White Jade City in the Heavens

Well, well, well—what a twist after twist after twist...

A world where only Lu Lingfeng got hurt had been achieved!

Su Haoming could not help but gripe inwardly.

Beside him, Lin Yu's eyes grew brighter as he spoke, seemingly quite interested in this sort of drama.

Meanwhile, the White Clothed Person gave Su Wuming a deep look and slowly said:

"Worthy of being Duke Di's disciple. What impressive methods!"

"..."

Hearing the White Clothed Person's voice, Su Wuming froze for a moment, then frowned tightly.

His hearing had always been exceptionally sharp, especially when it came to discerning voices. He was incredibly accurate.

Thus, the moment the White Clothed Person spoke, Su Wuming recognized his identity...

So it was him!

Coming back to his senses, Su Wuming gave the White Clothed Person a complicated look. He straightened his robes, clasped his hands, and said:

"Su Wuming, County Lieutenant of Chang'an County, greets County Magistrate Yuan!"

"What?!"

The Chang'an Catchers disguised as archers all revealed stunned expressions.

Lu Lingfeng and the three Jinwu Guards were also startled, staring at the White Clothed Person in disbelief.

The White Clothed Person fell silent for a moment before raising a hand to remove his ghost mask, revealing an aged face.

"That is correct. It is me."

Yuan Lai calmly asked, "How did you figure it out?"

"It really is the County Magistrate!"

The Chang'an Catchers cried out in alarm.

Lu Lingfeng's face turned cold. He swung his saber and pointed it at Yuan Lai, shouting sternly, "Yuan Lai, as the County Magistrate of Chang'an County and the local official responsible for the people, you secretly murdered twelve innocent Brides and used demon tea to throw Chang'an into chaos. How can you face the Imperial Court and the people after such crimes?!"

"Heh!"

"The Imperial Court?" Yuan Lai sneered as he stared at Lu Lingfeng. "You keep talking about being worthy of the Imperial Court. Why don't you ask whether the Imperial Court has ever been worthy of me?!"

"..."

Lu Lingfeng and Su Wuming were both taken aback.

Yuan Lai rose from his iron seat and said with a cold laugh, "Lu Lingfeng, at such a young age, you are already a General of the Guards of the Lower Fourth Rank. Yet I have passed fifty and am still nothing more than the petty County Magistrate of Chang'an County."

"Do you know why?"

"Because you were born into the Fan Yang Lu Clan, a prestigious family. Meanwhile, the Yuan Clan has fallen, the scholar clans are declining, and I had to study bitterly for ten years before I could pass the imperial examinations!"

Lu Lingfeng stared at him blankly, apparently never expecting this murderer to say such things.

Yuan Lai swept his gaze across the crowd and said coldly, "All these years, as County Magistrate of Chang'an County, I rose early and slept late, worked diligently, and kept everything west of Vermilion Bird Street in perfect order. But what did those above me do?"

"They used the disability in my leg as an excuse to keep me stuck in Chang'an County for years!"

"Yet they flaunted my achievements before the Imperial Court and used me as a stepping stone for their promotions!"

By this point, Yuan Lai's eyes burned with rage.

Lu Lingfeng recovered and frowned. "If the Imperial Court was unjust, why did you have to harm the common people?"

"Because the Chang'an Black Tea he made used the Brides' extremely yin blood as its raw material!"

Su Wuming finally spoke. Looking at Yuan Lai with a complicated expression, he said, "No matter what, you murdered twelve innocent people. As County Lieutenant of Chang'an County, Su cannot stand by and do nothing!"

"Hmph!" Yuan Lai flicked his sleeve and said coldly, "No one can stop my plan!"

"Kill them!"

With that, he strode toward the blind spot beneath the raised platform. The dozens of Black-clothed persons surrounding him gripped their sabers and fearlessly surged toward Lu Lingfeng and the others.

They were Death Warriors!

Su Wuming was startled at the sight.

The earlier ambush had succeeded far too easily. He had thought these men were merely thugs Yuan Lai had recruited!

"Kill!"

Amid cries of battle, Lu Lingfeng and the other three began fighting the Black-clothed Death Warriors, but there was no movement from Su Wuming's side.

A sense of alarm rose in him. He quickly turned around and found that the Chang'an Catchers on the stone platform beside him were indeed looking at one another uncertainly.

Yuan Lai had been their superior for many years, and his lingering authority remained. Without Su Wuming's order, they truly did not dare loose their arrows so casually.

Realizing this, Su Wuming hurriedly shouted, "Three squad leaders, brothers, Yuan Lai is a County Magistrate in name only—the true culprit is him! Capture him, and Su and the General of the Guards will certainly seek credit for all of you!"

