Tumor Sword Immortal

Chapter 249 Yuan Kui
A family heirloom jade bracelet?

Isn't it a coincidence that Han Youzhi also has the exact same bracelet?

Pei Xia remembered clearly that he had mentioned the dangers of Dongzhou to Han Youzhi from inside the belly of the sea-patrolling divine fish.

Later, Old Han took out a bracelet that could conceal his cultivation level and hide his aura.

He didn't give himself away when he met Huang Bing at Changjingmen.

As for its origin, Han Youzhi replied, "It's an old family heirloom that I haven't used in a long time."

Ah, it's a family tradition.

Meng Xiao looked at Pei Xia's sudden cold smile, confused and even more resentful: "Hey Pei, let me warn you, if you dare to play me and don't hand over the person tomorrow, you'll be hindering my sect's efforts to catch the culprit. I'll leave you at Su Bao Zhai, and even old man Huang Bing won't be able to say anything."

Pei Xia turned her head and glanced sideways at his threat, her eyes flashing with a sharp light, just like the sword light in the forest this morning, which stung Meng Xiao's eyes.

Pei Xia smiled.

Having solved the major theft case in Zuoshan at a glance, and after reviewing the details and connecting it with the message left by Song Huan before his death, Pei Xia finally has some ideas.

If I'm not mistaken, the key lies with that "Junior Sister Yuan".

He asked Meng Xiao directly, "Is there a Miss Yuan in the inner sect of Su Bao Zhai who knows Song Huan?"

Su Baozhai is a major sect, and there are many people with the surname Yuan, but if it's the inner sect, Meng Xiao only knows one: "Yuan Kui?"

After Song Huan's death, Meng Xiao had investigated the people she had been in contact with in the past few days and naturally knew that his disciple had met with Song Huan.

He gave a cold laugh: "If you suspect her of murder, you don't need to. That bitch's spiritual mansion was shattered six years ago in Liancheng Fire Vein, and she's a cripple now."

Meng Xiao's choice of words was very harsh.

Pei Xia asked, "Where did the term 'whore' come from?"

This means that Meng Xiao's strengths have been identified.

He said with a mocking expression, "This woman's talent is only above average. Without hard work, she wouldn't be able to enter the inner sect. It is said that she seduced Elder Bing of the inner sect to become his disciple. Over the years, she has been very good at social maneuvering. With her looks, she has been ambiguous with many elders and disciples of the inner sect, and tricked them into giving her a lot of rare and precious materials, which helped her break through to the Opening Mansion Realm."

"Perhaps she was used to being fawned over by everyone in the sect, and later she got into a conflict with other cultivators in the Liancheng Fire Vein. With her weak foundation, she was beaten so badly that her spiritual palace collapsed!"

“She didn’t just get injured; she lost all her cultivation. Forget about claiming to be a source of spiritual energy, she can’t even breathe in spiritual energy anymore. Without the support of spiritual energy, the protective energy she cultivated backfired, causing her flesh to atrophy. Now she’s neither human nor ghost.”

That makes sense. If someone were truly a gifted inner disciple receiving special training, they wouldn't have this kind of lead.

Pei Xia was somewhat puzzled: "How could someone like that enter the Liancheng Illusionary Realm?"

Meng Xiao was taken aback: "Who said she entered the Liancheng Illusionary Realm?"

He clapped his hands: "I'm talking about the Liancheng Fire Vein. When they were training in the illusion, didn't each sect have senior experts to oversee it? She just kept pestering them to go along and serve tea and water. She just wanted to come back and brag to ignorant people like you. Others don't understand and would really think she's a genius from Dongzhou who entered the illusion."

It turned out to be the case.

Pei Xia nodded, then looked at Meng Xiao with a strange expression: "You have a powerful background and are the head of the External Affairs Hall, how come you are so familiar with an inner disciple?"

Meng Xiao naturally understood the implication behind Pei Xia's words.

But he didn't care. He raised his chin and laughed, "Although I am a womanizer, I don't eat just any kind of thing."

That's true, given your status, you're all rotten in your own unique ways.

