The Grand Finale

After jumping into the cave entrance, Lu Lingfeng found himself facing a long, narrow secret tunnel.

Lu Lingfeng tried moving around, only to find that there was no room to fight properly.

After a brief consideration, he ordered his three trusted men to take off their night clothes, tie them around their arms, and wrap them into cloth shields to guard against hidden arrows.

Sure enough, once they crawled out of the narrow secret tunnel, the assassins hiding in the darkness immediately struck, launching an attack on the four of them.

Fortunately, Lu Lingfeng was highly skilled, and the three Jinwu Guards beside him were all elite fighters handpicked from hundreds. Since they had been alert beforehand, they used their cloth shields to block the arrows, followed Lu Lingfeng out of the tunnel, and killed every assassin lying in ambush at the exit.

Lu Lingfeng knew that these assassins were merely an appetizer. More dangers were surely lurking within the underground cave ahead!

He exchanged looks with the three Jinwu Guards, gritted his teeth, and resolutely continued onward.

Yet strangely, the enemy truly seemed to have only this few men.

Lu Lingfeng and the others advanced cautiously for a long while without encountering a second ambush.

Not long afterward, they passed through a corridor covered in traces of artificial excavation, and a sealed stone door appeared before them.

Lu Lingfeng frowned, immediately raised his cloth shield, and cautiously approached the stone door.

Before he could reach it, a scraping sound came from within the cave walls. The entire stone door actually began rising with a rumble!

"Mechanism Art!"

The three Jinwu Guards were all startled and hurriedly held their cloth shields before Lu Lingfeng.

Lu Lingfeng frowned as he looked toward the opened stone door, only to see a massive natural cave beyond it.

The cave was extremely spacious. Sharp stalactites hung from the ceiling, while numerous cave entrances and stone platforms lined the surrounding walls, along with several strange-looking Ghost God Statues.

Candles had been placed across the stone platforms and the ground below, casting bright light throughout the cave.

By the candlelight, Lu Lingfeng saw a stone platform in the center of the cave. Four Heavenly King Statues stood at its corners, while a Hollow Iron Seat had been placed at its center. A White Clothed Person with disheveled hair and a ghost mask sat upon it.

The White Clothed Person rested his arms on the armrests and watched the four men beyond the stone door with indifferent eyes.

"Lu Lingfeng... you finally came!"

A faintly buzzing voice emerged from behind the mask and echoed ceaselessly throughout the cave.

Lu Lingfeng frowned and said coldly, "You were waiting for me?"

"Indeed!"

The man in white answered openly, then looked at him blandly. "What is it? Is the dignified General of the Guards of the Jinwu Guard too afraid to come in and speak?"

Lu Lingfeng sneered. "Why should I go in? To fall for your trap?"

The White Clothed Person shook his head in disappointment. "A member of the illustrious Fan Yang Lu Clan, a prominent noble family. At such a young age, you already hold the rank of Lower Fourth Grade. With such accomplishments, I thought you were some outstanding young talent. Turns out you are merely a coward!"

Lu Lingfeng's expression darkened. "You are provoking me?"

The White Clothed Person glanced at him indifferently. "What if I am?"

"..."

Lu Lingfeng's expression shifted.

Just then, he froze slightly, as if he had noticed something. Then he suddenly gritted his teeth, cast aside his earlier hesitation, pushed away the Jinwu Guards blocking his path, and strode through the stone door.

"General of the Guards!"

The three Jinwu Guards cried out in alarm. After exchanging looks, they could only steel themselves and follow him inside.

Watching this unfold, Su Haoming, who had concealed himself and followed behind them all the way, could not help shaking his head.

Because of his presence, Jinwu Guard Squad, who should have died during the previous trip to the Ghost Market, had survived.

As a result, Lu Lingfeng had not experienced the death of his brother, and his character had not matured. He was still that reckless General of the Guards of the Jinwu Guard.

Sure enough, interfering too much with the plot was not entirely a good thing.

If they had not been following this time, Lu Lingfeng and his three men would probably have been wiped out here...

Thinking of this, Su Haoming tapped the ground with the tip of his foot and silently drifted inside before the stone door could close.

"Boom!"

The heavy stone door fell behind him.

Lu Lingfeng's heart sank, but he did not regret his choice.

With shield raised and saber in hand, he stared coldly at the White Clothed Person.

"This general has come in. What will you do now?"

The man in white laughed and could not help clapping.

"Clap! Clap!"

