In the distance, the white-haired old man, who had also barely steadied his own injuries, heard his distant call and, unable to suppress the surging blood in his chest, opened his mouth and spurted out a mouthful of coagulated blood in a furious roar, "Shameless child, unworthy of your ancestors, I swear I will kill you!"
After a while, an even more distant voice came through, "Then why don’t you come..."
The white-haired old man, while hurriedly rushing toward Mount Longhu, stubbornly retorted, "Why don’t you stop running then!"
Meanwhile, Yang Ge, who was desperately running away, also stubbornly retorted, "I’m not running away, come find me if you can!"
The two of them ran back-to-back, clearly one running faster than the other, yet their words grew more vigorous.
In another direction, in the woods, two people hidden by straw hats made from branches lay behind a small hill, staring agape at the swath of forest that seemed ravaged by a mountain torrent.
"Is this what the world of unparalleled powerhouses looks like?"
"Indeed, worthy of the foremost under heaven, old and new..."
...
Six days later, at Yuelai Inn.
At Yuelai Inn, four brothers noodled around with mahjong tiles while Shen Fa sat at the door quietly talking to Fang Ke, who was in disguise.
Xiao Baoqi suddenly said, "Hey, speaking of which, it’s been a while since the Second Master headed south, hasn’t it? Why hasn’t there been any news at all?"
Shen Fa turned to look at Xiao Baoqi and then turned back, eyeing Fang Ke intently, "Other than the news of that fellow leaving the Yang Family of Fengyang, have you really not heard anything at all?"
Fang Ke, grimacing, shook his head, "Even if I had the guts of a thunder god, I wouldn’t dare hide anything from you... But as you know, at this time of year, messages can get delayed on their way!"
Shen Fa felt uneasy, knowing Yang Ge, that rascal would never make a move without stirring up some major trouble!
If they hadn’t received any news, that meant the rascal definitely ran into trouble somewhere.
Otherwise, he would have returned his blade and continued as usual!
"Send someone to Fengyang immediately!"
Shen Fa clenched his teeth and said, "Directly ask the Yang Family what exactly is happening there?"
"This..."
Fang Ke, stroking his forehead nervously, spoke in a low tone, "My lord, isn’t that against the rules?"
Shen Fa: "What rules matter more than that scoundrel’s safety!"
Fang Ke nodded, about to stand up, when suddenly a voice came from the mahjong table, "Actually, I do know some details about the Second Master’s situation."
The sound of mahjong stopped, and all five people in the hall looked toward the speaker.
The Flea used tea drinking as a cover for his embarrassment, "Well, although I never mentioned who I am... you guys probably have an idea, right?"
"Well..."
Xiao Baoqi nonchalantly played a tile, "We’re not Lay-Low Lodge or anything. No need to hide!"
"Wait a second..."
The hooligan made a pausing gesture, "I need that tile for a ’kong’!"
"Move aside!"
Shen Fa, who had approached the mahjong table unnoticed, grabbed the hooligan and pushed him aside, then sat down in his place, "What time is it now for ’kong, kong, kong’? Stop it already!"
"Exactly, no tact at all!"
Xiao Baoqi, taking advantage of the moment, pushed his hand of tiles and looked seriously at the Flea, "We’re all insiders here, speak freely and let it all out, quickly!"
The Flea hesitated, struggling to find the right words.
Seeing this, Shen Fa sternly said, "Just say what you can!"
Relieved, the Flea straightened up and began, "I actually don’t know much, but I know that the Second Master left from the inn and went straight to the stronghold of the Five Poisons Cult..."
"Wait!"
Shen Fa, surprised, interrupted him, "He went to the stronghold of the Five Poisons Cult the day he left the inn?"
The Flea thought for a moment, then shook his head, "Counting the days, it should have been the next morning after he left the inn!"
Shen Fa raised an eyebrow, nodded, and said, "Continue!"
The Flea nodded, "After the Second Master took down the stronghold of the Five Poisons Cult, he chased Yan Shijun to Dragon Tiger Mountain in Jiujiang..."
Shen Fa sat up in shock, "Dragon Tiger Mountain? The Zhang Family of the Heavenly Master’s residence?"
Flea looked at Shen Fa dubiously, "Is your government really that dumb, or are you just pretending? Do you seriously know nothing?"
Shen Fa appeared even more confused, looking around at Xiao Baoqi and the thugs at the table, "What should we know?"
Xiao Baoqi and the thugs looked bewilderedly at Shen Fa, "You’re actually a hook?"
