: Compensation from the Mu Family, Zhang Gui Family

Chapter 20: Compensation from the Mu Family, Return to the Family

The words are divided into two parts.

Meanwhile, the fact that the middle-aged man in yellow chose to pursue Zhou Chun meant that Mu Ziying had escaped danger safely.

She knew the situation was urgent, so despite her worries about the safety of the Mu family cultivators and Zhou Chun, she rode her horse at full speed towards Biyun Mountain.

After changing horses and galloping for nearly two hours, she finally returned to the Mu family.

Before the cultivators guarding the mountain gate could inquire about the situation, she hurriedly recounted the perilous encounter of the Mu family cultivators and Zhou Chun.

Upon hearing that several members of the Mu family were in danger, and that Zhou Chun, the family's honored guest, was also in peril, the Mu family cultivators guarding the mountain gate's array immediately realized the seriousness of the situation and hurriedly sounded the alarm bell to wake up the several Foundation Establishment cultivators of the Mu family who were cultivating.

"Quickly, Ziying, you come with me to rescue Fellow Daoist Zhou. Elder, you go to Wild Wolf Ridge to check the situation first. We'll make a decision after we meet up!"

On Biyun Mountain, after hearing the whole story from Mu Ziying, Mu Xuanfeng, the head of the Mu family, had a drastic change in expression and immediately made the decision to save the people.

Then he and Mu Jianghe, the eldest elder of the Mu family, split up and quickly flew away from Biyun Mountain.

The speed at which a Foundation Establishment cultivator can fly using their full power is far beyond that of a Qi Refining cultivator; a distance of two or three hundred miles can be covered in less than an hour.

Therefore, following Mu Ziying's guidance and taking advantage of his high vantage point, Mu Xuanfeng quickly discovered the charred corpse of the [Inkscale Steed] and the bloodstains left on the ground by the middle-aged man in yellow.

"The bloodstains are not yet dry, and there are no signs of burning on the ground. It seems that Fellow Daoist Zhou has escaped."

Mu Xuanfeng looked at the bloodstains on the ground, then glanced at the traces Zhou Chun left behind, and quickly made a judgment.

Then he raised his hand and released a burst of magic power, which allowed him to take a pinch of the blood-stained soil from the ground. He then made hand seals and chanted an incantation, using the scent of blood on the soil as a medium to perform a tracking technique.

Such secret techniques, which track the scents left on hair, clothing, and other items, can be considered a measure of the depth and foundation of a cultivation family or sect.

Those immortal cultivation families and sects that possess this secret technique can usually find the murderer who hasn't gone far if a Foundation Establishment cultivator finds the scene in time and, based on the remaining aura of the murderer, they can find the murderer based on the remaining aura of the murderer.

Of course, this is on the premise that the perpetrator himself does not have the relevant countermeasures.

At this moment, once the secret technique was used, Mu Xuanfeng quickly sensed the murderer's whereabouts through it.

"They went that way!"

He turned his gaze to the direction the murderer had left in, and immediately took Mu Ziying and chased after him.

After chasing for dozens of miles, Mu Xuanfeng looked coldly at a certain mountain peak below.

"Hmph, you think you can escape danger by hiding in these desolate mountains? How naive!"

With a cold snort, Mu Xuanfeng led Mu Ziying to a secluded cave on the mountain peak and strode into the cave.

A short while later, Mu Xuanfeng carried the middle-aged man in yellow robes, whose clothes were stained with blood and who had fallen unconscious, out of the cave.

After leaving the cave, Mu Xuanfeng turned his gaze to Mu Ziying, who was following behind him, and said, "Ziying, you heard it just now. Fellow Daoist Zhou should be alright now. You can work hard to call out and search for him in the mountains. I will go to Wild Wolf Ridge to meet the Grand Elder first."

"Yes, Ziying obeys."

Mu Ziying responded, and then saw Mu Xuanfeng lift the middle-aged man in yellow into the air and quickly fly out of her sight.

After watching Mu Xuanfeng leave, remembering his instructions, she immediately started walking around the surrounding mountains, calling out Zhou Chun's name as she went.

According to the middle-aged man in yellow, after bandaging his wounds, he chased Zhou Chun for a while, but lost track of his target in these mountains.

Then, because he was injured and worried that he might encounter the Mu family's cultivators who came to support him if he went back to Wild Wolf Ridge, he hid in the mountains.

They never expected that the Mu family would value Zhou Chun so much, that even the clan leader, Mu Xuanfeng, would personally come to find and rescue Zhou Chun.

So much so that he was trapped inside the cave, with nowhere to run.

Upon learning this, Mu Xuanfeng deduced that Zhou Chun must have used some method of concealment to hide in the nearby mountains.

That's why Mu Ziying is now searching for people all over the mountains.

Although this method is a bit clumsy and laborious, it is indeed very effective.

Underneath a pile of earth and rocks formed by a landslide, Zhou Chun heard Mu Ziying's familiar voice and quickly asked the rock tortoise covering him to move aside so he could crawl out of the pit.

It turned out that he had been hiding in this pit, using the rock tortoise's natural ability to conceal his aura in order to avoid being searched by the middle-aged man in yellow.

The range of spiritual sense that cultivators in the Qi Refining stage can project is limited, and its effectiveness is greatly reduced when encountering obstacles such as soil and rocks.

Once the rock tortoise enters its state of rest, it becomes like a still rock, completely losing all signs of life. Even a Foundation Establishment cultivator might not be able to detect it with their divine sense if they are not paying attention.

