By the time those two burly men rushed to this side of the cavern opening, Han Qingyu and his party of four had already crossed the river and vanished on the opposite bank.
One had to admit that the Qu clan's choice of location was truly superb.
Aside from passing through that limestone cave, the only way in or out of the settlement was scaling sheer cliffs, making it exceedingly well-hidden. Inside lay a secluded world of its own, spanning a considerable area, flanked on two sides by picturesque terraced fields.
A moderately wide river descended gently from the heights to the northwest; once reaching the flat ground, it coursed eastward, flowing right in front of the village.
Crossing the river and looking up, Han Qingyu and Wen Jifei clicked their tongues in unison. Before their eyes, a cluster of Hui-style buildings spread in orderly tiers across the gentle mountain slope.
"Quite imposing."
"For a village, it's fairly sizable too."
"Mm," Wu Xu grunted in agreement. It was obvious enough that the Qu clan's domain was vastly superior to the Yu clan's estate where he had stayed before.
In fact, it was far better than Fenglong'ao as well.
*Still, our Fenglong'ao has good feng shui—it has dragons. The lay of the land conceals a reclining dragon, sealed by heaven and nurtured by earth. But this place is like an urn.*
Han Qingyu mentally defended his dilapidated home village.
According to what Pang Jinghe had relayed from his elders, the Qu clan had likely been a regional warlord faction before going into seclusion. With money, guns, and men, they had been chosen and contacted by Azure in that chaotic era, singled out for cultivation, yet ultimately slipped away from Azure without a sound.
Consequently, whether in personal strength or stockpiled provisions, they ranked the highest and strongest among the hidden clans.
Advancing further, they passed two more checkpoints.
At both, Pang Jinghe went forward to negotiate. Han Qingyu felt a twinge of regret because they encountered no further extortion; both checkpoints were cleared without a hitch.
Under such circumstances, stepping up to rob them by force... wasn't entirely out of the question, but it would feel a bit abrupt and awkward.
"Forget it. Bear with it. Plunder the big fish first," Han Qingyu had just mumbled to himself.
"Welcome, welcome! Ah, look at my memory—who might you gentlemen be?"
A warm, smiling voice carried over from ahead. Dressed in brand-new attire, Manager Zhu approached Han Qingyu and the others with four Qu clan attendants trailing behind him, cupping his hands in greeting.
Pang Jinghe cupped his hands in return and introduced himself just as he had earlier.
At this hour and location, passersby along the road were gradually multiplying. Zhu Jiaming extended a hand in invitation. "Splendid timing! I'm heading up myself. Why not join me? Come, allow me to guide you."
Along the way up, Zhu Jiaming detailed the lodging and dining arrangements, pointing out the village square where the assembly would be held that evening, as well as the thoroughfares leading into it from various directions.
Dinner resembled a rural banquet—noisy, yet reasonably sumptuous.
Rank and status remained strictly observed, however. War slaves and clan members were segregated by a clear dividing line. Han Qingyu and his companions weren't picky; they took seats in the war slave section beneath a makeshift thatched shelter, finishing their meal quickly before stepping outside.
By now, night had fallen. Torches blazed from high posts along every lane in the Qu clan village. The grandest display of all was the colossal, brilliant blaze illuminating the village square where the assembly was about to take place.
"Are we heading over now?" Pang Jinghe asked, eyeing the square.
"Let's stroll around first and digest our food." Han Qingyu intended to scout the terrain firsthand to facilitate an escape if necessary. Turning, he slipped into a relatively dim side path.
He was prepared for a life-and-death clash with a super combat power this time, but if fighting could be avoided, grabbing what they could and fleeing was naturally best.
"Get out of the way! Good dogs don't block the path," a gruff voice suddenly barked from the darkness ahead.
Four figures approached head-on.
Pang Jinghe paused to look. "Damn it, I wondered who it was. Cao the Second! Who does he think he is?!"
