The Blade-Wielding Legend
Chapter 64: One Who Brings Trouble on Himself Should Not Complain

Chapter 64: Chapter 64: One Who Brings Trouble on Himself Should Not Complain

The ground suddenly revealed a layer of white frost, and footprints kept appearing.

Yuan Qu and his companions felt chills rising in their hearts.

The surrounding light grew dimmer, and even the moonlight above seemed to have disappeared; the temperature plummeted, cold as an ice cellar, numbing their minds.

In a daze, they seemed to see something.

It was a dense crowd of dark shadows, topped with various banners, like an army from the Netherworld, and they also seemed to hear the sounds of chanting and prayers.

This ghastly sight was beyond their comprehension.

Fortunately, they remembered Chen Fagui’s instructions and dared not even breathe heavily.

The circle of white ash scattered around also seemed to have an effect; neither the white frost nor the footprints appeared to notice this place and passed by the side.

Who knows how long it was before everything returned to normal.

White frost, footprints, strange noises, all disappeared without a trace.

Everything just now seemed like nothing but a nightmare.

"What... what was that?"

Yuan Qu’s throat felt dry.

As soon as the words left his mouth, he felt a chill all over his body and turned his head to see Chen Fagui staring coldly at him, with a flicker of murderous intent in his eyes.

Yuan Qu swallowed nervously, "Master Chen, you..."

"That was the Yin Soldiers of the City God Temple!"

Chen Fagui, as if he thought of something, the murderous look vanished from his eyes, he said indifferently: "That old thing from the City God Temple must have sought me out on purpose, seems like it has discovered something."

"I have never performed rituals in the city; it must be your people who have exposed themselves."

"That’s impossible!"

Yuan Qu quickly retorted, then clenched his teeth and bowed, "Master Chen, please rest assured, if someone really betrayed us, I will eliminate all those who know!"

"Hehe..."

Chen Fagui laughed, started packing his things on his own, not even lifting his head, "Thinking you’re the leader of the White Ape Gang?"

"In Xianyang City, there are probably already people hunting for us, not even your master will escape trouble this time."

"If you don’t believe me, go back and see for yourself, I will wait here for you for a moment, once the hour arrives, I will leave."

His tone was nonchalant, as if the impending danger was of no concern to him.

Yuan Qu bit his lip, his expression alternating between light and dark, and saluted with his fists, "Master Chen, please wait a moment longer, I’ll be right back," and with that, he mounted his horse, gave the reins a shake, and rushed towards Xianyang City with a few subordinates.

Chen Fagui, unhurried, finished packing the Magic Artifact, then kicked the surrounding fire into the center, burning it fiercely along with the magic platform.

After doing all this, he sat down cross-legged, looking towards the southeast in the night sky.

Cough! Cough!

Suddenly, he covered his mouth and coughed a few times, then spread out his hand to reveal shocking crimson blood on his palm.

In the darkness, a pained whimper arose:

"Why has Heaven wronged me so, I refuse to accept this, I refuse to accept this..."

...

"Right here, open up!"

Outside the walls of Xianyang City, next to a mound of earth, Yuan Qu brushed aside the loose soil, revealing two iron rings attached to chains, signaling his men to open it.

Although his followers did not understand, they dared not ask questions.

Yuan Qu was generous to his subordinates, especially these trusted followers; not only were their food and drink taken care of, their expenses covered, but their families also had livelihoods arranged.

But the rules of the White Ape Gang were extremely strict, with the key point being that Yuan Qu’s orders could not be questioned, hence, they did not dare to speak out of turn.

"Heave!"

Several men pulled at the iron rings together.

Below was a thick wooden trapdoor which, as the iron chains became taut, scattered the surrounding earth and stones, revealing a dark opening.

Seeing this, the men looked at each other in surprise.

"This is a secret tunnel dug during the rebellion of the Maitreya Sect."

Yuan Qu explained calmly: "It was upon discovering this secret tunnel that I bought that house. We’ll use this tunnel to get back, even if something goes wrong, we can still escape."

"The gang leader is wise!"

"Hmm, move quickly!"

The men nodded and entered the tunnel one by one.

The entrance resembled a vertical shaft with wooden supports along the earthen walls.

After descending, they lit torches and realized that the tunnel was quite large, two meters wide, and even the tallest of their numbers could stand up straight.

Just then, a cruel glint flashed in Yuan Qu’s eyes, following from behind.

Two daggers suddenly appeared in his hands.

He ducked low into a stance and moved swiftly, his daggers crisscrossing through the air.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Several men had yet to react when their throats were slit; they fell to the ground clutching their bleeding necks, legs kicking wildly, mouths foaming with blood.

Yuan Qu coldly glanced over, indifferent to the resentful gazes of the dying men, picked up a torch, and ran rapidly into the depths of the tunnel.

This was an escape route he had carefully planned.

Whether or not there was a problem, these people could not be allowed to live.

The light in the tunnel was dim, and the air was filthy, suffused with a suffocating, oppressive feeling, but Yuan Qu paid no mind to these things, his steps ever quickening.

