The old housekeeper fell to the ground and s.h.i.+vered, the dagger falling from his grasp. Proof of his bad intentions, he had no escape. He couldn't even resist when he gave his arm to An Yuan. He knew he wasn't their opponent, so he gave up while he could and hid his injured arm. He groaned pitifully. 

Han Changsheng sat down beside An Yuan and looked at s.h.i.+ Laoniu. "Hey, so, was your young villa leader particularly stupid as a child?"

s.h.i.+ Laoniu stayed silent.

Even An Yuan squinted at Han Changsheng. 

Feeling his chin, Han Changsheng mused, "Your family has been held captive for more than ten years, and someone still has to hold a knife at your throat while you do their books? Was your family tied up for fifteen years? Did you really think you could deceive us? Was your young villa leader so easy to fool when he was small?"

s.h.i.+ Laoniu and An Yuan: ". . . "

An Yuan forced himself to turn his gaze. "Those who broke into the villa fifteen years ago to kill us and steal our money were from the Evil Wind Gang, weren't they?"

s.h.i.+ Laoniu cried and embraced An Yuan's thigh. "Young villa leader, I was forced. They threatened me with my family's life. I had no choice but to kill you. . ."

An Yuan kicked him away. "Answer me. Yes or no."

The old housekeeper was in tears. "Yes. Fifteen years ago, those people were from the Evil Wind Gang. . ."

"My father," An Yuan said. "Was he killed by the Evil Wind Gang?"

s.h.i.+ Laoniu shook his head. "No, no. . ."

"Who was it?"

"I don't know. . ."

Grabbing hold of his arm, An Yuan twisted and snapped it like a cabbage. His arm fell limp, just like the first. "Tell me!"

The old housekeeper screamed, his face white as he fell to the floor. "I-I really don't know!"

Han Changsheng frowned. "Why are you so cruel? When did I teach you to treat others this way? Are you really going to interrogate someone this way? I really don't want to admit that I accepted this kind of apprentice."

An Yuan squinted at him.

Han Changsheng walked forward and knelt down, reaching forward to touch s.h.i.+ Laoniu's dislocated arm. With a little effort, the old housekeeper howled again, his arm fixed by Han Changsheng.

An Yuan frowned, staring at Han Changsheng, but didn't stop him.

s.h.i.+ Laoniu jumped at Han Changsheng as he'd just met a savior and grabbed his arm. "Master, please save me. I'm already forced into this position. I really didn't want to!"

Han Changsheng patted him on the shoulder and held his hand. "I know, I understand. You had the time to tie your entire family up, but none to allow your wife to wash away her cosmetics and perfume? I saw all the big, fair-skinned children in your family with oil on their lips. They must have eaten good food, wine, and meat?"

It shocked s.h.i.+ Laoniu. Before he could speak, he screamed. His arm had just been fixed, but Han Changsheng broke his finger like a bamboo shoot. 

Han Changsheng looked at An Yuan, depth in his gaze. "Take notes. The man only has two arms. What will you do after you break both of them? He has ten fingers, ten toes, two wrists, and two elbows!"

An Yuan: ". . ."

The nerves of ten fingers are linked with the heart, the old housekeeper wanted to roll onto his side in pain, but Han Changsheng was hard-pressed not to let him move. An evil smile adorned his face.

 "Fifteen years ago, you bribed the Evil Wind Gang to come to the villa to rob everyone, didn't you?"

"I. . . Ah!" s.h.i.+ Laoniu had just opened his mouth when Han Changsheng snapped his second finger. 

"Tell us the truth!"

Whenever the old housekeeper wanted to deny or push him off the trail, Han Changsheng broke his finger. After three breaks, s.h.i.+ Laoniu couldn't speak for the pain. He could only cry and nod. 

Han Changsheng smiled. "That's better."

"Why?" An Yuan asked.

Before s.h.i.+ Laoniu could reply, the demonic cult leader waved his hand. "No sense in asking. They either schemed for your family's wealth or were blackfaced with envy for your family. Why do you care about his reasons? People are dead because of him. They're gone."

Turning to s.h.i.+ Laoniu, he said, "The others died. It doesn't matter. I asked you, did you bribe them to kill Huangfu Tugen, too?"

An Yuan stared at him, speechless. The details are too messy, he didn't know where to refute. It was his family who died. What Han Changsheng did for him was generous. 

The old housekeeper shook his head and said painfully, "No. The demonic cult really killed the villa leader. . ."

Han Changsheng's eyes flashed with a cold light, a dark smile curled up his lips. Picking up one of the broken fingers, he shook it. The old housekeeper endured the sharp pain and said, "Villa master. . . excellent martial arts. . . Wan s.h.i.+shan couldn't beat him. . . How could I kill him. . . who else could I have found. . ."

