All this complex information tangled together, leaving Lin Huang completely baffled.
Since he couldn’t figure it out, Lin Huang shook his head helplessly, gradually putting aside his doubts to focus on driving his carriage. Right now, he was just a coachman. Why should he care about such nonsense?
However, trouble always finds a way.
After Lin Huang had obediently acted as a coachman for two days, Jia Wanjing’s coughing worsened. He even coughed up blood, which frightened Jia Xuexuan so much that her face turned deathly pale. She hurriedly found an inn for them to stay at.
Seeing this, the accompanying escort team couldn’t help but sigh. They feared that Jia Wanjing, the wealthiest man who had dominated the merchant routes for decades, would struggle to reach the Blood Triangle alive.
Lin Huang also felt a bit frustrated. "Why am I following this merchant caravan? Isn’t this just asking for trouble? Couldn’t I just leave all this nonsense to Qin Xuance?" he thought.
Over the past few days, although that mysterious Blood Shadow had not reappeared, Lin Huang had never forgotten about it. Even though there had been few incidents on the journey, the hidden danger posed by the Blood Shadow was entirely lethal.
"Changsheng, my father wants to wash his face. Bring up a basin of water!"
Upstairs in the inn, Jia Xuexuan looked full of sorrow. It was obvious she was in very low spirits. Having recently suffered a major disaster, her father was now in such a terrible state. The once carefree girl was now completely at a loss.
When Lin Huang brought the water into the room, Jia Wanjing’s face was extremely pale. He looked like a candle in the wind, liable to be snuffed out at any moment.
"Xuanxuan, I suddenly have a craving for braised goose liver. Go and order some. You know how I like it," Jia Wanjing instructed between coughs.
"Mhm." Jia Xuexuan agreed and went downstairs.
When Lin Huang also prepared to leave the room, Jia Wanjing suddenly waved his hand and said with a cough, "You stay. I have something to tell you."
"Me?" Lin Huang pointed at himself, full of doubts. He was just a coachman. What could Jia Wanjing possibly want to discuss with him? "Has the illness made him go crazy?" he wondered.
"Your name probably isn’t Lin Changsheng, is it?" Jia Wanjing spoke slowly while looking at Lin Huang, gesturing with an open hand for him to sit down.
Lin Huang frowned slightly, but his mind quickly cleared. If Jia Wanjing truly was a Celestial Element Realm Martial Artist, then given the intellect that allowed him to stay hidden for so many years, it wouldn’t be hard for him to notice some clues. Thinking about it, how could the wealthiest man in Xitang be an ordinary person? He was likely shrewd to the bone.
"You have a good eye, Master Jia!"
Lin Huang smiled helplessly, effectively admitting to Jia Wanjing’s claim. However, he did not remove his human skin mask, nor did he reveal his true identity. Jia Wanjing didn’t seem to care about that anyway.
"You are far from simple yourself, Master Jia. You clearly possess a peerless Profound Skill, yet you’ve hidden it all these years while fighting tooth and nail in the business world every day without anyone ever finding out." Since Jia Wanjing had seen through his disguise, Lin Huang naturally couldn’t show weakness, so he replied with a smile.
"You knew?"
This time, it was Jia Wanjing’s turn to be a little surprised. In his eyes, Lin Huang was merely a minor Human Element Realm Martial Artist, entirely incapable of seeing through such things.
"Although you cough every day, Master Jia, your right hand is always hidden in your sleeve. That’s to make it easier to draw a blade, isn’t it?
"You also have thick hand cream on your hands, likely to cover up calluses. A merchant shouldn’t have calluses on his hands.
"Furthermore, you’ve traveled to various commercial establishments and encountered danger numerous times, yet you’ve always turned peril into safety. That’s no simple feat!
"Along this journey, you’ve been coughing for ten days straight. If an ordinary person coughed like this, they would have passed away long ago.
"And the silent deaths of those ten Celestial Element Martial Artists outside Yongxue Pass... that’s not something an ordinary person could achieve."
Lin Huang analyzed point by point to give Jia Wanjing a shock, preventing him from seizing control of the conversation.
"What an interesting little guy!" Looking at Lin Huang, Jia Wanjing suddenly smiled. "You don’t need to say so much. I asked you to stay because I have a favor to ask of you, so the control of the conversation rests in your hands no matter what."
Lin Huang raised his eyebrows and smiled awkwardly.
"May I ask, Master Jia, what exactly is going on here? And what do you want me to do?" Since everything was out in the open, Lin Huang stopped hiding and directly voiced his doubts.
Jia Wanjing shook his head, squeezing out an ugly smile on his sallow face. "You’re a smart person. You should understand that the more you know, the faster you die, especially for a Martial Artist with such low strength like yourself."
"But what if I absolutely must know?" Lin Huang said with a frown.
"Believe me, anyone below the Martial Marquis Realm who knows about this will likely not have a good life from now on," Jia Wanjing said with a serious face.
"Martial Marquis Realm!" Lin Huang looked at Jia Wanjing, who seemed like a sick cat in front of him, and his expression changed drastically. It was as if a muffled thunderclap had struck him in the head. "Jia Wanjing’s words just now undoubtedly admit that he is a Martial Artist, and a Martial Marquis at that," he thought.
Lin Huang felt somewhat disoriented. "Are Martial Marquises in the East Spirit Realm so worthless now?" he wondered. "I can just casually bump into one? Does the wealthiest man, busy with business every day, have time for Cultivation? And he even became a Martial Marquis? One must know that the Sect Masters of the Four Great Sects are currently only at the Half-Step Martial Marquis Realm!"
