Betrayal

Xingyu Tower was an inn. Dug and the others stayed in the rear courtyard, some distance from the inn out front. But the commotion they caused was too great. Afraid of being implicated, the startled guests fled into the streets overnight to hide.

Gang conflicts were commonplace in the martial world, but once enough people fled, it was bound to draw the attention of those with ulterior motives.

Speed is of the Essence.

Therefore, Feng Shiyi and the others did not rest for long. They merely treated their wounds, changed into night clothes, and called for Dug and Wang San to head for the Iron Palm Gang's headquarters.

Feng Yunjie's injuries were not severe, but wherever Wang San was, his combat effectiveness was greatly diminished. Taking him along would only be a burden, so Feng Shiyi sent him back to the Feng Family to report the situation.

Dug and Wang San also changed into night clothes.

Though the Feng Family was not particularly large, it was a genuine martial arts clan. As Xingyu Tower was one of their strongholds, weapons were naturally plentiful within it. However, there were no divine weapons to be found. Dug chose two relatively fine longswords of refined steel and filled his dagger pouch with Flying Daggers.

Wang San chose a willow-leaf saber. For a novice who knew no martial arts, a saber was clearly easier to use than a sword. Dug had chosen swords because stabbing was easier and faster than chopping.

Feng Shiyi and his two disciples said little along the way. Their faces were grim, and they carried a grimly heroic air, like the wind howling over the Yi River.

Dug and Wang San, who had even planned their escape route, looked more like they were heading off on vacation.

Dug especially had watched countless scenes of wandering heroes fighting at night in movies and television dramas. Now that he finally had the chance to take part himself, his heart had long been cheering with excitement.

The Iron Palm Gang's headquarters was a mountain estate outside Luyang City, not far from the docks. With mountains behind it and water before it, they could escape by water if faced with a powerful enemy, or retreat straight into the mountains to evade pursuit. It was a perfect plot of auspicious land.

Beneath the plaque bearing the three vigorous characters "Iron Palm Gang," the vermilion gates stood wide open. Five or six guards leaned against the entrance with sabers in their arms, muttering idly among themselves. Every so often, someone would open his mouth in a yawn or two, their attitude thoroughly perfunctory.

That was only normal.

Luyang City was the Iron Palm Gang's territory. They had always been the ones bullying others; under ordinary circumstances, who would be so full of themselves as to attack them? Besides, nothing major had happened in the martial world for over a decade.

Even if an expert truly came to the gang seeking vengeance, he would scale eaves and leap over walls. No one would come through the front gates. At the end of the day, they were merely decorations.

The gates were usually kept shut, but today, Dark Dragon Hall had gone out to carry out a mission, so they had deliberately left the entrance open for them. Yet those guards never could have imagined that tonight, several people who refused to take the usual path would indeed come knocking. "Seventh Master, are we really going to storm in through the front gate?" The night air was chilly, yet sweat beaded Feng Shiyi's forehead. Looking at Dug, his eyes held a trace of the ball-aching despair no man his age ought to show.

When Dug suggested entering through the front gate, Feng Shiyi suddenly felt like a complete idiot. He had actually believed Feng Qi's idiotic plan could succeed. How had he let his head get hot and truly followed him here to launch a nighttime raid on the Iron Palm Gang?

Five people? Three of them injured, and they were going to launch a frontal assault.

Not even a five-year-old child would come up with such an idea!

"What else?" Dug looked at Feng Shiyi as if he were an idiot too. "You never told me the Iron Palm Gang's walls were over four meters high!"

"I..." Feng Shiyi was left speechless. This really could not be blamed on Feng Qi. He was a Heavenly Demon, newly arrived in this world—how could he have known what the Iron Palm Gang was like? But Feng Shiyi had been completely stunned at the time. How could he possibly have considered everything so thoroughly in that moment? Wang San's lips twitched as he struggled desperately not to laugh.

