Murong Fu was momentarily stunned. He had not expected this turn of events. If no one came to verify their claims, their expedition would lack both justification and authority. Coupled with the fact that they had injured quite a few people just moments ago, though they were not afraid of retaliation from these people, it fell far short of their expected goal of bringing them to heel.
Song Qingshu was the first to react. "Tianshan Tonglao's martial arts are unfathomable. Relying on sheer numbers, you might still have a sliver of hope. Sending only An Dongzhu, Wu Laoda, and Duanmuyuan is nothing more than throwing sheep into a tiger's den, isn't it?"
An Dongzhu's most notable trait was a slight stutter, yet not a single person dared to mock him because he was the paramount expert of the Thirty-Six Caves and Seventy-Two Islands. Although Wu Laoda's martial arts were inferior to An Dongzhu's, they were not far behind. Both were among the very best figures in the group, though in the original tale, he was quite aggrieved; because Xu Zhu was unwilling to take lives, Tiao Lao forced him to go up the mountain to catch deer, drink their blood, and practice his arts.
Sang Tuggong explained at this moment, "Some time ago, Tianshan Tonglao summoned all of us to Western Xia to assist Li Liangzuo in dealing with the experts of the First Rank Hall. Naturally, we did not dare refuse to come. We assumed it would be a bitter battle where many lives would be lost, but we never expected Li Liangzuo to be so farsighted. He suborned the experts of the First Rank Hall and ultimately achieved victory without a drop of blood being shed..."
Murong Fu nodded inwardly. He had participated in this recent affair himself,