Chapter 649: Two News
“Something’s wrong with the Huangfu family?” Long Chen panicked. Long Yue wouldn’t have told him if it was trivial. They must be in danger!
“Big Sister, what’s wrong with them? Why are you panicking?”
Long Yue was perplexed. “The Red Souls told us that the Huangfu family has changed their patriarch.”
“Changed their patriarch? Who became the new patriarch?” Long Chen was surprised. The strongest person was Huangfu Fengchen at the Third Earthly Martial Realm while Huangfu Fengyun was the second strongest at the Second Earthly Martial Realm. It was impossible for the Huangfu family to assign a new patriarch unless something happened to Huangfu Fengchen.
The Willow Step had been a gift to Long Chen, and Huangfu Qi was his friend. Long Chen would never stay silent if something were to happen to them.
“Their patriarch is now Huangfu Yu, but he’s just a youth at the First Earthly Martial Realm. This is such a joke. Still, I don’t know what happened to them. The Red Souls had been focusing on gaining information on the Martial Overlord City and only barely caught wind of the news in the Huangfu family. I have a feeling that something bad is happening there,” Long Yue said.
Long Chen was extremely shocked to learn that Huangfu Yu had become the patriarch.
This is impossible! Unless … Something fishy is going on.
“Eldest Sister, how’s the Martial Alliance recently? Is there anything I need to do?” Long Chen suddenly asked.“The Martial Alliance isn’t moving for now. I don’t think they will do anything to us. They gave us the time to recover, so we won’t be in trouble for now. Are you planning to go to the Huangfu family? Don’t worry about us if that’s the case. My grandfather will be protecting the Battle clan, so you should go and check on the Huangfu family. You have to repay their favor after all. But be careful because we don’t know their full history.”
“Could you tell me more about them?” It was true that Long Chen didn’t know about the Huangfu family’s history.
Long Yue frowned and tried her best to recall. “I have to talk to my grandfather about it. I think he told me before that the Huangfu family relocated here from somewhere else and has always kept a low profile. I’m certain that no family or clan has ever managed to grow as large as them while under the control of the Martial Alliance, so they probably came from another Divine Empire.”
Long Chen nodded.
Due to the urgency of the matter, Long Chen didn’t have time to ask Long Shan about it. “Eldest Sister, I'm going there right now.”
“Be careful. We still need you here.” Long Yue smiled. She had a ponytail today that made her look refreshed.
After the issue with Jiang Wuxie had been dealt with, she had more time to deal with the matters regarding the Dragon clan and the Battle clan.
Long Chen brought only Xiaolang with him. They had been inseparable ever since they started their journey in the Cangyang Kingdom. Long Chen still remembered how to reach the Huangfu family since he had been there once before.
He followed the path and made his way over with Xiaolang following closely behind.
“Do you think that Huangfu Fengchen has been killed? Will we be in danger if we go there?” Xiaolang asked.
“Are you afraid?”
“I’m not afraid, but… Huangfu Qi is very cute. I won’t forgive anyone that lays their hands on her.”
Long Chen was stunned. He remembered how Huangfu Qi kept nagging him to hug Xiaolang. After spending some time with her, Xiaolang had grown fond of her. That explained his attitude right now.
After reaching the Category Three King-tier, Xiaolang’s way of speaking had become more intimidating. His opponents would’ve shivered if they saw how angry he was.
“Hah! So the little black dog is baring his fangs. I’m so afraid!” The Fat Cat chuckled and taunted Xiaolang from inside the Primordial Realm.
Both Long Chen and Xiaolang ignored him, causing the Fat Cat’s whiskers to tremble with indignity. They had long grown used to him. Even though Fat Cat could be annoying at times, he was still a good person.
Long Chen had previously taken five days to reach the Battle clan from the Huangfu family, but this time it only took him three days.
Before heading into the Huangfu family estate, Long Chen first entered the city on the outskirts. The city was called Huangfu City. Long Chen used the secret code to summon the Red Souls. The one who met him was an old man working as a doctor in Huangfu City. It was a real job that served as his disguise.
