Three Ghosts, Beggar, Actor, Cook

River Island was not far from the county seat to begin with. The fleet had been sailing for quite some time; by now, they should have arrived.

This was a solitary island standing in the middle of the river.

The Boat Gang had chosen this place to establish their gang for two reasons: one, it made raiding convenient; two, it was because of the distance.

Neither too far nor too near—it could be defended or abandoned.

"Stop here first!" Seeing the island already within reach, Jin Mu waved for everyone to halt.

His expression was solemn. "Everyone, the Boat Gang rabble is nothing worth mentioning, but the Demonic Cult behind them must not be taken lightly. I need not explain the Demonic Cult's methods to you. All of you must remain vigilant!"

Everyone nodded unconsciously.

The Demonic Cult's people used bizarre methods. They were sinister and cunning, capable of every evil, fiends who had lost all conscience.

Facing such utterly vicious foes, they had naturally prepared themselves. How could they dare be careless?

"According to the Secret Agent's report, there are two routes to the Boat Gang on the Island, one to the left and one to the right. I suggest we split up, lest any heinous wanted criminals slip through our fingers."

"Guard Ma and I will take the Changfeng Escort Agency, Tiger Blade Sect, Jade Fan Hall, and ten unaffiliated martial experts along the left route. We will launch a frontal assault and encircle their main force."

"On the right, Sun Sky Patrol Guard and Daoist Priest Zhang will lead the Changle Gang, Hong Family Martial Arts School, and seven unaffiliated martial experts in a counter-encirclement, cutting off their Escape Route."

"This matter is of great importance. In one hour, we will meet at the center of the Island. We must wipe out every last bandit!"

Jin Mu issued the plan that had been arranged in advance.

No one objected.

The Boat Gang had many members. If they attacked from only one side, some would likely seize the chance to escape from the rear.

But if they attacked from both sides, they would sweep through like bamboo splitting before the blade, throwing the enemy into chaos and taking down the Boat Gang in one stroke.

"Then I'll head to the right."

Zhang Chu had no objections to the arrangement either. He even welcomed it somewhat. Splitting up was perfect—this would greatly reduce the chance of his Merit Points being snatched away.

He was not worried about the Demonic Cult at all. He only cared about Merit Points. If these people killed every member of the Boat Gang, would he not have come for nothing?

"Good. Then I'll be relying on Daoist Priest Zhang. After this battle, Jin will certainly petition for merit on behalf of True Martial Temple!"

The plan was swiftly settled.

No longer wasting time, everyone immediately acted according to the plan and quickly split up.

Zhang Chu's group followed Sun Sky Patrol Guard.

They hurried all the way toward the Boat Gang's stronghold.

As time passed, Zhang Chu and the others encountered almost no resistance and were already nearing the center of the Island.

"Strange. The Boat Gang is a mixed bag with countless members. How have we walked this long without meeting a single person? Could they all have gathered on the left route?"

Hong Shijie, the current master of the Hong Family Martial Arts School, clenched his iron fists, constantly guarding against movement around them.

Hearing this, Sun Sky Patrol Guard, who had remained silent all this time, unusually spoke a few words.

"It is indeed strange. According to the Secret Agent's prior investigation, the path on the left side of River Island should not be completely empty."

Only when she spoke did Zhang Chu realize that this Sun Sky Patrol Guard, dressed in black and wearing a bamboo hat, was actually a woman. Judging from her voice, she seemed rather young.

But it was not strange.

The Sky Patrol Guard consisted of experts from various sects and schools.

They spent all year carrying out operations to purge the Demonic Cult.

Some had families, livelihoods, and sects. It was inevitable that they would fear exposing their identities and drawing the Demonic Cult's pursuit.

"Wait! There are people over there."

At that moment, Zhang Chu's keen senses sprang into action. He gently turned his head toward a cliff face.

With his sharp hearing, Zhang Chu could sense that quite a few people were already standing behind that cliff!

And there were people atop it as well!

Sun Sky Patrol Guard also noticed something amiss at that moment.

She looked up, her expression darkening. Figures stood one after another in the darkness of the cliff.

Every one of them was fully armed.

They had clearly been waiting for a long time!

"Oh? You noticed us?" Suddenly, a voice of surprised puzzlement came from above the cliff.

Immediately afterward, two men and a woman leaped down from the cliff top. Their martial prowess far surpassed Lu Feng's.

"So young, yet your inner strength is quite good. You actually managed to discover us. Later, I can reward you with an intact corpse."

An old man who resembled a Beggar gave a sinister laugh.

"Old Beggar, don't make trouble. Our task is to kill all witnesses, so we should chop him into pieces!"

A man with a face slick with grease said darkly.

Only the woman gazed at Zhang Chu with bewitching eyes and coquettishly said, "Oh my, where did this little Daoist come from? You're making this servant girl drool. Come closer and let me have a good look!"

At some point, Sun Sky Patrol Guard had drawn a sword, a slender woman's sword.

She had already stepped in front of Zhang Chu.

She coldly watched the woman who wanted to approach.

