42: Chapter 42 Plundering the Zhao Family, Unknown Letter

At this moment, Zhao Hao, completely unaware of the tragedy in the side room, was pacing back and forth in the main hall like an ant on a hot pan!

His eyes occasionally glanced toward the west wing, and as he heard the screams of Wu Zhaoli in the west wing gradually cease, a look of temptation appeared on his face!

"My little brother sure knows how to enjoy himself... Should I..."

But he did not know!

Chen Qingyuan had already silently crept to the outside of the main hall's window, seeing Zhao Hao's panicked back through the gap.

A cold light flashed in his eyes, and he kicked the door open!

His Qi Refining Level Six cultivation base erupted with full force, completely unreserved!

"Who?!"

Zhao Hao jumped up in fright, and when he turned around to see Chen Qingyuan, who had returned with full Killing Intent, his face instantly turned as pale as paper!

"You... why are you back?! Where is my father?! Where is the honorable envoy?!"

"Sure enough, this family has long been colluding with demonic Cultivators! You deliberately intended to kill Su Su!"

"They are all waiting for you to reunite with them below."

Chen Qingyuan's voice was ice-cold, and he raised the qinglin sword again.

"No! Don't kill me! It was all... all my father's idea! It has nothing to do with me!"

Being at Qi Refining Level Four, his reaction was not slow!

While begging for mercy, a green bamboo umbrella instantly unfolded, blocking in front of him!

Unfortunately, it was only a First-Rank Low Grade, not a high-grade item.

"Harming your wife and selling your daughter, colluding with demonic Cultivators, heaven cannot tolerate this! Die!"

Chen Qingyuan couldn't be bothered to listen to his meaningless nonsense!

In his heart, there was only his elder sister's haggard face and the terrifying image of Su Su nearly being refined into a Ghost Child, with anger and Killing Intent intertwined!

He injected his Qi Refining Level Six spiritual power into the qinglin sword without reservation; the sword hummed loudly, and golden light surged!

Facing that hastily raised green bamboo umbrella, without any tricks, he gathered all his magic power and delivered a simple, direct sword strike!

Ssh—la!

The green light of the bamboo umbrella only lasted for a fleeting moment before instantly shattering!

However, the sword tip did not lose its momentum; after piercing through the umbrella surface, it continued forward without any obstruction!

It actually pierced directly into Zhao Hao's mouth, which was wide open in fear!

"Urgh... gu..."

The remaining pleas for mercy and fear solidified completely in his throat, transforming into a series of indistinct whimpers.

However, Chen Qingyuan did not stop!

With a flick of his wrist, the sword edge turned slightly, instantly extinguishing his life force!

He withdrew the long sword, bringing out a spray of warm blood!

The courtyard once again fell into a deathly silence.

Chen Qingyuan nimbly bent down, tore the Storage Pouch from Zhao Hao's waist, and stuffed it into his own embrace without even looking at it.

He scanned the main hall once more to ensure nothing was missed, then flashed his figure and quickly rushed into the room where Zhao Yong had previously been.

His movements were extremely fast; he swept all seemingly valuable items in the room into his own Storage Pouch without even looking at them.

The entire process was clean and efficient, taking very little time.

The snow-filled sky became the best cover, concealing all traces and sounds!

After finishing all this, he turned around without hesitation, merged into the wind and snow, and left quickly.

...

Over a hundred miles away, inside a narrow, sheltered rock cave.

The campfire jumped, emitting a "crackling" sound!

Chen Qingshan had already treated his wounds; although his face was still a bit pale, his breathing had steadied significantly.

Chen Qingtang was tightly holding the still-sleeping Zhao Su, her eyes looking anxiously and uneasily at the howling wind and snow outside the cave.

When they saw Chen Qingyuan's figure appear at the cave entrance, safe and sound, the two people inside the cave finally felt their hanging hearts drop, and they both breathed a sigh of relief.

"Xiao Jiu!"

"Xiao Yuan!"

