Cultivating for Immorality: I Evolved Martial Arts into the Immortal Path – Chapter 54

Chapter 54: Interrogation

The night was quiet.

Occasionally, the howls of wild beasts echoed in the distant mountains.

A few dark clouds lingered above the mountain ravines, obscuring the bright moon and deepening the darkness of the land.

It was already the fifth watch of the night. In the silent mountains, a bonfire blazed, illuminating the surrounding area.

Over ten people sat around the fire. Among them, a man with a fierce look and a ferocious scar on his face was none other than Wu Neng.

The dim firelight flickered in his narrow eyes, swaying with the wind.

“Crack!”

The firewood in the bonfire suddenly burst, sending sparks flying.

No one spoke, only the sound of the burning flames could be heard.

They were all waiting for Wu Qian to return.

Perhaps they had been waiting too long, some were already drowsy, their upper and lower eyelids fighting each other.

Just then, a wolf’s howl suddenly sounded in the distant mountains, startling countless resting birds and chasing away the people’s sleepiness.

“Howl—”

The forest under the dark night was not peaceful, hiding countless dangers.

Wu Neng’s team were all martial artists, so they were not worried about attacks from ordinary wild beasts, but they needed to be wary of possible demon beasts.

“What time is it? Why hasn’t Second Brother returned yet?”

Suddenly, someone spoke, feeling that something was wrong, and asked the others around the bonfire.

“It should be the fifth watch.”

“It will be dawn in another hour.”

“Second Brother left at the third watch. It shouldn’t take him long to go and come back. He should be back by now.”

“Could he have been intercepted by Song Zhong and his men?”

“It’s unlikely. Second Brother is very cautious, and Song Zhong and his men have already passed by on the outer road. I saw them with my own eyes.”

“……”

Their location was not far from the official road outside the mountain forest.

Earlier, one of the members responsible for keeping watch had personally seen Song Zhong and others galloping past.

“Something’s not right!”

Everyone looked at each other with solemn expressions, realizing the problem.

He hadn’t returned after such a long time, something must have happened!

“Could Second Brother have fallen into the hands of that kid?”

“Impossible, absolutely impossible!”

“I’m afraid Second Brother encountered a demon beast that came out at night.”

“There might be more than just that tiger demon in this area… It’s been restless in the deep mountains lately, who knows what other demons might have come out?”

Almost no one believed that Wu Qian would fall into Chu Liang’s hands.

Wu Qian had rich combat experience and was skilled in martial arts. He was considered one of the best among martial artists with two strands of Qi and blood.

In comparison, Chu Liang was just a country bumpkin, not worth their attention.

“What do we do now? Go back to the county town, wait here, or go back to that village to check?”

“Big Brother, what should we do?”

Everyone looked at Wu Neng, waiting for him to make a decision.

Wu Neng’s face was grim, as if water could drip from it.

“Go! Back to that village!”

◈◈◈

At this moment, Song Zhong and his men had already returned to the county town.

They had been chasing the tiger demon for over a month and were exhausted. They rode their horses at full speed, wanting to return to the Martial Alliance for a good rest.

“Master Song, why are you back?”

At the Martial Alliance, someone greeted them with a smile.

One of them asked with a smile, “Did you catch the tiger demon?”

Another person laughed, “Coming back in the middle of the night, you must have achieved something. Either you caught it, or you’ve already killed the tiger demon…”

Song Zhong and his men were well-liked, and many people greeted them.

Usually, they would respond with a smile.

But today, they didn’t respond immediately. Instead, they looked at each other in confusion.

Logically, Wu Neng and his men should have returned earlier and informed the people at the Martial Alliance.

“Don’t you know?” Song Zhong asked the martial artists at the Martial Alliance.

“Know what?” They asked, puzzled.

“Didn’t Wu Neng and the others tell you?”

“Wu Neng? They haven’t returned yet.”

“Huh?” ◈◈◈

Hearing this, Song Zhong and his men’s expressions changed slightly, and they immediately thought of something.

Song Zhong immediately ordered, “Change horses, back to Qing Shi Village!”

“Alright!”

“That bastard Wu Neng, he’s so shameless!”

“Quick, quick!”

Song Zhong and his men didn’t have time to explain. They galloped back to their residence near the Martial Alliance and changed to fresh horses.

Crack!

The group of over ten people whipped their horses and rode off into the distance!

Behind them, many martial artists at the Martial Alliance watched their retreating figures, their faces full of confusion.

“What happened?”

“Master Song and his men just returned, why did they leave again?”

“What does it have to do with Wu Neng?”

They were completely baffled.

◈◈◈

Qing Shi Village.

Time passed, and a glimmer of dawn appeared on the horizon.

Autumn had arrived, and the morning breeze carried a hint of chill. The mountain forests around the village also had a sense of bleakness.

Chu Liang woke up leisurely and had a simple breakfast.

“I’ll go to the county town today to check out the various martial arts halls.”

Last night’s battle made Chu Liang deeply aware of the importance of martial skills.

There were over ten martial arts halls in the county town, each with several martial skills.

During the banquet last night, Song Zhong recommended Chu Liang to go to the “Black Sword Martial Arts Hall” and said that it was considered the best martial arts hall in the county town.

“Learn swordsmanship?”

Chu Liang looked at his fists.

Sabers, spears, swords, halberds, axes, hooks, forks… each weapon had its advantages.

Martial artists needed to find the weapon they were good at. Master Hu from the village was skilled with the meteor hammer, Song Zhong’s weapon was a pair of short spears, and Wu Neng’s weapon was a broadsword.

Chu Liang didn’t know what he was good at. He planned to adapt based on the martial skills.

If the martial skill was related to swords, he would slowly learn swordsmanship.

“I have the Evolutionary Appraisal Mirror. Perhaps I can evolve martial skills, turning unranked martial skills into third-rate martial skills, or even higher?”

Chu Liang thought to himself, the Evolutionary Appraisal Mirror was his advantage.

Just as he was thinking, a loud shout suddenly came from the entrance of the village.

“Chu Liang, get your ass out here!”

The voice was quite powerful, instantly penetrating through Qing Shi Village.

The entire village fell silent.

Everyone in the village, no matter what they were doing, put down their work, their hearts filled with trepidation, and waited cautiously for what would come next.

They could tell that the person shouting outside was one of the important figures from the county town yesterday.

That important figure was clearly very angry.

“Quiet, don’t make a sound.”

The adults in each household covered their children’s mouths.

In the Hu Family Mansion, Master Hu, who was drinking tea, was startled. His expression changed slightly. He immediately put down his teacup and instructed the servants to remain quiet.

“It’s Wu Neng and his men. They’ve come back… Could it be for the tiger demon’s corpse? But this is too shameless!”

Master Hu felt uneasy.

“How will Chu Liang respond?”

Now that Song Zhong and his men were not around, there was no one to help Chu Liang against Wu Neng.

Wu Neng was, after all, an expert with three strands of Qi and blood. Just thinking about it made one’s heart tremble.

Master Hu thought to himself, if it were him, he would obediently hand over the tiger demon’s corpse without any complaints.

But Chu Liang was different.

He sat leisurely in the courtyard, without a trace of panic on his face.

Chu Liang had anticipated the arrival of these people.

He took a sip of tea, cleared his throat, and soon responded to Wu Neng’s words.

“I care about my reputation. Rolling out would be too ungraceful. Why don’t you all roll in?”