Chapter 191: Plunder

The night grew thick.

A barrier had been set up in the courtyard. Ma Chulong took the copper gourd, which was used to nourish the Ghost Shadow, out from a separate room.

He sat cross-legged, and after a single incantation, a layer of lustrous moonlight enveloped the copper gourd. The Ghost Shadow slowly drifted out from within.

Su Yan watched with bated breath; the Ghost Shadow's condition had indeed recovered significantly.

Ma Chulong let out a long breath. "Su Yan, you can ask it now. But be quick; I'm not sure how long it can maintain its lucidity."

Su Yan spoke immediately, "Ghost Shadow."

The Ghost Shadow seemed to recognize her voice. After a series of tremors, it slowly opened its eyes.

"Master, Ghost Shadow thought it would never see you again."

Su Yan's expression turned solemn. "What exactly happened? Who injured you?"

"That day, I was following that person under Master's orders. For the first few days, that person seemed no different from anyone else. He was constantly lingering around Master. After Master moved back into the Yuan residence, that person saw he could no longer approach Master and left for a few days. Once Master resolved the matters at the Yuan residence, that person boarded a northbound train. Ghost Shadow followed him continuously; his destination was the Capital."

Hearing the word "Capital," Su Yan's brow furrowed slightly. She did not interrupt, waiting for it to continue.

"And the place he went in the Capital is the very street Master has been searching for."

This sentence caused Su Yan to freeze in shock. Once she regained her composure, she immediately confirmed, "Yongxiang Road, Number 76?!"

"Yes, that's the place! There, that man met someone. Ghost Shadow was extremely cautious at the time and did not reveal itself to them. I heard them saying that Master's situation has been basically confirmed, and that they can now take action."

The Ghost Shadow's voice grew increasingly weak; clearly, it was reaching its limit.

The expressions of the Ma siblings were equally grim.

What the Ghost Shadow had said made it almost certain that someone was planning to target Su Yan.

"What kind of action?"

The Ghost Shadow's emotions flared slightly. "That person actually discovered my existence. With just one move, he caused my soul to scatter. If Master hadn't used the Soul-Summoning Technique, Ghost Shadow would have had no way to return to Master's side."

Su Yan's face turned so dark it could have dripped water.

To be able to detect the Ghost Shadow and wound it so severely with a single strike meant the opponent's strength was absolutely not to be underestimated.

"What does that person look like? Any distinguishing features?" Ma Chulong pressed urgently.

At the very least, they had to figure out the opponent's identity.

The Ghost Shadow's breath was already like a thread, but it managed to reply, "Ghost Shadow only saw that the man was wearing a strange mask. Additionally, that person addressed him as Mr. Feng."

"A mask, and the surname Feng?! Are you sure?" Ma Chulong's voice dropped low.

"Sure." The Ghost Shadow struggled to give one final confirmation.

Looking at Ma Chulong's reaction, Su Yan realized he must know something.

"Alright, Ghost Shadow, return to the gourd to recuperate first."

"Master, you must be careful," the Ghost Shadow offered one last warning before losing consciousness again.

A few seconds later, the Ghost Shadow re-entered the gourd.

"Judging by its condition, it will need some time to recover," Ma Chulong said, wiping the sweat from his forehead.

"Then I'll have to trouble you further." As long as the Ghost Shadow could recover, Su Yan was willing to wait as long as it took.

The expressions of Ma Chulong and Ma Chulan both turned heavy, and they gestured for Su Yan to go inside to talk.

"You know about the masked man the Ghost Shadow mentioned, don't you?"

Su Yan could already tell from their expressions that the opponent was likely extremely difficult to deal with.

"Su Yan, how did you end up provoking the Feng family?" Ma Chulan was the first to lose her composure.

"If I said I don't even know the Feng family, would you believe me?" Su Yan also found the situation baffling.

For the past decade or so, she had lived in Big Willow Village, and her contact with the outside world had been extremely limited. Since being brought back here, she had been busy with her own affairs every day and had no time to provoke anyone.

Ma Chulong and Ma Chulan exchanged a glance; if that were truly the case, things were going to be troublesome.

Su Yan raised her voice. "Tell me everything you know."

Ma Chulan hesitated for a moment. "Didn't I just tell you about the three great families? The Feng family is among those I didn't want to mention."

Su Yan roughly understood why they were acting this way.

Ma Chulong took over. "Not everyone in every family is capable of upholding justice and taking it upon themselves to eliminate demons and protect the righteous path. Some people in certain families use their abilities to act recklessly. Among them, the Feng family is particularly despicable."

"The Feng family is different from us. We dispel evil spirits to protect the peace of a region, but they will do anything as long as they are paid. In the eyes of us righteous practitioners, they are nothing but heretics. Furthermore, members of the Feng family are very easy to identify; almost all of them wear masks to cover their faces."

"Hmph, I think it's just because they've done so many heinous things that they don't dare show their faces," Ma Chulan added indignantly.

"If what you're saying is true, is it possible someone hired the Feng family to target me?" Su Yan quickly reached this conclusion.

"That possibility cannot be ruled out. However, the Feng family also possesses an extremely special ability. I think it might be related to this," Ma Chulong said, while keeping an eye on Su Yan's expression.

He didn't know if his guess was correct, but he wanted to say it so she could be on guard.

Su Yan: "What ability?"

Ma Chulong spoke two words with a heavy voice: "Plunder."

"The Feng family can plunder the special abilities of others and make them their own. For example, a few years ago, a member of the Feng family plundered the Yin-Yang Eyes of a junior from the Zhou family; it caused a massive uproar at the time."

A shadow of gloom surfaced in Su Yan's eyes.

A thought rose in her mind.

After returning to the county town, she had only truly used the power of her Dual Pupils once. Could it be that the Feng family had already noticed her back then?

"Su Yan, don't be too afraid. With my brother and me here, they won't dare to do anything to you openly. Besides, they can only plunder innate special abilities. They have no way of stealing abilities like ours, which are based on cultivating incantations and formations," Ma Chulan said, quickly comforting her, fearing that Ma Chulong's words might cause Su Yan psychological pressure.

"Didn't you say before that a gifted child appears in every generation of the Kong family? Has the Feng family not set their sights on them?"

Su Yan's question left the siblings bewildered. Right now, the Feng family was targeting *her*; how could she still have the heart to worry about someone else's family?

However, Ma Chulong replied patiently, "The Feng family wouldn't dare. Even if they want to plunder, there are conditional limitations. How can an ant shake an elephant? Otherwise, the Feng family would have been invincible long ago. If they provoked the Kong family, they would likely be the ones facing destruction."

"As expected, a family is the only true reliance," Su Yan murmured softly.

(End of Chapter)