Chapter 23

One

After Jin Jiazhang acknowledged Jin Mihuo's death, the area in front of Yu Xinyun's room became extremely chaotic.

Today, in front of the tightly closed door of Yu Xinyun's room, a dozen servants and bodyguards had gathered.

They all stood like gatekeepers, their eyes filled with desperate longing, staring at Wang San, who firmly blocked the door.

At that moment, one of the men in the crowd spoke to Wang San in a cautious voice.

"…Wang San, is it really impossible?"

The man, with dark circles under his eyes, was a first-class bodyguard of the Xiaoyun Pavilion.

He was usually the type who boasted about his position as a first-class bodyguard and acted arrogantly, but now he was almost begging a mere servant, which was a truly unfamiliar sight.

However, despite this,

"I'm sorry."

The words that came out of Wang San's mouth were a firm refusal.

But the Xiaoyun Pavilion bodyguard did not give up easily. He continued to plead, as if clinging to the hem of Wang San's pants.

"I beg you. Please arrange a meeting between Young Master Xinyun and the head of the Xiaoyun Pavilion. Just a half hour, or even thirty minutes would be fine."

"I'm sorry."

"Please, save me. If I can't arrange a meeting today and return, Master Mo will kill me."

"…Sigh, I'm really sorry."

Wang San hesitated for a moment, his voice filled with sincerity, but ultimately his answer was the same as before.

As a result, everyone's faces were filled with deep worry.

It couldn't be helped.

Although they came from different places, the purpose for which their superiors sent them here was the same.

The number of people who wanted to side with Yu Xinyun or at least test the waters was increasing explosively.

Even Mo Taigui, the head of the Xiaoyun Pavilion, who had clearly aligned with Jin Jiazhang, was now trying to arrange a meeting with Yu Xinyun.

This made everyone's hearts anxious, as there was a significant undercurrent of unrest within the Baiyun Escort Agency.

The trigger was the downfall of the Jin Family Manor.

After the head of the family was struck by the loss of his daughter and fell into madness, the Jin Family Manor began to decline rapidly.

Every day, servants and subordinates stole valuable items from the manor's warehouse and fled.

The martial artists who were hired without any formal contract took advantage of the chaos to grab a large sum of money and disappear.

The relationships built solely on money, without any sense of loyalty, crumbled easily.

However, during this process, the Baiyun Escort Agency unexpectedly benefited.

The number of escort requests, which had decreased, began to recover significantly.

Everyone was puzzled, but soon the shocking reason was revealed.

All the returning customers had been subjected to constant persuasion and threats from the Jin Family Manor to stop doing business with the Baiyun Escort Agency.

This outrageous news made the members of the escort agency deeply angry.

They couldn't imagine that people they once considered close comrades had been plotting such dirty schemes behind their backs.

As a result, Yu Jinxiang's reputation also plummeted.

No one wanted to follow a foolish leader who had protected an enemy that they would have gladly killed.

Rumors even spread that Yu Jinxiang had tried to hand over the Baiyun Escort Agency to the Jin Family Manor.

In contrast, Yu Xinyun's popularity was soaring.

Of course, it wasn't because he was responsible for Jin Mihuo's death.

The truth about her death was not even detected by the bailiffs of the Jin Prefecture.

However, it was clear that the duel with the Jin Family Manor was the starting point for Yu Xinyun's rise, and the members of the escort agency were endlessly praising him.

Moreover, when rumors spread that Dao Jinwu and Luo Daixiong would declare their support for Yu Xinyun, the succession structure of the Baiyun Escort Agency became unpredictable.

That's why so many people were desperately trying to meet Yu Xinyun.

However, Yu Xinyun had not left his room since the news of Jin Mihuo's death was announced.

"Please leave now."

As Wang San stood firm, the people's tempers flared, but they could only suppress their anger and sigh.

Wang San, recognized as Yu Xinyun's subordinate, had risen in status, so they couldn't express their dissatisfaction freely.

If they lashed out at Wang San, who was even allowed to attend meetings, and the news reached Yu Xinyun, things could turn for the worse.

'Ah, another day wasted.'

'I should have sided with Young Master Xinyun earlier. If I had, Wang San's position would be mine.'

'Damn, I have to read the mood of a mere servant.'

However, there was a secret that no one knew about the current situation.

It was that

'Ugh! I'm going crazy, really…'

In fact, Wang San was also on the verge of going crazy.

He inwardly screamed.

'…People, please go away. There's no one in the room.'

The conversation from the previous night, when Yu Xinyun suddenly announced he would be away for a few days, came to mind.

- I'll be away for a few days.

- What?

- I'll return as soon as possible, so don't let anyone in and pretend I'm still here.

