Rumble!
As he finished speaking, a flash of lightning illuminated Rong Zhi’s stunned face.
“What exactly is going on?”
Her voice was drowned out by the downpour, and she didn’t get the answer she wanted, as Liu Hong soon fainted.
When Liu Hong woke up again, he saw Rong Zhi’s solemn expression. He found himself lying in an unfamiliar room, his wounds already bandaged.
“Is this your home?”
“It is,” Rong Zhi replied, looking at him with a hint of suspicion.
“How did you guys get injured? How did Xia Yunting die? Tell me everything.”
Liu Hong’s face turned pale, as if recalling something terrifying.
“That day, I took Brother Xia to Swallow Mountain. We happened to catch those traffickers drinking and feasting inside. I said we should hide and observe the situation, but Brother Xia told me to stay hidden in the mountains and he went in alone. Not long after, screams came from inside. When I went to check, I found that Brother Xia had killed all the traffickers. The ground was covered in blood, filled with bodies. Brother Xia stood there, covered in blood. I was terrified. Just as I was about to go over, Brother Xia suddenly collapsed. Many people in red clothes rushed out from all sides. They dragged away Brother Xia’s body. I barely managed to escape back.”
Rong Zhi’s brows furrowed even tighter. This perfectly matched Chu Qingze’s words. Could those people in red be the legendary martial arts assassin organization? Did Xia Yunting really go to Swallow Mountain unprepared?
She thought he would at least have some preparation, only to be captured and his fate uncertain?
Or did he have some other plan?
Rong Zhi pondered for a moment and then asked him, “Brother Liu, tell me in detail how to get to Swallow Mountain.”
Liu Hong looked shocked. “You don’t mean…”
“Yes,” Rong Zhi nodded.
“But, that’s too dangerous. We should report it to the authorities…”
“Most likely, the authorities are also colluding with the traffickers.”
Before Liu Hong could finish, Rong Zhi voiced her suspicion.
With so many cases of missing persons, there were no official records, and the traffickers were never caught. The Zhang family, as the largest supplier of medicinal herbs, would often grease the palms of officials with money.
At this point, reporting to the authorities would be useless.
“But you can’t go alone!”
Liu Hong’s expression was anxious, and it was clear his concern was genuine.
“Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing. You’re not fit to travel right now, so stay here and recover!”
Liu Hong wanted to say more, but it aggravated his wounds. Rong Zhi had already left.
At Yu Cheng’s house.
Yu Cheng was repairing the horse stable in the backyard. The heavy rain last night had scattered the straw on the roof. He woke up early to lay fresh straw and poured clean water into the trough.
He stroked Xiao Hei’s glossy coat, a satisfied smile on his face.
Suddenly, he heard footsteps approaching. Yu Cheng turned around and saw Rong Zhi.
“Uncle Yu, I need to borrow Xiao Hei.”
That night, at the Zhang mansion, occasional coughs could be heard from the backyard. Master Zhang’s conscious periods were becoming longer. Li Hao, who was ostensibly taking care of him personally, seethed with hatred inwardly.
He didn’t know who had inexplicably injured him last time. Lacking any information, he dared not act rashly, and had to maintain a facade of peace. He brought a bowl of bitter medicinal soup, glaring hatefully at the person on the bed.
“Old man, once I find out who that person is, you’ll be not far from death.”
Master Zhang coughed more severely from anger, but he lacked the strength to even raise a hand.
Li Hao approached the bed, stirred the bowl with a spoon, and was about to feed him when his shoulder suddenly felt heavy.
He immediately became vigilant. Turning his head, he was struck unconscious with a punch.
Master Zhang’s eyes on the bed widened abruptly as he looked in astonishment at the stranger dressed in black, with his face covered by black cloth.
Rong Zhi winked at him and quickly dragged the unconscious man outside.
In a dark alleyway outside, Rong Zhi used the moonlight to work on Li Hao’s face. Before long, Li Hao’s appearance had been altered to resemble Xia Yunting’s disguise.
Heavy breathing sounds came from above. Rong Zhi looked up and patted Xiao Hei’s long face.
“Xiao Hei, help me watch him. I’ll go find someone else.”
Xiao Hei seemed to understand and actually nodded.
Rong Zhi felt relieved and used her lightness skill to head towards the magistrate’s house.
Compared to the previous house, Zhang Chu’s home was much quieter. The backyard was dark, with only the sound of the wind rustling through the leaves.
Suddenly, a voice broke the silence.
“Miss, it’s the middle of the night, where are you going now?”
“Oh, lower your voice, I can’t sleep. I’m going to find Divine Doctor Chu. He hasn’t shown his face for days.”
“My dear Miss, can’t you be still for a moment? It’s almost the third watch.”
“Don’t tell me what to do. If you don’t want to come with me, go back to sleep quickly and don’t let anyone find out.”
Zhang Yajing impatiently shook off Cui Xi and was about to sneak away under the cover of darkness when her sharp eyes caught a fleeting shadow.
“What was that? A ghost?”
The next moment, a sharp voice suddenly rang out.
“Someone, help! The Master is missing!”
The cry woke everyone in the mansion. Soon, the backyard was brightly lit, and a middle-aged woman rushed out of a room, her face filled with terror.
