Could it be that I am the cruel villain?
Chapter 49: The Mantis Stalks the Cicada

Chapter 49: Chapter 49: The Mantis Stalks the Cicada

Searching through the memories in his mind.

He truly couldn’t figure out why the other party would want someone to kill him, what grudges did they actually have between them? They had only met once, at Yu Rou’s birthday party.

Furthermore, why didn’t they take action themselves?

For them, a Foundation Establishment expert definitely constituted a significant threat, just like the pair of brothers he had just slain, not knowing that he could control objects within a short range which allowed them to be easily killed.

And a real Foundation Establishment Realm expert was undoubtedly several grades stronger than these two brothers; killing him would be as easy as flipping his hand, what was he considering?

Recalling everything that had happened over the past few months, no, it should be said, over the past few years, a suspicion that had arisen long ago but he always dared not admit resurfaced in his mind.

Boom!

The dull thunder startled the youth in the torrential rain.

"Enough, let’s deal with the matter at hand first."

After glancing at a corner of the forest, the youth already had the next steps planned.

Standing up, he limped toward the two corpses, his hand covering his abdomen, the pain evident on his face, and the brief walk even made the youth involuntarily squat down—he was certainly not lightly injured in the recent skirmish.

With trembling hands, he reached out and picked up the Soul Summoning Banner lying in the muddy ground and detached the Soul Bell fastened at the waist of the man in white, examining them closely.

"So it turns out to be the Soul Bell and Soul Summoning Banner!"

"Legendary magic treasures are truly formidable, they seem to be made by a master."

"They can control both other people’s souls and bodies, heh, these two brothers had some good fortune, but ultimately, it ended up in my hands."

"I guess now I can swagger through Qingshui Town; as for the Xue family, you’ll be the first one I’ll deal with."

"Let me first understand the mysteries within."

His expression was greedy, and his tone revealed uncontrollable excitement.

The importance of a magic treasure to a cultivator goes without saying; recently, besides soaking in the Body Tempering Liquid every day... no, it should be said besides soaking in the Body Tempering Liquid, he had been immersed in the Ethereal Violet Pavilion, studying knowledge about cultivation daily.

Thus, he has undoubtedly become a regular in the brothel, recognized by everyone on the whole street.

Previously, Lord County Magistrate was somewhat suspicious of Jiang Feng, wondering if he only frequented the brothel to divert attention, but later realized... this chap seriously disregarded propriety.

With a fiancée beautiful as a flower, and the wedding approaching in a few months, he still frequented the brothel daily, neglecting proper affairs, not reading, and truly angered the Lord County Magistrate.

The main reason for such audacity was because Lady Yan had chosen to travel far.

According to Yu Rou’s previous explanation to him, it was to prepare for the wedding, but amidst others’ idle talk, it naturally turned into the Yan Family encountering big troubles; anyway, he had heard various versions over these past several days.

There were versions such as "a nobleman fancying Lady Yan and wanting to snatch her away," versions like "the Yan Family offending a significant figure leading to bankruptcy, forcing Lord Yan to utilize his daughter to settle debts," and even "Yan Yurou fabricating reasons to leave Qingshui County to avoid the marriage."

Regardless of which version, none were beneficial to him.

But in a sense, his fiancée temporarily leaving Qingshui County might not be a bad thing; for one, he needed to deal with these covetous people, and with Yu Rou around, he always dared not make a big move, fearing that it would involve the girl.

The other reason is...

No one cared when he went to the brothel.

Well, before Yu Rou’s presence, he was restrained, but since he left home to travel, he has been soaking in the brothel daily, and it was because of this, he made rapid progress in a short period of time.

After all, the orthodox Cultivation Sect and the Loose Cultivators of Wild Fox Zen are completely different concepts.

Standing in the pouring rain, the young boy began to condense spiritual energy in his palm, his expression pained. Although he had just started Body Refining and could sense and manipulate nature’s spiritual energy, the side effects made him involuntarily spasm slightly, and his realm...

It would be more suitable to describe it as "pseudo Qi Refinement."

Soon, the spiritual energy converged again, and although there were only a few strands, he injected them all into the two magic treasures in his hand. This scene caused some shock in the eyes of someone in the distance; had this unassuming young man already started Qi Refinement!?

"That old dog really was scheming against me, but luckily I didn’t fall for his trap!"

His expression carried a trace of relief; thinking back to how Xue Ming had tried to get him into a life-or-death fight with Jiang Feng, he couldn’t help but wish Xue Ming would go meet his maker.

However, looking at the youth engrossed in the magic treasures, his steps shifted slightly, especially seeing Jiang Feng clutching his abdomen and looking exhausted, which only increased his urge to act.

"Even though this brat killed the Black and White Devils, he seems to have been badly injured himself."

Narrowing his eyes.

He hadn’t seen much in the chaos of the dark night, but Jiang Feng’s appearance fit his expectations well; no matter how capable this young man was, facing two experts meant he wasn’t likely to escape unscathed.

Previously, the bizarre sequence of events had kept the timid and fearful Li Ying from revealing himself, merely following stealthily behind the trio.

The young man remained seated in the rain, carefully examining and feeling with spiritual energy; the two magic treasures, judging by their patterns and styles, appeared to be crafted by the same person, complementing each other, able to manipulate both mind and soul.

From his recent firsthand experience, there seemed to be a way to unlock them, he just didn’t know the conditions yet.

He still remembered the other day when Sister Su Yi had given him a detailed explanation about the basics of magic treasures—typically, the grade of a magic treasure was judged by its spirit and spiritual energy, and the ones in his hand should be considered mundane.

His face still lit up with excitement; even though these were artifacts crafted by an Evil Cultivator, in the Cultivation World, magic treasures were undoubtedly a harder currency than spirit stones.

Whether it was for trading later or for enhancing his own strength, they all...

Wham!

Without warning, the excited young man suddenly turned and sliced the raindrops in the night sky.

His index finger bent, mimicking the gesture Jiang Feng had used a moment ago to summon a short blade with spiritual energy.

Twisting his body and flipping his wrist, the silver light just flickered in front of Li Ying, and then the two men brushed past each other, forcing the dagger deep into a tree trunk!

"Damn, such quick reflexes!"

Without any hesitation, he pulled out the dagger; given Jiang Feng’s current injured state, he was undoubtedly at his weakest—if he didn’t seize this opportunity... stumbling forward a few steps.

"What’s happening to me?"

Confusion surged in his mind; even the hand holding the dagger felt a bit loose, powerless, and a slight warmth spread up his neck, feeling somewhat feverish in the cold torrential rain.

Before he could think further, he saw the young man toss something over.

Clang—

It was a plain, unadorned short knife.