Who is spreading rumors that my filial piety towards them has changed?

Chapter 162 Who is lying in ambush?

"Understood, I'll take some men over now. You try to keep her calm for now."

After the contents of the paper appeared, Fengying tossed the blank sheet aside, placing it out of Luozan's reach, preventing her from having any extra opportunity to report the news.

Fengying removed the dagger from her bloated neck, which looked so fat that it gave the impression that "if you cut it, the fat would flow out." In a village where hunger was widespread, Luozan was in a class of his own.

Fengying found it hard to imagine that the tribe had fallen to such a state. Originally, the tribe was just a small village with its own beliefs and totems. The men were strong, and they would hunt in groups, sharing their catch. In bad years, they might go hungry for a few days, but the villagers were always healthy and strong, their vibrant life force evident on every face, as if no hardship could defeat the people of this small village.

After their tribe was severely weakened, they sought refuge with the Thunder Tiger tribe, seemingly gaining long-term peace. They only needed to help herd sheep, avoiding any danger. But something had changed. Those people from before were still alive, but they looked as if they were dead.

"Is this how you treat the people in the village? Luo Zan, you gained everyone's trust because of your relationship with the former chief. Everyone thought you would help them get benefits, but now you're even trying to take away a child's birthday roast lamb."

Luo Zan looked up at Feng Ying, who was becoming increasingly charming and alluring, while he himself was bloated and miserable. The other woman was looking at him with a complicated yet pitying gaze. Luo Zan could not bear the charity, and the jealousy in his heart turned into anger.

"We've fallen to this state, isn't it all your fault? The wolves you seduced killed the men of the village, so many children lost their fathers, some even lost both parents. It was I who decided to seek refuge with the Thunder Tiger tribe and raised them! I gave them their lives, how have I treated them?! Is half a sheep enough to repay my kindness in raising Latin?"

So that's what she thought. She even took it for granted, considering the current state of the village as the best possible outcome she had achieved through her own efforts.

Faced with Luo Zan's malice, Feng Ying did not respond by kissing her neck with her dagger, but simply said:

"You think you still owe them anything? You killed their souls and brought cowardice into their lives. Are the people in the village any different from the cattle and sheep on the pasture now? Do you know that Gu Mei, who is now in contact with you, is my master? She is the culprit who caused the deaths of the chief and the uncles. And you still collude with her like this? What has she given you?"

Feng Ying asked this question, but he knew what it meant. Luo Zan couldn't give Gu Mei any resources; at most, he could act as an informant to gather some insignificant intelligence. In return, Gu Mei promised to let the Lei Hu tribe take them in and give Luo Zan a certain status, allowing him to live a comfortable life like he does now.

After leaving the capital of the Tianji Empire, Fengying investigated many things about Gu Mei and found that she was still relying on the same physical methods she used to find lovers everywhere to build relationships. One of the minor leaders in the Lei Hu tribe might be one of her lovers, so giving Luo Zan this little bit of benefit was nothing.

Luo Zan sneered:

"You're just making excuses! It was clearly the wolves you brought back that killed her, yet you blame it on your master who adopted you and taught you skills. You have such a fine face, but your heart is full of malice! She told me that the men in the tribe knew that Gu Mei was being hunted down, and they formed that life contract to protect her in time. If it weren't for the Prince of Xiling, they would still be fine now!"

"Are you deceiving yourself? What man would entrust his life to another woman? The root of all the crimes is Gu Mei, who seduced your husband and killed him. Yet you treat her as your benefactor because she has given you such a high 'status' that you can ride roughshod over the villagers?"

Fengying's questions were like daggers in her hand, piercing the sore spots in Luozan's heart.

How could Luo Zan not guess that her husband had been seduced by that filthy woman, Gu Mei? But... Gu Mei had given her a position in the Thunder Tiger tribe!

Now everyone in the village listens to her; she is their leader. If they deny Gu Mei, wouldn't that be tantamount to denying everything Luo Zan has achieved?

