The Blade-Wielding Legend
Chapter 50 Night Raid, Storm Arises

Chapter 50: Chapter 50 Night Raid, Storm Arises

"How is it, any news?"

The woman was obviously injured, her complexion and lips somewhat pale.

Manager Wu sighed, shook his head slightly, and said, "I have sent people to investigate every day, but there are no secret signs left by the Incense Master in any location."

The woman bit her lip, "Could it be..."

"Impossible!"

Manager Wu said in a deep voice, "With the Incense Master’s skills and spells, as long as he is not surrounded by experts from the Taixuan Orthodox Sect, there’s nowhere in the world he can’t go."

"Moreover, he has the protection of the Rooster Crest Snake God, even if there are many bandits on the mountain, they could be wiped out in one night."

"Perhaps, he is delayed by something."

"What you said makes sense."

The woman nodded her head, but her eyes were still full of worry, "Since the Sect Leader failed to ascend, the sect has been divided, with several Incense Masters harboring ulterior motives. If this continues, we’ll be picked off by the court one by one."

Manager Wu, with a determined look, shook his head and said, "Hmph, let them enjoy a bit of ease for now; once the Incense Master succeeds in ascending, he will be able to unify the Divine Sect and eliminate the rebels!"

"Recently, Xianyang City seems to be on the verge of chaos, and that traitor Chu Shan has sent a group of beggars running around, surely they’ve found out something. You stay here and don’t go out."

The woman nodded, then asked, "Something happened on Chang’an’s side, and Yuan Qu is eyeing us from the sidelines; will our incense hall be safe?"

"Don’t worry."

A glint of ferocity flashed in Manager Wu’s eyes, "Originally, I was at a loss, but now that the pugilistic world in Xianyang City is about to be in turmoil, it’s the perfect time to fish in troubled waters!"

....

As night deepened, candlelight illuminated the side room of the Wendao Temple.

"Come on, let’s have a drink!"

Sha Lifei picked up a bowl of wine, drank it in a few gulps, wiped his mouth, and smacked his lips, "That Wu guy must be rich, to use this aged Xifeng wine."

Wang Daoxuan also took a sip, squinting his eyes, said, "Not bad, it’s sour without being astringent, sweet without being cloying, bitter without being sticky, spicy but not throat-stinging, fragrant but not nose-piercing, truly the ’Five Extremes’."

Having won on the arena today, Li Yan naturally felt in high spirits, biting off a piece of chicken leg, he downed a bowl of wine again with the other two, and laughed, "Don’t worry, as long as the matter in Xianyang is settled, we can take jobs without worry. In the future, we’ll eat well and live well!"

"Just waiting for you to say that!"

Sha Lifei laughed heartily, picked up the wine jar, and filled his cup again, "I’ll drink up, you two do as you please."

No matter what he said, it was an excuse, he just wanted to drink more.

"Look at your simple ambition."

Li Yan chuckled, then looked at Wang Daoxuan, "Daoist, you’ve been storing your divine thoughts for a long time, perhaps you have a chance to build a second-floor building. How much would you need?"

Wang Daoxuan was stunned, quickly shook his head, "The urgent matter is to help you perform the ritual to build the building, lest your stored divine thoughts dissipate, wasting your efforts."

Li Yan couldn’t say he already possessed the Daluo Dharma Body and had no such concerns, so he said seriously, "I’m still young, no rush. Besides, in our current situation, only if you, Daoist, advance in Dao, it’s the best choice."

"I’m still an outsider in many things; even if I build it, cultivating spells is not an overnight task. Better for you, Daoist, to go first."

A trace of emotion flashed in Wang Daoxuan’s eyes, and he didn’t refuse anymore, said seriously, "The items needed for the rituals of the first two floors can be bought with silver."

"But starting from the third floor, Heavenly Spirit Earth Treasure are indispensable; during the ritual, different treasures will have varying effects on enhancing divine skills."

"I, the old Daoist, am skilled in Fengshui detection, finding earth marrow is more beneficial for recognizing Fengshui terrains. If I can find cloud moss, the power of spells can be enhanced."

"These two items are not rare; people from the Mystic Sect in Chang’an City sell them, but the price is steep. However, if we can enlist the help of a treasure suppressor, the price can be halved, though it will take time to find one."

"Why think about so much?"

Sha Lifei waved his big hand, "By then, we’ll do a few big jobs, and let you two build the buildings at the same time, wouldn’t that be nice."

"By the way, how much does it cost to build those buildings, will five hundred taels be enough?"

Wang Daoxuan chuckled, "To build the first floor, besides purchasing Magic Artifacts, you need to rent a spiritual acupoint on Taibai Mountain. At the least, it will cost a thousand taels."

"A... thousand taels?"

Sha Lifei was immediately dumbfounded.

"Yes."

Wang Daoxuan sighed, "These things are nothing for the Mystic Sect and Magic Veins, but for some small folk transmissions, they must prepare from the start, lest they find a suitable disciple yet cannot pass on the teachings."

"Many transmissions were interrupted because of this..."

At this moment, Li Yan frowned slightly, signaling the two to be silent.

Since storing his divine thoughts, his divine skills had come under control, usually closed off with the Yin Technique, preventing him from sensing those special smells, but his sense of smell was still amazing.

He could smell several foul odors appearing outside the courtyard wall.

That smell was familiar to him, a mix of sweat and rotten food, with some poison insect stench.

It was those people from the Chaotic Burial Mound’s Beggar Gang!

Unexpectedly, before the Zhou Family’s retaliation could come, these guys showed up first.

