Chapter 99. I Knew.

For the old woman, this was the first time witnessing such a horrific scene. She couldn't understand how the face kept changing, and when it finally stopped, the mouth stretched to the ears in a laugh that made her feel sick.

Just a moment ago, it wasn't like this.

He just looked sad, as if he had something difficult on his mind.

Who would have thought that the man, with his head buried, would be laughing?

Why did she approach him?

If she had taken her usual route, even if it was a bit late, if she hadn't passed the old tomb that night, if she hadn't worried about the figure huddled in the darkness, if she hadn't spoken kindly to him, she would have been seeing her grandson's smiling face that night. But now, it was too late to regret.

"Granny, Grandma! Grandmaaaa!"

"Pl... please... s, save me. I have... a young grandson to take care of. Without me..."

Her voice was barely audible due to the grip on her throat, but she pleaded with all her might. It was her last hope, but the response was unexpected.

"You have a grandson."

"......?"

"But you don't have a granny!"

"......"

"Now you won't."

"......"

"I'm going to eat you! You'll live inside my belly! Hahaha!"

Tears streamed down her face, blurring her vision.

"Granny, Grandma! Grandmaaaa! I haven't had dinner! Can you hear me? Can you hear me?"

"...Yes."

She managed to reply.

"I wanted to eat something special today. I wanted something thick, something that sticks to the spoon like porridge. But only clear things keep passing through. Then you came. The porridge came to me. Do you understand?"

"Please... please... sob... sob..."

"Quack quack... Please, pleeease. Please save me. Hahaha! Just die. Become porridge and die. I'll eat the porridge, and you'll die. How about it? Do you like it? Do you like it? Hahaha!"

The old woman couldn't stop her tears. The innocent face of her ten-year-old grandson, who was just a child, kept appearing in her mind. She had only her grandson left, and he had only her.

'My baby... What can I do? Leaving you alone... My poor child... This old woman... This old woman... I'm sorry...'

"Alright, now that the porridge is ready, let's start with the greetings. I'll eat well... I'll enjoy it... I'll eat it happily..."

"......?"

The man suddenly stopped talking. The old woman, not knowing why, was startled and her eyes widened. Not only did he stop talking, but his expression also suddenly stiffened and then contorted.

His pupils dilated and filled with shock. It was a sudden change that happened in a very short time, but she knew something was different. Something had happened.

'What is it?'

Just as she wondered, the man turned around. The hand that had been choking her released, and she fell to the ground, where she saw the man quickly dart forward.

Clang!

A metallic sound erupted, and a momentary flash of light illuminated the area before fading into darkness.

Thump.

The old woman's heart raced. What was happening? What was going on? In the man's hands were two golden, circular objects that she hadn't seen before. But her heart raced not because of the golden objects, but because of someone hidden behind the man, causing him to tense up.

'Who is it?'

Suddenly, a laugh tore through the night.

"Hahaha! Did you find me? Did you come? You came to find me! Young Master of the Tianhua Library!"

She didn't know who the Young Master of the Tianhua Library was, but she had to take advantage of the moment when his voice echoed through the night sky. The old woman slowly shuffled backward.

- Don't worry.

Suddenly, a hand touched her shoulder.

The old woman, startled, quickly clamped her mouth shut.

If the gentle voice hadn't calmed her, she would have screamed. Looking up, she saw a young man with a kind face.

- We'll get out of here. Don't be afraid.

Nangong Yan, with a calm smile, picked up the old woman and carried her away from the scene.

It was at the Young Master's request.

But Nangong Yan treated it as an order. After putting the old woman down at a safe distance, he held her hand. She looked at him, and he smiled.

"You'll fall asleep for a while. Have a good dream..."

"......?"

Just as the old woman was confused, she felt a gentle pressure on her neck and fell asleep.

Nangong Yan, having made her fall asleep, held her hand and infused her with energy to stabilize her blood flow.

Even if he sent her to a densely populated area immediately, the exhausted old woman wouldn't be able to walk. Moreover, the shock she had experienced would likely make her bedridden for days, and it could even be worse. He made her fall asleep to protect her from the mad laughter that still echoed.

"Hahahaha!"

The madness spread through the night sky.

"I knew you'd come! You would! But tell me, how did you find me?"

Because his guess was right,

Because he was happy,

Because he was chilled,

Gui Aoling burst into laughter.

Hou Gong raised one corner of his mouth.

"Let's exchange greetings."

"Greetings?"

"Yes. Since you seem to know, you can do the talking."

"You damn bastard, trying to annoy me!"

Boom!

Gui Aoling stomped his feet. The ground shook.

Even Nangong Yan, standing far away, felt the vibration and frowned. Sensing the depth of the man's inner strength, concern filled his eyes as he looked at the Young Master.

But the words that followed were completely unexpected.

"I'm scared, damn it!"

Nangong Yan was stunned,

But Gui Aoling was serious.

He had felt it since the Nangong Family. He hated that expression, that calmness that drove him mad with fear. Knowing that he was someone who instilled fear in others, he understood. A person who showed no tension, no anger, no agitation, and didn't pretend to be calm.

The Young Master of the Tianhua Library just observed.

Standing before him, Gui Aoling felt like he was nothing, and that scared him.

In a way, it was natural.

Gui Aoling didn't know this. It wasn't his fault.

