World's Renowned Treasures

The Wild Wolf Gang disciples gradually recovered.

Aside from one unlucky man who suffocated to death when hot porridge flowed back into his nasal passages, the others were more or less unharmed.

Zhao Xia led the remaining nine in paying respects once more to this young envoy of the Sun Moon Divine Cult.

Five Fragrance Muscle Softening Powder merely left its victims limp all over, while their hearing and vision remained intact. Naturally, they knew everything that had happened earlier.

Zhang Yu sat in the seat of honor with his back to the statue of Lord Guan.

Zhao Xia reported, "That dog Zhao Huaien colluded with the Dragon Scale Association and set an ambush in Black Pine Forest twenty li away. Sixth Master took thirty brothers down the mountain to rescue them. Please hurry and send aid, my lord."

Zhang Yu asked, "How long ago did they leave?"

"Two shichen."

Zhao Xia's expression darkened. Twenty li—even through the snow—they should have arrived long ago. If they went now, they might already be too late... But what if some were still alive? Saving even one was worth it.

She had already prepared herself for the Cult envoy to refuse.

"Then let's go take a look. We may not make it in time, though."

Zhang Yu knew that, as a banner master, he was little more than a commander without troops. Still, saving even one member of the Wild Wolf Gang was worthwhile.

Their original intentions differed, but both chose to descend the mountain.

Zhao Xia looked at Zhang Yu with some surprise.

After warming himself by the fire and eating the dry rations he had brought, Zhang Yu rose and said, "There's no time to lose. We'll set out at once!"

Zhao Xia cupped her fists. "This subordinate obeys."

The people in the temple had already been cured of the poison, but their constitutions were inferior to Zhao Xia's and they had not fully recovered. Taking them down the mountain would not help, so they were left behind to guard the Martial Saint Temple.

The two descended Wolf Head Mountain and hurried toward Black Pine Forest, twenty li away.

It was afternoon.

The snow on the road was deep, and in some places it reached directly to their knees.

Zhang Yu used Flowing Clouds and Water, speeding across the snow. His footwork was light, and each step left only a three-inch-deep mark.

Zhao Xia had to give it everything she had just to keep up with his back.

She had never specifically trained in lightness techniques, so every step was clumsy. But with the perseverance of a grassland wolf, she stayed firmly on his heels.

After an hour, the two had hurried twenty li across the snow.

Zhang Yu stopped, sat by the roadside, and leisurely ate a baked flatbread while watching a black speck slowly approach from five hundred meters away.

The weather was freezing, and dashing through the snow consumed a great deal of stamina. He had also been carefully rationing his Internal Energy.

Zhao Xia walked over and sat beside him. "What remarkable lightness skills, my lord!"

Zhang Yu tossed her a baked flatbread.

"Recover your strength quickly. In your current condition, encountering an expert from the Dragon Scale Association would only get you killed."

Zhao Xia caught the flatbread and finished it in two bites.

"My lord?"

"What is it?"

"Do you have any more? One wasn't enough." Zhao Xia asked apologetically. Aside from those two mouthfuls of poisoned porridge, she had not eaten for two full days and nights.

Everything had changed so suddenly. Her father and six uncles had died horribly, and the burden of reviving the Wild Wolf Gang and taking revenge had fallen upon her shoulders all at once.

Zhao Xia appeared calm and composed, always looking confident before the gang members, but the pressure she carried could easily be imagined.

Only today, with the arrival of the Sun Moon Divine Cult's envoy, had that pressure finally found an outlet.

Zhang Yu untied his ration bag and tossed it to Zhao Xia to carry.

The woman was five centimeters taller than he was. It would be a waste not to put such a strong laborer to use.

As she ate the baked flatbreads, Zhao Xia asked, "How many men did my lord bring?"

"Just me."

"Just you, my lord?"

Zhang Yu smiled calmly. "To deal with a mere Dragon Scale Association, with me and the Wild Wolf Gang together, isn't that enough?"

"Enough... enough." Zhao Xia's cheeks bulged as she chewed the flatbread, and she answered indistinctly.

Zhang Yu looked utterly confident, but in his heart he had cursed Tong Yukang more than a hundred times.

"No wonder Qi Zhaogu called him a wolf cub. Once he catches someone, he bites."

Thanks to Third Young Master Tong, Zhang Yu had been demoted from incense master to banner master.

According to regulations, when a banner master was assigned to a local post, he could take twenty-five disciples from the hall.