Besides, everything was peaceful at first. Gu Mei seduced him, but it was Feng Ying who seduced that pushed everything to its doom! She made a mess of the tribe, and only then did Luo Zan have to endure the humiliation and ask Gu Mei for help. In the end, it was Feng Ying and the rich guy she hooked up with who caused it!

Yes! That's it!

Luo Zan had prepared his rebuttal, but was immediately knocked unconscious by the hilt of a dagger used by Feng Ying.

Judging from the fat woman's expression and reaction just now, Feng Ying knew what Luo Zan was thinking. It was impossible to persuade someone like that by arguing. Luo Zan just wanted to shift all the blame to others and put himself, the perpetrator, on the side of the forced victim.

Fengying tied Luozan to the woods, and in the blink of an eye, she appeared at the highest point of the village, looking down at the village's bleak state, her heart filled with complex emotions.

Back then, her relationship with that young prince did indeed become very close in that short period of time, but after he caused a ruckus in the village, Fengying didn't know how to face it all.

The root of all this is undoubtedly Gu Mei. She is a ticking time bomb. Even if Chu Mingkong hadn't come along to cause trouble, if Gu Mei had offended someone, the villagers would have lost their lives because of her life contract.

But the real culprit was Chu Mingkong. He and Chu Mingkong were so close that it seemed like they were accomplices who had jointly pushed the tribe into the abyss.

The young prince only wanted to help her get rid of Gu Mei, but Gu Mei caused the men to die. At the time, the other women in the tribe didn't understand what was going on. When they saw their men die, they subconsciously thought it was Chu Mingkong's doing, so they helped Gu Mei fight against Chu Mingkong, and then he killed many of them.

It's hard to say who was right and who was wrong, but painful consequences befell this small tribe.

Therefore, for so many years, Feng Ying has avoided meeting Chu Mingkong, not knowing how to face him or herself.

If it weren't for her daughter's situation, she probably would never have had any connection with Chu Mingkong in her life.

After waiting for a long time, a presence appeared in Fengying's perception range, but she heard the footsteps of two people.

An undetectable enemy?

Feng Ying looked in the direction she sensed and saw Gu Mei approaching with a man in bone armor, and their eyes met.

“Disciple, I thought you had forgotten the method I taught you to conceal your whereabouts. It turns out you deliberately lured me out.” Gu Mei looked up at Feng Ying.

"You couldn't beat me a long time ago. Is your reliance this time on the person behind you?"

Feng Ying's gaze passed over his master and fell upon the bone-armored man, only to see the man quietly remove his head armor.

It was empty inside, without any heads, a scene similar to what happened back then.

Is this Chu Mingkong?!

Chapter 163 Recognizing People by Size

Feng Ying wasn't quite sure if this person was Chu Mingkong, but his action just now was clearly something he did secretly for Gu Mei behind her back.

This must be a little memory from when she first met Chu Mingkong, but that was back when Chu Mingkong couldn't fit into his armor. Now, with his head down, it's hard for him to make such a "baffling" move.

Or perhaps this person is one of Chu Mingkong's men, and that action just now was a tip-off.

Kazekage wouldn't rely entirely on others for her actions. If a battle were to break out, she would definitely focus on how to deal with both of them simultaneously, rather than treating that bone-armored man as her teammate.

More dangerous than underestimating the enemy is overestimating one's own strength, especially one's teammates.

Feng Ying looked at Gu Mei and said:

"Back then, I let you go as repayment for your kindness in raising me. I thought you would live out the rest of your days in peace, but it seems you haven't stopped your actions."

Gu Mei removed the mask of the evil spirits from the incense burner. The face beneath the mask looked even older than before, with wrinkles around her eyes and slightly sunken cheeks. However, her excellent bone structure and control over her own beauty allowed her to be described as "a woman of middle age who still retains her charm." But this forced beauty was somewhat insignificant compared to Feng Ying, whose beauty was at its peak.

"So you think you were a great philanthropist back then? The cultivation techniques I painstakingly cultivated for so many years were just taken away by you, and you actually think it was an act of kindness towards me? If it weren't for you, would I be in this old state now?"

People with completely different personalities really can't get along.

