Martial Arts Secret Realm: Only I Can Know the Plot?

Red Wolf couldn't help but speak up: "What do we do now? This pathetic force doesn't even have a name. We can't just sit here and wait, can we?"

"What benefits does this third-party force actually bring?"

Sun Fan could tell that Red Wolf might harbor some resentment towards him for giving up on recruiting Ding Dian.

That was, after all, a formidable force. Perhaps in actual combat he couldn't compare to the Blood Blade Ancestor, but he was definitely capable of going toe-to-toe with the Four Wonders of the South.

Sun Fan did not answer.

He was thinking about something else.

The system gave him the title of "leader," but not any information about the faction. This is abnormal. While the quest mechanics of the secret realms are often tricky, they never hide information for no reason.

Unless—this information he needs to discover himself.

The method to discover it lies within this secret realm.

"Where is Di Yun?" Sun Fan suddenly asked.

Mu Xue'er replied, "He said he was going out to buy some food. He's been staying in the villa for several days and is feeling bored. I told him to go and come back soon."

Sun Fan frowned slightly.

"How long have you been gone?"

Mu Xue'er glanced at the sky: "It's been about... a little over an hour."

Sun Fan's brows furrowed even more.

Jingzhou City is not large. The Shen Family Villa is in the west of the city, and the nearest market is on East Street. It takes no more than half an hour to walk there and back. Buying some food will take less than an hour.

"Dahai." Sun Fan's voice suddenly changed, becoming cold and swift. "Take Red Wolf to East Street and search. Du Ming, go to the city gate and ask the guards if they've seen Di Yun. Mu Xue'er, go to the Shen family and ask Shen Zhaoyuan for help inquiring around the city."

"What's wrong?" Red Wolf hadn't reacted yet.

Sun Fan had already gripped the hilt of the sword at his waist.

"Di Yun may have gotten into trouble."

Di Yun has indeed gotten into trouble.

But he wasn't deliberately approached.

The story begins half an hour ago.

When Di Yun came out of the Shen family's villa, he was in a fairly good mood. He had been locked up in the prison for so long, in darkness and without sunlight, which had become a luxury. After his release, although he stayed at the villa for a few days, Sun Fan told him to go out as little as possible, saying that he was afraid of being targeted by Ling Tuisi's remaining followers.

Now that Ling Tuisi is down, he can finally get some fresh air.

He carried the few dozen coins Mu Xue'er had given him and walked along the bluestone path towards East Street. He passed a steamed bun shop, and the aroma of steaming meat buns wafted into his nose. He swallowed hard, bought four, wrapped them in oil paper, and ate them as he walked.

He ate very slowly.

It wasn't because he was refined, but because he couldn't bear to eat too fast. In prison, his daily meals consisted of a bowl of thin porridge and half a cornbread, so thin you could see your reflection in it.

Now that he can eat steamed buns to his heart's content, he feels that this is the happiest thing in the world.

East Street is very lively.

The cries of vendors selling cloth, candied hawthorns, and wontons rose and fell. Di Yun squeezed through the crowd, looking around, and for a moment, he felt like a country boy visiting the city for the first time—in fact, he really was.

He grew up in the countryside, learning farming skills from his master Qi Changfa, and had rarely even been to the county town. A big city like Jingzhou was like another world to him.

My first experience in the city wasn't exactly pleasant.

He was engrossed in watching a juggling stall and didn't notice someone bumping into him from behind.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry." The person lowered their head and hurried forward.

Di Yun didn't mind, patted the shoulder that had been bumped, and continued watching the acrobatics.

But he didn't notice that the man's walking posture was a bit strange—one leg seemed to be injured, he was limping, but he was walking very fast, as if he was hiding from something.

The man turned into a small alley, squatted down against the wall, and gasped for breath.

He was dressed in a drab gray outfit, with a tattered felt hat pulled low over his head, obscuring most of his face. But if someone were to lift the hat, they would discover that this man's face had appeared in the dilapidated temple outside the city a few days earlier.

The ultimate truth.

He was the leanest and most alert of the five members of the Blood Blade Sect.

He was also the only one who chose to run away immediately when Ding Dian made his move.

He ran very fast.

When Ding Dian struck Bao Xiang with his palm, Sheng Di was already retreating. It wasn't because he was afraid of death—the Blood Blade Sect members weren't afraid of death—but because he realized that the man named Ding Dian was someone they couldn't handle at all.

One palm strike crippled the precious elephant.

One palm strike wounded Shan Yong.

That wasn't a technique at all; it was pure internal force overwhelming.

Sheng Di had been in the Blood Sabre Sect for over a decade and had only ever witnessed such overwhelming power from one person—the Blood Sabre Ancestor.

No, even the patriarch's internal strength cannot compare to that middle-aged man's.

So he ran away.

He didn't even turn his head.

He ran out of the earth god temple, across the vegetable garden, across the dried-up ditch, and plunged into the woods to the south. He ignored the screams of Shan Kang and Shanxiong behind him, and just kept running.

He didn't know if Ding Dian would catch up, but he knew that if Ding Dian wanted to, he wouldn't be able to escape.

Ding Dian didn't pursue it.

Shengdi ran through the woods for a long time until he was sure no one was following him. He then stopped, sat down against a big tree, and gasped for breath.

There was a wound on his left shoulder, a mark left by Ding Dian's palm strike. It wasn't deep, but it hurt terribly, and he could barely lift his left arm.

He tore off a piece of his shirt, roughly bandaged it, and then began to think about what to do next.

Returning to the Blood Blade Sect? No way. Bao Xiang, Shan Yong, Shan Kang, and Shanxiong all perished inside. If he goes back alone, the Ancestor won't let him off easily.

Go and join another faction? That won't work either. Traitors to the Blood Blade Sect meet a fate worse than death.

He thought about it for a long time and finally made a decision—to find a place to hide, recover from his injuries, and then think of a way out.

He dared not enter the city.

Although Ling Tuisi has fallen, Jingzhou City is now under the control of the Shen family. The Shen family has connections with the four major families, and the four major families are currently gathering forces to deal with the Blood Blade Sect. For a Blood Blade Sect disciple like him to enter the city is tantamount to walking into a trap.

But he needed food, medicine, and shelter from the wind and rain.

He wandered outside the city for two days, becoming dizzy with hunger. Finally, unable to hold on any longer, he slipped into the city through a secluded side gate just as dawn was breaking.

He changed into stolen clothes, put on a tattered felt hat, and tried to keep his head down while walking, avoiding crowded places. He found an abandoned local temple in the south of the city—not the previous one, but another, even more dilapidated one—and settled down temporarily.

He dared not go out during the day, only venturing out at night to find food.

Today is an exception.

He was so hungry he couldn't stand it, so he went out during the day to try his luck. He wandered around the alleys of East Street, looking for a quiet place to steal something; he didn't want to rob anyone or make a scene.

When I looked up, I saw someone.

Di Yun.

Shengdi did not recognize Diyun.

But he suddenly thought that instead of thinking about how to cook for himself every day, he might as well become a chef.

Di Yun is clearly a man destined for hardship.

People with hard lives are usually good at cooking from a young age.