I Can Devour Spirits

Chapter 186: The Two Become One

Ximen Yong and his party, on Black Tiger Ridge, bandaged the guards’ wounds and began to prepare for their departure.

Two horses had already died. Although the carriage had overturned, it was made of seasoned solid wood, as hard as stone, and wasn’t significantly damaged.

A few guards who were less injured lifted the carriage and hitched the horses.

They then piled the corpses of their fallen comrades onto one of the carriages.

Realizing it was already the latter half of the night, the moon rose over the ridge, casting a ghastly white light on the bloodstained ground, creating an inexplicable eerie and tragic atmosphere...

The pungent smell of blood persisted in the night breeze, weighing down everyone’s hearts as if filled with lead...

The wounded sat in the other carriage. Yuan Shouzhi rode the horse and drove the carriage, with Ximen Yong sitting beside him at the front.

The unconscious Wang Zhaoxuan was also placed in the carriage with the injured guards, guarded by designated personnel.

The clattering of hooves and the rumble of wheels followed them along the official road, leaving the blood-soaked Black Tiger Ridge behind under the bright moonlight...

Duan Rong swept through the wilderness, arriving at the official road five or six miles away. With a sweep of his Divine Sense, he found the previous birch tree where the chestnut horse rented from the carriage agency was grazing beneath.

Duan Rong’s figure flickered, floating up like willow fluff, and lightly tapped his toes on the horse’s back to leap onto the birch tree, retrieving the package he had tied to the treetop.

Duan Rong removed his night clothes, changed into the Escort Master’s attire, mounted the chestnut horse, and galloped onto the official road.

Ximen Yong and his party returned to Xianggu County just as the sky brightened.

The pedestrians on the street noticed that everyone from the Ximen Family was wounded, even the Patriarch Ximen Yong had a blood-soaked bandage on his shoulder, immediately causing widespread rumors.

Upon seeing the second carriage of the Ximen Family filled with corpses, the pooled blood dripping along the road, everyone in Xianggu County knew that the Ximen Family had encountered a calamity.

Ximen Yong faced the murmurs of the crowd with a calm demeanor, for the brutal nature of the Jianghu was not new to him.

The experience was naturally unpleasant, but he knew it was unavoidable...

Moreover, he survived, while the guards who perished for the Ximen Family had already rested in eternal slumber. Aside from comforting their families, there was little else he could accomplish.

The harshness of the Jianghu lies not only in life and death but also in many situations of helplessness.

Upon returning home, Yuan Shouzhi immediately rousted Wang Zhaoxuan and subjected him to harsh interrogation.

Just as Ximen Yong sat in the hall, sipping hot tea, Ximen Kankan hurriedly arrived upon hearing of the attack on his father and his injury.

"Father, where are you hurt?" Ximen Kankan asked, eyes filled with panic.

"Stabbed in the shoulder, a few days of rest and it will be fine. No need to shout," Ximen Yong advised, looking at Ximen Kankan.

Ximen Kankan stared at his father’s bleeding shoulder, nose twitching, and instructed, "Shi Kang, bring the Golden Wound Medicine and bandages."

"It’s been bandaged already," Ximen Yong replied, sipping tea before setting the cup aside.

"How well could it have been bandaged in such haste on the road?"

Shi Kang brought the Golden Wound Medicine and bandages, and Ximen Kankan carefully rebandaged the wound. Upon seeing how the injury had pierced completely through his shoulder, Ximen Kankan couldn’t hide his heartache, voice cracking, "Father, when you go to the Prefecture City again, let me accompany you. I’ve already reached the Great Success Realm as a Martial Artist and am not inferior to Uncle Yuan in realm.

"There’s plenty to attend to in the county; someone must stay behind, right?" Ximen Yong saw Ximen Kankan’s sadness and his words carried a hint of comfort.

Suddenly, Ximen Yong’s gaze drifted over Ximen Kankan’s shoulder, landing on a painting hung on the wall.

The painting was meticulously mounted, depicting Ximen Kankan in a moon-white scholar’s robe, assisting a ragged, silver-haired old woman to a Grandmaster’s Chair.

Ximen Yong’s expression flickered, suddenly remembering the painting was done by that Escort Master Duan...

Duan Rong’s eyes, and the eyes of the masked man in black on the ridge, flashed through Ximen Yong’s mind like lightning, overlapping.