After calming himself down, Lin Huang finally asked, "I wonder what exactly it is that you want from me, Master Jia?" He was only at the Human Element Realm, so suddenly meeting a Martial Marquis still gave him quite a shock.
At this point, Jia Wanjing’s expression turned solemn. He grabbed Lin Huang’s hand and said, "Take Xuanxuan to the Blood Triangle, find Fengg Wanli of the Blood Robe Alliance, and entrust Xuanxuan to him."
"Miss Xuanxuan?" Lin Huang frowned and politely declined. "I’m afraid I don’t have the ability. I’m only at the Human Element Eighth Heaven. How can I protect Miss Xuanxuan? Moreover, do you trust me that much?"
"My own life is in danger, how can I have the ability to protect others?" he thought.
"I know," Jia Wanjing nodded, his face full of helplessness. "But I have no choice. I can only entrust Xuanxuan to you. No one else will do."
"Why is that?" Lin Huang was full of doubts. Since Jia Wanjing was a Martial Marquis Powerhouse, even with a persistent illness, he should be able to easily reach the Blood Triangle with his Profound Skill.
"I am destined to never walk into the Blood Triangle!" Jia Wanjing smiled with a hoarse voice. His face showed a mix of helplessness and relief.
"Aren’t there four Celestial Element Realm Martial Artists in the escort team? They are much more capable than me," Lin Huang replied, not bothering to ask why Jia Wanjing claimed he couldn’t enter the Blood Triangle.
"Didn’t you see that bloody shadow that night?" Jia Wanjing looked at Lin Huang and laughed between coughs. Although his gaze was gentle, Lin Huang found it extremely piercing. He feared that nothing on this journey had escaped Jia Wanjing’s discerning eyes.
At the same time, Lin Huang felt quite shocked. Since Jia Wanjing didn’t believe he could escort Jia Xuexuan but still sought him out, it could only mean one thing: everyone else had been subjected to Soul Capturing by that mysterious Blood Shadow. Thinking of this, Lin Huang drew a sharp breath. By this logic, the escort team in the inn was a ticking time bomb, liable to erupt with murderous intent at any time and any place.
"You are very special. Out of everyone I’ve seen, you are the only one whose mind hasn’t been controlled by the Blood Crow!" Jia Wanjing explained, "In the escort team, besides you and Xuanxuan, everyone has been subjected to Soul Capturing by the Blood Crow’s Eye. Therefore, only you can escort Xuanxuan."
"That Blood Shadow... is the Blood Crow’s Eye?!" Lin Huang sighed inwardly. It turned out to be a Pupil Technique. No wonder it possessed such powerful Soul Capturing Power. If it weren’t for the special Martial Soul in his body, he probably wouldn’t have escaped either.
Afterward, Lin Huang cupped his fists and said, "Forgive my intrusion, but I boldly ask: how did you figure out that these people had been subjected to Soul Capturing, Master Jia? As far as I know, even if someone undergoes Soul Capturing, it is very difficult to detect unless the Spellcaster actively uses them."
Jia Wanjing smiled but began coughing violently again, seemingly out of breath. It took him a long while to calm down before he slowly spoke. "Because... there is a Blood Crow suppressed within my own body. My entire Cultivation was destroyed by it, but I can also borrow its power to sense certain things."
In the room, Lin Huang widened his eyes in shock, suddenly understanding a few things. Jia Wanjing’s current state was entirely due to the Blood Crow within him. Just the Blood Crow’s Eye was terrifying enough, easily capturing a person’s soul. Never mind an entire Blood Crow entering one’s body. It was only thanks to Jia Wanjing being a Martial Marquis that he had managed to hold on for so long.
"Kid, are you going to agree to this or not!" Getting back to the main topic, Jia Wanjing asked amid his coughs.
"This... I need to think about it!" Lin Huang hesitated. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to escort Jia Xuexuan, but rather his strength was so low that it would be very difficult to keep her safe. Moreover, he could barely protect himself. Having Jia Xuexuan stay with him might even bring her harm.
"Alright, take your time to think," Jia Wanjing let out two dry coughs with a fake smile. "If you don’t agree, I’ll have no choice but to tell others that you know certain things about the Ancient Scroll of Mountains and Rivers.
"If I guess correctly, you’re deeply involved with those ten Celestial Element Martial Artists at Yongxue Pass. If their deaths were caused by you, I’m afraid the Celestial Thunder Sect and Fengyu Tower won’t let you off!"
Lin Huang stared wide-eyed at Jia Wanjing, feeling as if the stool beneath him was growing hot, making him fidget nervously. "Weren’t we just having a pleasant chat?" he thought. "He was even smiling so gently! How did this turn into a threat? A dignified Martial Marquis using such despicable methods to threaten a Human Element Martial Artist—this is too shameless!"
However, when Lin Huang remembered Jia Wanjing’s identity as a merchant, he could only feel helpless. This guy had probably ripped his face off and stuffed it in his pocket long ago. Besides, what was pride worth? Could it be more important than his biological daughter’s life?
Seeing Lin Huang’s wavering expression, Jia Wanjing coughed. Looking like a sick, smiling tiger, he took out an antique wooden box from beneath the table and pushed it in front of Lin Huang, saying, "If you agree, this is yours!"