Mountain and River Festival

Chapter 127 Soul Collector

Ah Nuo moved the overturned wheelchair over, and Lu Xingzhou pushed himself up with both hands and sat back down.

The old servant of the Sheng family hurriedly helped Sheng Yuanyao up and saw that her back was covered in blood with a long gash, but fortunately it was not deep.

In fact, this was the first time that Lu Xingzhou's Mirror Light Talisman could still cause injury after being deflected, which made Lu Xingzhou somewhat silent.

The old servant sprinkled medicinal powder on Sheng Yuanyao's bandage, and Lu Xingzhou handed her a pill: "This will stop the bleeding and promote tissue regeneration. If taken in time, it will prevent scarring."

The old servant hurriedly expressed his gratitude: "We are truly grateful to Young Master Lu this time. If Young Master Lu were to come to the Sheng family, the entire Sheng family would be deeply grateful."

Don't be fooled by how light the wound looks now... if it were half an inch deeper, it would be fatal. Not to mention, if it weren't for Lu Xingzhou's Mirror Light Talisman, it would have already pierced his heart with a single sword strike.

Even Pei Yu, still shaken, thanked him, saying, "Thank you, Brother Lu. If Miss Sheng had really been in trouble right under my nose, I wouldn't have been able to hold my head up high."

Lu Xingzhou said coldly, "Of course, what kind of time is this to be creating a romantic world for two? I thought you guys were fishing for me, but it turns out you're really stupid."

Pei Yu remained silent, embarrassed. There was nothing wrong with simply going to the park; as long as everyone was together, there was no way an assassination attempt could have occurred. It was precisely because of this maneuver that someone found an opening, and there was no way to deny it.

Even more awkward was Chu Qingchen's situation. He created an opportunity for a sneak attack by giving her a chance to be alone because he was pursuing her. The fact that both of them lost their vigilance and were in a state of confusion was also due to his entanglement. Even his final reaction was a huge mistake. If Sheng Yuanyao really got into trouble, he would be considered an accomplice.

Putting everything else aside, the beauty has flown away. Look at Sheng Yuanyao now, her gaze is practically glued to Lu Xingzhou from beginning to end, not even sparing him a glance.

Unfortunately, time cannot be turned back, the mistake has already been made, and the opportunity to be a hero and save the damsel in distress has been handed over to someone else.

After Sheng Yuanyao finished bandaging, she asked in a low voice, looking somewhat weary, "What are your thoughts on Ye Wufeng's matter?"

After venting his anger, Lu Xingzhou stopped cursing and said seriously, "I told you, this person is a very patient viper. He kept an eye on Cheng Yuan for a whole month. In the situation just now, he must have followed you to make sure that the destination was this garden, then sneaked in first, and held his breath underwater until the most suitable moment to strike suddenly."

Everyone fell silent; it was indeed true.

"So it would be unfair to blame you entirely for not being vigilant. After all, you can't be a thief for a thousand days without being on guard. If you're being watched by this kind of person in the dark, they'll find an opportunity to strike sooner or later. No one can always be surrounded by a group of people... Therefore, we must take the initiative to plan ahead and eliminate future troubles."

Sheng Yuanyao said resolutely, "Once I'm healed, you can arrange it so we can lure him in again."

Lu Xingzhou glared at her irritably: "Do you think he's stupid? He wouldn't know we're fishing? I already told you, he was suspicious of fishing even when you were hunting before, so he kept an eye on you. Now that this has happened, it'll be even harder to catch him."

Sheng Yuanyao was scolded and looked dejected, but she couldn't argue back. She sat there looking pitiful like a puppy.

“The top spot on the Rising Stars List isn’t something you can just get by on a whim… Even on a list like your Demon Suppression Division, where information is scarce, you might be able to get by at the bottom, but the top spot is never easy to deal with. Do you really think that just because I called him an idiot he’s actually an idiot?” Lu Xingzhou sighed. “Go back and rest first, heal your injuries. I’ll make plans for this, and I’ll contact you again later.”

The group lost all interest in sightseeing and blind dates, and silently dispersed and went home.

Lu Xingzhou suddenly turned his head: "Brother Chu, you'd better be careful."

Chu Qingchen was stunned for a moment, then nodded silently.

He said something like, "If Ye Wufeng were here, Miss Sheng would know the outcome." But the other party is so narrow-minded that it's not enough for him to slap her in the face on the spot; he might just try to assassinate her next.

Pei Yu said, "Brother Chu can stay at my Pei residence; I doubt he'll dare to cause any trouble."

Chu Qingchen didn't say anything, but secretly tightened his grip on the sword hilt.

Ye Wufeng wanted to kill him, and so did he. What kind of person would hide in the Pei residence like a stray dog? After carefully analyzing the speed and power of the opponent's attack, he realized that a direct confrontation might be viable, as long as he was given the opportunity to fight back.

As Ye Wufeng returned to the secret outpost of the Yama Palace in the capital, a subordinate greeted him: "Soul Collector, someone from the Huo family has been secretly contacting us."

