Chapter 005: Coincidence

After leaving the slave market, Du Fan did not head straight back to the duke’s residence. Instead, he wandered around the capital city with a few people, as if trying to draw someone’s attention.
In the bustling capital, the crowds were still extremely dense. On the main streets, it was rare to see groups of imperial guards standing with spears, their officers vigilantly watching the passing crowd.
Clearly, although the coup led by the Crown Prince had failed, his faction’s troops had not yet submitted. On top of that, a national funeral was taking place.
Prince Fischer had taken most of his troops away, leaving only a small force to maintain order in the capital, which was quite unusual.
Probably, without the help of the northern army to keep an eye on the Crown Prince’s troops, Prince Fischer wouldn’t dare leave the capital so unguarded.
Noticing Du Fan’s gaze on them, the officers immediately became cautious. Under normal circumstances, they would have come to investigate by now. But since Prince Fischer had likely issued strict orders for everyone to be careful, the officers took a close look at Du Fan and his group before approaching.
In their eyes, Du Fan’s clothes were passable but somewhat worn, and he was accompanied only by an old servant and a man in tattered clothes holding a girl. It seemed likely he was a young lord from some minor noble family coming to buy a slave, which wasn’t anything strange.
Such an ordinary group like Du Fan’s quickly disappeared into the crowd until no one paid attention to them anymore.
However, what was strange was that Du Fan had been riding in a carriage before arriving, but now he was walking on foot. Old Mark had some suspicions but stayed silent.
After walking for a while, the sun had risen high in the sky, and the ground was scorching hot due to the sunlight. It was already two or three o’clock in the afternoon, the hottest part of the day—even though it was still spring.
Du Fan led his group slowly to a quiet alley in the western part of the capital. On one side of the alley were dilapidated, low houses, and on the other, a river that seemed to flow slowly. Yet, not a single person was visible in this quiet alley at the moment.

Having walked deep into the alley, Du Fan suddenly stopped in his tracks. He glanced around a few times, then sighed and said, “Backed by mountains and facing water… The feng shui here is truly excellent! What a blessed location! If one dies here, their descendants would be fortunate! Don’t you think, Grandpa Mark?”
Old Mark obviously didn’t know what feng shui was. But having taken care of Du Fan for so long, he knew that his young master sometimes said things that made no sense. He simply smiled slightly without saying much.
Seeing that Old Mark didn’t respond, Du Fan raised his eyebrows slightly, looking thoughtful, and said, “I forgot! The term ‘feng shui’ is a term specific to the distant Eastern Continent, right? In the terms of our Roland Continent, it would mean that this place has an excellent location. If one dies here, their descendants are likely to enjoy good fortune!”
At that moment, Du Fan turned around and gave a deep look at Laku, who had been standing respectfully behind him, as well as Jian in his arms. He then smiled gently and said, “Don’t you agree, dear Laku?”
Laku, who had been lowering his head, slightly raised it upon hearing Du Fan’s words. “Master… I don’t understand what you mean!”
“Is that so?”
Du Fan nodded with a half-smile, then saw him suddenly raise his hand, fingers together, and point in Laku’s direction.
With a whoosh, a sword aura shot toward Laku.
A strange expression flashed across Laku’s face, but he remained motionless. Another whoosh— the sword aura passed by his cheek, cutting off half of his long hair.
Seeing Du Fan’s action, Old Mark seemed to understand something. He stepped back, but it happened to block Laku’s escape route.
Jian in Laku’s arms seemed unaccustomed to such a scene. Although Du Fan was smiling, a murderous aura was silently spreading from him. Sensing this aura, the little girl wanted to cry but couldn’t, only staring at Du Fan in fear.

It seemed he had anticipated that his move would have this effect. Du Fan smiled happily and said softly while laughing, “Laku, tell me… why didn’t you dodge my attack? You’re a warrior; you should know better than I do that if this move lands, not to mention you having only one life, even if you had ten, you’d die beyond death… Aren’t you afraid?”
Laku’s expression was strange, but he nodded and said, “If my master wants to kill me! I definitely won’t dodge!”
“Oh? Won’t dodge? How loyal…” Du Fan chuckled. “But are you truly loyal, or did you already realize that this move wouldn’t take your life… It seems we need to test it again! Watch closely—this time, I definitely won’t hold back!”
With that, Du Fan waved his fingers together again. This time, a sword aura swept out with his motion, far more powerful than before. Even Old Mark’s eyes sparkled upon seeing it.
Qi condensed into form!
When had his young master reached such a level! If he advanced any further, he would be a true Saint-class warrior!
Even at his current strength, he was already at the ninth level of Subversion, practically invincible below the Saint class!
Seeing that Du Fan’s next move would be merciless, a cold glint flashed in Laku’s eyes. He let out a soft hum, then sighed deeply and said, “Lord Du Fan, are you always this merciless to your servants?”
As he spoke, his right hand suddenly swung, and a combat aura shot out from his fingertips, colliding head-on with Du Fan’s sword aura. A loud “boom” echoed as both auras exploded.
The river water on the left side surged violently, sending a huge column of water into the air, while several low houses collapsed instantly.
After just one exchange, Laku no longer showed any signs of humility. Though he still held Jian in his hands, his expression had changed greatly, his gaze at Du Fan tinged with amusement.
But Du Fan seemed extremely surprised. He glanced around before smiling slightly and saying, “Laku, can you tell me… when did a second-level warrior start using combat aura?”

Laku snorted and said, “It’s simple! It’s because I’m not a second-level warrior!”
Elder Mark behind Laku roared, “How dare you!”
Then he saw him swiftly draw the long sword at his waist.
But Du Fan waved his hand and said, “No rush, no rush… Grandpa Mark, I’ve been bored for so many days. It’s rare to have someone play games with me like this… Let me have some fun… After not fighting for so long, my hands are itching. Today, someone has come right to their own death. If you don’t let me have some fun, it won’t do.”
Elder Mark originally wanted to say something more, but then he realized that Du Fan’s strength was already greater than his own. He nodded slightly and stepped back a few steps.
Upon hearing Du Fan’s words, a hint of coldness flashed in Laku’s eyes, but he quickly sneered and said, “A game? Sir Du Fan, in your eyes… is all of this just a game?”
Du Fan smiled slightly and said, “Is it not a game in your eyes?”
Faced with Du Fan’s counterquestion, Laku did not answer. He simply stared at Du Fan seriously, then sighed suddenly and said, “How did you discover it?”
“What?”
“I was confident I had hidden it well. The combat energy techniques I practice may not be special, but they can conceal one’s aura… So, I thought you wouldn’t be able to tell that I had cultivated combat energy… Then, how exactly did you discover it?”
Laku said each word carefully.
“How did I discover it?” Du Fan touched his nose and smiled slightly. “That’s a good question. Since you’re so eager to know, why not tell you? It’s a simple question. Look, I rarely hide my identity and go to a slave market, yet I happen to meet a little girl? That little girl happens to grab my clothes and not let go? And then you happen to know that little girl? And the little girl happens to have no parents? Don’t you think all of this is a bit too coincidental? Besides, if it were just that, it would be fine, but then Princess… revealed my identity in public. I’ve always wondered—she’s not stupid. Why would she go against me at such a critical moment, and leave as if nothing happened after being insulted by me like that?”