The demonic cult leader frowned. He said nothing. He thought about his point, about other things he could piece together even if s.h.i.+ Laoniu didn't say it. He just couldn't understand it. 

Coldly, An Yuan said, "Tell me everything you know from beginning to the end."

The old housekeeper cried, "Wan s.h.i.+shan has a long-cherished hatred for the old villa master. I'm just someone who owed him some money. I stole things from the village and used them to pay it back. He found out and started threatening me. . ." 

"That night, I wanted to confess my mistakes to the old villa leader. . . When I got to his room, he was already dead. There was blood all over the ground. . . He had knocked over a candlestick, and there were ashes on his hand. . . The cover was still burning."

"It was the second volume, a hundred blooming roses. . . I was scared. It had to be the people of the demonic cult who killed him and stole the first volume. It had to be them. They used to rob the secret scripts for their own use. . ."

Han Changsheng resisted the impulse to roll his eyes. Those people were the same as those from the Mingyue Sect. Did their demonic cult kill and rob? It had been hundreds of years since the Tianning taught its members to steal other scripts. How dare they still blame them?

An Yuan looked at Han Changsheng, then back to s.h.i.+ Laoniu. "Go on."

"I saw the old villa leader die," the old housekeeper said. "I was scared to death. . . The Evil Wind Gang had me on their list. They wouldn't let me go easily. I had to go to Evil Wind Gang overnight to inform them that the old villa leader was dead and that the Tianyuan villa was leaderless. Everything was chaotic. The next day, they came to the villa and stole everything valuable. . ."

"Stop sticking gold to your own face. Masquerading as the demonic cult? How could those vulgar men come up with this? It's obvious you were the one who gave them the idea."

The old housekeeper wanted to cry. 

An Yuan got up and squatted in front of him. He glared at him. "So what you are saying, you didn't see who killed my father?"

The old housekeeper shook his head. "I didn't. Who else would do it, besides the demonic cult? The old villa leader had excellent martial arts skills. . ." He looked at Han Changsheng with begging eyes, "I told the truth."

s.h.i.+ Laoniu thought Han Changsheng wouldn't be satisfied with his answer, but he released his hand. He exchanged glances with An Yuan, and they accepted his response.

The old housekeeper didn't lie. The terrain of the Tiandao prefecture was relatively partial, and the land wasn't rich. Ten years earlier, there were no other sects that could take the lead except the Tiandao prefecture. 

The Tianyuan villa majored in internal skill, but their skill differed from that of other offensive internal mental skills. They mainly served as an a.s.sistant to the offensive internal skills. They could help the cultivators care for their health, improve their looks, and live a long life. They also had tortoise breath and other skills. 

In the barren land of the Tiandao prefecture, Huangfu Tugen's kung fu was superior. However, there are many experts from the central plain that could defeat him. s.h.i.+ Laoniu had been a steward in the Tianyuan mountain villa. He rarely had the chance to communicate with people in the Wulin of the central plains, thus, he may not know who robbed the secret scripts and killed the former master.

Arriving here just to find a cold trail yet again. Who could the murderer be?

There was a knock at the door. Yi Laosan's voice rang out, "Young master?"

An Yuan rose but didn't stand firm. His body swayed back. Quickly, Han Changsheng moved and caught him so that he landed in Han Changsheng's lap. An Yuan had inhaled a lot of the daze incense. Although he forced some of it out with his internal skill, some residue remained. After squatting for a long time, he couldn't hold himself steady.

The door burst open, and Yi Laosan ran in. "Young. . .!"

As soon as he stepped inside, he saw An Yuan sitting on Han Changsheng's leg in a daze. Han Changsheng hugged him close, and the young master looked weak. 

Yi Laosan's eyes blew wide. 

Han Changsheng's face mirrored his. He said, "Why are you here?"

Yi Laosan looked away, his face red. Then he saw s.h.i.+ Laoniu lying beside the bed. He blinked, his eyes wide again. "I. . . I heard a scream, it came from here. I just. . . What's going on?"

Half supporting and half embracing him, Han Changsheng rested An Yuan on the chair beside him. He rose, Sealing s.h.i.+ Laoniu's acupoint, and waved his hand, "This guy is an internal thief. Take him out and find a firewood house to lock him inside."

Yi Laosan's eyes grew even wider. 

An Yuan nodded wearily. "Do as he says."

Coming forward, Yi Laosan spotted the dagger lying on the floor. Taking a breath of cold air, he looked back at An Yuan. However, Han Changsheng squatted in front of him. "I'm helping your young master expel poison. Go ahead."

Yi Laosan didn't wait to be told again, so he carried the old housekeeper out.

Han Changsheng helped An Yuan to the bedside and slowly forced out all the remaining incense. 

Rubbing his temples, An Yuan felt more energetic than before. 

