Truly, flies always flock to a foul latrine!
Though Li Yan did not know the Iron Saber Gang had already been wiped out by Luo Shihai and the others, he was not the least bit surprised to see these two arrive.
No matter how good their martial arts were, they were still bottom-feeding scum!
As the hoofbeats drew closer, Li Yan could see them more clearly.
Both horses carried large sacks. Judging by their shape and the scent wafting from within, they were unmistakably newly abducted children.
At the same time, their voices drifted over on the wind.
"Junior Brother Zheng, don't blame me either. This whole mess was screwed up by that idiot Zhou Peide, dragging the rest of us down."
"What's so great about roaming the jianghu? We have too many enemies, and with imperial warrants out for us, we probably wouldn't last a few days anyway. We're better off throwing in our lot with the Master; at least we'll have someone backing us..."
"Hmph, what's the point of saying all that now?"
"With that old bastard's nature, he'll sell us out sooner or later. I've been thinking of cutting ties for a while. What burns me up is that all the wealth I hoarded was stolen by that fellow You."
"Damn it, years of hard work, only to end up with empty hands..."
"Hahaha, when it comes to money, what goes out comes back in."
"Master Chen said that once he succeeds, we'll head straight for the coast. It's far more prosperous there than in Guanzhong. I hear plenty of wanted outlaws took ships overseas and ended up raking in fortunes hand over fist..."
As they talked, the two had already ridden past.
Li Yan remained concealed in the dense woods, making no move to show himself.
For one, though neither ranked among the very best of the Eight Great Vajras, both had trained in hidden jin for years and could circulate it at will; alone, he was no match for them.
For another, he wanted to use them to pinpoint the tomb where Chen Fakui was hiding.
Reaching the foot of the mountain, the two concealed their horses in a col, slung the sacks over their shoulders, and headed up the mountain. Their figures gradually shrank among the withered trees and dense thickets.
The vantage point from the mountain was superior; if Li Yan, hidden in the woods below, recklessly emerged to trail them, he would be spotted immediately.
Fortunately, Li Yan had another method.
Forming a Yang hand seal and pushing his divine powers to their limit, he inhaled deeply, faintly picking up the trail of their scents.
Naturally, his divine powers were still limited, and beyond a certain distance he could no longer smell them. But having memorized their scent, it would not fade for at least two days...
…………
On the distant official road, three riders galloped forward as well.
It was Sha Lifei and his companions.
"Halt!"
As they approached the location, Luo Mingzi, the Daoist from the Enforcement Hall, suddenly raised a hand. Glancing into the distance, he said calmly, "Since Chen Fakui managed to evade the search of the spirit soldiers, he must excel at hiding and might well have prepared precautions. It would be wise for us to dismount and proceed stealthily."
"Daoist Brother Luo speaks sense."
Zhao Facheng of the Jiuyuan Sect nodded. "Senior Brother Chen may know little of worldly affairs, but he is exceptionally gifted in sorcery. He will certainly have taken precautions."
With that, he dismounted and hid the horses in the woods.
Listening to their exchange, Sha Lifei finally felt a bit relieved.
He had thought that upon receiving word, the City God Temple would immediately set up an altar, perform a ritual, and capture Chen Fakui, but it turned out the She Ling spirit soldiers could not be deployed in daylight.
Worse, they had sent only two men.
Even if there was only one evil Daoist, this felt far too careless.
All along the way, he had been uneasy.
Fortunately, neither of these two seemed entirely unreliable...
Having concealed the horses, the three set off again. Instead of taking the main road, they kept to the roadside woods to conceal their movements.
Partway there, Zhao Facheng suddenly raised a hand to signal them to halt. He then formed a Yang hand seal, pressed close to the ground, and listened intently.
Sha Lifei was no longer a greenhorn and immediately guessed that this man had awakened divine hearing.
Sure enough, Zhao Facheng rose and turned to Sha Lifei. "Someone is hiding in the dense woods ahead. It should be Brother Sha's companion..."
…………
Shhk!
Li Yan frowned slightly, gripping his saber as he turned around.
He had been using his divine power to scout into the distance when he caught the scent of three people approaching from beyond the trees behind him.
Though one of them was Sha Lifei, they were heading straight for his location, clearly having discovered his hiding spot. He had to be on guard.
Sure enough, the three soon entered the woods.
Spotting the Daoist robes on the newcomers, Li Yan showed himself at once. "Greetings, Seniors."
Sha Lifei hurried forward and introduced them: "Brother Yan, this is Daoist Luo Mingzi of the Taixuan Orthodox Sect's Enforcement Hall, and this is Master Zhao Facheng of the Jiuyuan Sect. How did it go? Have you found them?"
As he spoke, he blinked an eye meaningfully.
Li Yan felt a pang of doubt. To capture Chen Fakui, why did they send along someone from his own sect?
Though puzzled, seeing Sha Lifei's signal, he knew better than to pry right now. So he nodded and said, "He's right here, but there are many tombs on the mountain, and I haven't pinpointed the exact location yet."
"Chen Fakui also has two accomplices: Yuan Qu and Zheng Heibei..."
With that, he recounted what he had just witnessed.
