Star Odyssey

Chapter 2210: Trace

If Realmless were simply an organization of assassins, then Lu Yin would not particularly care about them. The problem was that Realmless clearly knew the identities of Redbacks and other traitors to humanity, but they did nothing. Only Realmless’s own interests mattered to them, and Lu Yin absolutely hated bystanders.

While Xia Xing was being attacked, a good show had also been playing out in the distant Blue Moon District. Yu Hao, who was actually Tong Yu in disguise, had come into conflict with the branch of the Xia family that was in the Blue Moon District, and it was not a minor issue.

The Xia family had numerous branches throughout the entire Perennial World, which was perfectly normal for the major families. Unsurprisingly, they had a branch in the Blue Moon District, and the local patriarch was Xia Ru.

Lu Yin was actually familiar with Xia Ru, as he had used the man and his companions to get to the Cloud Shuttle in the Higher Realm during his previous escape from the Perennial World. Lu Yin’s actions had caused Xia Ru to receive a miserable punishment from Shenwu's Sky.

Furthermore, that was not the worst part. Unbeknownst to Xia Ru himself, his sworn elder brother, Zhu Xian, was having an affair with Xia Ru’s wife.

Lu Yin had asked Tong Yu to disguise herself as Yu Hao and then also purposefully go to Xia Ru's place, just to stir up problems. Lu Yin did not want Nong Siniang to be the only witness to his alibi, but Xia Ru and the others as well. Otherwise, if the Xia family became even remotely suspicious that the attack on Xia Xing was connected to Yu Hao, then the consequences would be more than Lu Yin could handle. He could not risk his identity as Yu Hao for the time being.

"Yu Hao, you're going too far!" Xia Ru snarled as he glared at the young man before him.

Naturally, he was staring at Tong Yu who was disguised as Yu Hao, whom Nong Siniang believed to be Prof. Hao Yu.

The girl was completely stupefied at this moment. Yu Hao? Professor, are you really Yu Hao?

How could Nong Siniang not know about Yu Hao? The four ruling powers had used the Yu family to threaten and intimidate the entire Perennial World. Now, everyone knew that helping any of the Lu family’s survivors or surviving loyalists would cause the fate of the Yu family to befall them.

Of course, Nong Siniang had also heard the rumors regarding Yu Hao, and even multiple versions of those rumors. She pitied Yu Hao, but she also hated him. What sort of useless man could be bullied and pushed around by Xia Zhitong before eventually escaping through suicide?

Even if she were to be beaten to death, Nong Siniang would have never dreamed that Prof. Hao Yu, whom she respected so much, was actually Yu Hao.

Xia Ru actually knew Yu Hao, which was what had led to the current situation. If not for such a connection, there would have been no point for Lu Yin to send Tong Yu to create trouble with Xia Ru and the rest of the branch of the Xia family. It was finally time for Yu Hao to be revealed to the world.

Tong Yu was disguised as Yu Hao, and she stared at Xia Ru with cold eyes. "Did you forget what happened back then?"

Xia Ru's expression turned ugly. What happened back then?

The man shot a guilty look towards his wife, and then he sternly demanded, "Yu Hao, just what do you want?"

Tong Yu casually said, "Kneel."

Xia Ru's expression grew even worse.

To his side, Madam Xia and Zhu Xian glanced at each other, and Zhu Xian quickly stepped forward. "Yu Hao, regardless of what might have happened in the past, you are still technically a part of the Xia family!"

Tong Yu casually waved a hand, and stellular energy stripped all the star energy from Zhu Xian's body while simultaneously sending him flying into the ground. "You have no right to speak here."

Zhu Xian had reached the cusp of the Envoy realm decades ago, but he had never dared to face his stellular tribulation even after all this time. This sort of fear was all too common, and many cultivators would put off their stellular tribulation for hundreds or even thousands of years.

Xia Ru was furious, but against Yu Hao, who was apparently an Envoy, the man had no choice but to kneel. However, the hatred and resentment did not fade from his eyes; no matter what, he was still the patriarch of the local Xia family branch, and he had a certain level of pride.

Tong Yu then turned around to leave. "Siniang, let's go."

Nong Siniang felt as though she had been woken from a dream, and she hurried after her professor.