"Daoist Priest Zhang, be careful. If I am not mistaken, these three are the Lingnan Three Ghosts who once ran rampant through Southern Commandery—the Beggar, the Cook, and the Actor!"

"These three had already reached the First-rate Realm in their early years. My master tried several times to encircle them without success. Now, their depths are likely unfathomable!"

Upon hearing the introduction, the Gang Leader of the Changle Gang and Master Hong's expressions changed drastically. They had clearly heard of the three men.

"They're actually the Lingnan Three Ghosts!"

"After committing that great crime years ago, the three of them vanished without a trace. Who would have thought they had joined the Demonic Cult!"

Hong Shijie was unusually tense, his iron fists poised to strike. The Lingnan Three Ghosts multiplied the pressure upon him.

Who would have expected a mere Boat Gang to draw out such long-vanished experts? The outcome of this battle was impossible to predict...

At that moment, the Actor among the Three Ghosts stared in surprise at the sword in Sun Sky Patrol Guard's hand—that unusual sword.

"The Rose Sword? So you're from the Hundred Roses Sword Sect. No wonder you recognized our identities at a glance!"

"Back then, that old woman Hundred Flowers Sword wielded this very sword while hunting us throughout Lingnan."

"You're so young, and you carry the Hundred Roses Sword Sect's inherited token sword. Could you be Sun Youwei, that old woman Hundred Flowers Sword's most beloved daughter?"

When the Actor mentioned the Hundred Roses Sword Sect, Sha Qi suddenly arose on the faces of the Cook and the old Beggar.

Their encounter back then had left a deep impression on them.

Today was the perfect time to collect a little interest!

Her identity exposed, Sun Youwei suddenly grew extremely tense.

The other party was right. Her mother, Hundred Flowers Sword, had indeed participated in the encirclement of the Lingnan Three Ghosts.

That was why she knew how terrifying the three were.

They were demons who killed without batting an eye.

Each one's methods were crueler than the last.

Sun Youwei did not dare imagine what torture she would suffer if she fell into the hands of the Lingnan Three Ghosts!

She had just wanted to warn Zhang Chu to be careful.

But when she turned her head, she discovered that Zhang Chu beside her had vanished at some unknown moment!

"Bold! I praised your inner strength just once, and you took it seriously? You dare attack this ancestor!"

The Cook looked at Zhang Chu, who had suddenly appeared, a short blade gleaming with cold light somehow already in his hand.

"I'll chop you into bun filling!!"

As he spoke, the Cook had already reached Zhang Chu. With a sweep of his right hand, the short blade in his palm whirled through the air.

"This is bad—Daoist Priest Zhang, retreat!"

Seeing this, Sun Youwei's heart sank.

This Daoist Priest Zhang was far too careless.

The Lingnan Three Ghosts had already just entered the First-rate Realm before they disappeared. After so many years, their cultivation would surely have advanced even further.

Even one-on-one, she did not dare relax her guard, much less now that all Three Ghosts were gathered.

These three were not Second-rate Realm fighters like Lu Feng. They were all experts on par with her mother!

"Daoist Priest Zhang, I'll help you!" As she spoke, Sun Youwei had already drawn her sword, intending to move forward and relieve the siege.

But before her sword light arrived—

There was already someone in Zhang Chu's hand!

The Cook, who had just been brimming with murderous intent, his face glistening with grease, now had both feet dangling in the air as he was lifted up.

Zhang Chu gripped his thick, fleshy neck tightly, and no matter how he struggled, he could not break free.

It was as though the famed Lingnan Three Ghosts member in his hand was not a person at all, but a little chick!

Exactly the same as Lu Feng before!

"I ask, you answer. Refuse to speak, and you die."

"How many Demonic Cult members are on the Island?" Zhang Chu asked the Cook in his hand.

The Cook's face was filled with terror.

He could not even remember what had just happened!

He had originally thought that Zhang Chu was young. Even if he possessed some inner strength, one slash would be enough. Of all the meat fillings he had chopped over the years, which had not possessed inner strength?

He had even imagined how the Actor would scold him for being insensitive after he chopped Zhang Chu to pieces.

Yet in the blink of an eye, not only was his knife gone, but he himself had been lifted into the air by one hand.

No matter how he circulated his inner strength and struggled to break free, he could not shake that seemingly ordinary large hand in the slightest!

The Cook looked at Zhang Chu with horror.

He had just wanted to say, "No, impossible..."

When Zhang Chu had already struck out with his palm.

Bang! An explosive sound rang out. Something above the Cook's neck burst apart, spraying red and white everywhere.

The others looked ahead. What had exploded was none other than the Cook's enormous head!

The Cook felt that his death was utterly unjust. He had merely wanted to marvel that it was impossible, not say that he did not know...

Without sparing the headless corpse in his hand a glance, Zhang Chu moved again before the others could react.

He shot straight toward the Beggar and the Actor ahead!

The Demonic Cult really was the Demonic Cult!

[Merit Points +2000!]

Yes, a mere Cook had actually given him 2,000 Merit Points—more than an entire household of the Li Family, three times as much as Lu Feng.

Fortunately, he had acted in time.

What if someone else had snatched them away?

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