Chen Qingyuan walked quickly into the cave and first nodded to his elder brother!

Then, he looked at the complex-looking Chen Qingtang!

There was anticipation, worry, fear, and a hint of an indescribable meaning!

He couldn't help but sigh softly!

"Sister, it's all resolved; from now on, there will be no more Zhao family!"

Although she was mentally prepared, hearing it with her own ears, Chen Qingtang's body still couldn't help but tremble slightly!

Subconsciously, she held Su Su in her arms even tighter.

After a long time, she nodded heavily!

"...Good... good..."

Her voice suddenly choked with emotion; she let out a long breath and looked at the jumping flames with empty eyes, not knowing where her future path lay for a moment!

She knew that her maiden family had not had an easy time over the years! Now, with two more mouths to feed—her and Su Su—how would they survive in the future?

Chen Qingyuan sat down near the campfire, pulled off his face mask, and revealed his weary face.

The three of them had different moods, and the cave fell into a brief silence!

"Sigh!"

In the end, Chen Qingshan couldn't stand this oppressive atmosphere and sighed!

"You silly girl! Why didn't you say anything! You... you suffered so many grievances and just carried them all by yourself? Do you think I, your big brother, am dead?!"

"If it weren't for suddenly receiving that help-seeking letter from you a few days ago and rushing over in time, who knows... who knows what terrible tragedy might have occurred!"

At this moment, thinking of the appearance of that Ghost Child earlier, Chen Qingshan was terrified!

If those Zhao father and son had truly succeeded and turned Su Su into that ghostly state...

Upon hearing this, Chen Qingtang suddenly opened her mouth wide, her face, still stained with dried tears, filled with astonishment and confusion!

"Letter? Big brother, what letter are you talking about?"

"Ever since Su Su became seriously ill, Zhao Hao and that old thing have kept me under watch, imprisoned in the side courtyard. They wouldn't even allow me to step out of the courtyard, let alone contact outsiders to send letters... I... I have never written any help-seeking letter!"

"What?!"

As soon as these words were spoken, Chen Qingyuan could no longer sit still and stood up! His expression was uncertain!

"Sister, that letter... the handwriting was extremely similar to yours, and there were tear stains on it, detailing Su Su's illness and the Zhao family's coldness... Was it truly not written by you?!"

Chen Qingshan asked urgently!

Chen Qingtang shook her head firmly and heavily!

"Absolutely not! If I had a way to send a letter, why would I wait until Su Su was critically ill..."

The atmosphere in the cave instantly became exceptionally heavy!

Chen Qingyuan's face also became extremely ugly! His fingertips unconsciously tapped on his knees, thoughts racing in his mind!

"If it wasn't my sister, then who could it be?"

"That letter's handwriting was realistic, and it knew the situation of our Chen family so well..."

This world of Cultivators is truly full of crises at every step. Having just resolved the Zhang family, they got involved with demonic Cultivators, and now there is even a mysterious person, friend or foe unknown, hiding in the shadows and quietly watching...

This feeling made him extremely uncomfortable, even more irritating and unsettling than facing a strong enemy.

"It seems there are twists and turns behind this that we don't know about."

Chen Qingyuan's voice was low!

"Whether the other party gave a well-intentioned reminder, wanted to borrow a knife to kill, or had other schemes, it is difficult to judge right now. But I fear we must be more careful."

Chen Qingshan nodded in agreement.

"That's right."

"The enemy is in the dark while we are in the light, and now with this new turn of events, we need to recover our spiritual power as soon as possible so that we have the strength to protect ourselves!"

Speaking of this, he couldn't help but think of the demonic Cultivator's Storage Pouch and the soul-shaking bell.

They had personally experienced the eerie power of this bell in their battle with the demonic Cultivator just now!

The sound waves could directly attack a Cultivator's Divine Soul, making it impossible to guard against. If used properly, it could absolutely have the miraculous effect of turning the tide of battle when facing an enemy!