Huang Feihu Passes Five Gates (Part 2)

After charging through two more passes, the group pressed onward despite their injuries, utterly exhausted in body and mind. Before long, they reached the foot of Cloud Piercing Pass.

The commander guarding this pass, Chen Wu, was the elder brother of Chen Tong, who had just been slain.

Nursing the hatred of his younger brother's death, this man was vicious and cunning by nature, utterly devoid of a martial artist's integrity. His heart brimmed with murderous vengeance, and he had long since devised a poisonous scheme in secret.

Upon learning that Huang Feihu's party was approaching, Chen Wu not only failed to marshal his troops for battle, but personally threw open the city gates. Dressed in plain clothes and wearing a kindly expression, he stood outside the pass with cupped hands, waiting for them, his bearing incomparably humble.

When Huang Feihu and the others drew near, Chen Wu hurried forward and feigned a sorrowful sigh. "King Wu Cheng! I know you are a man of loyalty and righteousness, driven to this only by necessity. My younger brother Chen Tong failed to see the bigger picture and stubbornly blocked your path. Meeting such an end was truly his own doing.

"You have raced through blood and hardship all the way here, grievously wounded—it has not been easy.

"I have already prepared rooms at the relay station, along with provisions and drinking water. Please enter the city and rest, recover your strength before continuing westward. I will absolutely not stand in your way!"

His words were earnest and his expression gentle, as though he truly sympathized with them. Yet in the depths of his eyes lurked the utmost venom.

Huang Ming and Zhou Ji had spent years campaigning with the army and seen countless people. At a glance, they sensed something was