He understood Chen Fagui’s meaning.

Waiting for him on the slope was not about loyalty, but rather because he needed assistance for retrieving the treasure at the Chaotic Burial Mound later on.

If he returned too late, this man would certainly vanish without a trace.

His residence was not far from the North City wall; soon, Yuan Qu reached a secret room and peered outside through a previously prepared crack.

Outside was the main hall of his home, and the crack was just below the offering table.

This was where Yuan Qu’s shrewdness lay.

Most people would have their secret passages in their bedrooms or studies.

Who would have thought that he had one in the main hall?

Peering through the crack, Yuan Qu’s heart suddenly turned cold.

He saw that the main hall was brightly lit with candles, all the maids and servants in the house were kneeling on the ground, and the remaining gang members inside the residence were also bruised and bound tightly in the Five Flowers tie.

Beside the chairs, he could see a pair of bullhide boots.

There were chaotic footsteps around, and government officials came and went frequently.

"Report to the arrest officer, nothing was found in the side rooms!"

"Report to the arrest officer, an ambush has been set up at the city gate. As soon as Yuan Qu returns, we will be able to capture him immediately!"

"What about the Zhou Family?"

"Officer Hu has already taken people there..."

It was the arrest officer Guan Wanche!

Without a second word, Yuan Qu tiptoed back into the secret passage and then turned to run, cursing himself for his carelessness.

He had kidnapped so many children before without issue, since people went missing every day in Xianyang City, and he could simply blame it on traffickers. He hadn’t expected the last few to trip him up.

It must have been that old bastard Zhou Peide’s hired help who screwed up!

Idiots, all of them. If only he hadn’t bothered with them.

Yuan Qu was full of regret.

With Zhou Pan backing him, things had always gone smoothly for him. Surrounded by fawning gang members, he had always thought himself invincible. Yet, he never considered that many simply didn’t dare offend Zhou Pan and silently suffered the loss.

Of course, Yuan Qu wouldn’t see it this way himself.

He hurried out of the secret passage and, upon exiting the tunnel, leaped onto a horse.

Though he intended to flee, a trace of hesitation flashed in his eyes.

Following Chen Fagui definitely meant a life of hiding. Moreover, he had no chance to take his life’s fortune with him; it was as if he would be left with nothing.

But to flee alone was equally risky.

Remembering the people from the pugilistic world he had offended over the years, Yuan Qu’s heart filled with fear. He then realized that without Xianyang City, without Zhou Pan and the White Ape Gang, he was nothing!

With a mournful sigh, Yuan Qu spurred his horse into the night.

Before long, he reached the hillside and, seeing Chen Fagui seated cross-legged, he breathed a sigh of relief, moving forward to kneel on the ground, "Master Chen’s foresight is divine, from now on, I will follow you."

Chen Fagui nodded calmly, showing neither joy nor sorrow.

He knew that Yuan Qu would return.

Because for people like him, there was no other path but to rely on others.

"Let’s go, I had anticipated this day."

"But as for catching me, that old fool is still not capable enough..."

......

"Third Master, why hasn’t the person arrived?"

On the dark official road, a disciple couldn’t help but ask.

They had waited half the night and had not even seen a hair of Li Yan. Not just the disciples, but even Zhou Peide himself was having doubts.

Zhou Peide said in a deep voice, "Go, find out what’s going on!"

"Yes, Third Master!"

The disciple obeyed, quickly mounting a horse and riding into the night. However, in less than the time it took for two incense sticks to burn, he hurried back with a puzzled expression, "Returning to you, Third Master, everyone has left, and their whereabouts are unknown."

"Left?"

Zhou Peide’s anger surged to his brain.

Blinded by hatred, he did not stop to ponder and complained right away, "That bastard Yuan Qu really can’t be relied upon."

"Let’s return first, we’ll confront him for answers tomorrow!"

With that, he led the others back to Xianyang City.

The city gates of Xianyang were closed at night, but the Zhou Family had an extraordinary status in the city. As usual, with just a signal, someone lowered a basket from the city wall.

But as soon as he climbed the wall, Zhou Peide sensed something was wrong.

Far away, a row of soldiers and government officials had drawn crossbows, and their sharp arrows aimed at them, with torches rising all around.

"Zhou Peide, you’ve committed a crime!"

......

At the hour of the Rabbit, the sky was faintly bright.

Outside the Mountain God Temple, the campfires had long since been extinguished.

Li Yan was holding a jar of wine, using a piece of wood as a pillow, asleep.

Beside him, Zhao Lvzi was also snoring loudly.

The two of them had talked through the night and, after a few jars of wine, even a practitioner couldn’t hold up and just collapsed to sleep.

Suddenly, Li Yan twitched his nose and Zhao Lvzi’s ears also twitched slightly as they both stood up, looking toward the mountain path.

They saw Sha Lifei, led by a villager, with a look of urgency on his face, running up the path. Seeing Li Yan, he immediately called out,

"Brother Yan, hurry back, the Taoist has been ambushed!"