At these words, the Catchers exchanged looks and finally released their bowstrings.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—"

More than a dozen arrows descended from above, embedding themselves in the backs of the Black-clothed persons and greatly easing the pressure on the besieged Lu Lingfeng and the others.

At the same time, Yuan Lai, hiding beneath the raised platform, reached into his robes, took out a Bone Flute, and blew hard into it.

"Woooo—"

In an instant, a long, lingering flute melody echoed through the cavern, and the four Heavenly King Statues standing at the corners of the raised platform began to tremble.

At that moment, Lu Lingfeng and the others were battling the Black-clothed persons and did not notice. However, Su Wuming, standing on the stone platform along the cave wall, felt a sense of foreboding rise within him.

Sure enough, as the tremors grew increasingly violent, cracks spread across the Heavenly King Statues.

The next moment, the four Heavenly King Statues exploded apart, and four strange-looking burly men leaped out from within.

The four men varied in height, and the weapons they carried were all different. The one thing they shared was that their exposed skin was covered in all manner of strange patterns. At a glance, they clearly were not from Great Tang.

"The Four Fiends of Youli!"

Recognizing them, Su Wuming shouted in fury and shock, "Bold Yuan Lai! Back then, the Four Fiends of Youli entered the capital to assassinate the Saint. After being captured, they were sent to Chang'an County Prison, only to vanish without a trace. So you secretly broke them out!"

"Hehe!"

Yuan Lai walked onto the raised platform without a care and said with a soft laugh, "Those who seek great deeds must plan far in advance..."

Before he could finish, Jia Bantou, standing beside Su Wuming, took the chance to release his bowstring and fire an arrow at Yuan Lai.

Unfortunately, a Youli Clan member standing beside Yuan Lai merely raised the massive axe in his hand and easily blocked the arrow.

"Haha!"

Yuan Lai laughed loudly. "The Four Fiends of Youli possess formidable martial arts. Back then, all of Chang'an's experts had to join forces just to barely capture them. And you rotten fish and scraps think you are worthy of fighting them?"

After saying that, his expression turned cold, and he waved his hand. "Kill!"

"Yes, Immortal Master!"

Three of the Four Fiends of Youli clasped their hands and accepted the order, while the remaining one stayed behind to guard Yuan Lai.

The Chang'an Catchers holding bows were all startled and hurriedly fired arrows at the four fiends. But the fiends had cultivated the Hardening Secret Technique, rendering them impervious to blades and spears. The arrows could not pierce their skin at all.

"Clang, clang, clang!"

Arrows rained down, only to bounce straight off their tough skin.

The Youli brute wielding a golden melon hammer roared, raised the hammer before him, and leaped into the air through the rain of arrows, charging toward the stone platform along the cave wall.

Su Wuming was immediately alarmed and hurriedly retreated.

Just then, a fierce gust swept past his side.

The rapidly spinning airflow was like a chainsaw as it slammed directly into the golden melon hammer brute's chest.

"Pfft—"

In an instant, blood sprayed into the air from the brute wielding the golden melon hammer.

His body, which should have been impervious to blades and spears, split open beneath the cutting airflow, forming a bloody gash across his chest.

Overwhelming pain flooded his mind. The golden melon hammer brute let out a shrill scream as his body crashed toward the ground.

Seeing this, the other three of the Four Fiends of Youli all looked furious.

Yuan Lai was likewise shocked and enraged. He glared at the cave entrance behind Su Wuming and shouted:

"Who is it?!"

"Tap... tap..."

Unhurried footsteps sounded from behind them.

Su Wuming and Jia Bantou turned around in astonishment, only to see two figures emerge from the Secret Tunnel and arrive before them.

The two wore black clothing and masks. Judging by their attire, they resembled Yuan Lai's Death Warriors, but their masks were not ghost masks. They were white jade masks adorned with exquisite carvings.

Seeing Su Wuming and Jia Bantou staring at them, the black-clothed person in the lead glanced at them, then casually walked past and stopped at the edge of the stone platform.

"What a splendid show!"

A faint, ethereal voice emerged from beneath that immaculate jade-white mask, falling clearly into every ear present.

The sudden voice startled both sides. They scattered apart, looking toward this mysterious third party that had arrived uninvited.

"Who are you people, and why are you interfering in this matter?!"

Yuan Lai glared furiously at the two Black-clothed persons on the stone platform.

Yet they seemed unconcerned with Yuan Lai. Instead, they turned their attention to the Four Fiends of Youli.

"White Jade City in the heavens, twelve towers and five cities."

"An Immortal strokes my crown, binding my hair and granting me eternal life..."

The black-clothed person in the lead lowered his gaze and said calmly, "Four Fiends of Youli, you stole our Immortal Arts and cultivated them in secret. Now that you have nowhere left to go, why do you not surrender at once?!"