Chapter 727 – The Culprit

　　Yan Zhonghua frowned slightly and seemed a little unhappy. “Northern Liang City was attacked by evil creatures just now. You also saw the soldiers controlled by evil gu’s just now. Do you still have the mind to sing and dance like this?”

　　“People should enjoy the present. After all, we don’t know when we’ll die.” Yan Huaizhen wasn’t concerned. He poured wine for himself and smiled. “Elder Brother is a little too cautious. Although the evil creatures are powerful, they’re not invincible. It’s true that I was really shocked when I first saw that disgusting corpse, but now I’m calm. When I think about it carefully, I don’t think there’s a big problem. My Northern Liang City has an iron wall defense; it can’t be broken easily.”

　　You Ming smiled coldly. “If it weren’t for the help of Feng Jingyu and us, let’s see if your Northern Liang City can still look like this after today’s battle.”

　　Yan Huaizhen looked at You Ming. “I can’t deny what my sister-in-law said. But what my sister-in-law doesn’t know is that when I was being pursued by the Black and White Crow Guards sent by Yan Zizhang and fled in a panic, the battles and dangers I experienced back then were much more terrible than the evil creatures in the city. But didn’t I still survive all the same? What’s more, even if the corpses controlled by evil gu’s really did infiltrate my army, they never hurt me. When I think about it, maybe their master is even helping me.”

　　Yan Tianhen almost couldn’t resist coughing up a mouthful of blood after hearing this. He stared at Yan Huaizhen like a monster and said to him, “Are you not worried? Your heart’s too big, isn’t it? Do you think evil creatures are anything good? Even if he is helping you today, he can harm you and suck you dry tomorrow.”

　　It’s not that he didn’t believe that an evil Qi cultivator could be good, but one’s nature dictated a lot. If an evil Qi cultivator wanted to become stronger, he must continuously absorb the evil Qi between heaven and earth. There were also different qualities of evil Qi. The evil Qi from Heaven’s Wail was the lowest kind. Therefore, it could only transform into evil creatures. The best kind of evil Qi was actually the spiritual Qi inside someone’s Dantian Qi Sea after being contaminated by evil Qi.

　　Yan Huaizhen smiled dismissively. “Nephew Ah Hen is right, but I’m a gambler and fighter by nature. Otherwise, I would have been so devastated that I’d never be able to make a comeback again after Yan Zizhang hurt me. I’m actually pretty lucky. If I met an evil Qi cultivator, who can actually say whether it’s a good thing or a bad thing…”

　　Speaking of this, Yan Huaizhen raised his glass. “It’s not easy for us brothers to meet each other. We won’t talk about those bad things. We haven’t seen each other in recent years. How is Brother’s cultivation now? Is everything still the same in the imperial capital?”

　　Obviously, Yan Huaizhen didn’t want to mention these unpleasant things any more, so he changed the topic and started talking about daily life. After the banquet, Yan Zhonghua and You Ming took Yan Tianhen with them as they said goodbye to King Zhen, and also brought the always low-key Huarong Sword Venerable.

　　Yan Huaizhen retained them for several hours. However, Yan Zhonghua said that he wanted to go back to discuss the matter of mending Heaven’s Wail with the others, Yan Huaizhen did not stop him.

　　Yan Huaizhen didn’t want to make any effort in the matter regarding evil Qi cultivators, and he wasn’t that interested either.

　　Even though Ling Chigu’s investigation told Yan Huaizhen that half of the patrol guards in Northern Liang Palace had problems, Yan Huaizhen still looked indifferent, which made Yan Zhonghua and the others feel strange.

　　Before leaving, Yan Zhonghua said to Yan Huaizhen with deep meaning, “Ah Zhen, the matter of the evil Qi cultivator is very important. Northern Liang won’t survive if the rest of the Nine Lands fall. You should think about it carefully.”

　　Yan Zhonghua had said everything he could, so he said goodbye to Yan Huaizhen and took several other people to leave Northern Liang City and directly return to the Longyao family before it was completely dark.

　　Yan Huaizhen watched them leave. Where no one could see, some cracks appeared in his calm and light expression, but they soon disappeared. His hand was tightly clenched into a fist in his sleeve, almost drawing blood. His blood ran cold.

　　Anyone would shiver in fright and be unable to sleep if they found out that the vast majority of so-called bodyguards and subordinates around them, as well as those who could fight for him on the battlefield, were actually monsters controlled by evil gu. When he first realized this, Yan Huaizhen looked pale and frightened as Yan Zhonghua saw. However, soon Yan Huaizhen thought of the key factor behind all this.

　　He wasn’t dumb. On the contrary, he was very smart. Otherwise, how could he have such courage to sever his foundation accumulated in the Royal Heavenly Capital for many years to come to such a cold, remote, and barren land, and even obtain the support of the Ling family?

　　After Yan Huaizhen calmed down, almost all the clues pointed towards Tu Feng, who appeared beside him out of thin air and could practically cover the sky and call forth clouds and rain with only a wave of his hand.

　　Nine times out of ten, these evil corpses were made by Tu Feng.

　　Of course Yan Huaizhen was afraid and he even trembled. He had wanted to tell Yan Zhonghua about Tu Feng several times, but in the end, Yan Huaizhen still chose to keep Tu Feng secret.

