Close the Door and Beat the Dogs!

Chen Hu grabbed the yellow-haired man by the collar and said, "Lead the way. Which house does Tang Fei live in?"

"My lord, I don't dare."

"Why not?"

"That kid is vicious. No one in our village dares to provoke him," the yellow-haired man said hesitantly.

"Vicious? Could he possibly be more vicious than our Flame Shrine? With us backing you, what could he do to you?" Chen Hu shoved the yellow-haired man impatiently. "Get moving and lead the way, or I'll chop off your head."

"Yes, yes, yes. I'll take you there right away. My lord, you have to keep your word. Once this is over, you must recruit me into the Flame Shrine."

"That depends on how you perform," Chen Hu said.

Wang Tianlong was leading his men in maintaining order. When he saw Chen Hu approaching with a group of people, he hurried over and asked, "Big Brother, what are your orders?"

"Have this brat identify the person," Chen Hu said, pointing at the yellow-haired man.

"Did you find him? Which house?" Wang Tianlong asked. "Big Brother, I know this area well. Need any help?"

"Just keep an eye on everyone. Until this is over, not even a fly is allowed to leave."

"Don't worry, Big Brother. I'm watching them." Wang Tianlong thumped his chest in assurance.

After searching and identifying for a while, the yellow-haired man pointed at one of the small courtyards. "My lord, it's that one."

Clang!

Chen Hu drew the treasured blade from his waist and strode toward the small courtyard, pointing at it.

The other Gray Robe figures immediately spread out and surrounded the courtyard.

When Chen Hu reached the entrance, he saw the Flame Talisman pasted on the door and paused. "Who put this up?"

"Big Brother, I had someone put it there." Wang Tianlong explained from beside him. "I checked this family. There are three of them: an Old Man and two children. They're all good people."

"Really?" Chen Hu stared at Wang Tianlong, considering whether he had been bought off.

Of course, he quickly dismissed the thought.

With Wang Tianlong's intelligence, there was no need to buy him off.

"Yes. I even went inside and ate their barbecue. That kid is really good at grilling. I was thinking that once this busy period was over, I'd bring him back so he could show Big Brother what he could do."

Chen Hu glanced at the yellow-haired man, who trembled as he said, "My lord, this is the place. Tang Fei lives here."

He was terrified. He had never expected Tang Fei to have ties to the Flame Shrine.

If they failed to kill him this time, Tang Fei would kill him instead.

"Tang Fei?" Wang Tianlong froze for a moment. "I know him. I even praised him for having a good name. He's the barbecue cook I mentioned, just a fourteen- or fifteen-year-old kid. What bad things could he possibly do?"

"Go knock on the door. I want to see what kind of child he really is," Chen Hu said in a deep voice.

"Yes, yes. I'll go call him." Wang Tianlong ran to the courtyard gate and pounded hard on the door. "Tang Fei! Tang Fei, open up!"

Creak!

Tang Fei opened the gate and looked at Wang Tianlong with a cheerful smile. "Big Brother, what's the matter?"

When he saw the many Gray Robe figures gathered outside, his expression immediately turned troubled. "Big Brother, isn't this a little too many people? You know all our meat was grilled last night, and we haven't had time to go up the mountain today. We can't possibly entertain so many people at once."

"How about you let us into the mountains first? We'll catch some pheasants, mountain goats, or something, then come back and grill them for you brothers?"

"This isn't about barbecue," Wang Tianlong said. "My big brother wants to see you."

"You're Tang Fei?" Chen Hu was somewhat disappointed when he saw him.

How could a half-grown boy possibly be a Master in the Qi Control Realm?

"Yes, I'm Tang Fei," Tang Fei said.

"Did you carry a girl back here?" Chen Hu asked.

"A girl?" Tang Fei looked utterly bewildered. "When did I ever carry a girl back? I've only carried back two-headed sheep."

Chen Hu turned to look at the yellow-haired man. The man immediately stepped forward to identify him. "I saw it with my own eyes. He carried back a girl. A girl dressed in black."

"Could you have seen wrong?" Tang Fei looked at the yellow-haired man, a brilliant smile appearing on his lips. "You want a girl so badly that you've lost your mind, so you mistook the wild boar I carried back for a girl in black?"

He knew this kid. He was a newcomer who had moved to Hate Mountain District from elsewhere. A few days ago, he had harassed An Ning and her mother, so Tang Fei and Little Fatty had pinned him down and given him a thorough beating.

Tang Fei had never expected him to stab him in the back at such a critical moment and bring the Flame Shrine right to his doorstep.

"Impossible! I saw it myself. It was a girl. I wasn't the only one who saw her—other people saw her too!" the yellow-haired man shouted.

He knew he had already offended Tang Fei. If Tang Fei escaped this disaster, he would definitely kill him. That kid's vicious reputation was well known; he was not someone to provoke lightly.

Since that was the case, he might as well find a way to get Tang Fei killed and smoothly join the Flame Shrine.

