Chapter 41

No one in the hall could understand the current situation, and they could only blink their eyes in confusion.

In the silence, only the pained groans of Duyue Qi could be heard.

Then, the faces of the Baiyun Escort Agency people, who had belatedly grasped the situation, began to light up with excitement.

‘The Lord of the Country has come for us!’

‘It’s settled! Everything will be fine now!’

The bodyguards and merchants of Xiaoyun Pavilion had seen Yuxinyun’s prowess firsthand, so they were filled with trust in their master.

Yuxinyun had already become a sturdy guardian to the people of the Baiyun Escort Agency.

‘...The Lord of the Country has come, hasn’t he?’

However, unlike the others, Luo Jianhuo felt a sense of bewilderment.

His prediction that Luodaweng would come had been completely off the mark.

But soon, the bewilderment faded, and various questions began to arise in his mind.

‘How did he arrive so quickly?’

Yuxinyun had arrived a full hour earlier than expected.

It was a difficult feat to shorten the time unless one was a master of lightness techniques.

‘That means...’

In his field of vision, a horse he had never seen before, with a sinister gaze, was behind Yuxinyun.

It seemed he had hastily acquired a fine horse.

‘Hmm?’

However, Luo Jianhuo noticed something strange about the horse. It had been running non-stop from the escort agency, yet it showed no signs of fatigue.

‘Now that I think about it, it doesn’t seem to have any vitality...’

Just as Luo Jianhuo was thinking this,

Yuxinyun looked at him and said,

“How long are you going to stand there staring like an idiot?”

“Huh?”

As Yuxinyun’s piercing gaze and overwhelming presence hit him, Luo Jianhuo had to stop his thoughts.

For a moment, he could only blink his eyes.

‘Ah!’

Suddenly, he snapped back to his senses and understood Yuxinyun’s intentions.

Snap!

Luo Jianhuo quickly moved and brought Duan Xiaoyan, who had been threatened by Duyue Qi, to his side.

Duan Xiaoyan, who had escaped from Luo Jianhuo’s embrace, approached Yuxinyun, trembling.

Seeing Duan Xiaoyan’s pale face, Yuxinyun spoke in a low voice,

“You must have been very scared.”

“L-Lord of the Country.”

“Don’t worry anymore. I’m here.”

“Huh, huh.”

Moved by Yuxinyun’s warm words, Duan Xiaoyan began to cry, her delicate shoulders shaking.

Yuxinyun, who gently patted her, looked at Duyue Qi with eyes as cold as ice.

At that moment, Duyue Qi, whose pain had subsided, picked up his lost sword and was about to unleash his anger.

“This, this bastard!”

However, Duyue Qi, who had intended to use his inner strength to strike Yuxinyun’s neck in one go,

flinched!

Seeing Yuxinyun’s fierce, bloodthirsty gaze, he had no choice but to take a step back in shock.

‘...Why am I...?’

Duyue Qi was momentarily taken aback by his own actions.

But he soon shook his head and regained his composure.

As a disciple of the Huangshan Sect, he would not be afraid of such a mere person.

He dismissed it as his keen senses reacting to the dying breath of a cornered rat.

Nevertheless, his excitement was slowly subsiding.

Then, Duyue Qi finally got a good look at Yuxinyun.

As he scanned Yuxinyun from head to toe, a look of bewilderment appeared on his face.

‘But why is this guy so thin? And his appearance...’

Duyue Qi was more surprised by Yuxinyun’s completely transformed appearance than by the fact that he had penetrated his peak master’s senses and landed a hit.

As Yuxinyun had said, he had lost a significant amount of weight from his formerly obese body.

Now, he looked like a man with a good build, and the dull appearance was completely gone.

This was due to his consistent training and the influence of the Donghuaxian technique, which harmonized and balanced his body.

In fact, before his body was covered in fat, his features were quite distinct, and now Yuxinyun looked handsome enough to be called a beauty.

‘Hmph! Did he worry so much about his position as the Lord of the Country that he couldn’t even eat properly?’

