Meiren Dan smiled at Xie Man. "What did he come here for?"

Xie Man said, "He came to look at Floral City's records."

"Records..." Meiren Dan peered into the distance. Over the recent years, people had started paying attention to Lu Yin. They were well aware that Lu Yin had been reading various clans’ records. Was he trying to use those to understand Crimson Starshade? "Is that all?"

Xie Man's gaze flickered. With Meiren Dan's eyes on her, she did not dare to conceal anything. "He- he also asked about Sect Master Jiu Wen."

Meiren Dan did not understand. "What about Sect Master Jiu Wen?"

"His disciples..."

Meiren Dan's expression changed as she stared at Xie Man. "You told him?"

Xie Man immediately knelt. "Please forgive me, Master. This disciple did not say anything. Truly, I did not!"

Meiren Dan let out a breath. "If you did not say anything, what are you afraid of?"

Xie Man let out a helpless sigh and explained what had happened. Meiren Dan listened quietly and then said, "He already knew before he asked you. This is not your fault."

Xie Man also knew that, but that old fox Elder Qiu stubbornly refused to admit anything. "And what of Sect Master Jiu Wen?"

Meiren Dan replied, "It has nothing to do with you, and it has nothing to do with either of us. Since Lu Yin wants to look into this, he will learn what he wishes sooner or later. We are not responsible for him learning about this, and it is enough that we do not bring it up on our own. There is no need to go out of our way to conceal this for that man."

Xie Man exhaled. "Yes."

Meiren Dan looked into the distance. Why was Lu Yin investigating that matter? How had he learned about it? It was impossible that Elder Qiu would have brought it up on his own. Even if the man had a hundred times more courage, he would never dare. Throughout the entire civilization, the only one who would dare to tell Lu Yin about this matter was Ji He.

Did Ji He meet Lu Yin again?

Elsewhere, Elder Qiu arranged Lu Yin’s next visit. "Next we will go to-"

"City Lord Wei’s city."

Elder Qiu froze. "What?"

Lu Yin said, "Which city did the man that I stomped to death oversee?"

"Shanfeng City."

"Then we will go there."

Elder Qiu did not know why Lu Yin wanted to visit Shanfeng City, but the old man only needed to lead the way.

Shanfeng City was a great distance from Floral City, but for people like Lu Yin and Elder Qiu, the journey did not take long. Even crossing an entire universe would not take long.

At this moment, snow was falling in Shanfeng City. The city was very quiet, though there were occasional sounds of crying.

When Lu Yin and Elder Qiu entered the city, the people they saw were either hurrying along with lowered heads, or hiding in their homes and not daring to come out.

It did not take long to learn the reason; the entire city was mourning City Lord Wei’s death.

Lu Yin found it strange. "This isn’t dispassion. Why are people mourning for him?"

Elder Qiu explained, "Although our entire civilization cultivates the Path of Dispassion, less than one in a thousand can truly perfect it, perhaps even fewer. Many people merely pretend to be emotionless, trying their best to appear dispassionate, but they are not truly without emotions. The ones who are crying for City Lord Wei should be his family."

Before long, the two arrived at the city lord’s manor. There was no longer any crying; it was replaced by the clamor of arguing.

The two men did not draw any attention. There was no one at the entrance, and inside, it was quite noisy.

"The title of city lord should be mine! I am the eldest son. The legitimate eldest son!"

"Hmph! Your mother cannot even pass through the door, and yet you call yourself the legitimate eldest son? Get lost, bastard!"

"What did you say?"

"If you have the guts, let’s go! Today, I will make sure that you don’t leave here alive!"

Inside the manor, while some were paying their respects, others were watching coldly. Aside from one crying woman, no one was actually grieving.

There were two young men, each leading their own group to confront one another. There were even a few members of the older generation who had joined in to support one or the other. They were a single step away from fighting.

When a cough rang out, it was like thunder across flat ground, echoing in everyone's ears and leaving them shaken. From the direction of a courtyard, a middle-aged man walked out. Everyone immediately bowed. "Lord Hui."

"Greetings, Lord Hui."

"Greetings, Lord Hui."

The moment the middle-aged man arrived, the scene was brought back under control. Everyone faced him and bowed, with no one daring to raise their heads.

Lu Yin and Elder Qiu stood at the edge of the crowd. The old man quietly explained, "That man is named Hui Kai, another disciple of Immortal Bing Xu, as well as City Lord Wei’s junior."

Lu Yin watched with interest. He had not expected to encounter such a scene. This was actually much more convenient for him. But how had this man emerged from inside the courtyard?

Lord Hui walked to the mourning hall. He faced the memorial tablet of City Lord Wei, paid his respects, and then turned around to look at the two arguing young men.

The two faced Hui Kai but did not dare to raise their heads.

"With my senior brother deceased, Shanfeng City should have a new city lord. In principle, the legitimate eldest son should inherit the title."

Hearing this did not make the eldest son happy. Instead he clenched his fists, because he already knew that Hui Kai supported his second brother.

"But the legitimate eldest son does not have proper standing, and his claim is not justified. Although our Crimson Starshade follows the Path of Dispassion, we still honor tradition and law. The position of Shanfeng City Lord will be given to Wei Song. Does anyone object?"

Wei Song was City Lord Wei's second son, while the eldest son was Wei Qi.

No one dared to object to Hui Kai’s announcement. The elders of Shanfeng City all bowed in unison.

"No!" Wei Qi lifted his head to shout at Hui Kai. The people behind him immediately tried to drag him away.

Hui Kai's expression grew cold as his eyes fell upon Wei Qi. "You object?"

Wei Qi shook off those restraining him and glared at Hui Kai. "The title of city lord should be inherited by the legitimate eldest son. Why is my standing not proper and my claim not justified? Since Father brought me into the city, I am qualified."

