Testing, Part One

"It's him!!"

Inside the room, Chen Zhong, the old man protecting Xue Ji, changed his expression. As a fellow Spirit Vein, he had already been injured in the process of fighting the other party.

I never expected that this person would actually come after me.

Xue Ji, who was in the hospital bed, also heard the noise outside. His expression changed, and he struggled to get up.

"Don't panic!" Zhang Rongfang reached out and pressed him down. "This is Aloeswood Palace! This is the territory of my Great Dao Sect! I'll take care of it!" he said righteously.

Xue Ji trembled and looked in his direction, a hint of gratitude appearing in his eyes.

But before he could do anything else, Zhang Rongfang had already turned and left the room.

Squeak.

The door opened, Zhang Rongfang stepped out first, looking up at the Yellow-Haired Elder on the wall.

"This place is the territory of the Great Dao Sect. Senior, I am Dao Child Zhang Ying of the Great Dao Sect, and currently the Citong Guardian."

Xue Ji has already been injured and paid a sufficient price. Senior, your anger must have subsided. Why not show mercy and call it a day?"

"Daozi of the Great Dao Sect?" The Yellow-Haired Elder looked down to meet Zhang Rongfang's gaze. "You dare to stand up at a time like this? You think I wouldn't dare kill you?!"

"Of course you dare, senior. I know I am no match for you."

"But why escalate a mere squabble or argument into such deep-seated hatred?" Zhang Rongfang sighed.

The Yellow-Haired Elder seemed to be persuaded and stared at Zhang Rongfang for a moment.

"You've got some nerve, kid. It's good that the Great Dao Sect has Daozi like you!"

His tone softened. He gave Zhang Rongfang a look.

"Fine, I'll give you face today. Tell that Xue fellow to remember this: don't let me run into him again, or else... hehe!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he turned around and pounced, unfurling a pair of black wings like a wingsuit behind him, like a large bird, and soared into the distance.

Watching the other person leave, Zhang Rongfang felt a pang of emotion.

Yan Shenjun's agility is getting better and better. I originally thought it could only be used when jumping down from a high place, but now it seems that it has a wide range of applications.

Back in the room, Zhang Rongfang carefully examined Xue Ji's injuries once again.

Suddenly, some unexpected discoveries were made.

"These leg and back injuries shouldn't have been caused by the same person, right?" he asked.

"Sigh," Chen Zhong sighed, seemingly wanting to say something but then stopping himself.

"There's nothing to hide." Xue Ji gritted his teeth and endured the excruciating pain. "Haven't I encountered enough troubles since I was a child? Daozi has shown no resentment and stepped in to help, so I'll just speak frankly."

"Yes." Chen Zhong nodded. "This was an attack by another group, not members of the Secret Teaching. That group is called Sound Crane. They have attacked us several times before. They are ruthless and their origins are unknown."

"Sound Crane?" Zhang Rongfang searched his memory but found no organization or force that matched the name.

"We must inform General Xue of this matter as soon as possible," he said in a deep voice.

"Notifying him is useless. Daozi, don't waste your energy." Xue Ji's eyes were cold. "Furthermore, I will remember this favor. I will repay it in the future!"

"You're too kind, young master."

Zhang Rongfang answered verbally, but inwardly he was somewhat surprised. It seemed that there was a story behind the Xue Family.

He didn't say anything more, but quickly checked and treated their injuries before getting up to say goodbye and leave.

After leaving the Sickroom, they returned to the Palace Master's study in the Aloeswood Palace.

A short, stocky man with a sallow complexion was already waiting there.

"Daozi," he said, clasping his hands in greeting. "Everything was going smoothly until a group of people suddenly appeared and attacked Xue Ji ahead of us."

"Oh? And the result?" Zhang Rongfang became slightly interested.

"That group is very strong, and their martial arts are diverse and deadly. They are also well-trained, unlike an ordinary force. Their name Sound Crane, is probably just an alias to conceal their true identity," the man said in a low voice.

He paused, then continued, "Most importantly, they were using deadly methods; they really wanted to kill Xue Ji."

"Dead Hand? Interesting. It seems this Xue Ji might not be a knife at all, but rather someone sent here specifically to die."

Zhang Rongfang suddenly thought of a possibility. Just like Princess Yongxiang before.

Looking back now, Yong Xiang was essentially sent there to die.

From the injuries on Xue Ji's body, he could tell that the person who attacked him was ruthless and had no intention of holding back or offending the Imperial Clan; their sole aim was to kill Xue Ji.

Every move was aimed at vital points.

"So Daozi, should we continue our attack?" the man asked cautiously.

"To be on the safe side, let's continue. After crippling Xue Ji and breaking his limbs, send him to me for treatment."

"I'll use the excuse of healing to remove the traces of martial arts and also have a check-up to make sure there's no possibility of further recovery," Zhang Rongfang nodded.

"Yes!"

The man nodded and then withdrew.

Zhang Rongfang stood alone in the study.

Regardless of any hidden stories or secrets surrounding Xue Ji's matter, given his current state and resistance, he will naturally be powerless to resist further, and the matter can be easily resolved.

The focus now remains on those two from the Western Sect. Judging from the losses suffered by the Rebel Sect members, their martial arts skills are unfathomable.