From his tone, this Cao clan didn't seem to hold much weight in Pang Jinghe's eyes either.
"They probably saw us coming out from the thatched shelter and took us for war slaves. That foul mouth dares speak to us like that? He's courting death!"
Pang Jinghe turned his head as he spoke, thinking to himself: *Cao the Second, you're freaking finished. These three beside me don't have good tempers...*
Emboldened by Han Qingyu and Wu Xu's strength, along with the incident at the cavern entrance earlier, Old Pang was currently riding high on confidence and truculence.
Like a man who had been repressed for too long, he was eager for trouble to crop up at any moment so he could jump out and shout, "I'd like to see who dares mess with me... us!"
A hand reached over and lightly tugged his arm.
"..." Pang Jinghe discovered in bewilderment that Han Qingyu, Wu Xu, and Wen Jifei had all stepped aside to the edge of the path.
The alley was narrow, forcing them to stand pressed against the wall.
*They yielded? They just yielded like that?!*
*Damn it, they aren't even mad?!*
*Such a rapid shift?!*
*So are we tough as nails, or are we total cowards?!*
Pang Jinghe's mind couldn't keep up. Stunned, he was dragged to the roadside and pressed himself against the wall to give way as well.
Cao the Second swung his arms, sauntering past down the center with his lackeys.
*I see. We're already inside the village now. A little impatience ruins great plans.* Regaining his senses, Pang Jinghe pondered it, glancing at Han Qingyu and thinking: *A man destined for great things indeed.*
Right then, Cao the Second, who had already walked past, came to an abrupt halt. With a pensive, reminiscing expression, he slowly turned around.
"You're..." Cao the Second fixed his gaze on Wu Xu. "A war slave from the Yu clan, aren't you? This young master recognizes that black spear."
Wu Xu gave a slight nod.
"What? Isn't the Yu clan gone?!"
"Mm."
Cao the Second chuckled and led his men over, stopping squarely in front of Wu Xu. "You've got a stubborn dog's life! Come on, let me see that spear."
His hand reached out.
Wu Xu didn't move.
*So he's trying to rob him in broad daylight!* *What forbearance!* *What do we do now, though? Should I step in and mediate?* Pang Jinghe thought, just about to take a step forward.
Growing impatient, Cao the Second reached out again. "Hand it over! I said..."
*Thud!*
Without a word, Wu Xu kicked him directly off his feet, sending him crashing to the ground.
The man was knocked cold without so much as a groan, lying facedown and motionless.
At the exact same moment, Han Qingyu slammed Cao's three lackeys unconscious on the spot.
And then...
Han Qingyu: "So poor. Only two blocks?"
Wen Jifei: "Second Master Cao here is a bit better—he has five!"
"Do we want the sabers?" Wu Xu asked.
"No," Han Qingyu replied. "We can take that jade pendant, though."
Wu Xu: "Mm." He plucked off the jade pendant.
Wen Jifei rolled the man over. "Should we knock out this gold tooth too?"
Han Qingyu shot him a glance. "Can you be any more disgusting?"
Pang Jinghe stood dazed on the spot, watching the three of them chat in calm, composed tones while bending down to thoroughly search the four men's clothes, stripping away source energy blocks and anything else they deemed useful.
*They look so practiced at this.* *It feels so routine.*
*Wait, didn't a little impatience ruin great plans?*
*Changed again?!*
With a few soft thumps, the four men on the ground were hoisted up and hurled over the high compound wall, landing in an adjacent unlit courtyard.
Then, dusting off their hands, the trio resumed their stroll forward.
"Let's go, Old Pang," Wen Jifei called out over his shoulder.
"Ah, right." Pang Jinghe jogged to catch up, watching them stow away the source energy blocks and other spoils... and suddenly, enlightenment struck him: *The key to everything is plundering loot.*
*Should've said so earlier!* Pang Jinghe felt a surge of excitement. As it happened, he held old grudges against several people here. Eagerly, he proposed, "Let's go! We..."
