Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 181

Having entered the Wonmu Kingdom, Han Li immediately controlled his magical artifact and flew towards Jinma City. After three or four days, the familiar hills west of Jinma City finally came into view. He circled in the air and then slowly descended, looking for the place where Je Woon-so’s residence had been. However, after scanning the area with his Wind Spirit Shuttle, his heart grew cold. The seven or eight houses and the simple bamboo structures were all collapsed and ruined, completely destroyed. The defensive formation that Je Woon-so had set up had been breached by someone. With a darkened face, Han Li moved towards the ruins. Although it seemed like it had been a mess for a long time, there was no harm in being careful. He entered each residence and searched thoroughly, eventually finding a corpse that had already begun to rot. He covered his nose and examined the corpse, his face frowning. The dead man was not Je Woon-so, but the loyal owner of the tea shop. Once he confirmed there were no other bodies, Han Li felt a little relieved. After finishing his search, something caught his attention. He took out the Wind Spirit Shuttle again and looked up at the southern sky. In the southern sky, two streaks of blue light were shooting towards this place, passing over numerous hills. Shortly after, the streaks of light landed not far from Han Li, revealing an old man and a young man. The old man was a Foundation Establishment cultivator with a very ordinary appearance, thin, long eyes, and a beard. The young man was a handsome Qi Condensation cultivator of about twenty years old, glaring at Han Li. Han Li looked at the two of them without any hesitation, but he judged that they were definitely related to those who had ruined Je Woon-so’s residence. When Han Li didn’t speak, the young man couldn’t hold back and shouted. “Who are you? What is your relationship with that Je Woon-so?” Han Li looked at the young man with cold eyes, ignored him, and shifted his gaze to the old man. Judging by their cultivation levels, it was clear that the old man was the one in charge. The young man was furious at Han Li’s coldness. Even if the other party was a Foundation Establishment cultivator, considering his family’s reputation, it was rare to find anyone in the Wonmu Kingdom who would treat him like this. Moreover, he already had a grudge against Je Woon-so, so he couldn’t hold back and immediately took out his magical artifact. However, the old man quickly stretched out his arm to stop him. “We don’t know who that person is, so wait. Let’s figure out the situation first.” The old man’s tone was calm. However, his gaze was fixed on Gokhon behind Han Li. There was no sign of life, yet he could feel the fluctuations of magical power, which was very unsettling. Han Li’s eyes narrowed. The old man didn’t want to make an enemy of Han Li, who was at the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment like himself, without a reason. Han Li opened his mouth. “Did you do this to this place?” “What is your relationship with Je Woon-so? Are you perhaps a member of the Je family?” The old man didn’t answer Han Li’s question and instead asked another question. Han Li, slightly furrowing his brow, changed his strategy. “It seems like neither of us is willing to answer directly, so how about we ask and answer one question each? To save time.” The old man rolled his eyes for a moment and then agreed to his proposal. “Since I proposed it, you can ask what you want to know first.” “Are you a human?” “No.” Han Li answered without hesitation to the old man’s question. The old man and the young man’s faces were filled with suspicion at the lighthearted answer. “Is Je Woon-so dead?” “He is alive.” This time, Han Li asked the question, and the old man hesitated for a moment before answering quietly. He was relieved to hear that he was alive. “What is your relationship with Je Woon-so?” “We have a business relationship.” Han Li answered coldly to the old man, who asked with a serious face. “Business?” “Then where is Je Woon-so now?” “That I cannot tell you!” Han Li casually threw out the most important question, but was refused. “Then I will change my question. Why did you attack Je Woon-so?” “Our Bu family’s people were killed, so it’s only natural!” The young man interjected. The old man didn’t seem pleased with this, but he didn’t scold him right away. ‘Bu family?’ Han Li recalled the Qi Condensation cultivators he had killed while saving Shin Yeo-eum, and a subtle murderous intent arose. “I see. But why are there only two of you left? What if the Je family sends a great expert?” “Would the Je family make an enemy of our Bu family just because of a bastard? The two of us are more than enough.” The young man revealed his pride in his family and easily gave Han Li the answer he wanted. “So, there really are only two of you.” Han Li’s expression suddenly turned cold. “What do you mean!” The young man was about to argue angrily, but the old man sensed something strange and tried to stop him. However, before they could grasp the situation, a black light flew from Han Li’s hand towards the young man, and as his hand brushed past the storage pouch, a dozen white lights flew up, instantly transforming into puppet demonic beasts and puppet soldiers. As soon as the puppets revealed themselves, they simultaneously unleashed pillars of light and light arrows. The old man, surprised, immediately appeared in front of the young man and took out a coin-shaped magical artifact. Soon after, the coin became as large as a table, blocking the two of them. At the same time, colorful pillars of light and light arrows arrived, striking the coin magical artifact, and the old man was pushed back by the powerful force. At this moment, the young man’s scream was heard from behind, making the old man’s heart sink. He quickly turned his head, but his neck grew cold, and he lost consciousness. The old man’s headless body was just about to fall to the ground when Han Li appeared in the air, a transparent, thread-like magical artifact emitting a faint light wrapped around his finger. He had just drawn the old man’s attention with the Five Dragons Escape [a movement technique] and the puppets, then immediately used the Raging Flame Step [a movement technique] to move over twenty feet