Wind and Snow Martial Saint Temple

Fifty miles north of Pingyang City, on Wolf Head Mountain.

The snow was thick and frozen, leaving only one path into the mountain.

The Martial Saint Temple, located halfway up the mountain, guarded this sole passage.

On the altar stood a statue of a green-robed general with a red face and long beard, holding a Green Dragon Crescent Blade. His battle robe fluttered, exuding an imposing aura.

Emperor Guan the Holy, widely worshipped by the people, was granted the title "Great Emperor of Loyalty and Righteousness Who Subdues Demons in the Three Realms" by Emperor Yousheng early in his reign.

The firewood crackled merrily, and the clay pot of porridge was almost scraped clean, sparks flying.

Three large houses with blue tile roofs offered ample space. Five or six bonfires had been lit, around which sat over forty men.

They wore tattered cotton jackets, many with frostbite on their hands and feet, huddling close to the fires.

Near the bonfire closest to the Martial Saint statue sat only three people, clearly the leaders of this group.

In the center was a tall woman, about 1.85 meters, with incredibly well-defined muscles and not a trace of excess fat. Her thick hair cascaded over her shoulders, and her deep-set eyes and long brows framed a face like a silver plate.

She wore a gray and white wolf fur cloak. The two prominent mounds beneath the animal skin exuded a wild beauty.

The women in the brothels, with their swaying hips and delicate frames, sought to evoke pity from ordinary men.

But the woman leaning against the Martial Saint statue looked like someone who could grab a long saber or axe at any moment and fight to the death, which was far more likely to stir a man's desire to conquer.

"Of the Wild Wolf Gang's more than three hundred brothers, only these few remain!"

The middle-aged man sitting to her right, around forty years old, was short and stout, a head shorter than the woman. He looked at his brothers, poorly clothed and starving, and sighed in dejection.

His name was Liu Dachui, the sixth of the Wild Wolf Gang's Seven Fiends, known in the martial world as 'Iron Head Wolf'.

The woman asked, "Twenty years ago, when my father and Uncle Liu swore brotherhood in this Martial Saint Temple, how many people were there?"

"Young Gang Leader, you know, there were seven old brothers, no more, no less."

However, in a surprise attack a month ago, six of the masters, including the Gang Leader Zhao Laodao, had all died. He had been outside with the Young Gang Leader, leading this group to seize contraband salt, and had narrowly escaped death.

The woman asked again, "From this dilapidated temple to Pingyang City, how long did it take you?"

Liu Dachui recalled, "Ten years. The old Gang Leader led us, fighting with saber and spear, forcing the Lin Family to flee in disarray."

The woman looked at Liu Dachui, her eyes shining, her tone firm, "We still have forty brothers now, so it won't take ten years."

Liu Dachui was slightly stunned. The Young Gang Leader had such ambition; he felt inferior even to a junior. He couldn't help but force a smile, "All six brothers are dead. I'm just a little ghost ready to report to the King of Hell at any moment. Whatever the Young Gang Leader says, I'll do!"

"Xia, what's our next move? Do you have a plan?"

The man sitting to her left was Zhao Huaien, the adopted son of Zhao Laodao. He was deep and strategic, always serving as the gang's strategist.

Zhao Xia asked, "Brother Huaien, do you have any suggestions?"

Zhao Huaien pondered for a moment, "When the Dragon Scale Association launched their surprise attack, I was in the gang. Many brothers were killed or injured, but the Lin Family's experts didn't specifically pursue the ordinary gang members. Most of them managed to escape, though they are now scattered."

Liu Dachui slapped his thigh, "That's right, Young Gang Leader! We should gather those brothers!"

Zhao Xia thought for a moment, "Brother Huaien is right. We should gather the scattered gang members, but we don't have any information. Sending people down the mountain blindly is an easy way to fall into the Dragon Scale Association's trap."

Zhao Huaien nodded slightly and asked, "Then what are your brilliant ideas, Xia?"

"The Dragon Scale Association could only defeat our Wild Wolf Gang with the help of the Mount Song Sect. Otherwise, that old turtle Lin Kun couldn't have killed my father."

"The Wild Wolf Gang is a subordinate sect of the Sun Moon Divine Cult. We should wait for the Divine Cult to send experts."

Liu Dachui frowned, "Young Gang Leader, we sent a messenger twenty days ago, and there's been no response yet. Will the Sun Moon Divine Cult send people?"

"Pingyang City is located at the border of two provinces, serving as the western gateway to Blackwood Cliff and a buffer zone with the Five Great Sword Sects. Allowing the Dragon Scale Association to control this area would provide a springboard for the Mount Heng, Mount Hua, and Mount Song sects to attack Pingding Prefecture. I've explained the risks in a letter to the Wind Thunder Hall. Elder Tong Baixiong should not stand idly by."