Li Yan whispered a few instructions to them, then slowly opened the door, stepping outside with Sha Lifei.

He picked up a few broken bricks by the flower bed, while Sha Lifei put his hands on his hips, inhaled deeply, and cursed angrily, "Where did you little thieves come from, take this!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Li Yan threw the broken bricks over the courtyard wall.

There were a few muffled grunts outside the wall.

It was exactly a few Evil Beggars from the Xianyang Burial Mound.

They heard Li Yan was seriously injured, so they came to sneak attack at night.

These Evil Beggars acted on a whim and did not notify Beggar Leader Mountain Grandpa, because the one Li Yan killed that day was their sworn brother.

Of course, they were extra cautious.

Among them, two were adept at using poisonous snakes and insects, carrying cloth bags filled with black snakes and scorpions from the Burial Mound.

Little did they expect, they’d be discovered by Li Yan as soon as they approached.

The few were beaten with blood flowing from their heads and faces, but it only stirred up their ferocity; disregarding everything, they tore open the bags to toss the snakes and insects into the courtyard.

Although separated by a wall, Li Yan guessed what they were planning based on the smell. He sneered inwardly and immediately grabbed the handle of his blade.

As soon as he had the idea to exercise his divine thoughts, the Three Talents Demon Suppressing Coin Blade Tassel shook immediately.

He had learned the weakness of these things at the Chaotic Burial Mound because they were tainted with Yin Evil Qi and were equally afraid of various shock-dispelling items.

Sure enough, the poisonous insects and scorpions inside the bags were immediately agitated.

As one Evil Beggar just opened the bag, the snake lunged out and bit his nose.

The other didn’t fare well either, a large scorpion sprang out and struck his hand directly, dropping the bag, allowing the remaining scorpions to crawl everywhere.

"Ah—!"

"Run!"

Screams echoed, and the few Evil Beggars, enduring the pain, turned and fled.

At Li Yan’s signal, Sha Lifei did not pursue but stood in the courtyard laughing loudly, "Such small-time ruffians, dare cause trouble for your Grandpa Sha, serves you right!"

After saying this, the three prepared to return inside.

They knew this was just a minor episode.

Although the Beggar Gang had many people, they were a mixed bag with varying qualities, and only the core members were truly capable of an attack.

Moreover, they had a crucial hidden danger, which was the Beggar Nest itself.

Among the ordinary beggars were many pitiable individuals, some even kidnapped and maimed young beggars, forced to beg daily, beaten often, living a life worse than death.

If too many core members died, those abused beggars might instantly retaliate.

The only thing they needed to do now was to protect themselves as much as possible before the storm subsided.

However, just before entering, Li Yan seemed deep in thought, turning his head.

"What’s wrong, someone else coming?"

"No, it’s just someone more anxious than I thought..."

....

In the dark alley, the footsteps were chaotic.

A few beggars stumbled and fled, while groping for black Detoxification Pills on their bodies and stuffing them into their mouths, all the while complaining to each other.

"Didn’t you say that Sha Lifei was just a simpleton?"

"Everyone said so, I’ve never crossed paths with him..."

"Stop arguing, find a place to rest first, lest the poison attack your heart..."

However, just as they exited the alley, four or five men suddenly jumped out from both sides, holding long sticks, they swept low with sudden strength.

Bang bang bang!

With crisp sounds accompanied by bone-cracking noises, the Evil Beggars cried out, falling to the ground, holding their legs and wailing, "Grandpa, we dare not."

"Great masters, please stop, we are from the Beggar Gang."

"The Beggar Gang?"

From the darkness emerged a middle-aged man, skin tanned, full sideburned beard, wearing a sheepskin vest, a long whip tucked at his waist.

Looking at the beggars, he smacked his lips, "Since when did the Beggar Gang become the Zhou Family’s lapdogs?"

"Speak!"

Before the beggars could justify, the black-clad men rushed up, a flurry of slaps across their faces.

The beggars, beaten till their faces were purple, realized they encountered ruthless people and had no choice but to recount the events of the Chaotic Burial Mound in every detail.

"So that’s it."

The sheepskin vest man sneered, "That kid feigned illness, thought he was a coward, but turns out he’s not a compliant one."

"Take them back, tomorrow send a message to the Beggar Gang, tell them if they want to live, stay far from Xianyang for now!"

"Yes, leader."

The men in black immediately stepped forward, dragging the beggars away like dead dogs.

In the darkness, the man’s voice echoed:

"Go, tell Elder Zhang, the fish didn’t take the bait..."

....

In this world, there’s always those who rejoice and those who mourn.

While Li Yan and company drank and feasted, the Zhou Family was engulfed in gloom.

In the house’s spacious room, the candlelight was bright.

Zhou Bai lay in bed, his body wrapped in bandages and splints, face flushed, eyes tightly shut, the air heavy with a pungent medicinal smell.

At this time, the eight Vajras of the Zhou Family were all present in the room.

Skilled in medicine, Wang Yao frowned while feeling the pulse, then shook his head slightly, "His life is temporarily out of danger, but his internal organs are damaged, bones and muscles have ruptured, he’s unlikely to practice martial arts in the future..."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Peide’s face turned grim.

His fists clenched with crackling sounds, he suddenly turned, lunging forward, grabbing Yuan Qu by the throat, pinning him against the wall, and coldly asked:

"Yuan, what did you do to Zhou Bai before the match!"

Yuan Qu’s face turned red from being strangled, just about to speak when an old voice echoed from outside, "Why blame him? It was my instruction."

Others were startled, quickly turning and bowing:

"Greetings, Master!"