As soon as the two people were gone, Xia Ru rose to his feet, his fists clenched tightly. His wife was also furious. "So it turns out that Yu Hao isn’t dead after all, and he’s even managed to become an Envoy! Hurry up and send a message to the family. They won’t let him get away."

"I know." Xia Ru gritted his teeth, still staring at the back of the departing man. The man was also feeling rather guilty, as he had spent a bit of time with Xia Zhitong long ago when visiting the Yu family.

Xia Ru had attended the marriage uniting the Xia and Yu families, and when he had been in Yu City to congratulate Yu Hao on his marriage, Xia Ru had had a little romp with Xia Zhitong. He had actually stayed in the city a bit longer than planned because of the woman, and that matter was also why Yu Hao had deliberately antagonized Xia Ru.

There was no doubt in Xia Ru’s mind that Yu Hao was real, as who else could know about what had happened back in Yu City?

Naturally, Lu Yin had learned that detail from Kui Luo. While the old man pretended to not care about what had happened to Yu Hao and had not done anything even after Yu Hao had died, Kui Luo had remained hidden the whole time, and he had seen much of what had happened.

In the past, Kui Luo had not stopped Yu Hao from committing suicide, as Yu Hao had lost all longings for the world.

This was why Tong Yu had stirred up trouble at the Blue Moon District’s branch of the Xia family while pretending to be Yu Hao. After that was completed, Tong Yu led Nong Siniang towards Mount Bleak to investigate the place.

Nong Siniang remained silent after leaving the Xia family’s home.

Lu Yin had instructed Tong Yu to deliberately reveal that Prof. Hao Yu was actually Yu Hao to Nong Siniang. As for the girl’s feelings about the matter, Tong Yu did not care, and she simply ignored the girl’s reaction.

When the two women reached Mount Bleak, Nong Siniang finally spoke up. "Professor, are you really Yu Hao?"

Tong Yu made a show of thinking for a moment. "Yes."

Nong Siniang pursed her lips. She had no idea what to say or how to react. She stared at Prof. Hao Yu, a stern expression on the young woman’s face. Clearly, her professor had gone to confront the Xia family’s local branch as a means of venting some of his anger. There was no denying that Yu Hao had survived a tragedy that the entire Perennial World acknowledged.

Upon learning that her Prof. Hao Yu was the infamous Yu Hao, Nong Siniang had no idea what she should think or feel. Sympathy? Disgust? Indifference? Like nothing had changed? She did not know.

All she knew was that the Prof. Hao Yu before her was no longer the same Prof. Hao Yu as before.

Tong Yu spared no thought for the girl’s turbulent emotions. Instead, she put on a deliberate show of exploring the mountain before leading Nong Siniang back to the academy.

A few days later, when they arrived at the border of the Virtue District, Tong Yu and Lu Yin traded places once again, and Lu Yin adopted Yu Hao’s appearance. Without a word, he calmly led Nong Siniang the rest of the way to Virtue Archives.

Right before they reached the academy, Lu Yin made it a point to say something. "Everyone has their own past, and regardless of whether that past is full of sorrow or joy, it has already become history. We need to be responsible for history, which is what we are exploring in our class. Still, we also need to make sure that we do not become lost in the past. Throughout time, humanity’s greatest advantage is our intelligence and creativity. We always move forward towards the future."

Nong Siniang stared at Lu Yin's back, various emotions surging through her. Move towards the future? Was it possible to casually move past this man’s past?

Lu Yin suddenly turned around and smiled at Nong Siniang. "Do you want to tell me about how you wet the bed as a child?"

Nong Siniang instantly blushed a brilliant red. "What? Don’t make up stories, Professor! That never happened!"

Lu Yin continued to smile. "Should I judge you by who you are now, or who you were back then?"

This question completely shocked Nong Siniang, and the confusion that had been assaulting her for days instantly disappeared. The tangled emotions that had knotted up her heart unraveled, and the lost smile returned to her face. "I understand, Professor."

"While we didn’t obtain anything from this trip, extracurricular activities are something required for all students. Let’s head on back. Oh, and don’t be stingy with your credits."

Nong Siniang nodded as she rolled her eyes. "Professor, you went to the Blue Moon District on purpose, didn’t you?"

There was a glint in Lu Yin’s eyes that faded as quickly as it came. "What was that?"