Anyone can contact the Underworld through coded messages; after all, it's business... However, the Underworld official sent out to make contact is just a low-level henchman, and during the contact, different people observe from different angles at a distance to see if the contact person is being followed. It's very difficult to find the Underworld's location through this method; often, when trying to follow the clues, you find that the place has already been deserted. The Demon Suppression Division is also aware of this lead and doesn't want to alert them for the time being.

Looking at the report from his subordinate, Ye Wufeng recalled that this entire system was designed by Lu Xingzhou, who had used it to trick and even kill many righteous people who wanted to destroy the Yama Palace's lair. He felt a mix of emotions. If Lu Xingzhou really wanted to betray him, this system probably wouldn't be able to protect him, and the lair would inevitably be destroyed.

But no matter how much Ye Wufeng disliked Lu Xingzhou, he firmly believed in his heart that Lu Xingzhou wouldn't do such a thing. At most, he would lure Ye Wufeng out to be killed; he wouldn't go after the Underworld.

In fact, many people in the Underworld felt uneasy without Lu Xingzhou's presence. They felt that without his guidance, their meticulously planned schemes suddenly seemed less sophisticated, creating a sense of impending doom. Even Ye Wufeng himself felt this way.

Meticulousness relies not only on the system itself, but also on the person in charge who can adjust according to different situations. But now, we don't have that kind of person anymore.

Ye Wufeng himself admitted that he used to think Lu Xingzhou was just a freeloader and looked down on him. But after he left, he discovered Lu Xingzhou's value from many unexpected angles, and his evaluation of Lu Xingzhou unconsciously improved. Especially today, compared with Chu Qingchen, he could appreciate how strong Lu Xingzhou's will was. No wonder he had tried to trip up Lu Xingzhou in the underworld all these years and ended up with nothing but a mouthful of meat.

"The Huo family..." Ye Wufeng sneered, "The Huo family coming to your door could only mean they want to hire a murder judge. You accepted?"

His subordinate glanced at him and said, "We're just going through the motions; the Soul Collector will have to make the final decision."

Ye Wufeng said, "Although the judge has left, the relationship has not been severed. We cannot accept this business, so let's decline it."

The subordinates knew perfectly well that when Lu Xingzhou left, they were frantically searching for him, eager to kill him as quickly as possible. It wasn't as polite as they made it sound. The real reason they dared not act was that everyone had discovered that Yama was still secretly watching the Judge. Who dared to gamble on what Yama was thinking…

"The Huo family said that this is not just a business deal, but also a collaboration."

Ye Wufeng was stunned for a moment, then realized what was happening.

The Huo family has a plethora of experts; killing Lu Xingzhou would be incredibly difficult for them. They simply don't dare. The reason they hired the Underworld to intervene is clearly to make it appear to the outside world that this is an internal power struggle within the Underworld, thus distancing themselves from the Huo family.

But on the other hand, if he really did kill Lu Xingzhou, could he also pin the blame on the Huo family and make Yama think that the Huo family did it?

If he wanted to kill Lu Xingzhou, this was his only chance. If he missed this opportunity, he would never have such a good chance to shift the blame again.

Recalling the exorcism talisman Lu Xingzhou casually showed on the street, and the frustration of being alone but not daring to move, Ye Wufeng gripped the hilt of his sword in silence for a long time before asking in a low voice, "Where are the Huo family members?"

Huo Jin was leisurely drinking tea in a private room of the teahouse, waiting. After a short while, a figure in black suddenly appeared before his eyes.

His figure was thin, and his eyes were sinister. The moment they met, the chilling killing intent pierced Huo Jin's body and sent a shiver down his spine.

Ye Wufeng, the Soul Collector of the Underworld, has killed countless souls with his sword. His chilling killing intent is something a playboy like him, who indulges in cockfighting and horse racing, cannot withstand.

"Huo Jin of the Huo family greets the Soul Collector."

Ye Wufeng looked him up and down: "You're Huo Jin? The one whose hand was broken by Lu Xingzhou in one move at Yanyu Tower, despite being a higher-ranking player?"

Huo Jin: "..."

Ye Wufeng scoffed, "How do you plan to cooperate? Tell me."

Huo Jin said, "Some people suspect that Lu Xingzhou is a judge in front of Yama's palace. Is it true or false?"

Ye Wufeng shook his head: "This is not within the scope of our business. Let's get down to business."

Huo Jin held his breath: "If we create an environment where Lu Xingzhou is alone, would the Soul Collector dare to kill him?"

Ye Wufeng sneered, "Your Huo family has a good plan. You say you're alone, but then everyone will witness that it was the underworld that killed Lu Xingzhou, and you can wash your hands of the whole thing?"

Huo Jin said, "The Soul Collector is overthinking it..."

"Then prove it to me."

"How to prove it?"

“There’s a kid named Chu Qingchen that I don’t like… You guys create an environment for him to kill some people, and show him how you do things.”

(End of this chapter)