Soul of the Revered Banner
Chapter 24: Fury

Half a month passed.

The moon was bright, the stars sparse.

Li Qingfeng sat cross-legged, refining essence into qi.

He had a feeling that, perhaps in another month, he could break through to the second layer of Qi Refining.

That kind of speed was undoubtedly beyond what his natural talent could achieve.

It was entirely thanks to the black pills the size of an egg that Brother Ghost had given him.

He remembered the first time he tried to eat it, he simply couldn’t bring himself to swallow it, even doubting whether the thing was edible or if it might choke him.

If it got stuck in his throat, that would be a problem.

Unexpectedly, it melted the instant it touched his tongue, turning into pure spiritual energy, most of which sank into his dantian and condensed there.

Half a month’s time had saved him at least half a year of grueling cultivation.

It felt almost unreal.

Following the route of the five bandits, he found the Feihu village stronghold and wiped it out.

After killing the ringleader, Li Qingfeng stopped taking action himself.

The remaining low-level thugs were slaughtered by the ghosts and evil spirits he released, their living souls dragged into the Soul Banner.

After wiping out Feihu Stronghold, he casually took down the Wild Wolf Stronghold as well.

These two major bandit groups entrenched on Black Solitary Mountain vanished without a trace, there weren’t even corpses left behind.

To mortals, an Immortal Master was overwhelmingly powerful.

Even so-called martial experts were like ants in the eyes of a Qi Refining cultivator.

Having absorbed blood-fiend energy and living souls, Tu Shanjun’s strength reached the fifth layer of Qi Refining.

Of course, he still couldn’t maintain his material form for long battles.

That depended on how much spiritual power the banner master could supply.

If the spiritual energy wasn’t enough to support Tu Shanjun’s physical manifestation, he could only summon lesser spirits.

After enduring blood and fire, a solemn killing intent lingered between Li Qingfeng’s brows.

He opened his eyes, which glinted with spiritual light. A flash of worry passed through them.

“I wonder how my parents are doing.”

Li Qingfeng could sense the main ghost had grown stronger. Because summoning it now required even more spiritual power.

His cultivation had improved dramatically.

Even if he still couldn’t defeat that Immortal Master, he could at least escape safely.

He had to go back and see for himself.

He wouldn’t feel at ease until he did.

He’d been gone too long, his family must be worried sick.

Within the banner, Tu Shanjun didn’t stop him.

At his current fifth-layer cultivation, facing off against that young immortal master again might have a different outcome.

As the saying goes, there can be a thousand days for a thief to steal, but not a thousand days for someone to guard against the thief.

Once Zhang Wanlong was dead, everything would be over.

Great Liang was suffering internal strife and external threats; the new governor would not bother to investigate Li Qingfeng.

At most, they’d blame it on sudden illness or grab a scapegoat from death row to be executed publicly.

Li Qingfeng tucked the Soul Banner into his robes, secured the sword hairpin, and left the mountain temple under the cover of night.

After two steps, he suddenly turned back.

Looking at the temple where he’d stayed for half a month and found much protection, Li Qingfeng smiled.

“It’s about time someone repaired this place.”

As his voice faded, he turned and left.

Dark clouds blotted out the moon. The night was thick and vast.

With a few light steps, Li Qingfeng leapt over the towering walls of the county city, walls normal people could never scale.

To avoid suspicion, he didn’t take the main gate.

He knocked on the iron ring of the side entrance.

Silence.

A terrifying, oppressive silence.

Li Qingfeng frowned slightly. At this hour, the steward wouldn’t be asleep.

Even if the steward was, Wubao’s quarters were near the side gate.

If Wubao had heard the knock, he would’ve come.

“Wubao sure sleeps like the dead,” Li Qingfeng chuckled.

Then, in a flash, he vaulted over the side gate.

The moment he landed, his smile vanished.

Boom.

Li Qingfeng felt his mind explode.

His eyes widened in shock.

His body trembled like a sieve.

In front of him, dried blood hadn’t yet been washed away. The thick stench of blood invaded his nose and mouth.

Li Qingfeng scrambled and crawled his way toward his parents’ room, ripping off the seal on the door in one motion and bursting into the room.

It was empty.

He frantically opened every room in the courtyard, letting the moonlight shine in.

Nothing.

No one. Even the valuables were gone.

