Chapter 35: Courting Death
Hearing Xiao Feng's words, the expressions on the faces of the crowd became a bit strange.
Could it be that Xiao Feng was lucky and just happened to miss Mu Li and his group?
No one believed that Xiao Feng could kill Mu Li and his group in such a short time without alerting others.
Unless Xiao Feng was at the level of a Dou Master, which was clearly impossible.
Everyone knew that the third young master of the Xiao family was still at the level of a one-star Dou Practitioner a little over a month ago.
If Xiao Feng had broken through to the Dou Master level at the age of fifteen, the high-ranking members of the Yun Lan Sect would never have allowed Nalan Yanran to go to the Xiao family to annul the engagement.
Therefore, the most likely scenario was that Xiao Feng had a stroke of luck and just happened to miss Mu Li and his group, thus escaping danger.
Under the complex gazes of the crowd, Xiao Feng calmly walked over to sit beside Xiao Yixian and closed his eyes to cultivate.
"..."
Seeing Xiao Feng's nonchalant demeanor, Xiao Yixian was speechless and didn't know how to react.
Was this guy really clueless, or just pretending to be?
Time passed slowly, and more than half an hour went by.
Seeing that Mu Li and his group had not returned, the members of the Wolf Head Mercenary Group finally couldn't sit still and began to feel a sense of unease.
After discussing it among themselves, the leading mercenaries decided to send over ten mercenaries to search the nearby woods.
Soon, they discovered the remains of Mu Li and his group, with traces of magical beasts' bites on their bodies.
Judging from the traces left at the scene, they were shocked to find that there were hardly any signs of battle nearby.
In other words, the killer must have been far stronger than Mu Li and his group, as they had no chance to resist before being wiped out.
Additionally, the presence of bite marks from magical beasts on the bodies suggested that the killer was likely a second-tier magical beast.
Knowing that a dangerous second-tier magical beast might be lurking in the nearby woods, the mercenaries dared not linger any longer and quickly returned to the main group.
Except for Xiao Feng, who remained calmly cultivating with his eyes closed, everyone else was tense and spent the night in fear.
Early the next morning, at the break of dawn, the group hurriedly returned to Qingshan Town, not daring to stay any longer.
After several hours of hard travel, Qingshan Town finally appeared in their sight.
However, at the town gate, hundreds of people had gathered, creating an unusual atmosphere.
As the Myriad Medicines Hall herb-picking team returned, a middle-aged man with a seven-point resemblance to Mu Li suddenly stepped out from the crowd and shouted, "Who is Xiao Feng? Get out here!"
This man was Mu She, the leader of the Wolf Head Mercenary Group, a two-star Dou Master, and one of the top three powerhouses in Qingshan Town.
"Leader, he is Xiao Feng!"
As soon as Mu She's words fell, the members of the Wolf Head Mercenary Group who had traveled with Xiao Feng all pointed at him.
Mu She, with a frosty expression, said, "So you are Xiao Feng. My son and his group were killed, and you were the only one not at the scene. You must have killed my son!"
Due to the slow movement of the main group, the Wolf Head Mercenary Group had sent several mercenaries back to Qingshan Town ahead of time to report the news of Mu Li's death to Mu She.
When Mu She first heard the news that Mu Li had been killed by a magical beast, he was initially saddened but quickly regained his composure.
The dead cannot be brought back to life!
Since Mu Li's death was a fact, Mu She decided to use his son's death to his advantage and gain greater benefits.
Regardless of whether Mu Li was actually killed by Xiao Feng, Mu She would pin the blame on him to have an excuse to act against Xiao Feng.
According to the information Mu She had received, just the ring Xiao Feng wore was worth at least hundreds of thousands of gold coins.
As long as Mu She killed Xiao Feng and took his treasures, it wouldn't matter if the Xiao family pursued him afterward.
As the saying goes: fortune favors the bold!
Mu She could abandon his assets in Qingshan Town and start anew in another city if needed.
"Leader Mu, there must be some misunderstanding."
Seeing the situation, Xiao Yixian couldn't help but speak up, "Although Xiao Feng wasn't at the scene at the time, he only left for a while. With his three-star Dou Practitioner strength, how could he be a match for Mu Li and his group?"
"The enmity of killing one's child is irreconcilable!"
Mu She's eyes flashed with cold light as he glared at Xiao Yixian and said viciously, "If anyone dares to stop me from avenging my son, I'll fight them to the death! Do you think I won't dare to touch you just because you have Mr. Yao's protection?"
"Leader Mu, please calm down. This matter has nothing to do with Myriad Medicines Hall. Please do not harm the innocent."
Just as Mu She was about to deal with Xiao Yixian as well, a magnetic voice suddenly sounded. A middle-aged man dressed in luxurious clothes, followed by dozens of guards, walked over.
This middle-aged man in luxurious clothes was the owner of Myriad Medicines Hall, whose status in Qingshan Town was on par with Mu She's.
"Since Mr. Yao doesn't wish to get involved, please take your people from Myriad Medicines Hall and leave!"
Mu She was somewhat wary of Mr. Yao and naturally didn't want to clash with him at this moment.
"But Mr. Yao..."
"Xiao Yixian!"
Before Xiao Yixian could finish speaking, Mr. Yao interrupted her with a displeased expression.
In Mr. Yao's eyes, Xiao Feng was just a stranger unrelated to Myriad Medicines Hall. He had no intention of risking a conflict with the Wolf Head Mercenary Group for Xiao Feng.
Xiao Yixian's face changed slightly as she said, "Xiao Feng, I'm sorry, I can't help you."
Although Xiao Yixian considered Xiao Feng a friend and didn't want to see him killed by Mu She, without Mr. Yao's help, she had no way to stop Mu She.
The only thing Xiao Yixian could do now was to inform the Xiao family of the truth after Xiao Feng's death and have them avenge him.
"It's okay, you've done your best."
Xiao Feng first comforted Xiao Yixian with a smile, then turned to Mu She, showing a helpless expression, and said, "You and your son really are alike, always causing trouble for me, forcing me to kill you first to protect myself."
"What do you mean by that?"
Mu She's pupils suddenly contracted as he angrily said, "So you did kill my son!"
"That's right."
Xiao Feng nodded slightly, "I didn't want to kill them, but they brought it on themselves."
"Impossible! With your strength, how could you... cough, cough, cough..."
Before Mu She could finish his sentence, he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his eyes, causing him to tear up and cough violently.