Chapter 31: Steady
Lord's residence.
Childe Guo hurriedly rushed into the door, and the hurried look on his face only slightly faded after entering.
The old man in gray clothes, Ah Fu, followed closely, but his expression on his face was somewhat helpless, yet he didn't say anything.
"Why are you back so soon?" Lord Guo Yan saw his own son returning, especially the unusual look on his face, and felt surprised.
Going out and dealing with a newly trained martial artist's family, with a 7th ranked martial artist watching, could anything go wrong?
"It's mainly because of Qiao Mu... His restless spirit appeared!" Childe Guo said absentmindedly.
He felt the threat of death once again, so he quickly retreated, not wanting to take any risks.
Lord Guo Yan furrowed his brow and turned to look at the gray-clothed old man beside him, asking him to explain.
"Actually, it's not Qiao Mu, but Qiao Mu's older brother from the family," said the old man in the gray robe.
"How can a person come back to life after death? Moreover, when Qiao Mu died, there were hundreds, even thousands of people who witnessed it. It's impossible to mix up the body," he said.
"But that person..." Childe Guo hesitated.
"Young master, you are unaware," the gray-robed old man, Ah Fu, explained patiently.
"As a martial artist with strong internal strength, as their level improves, their physical body undergoes extraordinary changes."
"For example, from being an 8th rank martial artist and above, it strengthens the five senses of the body, until reaching the 4th rank."
"An 8th rank martial artist, compared to a 9th rank martial artist, has more powerful vision, which is their sight."
"As for a 7th rank martial artist, they have a more sensitive sense of smell."
"And as for a 6th rank..." The gray-robed old man looked towards the lord of the city.
The lord took over the conversation, "The 6th rank is about taste, so after the improvement of both the sense of smell and taste, martial artists above the 6th rank are difficult to be poisoned, which is quite good."
Lord Guo Yan is a martial artist ranked sixth.
At his position, physical strength is actually less important, while the advancement in sense of smell and taste can protect him from being poisoned, so he is quite satisfied.
The gray-robed old man said, "This Qiao Lin's body is indeed different from Qiao Mu's, there is also an inch difference in height, they are just similar-looking brothers."
With his exceptional sensory abilities, the gray-robed old man had great confidence and was the first among everyone present to realize the person was not centurion Qiao Mu.
Others only see the similarities between Qiao Mu and Qiao Lin at first glance.
However, he was able to perceive the differences between the two individuals through his two sensory abilities.
"How strong is Qiao Lin?" the lord asked again.
"He is only at the 9th rank, his vitality is lacking, but it's not a concern. The only commendable thing is that he has achieved a high level of skill in spear technique," the gray-robed old man said.
"What is his way of using the spear?" The lord furrowed his brows slightly.
Qiao Mu had just died and Qiao Lin arrived, which made him suspect that Qiao Mu, who claimed to be a commoner, might be from a noble family. That's why he had such well-informed news. In that case, he would have to reconsider how to handle this matter.
The old man in gray hesitated for a moment.
"It seems to be... a Military Spear Skill used on the battlefield? Maybe he has also served in the army?"
"Oh, then there's nothing to worry about." Guo Yan immediately felt relieved.
He was already injured and with the emperor approaching, there were more important matters to attend to. He didn't have the energy to deal with such trivial matters.
Saying this, Guo Yan turned his head to look at his own son.
"Regarding this matter..."
Childe Guo instinctively shrunk his neck, then he heard Guo Yan say:
"You did well."
The old man in gray and Childe Guo were both slightly astonished.
Only the Lord murmured:
"The son of the rich and powerful should not be disrespected. After what happened in the street, it seems you also understand when to be timid and when to run."
"If this Qiao Lin is like Qiao Mu, a fugitive, it would be best to leave early and not confront him directly."
"As long as there is life, we can easily deal with him later."
The old man in gray beside him was taken aback. He never expected to hear such words.
"Until this matter is resolved, you should continue to stay in the mansion and not go out." Guo Yan then turned his head to the old man in gray:
"Since killing a young one resulted in an encounter with an old one, this time we need to act more skillfully."
"If you only cut the grass but don't remove the roots, it will grow back when the spring wind blows. I don't need to explain this, right?"
"The 9th ranked martial artist with incomplete qi and blood mastery, only his spear technique can be considered at an advanced level. Normally, he can easily crush a few 8th rank martial artists." Lord Guo Yan pondered for a moment and said:
"But just to be safe, it's better for you to go and handle this. Show them your skills."
".....Okay." The old man in the gray robe nodded.
He had already demonstrated his strength against Qiao Mu at Qiao Canxue's house, clearly showing his superiority.
If it weren't for the fact that City Lord's son was quick to escape, preventing him from venting his frustration, he could have easily resolved this matter alone.
However, it's not too late now.
..................
In the outer district's deep alley, Qiao Canxue's home.
Qiao Mu finished drinking the meat soup and placed the bowl down.
"Uh... Brother Qiao," Old Huang stopped dry heaving and finally stood upright, uncertainly asking:
"Are you saying that Childe Guo really tricked us with his evil sense of humor?"
In the midst of speaking, Old Huang couldn't help but glance at the coffin next to him.
Inside the coffin was Qiao Mu's body. To check if the Hero Courage Soup was genuine, all they needed to do was open the coffin and examine the body.
However...
"Of course it's a lie," Qiao Mu saw Old Huang's gaze and said firmly:
"My brother died a gruesome death, his body is incomplete. Let's not bother him anymore."
With that, he took a step forward and carefully closed his own coffin lid.
At this point, he finally relaxed.
Actually, he didn't know what that so-called Hero Courage Soup was, the thing Childe Guo mentioned. He couldn't say either.
He quickly drank the remaining soup, to eliminate evidence, and also because Old Huang looked like he was about to vomit. He drank the soup just to calm down Old Huang and prevent him from having any psychological trauma.
Even if he took a step back, that thing was the real deal...
Qiao Mu would not feel too bad to eat his own flesh.
After all, ever since he crossed over, he had risked his life many times to explore the supernatural ability of immortality. He had even fought with bare hands against sharp weapons. Would he be afraid of a bowl of homemade meat soup?
As for the truth... Qiao Mu didn't want to know.
Just let the truth rot in his stomach like that.
He turned around, about to speak, but suddenly looked back and saw Qiao Canxue standing nearby, tilting her head as if sniffing something.
What a silly girl... Qiao Mu was extremely surprised.
When I was 20, we had a pure business relationship, but now at 28, my body is so mature and tempting. You can't control yourself anymore?
