Broken Temple

Broken Temple

Night deepened.

At last, the bright moon escaped the shroud of clouds and mist, scattering silvery-gray radiance across the earth, making Mount Qi seem draped in a gray veil.

There was a ruined temple on the mountain, abandoned for many years and concealed beneath thriving trees.

The courtyard walls were mottled and broken, and there was a large hole in the roof. Moonlight streamed through it, falling upon the stone statue in the hall.

The statue had lost its head, and both hands had been broken off, their whereabouts unknown.

Its entire body bore the marks of passing years.

Everything around it was a chaotic mess. The doors and windows were dilapidated, weeds grew through the cracks between the stone floor tiles, and whenever the wind blew in, they seemed to sway and nod. The air was permeated with the scent of fresh grass and rotting wood.

This place, once gathered with the incense offerings of the mortal world and now desolate and lonely, held a little more human presence tonight.

Lu Zhaojin followed Zhang Mang here.

Lu Jinlin was nowhere to be seen inside the ruined temple. Instead, he saw a woman in a sapphire-blue fitted outfit with wrist guards. She sat against the wall in a dim corner, head lowered, her face concealed by her hair. It was impossible to tell whether she was dead or alive.

Zhang Mang secretly glanced at the woman. As expected, she had merely been forcing herself to hold on. He cursed Elder Gu inwardly for deserving death; if not for that old man's stubborn obstruction and insistence that the greater matter came first, how could he have missed such a fine opportunity?

Lu Zhaojin noticed the woman's right hand gripping her sword. He had no intention of stepping forward to check on her. Raising his iron sword, he pointed it at Zhang Mang. "Where is my father?"

Zhang Mang shrank his neck and hurriedly explained, "Listen to me. This woman is the daughter of the Mount Qi County Magistrate. I don't know how she was wounded, but her injuries are extremely severe. If she isn't treated in time, her life may be in danger."

Lu Zhaojin frowned slightly. "What does that have to do with me?"

Zhang Mang raised his voice a little. "Her father is the county magistrate."

He continued, "My men followed the hunting dogs here. She was already here at the time. We don't know how long she had stayed, but she clearly arrived before us. Maybe she saw Chief Escort Lu and knows where he went..."

Now that his life was in Lu Zhaojin's hands, he did not dare finish the rest.

Lu Zhaojin understood as well, but he did not care.

Because Zhang Mang deserved to die.

From the moment the Zhang family had moved against and massacred the Sihai Escort Agency, the two families had become locked in a fight to the death. Whether Lu Jinlin was found or not, Zhang Mang could not be allowed to leave alive.

Clearly, Zhang Mang had yet to realize this and still believed there was a sliver of hope.

Lu Zhaojin did not kill him immediately because he still had a little use left. "In that case, you had better make sure she is alive."

Seeing Lu Zhaojin sheath his sword, Zhang Mang hurried toward the corner where Zhao Nuanyu was hiding. He prayed inwardly that she was still alive; otherwise, he would be the one in trouble.

His expression twisted grotesquely.

He hated Lu Zhaojin to the marrow. If he could escape, he would definitely have his father kill Lu Zhaojin. No—he would capture Lu Zhaojin alive.

He would make Lu Zhaojin suffer so badly that he could neither live nor die.

With such fantasies in mind, Zhang Mang crouched down and reached out to check Zhao Nuanyu's breathing.

But the lowered head suddenly snapped up. He was so startled that his soul nearly flew from his body, his pupils contracting. When he met those icy eyes, terror chilled him to the bone.

A flash of cold light swept past. Zhang Mang hastily retreated, dodging the fatal sword strike, but the outstretched hand was severed at the wrist. Blood sprayed from the stump onto her pale face and the mottled, broken wall behind her.

Agonizing pain surged into his mind. Zhang Mang stared in horror at the severed stump of his right wrist and let out a shrill scream. Like a frightened animal, he stumbled through the ruined temple, though his true purpose was to flee amid the chaos.

Lu Zhaojin did not pursue him, because Zhang Mang could not run far.

A burst of footsteps came from outside. Many people must have gathered there; he simply did not know whether they had come for him or for the woman.

Lu Zhaojin met the woman's gaze and thought, So she really had been pretending to be unconscious.

At such close range, it truly would have been difficult for her to emerge unscathed.

Especially since she was injured.

Otherwise, that sword strike just now could easily have taken Zhang Mang's life.

That was why Lu Zhaojin had sent Zhang Mang to check on her rather than doing so himself.

The woman suddenly said, "Those people came for me, but they are not my people."

Lu Zhaojin looked at her. Uncertain of her intentions, he said nothing.

The woman asked, "You saw through my act?"

Lu Zhaojin did not hide it. "You gripped your sword too tightly."

The woman came to a realization. "My father once said the same thing... My name is Zhao Nuanyu. My father is the Mount Qi County Magistrate."