"Zheng Heibei is here too?"
Sha Lifei cursed, "So that's where the bastard ran! Brother Yan, you probably don't know yet, but the Iron Saber Gang has been wiped out..."
After exchanging information, Li Yan cupped his hands and asked, "Seniors, when do you intend to strike?"
Luo Mingzi pondered for a moment. "Night would have been best. Martial Uncle Qingyangzi will set up an altar at the City God Temple and dispatch spirit soldiers to assist us.
"However, since they took the risk of abducting more children, they have likely gathered enough for their illicit sacrifice. Saving lives takes precedence. We must go up the mountain at once."
Beside him, however, Zhao Facheng hastily intervened. "That won't do!"
Li Yan frowned and looked at him, and the smile vanished from Sha Lifei's face as well.
Noticing their expressions, Zhao Facheng shook his head with a sigh. "Please do not harbor suspicions, my good friends. I came on orders from my sect, not to shield him out of personal bias. Whether Senior Brother Chen has committed an irreversible blunder or not, our sect will clean house.
"It's just that there is a problem here. We cannot act rashly."
With that, he looked at Luo Mingzi. "Daoist Brother Luo, have you discerned the topography of this mountain?"
"Oh?"
Luo Mingzi frowned and walked to the edge of the woods to observe. After looking for a while, he nodded. "There is indeed something unusual. This is a Taiyin Star land. I have heard that the Jiuyuan branch excels in the feng shui of tombs, and it truly is extraordinary."
Li Yan asked thoughtfully, "Hearing you two seniors speak, if this Taiyin Star land is so sinister, why are there so many tombs here?"
"Not at all. A Taiyin Star land is actually an auspicious land."
Zhao Facheng shook his head. "In geomancy, there are Nine Stars, and the Taiyin Star is one of them. In the Five Elements, it belongs to Metal, and in the Eight Trigrams, to Dui. The Taiyin represents an image: Yang attains completeness, while Yin attains only half, which is why the Taiyin is often deficient.
"A burial tomb is a yin dwelling. By making up for what yin and yang lack, it becomes a land of great fortune. This method was widely practiced back during the Wei and Jin dynasties. The tombs on this mountain should all be ancient Wei-Jin tombs.
"If I am not mistaken, Senior Brother Chen chose this place precisely to perform his illicit evil sacrifice and borrow life to break through a bottleneck. He has probably prepared for a long time, and the mountain is bound to have setups.
"It looks ordinary on the surface, but any outsider climbing the mountain will be detected immediately."
As he spoke, a trace of sorrow surfaced in his eyes. "Senior Brother Chen once harbored a chivalrous heart, traveling everywhere to exorcise evil for common folk. When he contracted lung cancer, we thought he had come to terms with it, yet who knew he would stray down an evil path."
Li Yan had no interest in the evil Daoist's past and pressed in a deep voice, "If going up the mountain will alert the target, both our friend's wandering soul jar and those children will become bargaining chips for him to threaten us with... We need a foolproof plan!"
If this were merely an ordinary bandit stronghold, they could sneak in under cover of night and rescue them.
However, when Xuanmen matters were involved, barging in blindly was out of the question.
Zhao Facheng did not reply, but turned to Luo Mingzi and cupped his hands. "Daoist Brother Luo is experienced. I ask that you take charge."
Luo Mingzi did not refuse. Looking at the distant mountain range, he pondered for a moment. "Daoist Brother Zhao, do you have a way to draw Chen Fakui's attention?"
Zhao Facheng nodded. "We hail from the same sect. Once I set up an altar at the foot of the mountain, Senior Brother Chen will sense it, and I can confront him."
"Good."
Luo Mingzi stared into the distance and stroked his long beard lightly. "When that happens, I will conceal my aura, ascend the mountain from the flank to rescue the hostages, destroy his altar, and seize back the wandering soul jar.
"Once my martial uncle's spirit soldiers arrive, we can eradicate him!"
…………
Inside the ancient tomb, candlelight flickered faintly.
Just as Zhao Facheng had said, this was an ancient tomb from the Wei and Jin dynasties.
Though not an imperial mausoleum, it was spacious enough. Past the passageway lay an antechamber, a rear chamber, and two side chambers.
Several robber tunnels pierced the surrounding walls, and any valuable funerary goods had long been stripped bare.
In the antechamber, twelve drugged children lay slumped on the ground with flushed red faces, while Yuan Qu and Zheng Heibei, having nothing better to do, held torches and examined the murals around them.
"Tsk, tsk, these prominent clans were truly lavish."
"What good did it do? All they knew was infighting. Once the northern lands fell into chaos, every last one of them fled south. No matter how good the feng shui of their ancestral graves was, it didn't do jack shit..."
Just then, Chen Fakui walked out from the rear chamber and said calmly, "Feng shui is merely a minor trend; bringing blessing for three generations is its utmost limit. Beneath the overarching tide of humanity, minor trends are naturally useless."
With that, a faint smile touched the corners of his mouth. "Gentlemen, the hour draws late. Strip your clothes."
Hearing this, Yuan Qu and Zheng Heibei exchanged a glance, then began undoing their garments. Soon, they were stripped stark naked...
Chapter 71