in an instant, and then used the thin thread to cut their necks from behind. This method was too easy and simple for him. Since the lower realm’s defense barriers couldn’t block top-grade magical artifacts, and the higher realm’s defense barriers consumed too much magical power, Foundation Establishment cultivators often only used defensive magical artifacts to block the front of their bodies during duels. They judged that full-body protection was unnecessary. This was a golden opportunity for Han Li. When hunting Demonic Path cultivators in the border area, most of them had their heads cut off in this way without realizing it. Thinking about it now, this method was similar to the Black Fiend Cult Master’s killing method. Deceiving others’ eyes and dealing with the opponent in an instant. However, unfortunately, this method only worked when the opponent was standing on the ground. Otherwise, no Foundation Establishment cultivator would have been a match for Han Li. He found the storage pouch from the headless body, checked it, and was a little disappointed. Although there were two or three top-grade magical artifacts, they were not great items, and the coin-shaped magical artifact was the only one that was useful as a defensive artifact. He called the magical artifact that had fallen to the ground, and the coin flew into his hand. After enjoying his spoils for a moment, he released a fireball and turned the corpses into ashes. Then, taking Gokhon with him, he circled the area and then flew off in a certain direction. Now heading towards Shin Yeo-eum’s residence, he recalled the situation and hoped that nothing had happened. Three hours later, he arrived at the nameless small mountain where Shin Yeo-eum’s residence was located. He was greatly relieved to see the scenery was intact, just as he had seen it before. However, Han Li didn’t descend recklessly and instead took out a sound transmission talisman from around the waist of the mountain and sent it flying. The sound transmission talisman turned into a streak of light and disappeared, and suddenly a thick fog rose, trapping Han Li in an instant. Han Li’s vision suddenly blurred, and he was surrounded by dense, tall trees. He became a little tense, but he didn’t move from his spot. He believed that if Shin Yeo-eum received the message, she would open the barrier. As expected, not long after, the dense, tall trees disappeared, and a passage wide enough for a person to pass through was created. Han Li moved the Wind Spirit Shuttle without hesitation and entered. The passage was very long, and it was only after going six or seven feet that the entrance began to appear. At that moment, a woman’s voice was heard. “Senior Han, who is the person with you? We cannot carelessly bring strangers into this place.” Han Li smiled slightly and explained. “It’s a misunderstanding, Miss Shin. The one behind me is not a person, but a refined zombie, so please spread your consciousness and check.” He didn’t move any further and waited for the other party to confirm Gokhon. After a while, Shin Yeo-eum’s voice was heard again. “I was mistaken. Please come inside.” Han Li smiled at the woman’s slightly apologetic tone and urged the Wind Spirit Shuttle to pass through the passage. His vision brightened, and he saw the bamboo houses he had seen before. Two women were standing in front of the bamboo house: Shin Yeo-eum and her maid. However, both of them were wearing white mourning clothes, and Shin Yeo-eum had her hair up like a married woman. “The widow Shin greets Senior Han.” Shin Yeo-eum bowed to Han Li. Her face was now pale and haggard. “There is no need for such formalities.” Han Li hid his questions for now and accepted the greeting. At this time, the young maid next to Shin Yeo-eum also bowed to Han Li, and he simply nodded in return. Shin Yeo-eum immediately chose a slightly larger room and led him in. However, Han Li was stunned by what he saw as soon as he entered the room. On the wooden table, a black memorial tablet was placed, with the words “Husband Je Woon-so” written on it. In front of the tablet, incense was burning, emitting a faint fragrance. Now he knew Je Woon-so’s whereabouts. Surprisingly, Je Woon-so was no longer of this world. Han Li took out a new incense stick, lit it, and placed it in the incense burner in front of the tablet. “What happened?” “It’s a long story, so let’s go to another room and talk.” She barely managed to speak, her eyes red. Shin Yeo-eum’s confident appearance was nowhere to be seen, and she looked like she would collapse at any moment. Han Li simply nodded in agreement. They moved to another room and sat down, and the maid brought tea. Han Li immediately picked up the teacup, moistened his throat, and then asked in a low voice. “Just a few months ago, Master Je was fine. It’s so heartbreaking. By the way, when did Miss Shin and Master Je become husband and wife? If I had known in advance, I would have sent a congratulatory gift.” Before Shin Yeo-eum could speak, the maid answered the question first. “Senior, after Master Je passed away, Miss decided to become his wife and remain chaste for the rest of her life.” Surprised by her words, Han Li couldn’t help but look at Shin Yeo-eum. Shin Yeo-eum nodded in response to his gaze. “The maid is right. I decided to become Master Je’s wife myself.” “That is……” “Master Je saved my life several times, and if he were alive, we would have become husband and wife soon. So, I have only done what I should have done.” It was not Han Li’s place to say anything. Shin Yeo-eum immediately began to explain what had happened to Je Woon-so. According to her, not long after Han Li left, Je Woon-so and Shin Yeo-eum also stayed in their residence, trying to avoid trouble. However, after two months, Shin Yeo-eum ran out of materials that were essential for her research on formations, so she had no choice but to go out. As a result, Je Woon-so, who found out about this later, was worried about Shin Yeo-eum and left the residence to find her. They didn’t know that the cultivators that Han Li had killed while saving Shin Yeo-eum were disciples of the Bu family, one of the largest clans in the Wonmu Kingdom. When so many direct disciples went missing at once, they sent people to investigate, and the investigation team, which had been wandering for two months, suddenly encountered Je Woon-so.