"Are you the person in charge here?" Ye Bufan asked.
"Formally," the Sakura Island person replied without thinking.
"A Martial Saint, and you're in charge of this inconspicuous bar? Don't tell me you're not interested in cultivation and don't want to become a Great Martial Saint." Song Mingqin got straight to the point. The other party's expression changed upon hearing Song Mingqin's words, realizing they had been exposed.
He forced a smile and said, "I'm just managing it for a friend."
With that, three black thunderbolts appeared in his hand and were thrown in front of Ye Bufan and Song Mingqin. With a "bang," sparks flew, and smoke billowed.
Ye Bufan and Song Mingqin exchanged a look. In the next second, their spiritual senses instantly locked onto the other party's location. The person, who was initially congratulating himself on escaping, immediately felt two oppressive forces that made it impossible to breathe, causing him to fall to his knees.
"Crack—"
The porcelain tiles on the ground shattered under the pressure of his kneeling. Ye Bufan and Song Mingqin approached him.
"Speak, what exactly is going on?" Ye Bufan asked.
"What's going on? What are you talking about? I don't know anything," the person said, looking at Ye Bufan with a determined expression.
"What's your name?" Ye Bufan asked again.
The person looked up at Ye Bufan. Ye Bufan's eyes were like bottomless abysses. In an instant, the person's gaze became dazed and expressionless.
"My name is Kawane Shota." the person replied.
Ye Bufan heard that the person's name also contained "Kawane" and asked, "What is Kawane Masako to you?"
"She's my sister," Kawane Shota replied.
Song Mingqin looked at Ye Bufan and gave him a thumbs-up. Spiritual power techniques were indeed very effective at this time.
"What is your purpose in lurking in Jinhe City?" Ye Bufan asked.
Kawane Shota tried to struggle, but Ye Bufan gave him no opportunity. Kawane Shota said, "For Sakura Island's great cultivation fusion plan."
"Strange! He's clearly a Martial Saint, why would he be involved in a cultivator's plan?" Song Mingqin frowned.
"This is our cultivation fusion plan, selecting martial artists and transitioning them into the ranks of cultivators. We will follow the great Yamata no Orochi and enter the great era of cultivation," Kawane Shota said, his eyes filled with pride.
"Then why come to the Kyushu region? Wouldn't it be better to stay in your own territory?" Song Mingqin asked.
"Some martial artists don't have very good aptitudes, and many ordinary people in the Kyushu region have good physiques without knowing it. We are simply helping them become cultivators," Kawane Shota declared proudly.
Ye Bufan couldn't help but roll his eyes at his words.
"Help? If your cultivation wasn't insufficient, you would have already possessed their souls, wouldn't you?" Song Mingqin said. "Such wicked deeds, yet you speak of them so resolutely. You deserve to die! You deserve to die!"
Song Mingqin struck Kawane Shota's chest with a palm. Kawane Shota spat out a mouthful of blood and instantly regained consciousness.
"Killing you like this would be too kind to you," Song Mingqin said, holding back. "You are still useful to us now."
As he spoke, Song Mingqin moved to Kawane Shota's side and knocked him unconscious with a palm strike.
"It seems the Blood Serpent and the Onmyoji are not here," Song Mingqin said, having conducted a simple spiritual scan. He then walked into the manager's office that Kawane Shota had emerged from and discovered an entrance to a tunnel.
As Ye Bufan and Song Mingqin entered the tunnel, they were met with a strong stench of decay. Here, they also found about a dozen living puppets.
"According to Kawane Shota, these living puppets are all individuals from our Kyushu region who have relatively good aptitude for cultivation," Song Mingqin said with a tone of regret.
"Senior Song, don't our cultivation sects and families in Kyushu recruit individuals with good aptitude?" Ye Bufan asked in confusion.
"Yes, we do," Song Mingqin sighed. "But those individuals are all for their own sects, and recruitment is carried out in secret."
Ye Bufan nodded. Although it appeared that martial arts were paramount in various countries, there were often undercurrents of conflict between cultivation families and sects. The surface seemed peaceful, but in reality, they were all competing behind the scenes.
After passing through the tunnel, they entered a vast space. It was very dark. Upon seeing Ye Bufan and Song Mingqin, the living puppets immediately drew their weapons and assumed an attacking stance.
"If you don't want to die, stay put!" Song Mingqin exuded an incredibly powerful aura. The living puppets looked at each other, and no one dared to step forward.
Song Mingqin kept the living puppets at bay while Ye Bufan surveyed the entire space. He did not find any trace of the Blood Serpent or the Onmyoji.
"Hmph—"
Song Mingqin snorted and then knocked out all the living puppets.
"It seems there is only one place left," Song Mingqin said. "To avoid any further complications, let's go now."
Ye Bufan nodded as well, and the two of them headed towards the last location with preparation.
"Ah—"
Just then, a scream echoed from the bar upstairs.
Ye Bufan and Song Mingqin instantly returned to the ground. The scene was in disarray, and the air was filled with the smell of blood.
"Blood Serpent!" Ye Bufan immediately concluded. Kawane Shota's body was only half intact. The men who had entered earlier had also disappeared, but there was a large pool of blood on the floor.
"They shouldn't have gone far. Chase!" Song Mingqin glanced around and immediately rushed out of the bar.
Ye Bufan frowned and quickly followed, but a bad feeling began to form in his heart. The Blood Serpent knew that he and Song Mingqin were tracking him. Why would he come to them?
"Senior!" Ye Bufan, closely following Song Mingqin, transmitted his voice to stop him.
Song Mingqin glanced back at Ye Bufan, who quickly urged him to stop.
"Don't pursue a cornered enemy. Be careful, it might be a trap," Ye Bufan told Song Mingqin his thoughts. Song Mingqin finally realized his mistake.
"I was careless. My mind was only on capturing the Blood Serpent, I was too hasty," Song Mingqin said after a moment of thought, and he and Ye Bufan returned to the bar.
"It seems the Blood Serpent and that Onmyoji have some brains. If I had gone, I would likely have fallen into their trap," Song Mingqin mused for a moment, then exclaimed, "Huh?"
"That's not right," Song Mingqin said. "I feel there's another possibility."
Ye Bufan and Song Mingqin looked at each other and said in unison, "Lure the tiger out of its den?"