Then wouldn't he be able to mess with whoever he wanted? Play with whoever he wanted?

"Big Brother, this is what happened." Tang Fei looked at Wang Tianlong, though he was really explaining himself to Chen Hu and the others. "A few days ago, this yellow-haired man harassed a girl. I stepped in to help and saved her, so he bore a grudge against me. He wants to use you to take revenge on me. What a vicious heart."

Tang Fei glared fiercely at the yellow-haired man. "Yellow Hair, isn't that what happened? If you refuse to admit it, I'll bring the girl here right now and have her confront you."

"You're lying! I didn't—" the yellow-haired man protested, but he was afraid Tang Fei would really bring An Ning over to confront him. His guilty expression was obvious.

How could Wang Tianlong fail to see it? He drew his blade, ready to finish off the yellow-haired man, and roared, "Harassing a woman was bad enough, but you even dared to use us to kill someone. What do you take the Flame Shrine for?"

Stop! Chen Hu shouted.

"Big Brother, this yellow-haired bastard bullied my brother. Let me chop him down."

"The real matter comes first," Chen Hu said coldly.

He stared at Tang Fei. "Did you truly not carry a girl back here?"

"No. Absolutely not." Tang Fei patted his chest as if making a solemn guarantee. "Why would I carry a girl home? She can't be eaten or drunk. Besides, this courtyard is so small. Where could I possibly hide her?"

"That's right, Big Brother. I searched this place just last night and didn't see any girl." Wang Tianlong spoke up for him. He really had sent people to search, and they truly had not found a girl.

Chen Hu pushed Tang Fei aside and was the first to charge into the courtyard.

Then he waved his hand. "Search."

He did not believe Tang Fei, nor did he believe Wang Tianlong.

Since the yellow-haired man had dared to identify Tang Fei, it proved that he had truly seen Tang Fei carry a girl home.

Otherwise, how many heads did he have to spare for the Flame Shrine to chop off?

A large number of Gray Robe figures surged into Tang Fei's courtyard.

"Search! Search carefully!"

"First team, east room!"

"Second team, west room!"

"You lot, check the kitchen and latrine. Don't miss anything."

--

Unable to stop Chen Hu from entering the house, Wang Tianlong felt rather embarrassed. Just last night, while eating barbecue, he had promised to look after Tang Fei and let him follow him around enjoying the good life. Yet today, his own brothers had stormed Tang Fei's home.

He looked at Tang Fei and said apologetically, "It's fine, it's fine. Adjutant Chen is one of us. He's just following orders. Let them search. If they don't find anyone, they'll leave."

"We have done nothing wrong, so we have nothing to fear. If we didn't do it, no accusation can stick. Once Big Brother and the others come out, I'll chop down that yellow-haired bastard for you. Of all people, he dared to bully Wang Tianlong's brother?"

"Hey, Tang Fei, why are you closing the gate?"

"To beat dogs."

"What dogs? Where are there dogs?"

Wang Tianlong suddenly sensed something. His eyes widened as he looked at Tang Fei.

Bang!

Wang Tianlong felt a sharp pain explode in his head. The world spun around him, and he collapsed to the ground with blood all over his face.

Little Fatty withdrew his hammer and said, "Brother, he's taken care of."

"You didn't kill him, did you?" Tang Fei asked with concern.

He had a fairly good impression of Wang Tianlong. After all, Wang Tianlong was the one who had helped put up the Flame Talisman, the one who had told the Flame Shrine that all three members of their family were good people, and the one who had tried to stop Chen Hu from coming in to search.

"Brother, I held back," Little Fatty said.

The yellow-haired man had never expected such a turn of events, much less that Tang Fei and Little Fatty would dare to attack the Flame Shrine's Gray Robe figures. He stared at them in utter disbelief, his entire body shaking violently in terror.

He wanted to speak, but it was as if someone had gripped his throat. Not a sound came out.

Tang Fei looked at the yellow-haired man with a cheerful smile. "I gave you a chance, but you didn't cherish it."

Bang!

Little Fatty smashed his hammer into the yellow-haired man's head again. This time, he did not hold back.

The yellow-haired man's head shattered, and he fell to the ground with a thud.

Chen Hu led his people into the courtyard, and there they saw the woman they had been searching for everywhere.

Phoenix walked out of the inner room on her own initiative and stood beneath the eaves, smiling at the many Gray Robe figures before her. "You're here?"

Chen Hu nodded, about to reply, "We're here."

But he stopped himself.

He was the adjutant of the Flame Shrine in Hate Mountain District, one of the key people sent to capture this "demoness." Why was he exchanging pointless words with her?

Were they visiting relatives?

"The gate's shut, right?" Phoenix asked.

"It's shut." Tang Fei stood guard at the entrance with a Dogleg Knife in hand.

"Then let's get to work," Phoenix said.

"..."

Chen Hu immediately knew something was wrong. They had been surrounded by these people.

(P.S. I'm begging desperately for double monthly votes!)