“I greet the Seventh Master.” The old man bowed as he recognized Long Chen.
In the simple study room, Long Chen went straight to business and asked, “I’m here to learn more about the Huangfu family. Tell me everything you know.”
Long Chen was hoping that they had gathered more information in the past three days.
The old man nodded. “What you’ve heard is true. The Huangfu family has changed their patriarch to Huangfu Yu, a First Earthly Martial Realm cultivator. He is far weaker than the previous patriarch, so we decided to investigate more since it was an abnormal development.”
“And what did you learn?”
“Two things. One, the original patriarch, Huangfu Fengchen, his wife, and their children have disappeared.”
“Disappeared?” Long Chen couldn’t keep his murderous intent hidden, and Xiaolang snarled when he heard that Huangfu Qi was gone too. Xiaolang’s Demonic Qi leaked outwards, causing the elder to shiver.
He quickly nodded in fear.
Long Chen patted the old man’s shoulder to reassure him. “Then what is the second piece of news?”
The old man calmed down a little. “There’s a mysterious woman visiting the Huangfu family. We managed to get some information on her. Apparently, before Huangfu Fengchen disappeared, he was very wary of her and treated her very politely. He even gave her his own house. I think the woman is directly linked to his disappearance as well as Huangfu Yu’s appointment as the patriarch. Seventh Master, I only have so much information right now. You might need to enter the Huangfu family on your own to learn more.”
“A mysterious woman that intimidated even Huangfu Fengchen? She must be at the Fourth Earthly Martial Realm at the very least. Eldest Sister Long Yue told me that the Huangfu family most likely came from another Divine Empire. Maybe that’s where the woman is from. It would also explain how such a strong individual suddenly appeared in the Huangfu family.”
Mo Xiaolang clenched his teeth. “Big Brother, what should we do? We should enter and rescue them if she hasn't killed Huangfu Qi yet.”
Long Chen nodded and bade the old man goodbye. They then left Huangfu City and reached the main entrance to the Huangfu family’s estate. Even though the guards looked orderly from the outside, their expressions were either blank or depressed. They had their reservations when it came to the new patriarch.
“Xiaolang, enter the Primordial Realm for now. Let me infiltrate alone since I have the Soul Swallowing Gaze. I should be able to avoid everyone. I will find Huangfu Yu and force him to tell me the truth. We need to find out what happened to Qi Qi and the others.”
Long Chen felt even angrier when he recalled Qi Qi’s cute face. Long Chen had doted on her when they first entered the Ancient Demon Domain. The incident today had touched both his and Xiao Lang’s bottom line.
“Big Brother, if any danger arises, we will face it together.” Mo Xiaolang was adamant. He felt uncomfortable being hidden in the Primordial Realm while Long Chen fought on his own. Now that he had become stronger, he could fight alongside his brother.
“Idiot. I have Blood Warp to escape. My life won’t be in any danger.” Long Chen chuckled.
Mo Xiaolang had indeed forgotten that Long Chen had Blood Warp.
Long Chen patted his chest and said with pride, “Don’t worry, I won’t forget you if we have to fight. We will fight together.”
Xiaolang was excited and nodded.
He entered the Primordial Realm afterwards. The Fat Cat started nagging as soon as he was inside.
To Long Chen, Mo Xiaolang was his sworn brother. But to the Fat Cat, Mo Xiaolang was a demonic beast just like himself. Long Chen thought that the Fat Cat was envious because Xiaolang received more attention.
Long Chen steeled his heart and looked at the Huangfu family’s estate. He blinked and used Sight. Everything around him faded away. He could only see the souls of every living being right now. The souls were blurry, some being stronger than others. Long Chen could vaguely estimate a person’s strength by looking at their souls.
He snuck into the estate by climbing up one of the walls. He had been here once before, so he was more or less familiar with the layout. He assumed that Huangfu Yu was likely to be found where Huangfu Fengchen once lived or worked since he was the patriarch now.