffed, highlighting just how unpopular Jinji Ridge was. The news of their death was close to being cheered everywhere.

"Which great hero did this? Please accept my bow!" someone cried out excitedly.

Many knew that the two bandits from Jinji Ridge were four-time Newcomers. A few who knew the inside story were aware that there was also an old five-time mutated Golden Chicken, one of the strongest local powers.

Yet, they were wiped out overnight.

Some merchant powers sent people to investígate, joined by experienced Mountain Patrol members.

"The leftovers of the overstuffed Alien Species were riddled with knife marks, spear wounds, and arrow holes, suggesting that three powerful experts had joined forces to level Jinji Ridge," someone concluded seriously.

A Mountain Patrol member spoke, "The one who used the blade must be from a prominent family; the cut bones lacked even a single crack, the surfaces were smooth as mirrors. The spear-wielder is also no ordinary person, the strength behind each stab so consistent, the holes in the bones looked as if carefully polished. The archer is probably the weakest of the three, although the accuracy is terrifyingly frightening, one person killing most of the mountain bandits, but the strength in his arms doesn’t exceed two thousand jin."

Qin Ming was at a loss for words when he heard such an evaluation.

When some larger organizations learned of this, they also became interested in the matter.

Because behind Jinji Ridge was the Golden Thief, whose activities ranged far and wide, not confined to the area radiating from Chixia City.

Now, someone had unceremoniously uprooted one of their strongholds.

Afterward, some inside information was unearthed. Not all from Jinji Ridge had perished; two survivors had gone out on the night of the incident and avoided the calamity.

These two had gone to join the Golden Thief, but before leaving, they had spread a word.

"Our leader died so miserably; when we returned to the stronghold, we heard their cries from afar, mentioning the City Lord and the Mountain Guardian from the outsiders."

At this point, this case seemed to have come to light, with many forming their speculations.

Then, a message from the Alien Species side came through. On that very night, the new City Lord of Chixia City, Meng Xinghai, passed by and had visited the old Mountain Master.

Subsequently, people from Qing Song Town also claimed to have seen outsiders with two Golden Armored Mountain Guardians checking into an inn.

"This new City Lord is very assertive; we’ll have to be cautious in dealing with him in the future."

"The outsiders have also entered the fray? Hmm, there’s news that Meng Xinghai was once seen with a woman in a Feather Robe. It seems they are indeed involved."

Various organizations were pondering this event, not caring about Jinji Ridge’s fate, but rather studying what kind of person the new City Lord Meng Xinghai was.

Li Qingyue was also paying attention, wanting to know the reasons and consequences of Cui Chonghe’s actions. She never expected the "melon" to fall on her own head.

She was a witness, knew who committed the deed, yet was directly saddled with an unjust accusation.

The most crucial part was that even Meng Xinghai was implicated, perceived by all parties as a dominating and difficult to deal with new official; perhaps he was ready to move against the Golden Thief.

"Uncle Meng, I’m really sorry. You helped me go to Black and White Mountain to get the Yin Yang Great Medicine, and now people have misunderstood you..." Li Qingyue showed her regret.

Exterminating Jinji Ridge was a minor matter; they indeed deserved to be killed, but allowing all parties to misjudge Meng Xinghai’s character and next moves had significant implications.

Meng Xinghai, dressed in green, around thirty-seven or thirty-eight, looked like a scholar, but spoke assertively, shaking his head and saying, "No matter, the Lingxu City Lord and I have corresponded by letter before and exchanged ideas. Initially, he wanted to lure the Golden Thief to appear in Jinji Ridge as a chance for elimination. I also thought about doing this. I’m not afraid of being misjudged by the parties."

Then he added, "What I got from the Mountain Master was the branch of the Black and White Tree; Lingxu still has the roots. I will help you get a piece later."

"Thank you, Uncle Meng."

"Why the formality with me? Actually, with a word from your family or your master, this kind of thing could be easily resolved."

Li Qingyue shook her head and said, "The Yin Yang Great Medicine is very important to outsiders. Now, more than one powerful Mountain Sect is coveting it, either sending letters to request it or sending people to rush over. If we’re a step late, we could fall behind others and make a fruitless trip."

Meng Xinghai said, "The path you walk is enviable and truly brilliant. It is incomparable to others. It might not take many years before you might catch up with me."

...

The extermination of Jinji Ridge has brought impacts on various fronts, from large organizations to local forces, all with different reactions.

For instance, the Sanyan Sect, contrary to their usual behavior, actually sent people to the villages to ask if there were any Alien Species causing havoc nearby, offering to help eliminate them, with an unusually kind attitude.

They even provided food aid to several of the villages with the most difficult conditions.

The first reaction of everyone was that the Sanyan Sect had gone mad; not exploiting others was one thing, but why were they offering aid in reverse?