"What a Lu Lingfeng..."

The White Clothed Person spoke with amusement, then abruptly changed his tone and sneered, "Truly foolish!"

Before his words had even faded, dozens of figures rushed from the shadows behind the platform, each holding a long blade as they guarded the man in white.

More than a dozen Archers also revealed themselves at the cave entrances high along the walls, nocking arrows and aiming at Lu Lingfeng and his three men below.

The White Clothed Person sneered. "I considered the possibility that you would walk into my trap, but I never expected it to be this easy. Lu Lingfeng, even a fool like you can hold high office. Are all the Officials of the Imperial Court blind?!"

At those words, Lu Lingfeng's face immediately darkened.

Seeing this, the hidden Su Haoming could not help feeling a headache coming on.

My blood pressure! My blood pressure!

Early-stage Lu Lingfeng was seriously raising my blood pressure!

Unable to do anything else, he could only prepare to act ahead of time...

Just as Su Haoming was thinking this, a clear wind blew toward him, revealing a figure only he could see.

"Brother Lin!"

Delight appeared on Su Haoming's face.

Before entering the underground cave, he and Lin Yu had split into two groups. Su Haoming had followed the stronger Lu Lingfeng and his three men, while Lin Yu had secretly protected his cousin, Su Wuming.

Since Brother Lin had arrived here, that meant his cousin Su Wuming had arrived as well!

Sure enough, Lin Yu chuckled softly. "Do not be so quick to act. Watch how your cousin puts on a show!"

Before he had finished speaking, a leisurely voice suddenly rang out from one of the cave entrances above.

"What the Officials of the Imperial Court think, Su does not know..."

"But judging by your tone, it seems you hold quite a deep grudge!"

The White Clothed Person shuddered and abruptly looked up.

A figure walked out from the cave entrance in the wall.

With his hands clasped behind his back, he stepped onto the stone platform, walked directly to the Archer's side, and revealed that familiar face.

"Su Wuming..."

Lu Lingfeng looked at the figure above with a complicated expression, his heart filled with mixed emotions.

At the time, Su Haoming had been hiding behind them and could not see what was happening on the cave wall, so he thought Lu Lingfeng had merely been goaded into entering.

In truth, Lu Lingfeng had chosen to step through the stone door not only out of recklessness, but also because he had received Su Wuming's signal.

As everyone's gazes gathered on him, the corner of Su Wuming's lips lifted, and he lightly clapped his hands.

In an instant, the Archers standing on the stone platforms along the cave walls all turned around and aimed at the White Clothed Person below.

At this sight, the many assassins before the White Clothed Person were startled. They hurriedly shielded him and stared uncertainly at the Archers who had suddenly defected.

Not only them—even Su Haoming, hidden in the darkness, was stunned by the reversal before his eyes.

"...What is going on?!"

Coming back to his senses, Su Haoming looked toward Lin Yu in shock and delight.

Lin Yu smiled as he explained, "Did Su Wuming not order his men to search everywhere for other secret tunnel entrances? They failed to find an entrance, but they did catch Fei Jishi stealing chickens. He has lived beneath the Ghost Market for years and knows the underground secret tunnels like the back of his hand. He is practically the Ghost Market Living Map."

"Furthermore, the mastermind behind all this had specifically set an ambush for Lu Lingfeng and transferred most of his forces here."

"With both factors combined, Su Wuming was able to sneak in and arrive here ahead of them."

"Those Archers had already been subdued by him. The ones you see now are all Chang'an Catchers he brought with him!"

"As expected of my cousin!" Su Haoming could not help praising him. Then he said gloomily, "But Brother Lin, if that is the case, is there even any room left for us to make an entrance?"

"Do not be impatient!"

Lin Yu glanced at the stone platform. "Do you see those four Heavenly King Statues on the platform? The Four Fiends of Youli are sealed within them, still sleeping. Those four are indeed quite formidable. Lu Lingfeng and these Chang'an Catchers may not necessarily be able to defeat them alone..."

He had thought the Four Fiends were not here!

So they were inside the statues!

Su Haoming suddenly understood. Lin Yu had only told him the names of the Four Fiends of Youli, not the details of their situation.

Lin Yu said with a smile, "Now the White Clothed Person ambushes Lu Lingfeng, Su Wuming ambushes the White Clothed Person, the Four Fiends of Youli ambush Su Wuming, and we ambush the Four Fiends of Youli. That is what you call a grand finale—Show Off!"