Cultivation Technique's Failure

"..."

Finally, Wang Hao's lips curved upward slightly, as if he had breathed a sigh of relief. His fingers trembled lightly before finally falling slowly.

"...Director Wang?"

Gu Chang'an called out softly, but there was no response.

He stood frozen in place, quietly gazing at the iron-blooded Director in his arms. The wrinkles on his face had yet to smooth out, but he had already fallen into a deep sleep, unable to open his eyes again.

He slowly closed Wang Hao's eyelids, sighing deeply.

Li Hongye stood quietly to the side, her lips moving as if she wanted to ask something, but ultimately she didn't speak. She merely shifted her gaze to the side, lowering her head in silence.

A moment later, Gu Chang'an stood up. His gaze swept across the ruined great hall, and he said in a deep voice:

"Let's go. First, let's search these people and see if there's anything useful on them."

"Okay." Li Hongye replied softly.

The two moved quickly, weaving through the corpses.

The bloodstains between the piles of bodies had not yet dried. A faint, fishy wind mixed with the smell of burning assaulted their senses.

Gu Chang'an's gaze was stern as he searched through the corpses one by one, his movements crisp and practiced, without the slightest hesitation.

Li Hongye, meanwhile, moved nimbly on the other side, her expression solemn but without any fear.

Beneath Yin Jiu's corpse, they found a damaged waist pouch. Inside were several neatly folded banknotes, their edges stained with blood.

Gu Chang'an took out several of them, brushed off the bloodstains, and counted them one by one:

"One thousand taels… one thousand five hundred… one thousand nine hundred… one thousand nine hundred and fifty taels. And five gold leaves."

"There's also a cultivation technique, Golden Snake Swordplay and Golden Snake Steps."

In a hidden compartment in Duan Lie's tattered belt, Li Hongye found an exquisite small jade bottle. She uncorked it and sniffed, her eyebrows raising:

"It's a Body Tempering Pill. The quality is not low. There are five in total."

Next, she found a red and black pill in the embrace of a Hall Master. She squinted to examine it:

"One Blood Burst Pill."

Afterward, Gu Chang'an and Li Hongye continued their search and found two martial arts manuals with worn covers.

One was Shattering Gold Palm, and the other was Bone Entangling Body Tempering Technique.

Of course, there were also some pills and banknotes.

This was truly a lucrative haul.

Gu Chang'an and Li Hongye exchanged glances, both seeing the joy in the other's eyes.

Then, the two carefully put away the pills and manuals one by one.

Gu Chang'an looked down at their findings and sighed softly:

"It seems they didn't carry the most important things with them…"

"Perhaps the truly important items are hidden in the secret vaults of their stronghold," Li Hongye said, glancing at the twilight mountain forest outside the hall. Her brow furrowed slightly. "However… now is not the time to investigate."

Li Hongye looked at the twilight mountain forest outside the hall and whispered:

"Let's leave quickly. Otherwise, someone… is coming."

Gu Chang'an's expression sharpened. He quickly put the items into his backpack and nodded:

"Let's go."

The two retreated rapidly along the mountain terrain, their figures darting through the woods like the wind, disappearing into the tree shadows dyed red by the setting sun.

Half an hour later.

Deep within Black Wind Ridge, in front of the ruined Pill Hall.

Iron armor clanged, and weapons were arrayed in neat rows as a county soldier contingent of over a hundred people slowly arrived.

The mountain wind whispered, stirring the bloodstains scattered along the sides of the mountain path. The air was mixed with the smell of dust, gunpowder, and stench, like a silent but not yet cooled slaughterhouse.

The person leading the group was tall and thin, with a gaunt face. His crimson official robe fluttered in the wind, and a heavy iron seal hung from his waist, clearly bearing the three characters "Nanning County."

It was the County Assistant of Nanning County—Wu Heng.

He reined in his horse and stopped, his gaze sweeping like a knife over the ruins of the dilapidated temple ahead. There was no shock on his face.

He merely sighed faintly, dismounted, and his boots landed with a dull thud.

"...Arrived a step too late."

If you find this book to your liking, remember to add it to your bookshelf to avoid losing it next time.

This sigh sounded regretful, but in reality, it was almost coldly calm.

The thick smell of blood was pungent. Corpses lay scattered in front of the Pill Hall—members of the Firewood Gang, constables from the Martial Guard Division… none had survived.

A lightly armored soldier quickly stepped forward from behind and reported in a low voice:

"County Assistant, the bodies have been preliminarily counted. Left Protector Yin Jiu has been confirmed killed, and Hall Masters Duan Lie, Leng Zhang, Wei Biao, and others have also perished."

He paused, then added in a low voice, "But there are also many constables and constables from the Martial Guard Division who died here."

Wu Heng, upon hearing this, remained unmoved. "What about Director Wang and Zhou Bo?"

The soldier gritted his teeth, "...Their bodies...were found inside the Pill Hall. It looks like they died horribly."

Wu Heng nodded slightly at this, his eyes betraying no emotion.

He slowly strode into the main hall, passing through shattered stone steps and scorched medicine furnaces.

The Pill Hall was in ruins, with toppled stone pillars and black scorch marks from intense fire everywhere.

In a corner, Wang Hao lay face up in a pool of blood, the blood beneath him already dry;

and not far away, Zhou Bo's body was not even intact, with scattered limbs on the ground.

Wu Heng stopped, looked down for a moment, and the corner of his lips twitched slightly, as if in lament or perhaps mockery.

"Such loyal dogs... a pity."

No one heard this whisper.

He withdrew his gaze, turned, and walked out of the hall, his expression returning to its usual seriousness.

His eyes swept over the gathered soldiers, and he asked loudly, "Where is Daoist Chai's body?"

The soldier frowned, a hint of nervousness in his expression:

"...It was not found. The bodies at the scene have been identified, and he is not among them."

Wu Heng's eyes narrowed slightly at this, and he then said coldly, "Then he escaped."

He stood with his hands behind his back, facing the wind, his face grim.

For just a fleeting moment, a flash of anger and... a subtle unease crossed his eyes.

This madman actually dealt with Wang Hao and Zhou Bo and still managed to escape unscathed?

This Blood Spirit Pill, it's... that powerful?

The next moment, his expression returned to normal, and he said coldly, "Seal off Black Wind Ridge, search for the remnants of the Firewood Gang, and find Daoist Chai's whereabouts."

"All Firewood Gang bodies are to be processed by the yamen. If there are any important pieces of evidence, do not hide them."

"The fallen of the Martial Guard Division will be given honorable burials according to custom."

"Furthermore—" he paused, then slowly continued, "Send someone down the mountain to inform the County Office and the Martial Guard Division to write a battle report according to my account."

"Although this battle saw the enemy routed, Daoist Chai cunningly escaped, resulting in the death of Director Wang..."

"A pity, it ended in failure."

As the orders were given, the county soldiers dispersed, beginning to tidy up the battlefield.

Bodies were carried away one by one, and bloodstains were hastily covered.

On the battlefield, everything was returning to a silent order.

Wu Heng, however, stood before the shattered hall entrance, looking up at the gloomy sky, his brow furrowed, silent for a long time.

He knew in his heart that if Daoist Chai, that mad dog, were to truly break free, it would be a great disaster.

—The matter of the Blood Pill must not be leaked.

If his superiors were to discover that he had secretly harbored Daoist Chai and funded his alchemy.

His entire political career would collapse.

More seriously, their Wu family would also be implicated...

He narrowed his eyes, his gaze as cold as a knife:

"...Daoist Chai, where on earth did you run off to..."