Deng the Escort Chief's warning came at just the right time. Less than two minutes after he finished speaking, a man responsible for keeping watch came running over frantically, reporting that Martial Cultivators of unknown identity had appeared outside the courtyard. They looked like people of the martial world and were gathering.
Deng the Escort Chief immediately ordered the gates shut, then glanced sideways at Tao. "Did you bring a signal arrow?"
Tao nodded and answered with no small amount of pride, "I have Tiger Howl Arrows."
The Hall of Heroes reacted quickly indeed. Seven or eight minutes later, over a hundred people had gathered outside the Deng Family residence, with more continuing to pour in.
Most of them were Martial Warriors, though there were also two Low-Rank Martial Masters. One of them shouted, "Escort Chief Deng, you have already returned home. Where are the Hall of Heroes' Second Military Adviser and Yin-Yang Blade?"
Deng Yifu leaped onto the roof. While taking huge bites out of a flatbread, he laughed loudly. "I know nothing whatsoever of the two people you mentioned. But we did catch several petty thieves breaking into the house in broad daylight."
The man's face darkened at once. He shouted, "Deng, I respect you as an elder. Don't refuse a toast only to drink a forfeit."
"Just you?" Deng the Escort Chief gave him a disdainful glance and continued eating his flatbread.
Before long, a Mid-Rank Martial Master arrived. He was broad-shouldered and thick-waisted, with a broken brow and tiny squinting eyes. He exuded the strong air of a martial-world man, and he even had the face of a born villain.
Everyone greeted him in succession. Some called him Second Boss, while others addressed him as "Second Chief."
After learning the situation, Second Boss looked up at