He was just a bad person.

The problem was that he had encountered the first-rate person in the world who had returned to his true cultivation.

Gui Aoling's madness was nothing to Hou Gong.

The people Hou Gong had met and faced were truly at the peak of madness, and they were extremely calm. They were so ordinary that it was impossible to distinguish them, and they dwelled in the depths.

So,

"I'm disappointed."

Hou Gong couldn't hide his disappointment. It wasn't difficult to see that the person in front of him was just a monkey imitating crude madness.

This meant he was just a follower.

Such people couldn't be leaders and were merely controlled. They couldn't survive alone in the martial world. Madness had its price, and the martial world's sects and experts showed no mercy to such people.

That's why he was disappointed.

This person had survived until now because he was within the fence.

That meant there was a fence owner. He had hoped this would be the end, but now he had to look beyond.

So, the greeting wasn't about the person.

He just wanted to know where the person's roots were and who controlled him. Sometimes, people who liked to brag would boast about their victories.

But if he just whined about being scared,

There was no choice but to make him talk.

Hou Gong shot forward with his sword spirit.

Gui Aoling was already prepared.

Gui Aoling shook his hands, sending two golden wheels flying. His right hand swept back, and in an instant, dozens of hidden weapons appeared in his hands and were scattered.

The hidden weapons and golden wheels, reflecting the moonlight, shone brightly and rained down fiercely. The two rapidly spinning golden wheels were particularly dazzling, and the strange sounds added to the ferocity.

'......?'

Nangong Yan's eyes widened at the sight.

The Young Master's charge was like diving into a storm of light arrows. But what was more surprising and puzzling was,

'Why are they so shiny?'

Was the brightness of the hidden weapons in the darkness just due to the moonlight? A foreboding feeling flashed through his mind, and Nangong Yan's mouth dropped open.

The Young Master's figure broke through the light. He soared, paused in mid-air, and then moved at an odd angle, the sound of his clothes flapping fiercely. When his feet touched the ground, the net of hidden weapons and golden wheels had already passed by him and was now charging back at the man.

"How... how did he move?"

Nangong Yan, still with his mouth open in shock, saw Gui Aoling's pupils filled with shock.

He quickly extended his energy to redirect the golden wheels to attack the Young Master from behind. Only when the Young Master's sword deflected the golden wheels did he quickly retreat to a safe distance.

Snap. Snap!

Gui Aoling caught the golden wheels that had bounced back.

"......"

His face was already pale.

He had never seen such a technique.

The hidden weapons he had thrown were a total of 36, with 24 of them polished to shine brightly and the remaining 12 made matte to avoid reflecting the moonlight.

The 24 shiny hidden weapons, suddenly launched in the darkness, were meant to distract the senses, and when the opponent tried to avoid them, they would be hit by the 12 silent hidden weapons.

But the opponent had seen through it and escaped using his technique alone.

"Surely this isn't all, right?"

"If it's not all, then what?"

A low voice made Gui Aoling choke.

"Show me."

Gui Aoling's face contorted.

Facing the calm expression again, his blood ran cold.

The attitude of someone who could have ended it but just wanted to see what he would do was terrifying, and he couldn't even laugh anymore.

"Fine. I'll make you regret it!"

He immediately clashed the golden wheels.

Clang!

The two golden wheels collided and flew apart, turning into four, then sixteen, charging at Hou Gong.

'Not bad.'

The golden wheels that entered the Ziling Eye were not twelve.

Just two.

The rest were illusions.

They were skillfully used.

If he hadn't reached the Fourth Level, it would have taken more effort to see through them.

Hou Gong faced the three golden wheels rushing at him.

"Young Master!"

By the time Nangong Yan shouted, the three golden wheels had already passed through Hou Gong's body.

Gui Aoling took a step back, startled.

The illusions were seen through, and the Young Master was approaching at an incredible speed. Shocked that the illusions were distinguished so quickly, he hurriedly called forth the real ones.

One of the real ones aimed for his neck, and Hou Gong deflected it with a counterforce on his sword.

Clang!

The golden wheel sparked and shot up into the night sky, disappearing. But one more golden wheel remained. Another golden wheel had already pierced his right side as he deflected the first one.

Hou Gong pushed it away with his left palm, then flicked his fingers.

Clank, the golden wheel, making a whistling sound, changed direction and was wrapped by his sword. Trapped in the sword light, the golden wheel writhed but soon lost its strength, spinning and falling to the ground, losing its ferocity.

Hou Gong's gaze fell on Gui Aoling.

Gui Aoling laughed.

"Yeah, that's right. I knew it. I was right."

He was laughing,

But Gui Aoling was trembling and stepping back.

He had known since the Nangong Family. If he had pretended to know then, he would have died.

When he took a few steps back, he saw it.

A face appeared in front of him, as if it had appeared and disappeared. The sword light swirled, and within it was the Young Master of the Tianhua Library.

Swoosh!

A sharp pain bloomed in his right leg. When he looked down, his leg was already severed, and blood was gushing out.

"Ugh..."

The weak groan quickly grew louder.

"AAAAAAH!"

The sword pierced his abdomen and went through to the tree behind him.

Hanging there, Gui Aoling looked up at the Young Master of the Tianhua Library.

A voice came.

"Now, let's have a chat."