With Tong Yukang's "care," Wind Thunder Hall had assigned him twenty-five old, weak, sick, and disabled men—those with broken arms and lame legs, fit for washing clothes, tending fires, and running errands, but not one capable of wielding a blade.

Zhang Yu had simply brought the bronze token and command warrant, then gone to take up his post alone.

After Zhao Xia finished every baked flatbread in the ration bag, she finally recovered her strength. She hefted the Xuanhua Great Axe, swung it a few times, and stretched her muscles and bones.

Looking at the empty ration bag, Zhang Yu knew his plan had already fallen through.

The two entered the dense forest.

This forest lay between Pingyang City and Wolf Head Mountain, stretching for more than ten li from east to west. There were few mixed trees; most of the growth consisted of black pines.

The forest was dense and connected to the official road, making it quite dangerous. In poor years, petty bandits would often waylay travelers in the surrounding area.

In the woods near the official road stood a clearing. Seven or eight bonfires burned there, while more than ten wooden stakes had been driven into the snow. The men tied to them had been beaten until their flesh was a bloody mess, barely clinging to life.

"First Young Master, this is truly strange!"

Lin Kun had only one daughter, while the Dragon Scale Association had many young masters.

They were all adopted sons carefully chosen by Lin Kun. During the brutal clashes with the Wild Wolf Gang over the past few years, the adopted sons had been replaced and rotated even faster than the ordinary soldiers.

Peng Canghu was the exception. He had acknowledged Lin Kun as his adoptive father five years ago and had survived until now.

The gang members privately said that Peng Canghu had an iron-hard fate!

"Still haven't found them? It'll be dark soon."

Peng Canghu was in his thirties and ugly-looking. Resting a wolf-toothed iron club against the ground, he looked up at the sky, where dusk was gradually settling in.

"Earlier, some brothers found many footprints to the north. The remnants of the Wild Wolf Gang must have entered the forest."

"Dozens of people couldn't just vanish into thin air, could they?"

"First Young Master, do you think something happened on Zhao Huaien's side?"

"It shouldn't have. He's a Zhongshan wolf—vicious and ruthless. Even Zhao Laodao fell into his trap."

"Sigh, since we know the remnants of the Wild Wolf Gang are hiding on Wolf Head Mountain, we could simply gather our men and kill our way up. Why go to all this trouble?"

"Father has his reasons. Wolf Head Mountain's terrain is dangerous, and a forceful assault would cost us too much. Besides..."

"Besides what?"

"Father has his eyes on Zhao Laodao's daughter?"

Zhan Laoshi asked curiously, "The president is already fifty, and he's never shown any interest in women..."

Peng Canghu sneered. "Ordinary women naturally don't enter Father's eyes. But it's different when she's one of the World's Renowned Treasures."

"World's Renowned Treasures? Isn't that..."

Zhan Laoshi did not dare say the rest aloud.

The so-called World's Renowned Treasures were titles bestowed by lecherous rogues, and most of the descriptions were too vulgar to bear repeating. Better not to mention them.

There was a rumor in the martial world that combining with ordinary vessels depleted one's vital essence, while combining with a World's Renowned Treasure could produce nourishment in return and greatly increase a martial artist's power.

But this was all deviant and wicked nonsense, a method only believers of the Demonic Cult would trust.

The Dragon Scale Association was a Righteous Path force in the martial world of Pingyang Prefecture, and Lin Kun was a renowned leader of the Righteous Path. How could he believe in such a method as well?

Peng Canghu was not surprised. He said quietly, "Father has been stuck in the Armor-Breaking Realm for years, unable to take that final step. He's nearing the age when one knows one's destiny, and with no hope of expanding his qi sea, this is his last chance."

"Old Zhan, you understand now, right? We absolutely cannot let this group of Wild Wolf Gang members who went down the mountain escape back. Otherwise, we'll alert the enemy, and if Zhao Laodao's daughter gets away, how do you think Father will deal with us?"

Zhan Laoshi was drenched in sweat. Only now did he realize how many hidden motives lay beneath this matter. A World's Renowned Treasure—good heavens. Just thinking about it made his mouth go dry.

"I'll personally lead a team to search!"

Peng Canghu looked at the men tied to the wooden stakes, a cold smile curling at the corners of his mouth. He had specifically brought them from the Dragon Scale Association's dungeon in Pingyang City. It seemed they really would come in handy.

"Go shout into the woods. If they refuse to come out, we'll have a fair, open fight to the death."

"As for these Wild Wolf Gang prisoners, kill one every quarter-hour."

"Kill them all before nightfall."