Although Zhao Xia was a woman, the Wild Wolf Gang Leader Zhao Laodao had always trained her as his successor. Both in martial arts cultivation and vision, she was a standout among the younger generation of the Wild Wolf Gang.

Otherwise, the forty-odd gang members in the temple would not have accepted her leadership.

Zhao Huaien said, "Xia is right. But I believe that we must be strong ourselves. While requesting outside help, we should also gather scattered gang members and strengthen ourselves."

As the three were discussing, a commotion arose at the temple entrance.

Zhao Xia suddenly stood up. Her height of over 1.8 meters was imposing. She easily lifted the Daylily-shaped Long-handled Axe, weighing fifty to sixty pounds, like a female leader of a primitive tribe.

Liu Dachui also drew his iron ring saber.

Escorted by two lookouts from outside the temple, a blood-soaked man stumbled into the Martial Saint Temple.

"Young Gang Leader, Sixth Master, I finally found you."

The blood on his face had frozen into ice shards. His eyebrows, beard, and hair were matted together, making his face unrecognizable for a moment.

Zhao Huaien recognized the man. "Are you Wang Jinquan?"

"I'm Wang Jinquan, who followed the Fifth Master."

Zhao Xia asked, "You're still alive? How many brothers are still alive?"

"We gathered over thirty brothers. When we heard the Young Gang Leader was on Wolf Head Mountain, we wanted to come here. But we ran into people from the Dragon Scale Association. After a fierce fight, we were no match for them and fled into the forest. Now there are only twenty-odd brothers left, all wounded, hiding in the woods. They sent me to Wolf Head Mountain to find the Young Gang Leader."

"Young Gang Leader, please save those brothers."

"Otherwise, if they aren't killed by the Dragon Scale Association, they'll freeze to death in the snow."

The man spoke with genuine emotion, kowtowing to the ground. His frozen wounds cracked open, staining the ground red.

Zhao Xia looked at the eyes of the brothers in the temple and knew that if she didn't go down the mountain to save them, this last bit of morale and unity would be lost.

"Where exactly are they?"

"In the Black Pine Forest, twenty miles from Wolf Head Mountain."

"How many people does the Dragon Scale Association have?"

The man replied, "When they fought us, the Dragon Scale Association had over forty people. After we scattered, they also left some people behind, leaving only a dozen or so to guard the road."

"Uncle Liu, I'll take the brothers down the mountain. You stay here to guard."

"Young Gang Leader, I should be the one to go."

Liu Dachui glanced at the blood-soaked man and said in a low voice, "In case... the Wild Wolf Gang should also leave a seed."

'Iron Head Wolf' Liu Dachui, with his Mid-stage Armor Piercing realm, was the highest in martial arts among them and the most experienced in the jianghu. He was indeed the most suitable.

"Alright then, Uncle Liu, take thirty brothers down the mountain. I'll wait for you back at the Martial Saint Temple."

"Young Gang Leader, twenty brothers will be enough."

Zhao Huaien said, "Sixth Uncle, you should still bring more people. Firstly, to deal with the Dragon Scale Association members. We are at a disadvantage now, and our morale is low. It's safer to have more people."

"Secondly, those brothers are injured and their movements are inconvenient, so they will need people to support them."

"If we can rescue these brothers, we will have sixty brothers, and our manpower will be even more abundant."

Zhao Xia nodded.

"Young Gang Leader, take care."

Liu Dachui, with over thirty brothers and Wang Jinquan, who had come to report, left the Martial Saint Temple. Their figures gradually disappeared into the wind and snow. The footprints on the snowy ground would disappear before long.

In the Martial Saint Temple, only about ten people were left, and it immediately became desolate.

Zhao Xia sat alone by the campfire, looking at the Daylily-shaped Long-handled Axe. It was a gift from Zhao Laodao when she came of age.

Her mother was a woman from the grasslands. She died during childbirth when she was born.

After that, she had been following her father, fighting and struggling in this jianghu that was too cruel even for men. The small Wild Wolf Gang had fought its way into Pingyang City and stood in opposition to the Dragon Scale Association.

But in just one night, everything was gone.

"Little Xia, don't be sad."

"Brother Huaien, I've never dared to ask you. How did my father... die then? Did he leave any last words?"

"Adoptive Father was seriously injured by a master from the Mount Song Sect who used a sword. He grabbed a horse and could have escaped, but he saw Second Uncle and Third Uncle surrounded, so he charged back."

"Later... Lin Kun sneak attacked him from behind, dislocated Adoptive Father's arm with a Dragon Catcher Hand, and then struck Adoptive Father's chest with a palm. Adoptive Father vomited blood and fell to the ground, dying."

"Lin Kun personally cut off Adoptive Father's head..."

Zhao Xia suddenly asked, "Brother Huaien, what were you doing at that time?"