Within the banner, Tu Shanjun wore a grim expression.

Something had happened to the Li family.

But there were no corpses.

Without bodies, it couldn’t be concluded that the entire household was dead.

As an outsider, Tu Shanjun saw things more clearly.

If it were truly the governor’s office behind this and they hadn’t captured Li Qingfeng yet, they wouldn’t have killed his parents.

They were still useful as leverage.

Killing them would only make Li Qingfeng lose all rationality, if they failed to capture him, the consequences would be dire.

“Where’s the flaw?” Tu Shanjun pondered.

Before diving into the dream, he’d killed Advisor Sun to eliminate future trouble.

Sun knew the most, killing him was the safest way to ensure silence.

And when confronting Zhang Wanlong and his son, he hadn’t exposed himself, nor had his face been seen.

In such situation, the only possible response would be a city-wide manhunt.

As long as his father and mother weren’t fools, they’d know better than to mention their son’s disappearance at such a critical juncture.

They had become wealthy landlords and owned multiple businesses. They were shrewd and would never invite disaster.

The Soul Banner’s reaction pulled Li Qingfeng back to focus.

Only the governor’s office could orchestrate the complete removal of the Li family from the city.

The local gangs weren’t capable, nor were the other powerful families.

He had to re-enter the governor’s residence.

The Soul Banner’s black jade was chilling to the touch. Li Qingfeng changed into his stealth clothes.

Caution over haste.

The more critical the situation, the more composed he had to remain.

If he panicked, he’d make a mistake.

And mistakes meant death.

He couldn’t die.

Not until he confirmed the life or death of his family.

Darkness reigned, pierced only by moonlight.

The governor’s residence was brightly lit and heavily guarded.

Soldiers in black armor patrolled in squads of five.

Zhang Wanlong ate and lived in the main hall, always armored, with a hundred guards protecting him. Yet even so, he still felt unsafe.

In a side hall of the governor’s residence, Master Song chewed on dried fruit as he pored over records.

Over the past half month, this was already the fifth household he’d reviewed.

But this one was different, it wasn’t someone linked to those four. It had come through other channels.

Another soul claimed by the sword. All he had to do now was file their identity and household records.

Yet when he saw the name “Li Qingfeng,” Master Song frowned.

This was a proper scholar, a county-level xiucai.

Zhang Wanlong had clearly gone mad. Master Song couldn’t help but reassess his own situation.

If Zhang failed, or if all the city’s elites turned against him and forced him out, would there be any future left for Song?

What escape was there?

They were already killing off scholars, who knew how many more innocents would die?

With widespread slaughter, public outrage would soon boil over.

When that time came, they’d all be doomed.

Zhang Wanlong was mad because his son died.

But he didn’t want to go mad. He still had a bright future ahead.

“Among those who verified their identity, there was no one named Li Qingfeng?”

“Went to study? Visiting friends? Or to the capital?”

“If he went to the capital, that’s bad news.” Song muttered.

He’d hoped to use this to rise in rank. Now, though he sat in Advisor Sun’s old seat with great power, he might’ve taken the path of destruction.

“Don’t move.”

The voice was soft.

But the cold blade against Song’s neck sent a chill down his spine.

He instinctively wanted to turn, but froze.

His body stiffened in place. “Spare my life, kind sir...”

“I ask, you answer.”

Song dared not object. He nodded quickly, even grateful he was still useful.

“Ask me anything, kind sir, I’ll tell you all I know.”

“What happened to the Li family in the southern part of the city?”

The voice was low and suppressed, with a chill that even a stranger could hear.

Song’s eyes widened. His voice trembled. “You…”

“I said... I ask, you answer.”

The pressure of the blade increased.

Blood began to trickle from his neck.

The warm blood only deepened Song’s terror.

“Zhang Wanlong lost his son, he’s gone mad. As long as someone brings him information, he’d rather kill the innocent than let the guilty slip.”

“The Li family… aside from that scholar who was away… there are no survivors.”

The last four words burned themselves into Li Qingfeng’s mind:

There were survivors.

“Ahh!”

Li Qingfeng roared toward the sky, eyes bloodshot.

With a wild swing of his sword, Advisor Song’s head fell to the floor.

At the same time, Li Qingfeng charged out of the side hall, heading straight for the main hall of the governor’s residence.

(Chapter End)