“Heh…”
Hearing Lu Feiyue’s words, Wan Yunting chuckled and said, “Officer, although the scenarios you described are cliché like those in TV shows, I have to tell you, just as you said, we did find a profound martial arts manual. It not only greatly increased our skills but also allowed us to successfully kill them both!”
Tan Tiancheng’s eyes widened, his interest piqued. “What kind of martial arts manual was it?”
“The Peerless Sword Style, and a set of internal cultivation techniques!” Wan Yunting told him.
Excited, Tan Tiancheng asked, “Then where is the martial arts manual?”
“Burned!” Wan Yunting replied with a smile.
“Burned? How was it burned?” Tan Tiancheng exclaimed.
Wan Yunting said helplessly, “The manual for that set of techniques and sword style was on the oilcloth wrapping the twin swords. We accidentally burned it.”
Lu Feiyue narrowed his eyes, constantly observing Wan Yunting’s facial expressions, searching for any slip-up.
He was disappointed. Wan Yunting’s expressions showed no signs of lying. Having studied micro-expressions in prison, Wan Yunting knew exactly how to control his facial reactions when lying, making it impossible to see through him, even convincing others.
At least Tan Tiancheng and the other officers believed Wan Yunting’s words. However, Lu Feiyue was skeptical. He believed that the more perfect a lie was, the less trustworthy it became, and Wan Yunting’s flawless expression was precisely the problem.
But Lu Feiyue was helpless. No one else knew what had happened between Wan Yunting and Zhou Ruoxi at the bottom of this valley. They could only rely on the account of the two of them.
However, none of that was truly important. What mattered were the identities of the two bodies on the ground. Lu Feiyue asked, “So, do you know who they are?”
Wan Yunting nodded. “They are from the Heavenly Eye Divine Cult!”
Lu Feiyue looked up at him. “You killed one of them outside earlier, didn’t you?”
“Yes.”
Wan Yunting nodded and smiled. “They tried to kill me, so I had to kill them!”
Lu Feiyue raised an eyebrow, his eyes fixed on Wan Yunting, then glanced at Zhou Ruoxi, who looked somewhat nervous. “You seem unfazed by killing. Do you kill people often?”
“Yes, I have indeed killed quite a few people!”
Wan Yunting smiled, knowing that Lu Feiyue and the others were likely unaware of his past exploits. He continued, “It depends on who you kill. If they are wicked cultivators like these two from the Heavenly Eye Divine Cult, I feel no guilt or remorse for killing them.”
“Heh, you talk as if you’re acting on behalf of Heaven,” Tan Tiancheng sneered.
“You’re right. You could say I’m acting on behalf of Heaven,” Wan Yunting said, pointing at Tan Tiancheng with a smile.
“Alright,” Lu Feiyue waved his hand. “Let’s discuss these matters after we get out and return to the police station.”
“Certainly.”
Wan Yunting nodded and smiled, knowing he would have to “have tea” and chat at their station once they were out.
“If we hadn’t come, what would you have done with these two bodies?”
Lu Feiyue asked. Wan Yunting naturally replied with a smile, “Bury them right here, of course. What else could we do? Carry them out ourselves?”
Lu Feiyue glanced at him, saying nothing more. “We climbed down from the front. Since we’ve found you, let’s go out together.”
“Okay, thank you.”
Wan Yunting nodded his thanks. After all, they had come to assist him. Although this police officer was questioning him, Wan Yunting didn’t mind; gratitude was still necessary.
Lu Feiyue nodded, saying no more. He had Tan Tiancheng and the others carry the bodies of Ma Sai and Liu Hongwei. He then looked around, observing the pile of rocks on the stone wall behind them, but Lu Feiyue couldn’t discern anything. Seeing nothing significant, the group, along with Wan Yunting and Zhou Ruoxi, began to leave.
“Are we climbing up from here?”
Reaching the spot where they had descended, Wan Yunting looked up at the stone wall of the valley where a rope was hanging. Lu Feiyue nodded. He first had Tan Tiancheng tie Ma Sai’s body and then used the walkie-talkie to call the officers above, instructing them to pull up the two bodies first, then the people…
As the bodies were being pulled up halfway, they got stuck. Wan Yunting, carrying the Gentleman’s Sword on his back, said, “Let me do it…”
With that, he leaped up, grabbed a protruding rock on the stone wall, and exerted force. Instantly, he shot upwards, then grabbed another protruding rock…
“Whoa, is he climbing or flying?”
Witnessing Wan Yunting’s agile and astonishing movements, it seemed as if he wasn’t climbing but flying. Using both his hands and feet, he ascended more than ten meters in the blink of an eye, as if he were flying. Tan Tiancheng and the other officers were stunned, and even Lu Feiyue couldn’t help but widen his eyes in shock.
They were all from the Buxi County Police Station. Lu Feiyue and his colleagues had often visited the Wuliang Taoist Temple on Wuliang Mountain when they were young and had learned martial arts from the Taoist priests. They knew that some martial artists were incredibly powerful, capable of scaling walls and moving swiftly.
