Nine Chapters of Strange Cases

Chapter 61 It's time to collect the debt.
Upon seeing the cloud of blood mist, Zhou Zhao tore off the headband, took out a tinderbox, lit it, rolled it up, and threw it down.

The instant she made her move, a gourd flew out, landing on the ground and smashing open. A tinderbox, along with a lit hair ribbon, landed on the ground and burst into flames.

Almost instantly, a raging fire broke out in the center of the training ground.

The firelight instantly illuminated the surroundings as if it were daytime.

Zhou Zhao turned his head and looked at Qianmian, whose hand, which had been throwing the wine gourd, was still out of his reach.

As if sensing her gaze, Qianmian looked over. His eyes flickered slightly. Zhou Zhao no longer had her hairband, and the wind made her hair fly. The firelight reflected in her eyes. This scene gave him an indescribable sense of familiarity.

It's as if there was a scene exactly the same before.

As he was looking, a straw hat suddenly rose up, completely blocking his view.

"Wow!" A strange cry broke the tense atmosphere between the three. The boy with tiger teeth finally couldn't run anymore and sat down on the ground with a thud.

He waved his hand in the air, "I'm not going to make it! Please don't kill me to silence me, I barely survived."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Zhao raised an eyebrow, lightly leaped off the stone pillar, and arrived in front of the tiger-toothed boy.

"You reminded me, I haven't killed you to silence you yet!"

The boy wisely raised his hands, looking at Zhou Zhao, but there was little fear in his eyes.

"How are you all so powerful! That's the head of the Seven Inner Halls, and you still managed to beat him! You saved my life, and from this day forward, you're my great-aunt! My name is Yan Junyu! How did you get to Tianying City? I was picked up by Feng Yao, the head of the Azure Dragon Hall, three days ago!"

Zhou Zhao was speechless. Who wants to be your great-aunt?!
No! You found it?

Zhou Zhao looked Yan Junyu up and down. "Found him?"

Yan Junyu chuckled, "That's right! I inquired about Tianying City at the restaurant. I told her I wanted to go into the inner hall to find the head of the Yuheng Hall, and she led me to Tianying City and let me join the Qinglong Hall! I only found out after I got here that I can enter the outer city of Tianying City at will, but I can't go into the inner city."

"The Inner Seven Halls aren't places you can just walk into whenever you want. Feng Yao said she'd help me, and I thought she was a good person! I never imagined she'd be sending me to my death!"

Yan Junyu said angrily, showing his tiger teeth. He was only fifteen or sixteen years old. Zhou Zhao guessed that the child was even younger than her. His face still had a childish look, and his face puffed up when he was angry.

Zhou Zhao gave him a deep look. "Your head is on your neck for now. Go back tonight and take down the Azure Dragon Hall."

Yan Junyu could hardly believe his ears.

Could it be that he was hung up for too long and damaged his ears? Otherwise, how come he didn't understand what Zhou Zhao wanted him to do?
Take over the Azure Dragon Hall? Him?

He wanted to ask more questions, but Zhou Zhao had already turned around and walked towards Liu Huang and Qianmian, saying, "Let's go! Time to collect the debt!"

Is Zhou Zhao someone who lets others kill her without seeking revenge?

……

Xuanwu Hall, the Cave of Ten Thousand Coffins.

At the long table in the middle, Ye Xuan picked up a wine jar, took a big gulp, threw the jar to the ground, and picked up a black banner.

"How can we say we have no clothes? We share the same robes. The king is raising an army; let us prepare ourselves, let us prepare our spears and shields, and we will fight together against this enemy..."

His voice was extremely loud, echoing through the empty cavern, and his footsteps paced incessantly on the table, like the rapid hoofbeats of warhorses.

"How can we say we have no clothes..." Ye Xuan suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood. He swayed, then jumped up again, "I will share the same clothes with you..." Ye Bai, who was standing to the side, was shocked and cried out, "General!"

Ye Xuan stuck the black banner into the table, steadyed himself on the spot, and slowly turned his head to look at the entrance of the passage leading from the Ten Thousand Coffin Cave to the outside of the city, where three unexpected people were standing.

"Oh! Master, your disciple has returned to collect the apprenticeship gift! I think this Xuanwu Hall is quite nice."

As Zhou Zhao spoke, looking at Ye Xuan's emaciated appearance, he clicked his tongue twice, "Master Qi's Gu poison is truly powerful. Now that the mother Gu is dead, the child Gu has taken effect, and you won't survive either. Don't worry, your disciple will definitely give you a grand funeral."

She's not good at it, but she's very good at Thousand Faces!
When she first arrived in Tianying City, this guy was still dressing Chen Qifu in mourning clothes and sending him up the mountain!
Practice makes perfect!
As she spoke, she walked up to Ye Xuan. She glanced around at the coffins and said, "What did Master Qi promise you? Did he summon your soul? Or did he tell you about the Six Paths of Reincarnation, which can bring the dead back to life? They are already dead; the dead cannot be resurrected."

"General Ye, your brothers could have been reincarnated and lived openly in this peaceful and prosperous world. It is you who have imprisoned them."

Ye Xuan's heart skipped a beat. He raised his eyes and looked into Zhou Zhao's eyes.

His once sharp gaze was now clouded and indistinct. After a long silence, he finally managed a bitter laugh. "Yes! I wronged them before, and I still wrong them now! If I hadn't led them to the battlefield, if I hadn't been so incompetent..."

"If I hadn't married a traitorous son-in-law, my three thousand comrades wouldn't have been slaughtered here."

"I've said it before, I'll take them back to their hometown, I'll lead them to a wise ruler, and to seek titles and honors. They'll eat simple bread every day, and there will be no war every night..."

"They are all dead, only I am still alive."

He knew perfectly well that there was no secret technique in the world that could bring the dead back to life.

But this was his only obsession in living.

Ye Xuan thought to himself, then looked at Ye Bai, who was weeping uncontrollably.

"Ye Bai!"

"exist."

"Let fallen leaves return to their roots."

"promise."

Ye Bai bent low, and after a long while, he wiped away his tears, walked up to Ye Xuan, and reached out to close his eyes.

He turned around and looked at Zhou Zhao with some guilt. His ferocious face softened instantly.

"Although it's useless, I still want to say sorry."

"The battlefield of that battle was in Tianying City. All my brothers died, leaving only me and the general. We were ambushed, and they were all buried alive here. Later, when Qin Tianying rebuilt Tianying City, we took the position of Xuanwu Hall Master."

"I do this for no other reason than to guard the tomb. Not long ago, the general's old wounds flared up again, and he was nearing the end of his life. I thought that once the general was gone, all of us brothers would reunite here."

Zhou Zhao recalled what Cheng Yuyuan had said before, that the Xuanwu Hall Master intended to step down, and now it all made sense.

"But Master Qi came and gave the general a pill. The general recovered immediately after taking it. Master Qi was very good at winning people's hearts. He told the master that he had obtained one of the volumes of the Six Paths Heavenly Book, which could help the general fulfill his long-cherished wish."

"When the general saw that the medicine had miraculous effects, he became obsessed with it... You know what happened next."

"If you wish to inherit the Xuanwu Hall as a disciple of a general, I can lend you a hand."

Zhou Zhao looked at Ye Bai with great interest, "But what I want is not just Xuanwu Hall."