However, Duyue Qi did not acknowledge this fact at all.

As someone who was clearly ugly and fat, he had a severe inferiority complex about his appearance.

‘To act so arrogantly when you’re even worse than me! Fine, I’ll give you a proper humiliation!’

Just as he was grinding his teeth, Yang Zhimo raised his voice and shouted,

“What are you doing, Lord Yuxinyun! Using such a cowardly trick to harm Deputy Lord Du!”

Yuxinyun sneered at Yang Zhimo’s words.

“A trick? I just used a stone to make him come to his senses.”

“...!”

As Yuxinyun spoke, Yang Zhimo quickly scanned the ground and saw a stone the size of a fist.

Thud, thud.

Yuxinyun was casually flicking a similar-sized stone with his hand.

Yang Zhimo’s pupils trembled as if an earthquake had struck.

The situation made his claim of a cowardly trick embarrassing.

Duyue Qi had been made to look like a fool for not dodging a mere stone.

“What, is it really true?”

“Damn, I thought he had a dagger in his hand, the way he was screaming so pitifully...”

The people of the Baiyun Escort Agency and Huajin Merchant Group whispered loudly.

“Cough, cough!”

‘Stupid guy!’

Yang Zhimo, flustered, continued to cough, while Duyue Qi gnashed his teeth in humiliation.

Swish.

Sheathing his sword, Duyue Qi quickly changed the subject and greeted Yuxinyun.

“...I apologize for the delay. I am Duyue Qi, the Deputy Lord of the Huangluo Escort Agency.”

However, Yuxinyun had no intention of reciprocating.

He replied with a gaze that treated him like a bug.

“I’m not the least bit curious about your name.”

Duyue Qi’s eyes turned fierce again at this blatant act of disrespect.

‘Sigh, no need to get excited. After all, we have the right on our side. Besides...’

Regaining his composure, Duyue Qi glanced behind where Yuxinyun had appeared.

But there was nothing there except a horse, and he felt no sign of reinforcements arriving.

‘Tsk, he came in a hurry and didn’t bring any subordinates.’

Duyue Qi continued with a despicable smile.

“If you’re going to act like that, I don’t need to be polite either! Your servant stole our treasure, so pay the compensation! Or hand over the servant!”

He spoke with a domineering attitude.

Even if Yuxinyun had come, nothing would change.

They were numerically superior, and the power of the leaders of each camp was far greater than his.

At that moment, Yuxinyun turned his head and met Duan Xiaoyan’s eyes.

“Xiaoyan, be honest. Did you steal anything?”

“No! No, Lord of the Country! I absolutely didn’t...!”

“Understood.”

Duan Xiaoyan, her voice filled with injustice, tried to continue, but Yuxinyun cut her off firmly.

Then he looked back at Duyue Qi and said,

“She didn’t steal anything.”

Duyue Qi laughed mockingly at Yuxinyun’s confident statement.

“Ha, what a joke. Are you going to believe the word of that servant?”

“Why should I believe you over a member of my own family?”

“You, you... tear you to pieces...!”

Just as Duyue Qi was about to unleash a torrent of curses,

“And I also know something about the Qing Shibing.”

“...!”

Yuxinyun’s words made Duyue Qi’s mouth snap shut.

He knew about the Qing Shibing?

Duyue Qi was momentarily taken aback but tried to hide his inner turmoil.

‘What a ridiculous claim! That guy couldn’t possibly know about the gem from the frozen lake of the Northern Sea, which I saw for the first time.’

According to what he had heard from Yang Zhimo, the Qing Shibing was a supreme gem that could only be obtained from the Qing Shi clam, which lived in the frozen lake of the Northern Sea.

With no other information available, the entire escort agency had struggled for a long time to secure it.

He had heard this tedious story so many times that he was sick of it.

Therefore, he dismissed Yuxinyun’s claim as a lie.

“Hmph! You’re trying to lower the compensation with a ridiculous story. It’s a ridiculous claim, so drop it immediately!”

Yuxinyun ignored Duyue Qi’s outburst and began walking towards someone.

