Chapter 18: You Have No Objections, Right?

Immediately after, an imposing young man strode over. In his early twenties, he possessed striking features and an extraordinary aura, with killing intent radiating from his body.

"Shi Yunhai!" Shi Muyao’s expression drastically changed.

The newcomer was indeed Shi Yunhai—the Shi Family’s top genius and a disciple of the Cloud Void Sect! To think that Shi Yunhai had also rushed back to the Shi Family at this exact moment! Even Mo Qianqian couldn’t help but pause. Everyone had shown up!

"Yunhai, Yunhai is back!" Upon seeing Shi Yunhai appear, Patriarch Shi became somewhat emotional.

"Yunhai is back! Shi Muyao, you’re completely finished!" Shi Yan was overjoyed.

Why would Shi Yunhai return at this time? It was undoubtedly her masterpiece. After using the Red Spirit Dog to discover Shi Ming’s corpse, she had dispatched people to notify Shi Yunhai, as well as the Chen Family and Kong Mingcheng. Now, everyone who had a grudge against Shi Muyao and Mo Qianqian was gathered here. The two of them had no way out!

"Yunhai, you’ve finally returned!"

"Welcome back to the family, Yunhai!"

The elders and younger generation of the Shi Family stepped forward to greet him.

The Chen Family Master, Chen Zheng, and the rest of the Chen Family furrowed their brows.

Shi Yunhai didn’t respond. He walked to the front of the crowd and glanced at the decapitated, rotting, and gruesome corpse before fixing his deadly gaze on Shi Muyao.

"Shi Muyao, I’m going to kill you!" Thick killing intent poured out of Shi Yunhai’s body.

"Are you Shi Ming’s brother, Shi Yunhai?" Mo Qianqian stepped forward, shielding Shi Muyao behind him. "You came back just in time. I killed your brother. Now, I’m going to kill you too, just to save myself the trouble."

"What did you say?" Shi Yunhai locked his gaze on Mo Qianqian, a murderous light glinting in his eyes.

Everyone present was taken aback. Mo Qianqian wanted to kill Shi Yunhai to save trouble?

"Is Mo Qianqian crazy? Did he just say he could kill Yunhai?"

"Such arrogance! Does he still think he’s the man he used to be?"

"He’s just trying to play the hero and save the beauty. What a pity that Yunhai isn’t stupid."

"Hero or not, he’s going to die today!"

"He deserves it. I’ve been sick of him for a long time. He’s just a cripple. Does he really think he’s a proper live-in son-in-law of the Shi Family?"

The Shi Family crowd broke into cold, mocking whispers.

Facing Shi Yunhai’s murderous glare, Mo Qianqian calmly repeated, "I said, I killed your brother, and I’m going to kill you too!"

"You have a death wish!" Shi Yunhai was about to attack.

Right at this moment, an old man’s loud shout rang out. "Stop!"

The crowd paused and turned to look. Another group of people was marching toward them. Leading the group was a stern-faced, black-haired old man dressed in a merchant’s robe.

"Pavilion Master Wan!"

Upon seeing the old man, the expressions of Patriarch Shi, Shi Yan, and the rest of the Shi Family changed. Wansai, the Pavilion Master of the Qingcheng Ten Thousand Spirits Pavilion, had actually led a team into their Shi Family. Shi Yunhai halted his steps and turned his attention to the Ten Thousand Spirits Pavilion group.

"Pavilion Master Wan, this is the internal affair of our Shi Family. It has nothing to do with the Ten Thousand Spirits Pavilion, does it?" Patriarch Shi was the first to speak.

"Shi Muyao is someone the Ten Thousand Spirits Pavilion favors. In all future collaborations, if Shi Muyao is not involved, the Ten Thousand Spirits Pavilion will never work with the Shi Family again," the Pavilion Master stated with absolute finality.

The faces of Patriarch Shi and the Shi Family members turned ugly.

"Right, right, right! You can’t kill Shi Muyao! Just kill Mo Qianqian. He’s the one who committed the murder anyway. It has nothing to do with my Yaoyao," Yang Lan interjected.

"She killed my brother! Shi Muyao must die!" Shi Yunhai declared, his eyes freezing over.

"If you kill her, not only will you lose all future cooperation with the Ten Thousand Spirits Pavilion, but you will also face our suppression," the Pavilion Master added.

