Chapter 738: Chapter 564: Sir, The Times Have Changed
After two more days of peaceful living, Yang Xiao received news from Xiang Ma Town: Ling Yanyu had brought some very bad news. Their business in the town had been sabotaged, Golden Snake went to argue and ended up being injured and captured. The culprits had also demanded a ransom, telling them to bring goods to exchange for the person, and they were only given a three-day deadline—if they didn’t comply, the hostage would be killed. It was already the second day.
"What do they want?" inquired Yang Xiao.
"One Fierce Grade Magic Artifact, plus three Grudge Level Magic Artifacts, and they said they won’t interfere with our business, but they want a share of half the profits."
Upon hearing Ling Yanyu’s words, Yang Xiao nearly burst into laughter out of sheer frustration. This wasn’t extortion; it was outright robbery. Someone was clearly trying to drive them out of Xiang Ma Town with these absurd demands. And the enemy knew these were terms they couldn’t possibly accept.
"Do we know who’s behind this?"
"It’s unclear. The trouble-makers aren’t from any power within the town; their base is in nearby Qinghe Town." Ling Yanyu, seemingly worried that Yang Xiao might not be aware of the location, specifically elaborated, "Qinghe Town is not far to the west of Xiang Ma Town. It’s not big, more of a transit point. Many goods destined for Xiang Ma Town pass through there."
"Don’t make any rash moves. What you need to do now is find their exact hideout. I’ll head back immediately, and we will make our plans once I’m there."
"Understood."
After hanging up the phone, Yang Xiao prepared to depart, but before doing so, he went to meet with Yang Cha and Tong Han. Bidding them farewell was one reason, but he also needed to inform the Old Clan Leader of his imminent departure, since he had no way to contact the Old Clan Leader directly.
While packing in his apartment, he first booked a flight and then waited for another two hours. Since the Old Clan Leader hadn’t shown up, it was time for him to go. He couldn’t be blamed for leaving without saying goodbye. Yang Cha drove, taking both Yang Xiao and Tong Han to the airport. Tong Han earnestly asked if Yang Xiao needed help with his trip, offering to accompany him if necessary.
"I appreciate the offer, but it’s nothing major, I can handle it alone," Yang Xiao said with a reassuring smile, at the same time advising Tong Han to focus on her studies. He promised to return to see everyone when he had time.
The sleep he managed to get on the plane was the most restful he’d had since he left, considering he didn’t believe the Old Clan Leader, preoccupied with a myriad of tasks, would follow him onto the plane. Regardless of the size of the sky one broke, at the end of the day, he was just a Fierce Level Apostle, just slightly luckier than some to have gotten his hands on a few high-level magic devices.
The journey was rough, but when he finally arrived at Xiang Ma Town, it was the afternoon of the third day. Less than 10 hours remained before the deadline for Golden Snake. He hurried back to the teahouse where Ling Yanyu and Guardian Yun were already waiting.
When Ling Yanyu saw Yang Xiao, his tense eyes gradually began to relax; after all, Yang Xiao was the mainstay, the real decision-maker. Meanwhile, he was, at best, just a steward.
"Sect Hierarch, you’ve finally returned!" Ling Yanyu approached with Guardian Yun.
"Did you find the exact location where they’re holding the captive?" Yang Xiao asked directly, setting aside his fatigue.
"We have. He’s being held in a wooden board processing factory in Qinghe Town, with about a dozen people guarding," Ling Yanyu answered, swiftly picking up a hand-drawn map of the factory from the table and spreading it out. Key positions were marked in great detail on the map.
"Good. Do you know anything about these people?" Yang Xiao looked over the map and then lifted his eyes to the two of them.
Dressed in black, Guardian Yun spoke with an odd expression, "It’s a small gang, the insignificant sort that has been hanging around Qinghe Town for years without interfering with us. And we’ve never heard of them having any real experts."
"However, those who followed Golden Snake reported back that one of the gang members captured Golden Snake with just one move."
Capturing Golden Snake in just a single move, even if it was a surprise attack, was enough to demonstrate that their strengths were not even in the same league. It could preliminarily be concluded that this person must possess strength beyond Fierce Grade.
A person of such caliber wouldn’t condescend to linger in a little-known small gang with no Apostles. Yang Xiao deduced that this individual must have been sent there specifically to cause trouble, with orders coming from someone behind the scenes, likely a power within the town itself.
Being able to command a member of the Li Generation meant that the forces behind this weren’t ordinary. The first person Yang Xiao thought of was the White-clothed Scholar, Pingxi Marquis.
Last time, thanks to the appearance of Daoist Qingfeng who rescued him and made Pingxi Marquis suffer a sneak attack, Yang Xiao thought that the other party couldn’t swallow this pride. Worried about offending the Peace Hotel represented by Daoist Qingfeng, they had found an unknown small gang to be the scapegoat.