"You actually wanted to go make trouble for the Xia family in the Blue Moon District, didn’t you?" Nong Siniang pressed, quite interested in Lu Yin’s reaction.

The smile returned to Lu Yin’s face. "What do you think?"

And then, Nong Siniang was alone.

She looked at Lu Yin’s back as he left, and it was quite some time before she recovered. She patted her face and muttered to herself, "How is his past any of your business? Don’t overthink things, Siniang. Don’t overthink it."

She then made a call. "Brother, I, your sister, was bullied. By who? Xia Zhitong. I want to go after her…"

As for Lu Yin, he returned to his residence atop the stone pillar. Once there, he pulled out his gadget and inserted a memory card. A video started to play, and it showed everything that had happened when Tong Yu had been masquerading as Yu Hao and making trouble with Xia Ru. Lu Yin needed to prepare for Shenwu's Sky’s investigation, so he had asked Tong Yu to prepare this video for him.

He needed to be able to prove that he had gone to visit the Blue District branch of the Xia family, and he could not let even the most minor details slip by him.

Xia Xing’s entire reason for traveling to the Middle Realm was to meet with Yu Hao. There were smart people absolutely everywhere, and while it was possible that Shenwu's Sky would not pursue an investigation into him, Lu Yin needed to protect his identity for a while longer.

As for Xia Xing, Lu Yin was in no hurry to deal with things. At the moment, Lu Yin was more worried that the sect master had somehow managed to leave some clue for Shenwu’s Sky that Lu Yin had noticed. So, he planned to wait until the investigation moved on before questioning the sect master.action

Xia Xing had traveled entirely alone, so news of the assassination did not quickly reach Shenwu's Sky. However, it was highly unusual for the sect master of one of the four ruling powers to be missing for several days.

In the end, three days after Lu Yin captured Xia Xing, Shenwu’s Sky launched a full investigation, starting with searching along Xia Xing’s path. Countless people from the four ruling powers focused on Huaiyuan and the Blue Moon District, and they quickly found the site of the battle.

There were clear signs of battle where Xia Xing had been attacked, and the space there was still a bit unstable. If not for the fact that the Middle Realm was simply too large, the attack would have absolutely drawn a great deal of attention from other powerhouses.

Xia Ziheng was calmly staring at the Mother Tree. He was surrounded by members of Shenwu’s Sky, and the entire area had been sealed off for their investigation.

Some time later, an old man approached to quietly deliver a report, "It was Realmless. There are still bits and pieces of their poisoned black net scattered in the void, and from what we can gather of the battle that took place, everything matches their normal ambush tactics for targeting powerhouses."

Xia Ziheng frowned. "Does Realmless have anyone who can deal with someone as powerful as the sect master?"

"That’s unknown. Realmless has always been mysterious, but they once even dared to enter the Celestial Frost Sect and attack their sect master there. As long as a sufficient price is paid, there is nothing that they won’t try to do.”

"However, there was not enough time between when the sect master decided to make this journey and when he set out. How could Realmless have prepared an ambush in this location so quickly? There simply wasn’t enough time, unless…”

Xia Ziheng's eyes instantly went wide. "Unless someone let them know ahead of time and told them to prepare an ambush for when the sect master arrived in the Middle Realm."

The old man gave a slight bow and remained in that position, silent. Since Xia Ziheng had also gone along the old man’s line of thought, there was nothing more to be said. Even if the old man’s guess was right, what could someone like him do about it? How many people in Shenwu’s Sky qualified to know about the sect master’s comings and goings? None of those people were individuals whom the old man could afford to offend, so it would be best to simply stay out of the mess.

Xia Ziheng’s first thought was naturally of Yu Hao. After all, who else was aware that the sect master was making a trip to the Middle Realm?

The sect master of Shenwu's Sky almost never even left the sect, so even if Realmless kept tabs on Xia Xing’s whereabouts, they would not have had time to prepare an attack. Such a thing was only possible if the target’s destination was known in advance.

Could Yu Hao really be behind this?

"Find out where Virtue Archives’ Prof. Hao Yu has been lately," Xia Ziheng ordered.

Shenwu's Sky was an absolute monster of an organization, and this one order sent countless people scurrying. It only took half a day for Hao Yu’s information to be compiled and sent to Xia Ziheng.