Therefore, Lu Feiyue and Tan Tiancheng were quite convinced of this. However, seeing Wan Yunting’s astonishing skills before them, they couldn’t help but marvel and admire him…
“Alright, let them continue pulling,”
Wan Yunting dislodged the stuck body and shouted down. Lu Feiyue, holding the walkie-talkie, instructed the officers in the valley above to continue pulling. He stood on a protruding large rock, waiting for the officers to pull Ma Sai and Liu Hongwei’s bodies completely up. Wan Yunting did not ascend yet, watching as Lu Feiyue and Tan Tiancheng were pulled up one by one…
Zhou Ruoxi initially didn’t want to use the rope, but Wan Yunting urged her to be safe, so she used the safety rope. Zhou Ruoxi’s skills were, of course, exceptional. Together with Wan Yunting, she climbed up from the valley…
“Huh, Phoenix Tail Grass!”
As Wan Yunting was about to climb out of the valley, he suddenly spotted a few plants with red leaves growing in a crevice in the stone wall not far to his left. He was immediately delighted. He turned to Zhou Ruoxi beside him and said, “Senior Sister, I’m going to pick those Phoenix Tail Grass.”
“Okay, be careful…”
Zhou Ruoxi hadn’t expected to find Phoenix Tail Grass here either. Wan Yunting climbed over and smoothly pulled all four Phoenix Tail Grass plants out by the roots from the crevice, then tucked them directly into his robe. He then turned back to Zhou Ruoxi with a smile and nodded, “Senior Sister, let’s go up. Slowly…”
Soon, Wan Yunting and Zhou Ruoxi climbed out of the valley. Wan Yunting couldn’t help but sigh, “Phew, finally out…”
They looked back at the panoramic view of the vast valley and then down into the valley, where nothing could be seen clearly. Wan Yunting and Zhou Ruoxi exchanged glances, seeing unspoken reluctance in each other’s eyes, as if reminiscing about the pleasant times they had spent below, a rare experience…
“Director Qu, we’ve found them, but those two villains have already been killed by them. We’re bringing the bodies back now…”
Lu Feiyue, upon exiting, was reporting the situation to Qu Guangrong, who was with Wu Weizi and Li Zihang, via satellite phone.
“Very good. We’ll be departing soon as well.”
Hearing from the other end that Lu Feiyue had found Wan Yunting and Zhou Ruoxi and confirmed their safety, Jiang Tingxia, who was listening, became overjoyed. Her constantly worried heart finally found peace upon hearing that her senior sister and Wan Yunting were safe.
“Captain Lu, tell them I found four stalks of Phoenix Tail Grass. Have them return immediately,” Wan Yunting then said to Lu Feiyue, taking out the four stalks of Phoenix Tail Grass from his chest.
Lu Feiyue nodded and relayed the message to Qu Guangrong. Upon hearing that Wan Yunting had found four stalks of Phoenix Tail Grass, Wu Weizi and Li Zihang became instantly excited. “That’s great, truly great! Let’s head back immediately.”
Qu Guangrong nodded and waved his hand. Everyone turned and began heading back, also instructing Lu Feiyue to ensure Wan Yunting and Zhou Ruoxi were safely and quickly transported back to the Wuliang Taoist Temple…
“Bang!”
In the next second, before Qu Guangrong and Lu Feiyue could hang up the phone, a gunshot rang out from ahead. Someone immediately fell, it was a police officer leading a police dog, who was shot in the chest and fell…
“Ah!”
Duan Yingying and Jiang Tingxia screamed in fright. Wu Weizi, Li Zihang, and Xu Lingwei quickly shielded them. Chen Bin, Lin Jie, and Peng Lei were terrified and scrambled behind nearby trees…
“Quick, hide! There are enemies ahead…”
Qu Guangrong exclaimed, shouting at the police officers. The remaining nine officers immediately drew their pistols, using the trees as cover, some crouching down, aiming their guns towards two figures about eighty meters ahead, who were ambushed in the snow. A special gun barrel extended, revealing Old Seven and Old Eight, who had been lying in wait.
“Director Qu, Director Qu, what’s happening over there?”
Lu Feiyue, who hadn’t hung up the phone, even heard the gunshots from the other end and hurriedly asked.
“We’re under enemy fire, and Xiao Lin has fallen…”
Qu Guangrong, crouched behind a tree, clutched his pistol in his right hand and held the satellite phone in his left. He urgently shouted to Lu Feiyue, “Quick, contact Director Zhang in the city and have him send a helicopter for reinforcements immediately.”
“Yes, I’ll contact Director Zhang right away…”
Lu Feiyue responded, then hung up the phone and quickly contacted Director Zhang of the city bureau…
“What’s wrong?”
Wan Yunting, Zhou Ruoxi, and officers like Tan Tiancheng looked at the anxious Lu Feiyue, knowing that Qu Guangrong and Wu Weizi were in trouble.
“They’ve been ambushed by the enemy. I’m contacting Director Zhang in the city to send a helicopter for reinforcements…”
Lu Feiyue said as he dialed the city number, asking for the Deputy Director of the City Police Bureau, Zhang Linhai, to take the call. Lu Feiyue immediately reported the crisis Qu Guangrong and the others were facing, requesting the city to send a helicopter for reinforcement, and also provided Qu Guangrong’s current location…