“Mother, what happened?”
Zhang Yajing forgot about finding Divine Doctor Chu and rushed over to inquire.
“I was asleep just now and was suddenly awakened. When I opened my eyes, I saw a black shadow carrying your father away!”
Zhang Yajing suddenly remembered the fleeting shadow she had just seen. It wasn’t a ghost, but a thief.
And of all people to steal, this thief stole her father, how tasteless!
“Mother, don’t worry, I’ll go find my father right away.”
She called out to a nearby household servant.
“You, go find Brother Li and tell him to gather all the constables and come with me!”
In the dark of night, a swift horse moved like the wind. On its back was a spirited woman, and two unconscious men were piled on top of each other.
Behind them came the sound of many horses. Though not very clear, Rong Zhi could sense there were about a dozen people.
She controlled her speed, neither letting the pursuers catch up nor letting them lose sight of her afterimage.
The control was precise, infuriating the pursuers. The person they were chasing was clearly within sight, yet no matter how fast they accelerated, they couldn’t close the distance.
“Miss, I think that person has noticed us and is deliberately toying with us.”
Li Zhao rode his horse to catch up with Zhang Yajing, his voice carried by the wind.
Zhang Yajing’s eyes darkened.
“Chase! Chase them to death!”
The chase continued for a good half of the night until they reached the foot of a steep mountain peak. The person in front dismounted and unloaded the two men from the horse’s back. She then patted the horse’s rump, and the horse changed direction and ran off, disappearing in an instant.
Zhang Yajing suddenly accelerated, but it was too late. As she approached, Rong Zhi had already led the two men into the forest.
The pursuers suddenly lost their direction.
“Miss, we lost them.”
“Damn it!”
Zhang Yajing frowned and looked around.
“Everyone dismount and search separately!”
The group dismounted and scattered into the mountains.
This was the Swallow Mountain mentioned by Liu Hong. It was tall and steep, with precipitous slopes, making it easy to defend and difficult to attack. It was indeed a good hideout.
Listening to the footsteps behind her, she carried two people, one in each hand, and headed towards the mountain summit.
At this moment, Rong Zhi couldn’t help but thank Xia Yunting. If it weren’t for having to care for him while he was poisoned, supporting him every day, Rong Zhi wouldn’t have developed such great strength.
According to Liu Hong, there was originally a main road leading to the summit, but it was easy to be discovered by those behind. Therefore, Rong Zhi only moved through the forest, occasionally making noises to guide those behind her.
After about half an hour, Rong Zhi finally reached the summit. Before her was a mountain stronghold. The torches used for lighting at the entrance had been extinguished. In the moonlight, a ground covered with corpses was clearly visible.
Rong Zhi did not stop and began to search the ground carefully.
She discovered a trail of bloody footprints that extended in another direction.
So easy? Were they unprepared, or was it intentional?
Without further thought, Rong Zhi followed the bloody footprints.
About three to four li from the mountain stronghold, the terrain suddenly became flat, dotted with faint lights. The closer she got, the more she could hear the clinking of wine glasses and boisterous sounds.
More than a dozen tables were set up in the open space, with people drinking, eating, and laughing loudly.
“This venison is good today.”
“Paired with the ‘Daughter’s Red’ our boss has been saving, that’s true deliciousness.”
“After we finish eating, let’s stew that person too. What a shame, he killed all those people on the mountain, and all for just one life. He can’t even compensate for it.”
On a pole at the edge of the banquet, Xia Yunting was securely bound. He tilted his head, looking half-dead, but his eyes scanned the crowd at the banquet, silently counting the number of people.
Sixty-five.
These sixty-five people were not like the rabble on top of Swallow Mountain. They were all skilled, and judging by their martial arts style, they seemed somewhat similar to the subordinates of the fake Zhang Can. Could they be the same group?
With his own strength, he could handle these people, but his objective was not here. He wanted to figure out what their capture of those people was all about.
After the group had their fill of food and wine, two drunken men stumbled over, scrutinizing Xia Yunting.
“He’s quite handsome.”
“What, you have this kind of hobby? Or perhaps you should…”
The other person grinned lewdly and reached out to untie Xia Yunting’s ropes.
Xia Yunting’s expression was cold. If he didn’t have a long-term plan, these two men would have been torn to shreds long ago.
But now, he had to endure the disgust and remain silent.
The ropes were untied. The person in front looked closely at Xia Yunting and suddenly froze.
“Don’t I feel like I’ve seen this person before?”
“Really? Let me see?”
The other person picked up a torch and was about to illuminate the face when a furious voice suddenly came from not far away.
“Where the hell is this? Who brought this old man here?”
The two men were stunned. They turned to see a person in the open space with disheveled hair, clothes askew, and two knife wounds, looking around in confusion.
Zhang Chu woke up to find himself in this strange place. He thought he was dreaming, and he even had wounds on his body. He slapped himself twice, only then realizing it wasn’t a dream, and he immediately collapsed.
Suddenly, he saw two people holding torches, and beside a pillar, another person was tied up, also covered in wounds.
He became furious.
“You bastards! You dare to arrest the magistrate? I’ll fight you!”
Saying so, he lunged forward.