　　Tu Feng’s cultivation was unfathomable, and he didn’t know how many evil corpses were under Tu Feng’s control in the whole Northern Liang city. He was afraid that if he told them about Tu Feng, not only he would not be able to save himself, but he would also drag Yan Zhonghua and others into the water.

　　Although Yan Huaizhen had no conscience, he had a certain degree of trust and friendship with this elder brother of his. Yan Huaizen was betting that his brother, who had been known for his wisdom since childhood, would see through Yan Huaizhen’s abnormalities and help him survive.

　　After returning to the palace, Yan Huaizhen made a long psychological preparation, and then went to look for Tu Feng in the bedroom. After he entered the door, Tu Feng raised his eyebrows, stood up, and walked towards him.

　　“Did you send off your distinguished guests?” Tu Feng’s lips were smiling. In Yan Huaizhen’s eyes, that smile looked a little cold.

　　Yan Huaizhen looked at Tu Feng and replied, “Today, they found some soldiers controlled by evil gu among the patrol guards at the gate of the palace. The corpses of the soldiers were full of holes dug by evil gu. I asked Ling Chigu to investigate the matter in the whole Northern Liang City. Guess what answer he gave me?”

　　Tu Feng’s smile became thicker. He had reliable eyes scattered throughout this palace. He was aware of everything that happened to Yan Huaizhen.

　　Naturally, he also knew Yan Huaizhen’s attitude towards this matter. “Two-thirds of the soldiers in the city are corpses.”

　　Tu Feng approached Yan Huaizhen, raised his hand and stroked his long hair, and the corners of his lips gently rubbed against his ears and on his face.

　　Yan Huaizhen only felt that Tu Feng’s lips were so cold, like a dead insect crawling on his face, and he couldn’t help getting goosebumps all over.

　　“I was still wondering when you’d find out about it.” Tu Feng chuckled twice. “I didn’t expect that you could be so calm and wait until they’ve left to demand an explanation from me.”

　　Yan Huaizhen pushed Tu Feng away and stared at his purple eyes. “I didn’t demand an explanation from you. I just want to know the truth of the matter — who exactly are you, and why did you choose to help me? And are these evil creatures today also related to you?”

　　Tu Feng’s smile disappeared. He also stared at Yan Huaizhen. He didn’t even bother to put up a pretense, “It’s none of your business who I used to be. I just chose to help you in passing. You don’t have to think about the what-ifs. Your army was defeated, and you are surrounded by disabled soldiers and defeated generals. It’s impossible for me to give you a new army out of thin air, so I can only get some evil corpses to keep up appearances for the time being.”

　　After a pause, Tu Feng continued, “As for those evil creatures today, naturally they have nothing to do with me. They are neither human nor ghost. Their quality is too low to even enter my eyes.”

　　Yan Huaizhen tried to resist the urge to flee. “Now that I have discovered your secret, what do you want to do?”

　　Tu Feng smiled again, “What do I want to do? What do you think I should do? For example, kill you to avoid future trouble?”

　　Yan Huaizhen didn’t speak, but just stared at Tu Feng, and his eyes gradually teared up.

　　Tu Feng smiled more freely when he saw that. When he walked over, he picked him up and threw him to the bed covered with flowers. “For me, you’ve even rejected Yan Zhonghua’s plan to kill evil creatures, and have already had such a relationship with me for a long time. How can I be willing to kill you?”

　　Tu Feng gnawed at Yan Huaizhen’s neck, all the way down, and uncovered his heavy clothes. “I promise, as long as you stay with me obediently and don’t get any rebellious thoughts, I naturally promise that you, King Zhen, will ascend the supreme throne that you have dreamed of for many years.”

　　Yan Huaizhen snorted softly. His fingers squeezed the quilt heavily. His heart was actually dripping blood, but on the surface, his expression looked a little infatuated. “Okay… I naturally believe you.”

　　Naturally, he believed in Tu Feng, but he cherished his life more.

　　After a few days, Tu Feng went to the northern border to recruit troops.

　　Taking advantage of this opportunity, Yan Huaizhen disguised himself and left Northern Liang Palace alone to meet Yan Zhonghua.

　　It was a house in Northern Liang City that belonged to Reincarnation Palace. On the surface, a couple doing business from the outside lived there, but in fact, it was one of Reincarnation Palace’s strongholds.

　　Yan Huaizhen slipped in through the back door. When he saw Yan Zhonghua waiting at the door, his eyes suddenly dimmed and teared up.

　　Yan Zhonghua didn’t actually leave Northern Liang. When he hugged Yan Huaizhen before he left, he gave him a note that would burn itself after reading it, on which was written his whereabouts.

　　The meaning was self-evident.

　　“Gege,” As soon as Yan Huaizhen opened his mouth, his tears fell down.

　　Yan Zhonghua shook his head and handed a handkerchief to Yan Huaizhen. “If you seek the skin of a tiger, you will inevitably be bitten by the tiger. When you were a teenager, I said that you were too selfish and attached too much importance to power and position, which would be harmful to yourself. However, you thought I was wary of you because of my greed for power and regarded me as an enemy.”

　　Yan Huaizhen sniffed and looked pathetic. He said, “I now know that I was very wrong. In fact, when Ling Chigu’s family died for me, I already regretted it, but I could no longer back out at that time.”

　　Yan Zhonghua sighed. “Don’t mention these things for the time being. Come in with me first.”

　　After entering the room, You Ming and the others were there, and even Feng Jingyu sat there.