"Go where?" Wen Jifei asked.
"I'll take you guys to rob a few other people."
Han Qingyu stopped in his tracks, turning to look at him. "Wait, Old Pang, you seem to have misunderstood."
Pang Jinghe halted as well, turning to Han Qingyu with a bewildered thought: *Misunderstood?*
"We aren't the kind of people you think we are, let alone here to rob anyone. Besides, we have major business to take care of this time," Han Qingyu said.
*So you DO know we have major business to take care of?! Then what on earth was all that...* Pang Jinghe turned his head back with an aggrieved expression, glancing at the silent courtyard nearby.
"That was because they tried to rob us first, and we had no choice but to defend ourselves," Wen Jifei said earnestly.
Wu Xu: "Mm."
"..." Pang Jinghe sorted through his thoughts, understanding things a bit better now. But what about the major business? Would this really not affect it?
***
Han Qingyu and the others sat on stone steps, torches mounted high behind them surrounding the perimeter of the plaza.
Overall, however, the edges remained somewhat dim.
The brightest spot was at the center of the square, where a massive bonfire roared. Stretching northward from the bonfire were two rows of pillars, each topped with a bronze basin filled with burning flame.
At the far end of the pillars sat a high platform crafted from a single slab of bluestone.
Qu Zongxing of the Qu clan stood upon the stage now, having just finished his opening remarks.
The old man was dressed like an affluent squire of the Ming dynasty, appearing roughly sixty years of age, sporting a somewhat grizzled goatee.
"A super?" Wen Jifei asked in a low whisper.
"Probably," Han Qingyu said. "You can't really tell just by looking."
"These people make it look like ancient times. It feels so awkward."
"Mm."
"Speaking of which, there are many faces here today that this old man can no longer recognize," Qu Zongxing suddenly mused from the stage with a chuckle. "I imagine it's much the same for you all. After all, we have pursued our cultivation in isolation for so many years; some of us haven't met in decades."
Assenting murmurs rose from all across the crowd below.
"In that case, since we are to weather the storm together in the future, I believe it would be best for everyone to get acquainted first." Qu Zongxing turned and gestured with an outstretched hand. "Let us begin from this side. In order, please come up to the stage."
The first person ascended the platform.
"This old man is of the Qilian Luo clan..."
Below the stage, Pang Jinghe wore a troubled frown, his eyes brimming with worry. Turning to Han Qingyu, he whispered, "What do we do now?"
"What do you mean, what do we do?"
"What do we do when it's our turn? We..."
Even as he spoke, another person took the stage. "This humble one represents the Chuannan Cao clan. I am Cao... Er, has anyone seen my second brother?"
"My second brother went missing just now."
Amid the burst of laughter, Pang Jinghe made an exasperated, fretful face. "See that? And that mustachioed manager is there too. If I go up, I'll definitely be recognized."
"It's fine. I'll go," Han Qingyu said with a smile.
Proceedings continued on stage.
The Qu clan's subordinates were highly efficient; before long, someone reported back that Cao the Second had been found and was currently being carried over.
The man had merely been knocked unconscious.
A slight commotion stirred through the crowd below, but nothing too severe. Emotions didn't run high—after all, being knocked out was far from being killed. It was likely a spontaneous altercation or an old score. While whoever did it showed poor manners, it was nothing catastrophic.
People went up and down one after another. Most belonged to recognized clans, though a few, like Han Qingyu's group, were ragtag bands thrown together.
"Which representative is from this group? Please." A Qu clan servant stood below the platform, extending a hand to direct them.
Han Qingyu rose and walked through the crowd seated ahead.
*Shoot!* Han Qingyu groaned inwardly. He had thought through everything, except one detail: *What name should I give when I go up?!*
*Han Dragonfly, Han Brothel, Han Qingqing, Han Blue-and-White Porcelain...* A messy heap of fake aliases concocted by Rusty Sister and the others rushed into his mind.