If we let them investigate, problems will inevitably arise sooner or later.

"The Kong Generation Hui Generation... no matter what, we still need to find someone to test the waters first."

Zhang Rongfang unconsciously clenched his fists. There weren't many experts in Citong who were qualified to test those two.

He didn't want his men to die needlessly, so he unconsciously moved his hands. Right now, the easiest place to escape from in terms of movement was probably Sea Gazing Temple, three days later.

Wearing a white kasaya and holding a Zen staff, Hui Jue was sitting cross-legged quietly Sea Gazing Temple.

His staff rested flat on his knees, and his hands were also placed on the surface of the staff.

A slight tremor formed between the knees, the staff, and the hand.

The silent trembling, combined with the silent mouth movements of Hui Jue, seemed to be a silent chanting of scriptures.

At this time, apart from him, the only experts in the temple were the dozen or so death row inmates who had just been brought out of the Citong death row.

After shaving their heads, they were considered to the Western Sect, and had laid down their butcher's knife and become Buddhas on the spot.

As a result, the military strength of Sea Gazing Temple has increased slightly.

These people are good at killing, but they simply can't do delicate work.

The real pursuit and suppression of the Rebel Sect was carried out by Zhang Ying, the Palace Master Aloeswood Palace of the Great Dao Sect, who gathered intelligence.

While practicing meditation, Hui Jue pondered the current situation in his mind.

To date.

The Aloeswood Palace, as a Guardian Teaching Office, did achieve some success in arresting Rebel Sect.

But those caught were all peripheral figures; once interrogated, they turned out to be of no value whatsoever.

Aside from a bunch of coded messages that were constantly changing, nothing else was found.

This made him feel uneasy.

Laugh.

Just then, a faint whooshing sound came from outside the temple walls at night.

Swoosh! A second sound pierced the air.

A towering figure appeared before Hui Jue as if without a sound. It was Kong Ding.

"Guess what I found?" Kong Ding's voice held a slight hint of relief.

"Uncle-Master, have you found the true core clues of the Rebel Sect?" Hui Jue without changing his expression.

The information the two obtained from the Aloeswood Palace only allowed them to capture some peripheral figures.

Then I realized that relying on outsiders alone was useless.

So Kong Ding began secretly patrolling the outskirts of Citong every night several days ago.

With his skill and agility, he quickly circled the entire landscape around Citong in just two days.

"I'm at Huang Jing Mountain tonight. I found some interesting things, probably left behind by the former Rebel Sect. Shall we go take a look together?" Kong Ding smiled.

After searching for so many days, Mahoraga has now boarded the ship bound for the Xi Yi.

They barely managed to capture any of the outlying members of the Rebel Sect.

Because they've basically all been arrested.

Now we've finally found another clue.

"Walk."

Hui Jue was overjoyed and quickly got up.

Without opening the door, the two used their hands to gain leverage and climbed over the wall, quickly heading towards Huang Jing Mountain.

At their pace, it only took them a short while to reach the depths of Huang Jing Mountain.

We stopped in a Martial Arts Practice Field for the Rebel Sect.

The Martial Arts Practice Field is surrounded by forests, and at night it is shrouded in mist.

"This place is very interesting. Judging from the remaining dents, there were quite a few people who practiced martial arts here regularly."

"I found this place by traversing the trails that lead in and out of the mountains," Kong Ding explained.

Hui Jue forward and carefully walked back and forth on the training ground, as if checking something.

"Judging from the traces left behind, there must have been people active here not long ago. The number should be between fifty and eighty."

Hui Jue judged.

"Yes, there should still be people here within the next two months," he added.

Then, he looked up at the moonlight above.

The moonlight shines down from above the dense forest, creating a dreamlike atmosphere when combined with the drifting mist.

Hui Jue scanned his surroundings with his eyes, his gaze spreading outwards from the Martial Arts Practice Field.

"Come with me." He seemed to have discovered something.

They headed ahead towards the other side of the Martial Arts Practice Field.

Kong Ding followed closely behind, puzzled, but he believed that Hui Jue could uncover something new for him.

He has never been disappointed, not even now.

The two walked one after the other through a large forest and soon arrived at a group of empty wooden houses.

The Kong Ji wooden houses stood silently, without a single person in sight.

Only the wind in the forest whistled through the gaps in the wooden houses.

Hui Jue randomly picked a room, broke the lock, and went inside.

Inside, there was a bed, a table, chairs, a bronze mirror, a wardrobe, and everything else you could need.

"This must be where the Rebel Sect live," he said softly.

"What can we find out?" Kong Ding followed him in, glanced around, and found that all the personal belongings in the house had been cleaned up. It was obviously cleaned in advance.

"I don't know, but this place is very large, and it's impossible to clean up every single trace. I'll investigate slowly," Hui Jue replied.

"Alright. I'll leave this place to you. I'll continue looking for other places." Kong Ding nodded.

"Good."

Without further ado, the two decided to proceed secretly if they couldn't find Rebel Sect.

With Hui Jue's talent, he'll always find something to gain. It's just a matter of how much.

"Furthermore, since this is where the Rebel Sect once operated, we can send people to stake out the area; perhaps we can capture some survivors," Hui Jue said.

"We're short-handed; those guys can't handle this. Why don't you come and do it yourself?" Kong Ding asked.