The Entry-plundering Demon Hunter

Chapter 250: Chapter 247: The Bustling and Lively Night Market

An oppressive pressure filled the conference room.

It lingered for a long time, and no one said another word.

It wasn’t until several minutes later that they finally came to their senses.

All eyes invariably turned to the corner of the table that Yi Nanshan had just snapped off.

The shock in their hearts had yet to fade.

Yi Nanshan was already known for being fiercely protective of his own.

His willingness to confront the entire Martial Arts Alliance for Lin Yi today spoke volumes about his determination.

If anyone dared to cause trouble for Lin Yi again, given Yi Nanshan’s temper, things would not end peacefully.

After the momentary shock,

The other five all turned to look at Old Yao.

Though no one spoke, Old Yao understood the meaning behind their gazes.

They all seemed to be warning him: don’t provoke Lin Yi, and whatever you do, don’t provoke Yi Nanshan.

But at this moment, Old Yao felt deeply wronged.

Though he had a plan to "cultivate a Martial God,"

he hadn’t actually implemented it. It was still in the planning stages.

After all, at his age and as the head of a family,

he naturally had to weigh the pros and cons carefully.

Lin Yi was now involved with too many powerful entities. Besides the Taigu Yi Family, there was also the Town Martial Department.

Both were protecting Lin Yi from the shadows.

If he chose to implement his plan at a time like this,

it would be tantamount to declaring war on the Town Martial Department and the Yi Family.

Old Yao might have been an extremist, but he wasn’t a fool. Why would he push himself and his entire family into the eye of the storm?

And yet, someone had deliberately targeted Lin Yi under the banner of the Martial Arts Alliance.

They even tried to trap Lin Yi with a Heart Spirit Domain.

This was a clear attempt to frame him.

But now, Old Yao found himself unable to explain the situation.

He had tried, but as he’d just seen, it only enraged Yi Nanshan further.

After a long while, he let out a heavy sigh.

"This meeting is adjourned," Old Yao said, breaking the strange atmosphere.

Three of the other five stood up and walked out of the conference room.

The two who remained were Lao Ning and Elder Han. They were the closest to Old Yao.

Moreover, they were also participants in the "cultivate a Martial God" plan.

With things having developed this far, they too sensed that something was amiss.

Once the other three had left, they moved closer to Old Yao.

"Elder Yao, what’s really going on here?

You said just now there’s a traitor in the Martial Arts Alliance? Is that true?" Lao Ning pressed urgently.

Old Yao opened his eyes and glanced at them.

With a slight smile, he shook his head. "I was just speaking off the cuff. I don’t have any conclusive proof."

"However, it is true that someone wants to incite conflict among us, to make the great families fight each other!"

"By provoking Lin Yi under the Martial Arts Alliance’s name, aren’t they just trying to make the Town Martial Department and the Yi Family see us as enemies?"

Old Yao’s voice was now faint, lacking its usual strength.

Lao Ning and Elder Han exchanged a look.

"Then what should we do? If we can’t expose the one who framed us, we’ll end up as Yi Nanshan’s enemies, won’t we?"

"And there’s the Town Martial Department, too. Each one is more trouble than the last!"

Just as Lao Ning finished speaking,

Elder Han, who was beside them, added, "It’s more than just the Yi Family and the Town Martial Department. Have you all forgotten? That Lin Yi is also the disciple of the Elder Celestial Master of Dragon Tiger Mountain! Even though the Elder Celestial Master has always remained apart from the secular world..."

"if he found out his disciple was being bullied, do you think he’d just let it slide?"

"Even if he doesn’t want to get involved, he’d be forced into the mortal coil!"

As soon as Elder Han finished speaking,

the expressions on Lao Ning and Old Yao’s faces grew even more grim.

To them, it now felt as if they’d been backed into a corner.

There was no way out.

If they wanted to escape this predicament, they had to find another way.

"If someone is truly trying to frame us, we cannot let them succeed!"

"If our families really start feuding, the situation will spiral out of control!"

"And we’d be walking right into their trap... Elder Han, Elder Ning, we have no choice but to shelve the plan for now. Whether a Martial God is cultivated or not, let the Yi Family and the Town Martial Department worry about it!"

"We shouldn’t get involved any further!"

"In fact, not only should we stay out of it, we must give them our full support!"

"Therefore, while the plan is on hold and to avoid any more misunderstandings, we must send people to protect Lin Yi. We absolutely cannot allow him to come to even the slightest harm!"

"We must eliminate any and all potential dangers... This is absolutely not the time for infighting. We need to be more united than ever and unmask the people pulling the strings!"

"And clear our names!"

When Old Yao finished, the other two nodded in agreement.

"Yes, I agree."

"I agree as well. These are extraordinary times, and Lin Yi must be our top priority for protection!"

"We can’t let anyone use him to sow discord among our families!"

Once the three of them had agreed on a course of action,

a newfound, unprecedented determination shone in their eyes.

