Infiltration

Infiltrating the Chu Family's residence was as easy as taking a walk in Fang Yun's perspective because now he could bypass the Spiritual Perception of any nearby Core Formation stage expert who may be watching over their mansion, everything else was nothing.

In Blazing Sun City, only those who had Core Formation stage experts could be considered top-tier family businesses. The Fang Clan and Dong Clan may have multiple Core Formation stage Cultivators, but both of them didn't look down on the Chu Family that became part of Blazing Sun City twenty years ago. Though this merchant family seemed ordinary on the outside, the mere fact that a few Core Formation stage experts were protecting them was enough to show just how mysterious they really were.

The two Clans, for reasons unknown to even Fang Yun, simply allowed the Chu Family to take a small portion of their businesses as a sign of approval. He didn't quite understand what made the Chu Family so special but that didn't matter right now. All that mattered was that he had to persuade Chu Rinyu to come with him in order to escape.

The guards of the Chu Family's residence were ignorant as a figure clothed in black snuck past them and climbed to the balcony of Chu Rinyu's bedroom. He had visited the Chu Family's residence many times over the years so his understanding of the guards that protected the place and the layout of the mansion was superb. He didn't even have to put too much effort as he would in a normal infiltration mission back in his past life due to the utter lack of technological security measures like cameras and alarms.

As he neared the bedroom window, he realised that he may have underestimated the security measures of a family of Cultivators. Even though he was hidden from the Spiritual Perception of Core Formation stage experts, he could still feel the existence of the Spiritual Perception that was intently watching the area outside the balcony as well as the rest of the place.

Unlike him who needed to expend Chakra to keep up his Spiritual Perception, the Cultivator who was watching over the mansion was able to keep up this kind of constant surveillance as long as they mentally possible. If he was to just open the door of the balcony or cause the smallest disturbance, the person patiently watching the area would capture him.

He didn't even have the power to struggle in front of Core Formation stage expert as their strength was beyond the limits of mortality. He may be able to have hope of survival in front of Internal Root stage fighters but their strength was pitiful in front of experts who reached the Core Formation stage.

Fang Yun slowly crept up to door of the balcony and touched the lock in front of him. The door in front of him will definitely alert the hidden expert if it was to open mysteriously so he decided to choose another method. He sighed helplessly as he had no choice but to use assassination tactics on her.

He leaned against the gap between the edge of the balcony and the door in order to hide himself before closing his eyes in concentration. The Aura within his Heart Force flowed through his eyes as he stuck his head out to look towards Chu Rinyu's sleeping figure.

Only when her beautiful but slightly immature figure started to awaken did he change his position to the opposite gap of the balcony. The opposing part of the balcony was covered in a shade that camouflaged his body as Chu Rinyu headed towards the balcony.

She didn't know what was the eerie feeling that woke her up but her sixth sense seemed to alert of someone's presence. As soon as she arrived at the balcony, she opened the door that was at the side where Fang Yun was previously hiding and looked at the gap where he had just stood suspiciously.

Only after a few moments of looking around did she judge that it must have been her imagination did she shake her head and lock the door once more. Not knowing that Fang Yun had already taken the opportunity to sneak in.

When he finally saw Chu Rinyu for the first time in a long while, he realised that she had changed immensely. The warmth her expression usually displayed in the past was gone and all that was left was foreign cold exterior that seemed to mask her true thoughts.

The face was the same, but the person underneath was different. If it weren't for the fact that he knew his own situation was unique, he would have thought she had reincarnated as well.

She seemed more mature than he last remembered, and also a lot colder as well. Can a few months really change someone so deeply? He could tell that none of what she showed was a facade since he could feel the confidence she had in herself with every step she took.

"Psst! Rinyu, it's me." He cautiously whispered from the corner. The girl who was about to go back to bed stopped in her tracks as she recognised Fang Yun's voice on the spot. There weren't many people who would call her first name besides family. He then confirmed her suspicions by removing the black cloak that covered the outer clothes he had on when he left home.

"Brother Yun? Is that really you?" A smile finally bloomed on Chu Rinyu's face as she asked with surprise. She was shocked that Fang Yun was able to get past her guards unnoticed but didn't think much as she threw herself into his arms. The previous chilling calmness she displayed up until all melted away as soon as he appeared.

"Huh?" It was Fang Yun's turn to be surprised as he didn't even have the time to react. He felt embarrassed while her soft arms was intimately wrapped around his chest. As a guy who didn't really interact with women on a personal level in his past life, he was unsure of what do. Should he hug her back? Will it be considered taking advantage of the moment if he did?

Oh how he missed the innocent and naive him of the past who really didn't think much in circumstances like this...

"I expected more of an intense: 'Who are you and why are you pretending to be my childhood friend?' Before you finally recognised me..." He forced a smile and joked while his two arms were half-lifted in his struggle to determine whether hugging her at this moment would be the right choice. It was then that he noticed that she seemed to be crying on his chest.

