Fifth Senior Brother

Watching the crowd depart, Qin Fengming sensed that something was amiss.

The five men remaining at the branch rudder showed no unusual reaction, but as the two middle-aged men walking toward the outside of the branch rudder left the building, they exchanged a glance.

Although there was nothing strange about this action, immediately afterward, one of the middle-aged men who had originally planned to follow the five toward the rear residence said a few words to them, then left the branch-rudder headquarters together with the other middle-aged man.

Faced with such actions from the two men, Qin Fengming had little experience in the ways of the world, but he still sensed something unusual.

With a flicker of his body, Qin Fengming left the branch rudder of Luoxia Valley. Concealing himself in the shadows, he used the swift movements of Azure Cloud Maze to silently follow a dozen or so zhang behind the two departing middle-aged men.

The two men did not look back or exchange a single word along the way. Everything appeared utterly calm. After winding through several turns, they entered a residence with three successive courtyards.

It was already midnight. Not a single lamp burned throughout the residence. After the two middle-aged men entered, a room in the third courtyard suddenly lit up.

Qin Fengming did not linger in the front courtyard. Instead, he went straight to the rear garden, hid outside the window where the light showed through, and focused on listening to the two people inside.

"Brother Huang, regarding what the sect leader said just now, what do you think?"

As soon as they had taken their seats, one of them spoke. His voice was extremely gloomy, as though the matter he was discussing were grave and serious.

"Hmph, what do I think? What could I possibly think? Brother Wang, don't tell me you want me to betray Luoxia Valley again?"

Hearing those words, the other man replied through clenched teeth. From his meaning, it seemed that the two of them had betrayed Luoxia Valley before.

"Hahahaha, Brother Huang, don't forget that you had a part in what happened back then. If you hadn't been infatuated with Miss Jinque of Zuihong Tower, how would we have fallen into the clutches of the Wang Clan Twin Eagles of Mount Cang Mountain?"

"Hmph, you still have the nerve to bring that up? True, back then I was infatuated with that courtesan and fought with Wei Hu, but you were the one egging me on from behind. Thinking back on it now, you must have colluded with Wei Hu and deliberately set a trap to frame me. Although I agreed to line my own pockets that time, embezzling the branch rudder's money while guarding it, this time I absolutely will not join you in your villainy again."

The middle-aged man surnamed Huang grew angrier with every word, and by the end, his expression had turned extremely hostile.

"Hahahaha, embezzling the branch rudder's money once? Brother Huang, don't forget that you were also the one who informed us about the ambush on dozens of my disciples at Little Liang Mountain. Afterward, a sum of money also found its way into your account."

"What? The incident that time was also the work of the Wang Clan Twin Eagles of Mount Cang Mountain? Wasn't it said that people from Mount Wu had done it? Ah, I understand now. You must have deliberately told me that as well. Good, good, Wang Peng, you truly are devious. You forced me onto a dead end step by step. Aren't you afraid I'll kill you right now?"

Upon first hearing this, the middle-aged man surnamed Huang's eyes flashed with murderous intent. He waved both hands and was about to pounce on the middle-aged man opposite him.

"Brother Huang, wait. I still have something to say. Your martial arts are superior to mine; Wang knows this perfectly well. I prepared a contingency long ago. The moment I die, someone will immediately inform Zhang Qingshan of everything you did back then. If you don't believe me, you're more than welcome to try."

After saying this, the middle-aged man surnamed Wang clasped his hands behind his back and offered no resistance at all, fully exposing his chest beneath the palms of the middle-aged man surnamed Huang.

After a full quarter of an hour, a helpless sigh escaped the middle-aged man surnamed Huang. "Once this matter is over, I'll resign to Sect Leader Zhang and stop serving as Investigation Hall Master."

Hearing this, the man surnamed Wang smiled faintly. "Hehe, that would be for the best. With the merits you've accumulated for Mount Cang Mountain over these years, the two Wang brothers will certainly welcome you. When the time comes, bring your sister-in-law and nephew to Mount Cang Mountain as well. Then you can enjoy your later years in peace."

The middle-aged man surnamed Huang trembled inwardly at this. With the other man threatening him through his family, he no longer had the slightest will to resist.

"Hehe, if you have no objections, Brother Huang, I'll inform Mount Cang Mountain of tonight's matter. With you handling things from within, even if something unexpected happens when people from Luoxia Valley arrive, they surely won't suspect the two of us."

After saying this, the middle-aged man surnamed Wang took out brush and ink and wrote for a moment on a strip of paper about an inch wide. He then placed it inside a small Bamboo Tube.

Bending down, he already had a Carrier Pigeon in his hand.

A moment later, the sound of wings beating through the air rang out, and a small black shadow vanished into the darkness.

After hearing the two men's conversation, Qin Fengming now understood what they were plotting.

Without bothering to listen any further to what the two traitors had to say, Qin Fengming swiftly moved and leaped into the distant night.

He had only one thought: intercept that Carrier Pigeon.

With the aid of Azure Cloud Maze, Qin Fengming's speed reached its absolute limit. In scarcely a few breaths, he had flown twenty or thirty zhang away. Just as a black shadow flickered a dozen or so zhang ahead, the Carrier Pigeon appeared unmistakably before him.

But the instant Qin Fengming spotted the flying shadow, a figure also emerged before his eyes.

"Bang!"

Just as Qin Fengming's heart jolted, a resounding bang suddenly came from ahead. The black Carrier Pigeon seemed to have slammed into something. Flapping wildly, it plummeted downward.

Qin Fengming's figure flashed, then he abruptly came to a stop. With a glint in his hand, a long sword was already raised.

"Who's there? Please show yourself."

"Hehehe, you're Junior Disciple Brother Qin Fengming, aren't you? I'm your Fifth Senior Brother."

Amid soft chuckles, a figure appeared. At the same time, he raised a hand, and a dark object drifted toward Qin Fengming.

Seeing something flying toward him, Qin Fengming did not dare catch it directly. Instead, he swept out a hand, and a deerskin pouch caught the incoming object.

Although he had heard the other man call out his name and claim to be his Fifth Senior Brother, he did not lower his guard in the slightest.

Holding the deerskin pouch, he peered inside. The object within was a token exactly like the one the hall master had given him. The character written on it was none other than the character for "five."

At this sight, Qin Fengming had no further doubts. The man standing before him was undoubtedly the Fifth Senior Brother of Dark Night Hall whom he had been seeking.