Target (2)

"It seems we have a lead. Zhenhai," Zhang Yunqi said in a deep voice.

"Yes, I'll go take a look." Zhang Zhenhai was the first to head towards the direction from which the sound came.

Before long, she saw a Yellow-Clad Man by a stream. He was holding a whistle-like object and blowing it repeatedly.

Before he could even utter the word "you," Zhang Zhenhai suddenly leaned back, performing an Iron Bridge, his body almost parallel to the ground.

Laugh.

A flash of Silver Light passed above her face.

With a clang, Silver Light pierced into the stone behind, disappearing into it, leaving only a small hole.

Zhang Zhenhai straightened his body, not even looking, and drew a curved sword from its sheath, slashing diagonally to his side.

Clang! The curved blade struck some metal weapon, making a sound.

In the rush, Zhang Zhenhai used less than half his strength, and the curved knife in his hand was knocked away on the spot.

She was horrified and tried to back away.

But it was too late.

"Hey!" A mocking male voice came from beside her.

Zhang Zhenhai felt a gust of wind rapidly approaching his forehead.

Then.

Puff.

A splash of hot blood drenched her face.

The man who attacked her stood there dumbfounded, a straight knife piercing his heart.

The person wielding the knife was none other than Zhang Yunqi, who had been standing some distance away just moments before.

He clearly sensed something was wrong and quietly followed along.

The Yellow-Clad Man who was fishing with a whistle not far away also realized that things were not going well and turned to run away.

Unfortunately, a gunshot rang out.

The man's body trembled, Blood Spots splattered from the back of his head, and he collapsed to the ground.

"Foster Father!?" Zhang Zhenhai, still in shock, stood up and said.

"Are you alright?" Zhang Yunqi frowned and put away his gun.

"It's nothing, it's just..." Zhang Zhenhai walked to the Yellow-Clad Man by the stream and turned him over.

"It's Sun Chi? How could he...? No, that's not right!" She paused, squatted down, rubbed the edges of the corpse's face, and then peeled it off.

Instantly, a rather exquisite human Leather Mask appeared in her hand.

"Someone is impersonating him!"

"You sent Sun Chi to guard Aloeswood Palace?" Zhang Yunqi asked, frowning.

"Exactly!" Zhang Zhenhai's expression shifted, showing some worry. "It seems Sun Chi and the others might be in trouble. Otherwise, his Contact Whistle wouldn't be here. This is a trap!"

"Fishing." Zhang Yunqi also realized the seriousness of the situation.

If Sun Chi reveals the relationship between their Rebel Sect and the young master, then we'll be in real trouble.

Inside the cabin of the swaying ship, in the center of the open space, there was an Iron Cage.

Inside the iron cage, two men dressed in yellow were locked up. Because the cage was not large, the two men could only curl up and squat in place.

One of the two men had a pointed chin and was none other than Sun Chi Rebel Sect.

The other person with a square face and upright features is his patrol partner Wang Heiniu.

Sun Chi spat fiercely outside the cage.

Bah! His face contorted in rage.

"If you're so capable, let Grandpa out for a three-hundred-round battle! What kind of skill is a sneak attack? What kind of hero are you?!"

Inside the cabin, a man holding a Smoking Pipe and slowly smoking his Dry Tobacco was observing the two people in the cage with great interest.

"Han Jia, where did you capture these two Rebel Sect?" The burly man put down his Dry Tobacco, smiled, and asked.

"Reporting to Young Master, they were caught near the Aloeswood Palace. They seem to be keeping an eye on the Aloeswood Palace's movements, their intentions unclear," a beautiful woman in Green Lotus Leaf Dress replied in a low voice.

"Heh. Interesting. People of the Rebel Sect, coming to care about the Aloeswood Palace, could it be that Zhang Ying also intercepted something from you?" The man raised an eyebrow and looked at Sun Chi and the other man.

"Come on, tell me what you have to say. If you say something nice, I'll let you leave safely."

"What Aloeswood Palace? I was just taking a walk after dinner. You'd better let us go, or when the experts come looking for us, no matter who you are, you'll be in big trouble!" Sun Chi threatened viciously.

"He's pretty fierce," the man chuckled, tilting his head slightly.

Suddenly, a Black-Clad Masked Strongman emerged from one of the corners.

The burly man, wielding Iron Tongs, stepped forward and clamped them onto Sun Chi's right arm.

Click.

Ah!!

Sun Chi screamed in agony as his right wrist was severed by the clamps, leaving it mangled and bloody.

He tried to dodge, but his whole body was sore and weak, and his movements were much slower, so he couldn't dodge at all. He had obviously been drugged.

"I'll talk! I'll talk, don't clamp me!!" Before Sun Chi could even utter a sound, Wang Heiniu, standing to the side, was so frightened he almost peed his pants.

Wang Heiniu was already timid and cowardly, and now, frightened by the pliers, he trembled all over.

"We, we came here specifically to keep an eye on things," Wang Heiniu said, but before he could finish, Sun Chi suddenly slammed his head into Wang's head.

Bang.

The two rolled around together and started fighting.

A burly man forcibly separated them.

Wang Heiniu was clutching his throat tightly, his face covered in blood. Sun Chi had torn a large chunk of flesh off his neck.

Seeing that he had no chance of survival, Wang Heiniu collapsed beside the cage, convulsing all over.

