The courtyard was only so big, and those people moved so fast that, in the blink of an eye, they were right in front of Mi Lu. Sunlight glinted off the silvery sword, casting circles of light across Mi Lu’s face. His gaze grew steely, a thin layer of frost settling over his pale face as he let out a cold grunt from his throat and cast a sidelong glare at the madam hiding behind the group of people. “Think you can kill us? Let’s see if you’ve got the skill.”

Before he’d finished speaking, the Bi You Sword shot out from his Qiankun Pouch with a sudden *zing*. But this was not the same Bi You Sword it once was. In the peach blossom formation at the Medical Hall, Mi Lu had lent it to HuLü Yan, and it had ended up scorched by the blood curse flames Lin Ji had conjured. When Mi Lu got it back, the gentle green glow around the blade had vanished, replaced instead by a fiery crimson.

Mi Lu poured his spiritual energy into the sword, directing it to draw a sword flower mid-air before slashing it fiercely at those attacking them. The Bi You Sword moved with lightning speed, leaving a sharp red glow as it flashed past. The red gleam sliced cleanly through their necks, and their sword-wielding motions froze in unison.

Seeing this, the madam started cursing and stomping in anger. “What are you all standing around for? Attack! Kill them all!” But as soon as the words left her mouth, she watched in horror as their heads fell from their necks, rolling to the ground with wide, staring eyes.

“…”

The madam froze in stunned silence before finally letting out a piercing scream. “Aaaah—!”

Mi Lu directed the Bi You Sword, dealing with all the people entangling Wu De, before pointing the sword straight at the madam. She went pale and staggered back. Just as the sword’s tip was about to reach her chest, a force gently held Mi Lu’s arm back. Mi Lu turned and saw that HuLü Yan, who’d been kneeling on the ground, had somehow stood up. His face was expressionless, almost numb, as he spoke in a hoarse voice. “I want to deal with her myself.”

Looking into the black depths of HuLü Yan’s eyes, Mi Lu felt an inexplicable sense of unease. HuLü Yan was not in a good state. He was like a balloon that kept inflating, beyond what HuLü Yan could handle, yet the inflation continued, still growing. Mi Lu remembered that on the back mountain of the Medical Hall, HuLü Yan had been in a similar state. But… no. It was better back then. Right now, HuLü Yan was even scarier.

Mi Lu hesitated but withdrew the Bi You Sword and stepped aside to let HuLü Yan pass.

With an impassive expression, HuLü Yan walked toward the madam, who had slumped to the ground. With each step he took, faint wisps of black mist seeped from his body. By the time he stood before her, his whole figure was wrapped in a layer of barely visible dark fog.

The madam seemed to recognize something and stared at him in a daze, meeting his black eyes under long lashes. After a moment, she remembered something, and terror spread across her heavily made-up face. “You… you’re that child…”

HuLü Yan squatted down, meeting her gaze. “It’s me.”

“Didn’t you run away a long time ago? Why are you back?” She paused, suddenly realizing something, and tears flowed down her face. “I had nothing to do with your mother’s death! The wrongdoers have their own ends; if you want revenge, don’t come after me! I’m innocent.”

HuLü Yan stared at her steadily. “But you sold her out.”

“I-I-I had no choice! She was under my care, and if she ran away, those people would’ve come after me!” The madam cried miserably, begging between sobs, “Remember, I was the one who found someone to build you that little wooden shed when your mother abused you. Just spare me, please, for old times’ sake. There were so many people who mistreated your mother. Don’t hold me accountable for all of it!”

“I won’t blame you for all of it,” HuLü Yan murmured. “Everyone who mistreated us must die.” He curved his lips into a chilling smile. “And that includes you.”

The madam gasped. “You…”

But before she could say more than a single word, a pool of black water formed under her feet, and a pair of rotten, skeletal hands stretched out, grabbing her legs. The madam screamed and kicked frantically, trying to shake off the decayed hands, but it was all in vain.

A corpse puppet crawled out from the black water, sinking its jaws into one of her ears. Crimson blood spurted out, spilling through the madam’s fingers as she clutched her bleeding ear. Her face twisted in agony and despair, her cries and pleas twisted with terror and torment.

The corpse puppet didn’t kill her immediately but dragged her, bit by bit, into the black water. HuLü Yan stood by the edge, watching her body sink slowly, bit by bit, into the black swamp. “For the sake of the help you once gave me, I’ll let you live a little longer. Just inside my Corpse Transformation Pearl.”

The madam’s cries for help abruptly stopped as her last struggling fingers disappeared into the swamp-like black water. After it had consumed the madam, the black water shrank and condensed into a Corpse Transformation Pearl. HuLü Yan picked it up, casting a sidelong glance at Wu De, who was slumped against the eaves, gasping for breath, his face white.

Several years ago, after his failed ambush on HuLü Xing, Wu De had endured three days and nights of punishment on Tian Ming Mountain. His body was no longer what it used to be, and merely dealing with a few lackeys from Full Spring Garden had nearly cost him his life.