"Is it him?" Ximen Yong’s heart trembled. But based on just a pair of eyes, he couldn’t be sure.

As he watched Ximen Kankan meticulously tending to his wound, Ximen Yong suddenly asked, "Kankan, what weapon does Duan Rong, who frequently sparred with you, use?"

"Duan Rong?" Ximen Kankan glanced at his father, puzzled as to why Duan Rong was suddenly mentioned, yet answered, "Uses a Cow Tail Saber. Why?"

"Nothing, just curious," Ximen Yong replied. If he wasn’t mistaken, the hero on the ridge last night also used a Cow Tail Saber.

"Coincidence?"

Just as Ximen Kankan finished rebandaging Ximen Yong’s wound, Yuan Shouzhi arrived with a solemn expression.

Ximen Yong noticed his face and said to Ximen Kankan with a smile, "Kankan, you should go. I have matters to discuss with Uncle Yuan."

"Yes!" Ximen Kankan stood, cupping his fists, "Father, Uncle Yuan, Kankan takes his leave!"

Though he didn’t intend to hide the ambush from Kankan, he still planned to discuss Duan Rong with Yuan Shouzhi afterward, not wanting Kankan to know just yet.

As Ximen Kankan stepped out, Ximen Yong turned to Yuan Shouzhi and asked, "Did you get anything from the interrogation?"

"Yes," Yuan Shouzhi replied. "It’s from Chen Chunlei’s side. He has a Personal Servant who’s a cousin of Black Tiger Stronghold’s third leader, Li Meng. Li Meng committed a crime in Sheqi County and joined Black Tiger Stronghold six months ago."

"Is Li Meng dead?" Ximen Yong inquired.

"Dead."

Ximen Yong’s expression showed a fierce glint. With so many deaths in the Ximen Family, how could he not harbor hatred?

As he paced, Ximen Yong instructed, "Shouzhi, this requires your personal visit. Take Wang Zhaoxuan with you. Since the issue stemmed from Chen Chunlei, if it’s not resolved, the consequences will be dire!」

"Yes, Master," Yuan Shouzhi said, cupping his fists.

Then Ximen Yong suddenly fixed his gaze on Yuan Shouzhi and asked, "You investigated Duan Rong before. Do you think the hero on the ridge last night resembles him?"

Yuan Shouzhi was slightly stunned by the question, "Resembles who? Duan Rong?"

His gaze flickered. "The build is indeed similar? His Inner Breath Realm isn’t poor either. But his skills are complex — not something a mere Escort Master would typically possess, right?"

Yuan Shouzhi seemed to recall something, his expression tightening, "Master, do you remember how the person on the ridge looked at me before leaving, seemed to stare for a moment, and then rolled his eyes at you before departing?"

Yuan Shouzhi’s observation was keen, and Ximen Yong also recalled it was just so.

"From that reaction, could it really be Duan Rong?" Yuan Shouzhi pondered, "Should I investigate him further?"

"Absolutely not!" Ximen Yong firmly rejected. "The other party is evidently a friend, not a foe. Whether or not it’s Duan Rong, we must not investigate further. Never should we judge a gentleman by the mean-heartedness of a villain!"

"Understood," Yuan Shouzhi replied, his face flushed as Ximen Yong’s tone carried a reproach.

"Go rest," Ximen Yong instructed.

"Yes, I take my leave," Yuan Shouzhi replied, cupping his fists and exiting the hall.

Ximen Yong paced to the painting on the hall’s wall, looking again at the poem inscribed beside: ’Lying in the hut, hearing the rustling bamboo, wondering if it’s the sound of human suffering. Don’t say small good is not worth doing, each branch and leaf bears concern.’

"Don’t say small good is not worth doing, each branch and leaf bears concern," Ximen Yong murmured, repeating the verse, feeling it full of advisory meaning.

Duan Rong not only advised Kankan but also often sparred with him in saber techniques, unknowingly helping him greatly improve.

All these, and the actions of the hero on the ridge last night, seemed to have a certain commonality.

"Could it really be Duan Rong?" Ximen Yong quietly pondered, brows furrowed in murmured self-reflection, "If it truly is him, why would he be so deeply concerned about the Ximen Family?"

"Could there be some past ties with the Ximen Family?" Ximen Yong decided he would seize the opportunity to subtly question Duan Rong face to face.