"Heh heh. You bunch of Worship God monsters! You want to get information out of me? Go eat shit!!" Sun Chi spat out the blood and flesh in his mouth and forced his mouth open.

"Oh no!" The burly man next to him quickly stepped forward and pried open his mouth, but it was too late.

A pungent, spicy medicinal smell emanated from his mouth.

Not long after, Sun Chi trembled all over, collapsed to the ground, black blood spilled from the corner of his mouth, and gradually lost his breath.

"Young master, it was my fault for not acting in time!" The burly man in black knelt on one knee, begging for mercy from the Pipe Smoking Man.

"It's okay. If someone wants to die, there are countless ways to do it. You can't stop them."

The man put down his Dry Tobacco and a faint smile appeared on his face.

"Even if they committed suicide, their identities can still give us a lot of clues."

"The things hidden in this Aloeswood Palace, and by this Great Dao Sect Daozi, seem to be getting more and more interesting."

"Zhu Wanguo. Don't forget your master's order to send you here. Be quick, and don't cause any unforeseen problems."

The cabin door was slowly pushed open, and a tall woman dressed in a purple-black mesh dress walked in with a cold face.

"Of course I wouldn't forget." The man straightened his expression and stood up. "Where did Mr. Yu go? I need manpower right now. At this critical moment, without you here to oversee things, I'm really feeling uneasy."

"Anyone can say nice things." The woman gave a forced smile. Her appearance was quite peculiar, like a wax figure. Her entire face was excessively exquisite. Everything about her—proportions, skin, complexion, pores—seemed to have been meticulously drawn.

"Now that you've settled things with the Jin Family, shouldn't you be consolidating things out by now?"

"There's only one last step left." Zhu Wanguo smiled slightly. "Jade Shop Island is somewhat of an obstacle to our plans, so right now, I'm focusing my attention on dealing with Zhou Xueming."

"Zhou Xueming, this person has some strength." The woman frowned. "Don't go too far."

"Isn't it because we have a senior here?" Zhu Wanguo flattered.

"Heh." The woman didn't reply, glancing at the two corpses in the cage. "If you need anything, just let me know."

"I certainly won't stand on ceremony," Zhu Wanguo nodded.

Among the cards in his hand, the elder in front of him, One-Eyed Blade Qin Xianghong, was one of his top trump cards.

His seniority was so high that even his master, the Demon Eagle Old Man, had to treat him with respect.

His greatest confidence in all his plans was based on the premise that Qin Xianghong could directly suppress Zhou Xueming.

Otherwise, he was afraid of failing to start a fire and getting himself into trouble.

***Amidst the soft, rhythmic sound of horses' hooves.

On the outskirts of Citong City, at the Chen Xiang Mountain, First Squad caravan of merchants carrying a small amount of goods slowly made its way to the entrance of the mountain road.

One of the caravan members stepped forward to negotiate with the Daoist priest guarding the mountain.

Before long, the guards at the entrance to the mountain path dispersed.

Tall figures dressed in Daoist robes and casual clothes also disembarked from the caravan carriages.

Sun Chaoyue, Ding Luo, Mu Chunxiu were among those listed.

After them, a burly man over two meters tall got off the train.

The man had long, narrow eyes, regular facial features, and a faint bluish beard on his chin.

The man had long black hair that fell over his shoulders, and he wore a black Daoist Headcloth with a round White Jade Supreme Ultimate Chi symbol inlaid on it.

"Finally back," Zhang Rongfang looked up at the Aloeswood Palace, a slight sense of emotion on his face.

"I didn't expect that it would take so long to come back from this trip."

"Daozi!" At this moment, several figures hurriedly arrived from the mountain.

The leader among them was none other than Chen Han, the guard with a scar on his face.

Chen Han approached and bowed respectfully.

"Daozi, a lot has happened recently, and we have been looking forward to your return for a long time!"

He hadn't realized it before, but now that Zhang Yingdaozi was gone, Chen Han discovered that Zhang Ying Daozi had always been the backbone of the Aloeswood Palace.

Although he doesn't manage things much, he can always act like Stabilizing Sea Needle, calmly and decisively making decisions at crucial moments.

"Don't worry, I'll handle it. Thank you all for your hard work regarding the Jade Shop Association Hundred Merchants Association." Zhang Rongfang patted him on the shoulder.

"Daozi..." Chen Han hesitated, but didn't say anything more. "Let's go back to the Dao Palace first."

"Okay." Zhang Rongfang glanced at the crowd that had come to greet him.

Suddenly, his gaze froze, and he lunged forward.

He reached out and grabbed something in the crowd with lightning speed.

Puff.

Suddenly, someone cried out as they were grabbed by the shoulder with one hand, thrown into the air, and slammed to the side.

The others, not understanding what was going on, let out a low gasp.

Someone was about to ask Zhang Rongfang to stop.

But what happened next made them freeze in shock.

With a flick of his finger, Zhang Rongfang precisely bisected the skin on the man's face.

Beneath that skin, there was an unfamiliar face!

"Spare me!!" the man cried out, turning to run, but after only a few steps, he collapsed to the ground, his body convulsing.

Chen Han quickly stepped forward to check and found that the man's face had turned black, he was poisoned, and he was about to die.

"This mask is poisonous!" he exclaimed.

"Take him away and search him." Zhang Rongfang was ashen.

He hadn't expected that things at the Aloeswood Palace had been infiltrated to this extent.