HuLü Yan walked over, his gaze falling on Wu De’s right hand, which was clenched tightly in a fist. After catching his breath, Wu De spoke in a dry voice, “I won’t be joining you for the rest of the journey. I want to settle down somewhere with Liuliu.”

HuLü Yan looked at Wu De’s right hand, staring blankly for a moment, as a bitter taste rose in his throat.

“Inside this hand is Liuliu’s body,” Wu De continued softly. “But I think she wouldn’t want you to see her like this, so I won’t let her out.” He went silent, his gaze fixed on the ground as his voice cracked with dryness. “When Liuliu took you in, she was just a girl, and she didn’t know how to raise a child. Sometimes… she just used the wrong approach.”

HuLü Yan said nothing, but a streak of blood slipped from the corner of his mouth. His heart twisted painfully.

Wu De looked up. “But she once genuinely treated you as her own child. Even if she wasn’t a good mother, she tried to be… so let the past rest, don’t hate her anymore.”

When his words ended, HuLü Yan suddenly coughed up a mouthful of blood.

“I’ll kill them all,” he growled, his eyes seething with fierce hatred, each word striking like a poison-tipped blade. “They all have to die.”

With that, he pushed off the ground and soared into the air, with Mi Lu following close behind. HuLü Yan flew straight to the teahouse where they had rested earlier. The storyteller had long since left, and in a corner of the teahouse, a group of idle demonic cultivators were gossiping, having moved on from talking about Lady Ruliu to discussing the events at the recent Sword Extraction Ceremony.

With a steady face, HuLü Yan walked over, pulling off the artifact that had changed his appearance as he went. His sudden behavior caught the attention of many in the teahouse, and some gasped in surprise when they saw his now-uncovered, striking face. The hubbub caught the attention of the demonic cultivators, who all turned to him with intrigued expressions.

The one sitting furthest out jumped to his feet. “Who are you?”

HuLü Yan gazed at him with a smile and asked, “I heard you want to know why Lady Ruliu died?”

The cultivator, dazzled by his handsome smile, nodded blankly. “You know?”

“I know.” At this moment, the cultivator didn’t really care about a courtesan’s story; he was just following along because this mysterious beauty had started talking. “So why did Lady Ruliu die?”

HuLü Yan’s smile grew wider, his expression brightening like the burning sun in the sky. He motioned for the demonic cultivator to come closer.

The man leered and leaned in without hesitation.

But from those thin lips came a chilling sentence: “Die, and I’ll tell you.”

The cultivator’s smile froze, but before he could react, a barbed whip lashed down, splitting him in half from head to toe. *Splatter!* Blood sprayed everywhere, staining the floor.

The other demonic cultivators stood frozen in shock, anger blazing in their eyes as they all turned to HuLü Yan with venomous glares.

“You looking for trouble, kid? Daring to kill someone from the Myriad Transformations Sect?”

“Everyone, take him down!”

“Kill him!”

HuLü Yan stood his ground, swinging

 the whip with deadly accuracy. With one strike, he split another two in half. The remaining cultivators backed away in fear, terror filling their faces.

In just moments, the teahouse floor was slick with blood, the air thick with the stench of death. Those who had come to watch scattered in a panic, screaming as they fled.

“He’s killing people! Someone’s killing!”

“Run, run!”

Dragging the bloodied whip, HuLü Yan stepped out of the teahouse, leaving a chaotic trail of blood behind. A crowd had gathered around the building, and the terrified teahouse owner pointed a trembling finger at him. “It’s him! I just heard—he killed Madam Yu from Full Spring Garden!”

“What? He killed Madam Yu?”

“Who is he? Why is he suddenly killing people?”

“Doesn’t he look a bit familiar?” An older cultivator squinted at HuLü Yan before his voice wavered, “Over ten years ago, Lady Ruliu came to Drunk City with a child… That child looked a lot like him.”

With that reminder, many in the crowd recalled the poor child who had followed Lady Ruliu all those years ago. Now that they thought about it, there was indeed a resemblance.

More and more people gathered, whispering among themselves. A high-level demonic cultivator could no longer bear it and leapt forward to confront HuLü Yan, declaring, “I don’t care who you are or where you came from, but in Drunk City, you follow Drunk City’s rules. Otherwise, we won’t tolerate you.”

HuLü Yan looked at him and smiled. “What if I say, you’ll have to tolerate it?”

The cultivator scoffed. “Then let’s see if you’ve got what it takes.”

Thinking HuLü Yan was just a brash kid using an artifact to hide his level, the cultivator approached without even drawing his weapon, fully intending to teach this arrogant boy a lesson. But before he knew it, HuLü Yan had already seized him by the neck. The man’s heart dropped. How was this possible? How could he be so fast?

Just as he tried to call on his weapon, he realized in horror that his spiritual energy was rapidly draining from his body.

Everyone around watched in disbelief as HuLü Yan drained the high-level cultivator dry, faces filled with shock and incredulity. They could hardly believe their eyes.

Tossing the lifeless body aside, HuLü Yan cast his cold gaze over the crowd. “From now on, the position of Drunk City’s lord belongs to me, HuLü Yan.”