You Three Aren't Getting Away!

Chen Zhongwu looked at Yuan Zhen, who was hopping mad, and sneered inwardly.

"You want to destroy the Cao Gang, but you expect my men to charge in first and die while you sit back and reap the rewards? Where's the sense in that?

"This time, the monks of White Dragon Temple won't be able to avoid getting their hands dirty."

Sure enough, after Yuan Zhen had made a scene and seen Chen Zhongwu continue to fob him off with all sorts of excuses, he said viciously,

"Fine, Lord Chen. In that case, White Dragon Temple will avenge this blood feud ourselves. There's no need to trouble the Prefectural Army."

Chen Zhongwu wore an expression of helplessness. "Oh, Master Yuan Zhen, that's not what I meant. You've misunderstood me."

"Hmph. I take my leave!" Yuan Zhen snorted coldly, turned, and swept out.

Once Yuan Zhen was gone, the expression on Chen Zhongwu's face turned cold and gloomy.

"Fight! Fight! I hope you fight to the death and leave each other battered and broken. Then Yangzhou City will be mine for the taking!"

And so, the conflict between the Cao Gang and White Dragon Temple escalated.

At Yuan Zhen's direction, the experts of the Buddha Son's faction who had remained in Yangzhou City began a sweeping hunt for the Cao Gang's prominent figures.

On the evening of the seventeenth, the Hall Master of the Cao Gang's Golden Water Hall was assassinated on his way home. He was dead.

At dawn on the eighteenth, the Hall Master of the Cao Gang's Green Wood Hall was assassinated at home and killed. His body was discovered by a servant who had risen early.

That evening, the Hall Master of the Cao Gang's Earth Hall drowned in an accident.

That account was disputed. After all, the Cao Gang made its living on the water, and every one of its men was an excellent swimmer. It was hardly plausible that one of them had simply drowned.

Some said the Cao Gang had made that up to save face.

But whatever the truth, there was no covering up the fact that the Cao Gang had lost three Hall Masters in two days.

Now it wasn't just the Cao Gang that was furious. All of Yangzhou City was in an uproar.

After all these years, someone had actually started making a move against the Cao Gang.

"Three Hall Masters dead in two days. They're declaring war on the Cao Gang."

"Heh, the Cao Gang's finished. They can't even keep their Hall Masters alive."

"Bullshit. The Cao Gang's been established in Yangzhou City for years. It won't fall that easily. Whoever did this probably has no idea how powerful the Cao Gang is. They're just asking to die."

"Does anyone know which side did it?"

"I heard it was the Prefectural Army."

"That can't be right. I heard it was the monks of White Dragon Temple."

"White Dragon Temple? The one in Longquan City?"

"Yeah, that bunch of monks."

"Heh, since when have the monks of White Dragon Temple dared to run wild in Yangzhou City?"

"I heard White Dragon Temple's younger generation produced a Great Master with terrifying talent. They've hailed him as the Buddha Son. The Abbot of White Dragon Temple even has to step down and yield his position to him."

"How come what I heard was different?"

"Tell us what you heard, then."

"A friend in Longquan City told me this so-called Buddha Son gave himself the title. He was so eager to advance in his cultivation that he went mad. He's so deranged he even ambushed and injured the Abbot."

"That ruthless, huh? Sounds like a real hard case."

"What's this Buddha Son's cultivation like?"

"I heard he's in the Upper Three Ranks of the Martialist Realm!"

"Hiss!"

Everyone sucked in a breath.

"That's it, then. The Cao Gang's probably doomed."

"Even the strongest man in the Cao Gang, Gang Leader Cao, is only in the Mid-fourth Grade of the Martialist Realm. He's no match for the Buddha Son of White Dragon Temple."

"Alas, without the Cao Gang, the monks of White Dragon Temple will probably lord it over us in Yangzhou City."

"Alas, life's going to get rough from here on out."

After hearing about the Buddha Son's strength, everyone shook their heads and sighed, giving up hope for the Cao Gang.

In the days that followed, the conflict between the Cao Gang and White Dragon Temple escalated completely.

It was practically a matter of one side killing a Hall Master today, and the other taking out a direct disciple the next night.

By then, both sides had gone berserk.

Even stranger, no one stepped forward to mediate.

Neither the Demon Suppressing Division nor the Prefectural Army said a word. They seemed to be tacitly allowing the bloody fight between the two sides to continue.

As the saying went, those watching from the sidelines saw things most clearly.

Anyone with a little insight could tell from the authorities' attitude that they wanted the Cao Gang and White Dragon Temple to destroy each other.

Some timid wealthy merchants in Yangzhou City feared the conflict might catch them in the crossfire, and had already begun quietly fleeing.

During this time, the fight between the Cao Gang and White Dragon Temple became the hottest topic of discussion among the people of Yangzhou City. Everyone wanted to know which side would win.

Li Xian, meanwhile, was puzzled.

By rights, he was a Hall Master of the Cao Gang, and he had recently taken out a Deputy Gang Leader. He was also a renowned young prodigy. So why hadn't the monks of White Dragon Temple come after him?

Did they look down on him?

It had left Li Xian deeply troubled.

Until one night.

He was meditating and cultivating in his own courtyard.

"Congratulations, Host. You have completed ten rounds of cultivation and earned one Proficiency Point."

Li Xian opened his eyes and looked toward the gate with a smile.

"May I ask which master of White Dragon Temple has come to visit?"

He had sensed the killing intent outside, so he stopped his daily cultivation routine.

Finally, they'd come!

"Ah, you sensed this old monk's arrival. It seems Hall Master Li is no empty name." A surprised voice came from beyond the gate.

Then a monk in a loose, wide-sleeved robe jumped onto the courtyard wall.

Li Xian said helplessly, "Master, I didn't lock the gate. You could've just walked in."

The monk acted as if he hadn't heard. "I am Yuan Jue of White Dragon Temple. I've come especially to pay Hall Master Li a visit."

Li Xian asked, "On a dark, windy night like this, you came just to pay me a visit?"

Yuan Jue leaped down from the wall. "I've heard of Hall Master Li's past and know you've taken many lives. Why not come with me to White Dragon Temple, chant sutras, and wash away your sins?"

Li Xian shook his head and smiled. "Are all you monks like this? So smooth-tongued, always talking your way around things."

Yuan Jue smiled. "Hall Master Li is joking."

Li Xian said impatiently, "All right, enough pretending. If you're going to fight, get on with it. Stop blathering."

"In that case..."

"Hall Master Li, watch out!"

Before Yuan Jue could finish speaking, a loud shout came from outside. The gate crashed open.

Li Xian and Yuan Jue both turned to look, bewildered.

They saw two monks rush in: Guan Jing and Guan Yi.

When the two of them saw Yuan Jue standing in the courtyard, their expressions changed dramatically.

"Martial Uncle Yuan Jue!"

"Hall Master Li, hurry and leave! We'll hold off Martial Uncle Yuan Jue!"

Seriously, who were these two? Did he need them to save him?

Li Xian looked helpless.

Yuan Jue's face filled with surprise, and he burst into laughter. "It seems this old monk made the right trip tonight. What an unexpected bonus."

"Tonight, none of you three are getting away!"