Feng Ying later investigated the matter thoroughly and found out that she had taken in and killed those two senior brothers and sisters as sacrifices to perfect her sorcery concealment technique, "Colorless Shadow Trace." This technique was truly powerful, allowing her to enter and leave places like the imperial palace without hindrance for a short period of time without being detected.

Gu Mei was extremely cautious when managing this cultivation technique. Those who were used for sacrifice also needed to cultivate it. The stronger they were, the greater the improvement Gu Mei would gain after absorbing their benefits. However, she was very worried that these adopted disciples would exceed her control, so she always pretended to have lost all her power, so that she could catch her disciples off guard when she plotted against them.

The imaginary enemy she set up for her apprentices since childhood, "The Shadow of the Bone," was nothing but nonsense. The person was Gu Mei herself.

“There’s nothing more to say to you. You and Aunt Rozan are the same kind of people. You’ve been in the position of perpetrator for too long. When you encounter the slightest resistance or rebuttal, you feel that it’s someone else’s problem and that you have suffered a great injustice. Although you adopted me, does that mean I should follow your wishes and become your sacrifice? Hand over the map of the totem altar.”

Gu Mei took out a short sword shrouded in black mist. The short sword was similar in shape to a dagger, but the black mist on it was like flames. Looking at it for a long time could give people a sense of depravity and disaster, and it was somewhat like the evil karmic fire of Buddhism.

She said, "What a coincidence. I don't intend to waste any more words on you, you traitor. What you took from me, I will take back. By the way, hand over the totem jade in your hand. It's fine if you don't. As long as you die, it won't matter whether you can get the totem jade back or not."

Chu Mingkong stood there, unsure whether to make a move. He had just given Feng Ying a hint, wanting to gauge her reaction, but Feng Ying hadn't given him any hints in the way of glances or gestures.

Is he going to leave a fair second chance for master and disciple, or will he strike Gu Mei ambush before the battle even begins?

Given Chu Mingkong's personality, he wanted to take action against Gu Mei the moment he saw Feng Ying. However, he had a past experience of acting on his own initiative and causing trouble for Feng Ying, so he didn't dare to act so arbitrarily this time and wanted to get Feng Ying's opinion before taking action.

But since Fengying didn't give any feedback, he was in a difficult position.

It's better to just ambush her with a blunt object, but be careful not to kill her. The short sword in Gu Mei's hand is quite unusual; is that black aura a technique from the Rakshasa Society?

Chu Mingkong grabbed Xiang Gumei's neck with one claw, but the woman seemed to have anticipated this and reacted the instant Chu Mingkong made his move, blocking his grab with her short sword.

"Hua Xiuluo, you really have a problem. You're trying to win over this traitorous disciple by capturing me. Hua Xiuluo is quite the temperamental person. For a few superficial pleasures, you even dare to attack your fellow members of the Rakshasa Society. And you're quite arrogant, daring to grab this short sword. Aren't you afraid of leaving behind inner demons?"

As she spoke, Gu Mei took out a piece of white paper and flicked it. The paper instantly turned into ashes and scattered in the air. This was the Rakshasa Society's internal communication method, indicating that there was a traitor within their ranks. Now, Gu Mei only needed to escape from this place, and when she returned, it would be another achievement of exposing a spy.

Chu Mingkong removed his head armor and tossed it aside, leaving his neck bare. He no longer suppressed his childish voice and laughed heartily:

"I'm not afraid of losing my head, why would I be afraid of grabbing your short sword?"

Gu Mei was taken aback. She channeled her spiritual power to ignite the karmic fire within the short sword, but the headless Hua Xiuluo in front of her remained unmoved. A more profound flame burst forth in his hand, and the karmic fire of the short sword was extinguished in an instant, like a candle flame before a flood. The short sword visibly decayed.

The bone armor on Hua Xiuluo's body was also corroded by the flames he released, gradually disintegrating into black, decaying ashes. However, the gauntlets were empty inside. Only when the armor was completely burned away did the "person inside" reveal his true appearance.

Was that a little boy?!

