Who is Actually Fishing in Troubled Waters?

It was Li Jing who had always come forward to extort the Lu Family from Iron Dragon Stockade.

If you were to ask who in the Lu Family hated Iron Dragon Stockade the most.

It was undoubtedly Li Jing.

The Deputy Helm Master in the distance was stunned. Enraged, he berated sternly, "Who told you to kill Li Jing! Are you crazy? I told you to spare his life!!"

Gao Han was dead, which was a significant loss for them. But if Li Jing had defected, they could have completely compensated for this loss.

But now, even Li Jing was dead, and their losses had reached their maximum.

"Get lost! Who do you think you are, ordering me around?"

Lu Yuan's eyes turned cold, and he responded indifferently, his killing intent palpable.

Carrying the killing intent from having slain over a dozen people, including an expert like Li Jing, it was soul-stirring. With just a glare, the Deputy Helm Master couldn't help but take two steps back, as if standing at the edge of an abyss. It felt like if he spoke further, he would follow in Li Jing's footsteps.

He then remembered that this person had just killed Li Jing, and seemed to be an expert secretly invited by the Helm Master, someone he couldn't command.

What this person didn't know was that if Lu Yuan hadn't feared becoming the target of public criticism, he would have killed him too.

"The Third Boss is dead!"

More and more bandits noticed the news of Li Jing's death.

Iron Dragon Stockade had just lost their Second Boss not long ago, and now their Third Boss was dead?

However, at this moment, Li Zongming shouted, "Everyone, retreat!"

The Taiping Sect had been unable to break through after a prolonged siege. They had been fighting fiercely at the city walls, unable to breach them. Even Li Zongming himself had not managed to defeat Yi Zheng. Iron Dragon Stockade was much more troublesome than he had imagined.

If they continued to fight, more and more Taiping Sect followers would die. If too many died, he wouldn't be able to cover it up or explain it to his superiors, so he had no choice but to retreat.

As for the 'Secret Key' he desired, he would have to find another way.

The Taiping Sect followers, upon hearing Li Zongming's shout to retreat, breathed a collective sigh of relief.

They had surged forward like a tide, and they retreated like a tide.

Iron Dragon Stockade took the opportunity to kill many Taiping Sect followers who were focused on retreating, but they dared not pursue them. They watched helplessly as thousands of Taiping Sect followers left the pass and the iron chain bridge, disappearing from sight.

This battle was undoubtedly a mutual destruction.

From the overall situation, Iron Dragon Stockade had a slight advantage, as they had defended their position and prevented the Taiping Sect from breaking in.

But Yi Zheng, Tang Gui, and the others showed no joy. The Taiping Sect had suffered two to three thousand casualties, while the bandits had lost four to five hundred men, a forty percent casualty rate, a truly heavy loss.

"Where is Li Jing?"

Yi Zheng looked around but didn't see Li Jing, frowning as he asked.

A flurry of footsteps approached, and then several bandits carried Li Jing's corpse forward, reporting with grief and indignation:

"Great Boss, Third Boss... he... he died in battle!!"

"What!!"

Yi Zheng's pupils contracted. He strode to Li Jing's body, his eyes, as deep as an abyss, scanning the corpse.

"Who killed him!!"

Yi Zheng's gaze swept over everyone, his voice as cold as a knife in a winter wind, piercing directly into their hearts, sending a chill down their spines.

The bandits carrying the body felt as if they were being stared at by a top predator, their throats dry:

"The person who killed... killed Third Boss wore a mask... no one saw his face clearly..."

"Did anyone see how Third Boss was killed!"

Yi Zheng squatted down to examine Li Jing's body, his expression grim. He didn't show much outward anger, but to everyone else, he looked like a volcano about to erupt.

A bandit cautiously recounted the situation. Tang Gui suddenly startled, "Great Boss, this person did it on purpose. I suspect he's not a Taiping Sect follower!"

"Indeed, this person is not a Taiping Sect follower, but someone who infiltrated to stir up trouble. His target should be our Iron Dragon Stockade, or more precisely, Third Brother."

Yi Zheng muttered to himself:

"His strength far surpassed Third Brother's. He initially intended to defeat Third Brother with overwhelming force. When Gao Han saw an opportunity, he joined in to attack Third Brother. Then, he feigned weakness, and Third Brother unknowingly became his tool, killing Gao Han."

"After Gao Han died, he stopped hiding and killed Third Brother with crushing attacks."

"This person harbors hostility towards both our Iron Dragon Stockade and the Taiping Sect. Who could it be?"

"Tang Gui, you said Third Brother offended such a master somewhere? Could Second Brother's disappearance also be related to him?"

Tang Gui pondered and shook his head:

"There are many who are hostile to our Iron Dragon Stockade, but few with such strength. This requires investigation."

"Alright, Tang Gui, go investigate and see who is suspicious. It's better to kill the wrong person than to let them go," Yi Zheng said expressionlessly.

Tang Gui nodded, then cautiously said, "Great Boss, allow me to speak out of turn, Li Zongming..."

"You are speaking out of turn."

Yi Zheng stared at him indifferently for a few seconds, making Tang Gui's spine chill before turning to leave.

He needed to heal his injuries and, at the same time, carefully study what Li Zongming wanted. What kind of treasure was it that warranted such a large-scale operation?

"Helm Master, who is the expert you invited to help?"

After descending Black Dang Mountain, the Deputy Helm Master's eyes darted around as he tried to badmouth Lu Yuan:

"He's very strong. Li Jing didn't have much power to resist in his hands... he's just too arrogant and unruly..."

The plan had failed, and the losses were heavy. Li Zongming was in a terrible mood. Hearing this, he frowned tightly and turned to look at the Deputy Helm Master: "Are you out of your mind? When did I invite an expert to help?"

"Ah?"

The Deputy Helm Master was shocked: "You didn't invite anyone?"

"I invited my ass!"

The Deputy Helm Master: "..."

Meanwhile, Lu Yuan had already taken advantage of the chaos to slip away from the Taiping Sect's ranks. He discarded his coarse white robe in the wilderness and didn't take the path down the mountain. Instead, he took a long detour, planning to return to Lingbao County from the south gate.

He had returned from the north gate when he first came out.

"My attempt to fish in troubled waters today was actually quite crude, with many flaws. In the heat of battle, nobody would have been able to identify me as an imposter in the chaos. But once the battle ended and everyone went their separate ways, both sides would realize someone had impersonated a Taiping Sect follower to fish in troubled waters."

Lu Yuan hurried along, reviewing the entire day's events and identifying his mistakes.

"What a shame. I only managed to kill Li Jing and one expert from the Taiping Sect. I couldn't take down Yi Zheng and the Taiping Sect leader. Those two are significantly stronger than me, and I'm no match for them. Besides, they aren't stupid enough to fight me to the death."

"My strength is still too weak. If I were strong enough, I could have nipped it in the bud, wiped out Iron Dragon Stockade, and killed all the Taiping Sect leaders to prevent future trouble!"

Lu Yuan couldn't help but sigh.

But this was all he could do for now.

"I need to become stronger! At least strong enough not to be so hesitant like today."

Lu Yuan clenched his fists. Today was a great opportunity, but he missed it because his strength wasn't enough.

As he descended the mountainside, he saw a village in the distance, still smoking amidst the ruins. A chill ran down Lu Yuan's spine.

In this damned world, human lives were as cheap as grass. A whole village had been massacred, and after several hours, no ripples had been made. The government hadn't sent anyone.

It was as if a few blades of grass by the roadside had been trampled, and no one cared.