Shen Fa laughed and scolded, "I’m also a ’rod’! If Flea can be a man from the Yuelai Inn, why can’t I be from the government? Aren’t you, Xiao Baoqi, also ambiguously connected with the White Lotus Sect? And the thugs, they’re from the Ming Sect! Have I ever said a word?"
Xiao Baoqi: ???
Thugs: ???
Crap, shocked, raised a finger at himself, and looked around, "So, I’m the only useless one?"
The crowd clumsily patted Crap’s shoulders to comfort him.
"Being useless is great!"
"Yes, when you’re in the Jianghu, you can’t help it!"
"You think we like this? I was born into the Ming Sect. After wandering for so many years, I still can’t clean my slate..."
Shen Fa banged on the mahjong table, "We’ll talk about this later, Flea, continue!"
After thinking, Flea said, "Second Master went down to Dragon Tiger Mountain, slaughtered Yan Shijun below the mountain, fought with someone, then went to the Yang Family of Fengyang, and then out of nowhere, the Five Poisons Cult popped up with Yan Futu, briefly reorganized the various halls and branches of the Five Poisons Cult, and even returned the three million taels of silver stolen from Second Master... Counting the days, it should arrive these two days."
Shen Fa: "Then what?"
Xiao Baoqi: "Who did Second Master fight?"
Thug: "Second Master even killed the former Hierarch of the Poison Cult, and they still only returned three million?"
Standing behind Shen Fa, Fang Ke looked at these often pitiable "dragons and phoenixes," suddenly felt that he was the real waste!
Flea spread his hands, "I’ve told you, I don’t know much either. The upper floors wouldn’t discuss anything with us small fries. If it weren’t for my job at the inn, I wouldn’t even qualify to know this much. I initially thought you government folks knew more than me!"
His words turned Shen Fa’s and Fang Ke’s faces red.
They truly knew nothing. Since Yang Ge left the inn, all they knew was that he had gone to the Yang Family of Fengyang.
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As for the rest, whether Yang Ge attacked the lair of the Poison Cult, killed Yan Shijun, or the arising of Yan Futu afterward... they were completely in the dark!
Mainly because the majority of the Embroidered Guards’ efforts had been on border security; their influence in Jianghu had always been minimal. Coupled with several commanders being uninvolved and incompetent, their grasp on Jianghu affairs had lagged behind by several updates. Plus, the heavy snow blocking the roads recently had made communication difficult...
In short, they were inept!
"Something’s not right!"
After pondering for a moment, Shen Fa spoke up, but he was making guesses due to insufficient information, "Yang Ge must have suffered a setback at Dragon Tiger Mountain, or else the Poison Cult wouldn’t dare to return just three million taels of silver!"
Standing behind him, Fang Ke hesitated for a while, then said softly, "Sir, if second Master’s trip had been smooth, there wouldn’t be a Poison Cult anymore!"
The crowd suddenly realized; Second Master’s trip southward was specifically to target the Poison Cult!
"So that means, he hasn’t returned yet..."
Shen Fa also finally figured it out, "He probably doesn’t plan to suffer this loss silently and must be heading back to Dragon Tiger Mountain to settle this score!"
Fang Ke: "That’s certain, our Second Master has never admitted defeat!"
Shen Fa became restless, suddenly stood up and said, "Fang Ke, quickly fetch Yang Ge’s black horse. I’m heading back to the capital to consult records related to Dragon Tiger Mountain!"
Fang Ke was about to suggest changing horses, as that horse only responded to Yang Ge...
Just then, the heavy wind curtain of the inn was lifted, and a robust man with dark skin, wrapped tightly in various black fabrics, walked through the doorway with a beaming smile, bowing and scraping, "May I ask if this is the Yuelai Inn?"
Upon seeing the newcomer, Shen Fa frowned and asked in a deep voice, "Who are you?"
The newcomer, smiling pleasantly, bowed, "I am Lei Hong of the Scorpion Hall of the Five Poisons Cult, tasked with returning the three million taels of silver lost by True Lord Erlang. The money is just outside, and another two million taels of silver are on their way north, due to arrive at Lu Ting shortly!"
Three million plus two million? Isn’t that five million taels?
People inside the inn looked at each other.
Xiao Baoqi hesitated, "Has Second Master already reclaimed his place?"
Thug: "Do we even need to guess? Would the Poison Cult willingly give an extra two million if Second Master hadn’t reclaimed his place? And we’re talking about two million taels of silver, not two million copper coins!"
Shen Fa suddenly wasn’t in a hurry anymore, sat back down leisurely and gestured, "Fang Ke, call someone to carefully count this three million taels of silver. Don’t accept it if it’s even one tael short!"