Therefore, cultivators in the Qi Refining stage can only see the Rock Tortoise in its breathing state if they are looking at it with their naked eyes at close range.

However, the place where Zhou Chun was hiding was at the bottom of a cliff, and there were weeds and shrubs growing nearby.

Even if the middle-aged man in yellow had difficulty walking, it's impossible for him to walk all the way to the end of the cliff to see a pile of rocks.

Emerging from his hiding place, Zhou Chun listened intently for a moment before responding loudly to Mu Ziying's call.

Not long after, he saw Mu Ziying, dressed in purple, appear on the cliff.

"It's so good that you're alright, Fellow Daoist Zhou. The guy who was chasing us has been captured by the clan leader. It was the clan leader who specifically instructed me to search for you in these mountains."

On the cliff, when Zhou Chun used his "Wind Control Technique" to get up there, Mu Ziying, covered in fragrant sweat, immediately smiled at him and recounted what had happened.

After hearing her explanation, Zhou Chun felt relieved and nodded slightly, saying, "I see. You've worked hard, Fellow Daoist Mu."

"This little bit of trouble is nothing. If it weren't for Fellow Daoist Zhou leading that person away, Zi Ying would probably have turned to ashes by now. It should be Zi Ying thanking Fellow Daoist Zhou."

As Mu Ziying spoke, she bowed deeply to Zhou Chun to express her gratitude.

Seeing this, Zhou Chun had no choice but to accept her bow.

The two then walked back to Biyun Mountain together.

When Zhou Chun and Mu Ziying returned to Biyun Mountain, they quickly noticed the change in the atmosphere within the Mu family.

All the Mu family cultivators he encountered had somber expressions, as if burdened by something, and even fewer people greeted him.

This immediately made him realize that the situation at Wild Wolf Ridge was probably much more serious than he had imagined.

It is very likely that the Mu family's strength is simply insufficient to resolve this matter.

Sure enough, after learning that he and Mu Ziying had returned, Mu Xuanfeng, the head of the Mu family, personally summoned him.

"It is truly due to the Mu family's failure to take good care of Fellow Daoist Zhou this time, which violated the promise made to Clan Chief Zhou. On behalf of the Mu family, I would like to apologize to Fellow Daoist Zhou."

Inside the Mu family patriarch's office hall, upon seeing Zhou Chun, Mu Xuanfeng, without saying anything else, immediately stood up and bowed to Zhou Chun to express his apology.

When a mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator apologized to him, Zhou Chun dared not accept it as readily as he had with Mu Ziying.

He immediately stepped aside and waved his hands repeatedly, saying, "Senior Mu, you are too kind. I am unworthy to accept such a courtesy from you."

Seeing this, Mu Xuanfeng did not press the matter further, but simply nodded slightly and said, "The mistake has been made, and an apology is indeed of no use."

After speaking, he looked at Zhou Chun with a relieved expression and sighed softly, "Fortunately, Fellow Daoist Zhou is blessed with good fortune and skillful methods, preventing the Mu family from making a grave mistake and giving me and the Mu family the opportunity to apologize and make amends to you in person!"

These words resonated deeply with Zhou Chun.

A verbal apology is just empty talk; it's not as effective as real, tangible compensation.

However, he naturally couldn't show his inner thoughts on his face. Instead, he showed a look of lingering fear and said with relief, "This time, I was really lucky. If that person hadn't been careless and let my spirit pet injure his legs, I'm afraid he might not have been able to hold on until you arrived, senior."

Upon hearing this, a cold glint flashed in Mu Xuanfeng's eyes, and he said in a deep voice, "Fellow Daoist Zhou, rest assured, that fellow is currently imprisoned in the Mu family's dungeon. If you are willing, the Mu family can allow you to personally behead him to avenge yourself."

Then, with a wave of his hand, a storage bag flew from a storage shelf in the hall into his hand, which he then handed to Zhou Chun.

"Furthermore, this storage bag belongs to that fellow, containing all his wealth. Consider it compensation from me and the Mu family for the fright you suffered this time, Fellow Daoist Zhou. Please do not refuse."

Refusal is impossible.

After the previous battle, Zhou Chun deeply felt the gap between his strength and wealth and those late-stage Qi Refining cultivators.

The middle-aged man in yellow's magical artifacts left a deep impression on him; they were all rare and valuable items.

Now that he owns all of these things, why would he refuse?

He didn't even bother with modesty at that moment, and directly grabbed the storage bag and bowed deeply to Mu Xuanfeng, saying, "Thank you for your kindness, Senior Mu. I am unworthy of your praise."

As for dealing with the middle-aged man in yellow, Zhou Chun naturally wouldn't overstep his bounds.

He believed the Mu family would definitely not let that guy get away with it.

"It's good that Fellow Daoist Zhou is willing to accept."

Mu Xuanfeng waved his hand, then fixed his gaze on Zhou Chun and slowly said, "The Mu family may have encountered some problems recently. If Fellow Daoist Zhou continues to stay in the Mu family, the Mu family may not be able to take good care of you. Therefore, I would like to ask Fellow Daoist Zhou to return to the Zhou family first."

"As for the matter of teaching the art of beast taming, the two families can discuss that later."

Thank you all for your support with donations, votes, and reading! During the new book period, I'll be updating twice a day. I'm really stuck with this. I'd love to update more, but if I exceed 200,000 words, I won't be able to get on the new book chart anymore. The new book chart lasts for a month and greatly increases the exposure of a new book, so please bear with me for now. Once it's officially released, I'll update 10,000 words a day so you can enjoy it!

(End of this chapter)