Gu Mei had never seen Hua Xiuluo's true face. Could it be that his true form had always been a child? No, this person was definitely not the original Hua Xiuluo. How could Hua Xiuluo possibly wield extremely Yin fire spiritual energy? His five elements talent wasn't compatible with fire spiritual energy, and more importantly—

The size of the Flower Shura is not like this!

Gu Mei had only one thought in her mind: run!

Chu Mingkong clenched his small hand, and a curtain of fire immediately rose up around him, trapping him in all directions.

This isn't some sophisticated barrier; it's simply a surrounding area enclosed by extremely yin fire spiritual energy. Breaking through it is easy—just walk out. It can't block people like a barrier does. But... would Gu Mei dare touch this fire?

She actually dared to do it!

"Plenty of people will pay with their lives. Let's see if this life contract can withstand this little curtain of fire!"

As Gu Mei spoke, she rushed forward, but Feng Ying appeared directly behind her as if she had traveled through space. He pretended to attack and grab her, forcing Gu Mei to dodge, but in reality, he quietly cut her Achilles tendon with a witchcraft dagger.

"This dagger can break your life contract; you can't escape."

Chapter 164 Self-Destruction

Having suffered greatly from this move before, Fengying was prepared and wouldn't give her a second chance to be so arrogant. Although he wasn't sure if he would have another chance to fight her in the future, he needed to have a backup plan, and that came in handy now.

"You've already lost, Gu Mei. Your tactic of finding someone to take the fall won't work anymore. But even if I hadn't been on guard against this move, it wouldn't have been a big problem. There aren't many people in the village who would form a life contract with you now, are there?"

Feng Ying took out several poison needles and temporarily sealed Gu Mei's spiritual veins. Her little trick of forming a life contract not only required her to seduce people without any scruples, but also required both parties to reach a certain level of strength. Now the people in the village were too weak, not even worth being seduced by her. Perhaps she could only force Luo Zan and the few remaining tribesmen from that time to form the contract.

Moreover, the two parties to the contract cannot be too far apart, otherwise it will not be effective. Even if Gu Mei really wants to fight to the death here, she will probably be killed five or six times before she has no scapegoat.

Gu Mei lay on the ground, her limbs pinned to the ground by poisoned needles. Her face was contorted with rage, and veins bulged on her withered, bark-like skin as she glared fiercely at Feng Ying. She wasn't wearing a mask, but her ferocity surpassed that of someone wearing a demon mask.

"At worst, I'll wait for you in hell. You won't die a good death, my disciple! Rakshasa will come to deal with you soon. You can't escape! All the weaknesses in your martial arts have been discovered, and so has this little lover you've seduced. They'll all die a horrible death!"

Chu Mingkong remained silent. He had seen many people utter threats before their death. When they couldn't win a fight, they would utter a few harsh words, thinking they had intimidated their opponent and thus gaining immense mental comfort. They felt they had already defeated their opponent with their words, a classic example of the "Ah Q mentality."

Fengying pretended not to hear and said:

"Where is the map of the totem altar? I will cripple your current cultivation before letting you go. You can continue to try to regain your strength, just like I let you go last time. No matter how many times, I will continue."

Chu Mingkong glanced at Feng Ying, thinking that she truly hated Gu Mei. It was unbelievable that Feng Ying would release a tiger back into the mountains, yet she did it anyway, wanting to get revenge on Gu Mei and torment her. The people of the village died for her back then; now she'd make her pay for it as many times as she could.

For some despicable people, a straightforward death is a relief, and Kazekage did not want to bestow such mercy upon her.

Gu Mei was so angry at Feng Ying's words that she spat out a mouthful of blood.

Back then, Feng Ying stole the fruits of her years of hard work and destroyed her cultivation. She endured so much suffering and hardship to finally return to where she started. Now, this wicked disciple wants her to start all over again.

Unfortunately, even if Gu Mei really wanted to make a comeback, her lifespan wouldn't be long enough.

"Fengying, keep dreaming! If you want the map, either challenge the Thunder Tiger Tribe or confront the Rakshasa Society head-on. Don't worry about not finding the Rakshasa Society; they'll come looking for you soon!"