The expressions of the Shi Family members darkened even further. Ceasing cooperation and active suppression were two entirely different matters. A lack of cooperation was merely a loss in one direction; they could always seek out other factions. Partnering with other cities would just be more costly and difficult. However, if they faced suppression from the Ten Thousand Spirits Pavilion, all of the Shi Family’s businesses would suffer catastrophic losses.

Shi Yan couldn’t hold back anymore and cut in, utterly baffled. "Pavilion Master Wan, Shi Muyao doesn’t seem to have anything special about her. Our Shi Family has plenty of talented individuals. There’s no need for the Ten Thousand Spirits Pavilion to fixate on her, is there?"

"Who the Ten Thousand Spirits Pavilion favors is none of your concern," the Pavilion Master replied.

Shi Yan frowned. She couldn’t wrap her head around this point either. For someone in the position of the Wanling Pavilion Master, beautiful women were available everywhere. Aside from her looks, Shi Muyao didn’t seem to have anything particularly outstanding about her. If it was about talent, she was far inferior to Shi Yunhai.

"This is merely a branch of the Ten Thousand Spirits Pavilion. I doubt Your Excellency has the final say over the entire Ten Thousand Spirits Pavilion," Shi Yunhai said, visibly displeased.

"At the very least, I have the final say over the Qingcheng Ten Thousand Spirits Pavilion." The Pavilion Master glanced at Mo Qianqian and Shi Muyao before continuing, "I am protecting these two!"

Shi Yunhai’s eyes narrowed. "The Cloud Void Sect stands behind me!"

"Not even an Elder of the Cloud Void Sect would dare speak to me like that!" the Pavilion Master began to show his annoyance.

Shi Yunhai’s expression soured.

"Wansai, you are not the sole authority of the Ten Thousand Spirits Pavilion!" Right at this moment, Kong Ren couldn’t hold back anymore. He stepped forward and announced, "I am Steward Kong Ren from the Central Earth Headquarters of the Ten Thousand Spirits Pavilion! Under orders from the headquarters, I have come to thoroughly investigate the matter of an outsider murdering an Elder of the Ten Thousand Spirits Pavilion, and how the branch Pavilion Master has not only failed to punish the culprit but has actually shielded them!"

"Then you might be disappointed. Kong Mingcheng has been lining his own pockets all these years. If a real investigation were launched, his fate wouldn’t necessarily be any better than it is now." The Pavilion Master didn’t seem to mind much and instead countered, "Steward Kong, if I’m not mistaken, the Central Earth Headquarters didn’t give you explicitly clear orders to come down here and investigate me, did they?"

Kong Ren’s expression faltered. The headquarters hadn’t actually ordered him to investigate. He had come down privately because Kong Mingcheng was his son. With the support of an Elder above him, the headquarters had merely "tacitly approved" his actions.

"Your Kong Family may have some people in the headquarters, but don’t forget—my surname is Wan!" the Pavilion Master reminded him.

Hearing this, Kong Ren’s face completely fell. The master of the Ten Thousand Spirits Pavilion’s headquarters was also surnamed Wan. Could it be that this Wansai was a direct descendant of the Wan family?

"Hmph! Regardless, I am going to torture and kill Mo Qianqian today!" Kong Mingcheng glared viciously at Mo Qianqian. He might not be able to contend with the Pavilion Master, but taking down Mo Qianqian was an absolute must.

"Yes, we must kill that animal, Mo Qianqian!" Li Rong, who was standing beside Kong Mingcheng, shouted as well.

"Let’s put the investigation aside for now. If we deal with an outsider, I assume the Ten Thousand Spirits Pavilion’s headquarters wouldn’t interfere, right?" As Kong Ren spoke, he looked at Mo Qianqian.

Mo Qianqian furrowed his brow. He wondered what cultivation level this Kong Ren possessed, and whether the Pavilion Master would be able—and willing—to fend him off for them.

"I already said that I am protecting these two. If you want to make a move, you’ll have to get past me first." The Pavilion Master’s stance was resolute; he showed zero fear of Kong Ren.

"Then let’s see if the Pavilion Master can actually protect him!" Kong Ren let out a deep shout. He took a step forward, and a formidable aura erupted from his body.