"I'm so glad that you're alive... so glad..." She cried in tears while wiping her face on his clothes without minding her image. Fang Yun could only bear her actions as she slowly regained her wits. When she finally looked up, she realised that there seemed to be small but significant alterations to both his facial features and physical body.

"Why do you look so different?" She asked in surprise while sizing him up from head to toe. She didn't seemed the least bit bashful as her stoic expression seemed to show her powerful will. The calmness she displayed moments ago arose once more as she looked like an beautiful but cold fairy to those who didn't know about her true personality.

"You first." He didn't want to waste time explaining the long story about how he attained the Physique Perfection realm so he returned her curious question with one of his own.

Understanding his confusion regarding her change, she decided to put her own curiosity on hold so they could get back to the main point. She hastily closed the curtains of the window door of the balcony and sat him down on a chair near her own desk for writing music.

"I heard that a senior-apprentice sister of mine bribed Old Qing to kill you tonight. She, along with my master, are extremely prejudice against men and wanted me to be free of your so-called 'bad influence'." The first words she said while sitting down on her nearby bed was like a bombshell exploding in his mind. At first he thought that it was another man's jealousy that almost got the previous Fang Yun killed, but it seemed that his current circumstances were more complex than he thought.

"You have a master and senior-apprentice sister? Which Sect are they apart of? Why did your senior-apprentice sister go through such extreme length to get rid of me? How come you never told me you had a master?" The gigantic amount of information he just digested made him rapid fire questions towards Chu Rinyu like a machine gun. Although he was certain there was some unknown force that was behind the Chu Family, he couldn't even imagine how lowly they thought of him if they tried to assassinate him due to mere prejudice.

"You hid the fact that you had a master as well, so I guess we're even." She didn't answer immediately as she teased in a voice that contrasted her cold looks. Her eyes expressed a familiar cheekiness as she seemed proud to have seen through him.

Fang Yun didn't even bother correcting her as it was a better explanation than telling her: 'I remembered my past life as a martial artist in an alternate world where Spiritual Channels don't exist.'.

What he was more focused on was the matter regarding this 'senior-apprentice sister' of hers. He didn't say anything after hearing her response to his questions and instead looked at her coldly. Chu Rinyu felt a shiver down her spine at that moment as she finally found that Fang Yun was more mature than he was the last time they met.

She expected him to get angry with her after hearing her blatantly trying to deny him of an explanation, but she didn't expect that he wouldn't even try to argue with words. She found his expressionless face so foreign that it was almost like the Fang Yun she once knew was no longer was long gone.

Chu Rinyu sighed lightly while feeling a genuinely intense hatred for her senior-apprentice sister who betrayed her trust by plotting to kill her fiancé. If it weren't for her master uncovering her senior-apprentice sister's plot, she would have been ignorant about the assassination for the rest of her life.

"I don't want to tell you about them because you can't affect them in any way whatsoever. Even if you had hundreds of years and were trained by the greatest martial artist that exists on the continent, you wouldn't even be able to walk through the front door of the Sect my senior-apprentice sister is a member of. I don't want you to waste your life trying to get revenge on her when you are restricted by mortal limits. Please, move on." She calmed down and spoke her worries with a tone filled with indignation towards both her master and apprentice sister.

Chu Rinyu believed that she was being cruel by begging Fang Yun to 'move on' from what he experienced. Cultivators and martial artists had their pride, but she believed that the pride of the latter was courting death when compared to the former. Spiritual Channels were essential to gain strength that surpasses human limitations, and once a Cultivator reached the Core Formation stage, they would find that their power was no longer in the realm of human limits. The difference between a Internal Root stage cultivator and a Core Formation stage expert was like heaven and earth!

People like Fang Yun who could train their four fundamental internal forces were strong but they could never be as strong as a Cultivator who cultivated and reached the Core Formation stage.

"I know I can't compare to your master and senior-apprentice sister, but I still want to know who I should 'thank' for the grave injury I suffered." After speaking till there, he half-lifted his shirt in order to show where he stitched his deep wound Old Qing gave him.

Chu Rinyu gasped as she saw the black threads that seemed to have become part of Fang Yun's bare chest. She knew of the Flesh Healing Pill's affects and knew he must have been pushed to a corner if he had to sew his grievous wounds shut before he could eat one.

The scars on Fang Yun's body disappeared as soon as he entered the Physique Perfection realm but he decided to keep stitches on his chest in order to remind him of the incident. He wanted to remove the stitches once he truly avenged the previous Fang Yun who died because of her senior-apprentice sister's vicious mechanisms.

After he straightened his clothes and covered the stitches, he found that Chu Rinyu was still reluctant to tell him about the Sect she became part of, but she wasn't able to deny him after seeing his determination to know her master's and senior-apprentice sister's identity.

"Then listen to me closely." She gave up trying to persuade him and started her story straight from the beginning.