Soon, people realized that the local Sanyan Sect leaders had lost their nerve, afraid of following the same path as Jinji Ridge and getting wiped out. Now they wanted to earn some good reputation for self-preservation.

"I’m telling you, the hero who flattened Jinji Ridge that day was someone else. He was riding a Purple Lightning Beast, wielding a Sky Splitting Spear—truly majestic. Alone with his spear, he wiped out those mountain bandits and slew Old Jin. He even visited our Qing Song Town once, scaring all the members of the Sanyan Sect into fleeing overnight."

Finally, someone revealed a very credible piece of information, but it was difficult to dig deeper into it, as all leads had already been cut off.

Some tried to get in touch with the Alien Species to inquire about the Purple Lightning Beast, but some Mountain Monsters immediately turned hostile on the spot, not wanting to be involved in this matter at all.

People realized that the Purple Lightning Beast might have a significant background.

"I’m so angry, is this damned matter not over yet? Is it going to become a dark part of my history?" In the big mountains, the Purple Lightning Beast bristled, calling for the white owl once more, asking if there were any leads on that outsider, and if not, to quickly send more people.

The owl said, "After all, Black and White Mountain is not our main stage. It will take more time to investigate."

...

Qin Ming had been practicing the Yellow Mud Palm all along, and it wasn’t just beginning to take shape, but he had reached a certain level of mastery; when the Soft Strength was in motion and the Heavenly Light Force burst forth, it was terrifying.

He tested it on a wild bull; with a gentle pat of his right hand, the tough hide of the bull, along with its flesh, organs, and bones, was swiftly destroyed, all shattered.

"It’s not suitable for sparring; there would be casualties with any real engagement," Qin Ming muttered to himself.

What he was most looking forward to was the Yellow Mud Palm merged with Earth Essence Qi—that was the ultimate technique he wanted to master.

Before leaving, Qin Ming wanted to find one or two more ancient books, asking Old Man Liu to help look around. Indeed, there was one declining household, but their asking price was too steep. Knowing the Wu Family had acquired fifteen Day Gold, they started their asking price at fifty Day Gold.

"Old man, can you find out which type of Heavenly Light Force their family practices?"

Old Man Liu said, "No need to inquire, everyone knows it’s Nail Strength, indeed very formidable, but the asking price is just too steep."

"Even if they reduced their price to one Day Gold, I wouldn’t be interested!" Qin Ming stated.

He felt some emotion, realizing that in this remote area, there were only so many secret books in circulation. He had long mastered what they called Nail Strength, which was the Jin Technique that the bearded strong man in the Blade Manual found after much hardship, lamenting that he couldn’t develop the Ru Lai power.

Two days later, Qin Ming was preparing for a long journey, not intending to alert too many people. Before leaving, he went to the courtyard next door.

After consuming Fire Snake Meat, Lu Ze not only recovered from his injuries very quickly but also experienced rebirth for the first time.

Qin Ming told him that in his family’s cellar, he was keeping a Fire Snake that had undergone two mutations frozen for him, reminding him to eat it before spring blossoms. If his potential wasn’t too poor, he might be able to undergo a Second Rebirth.

Originally, Qin Ming brought back two large snakes and six small ones. He hadn’t even finished eating a big snake himself and had also shared some snake soup with Old Man Liu to help him recover from his injuries.

The Lu Ze couple were shocked and suddenly understood who had destroyed the Patrol Team.

"Xiao Qin, are you really leaving?!" They were reluctant to let him go.

Qin Ming nodded and said, "I want to go and see the world beyond."

"Little uncle, will you come back?" Wen Rui, wiping tears, held on to him, not wanting to let go.

Two-year-old Wenhui was not very articulate yet, but he, too, knew his little uncle was leaving, looking up and mumbling unclearly for him.

"I will come back." Qin Ming patted the two children on their heads.

Before parting, he handed over some handwritten Cultivation Techniques to Lu Ze, asking him to practice well and to pass them on to Wen Rui in the future.

"Start by mastering the He Guang Tong Chen thoroughly. If you experience the Second Rebirth in a very short time, it can help conceal it."

Qin Ming didn’t want them to see him off. Carrying the Mutton Fat Jade Iron Blade, he disappeared into the village outskirts at great speed.

Old Man Liu was waiting in the distant snowfields, specifically there to bid him farewell.

At the same time, a giant raptor, carrying Cui Hong and a young man dressed in splendid clothes, crossed through the night mist and the vast expanse of the land, arriving in the region of Black and White Mountain. After circling over a large area, they slowly descended towards the snowy grounds outside of Yinteng Town.

Some Book Friends mentioned that Cui Chongxuan had developed the Heavenly Light Force at the age of thirteen, which was considered a mistake. This is not a problem, as it was briefly explained in Chapter 55.