Lu Zhaojin nodded. "I know."

Zhao Nuanyu suddenly said earnestly, "Then would you be willing to make a deal, young hero?"

Lu Zhaojin did not immediately agree just because her father was the county magistrate. "Let's hear it."

Zhao Nuanyu said, "I fell into this plight today because the Moon Wolf Gang plotted against me. If you are willing to help me escape, Nuanyu will repay you as a spring repays a drop of water. Whether it is gold and silver, treasures, martial arts manuals, or beauties, so long as your request is not excessive, it can be fulfilled."

Lu Zhaojin raised a brow and considered it carefully.

The martial arts manuals she mentioned were exactly what he lacked at present.

He did not have much silver on him to begin with. Even if he reached Qishan County, he might not be able to buy any cultivation manuals.

However, he still did not know the Moon Wolf Gang's strength or whether it was worth taking the risk.

Lu Zhaojin asked, "What is the Moon Wolf Gang like?"

Seeing that Lu Zhaojin was interested, Zhao Nuanyu breathed a sigh of relief inwardly. "The Moon Wolf Gang's members are merely a rabble. Most are at the Ninth Rank Early Stage, nothing to fear..."

She hesitated briefly before continuing, "But the three gang leaders are quite formidable. The two deputy gang leaders are at the Eighth Rank Middle Stage and Eighth Rank Late Stage respectively, while the chief gang leader... is at the Seventh Rank Early Stage."

Seeing Lu Zhaojin about to speak, she hurriedly added, regardless of whether he meant to refuse or agree, "However, it was said years ago that the chief gang leader entered seclusion. He has not emerged to this day."

Hearing this, Lu Zhaojin felt there was still room for negotiation.

She looked into Lu Zhaojin's eyes. "Of course, if you are unwilling, I will not force you. I only hope that if you have the chance in the future, you can go to Qishan County and tell my father where I was buried and who did this."

A loud, rough voice suddenly rang out from the entrance. "No one is leaving here alive."

The two turned toward the sound.

A bearded middle-aged man appeared in the doorway.

His face was full of fierce flesh, one arm bared, a broadsword resting on his shoulder. Savage light gleamed in his tiger-like eyes as he looked at Lu Zhaojin and the others.

Two gang members in gray short shirts followed behind him, each with the image of a wolf's head howling at the moon embroidered over the chest.

Zhang Mang seemed to know him. He walked up to the middle-aged man, a belt taken from who knew where wrapped around the stump of his wrist.

The way he looked at Lu Zhaojin made it seem as though he wanted to eat his flesh and drink his marrow. With his remaining hand, he pointed at Lu Zhaojin. "Gang Leader Mu, that brat is the one who severed my hand. But don't kill him—leave him with a breath. I want him to suffer so badly that he can neither live nor die."

Mu Kui glanced at him without speaking, then looked toward Zhao Nuanyu and laughed. "Zhao Nuanyu, that slash from your uncle's blade wasn't pleasant, was it?"

Zhao Nuanyu braced herself against the wall and rose from the ground, walking out of the dark corner and into the moonlight.

Her rather heroic face came into everyone's view. She wore her hair in a high ponytail and was dressed in a sapphire-blue fitted outfit with wrist guards.

However.

A large area over her left shoulder had been dyed red with blood.

That was clearly the blade wound Mu Kui had mentioned.

Zhao Nuanyu stared coldly at Mu Kui. If looks could kill, he would have died ten million times over. "Mu Kui, is your Moon Wolf Gang truly determined to go this far?"

Mu Kui sneered. "My Moon Wolf Gang and your father had always kept the peace. But now your father insists on going his own way and meddling in the Moon Wolf Gang's affairs. Then the Moon Wolf Gang can only make him understand the consequences of poking his nose where it does not belong."

Zhao Nuanyu said coldly, "You give the common people no way to live. As the Mount Qi County Magistrate, he naturally has to intervene. He must intervene."

Mu Kui burst into laughter as if he had heard the funniest joke in the world. "Ridiculous. If he wanted to intervene, why didn't he do so before?"

He mocked, "Could it be that some wind blew from above, and he intends to use my Moon Wolf Gang as an achievement to boast about?"

Zhao Nuanyu remained silent.

Mu Kui snorted coldly and raised his broadsword, its tip pointing at Zhao Nuanyu. "Don't worry. Your uncle won't kill you outright. I'll only break your arms and legs, let the brothers have their fun first, then cut off your head and kindly let Magistrate Zhao have one last look at his daughter."

Though Mu Kui was fat, when he moved, he was like a small mountain. Yet he was not slow at all. In two or three great strides, he closed in on Zhao Nuanyu and brought down his blade—but his target was not Zhao Nuanyu. It was Lu Zhaojin instead.