“Zhang Dazhui, right?”

“Huh? Ah, yes!”

“Sorry, but can I borrow this for a moment?”

Yuxinyun took the flask hanging from the confused Zhang Dazhui’s waist and held it in one hand.

The flask contained alcohol.

What was alcohol doing in this situation?

As everyone wondered,

Yuxinyun spoke.

“Here’s something that even the residents of the Northern Sea don’t know. The Qing Shibing is coated with a unique, colorless, and odorless liquid that seeps from the Qing Shi clam. And when this liquid...”

Yuxinyun paused, and the hall fell silent.

It was so quiet that the sound of someone swallowing could be heard.

Yuxinyun continued in a low voice.

“...reacts with alcohol, it causes an unusual phenomenon.”

“...Unusual phenomenon?”

Both Duyue Qi and Yang Zhimo had never heard of this before.

Duyue Qi’s pupils trembled as if an earthquake had struck, and Yang Zhimo’s lips were dry as he kept licking them.

“Yes, when the liquid meets alcohol, it turns a deep purple. The liquid only disappears naturally after a day and cannot be washed off with anything. In other words...”

Splash.

Yuxinyun suddenly poured the alcohol from the flask onto Duan Xiaoyan’s hands.

“To confirm if someone has touched the Qing Shibing, just pour alcohol on their hands.”

Everyone’s eyes were on Duan Xiaoyan’s hands.

But no matter how much time passed, her hands showed no change in color.

“No change at all.”

As Yuxinyun’s lips curled into a smile, Duyue Qi began to lash out.

“Nonsense! It’s a made-up lie! I’ve never heard of such a thing!”

“No, it’s a fact. It’s just alcohol, not poison. If you have nothing to hide, why not pour it on the hands of your bodyguards and merchants? And...”

Yuxinyun pointed to a bodyguard standing next to the Huangluo Escort Agency’s cart.

“I think the first one should be this guy.”

The reason Yuxinyun pointed to him was simple.

Since he started talking about the characteristics of the Qing Shibing, the bodyguard had been frantically wiping his hands on his pants.

As a suspicious person appeared in the Huangluo Escort Agency’s camp, the people of the Baiyun Escort Agency began to raise their voices.

“Sure, let’s do it! If it proves anything, that’s fine!”

“There’s plenty of alcohol in the cart, so we can lend it freely!”

“Alright, let’s start with us!”

The bodyguard, who had been pointed out by Yuxinyun, began to turn pale.

Suddenly, he looked at Duyue Qi with a terrified expression.

But Duyue Qi deliberately avoided his gaze.

The bodyguard’s eyes turned hopeless, and he screamed,

“No, no! I didn’t steal it! It was all Deputy Lord...!”

But the bodyguard’s words were cut short.

Swish!

Whoosh!

A sudden stream of blood shot into the sky.

Thud!

The bodyguard’s headless body fell to the ground.

Yuxinyun’s sword, which had been drawn, was dripping with crimson blood.

“Ah!”

“What, what is this!”

The sudden tragedy made everyone’s faces pale with fear.

But Duyue Qi’s expression showed no sign of guilt.

“...It seems there was a misunderstanding. Since it’s getting light, we’ll leave now.”

Duyue Qi spoke in a calm tone, as if nothing had happened.

As he sheathed his sword, he looked at Yuxinyun with a murderous gaze.

I failed today, but I will definitely kill that guy.

“And I will make you pay for this rudeness...”

Just as he was trying to leave the scene in a hurry,

“Wait.”

Yuxinyun cut him off.

And in the next moment,

Snap!

Swish!

Something suddenly flew high into the air and fell to the ground.

“Aaaah!”

Suddenly, Duyue Qi screamed like a girl.

“...!”

“...!”

In a flash, Yuxinyun’s sword had severed Duyue Qi’s arm, which rolled on the ground.

Everyone in the hall was in shock.

“Sorry, but I’ll take the price first. I’m a bit impatient, you see.”

Yuxinyun said this in a completely calm tone.

Martial World Noble Reincarnation