Every day, each member of the entire clan gives me a wisp of spiritual energy.

Chapter 74 Return to Qingyun

Through conversations among the Huang family members on the mountain, Shen Qing learned that the scoundrel had hurriedly returned to Qinghe County twenty days ago.

As for Huang Dehou, according to the people on the mountain, he never went up the mountain.

Taking advantage of the Five Elements Escape Technique, Shen Qing took a stroll around the Huang family mansion on Qingyun Mountain.

The main hall has five rooms, the east and west wing rooms each have three rooms, and there is a three-story pavilion in the backyard with lanterns hanging from its upturned eaves that have not yet been lit.

Although the interior furnishings are not yet complete, the trend towards extreme luxury is already evident.

Standing on the pavilion, Shen Qing looked down at the entire mansion and nodded in satisfaction.

"good."

He was very satisfied with the mansion that the Huang family had poured all their resources into building for him, and he figured it wouldn't be too bad to live in.

Then, he leaped into the night and stealthily made his way along the mountain path toward the academy.

Perhaps because winter had arrived, the school ended earlier than usual, and the academy was already pitch black, so Shen Qing headed towards his dormitory.

When we found Zhong Xiu's room, she was holding a calligraphy brush and correcting the children's calligraphy assignments.

The light cast a soft, focused glow on the girl's profile. Her dark hair was styled into a bun and tied with a blue rope, with a few stray strands falling beside her ears.

Seeing how focused the girl was, Shen Qing simply hid in the shadows and watched quietly.

She was very meticulous, and she would write two sentences of comments on every assignment.

Shen Qing stood outside the window for a while. Sometimes he felt that this girl's resilience far exceeded her age, and sometimes he felt that she was just suppressing all her emotions in her heart with silence.

Zhong Xiu seemed to sense something, and she looked up and gazed out the window.

Shen Qing did not avoid him and took the initiative to appear. The two looked at each other for a moment through the window paper. Zhong Xiu put down his pen, walked to the window, and opened it.

Under the moonlight stood a tall and straight man, as upright as a drawn sword, with sword-like eyebrows, starry eyes, and the curve of his jawline all carrying a subtle sharpness.

Zhong Xiu's eyes turned cold. She didn't recognize this person, and her hands subtly formed a fist.

"Who are you?"

But the man didn't answer; he just looked at me with a slight smile playing on his lips.

Those eyes looked very bright in the moonlight, almost sharp, but the smile seemed somewhat familiar to Zhong Xiu.

Zhong Xiu was somewhat dazed, but she did not let her guard down.

"Shouhuang, it's been a long time," Shen Qing said, using his own voice.

Upon hearing this, Zhong Xiu shuddered, her fingers gripping the window frame tightly until her knuckles turned white.

She stared at the unfamiliar face in front of her for a very long time, so long that she forgot to reach out and brush away the stray hairs that the night wind had blown across her forehead.

"Sect Master," she finally spoke, her voice low, for the weight of what lay hidden within it was immense.

Shen Qing nodded and gestured for Zhong Xiu to come out.

Under the scrutiny of his divine sense, Shen Qing easily led Zhong Xiu past Li You's night patrol and arrived outside the academy.

Zhong Xiu looked at Shen Qing's unfamiliar face, opened her mouth as if to say a lot, but in the end only asked one question: "Sect Master, have you returned for revenge?"

"Um."

"When?"

"It'll be soon. But there are some things we need to figure out first."

Zhong Xiu nodded without asking any further questions.

She was always like this, doing whatever Shen Qing said without ever asking why. She had learned from a very young age not to expose her weakness at any time.

Shen Qing also learned from Zhong Xiu about what had happened on Qingyun Mountain over the past two months.

Huang Yuanji left Qingyun Mountain 20 days ago, and the construction of his new house on the mountain was handed over to his third son, Huang Taiji, who was in charge of the entire process.

At the academy, the Huang family did nothing more than send a steward to check the list of children.