Han Changsheng, however, was not without complacency. "I told you the demonic cult didn't kill your father. It turned out, you had a burglar in your family."

An Yuan frowned. "We haven't found the murderer. How can we say it wasn't the demonic cult?"

If it was my great Tianning cult that killed everyone and stole the secret scripts, then I wouldn't need you to help regulate my Qi. I would be invincible, alright! 

Han Changsheng couldn't say any of that, though. Instead, he said, "Come on, it's my misfortune to have you as an apprentice. I will help you find the murderer, okay?"

An Yuan said nothing. 

Han Changsheng continued to help him force out the incense. The other night, An Yuan didn't help him adjust his breath, and he felt uncomfortable. An Yuan saw his pain and took his hand, slowly injecting his true Qi into Han Changsheng's body to guide him. 

A long time afterward, a knock came at the door. Yi Laosan pushed the door in, and the scene almost blinded him. 

An Yuan and Han Changsheng sat in bed together, s.h.i.+rtless. 

They sweated a lot every time they adjusted their breath and took off their clothes to keep from getting wet and sticky. An Yuan held Han Changsheng's arm and touched his chest with his other hand, inputting true Qi into his Tanzhong point.

Yi Laosan quickly covered his eyes. All he could see were two s.h.i.+rtless men touching their chests. "I, I, I. . . locked up the old housekeeper. I wanted to ask what to do next. . ."

"Get out!" An Yuan shouted. He didn't want to be disturbed. 

Yi Laosan's face was red. Quickly, he stumbled out, closing the door in his wake. 

The next morning, Yi Laosan came to wake up the young master. After a night of painful thought, he carefully recalled the beautiful picture he'd seen. He couldn't stop imagining it. 

Maybe the master and the young master were just practicing? There were many strange ways to practice martial arts in the central plains. Maybe he was too impure! The young master looked like a jade tree in the wind, he must be popular with the girls in the central plains. And the master didn't look half bad, he might have taken several concubines. The young master still had to spread his seeding for Tianyuan villa. He misunderstood what he saw!

Reaching An Yuan's room, Yi Laosan knocked on the door. "Young master, get up!"

There was silence from the other side of the door. 

Wondering if anyone was there, he knocked on the door again. "Young master?"

Suddenly, the door burst open, and Yi Laosan jumped. 

Han Changsheng stepped out, glaring. "Why did you wake us so early?"

Yi Laosan's eyes were wide. Han Changsheng was still s.h.i.+rtless. He had several red marks (mosquito bites) and rubbed his waist (retaliation from An Yuan). He yawned, then said, "Your young master is still sleeping. He was exhausted from last night."

Yi Laosan: ". . . !"

They spent the whole night together, they slept together s.h.i.+rtless!! The young master was too tired!! The young master's master is too weak to stand up straight!!

Han Changsheng looked at him inexplicably. "What are you still doing? Get out of here?"

Yi Laosan's heart was filled with gra.s.s and mud horses2 whistling  by. He turned around stiffly and walked back like a man made of wood. He didn't take more than a few steps before Han Changsheng stopped him. "By the way, send clean bedding later. We made a mess of ours last night."

Taking a breath of cold air, Yi Laosan burst into tears. The master and young master are really competent, okay. . . 

Han Changsheng walked listlessly back to his room. He and An Yuan were exhausted after they adjusted their breath, so they didn't bother to switch to a new room. Making do, he slept beside An Yuan. 

When they were in the bamboo forest, though, they didn't sleep together. So, they didn't sleep well the previous night. When he fell asleep, he liked to hold on to things, and An Yuan wound up in his arms. After pulling him close, he cuddled him. In the middle of the night, An Yuan always liked to break away from him. Sometimes, he would even pinch him. When he slept with An Yuan, he always had an interrupted rest. 

He even had another dream about the Dog Lord. It was unlucky. He needed to go back to his room to get proper rest. 

An Yuan was also tired. He woke up when Yi Laosan called for him but was too lazy to rise. He kicked Han Changsheng off the bed and made him answer the door.

Every time he slept with Han Changsheng, it was a special kind of torture. Han Changsheng was a cuddler, and he always spoke in his sleep. In his dream-filled slumber, he called An Yuan's name, confusing his heart. It made An Yuan too uneasy to sleep. 

It wasn't the first time Han Changsheng called his name in his sleep.

This guy was. . . Alas! It was annoying! 

Han Changsheng went back to his room and locked the door. Removing his mask, he washed his face and lay down to sleep comfortably. He didn't lie for long when he heard a noise from outside. 

Quickly, he jumped up and put on his makeup. When he stepped out, he saw an arrow stuck to the door to his room, with a letter tied to it. Pulling out the arrowhead, he untied the letter and read it. 

Frowning, he ran out to the villa.