- What?

- Okay, that's all.

- …What?

Yu Xinyun left without revealing his destination, leaving Wang San with a mysterious "Adios" and nothing else.

"Wang San, at least deliver this letter."

"Then, let me give this…"

"Hey! No cutting in line!"

"Right! Let's keep the order, let's keep the order!"

Unaware of Wang San's inner turmoil, the people in front of the door showed no signs of leaving.

'Sniff, where have you gone, Young Master? This is really too much!'

Wang San felt like crying even more today.

Two

Deep in the mountains, where even experienced herbalists dared not venture due to the rugged terrain.

In an unnamed cave, Yu Xinyun, whom everyone was desperately seeking, was seated.

'Hmm?'

Yu Xinyun, who was meditating in a cross-legged position, suddenly saw a glimmer in his eyes.

As he slowly opened his eyes, a series of system messages appeared before his pupils.

['Unknown entity' has sent a surge of 'Death Qi.']

[The amount exceeds the maximum capacity for absorption.]

[Your body is now filled with 'Death Qi' to the maximum.]

[An immense vitality begins to surge through your body.]

[For the next 5 hours, your stamina recovery effect increases by 450%.]

[The probability of demonic transformation significantly decreases.]

Yu Xinyun was initially taken aback by the sudden increase in the curse's effectiveness but soon smiled slightly.

'Seems like he's really angry.'

Yu Jinxiang's face, distorted with rage, came to mind.

He really was a foolish man, the more you thought about it.

"Thanks. I was in need of some negative mana anyway."

He finished speaking, unfolded his legs, and stood up.

There was no longer any need to stay.

All the Death Qi absorbed into his body had been converted into negative mana, and an undeniable vitality surged through his body.

'Well, let's start then.'

He slowly began to circulate the negative mana through his mana circuits.

Without his intention, the Inner Energy from his dantian began to flow out and assist the negative mana.

The negative mana was now accepting the assistance without any resistance.

As time passed, the two energies gradually harmonized.

'I need to check something.'

He slowly extended his hand forward.

The negative mana that flowed from his hand enveloped the corpse of a mountain animal he had prepared in advance.

"Raise Assassin Skeleton."

Whoosh!

As soon as Yu Xinyun finished speaking, the flesh of the corpse began to decompose rapidly.

Thud, thud.

The bones, rearranging themselves in a bizarre manner, soon formed the shape of a small human.

Two empty eye sockets glowed with a crimson flame.

It was Gu Nansheng, the blood demon he had turned into an Assassin Skeleton after the battle with the Jin Family Manor.

Yu Xinyun, observing the completed summoning, tilted his head.

'Not a Black Skeleton?'

Although it was a peak martial artist skeleton like You Yilang, its appearance was different.

You Yilang had black bones, but Gu Nansheng, like a first-class martial artist skeleton, had a light blue hue.

'Peak martial artist skeletons are supposed to turn into black bones, right?'

The cause of this difference was one thing.

The mysterious power of You Yilang himself.

'Hmm, what is he really?'

Just thinking about it gave him a headache, but there was no way to find out immediately, so he decided to let it go for now.

What was urgent at the moment was not that.

'…But anyway.'

Yu Xinyun, lost in thought, turned his head to look at the Assassin Skeleton.

For some reason, his eyes gradually turned as cold as ice.

'This guy is still arrogant even as a skeleton.'

It was due to the attitude of the Assassin Skeleton.

Unlike other skeletons, which immediately knelt and pledged loyalty upon summoning, the Assassin Skeleton remained standing.

Moreover, the flames in his eyes clearly conveyed dissatisfaction and anger towards Yu Xinyun.

In his previous life, there were occasional cases where summoned creatures retained memories or will from their past lives and rebelled against their masters.

'That guy was a prime example.'

He suddenly thought of the original dragon, which had disappeared when he came to this world.

'…Should I just kill him?'

He considered shattering the skeleton's skull immediately.

But he held back and spoke in a low voice.

"Gu Nansheng, show me your martial arts."

He wanted to confirm if it was possible to obtain the martial arts of a revived martial artist skeleton.

Through skill extraction, the internal energy of the cultivation techniques they had learned was automatically absorbed, but other martial arts could not be obtained.

However, when You Yilang handed over the Twelve Lightning Swords, he became curious if the same could be done with other skeletons.

'Oh!'

A system message appeared before his eyes.

[You have completed the conditions to obtain a hidden quest.]

[You have obtained the hidden quest, 'Wish of the Dead I'.]

He immediately checked the content of the quest.

And.

"Huh."

Yu Xinyun exhaled in disbelief.

Martial World Clans, Reincarnated Ranker