When Huang Wenyuan asked about the instructors of Qingyun Sect, Sun Wenyuan only replied, "The instructors of the academy are not from Qingyun Sect," and Huang Wenyuan did not ask any further questions.

It was only mentioned that the Huang family would cover the expenses and tuition fees for the academy after the new year, and that the fees would be 30% higher than before.

The girl seemed somewhat pleased as she smiled and told Shen Qing, "That day, Mr. Sun was very angry and told Huang Wenyuan that it wasn't necessary. The academy's expenses are sufficient, and we dare not trouble the Huang family."

"The face of that Second Master Huang immediately froze, but he couldn't lash out. He said a few words awkwardly and then left."

Shen Qing looked at the girl and asked the question he was most concerned about: "Where are the memorial tablets of the ancestral masters?"

The girl's smile faded, and she said solemnly, "The ancestral tablet was taken down the mountain by Senior Brother Zhao and the others for worship."

Shen Qing breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this, but unexpectedly, the girl suddenly exclaimed, "Oh no!"

Shen Qing's heart skipped a beat upon seeing this, wondering why the girl was behaving this way. The girl smiled gently and said, "Sect Leader, you're not dead. Senior Brother Zhao and the others have been offering incense and prayers to you day and night. Won't that shorten your lifespan?"

Upon hearing this, Shen Qing reached out and tapped the girl's forehead. "Naughty."

Zhong Xiu's lips curved into a smile, but she quickly pursed them back, her gentle rubbing of her forehead concealing the rare expression on her face.

This was probably the first time she had smiled in the past two months.

Shen Qing then inquired about Xu Shouzheng and Fang Shourou's situation over the past few days.

"Xu Ping is incredibly stubborn. Ever since the sect leader's burial, he has been practicing martial arts day and night, and after lights out, he still sneaks around practicing qi and meditation."

"Fang Xue secretly set up a small memorial tablet for the sect leader in the room, and would kowtow and pray before morning and after evening classes. She thought no one knew, but I had known for a long time."

Shen Qing replied, "I understand. Thank you for your hard work these past few days."

Zhong Xiu looked at Shen Qing and asked, "Sect Leader, when will you bring them back?"

Shen Qing said softly, "Soon."

Then Shen Qing looked at the girl and said, "It's getting late, I'll take you home first."

After escorting the girl back to the academy, Shen Qing disappeared into the night under her gaze.

Unbeknownst to her, Shen Qing had already seen her reddened eyes through his divine sense.

The town of Qinghe at night is a bit warmer than the mountain of Qingyun, without the biting chill of the mountain wind.

The Huang family ancestral home is located on the most bustling street in the south of the city. The vermilion gate is tightly closed, and two lanterns in front of the gate sway gently in the night breeze, casting shimmering shadows on the bluestone ground with their dim yellow light.

Shen Qing, hidden in the shadows of the alley opposite the Huang family mansion, did not use his divine sense to invade the Huang family mansion out of respect for Huang Yuanji's fourth-level Foundation Establishment cultivation.

Of course, Shen Qing couldn't just sit idly by and do nothing; after all, there were some people he would eventually have to face.

Moreover, Shen Qing did not believe that the Huang family father and son would release their divine senses in the Huang family ancestral home.

Shen Qing first used his escape technique to sneak into the Huang family mansion. The mansion was very quiet, and the servants had all gone to bed.

Shen Qing was not impatient. After waiting patiently for a while, he used his divine sense to probe the interior of the mansion little by little.

Half an hour later, Shen Qing was somewhat bewildered, as the Huang family father and son were nowhere to be seen in the entire Huang family mansion.

Shen Qing found it somewhat absurd that the Huang family father and son were not at home.

Just as Shen Qing was about to test the Huang family's true intentions again the next day, his divine sense suddenly detected a faint fluctuation of spiritual energy.

If Shen Qing's soul had not been tempered by immortal energy, it would have been almost impossible for him to detect it.

Shen Qing's investigation revealed that the source of the disturbance was actually in the Huang family ancestral hall.

"That's interesting."