Chapter 171

An Iron Plate

The man stretched out his hand, inky black qi forming around it. The hand-shaped Qi grabbed Chu Shen, picking him up off the ground. The man then darted upwards, Chu Shen hauled behind him like a kite.

Chu Shen was shocked. Just who was this person and who was this wood element girl he mentioned? Something else sunk in. The man said he took the bait and he was waiting at his old house. Did this mean that the letter he received from his dad was actually a fake?!

This man seemed to have the shadow element and was an expert in ambus.h.i.+ng. He was only a Martial Emperor yet Chu Shen hadn’t been able to detect him at all. Chu Shen’s Qi formed around him, instantly expanding over 200 feet, forming his domain.

The black hand of Qi holding him started to dissolve as the man noticed something was wrong. “Dangit! Did that Master Lang already discover me?! Where is he?!” The man started looking around before realizing that Chu Shen was actually the one forming the domain.

“What! This brat, he’s only 17 this year. How could he already be in the Natural Realm!” The man panicked and started to flee only to realize that the Qi he was using to fly was starting to disappear. The man’s speed naturally started to fall and soon he was barely able to hover. 

The bandit leader had only been able to escape because his mount had wings and could fly without the a.s.sistance of Qi. The man started to fall to the ground while Chu Shen followed, keeping the man in his domain while he fell.

The man had carried him a little bit aways from his house and they were now in the medicinal gardens. Master Lang carrying Patriarch Gui flew out of the house. Both of them had sensed the surges of power shortly after they had left and immediately rushed to see what was happening.

Patriarch Gui was panicked because he felt Chu Shen couldn’t deal with the power he felt. Master Lang, on the other hand, felt as though he wouldn’t be of much use. Chu Shen was just as strong, if not stronger, then him. If his disciple couldn’t handle this threat, then he wouldn’t be able to either.

Chu Shen picked up the man he had captured by the throat. “Talk! Who are you, who sent you, why did you want me, and why did you say I took the bait?

The man was choking now because of the tight grip Chu Shen had on him. Master Lang had just landed beside him and tapped his arm. “Uh, Chu Shen. I don’t think he can talk at all right now.”

Getting the hint, Chu Shen dropped the man. The man went to his knees and coughing while one of his hands went to his throat. A red handprint could be seen where Chu Shen had grabbed him. The man slowly got to his feet after regaining his breath.

The man looked at Chu Shen before he sighed. “If I knew how strong you were, I never would have accepted.”

Chu Shen glared at him. “Speak.”

The man flinched. He nervously looked around before he started talking.  “My name is Luo Yunpeng, core disciple of the Huore Laohu Sect*. They apparently had someone related to you with a wood element that escaped some years ago. They have been pursuing her for almost five years and finally lost patience. They wanted to threaten you to get her back. I said you took the bait simply because I faked a letter from your dad to lure you here.”

While Luo Yungpeng answered Chu Shen’s questions, he started cursing mentally. He had been given this a.s.signment and hadn’t thought it would be difficult. This time around, he was supposed to abduct a 17 year old kid that had reached at least the Martial Army stage. To him, a late stage Martial Emperor, this would be child’s play. The only problem was that his teacher was at the Earth Stage.

He had the shadow element and had just started refining his elemental Qi, making him a half-step Earth Stage cultivator. Because of his shadow element, he was perfect for ambushes and could hide from Nature Stage cultivators. Because of this, he thought he simply needed to observe the kid for awhile until his master left and then s.n.a.t.c.h him.

He had been observing the patriarch’s house because he figured they would at least pay their respects when they arrived. Of course, he was only paying it some attention since they were only supposed to arrive tomorrow but unexpectedly the were a day early.

Oh how lucky he thought he was when the kid’s master left him. Quickly swooping in, he s.n.a.t.c.hed the kid and started to flee. If the kid hadn’t been this strong, he would have undoubtedly left without his master being able to pursue him. He had truly kicked an iron plate this time.

When he heard that someone related to him had escaped, Chu Shen immediately thought of his mom. Upon hearing they had been chasing her for five years he became excited. This was definitely his mom! All the signs pointed to it!

Chu Shen grabbed Luo  Yungpeng’s shoulders. “Her name! Tell me her name!”

Luo Yungpeng had relaxed slightly after telling them he was a core disciple of the Huore Laohu sect. They wouldn’t dare do anything to him after that, right? It had appeared as though he had been right since they hadn’t touched him afterwards. Now though, he was frightened out of his wits. These people could easily kill him and he wouldn’t have a chance to fight back.

“H-her name is Chu Xin.”

Master Lang grabbed Chu Shen and pulled him off Yungpeng. “Stop that! Chu Shen, do you know anything about the Huore Laohu sect?”

Chu Shen shook his head and glanced back to make sure Luo Yungpeng wasn’t attempting to runaway. Master Lang nodded and sighed. “Well, then you might not understand but I will attempt to tell you. The Huore Laohu sect is a sect equal to our sect. They are one of the four major powers under the empire. We can’t fight with them and we also can’t accuse them of anything.”

Chu Shen frowned. “I understand that they’re powerful, but that is my mom we are talking about! That was my mom’s name! My dad should also be caught up in this.” He glared at Luo Yungpeng. “I should’ve known that it was a fake message when it didn’t have the blood seal like the last message my dad sent. The blood seal is impossible to fake and requires someone directly related to the sender.”

Chu Shen sighed. “Help me Master Lang. I don’t know what to do.”

Master Lang scratched his head. “Well, I can at least tell you why they would want your mom if she truly does have the wood element. It would at least explain why they captured her but didn’t kill her.”

A/N: So I am sure that google translate will mess this up but Huore Laohu is 火熱老虎 which translated means Fiery Tiger. Type in Fiery Tiger to Chinese (Simplified) to get the same characters, to anyone that's actually interested.