"Your lightness skill is useless too. Carrying someone, you can't even jump four meters high." Dug gave Feng Shiyi a scornful look, secretly resolving that he had to cultivate his Internal Energy no matter what, then find himself a good lightness skill. Since ancient times, great heroes had always come and gone from on high. Who had ever heard of a hero needing a ladder to climb over a wall? "Seventh Master, if this truly won't work, we should return to the Feng Family and make plans at length!" Feng Shiyi watched Dug, who was itching to move, and tried to persuade him. "With only five of us, a frontal assault would be little different from throwing our lives away."

"For the Feng Family, what does it matter if we lay down our lives? We've already come this far. We have to give it a try—what if it works?" Dug took a deep breath, drew a longsword with one hand, and produced three Flying Daggers with the other. "San, lure them over..."

"Seventh Master, don't." Feng Shiyi hurriedly tried to stop him, but it was already too late.

"My dearest, dearest big brothers, are you waiting for someone? Aren't you cold? Everyone else is asleep, but you still have to stand guard out here. My heart aches for you..." Having long decided that there was no future in following the Feng Family, Wang San had already prepared to surrender. His ghostly voice quickly rang through the night.

The guards on duty immediately panicked. They drew their sabers and looked wildly around for the source of the voice, every one of them pale-faced.

"Who?"

"Who's playing tricks out there?"

"Come out."

"It's me!" Wang San let out a sinister cackle and slowly emerged from the shadows of the trees. Dressed all in black, his hair hanging loose, his face smeared with blood, he held a similarly bloodstained saber in his hand. His expression was wooden and vacant. "Little darlings, let's play a game. I'll chase, and you run. Once I catch you, big brother will love you properly..."

Wang San advanced one step at a time.

The guards retreated one step at a time.

As Wang San went on speaking, terror finally overcame the last remnants of their courage.

"Ghost!"

"A ghost!"

With several shrill screams, they threw down their sabers and fled in frantic disarray.

The instant they turned around, Dug, sword in hand, shot out like a startled hare.

Like a black bolt of lightning through the night, he reached their backs in the blink of an eye and cleanly reaped their lives.

Watching Dug and Wang San truly charge out to attack the front gate, Feng Shiyi's mind went blank in an instant. A moment later, he closed his eyes in despair. "It's over."

"Second Master, what do we do?" one of the direct disciples asked, utterly at a loss.

"Let's go. We can't let two outsiders stand in front and bear the Feng Family's disaster for us." Feng Shiyi gave a bitter smile, tightened his grip on his saber, and started forward. But after taking two steps, he realized the two disciples behind him had not followed. He frowned. "What are you doing?"

"We don't want to die." After hesitating for a moment, one of them said haltingly, "Second Master, Feng Qi is a madman. His injuries heal quickly, but ours don't. Assassinating Qiu Yuanlang for the Feng Family was one thing, but charging in with such fanfare is simply throwing our lives away!"

"Let's retreat, Second Master. Dying like this would be completely meaningless." The other said, "Haven't you understood yet? All of the Feng Family's troubles were brought by the Heavenly Demons. If we keep getting entangled with them, the disasters will only grow worse. Abandon them. If we hurry back to the Feng Family now, there's still time to run..."

"..." Feng Shiyi looked at Dug, fighting and killing ahead, then at the two men behind him. Struggle filled his eyes. "If we pull out now, everything we did before will have been for nothing. Feng Qi is getting faster and faster, which proves he has grown considerably. And now, we also have Wang San."

"Second Master, don't be foolish. Think of the Third Young Master. Even if they are formidable... look at Wang San again. Does the Feng Family really need to get mixed up with people like this?" One of them pointed ahead, terror in his eyes. "They're demons! Cut our losses, Second Master. We can't keep making mistakes. If this continues, the Feng Family will be doomed beyond redemption."

Feng Shiyi turned around and saw a sight that made his hair stand on end.

Wang San had chopped off the hand of one of the guards Feng Qi had killed and held it in his own hand. As he wiped away the bloodstains on it, he said, "Good boy, don't be scared. Your hand is all dirty now. Let me wipe it for you. Once it's clean, we can hold hands again..."

Feng Shiyi's pupils abruptly contracted.

At that moment, he finally woke up.

After taking one last look at Dug, Feng Shiyi called to the two disciples, "Go."