Chapter 651: Junior Sister

Faced with Lin Yu’s blunt honesty, Chen Yuanye, being a straightforward martial artist, didn’t argue. Instead, he let out a sigh.

“You’re right. I lost completely.”

“I never imagined there would be three ‘Six-String’ level demons appearing in this Chen Family Fort at the same time... But as a ‘Seven-String’ expert, I could still handle that.”

Lin Yu raised an eyebrow in surprise.

This guy was actually pretty skilled.

According to Senior Shen Bingmiao’s information, both the demons and martial artists in the Prison Mountain Realm were ranked by “Strings.”

Originally, this was just a difficulty rating set by the towns’ bounties in the Prison Mountain Realm—a demon hunt with a reward of “one string of cash” was called a “One-String” demon.

And a martial artist who could solo a “One-String” mission naturally had “One-String” level strength.

The highest rating was “Twelve Strings.”

So, a “Seven-String” martial artist might seem only one String higher than a “Six-String” demon, but in reality, they were two full levels stronger.

Because a “Seven-String” martial artist was supposed to be able to defeat a “Seven-String” demon in a one-on-one fight.

So...

The fact that three “Six-String” demons could take down a “Seven-String” martial artist told Lin Yu there had to be more to the story.

And sure enough, the twist came.

“At first, even though I was ambushed and caught off guard, I still quickly gained the upper hand. But what I didn’t expect was... that those demons actually kidnapped my blood relatives to use as leverage. That kind of cunning shouldn’t be possible for a ‘Six-String’ demon.”

Even after wasting away for a year in this underground cave, deep within the pool, Chen Yuanye couldn’t help but gnash his teeth in fury.

“But even so, I still defeated those three demons and rescued a few of my family members. However, what I never anticipated was...”

“Your own family members stabbed you in the back, didn’t they?”

Lin Yu said softly.

Chen Yuanye was utterly shocked: “That’s right. After taking down those three demons, I was nearly exhausted. Just as I let my guard down, my beloved siblings and elders suddenly drew their blades and stabbed me!”

“So, I had no choice but to flee into this secret chamber that none of them knew about... But, Female Warrior, how did you know what happened to me?”

“It wasn’t hard to guess.”

Lin Yu shrugged and said, “Those villagers from Chen Family Fort up above—after just a few interactions, you can tell something’s wrong with them. It’s like they’ve been bewitched by some demon, their minds clouded...”

“Honestly, I feel like they’re all just ‘puppets on strings.’”

As Lin Yu spoke, Chen Yuanye let out a long sigh.

“Puppets on strings, huh... That’s actually a pretty fitting description.”

“Damn it all. Chen Family Fort has become this kind of nightmare, and my fellow villagers are probably already doomed,” Chen Yuanye said with a bitter laugh. “And me... I haven’t even seen the face of the mastermind behind it all.”

Lin Yu looked at Chen Yuanye’s dejected state and nodded.

“True. A Seven-String martial artist getting ambushed and reduced to this, hiding here just barely surviving—Chen Yuanye... you really are a worthless waste that can’t be helped.”

Even though Chen Yuanye had been mocking himself, hearing Lin Yu’s words made him raise his head in disbelief.

“You... you little brat, why are you suddenly speaking so harshly?!”

Sure, Chen Yuanye hadn’t expected Lin Yu to comfort him, but who in the world would kick someone when they were already putting themselves down?

Were the younger generation in the martial world these days completely devoid of manners?

Lin Yu just looked at Chen Yuanye with pride and began her performance.

“Because you really are trash... The point isn’t that you were ambushed by demons, it’s that you’re just barely surviving!”

“Chen Yuanye, Brother Chen, Senior Disciple Chen—if I had come here and found a wall full of your last words, or seen your bones outside, then of course I wouldn’t curse you out... Losing isn’t scary. What’s scary is losing in a shameful way.”

“As martial artists, we can’t back down from demons. And honestly, you’re not that badly hurt—your voice still has strength, and you can still move. But you don’t have the courage to go back out and keep investigating or fighting—and this is even your hometown! Up there, the ones being toyed with by demons or some strange force, turned into puppets and walking corpses, are your own flesh and blood!”

“Yet, all you know how to do is hide here, waiting for some passing expert to save you. But what if no one comes until you die?!”

Lin Yu’s words struck like a thunderbolt, making Chen Yuanye’s face flush with anger: “You little girl...”

But before he could finish, Lin Yu’s final scolding shut down all his arguments.

“—You’ve utterly disgraced Senior Uncle Bai Shiying’s name.”

This was the most important sentence Lin Yu had been building up to all along.

Hearing this, Chen Yuanye’s anger instantly faded, replaced by a feeling like ice water being poured over him.

“You’re from our Mingzhen Martial Arts School... You’re my junior sister? Are you under Senior Uncle Bai Shiming? Or another senior uncle?”

He looked at the young girl before him, as if seeing the disappointed, questioning gazes of the entire school and his master.

“That doesn’t matter,” Lin Yu said coldly. “The point is, I didn’t expect to be looking for such a waste...”

“I shouldn’t have come at all—Senior Uncle always thought you had probably already died in mutual destruction with the demons. He sighed every day, feeling guilty that your body was left out in the wild. So, when I was passing by Twin Saw Mountain on my way to Willow Town, Master specifically asked me to stop by Chen Family Fort to see if I could find any clues.”

“When I found you alive under this pool, I was happy at first, thinking you must have had some unspoken difficulty or reason for hiding here... But who would have thought that ‘Gate-Cracking Spear’ Brother Chen was just... afraid.”

Hearing Lin Yu say this, Chen Yuanye felt his mind in turmoil.

Even though Lin Yu hadn’t identified herself, he didn’t doubt her identity for a second. Every word she said was reasonable and emotionally sincere.

After all, compared to a random stranger showing up as a high-level expert to seek him out, it made far more sense that the school would specially send someone to find him.

But regardless, Chen Yuanye was now filled with nothing but overwhelming guilt.

“I’ve failed Master’s trust... I’ve let him down!”

Then, as if remembering something, he asked again, “Wait, junior sister... that expert with extremely strong qi who came with you—was that your master or one of the senior uncles?”

“An expert?”

Lin Yu wasn’t sure who Chen Yuanye was referring to.

For him to recognize someone as “senior uncle level”... meant they seemed much stronger than her?

That definitely wasn’t Li Nian. Could there be some expert hidden in the escort team?

Was the mastermind right beside them?!

Lin Yu’s thoughts raced, but she asked calmly without changing her expression.

“Which expert are you talking about?”

“Of course, the one who’s been sitting in the cart, unmoving like a mountain—strangely enough, I tried to provoke their qi sense twice, but that person showed absolutely no reaction!”

Hearing this, Lin Yu finally understood who Chen Yuanye meant.

She couldn’t help but sigh.

“You don’t mean that ‘mutilated body’ the escort team is transporting, do you?”

Hearing that word, Chen Yuanye tensed up immediately.

“What?! A mutilated body!”

“You mean... I sensed a mutilated body that felt like a living martial artist?!”