*Get out of here!* Han Qingyu shook his head to banish them, simultaneously coming to a halt on the high platform. Stepping forward, he cupped his hands just like the others before him.
"This humble one..."
"It's him! Third Young Master, it's him!" A voice rang out from the side of the high platform. The mustachioed manager gripped the sleeve of a thirty-something man with one agitated hand while pointing at the platform with the other. "It's this man! Today, he forced his way through the cavern entrance and snatched our..."
Third Young Master Qu glanced at him, cutting him off before he could mention the source energy blocks.
Third Young Master had privately sent the mustachioed manager to extort those source energy blocks. He had dared to do it because he knew anyone being extorted wouldn't dare complain openly to the Qu clan. On an occasion like this, however, airing it was out of the question.
Now that the culprit was identified, he could handle it in private afterward.
Third Young Master Qu thought this way, but the crowd below did not. Having just aligned themselves with the Qu clan and prepared to follow its lead from here on out, they were eager to show their loyalty.
Public fury erupted on the spot.
"Insolent! You dare run wild on the Qu clan's home turf?!"
"What an utter disgrace!"
"If this goes unpunished, how will our alliance function hereafter?!"
"Ah, waah..." A wailing cry broke out as Cao the Second, having just been carried over, struggled to sit up from the ground. Pointing at the platform, he howled, "It's him! It was him and three others who beat us up..."
The Cao clan patriarch stood up. Hesitating for a moment, he refrained from acting rashly; instead, he cupped his hands to the assembly before bowing toward Qu Zongxing on the other side.
"My son's injuries are a minor matter. But gentlemen, and Patriarch Qu, for this man to dare strike and injure people here on this very day—this old man considers it a gross disrespect to the Qu clan, and a disrespect to our alliance..."
Once again, condemning cries rose from all sides amid a cacophony of voices.
"I hit him because he tried to rob my traveling companion's weapon first," Han Qingyu spoke loudly but without urgency, explaining calmly. After addressing that, he turned, "As for this mustachioed manager, outside the cavern entrance earlier, he..."
"Since he dares disrespect the Qu clan and the alliance, let us make an example of him today to set the rules!" Amid the uproar below, a particularly resounding roar cut through.
"Very well! Since this occurred on my Qu clan's grounds, I shall apprehend him myself!"
Third Young Master Qu had no desire to let Han Qingyu keep speaking or risk him blurting out the source energy blocks. Seizing upon the crowd's clamor, he shouted his agreement.
Then he struck.
*Whoosh!* Source energy surged. Third Young Master Qu kicked off the ground with two paces, his figure flashing forward as he leaped onto the high platform, hurtling straight at Han Qingyu.
*Clang!* A sword was drawn!
The firelight across the plaza flickered with the shockwave.
"Third Young Master Qu is magnificent!"
"Mm. Formidable."
"As expected of the Qu clan!"
"He won't kill him outright, will he?"
"Probably not."
All eyes converged. On stage, Third Young Master Qu, clad in white, swept across like a flood dragon, striking horizontally with the flat of his sword.
The momentum was astonishing.
Cheers and flattery were already poised on everyone's lips.
On stage, Han Qingyu took a single, simple sidestep.
Standing firm, he raised his arm, driving his elbow downward with crushing force.
*Bang!*
In the very next instant, Third Young Master Qu slammed flat against the stone platform, knocked cold.
The longsword in his hand struck the stone with a clang and slipped from his grip...
An instantaneous, deathly silence fell over the square below.
The longsword bounced and tumbled off the edge—*clatter... clatter... clank.*
It dropped beneath the high platform.
Han Qingyu remained standing right where he had been, as though he hadn't moved an inch. Cupping his hands once more, he paused thoughtfully and said:
"Where was I? Ah, right. This humble one... this humble one is Han Wujing."
Chapter 385