Protecting Lin Yi had now become their one and only mission.

...

"You’ve all been in the New District for a little while now. Have you had a chance to really explore Songshan City yet?"

As night began to fall,

Lin Yi, Wei Nan, Zhou Qi, and Sun Tao

were all led out of the school by Qin Zhaoxue.

They made their way to the busiest, most bustling part of downtown Songshan City.

The moment they set foot there,

they were stunned by the sight.

The entire street was a bustling, jostling river of people.

Both sides of the street were lined with all kinds of street vendors.

They sold everything imaginable: trinkets, handicrafts, clothing, snacks—you name it, they had it.

The nearby shopping malls were also brightly lit.

Many restaurants were still open for business, filled with young men and women.

Looking at the bustling, lively scene before them,

they knew it was something they would never see in the Old District.

There, you’d barely see anyone on the streets even before nightfall,

let alone restaurants and malls that stayed open late into the night.

Lin Yi nodded. "Nope, we’ve never really looked around!"

"Zhao Xue, how late does this street stay open?"

Wei Nan’s eyes were wide with amazement.

He’d never seen so many people out at night in his entire life.

He looked like he’d just discovered a new world, his eyes filled with curiosity.

He was practically overwhelmed by all the new sights.

Qin Zhaoxue smiled. "It’ll probably go on quite late!"

"At least until one or two in the morning, maybe even later!"

"Whoa, that late? The New District is awesome!"

"It’s so lively at night, and there are no demonic beasts... Back in the Old District, the streets would have been completely deserted by now!"

Wei Nan said, his voice full of disbelief.

Zhou Qi, Sun Tao, and Shen Mengyi all nodded eagerly in agreement.

Qin Zhaoxue just smiled. "Come on, I’ll show you around first!"

"Then I’ll take you out to eat!"

"Thanks to you guys, Captain Chu gave me the day off to show you all around!"

"Oh, right! There’s a Martial Arts Assembly tonight, too. I’ll take you later to check it out!"

When Qin Zhaoxue was done,

Lin Yi asked, puzzled, "A Martial Arts Assembly? What’s that?"

"You’ll see when we get there!"

"Come on, let’s go shopping!"

With that, Qin Zhaoxue and Shen Mengyi linked hands and started walking ahead.

Lin Yi, Wei Nan, and the others quickly followed.

In any world,

shopping is a woman’s true nature.

Even the usually composed Qin Zhaoxue became like a little girl when she went shopping.

She had boundless energy, as if she would never get tired.

In contrast, after just a little while of following,

Lin Yi, Wei Nan, and the others were already exhausted and looking for a place to sit down.

"How can they shop for so long? Don’t they ever get tired?"

Wei Nan said, watching Qin Zhaoxue and Shen Mengyi up ahead with a look of utter disbelief.

The others all nodded in agreement.

Just as their pace began to slow,

Qin Zhaoxue glanced back at them and said with a light laugh, "Hurry up! Once we pass this next street, I’ll take you to get food!"

"That street ahead?"

Lin Yi and the others craned their necks to look.

The sight almost made them cry.

The next street was only two or three hundred meters away.

It wasn’t far, but the street was packed with people.

Plus, Qin Zhaoxue and Shen Mengyi kept stopping and starting.

At this rate, they were afraid it would take at least an hour to get to the restaurant.

How could they not want to cry?

"Let’s go. Just think of it as training for the future. When you get girlfriends, you’ll have to go shopping with them, too!"

Zhou Qi said suddenly, completely out of character.

He suddenly picked up his pace and hurried to catch up with Qin Zhaoxue and Shen Mengyi.

"Holy shit, did Zhou Qi take some kind of stimulant? How did he get so pumped all of a sudden? And where did that sudden insight come from?" Wei Nan said in disbelief.

Even Sun Tao nodded. "Yeah, that’s really not like him. But he has a point. If we don’t practice now, we’ll have trouble finding girlfriends later. Let’s go!"

After psyching each other up, the two of them also hurried after the others.

But Lin Yi, who was deliberately hanging back, didn’t share their lighthearted mood.

His gaze kept darting around, warily scanning the area behind and around him.

Ever since they’d arrived on this street,

Lin Yi had the persistent feeling that they were being watched.

He couldn’t find any concrete evidence,

but the feeling of being watched, of being targeted, was growing stronger.

But there was no warning of danger.

For the moment, Lin Yi couldn’t tell if these people were friend or foe.

"Lin Yi, hurry up! Don’t fall behind!"

"Alright, I’m coming!"

Lin Yi nodded and quickened his pace to catch up.

But just moments after he moved on,

a person in the crowd turned their head slightly and spoke into their collar. "The target seems to have noticed us. Spread out as much as possible. Don’t let him realize it."

"Understood..."

Soon, a series of acknowledgments came through his earpiece.

Instantly, seven or eight people in the crowd averted their gazes from Lin Yi.

They blended back in, pretending to be ordinary passersby.