Hui Kai coldly retorted, "Then why don’t you ask these elders of Shanfeng City and see what they say?"

"Young master, please go." Those behind the young man quickly tried to pull Wei Qi away, though some went so far as to back away from him, realizing that they had chosen the wrong side.

Wei Qi's eyes were bloodshot as he looked at the elders. They all remained silent. Not one spoke up for him.

Wei Song sneered. "Get lost, bastard! Don’t let me see you in Shanfeng City again, or else I will see you dead without an intact corpse."

Wei Qi roared, "You are the bastard! You are not even Father's son at all! Do not think that I don’t know that you are the child that slut and Hui Kai?"

His words shocked everyone. They stared at him blankly.

The crying woman trembled and lifted her head. Her eyes were full of venom as she looked over. "Wei Qi, what nonsense are you talking about?"

Hui Kai’s eyes grew even colder as he released an overwhelming pressure to crash down on Wei Qi, along with those behind him. They were all pressed flat to the floor, their limbs crushed. They were absolutely miserable.

Others instinctively pulled back, watching in fear.

Wei Song stormed forward and kicked down, his foot slamming onto Wei Qi's head. "Bastard, you dare to slander me? I'll kill you! Kill you!"

Hui Kai clasped his hands behind his back. He said nothing and simply looked over at the woman.

She met his gaze, and her eyes instantly softened. She even offered a coquettish smile that put Hui Kai in a much better mood. "Enough, throw him out."

Wei Song objected, "Uncle, let me kill him."

Hui Kai waved a hand. "Do as you wish."

Wei Song gave a vicious grin and kicked harder. There was a bang as Wei Qi was decapitated, dying a miserable death. His blood splattered across the mourning hall, with some of it even splashing onto City Lord Wei's memorial tablet.

But at this moment, no one cared. With Hui Kai backing Wei Song, it was only natural that the young man became the city lord. There was absolutely no room for debate.

Hui Kai turned and looked at City Lord Wei's memorial tablet. "Senior Brother, I can only help you this much. This Shanfeng City will forever belong to your Wei family."

The woman's crying grew louder.

"Interesting, I didn't expect to see this scene." Lu Yin stepped forward, Elder Qiu at his side.

The people around glared angrily. Who would dare to act so recklessly in this place?

Hui Kai also turned to stare at the newcomer, only to freeze as soon as he saw Lu Yin. His expression changed sharply, and his entire attitude shifted. He looked as if a ghost was before him.

Many people around stared blankly. Was this that man?

"What audacity! You are courting death, daring to act up here!" Wei Song stepped forward, shouting. "Men, beat him to death!"

Elder Qiu gave the young man a look of sympathy.

Hui Kai instantly appeared in front of Wei Song and slapped the young man, sending him flying into a wall and knocking him unconscious.

The crying woman was startled. "Song'er!"

She looked at Hui Kai in confusion, but the man just took a deep breath and turned to face Lu Yin. He then bowed low. "This lowly one, Hui Kai, offers greetings to Mr. Lu."

Many of the people in the room reacted at that moment, and they knelt down on the floor. "Greetings, Mr. Lu."

"Greetings, Mr. Lu."‘

The woman was stunned. Mr. Lu? This is him? The one who killed the city lord?

No one expected Lu Yin to visit. In his eyes, City Lord Wei should have been an ant. He was someone capable of chasing down the Immortal, Bing Xu. Why would he come to Shanfeng City? To mock them? This did not match common sense.

Lu Yin looked around before his gaze fell upon Hui Kai. "You're quite special."

Hui Kai jolted and hurriedly knelt. Out of everyone in the city lord’s manor, he was the only one not kneeling. "This lowly one, Hui Kai, offers greetings to Mr. Lu."

Lu Yin looked away. He glanced at the memorial tablet and then at the unconscious Wei Song. "You've made things difficult for me."

Hui Kai and the others were confused by that comment. They could not understand what Lu Yin was saying.

Lu Yin slowly said, "I came here to get revenge."

Everyone was shocked and terrified, and they fell into despair

"City Lord Wei killed dozens of my people from Canglan Valley, and yet I merely stomped him to death. That's clearly not enough. My original goal was to go after his kin, but his eldest son was actually already killed by you. Who am I supposed to take revenge on now? Left with no choice, it seems that I can only put this on your heads."

The crowd was horrified. One old man looked up. "Sir, Mr. Lu, the city lord has another son—that one, Wei Song. He's not dead."

"Yes, he's also the city lord's son."

"Please spare us, sir! We have nothing to do with the Wei family."

The woman trembled, her head bowed. These bastards!

Lu Yin slowly smiled. "That's not right, is it? He seems to be your son, Hui Kai. Isn’t that right?"

Hui Kai was startled. He looked at Lu Yin with terror in his eyes. "No! He's not my son! He's my senior brother's son. Please see clearly, sir! He's absolutely not my son."

Lu Yin protested, "But Wei Qi just swore that this man is your son."

Hui Kai hated Wei Qi to the bone. This was an outcome that he had never anticipated. "Please see clearly, Mr. Lu. If Wei Song were my son, my senior brother, as a peak Dukkhan, could not have been ignorant to it. One’s bloodline cannot be faked. Please see clearly, sir."

The others understood that as well. How could a peak Dukkhan mistake who was his own offspring? "Please see clearly, sir. Please see clearly..."

Of course Lu Yin knew that Wei Song was City Lord Wei's son. Wei Qi had chosen to believe some rumor, not even understanding the power of a Dukkhan.

But did that matter?

He looked at the woman. "You, tell me. Is Wei Song the son of City Lord Wei or Hui Kai?"

Every eye turned to the woman.