Trap

That night, forty li north of Nan'an Commandery City, within a desolate, dilapidated temple.

More than a dozen burly men dressed in night garb and armed with sharp blades and vicious weapons lay hidden within.

The temple was a Water God Temple, but no one had worshipped there for a long time. Its walls were mottled and cracked, while the statue's head had been broken off and tossed into the corner before the right side of the altar. In the darkness of night, it looked especially eerie and sinister.

The dozen or so men had spread out, taking concealed positions in the front and rear halls of the temple, their blades drawn and clenched tightly in their hands.

On the crossbeam beneath the rear hall's roof lay two masked men with their bodies curled up. As they listened carefully to the sounds outside the temple, they whispered quietly to one another.

One of them asked,

"Elder Brother, I just can't make sense of it. We're clearly martial men under Young Master Chuanxing. What we do can't exactly be called honorable and upright, but at least it doesn't weigh on our consciences.

But now that we've been loaned to that brat Sun Chuanshan, we've been doing one shady, underhanded job after another—petty theft, robbery, and plunder.

Especially what happened last time. We lost quite a few brothers. This really doesn't sit well with me."

The man called Elder Brother sighed, shook his head, and said helplessly,

"Are matters concerning our masters something people at the bottom like us can possibly know?

We just do as we're told from above. It's still better than the days when we drifted through the martial world.

As for kidnapping Meng Zhao, you can't blame Sun Chuanshan. His information had already been extremely detailed. We were simply not strong enough ourselves.

And besides, no matter what, Sun Chuanshan is a young master of the Sun Family and Young Master Chuanxing's cousin. You must not disrespect him, or it won't do you any good."

Those words laid bare the bitterness of martial artists at the bottom. Without the backing of a powerful force, and without some extraordinary stroke of fortune or exceptional natural talent, one could never go far on the path of martial arts.

These brothers had originally all scraped by in the martial world, spending years fighting and killing.

By chance, they had been recruited by the Sun Family and successfully stepped through the walls of a wealthy, powerful clan. They were no longer grassroots at the bottom.

They received fixed and generous salaries in ordinary times, and whenever there was a mission, they earned further rewards and extra income. Most of the time, they could enjoy life, teach the next generation, and live steadily and peacefully.

Such days were a rare blessing they could only hope to encounter, so naturally they cherished them greatly.

Yet fortune and disaster came without warning. They could not emerge unscathed every time. Take the ambush two days ago: they had thought the information detailed and the plan airtight, that success would be as easy as taking something from their pockets. In the end, it fell short at the last step, and they suffered grievous losses.

Those had all been old brothers who had followed him for many years. Their martial arts might not have been especially strong, but they were utterly loyal, daring in battle and fierce in combat. Losing one meant one fewer forever—an irreparable loss.

The only consolation was that Sun Chuanshan still possessed some sense of honor. He had not vented his anger on them because the mission failed. Instead, he gave generous compensation to the fallen comrades, which brought him some comfort.

This time, that playboy Sun Chuanshan had somehow obtained news that a batch of valuable jade artifacts would be transported from Nan'an Commandery to the small city of Tong County tonight. Since the goods were illicit—meaning they came from an improper source—they had specifically chosen to travel by night. There were also not many guards, making the convoy ripe for plunder.

According to Sun Chuanshan, he himself would take only sixty percent of the spoils, while the remaining forty percent would belong entirely to them, to divide among themselves in private.

The brothers had calculated it together. If they pulled off this job, they would not need to worry about money or cultivation resources for at least several years. Besides, they were robbing illicit goods—black eating black—so they did not feel much guilt over it.

All in all, it was a very worthwhile deal. Moreover, Sun Chuanxing had agreed to Sun Chuanshan's request, so they could only carry it out.

After being lectured by his Elder Brother, the man pursed his lips, still somewhat resentful. But intimidated by his Elder Brother's usual authority, he did not dare argue back and could only curl up by himself, stewing in silent anger.

Just then, everyone in the ruined temple heard the clatter of hooves and the rumble of wheels. It seemed their prey had arrived.

"Shh. Don't talk. The people we've been waiting for are here. This should be easier than the last mission, but we still can't let our guard down.

Those jade artifacts are worth a fortune. The escorts are certainly desperadoes. Deal with them carefully."

After saying this to the man beside him, the Elder Brother used some unknown method to draw in all the fluctuations of his aura. He became like a pool of stagnant water, devoid of all life and vitality.

More precisely, his entire body seemed to meld into the crossbeam. Clearly, his skill at concealing his breath and hiding his aura was formidable.

The man beside him did the same, but his cultivation in that breath-concealing, aura-hiding art was clearly lacking. He could not reach his Elder Brother's level, and his movements bore a trace of stiffness.

After a short while, a convoy carrying several carts of wooden crates slowly entered the front hall of the ruined temple. Shouts rang out as they put on an air of relaxation, as though they were about to light a fire, cook a meal, and rest where they stood.

This group was naturally Meng Mansion's men, led by Lü Yue, in disguise.

To ensure nothing went wrong on this trip, Lü Yue had brought many experts from the second branch. Five alone had reached the Postnatal Great Accomplishment Stage, while the remaining dozen or so were all martial artists at the Lesser Accomplishment of the Houtian Realm who had opened their dantians. Every one of them had solid skill in their hands.

They were more than enough to deal with this band of battered remnants.

Not long after everyone entered the ruined temple,

The Sun Family martial men followed the plan they had discussed beforehand, suddenly emerging from every hidden corner and striking viciously at the seemingly defenseless group.

Yet what greeted them was not panicked screams and desperate, disordered flight, but an immensely forceful counterattack.

Under the few flickering torches planted around them, shadows stretched and crossed endlessly.

The clanging of blades and swords, the ringing crash of metal, and the battle cries of martial artists rousing the qi within their dantians rang out without end, echoing throughout the wilderness.

The leading burly man was shocked by the other side's response. He had not expected those transporting the jade artifacts to be so fierce.

Then, looking more closely by the crimson firelight, he saw the figure standing at the center of the rear hall. Wasn't he one of the Meng Family experts who had ambushed them in the wilderness two days ago?

That was right—it was that young man. With a long whip that moved with endless agility and transformations, he had relentlessly pursued the hidden-weapon expert at his side and had nearly exposed his hiding place. Not only was his martial arts formidable, his nose was exceptionally sharp as well.

The young man had an ordinary build and plain clothes. At this moment, cold light burst from his pupils as he stood in the center of the rear hall with his hands behind his back.

His expression was indifferent. He paid no mind at all to the deadlocked fighting around him and merely watched the man coldly.

It seemed that from the very beginning, his target had been this man.

Their gazes collided. In the dark surroundings, dazzling sparks seemed to burst forth, and they instantly recognized one another.

A blazing fighting spirit flared in Lü Yue's heart, along with an indelible humiliation.

This man was the expert proficient in the Great Strength Eagle Claw Hand—the one who had hidden in the grass that day, waited for the Strange Man to lure him away, then suddenly appeared and attacked Meng Zhao.

He was also Lü Yue's primary target on this journey.