Chapter 9 — Night Disturbance
Sun City — Northern Inner Street
The body was discovered near midnight.
Inside the city.
That single fact alone spread fear faster than any rumor before it.
---
Several streets throughout Sun City became nearly empty after the alarm bells rang again.
Doors remained shut.
Windows stayed closed.
Even taverns closed earlier than usual tonight.
---
Xu Yuan, Xia Yu, and Lin Hao walked behind several Xu Family guards through the northern district streets.
Spirit lamps illuminated the dark roads while cold night wind quietly passed through narrow alleys.
Lin Hao looked one step away from collapse.
“I should’ve stayed home.”
Xu Yuan glanced sideways.
“You said that three times already.”
“Because I was correct three times already.”
“That’s fair.”
---
Ahead of them—
more guards surrounded a narrow street intersection.
Several civilians quietly watched from farther away while whispering nervously.
Xu Yuan immediately noticed something strange.
No one moved closer.
Like instinct itself warned them away.
---
Third Elder Xu Jian stood near the center of the street with a cold expression.
Several city cultivators nearby looked equally serious.
When Xu Yuan arrived—
he finally saw the corpse.
A middle-aged cultivator.
Dried completely.
Just like the spirit hound earlier.
Except this time—
the man’s expression remained frozen in absolute terror.
---
Lin Hao immediately turned away.
“Nope.”
Xu Yuan frowned slightly.
The corpse contained no visible injuries.
No cuts.
No poison marks.
Nothing.
Yet the spiritual energy inside the body felt completely empty.
Like something consumed everything.
---
A city cultivator quietly spoke nearby.
“No struggle marks again.”
Another guard answered uneasily.
“He was walking home alone.”
“Did anyone see the attacker?”
“No.”
Silence followed.
---
Xia Yu slowly stepped closer toward the corpse.
Several guards instinctively moved aside for her.
Xu Yuan noticed that happening more often lately.
People naturally listened when Xia Yu spoke calmly.
Even elders sometimes did.
---
“What do you think?” Xu Yuan asked quietly.
Xia Yu looked at the corpse silently for several seconds.
Then softly answered:
“…Fear.”
Lin Hao blinked.
“What?”
“The spiritual fluctuation remaining here.”
Her silver eyes narrowed slightly.
“The victim was terrified before dying.”
---
Xu Yuan crouched beside the corpse thoughtfully.
Fear alone couldn’t kill cultivators.
Especially Spirit Vein Realm cultivators.
Unless—
something far stronger caused it.
---
Suddenly—
one nearby guard nervously spoke.
“There’s another problem.”
Everyone immediately looked toward him.
The guard hesitated briefly.
Then quietly pointed upward.
“There are marks.”
---
Xu Yuan lifted his head slowly.
Several deep claw marks stretched across nearby rooftops.
Long.
Sharp.
Almost like something moved above the streets instead of through them.
---
Lin Hao’s face instantly became pale again.
“…I suddenly want cultivation to stop existing.”
“That’s unrealistic,” Xu Yuan answered calmly.
“I know!”
---
Third Elder Xu Jian finally spoke coldly.
“All younger disciples remain inside family grounds starting tonight.”
No one argued.
Not even Xu Yuan.
That alone already explained the seriousness of the situation.
---
The surrounding atmosphere remained tense while more guards investigated nearby rooftops carefully.
Xu Yuan slowly stood again before glancing toward the dark northern streets beyond the spirit lamps.
For a brief moment—
he thought he saw movement far away.
A faint red flicker between distant rooftops.
Gone instantly.
---
At the same moment—
a strange pressure briefly passed through his chest again.
Cold.
Heavy.
Uncomfortable.
Xu Yuan frowned slightly.
This sensation started appearing more often now.
---
Xia Yu immediately noticed his expression.
“You felt it again?”
Xu Yuan looked surprised.
“You noticed?”
“You react differently every time.”
Lin Hao looked confused between them.
“What are you two talking about?”
Xu Yuan answered honestly.
“No idea.”
That somehow made Lin Hao even more nervous.
---
A cold breeze suddenly passed through the northern streets.
Several spirit lamps flickered violently for a brief second.
Then—
somewhere far beyond the city walls—
a low sound echoed faintly through the darkness.
Not a beast roar.
Not wind.
Something else.
Something deep.
Ancient.
---
The surrounding cultivators instantly became alert.
Even Third Elder slowly lifted his head toward the eastern mountains.
Silence quietly spread across the street afterward.
No one spoke.
Because this time—
everyone heard it clearly.