Soon, half of the dozen black-clad men were eliminated by Ye Zhan.
Despite being heavily wounded, the rage burning in Ye Zhan's heart consumed him, rendering him oblivious to his surroundings.
The remaining black-clad men, witnessing Ye Zhan's ferocity, changed their tactics. They avoided direct confrontation and instead evaded his sharpest attacks.
They circled Ye Zhan relentlessly, giving him no opportunity for close-quarters combat.
In essence, their strategy was simple: stall.
They aimed to wear down Ye Zhan's momentum before launching a counterattack.
Ye Zhan sought a swift victory, while the black-clad men adopted a delaying tactic, thus leading the battle into a stalemate.
Ye Zhan, heavily injured, gradually grew fatigued and understood their intentions.
"This won't do! I must find a way to lure them into a direct confrontation."
Ye Zhan secretly devised a plan.
Since they wanted to deplete his spirit, he would use himself as bait.
How to use himself as bait?
By feigning exhaustion.
With the plan in mind, Ye Zhan wasted no further time.
He stumbled, bracing himself on his sword, using it as a crutch, and knelt on the ground, gasping for air. He forced himself to cough violently, spitting out blood.
A flicker of joy crossed the leader of the black-clad men's eyes. He signaled to the others.
The other black-clad men understood and ceased their movement, converging on Ye Zhan to launch a barrage of attacks.
Ye Zhan did not immediately stand up, continuing his act of weakness. Only when the black-clad men were within his reach, with no possibility of escape, did his aura transform abruptly. He coldly uttered, "Die!"
He unleashed the powerful move he had been preparing.
The black-clad men, unable to dodge, were all swept to the ground by Ye Zhan.
What's more, they fell in surprisingly uniform positions.
"Not good! We've been tricked!"
It was too late when the leader of the black-clad men realized.
Ye Zhan channeled all his strength, transforming it into a massive blade of energy, and cleaved down at them.
The energy blade descended directly towards their necks.
The black-clad men were decapitated before they could even utter a sound. Only the leader of the black-clad men retained his head.
He was, of course, spared by Ye Zhan intentionally. Ye Zhan wished to know who harbored such deep-seated hatred for the Jing family to want to utterly eradicate them.
Ye Zhan's sword tip pressed against the leader of the black-clad men's neck, like a guillotine poised to sever his head.
"Speak! Who are you people? Why did you annihilate the entire Jing family?"
Ye Zhan's eyes were as cold as millennia-old ice, his voice devoid of warmth.
The leader of the black-clad men sneered without fear. "Kill me if you will. My master will avenge us soon!"
With that, he closed his eyes, ready to face death.
Was the leader of the black-clad men not afraid of death?
Wrong!
He was afraid.
But he feared revealing secrets he shouldn't even more, as that would make his life worse than death.
"Master? Who is your master?" Ye Zhan asked sternly.
"To not speak is to die, but to speak will result in an even more miserable death! Proceed, I will not tell you anything about my master!"
After that, the leader of the black-clad men remained silent, no matter how much Ye Zhan pressured him.
"Since you are determined to die, I shall grant your wish! As for your master, it matters not if you tell me; I will find out eventually!"
Ye Zhan knew that extracting useful information from such devoted fanatics was futile.
Therefore, without any hesitation, he ended the leader of the black-clad men's life.
Ye Zhan intended to search the bodies of the black-clad men for any useful clues.
However, his injuries were too severe. He had to heal first, or it would affect his foundation.
With the Nine-Colored Pearl Sparrow nearby, Ye Zhan sat down with peace of mind to begin healing.
The surrounding spiritual energy surged towards him, seeping into his body and mending his wounds.
An hour later, Ye Zhan's injuries had healed by thirty percent.
He opened his eyes, intending to find some clues on the black-clad men and then leave this place with Jing Yulan as quickly as possible.
However, as Ye Zhan's gaze fell upon the corpses of the black-clad men, he leaped up from the ground in shock.
The bodies of the black-clad men, which had been decapitated, were gone.
What happened?
Ye Zhan's heart raced.
Although he was healing, he had not lowered his guard. Moreover, the Nine-Colored Pearl Sparrow beside him had not issued any warning.
This meant that the bodies of the black-clad men had inexplicably vanished.
"Could it be... poison?"
Ye Zhan meticulously examined the spot where the bodies had been, but found nothing.
"It's not poison, then what is it?"
Ye Zhan was perplexed and could only escort Jing Yulan away from the scene.
He cradled the unconscious Jing Yulan in his arms and leaped onto the back of the Nine-Colored Pearl Sparrow.
At Ye Zhan's command, the Nine-Colored Pearl Sparrow soared into the sky, heading towards Crimson Blood City.
Upon returning to Crimson Blood City, the Ye family members in the city had already helped to bury the bodies of the Jing family.
The bloodstains in the Jing family residence had also been cleaned. Although it appeared much cleaner, a strong scent of blood seemed to linger in the air.
Ye Zhan ordered all Ye family intelligence personnel to quickly investigate the culprit behind the annihilation of the Jing family. Then, he took Jing Yulan back to the Ye family.
Despite all Ye family intelligence personnel being dispatched to investigate the mastermind behind the Jing family's destruction, after three full months, there was no progress whatsoever.
This made Ye Zhan bewildered. For what reason were the Jing family destroyed?
Crimson Blood City was home to countless families, both large and small. Why did that person choose the Jing family specifically?
Did they have a grudge against the Jing family?
That didn't seem right!
If the mastermind truly harbored a grudge against the Jing family, they wouldn't have remained silent.
Not seeking revenge? Then what was it?
Robbery?
That didn't seem right either. Not to mention other families, the wealth of the Cao and Gou families in Crimson Blood City alone was equivalent to three Jing families. So, if it were for financial gain, they would have targeted the Cao and Gou families, right?
Not seeking revenge, not for robbery, then what was it?
Did the Jing family possess some unknown secret?
Upon this thought, Ye Zhan decided to return to the Jing family residence.
The moment he pushed open Jing Yulan's door, he felt a gust of wind.
A scent unique to women filled the air.
"Yulan, I suspect there is an unknown secret behind the Jing family's annihilation, so I plan to investigate the Jing family residence!"
Jing Yulan stood up straight and said, "Ye Zhan, I'll go with you!"
Ye Zhan shook his head. "No need, Yulan. You are pregnant now, and long journeys are not suitable for you. Be a good girl and wait for me to return, okay?"