Pei Xia didn't explain in detail to Meng Xiao, but only asked about Yuan Kui's whereabouts before leaving the mountain.

The journey from the left mountain to the right mountain is neither particularly difficult nor easy.

If one's cultivation is profound enough to traverse narrow valleys, one can arrive in a short time.

But if they were to walk, they would have to go down the mountain first and then go up again. It was noon when they set out to look for Li Xu. By the time Pei Xia walked through the deep, dense forest of the right mountain and saw the secluded thatched hut, the sun was setting and it was already evening.

When he arrived, he only saw a gaunt figure draped in a black robe, struggling to drag a bucket along the ground, gripping its handles with both hands.

Pei Xia moved closer, but the other person still didn't notice.

The bucket was dragged on the ground, bumping and stumbling against the stones and grass. A lot of water had already spilled out. When it was dragged up the steps, it must have hit something hard, because with a "clang", the iron ring holding the bucket broke off.

With a "splash," water flowed all over the ground.

The withered, thin figure was still gripping the handle tightly, seemingly looking down. After a long silence, his shoulders began to tremble as if in spasms.

Pei Xia didn't disturb her until she calmed down before he spoke, "Miss Yuan, is that right?"

Upon suddenly hearing a voice, the other person was clearly startled and hurriedly turned around, but Pei Xia did not see her face.

She covered her entire head with a black cloth bag, leaving only two holes for seeing.

In the dimming sunlight, Pei Xia saw the deep, terrifying lines on the skin around her eyes, like a spider web.

The woman was clearly not expecting anyone to visit her. She instinctively hunched her shoulders, lowered her head, and spoke in a respectful, even humble, tone: "Yes, I am Yuan Kui."

“Don’t be nervous. I am an outer elder of the Changjing Sect. My surname is Pei,” Pei Xia thought for a moment and added, “a friend of Song Huan.”

Upon hearing Song Huan's name, Yuan Kui was visibly taken aback.

But soon, she lit a candle and carefully stepped aside, saying, "Please, please come in and sit down."

Yuan Kui's residence was already very remote, and the house was even more rudimentary, supported by thin wooden strips and covered with thatch, barely providing shelter from the wind and rain.

Pei Xia sat down and looked around. The room must be cleaned regularly, but the conditions were harsh, so no matter how much she cleaned it, it never looked tidy.

In one corner of the room, there was a rather exquisite wooden box, but it was unclear what it contained.

Yuan Kui wrapped her black robe tighter around herself and poured him water with trembling hands. Pei Xia asked, "Aren't you even allowed to stay in the disciples' quarters?"

Yuan Kui shuddered, her eyelids drooping beneath the hood: "You dislike me."

Pei Xia looked at the drafty, dilapidated wall and said, "It's already cold up in the mountains. An ordinary person probably wouldn't be able to stand it here. Why don't we just go down the mountain?"

Yuan Kui could tell that Pei Xia knew something about her, but she didn't seem surprised. She replied softly, "If I stay in the sect, they're still willing to give me money so I can buy some food and clothing. But if I go down the mountain... I'll only be able to beg for food."

They don't provide housing, yet they still receive a salary.

It seems that even without her beauty, she remains a source of amusement for some.

She poured the water, held it in both hands, and carefully placed it on the table in front of Pei Xia. She pushed it forward a little, then hurriedly withdrew her hands.

The water wasn't clean; a few specks of grass were floating in the teacup.

Pei Xia didn't mind, picked up her glass, took a sip, and then said, "Song Huan is dead, did you know?"

The black cloth was slowly lifted, revealing even emptier eyes in the two gouged-out holes: "Senior Sister Song, is she dead?"

"Yes, they were found this morning. They died in the woods on the west side of the right mountain."

Pei Xia stared into her eyes: "I heard that you met with her a couple of days ago, is that right?"

Yuan Kui's mind wavered, and tears began to seep from her eyes, which were particularly prominent due to her shriveled skin, beneath the cloth covering her face.

After a long pause, she stammered, "Is it because... I met with her?"

(End of this chapter)