Moreover, since the gang wasn’t a local power from Xiang Ma Town, the Peace Hotel couldn’t easily extend its reach there; after all, some rules still had to be followed.
"Has Pingxi Marquis been in town lately?" Yang Xiao inquired.
"Yes," Guardian Yun was the first to nod in confirmation.
"Are you sure?" Yang Xiao had seen some of Pingxi Marquis’s subordinates, mostly Yuan Generation Apostles, with a few from the Li Generation as well. Now he wasn’t afraid of any of these fellows; he needed to be certain that Pingxi Marquis himself wouldn’t show up in Qinghe Town.
"Positive," Ling Yanyu also spoke up, explaining, "In the past few days, under the leadership of the Peace Hotel, a meeting has been held for the four great families of the southeast, northwest, to renegotiate territories based on their strength. The leaders of the four families are all at the Peace Hotel."
Since the Peace Hotel was involved, Yang Xiao wasn’t concerned about Pingxi Marquis using any Blinding Techniques. The next steps were much simpler. He planned to visit Qinghe Town at night to see what kind of trap had been set for him.
As long as no Ghost-level Apostles appeared, even if he couldn’t beat them, he could always escape. Besides, with the Magic Artifacts in hand, and the newly acquired Daoist robe old ghost, even a common Ghost-level Apostle might find it difficult to keep him.
He also wanted to find a suitable opponent to test the abilities of the Daoist robe old ghost, a demon who had once nearly stepped into the Netherworld Realm and slaughtered half of the world of martial arts. The very thought was thrilling.
He didn’t ask Ling Yanyu to arrange a vehicle, out of confidentiality concerns. Using the ability of the Soul-Capturing Mirror, he left the tea house unnoticed and then hailed an unmarked car just outside of town, heading directly to Qinghe Town.
As a diversion, he instructed Ling Yanyu to specifically arrange a team to carry a large amount of cash and gold bars, distributed across several vehicles. They would leave for Qinghe Town half an hour after his departure, putting on the guise of seeking a conciliatory negotiation.
Yang Xiao arrived at Qinghe Town first, a place much smaller and poorer than Xiang Ma Town, located at the foot of a mountain. After exiting the car with a map in hand, he quickly found the wood processing factory situated at the base of a small hill on the west side of the town.
Utilizing the power of the Soul-Capturing Mirror, he made his way to the warehouse where the Golden Snake was held. Upon seeing the Golden Snake, Yang Xiao couldn’t help but take a deep breath. The Golden Snake was suspended by a thick hemp rope, bare-chested and severely beaten, now hanging his head motionless. Whether he was dead or alive was unclear.
Around the Golden Snake, some people were enjoying hot pot. The leader was a fat man with a big head and big ears, wearing a gold chain thick as a finger, looking fierce but with very ordinary strength, seemingly just a Yuan Generation Apostle.
The person who injured Golden Snake was probably not him. Yang Xiao was patient, observing quietly from the dark. Soon, he spotted a clue. In a makeshift guardroom at the front gate, an old man dressed in an outdated security uniform was eating instant noodles and drinking tea from an enamel mug. Everything about him seemed plain, but Yang Xiao knew that he was the most troublesome presence here, a Fierce Level Apostle, and among them, a formidable one.
The best strategy would be to deal with the old man first, but there was no good transmission point by his side. If Yang Xiao acted again, the noise might alert the factory workers to tear up the ticket, endangering the life of Golden Snake which he was now determined to save at all costs.
After a moment of thought, Yang Xiao stealthily withdrew, went back inside the factory, donned a mask, and burst out, venting all his frustration on these insignificant underlings. With the Ghost Duster in hand, he fused the Yuan Generation fat man who was enjoying the hot pot with his beloved copper pot. Seeing this, 7 or 8 of the other lackeys were immediately scared to death, and the rest were swiftly taken care of by Yang Xiao.
The commotion was not small, and by the time he had taken down Golden Snake, his senses were already clouded. And as the iron door was kicked open, that Fierce Level old man disguised as a security guard burst in, staring at Yang Xiao with a grim face.
The old man held that plain enamel cup in his hand, a hideous grin revealing his ugly gums, "Been waiting for you a long time..."
At that comment, a surge of unease crystallized in Yang Xiao’s mind. Although the old man was strong, with both of them as Fierce Level Apostles, it wasn’t certain whether the old man could beat him one-on-one. However, the old man appeared very confident about today’s battle.
With the Human Bone Staff in his left hand and the Ghost Duster in his right, in the next instant, Yang Xiao frowned sharply, but before he could turn around, he felt a cane violently pierce his abdomen from behind. The tip of the cane emerged from the front, and blood instantly soaked the ground.
Before the cane could tear him apart, Yang Xiao grabbed one end, twisted fiercely, and pulled his body off the cane, staggering as he turned around. He saw Golden Snake stepping back quickly, holding the cane, and sneering at him.
"Lord Sect Hierarch, times have changed, hehehe..."
