The main act

In the dense woods outside the city.

The remaining ten Zodiac operatives followed the markers and arrived to find Soul-Searching Dog and Earth-Burrowing Rat brutally slain.

They examined Soul-Searching Dog's body.

Utter terror remained frozen on his face, as though he had suffered inhuman torment before his death.

Goat crouched to inspect the corpse.

"It was the cold poison of the Heavenly Sword-Linked Finger."

His gaze grew grave. "With power like this, that Embroidered Uniform Guard is no ordinary man."

Dragon took out a sheet of paper.

It contained information on Cao Jinxing. Besides the Heavenly Sword-Linked Finger, it listed the Xinyou Saber Manual and the Cloud-Discharging Palm.

All of it was publicly accessible information from the Pacification Commission.

"Anyone Liu Zhenyuan sends on a mission like this is bound to be exceptional. Watch out for his sword fingers and his weapon. He received those two manuals together, so he's probably developed some proficiency with the saber as well."

"Right." Everyone nodded.

Goat looked troubled. "Now that Dog is dead, finding him again won't be easy."

"It'll just take a little more trouble."

Dragon said, "Before we came, I had thirty Yellow-rank operatives set trip ropes at the passes leading into the capital. They were to fire a signal arrow when they spotted him. There's been no signal yet, so he definitely hasn't left Baoyang Commandery."

He had barely finished speaking when someone wearing a black opera mask rushed into the woods.

"Report! Our scouts in Baoyang Commandery sent word. The target is currently at the Sun-Moon Prosperity Restaurant."

"What?"

That was utterly unexpected.

The ten Zodiac operatives exchanged looks.

Monkey said, "What's that supposed to mean? Instead of hurrying back to the capital, he went to a restaurant to eat and drink? Is he waiting to die?"

Snake said, "Wait, the Sun-Moon Prosperity Restaurant sounds familiar... I remember! We can't kill indiscriminately there. Plenty of capital officials visit that place. If we cause a major incident, we'll bring trouble down on our master."

"More than that..."

Dragon's brows knitted tightly. "I'm more worried that he'll stay in the restaurant until someone from the capital comes to escort him..."

They sucked in sharp breaths.

Everyone was alarmed.

If that happened, their mission would certainly fail!

Pig grew frantic. "No, we can't afford to wait him out! The young master explicitly ordered us to get it. If we fail, he'll never let us off! Don't forget the Three-Corpse Brain-Controlling Pill..."

Those words made the others' eyes redden as well.

"For the sake of the mission, we can't worry about everything!"

"How about setting a fire to force him out?"

"No! The restaurant has capable people guarding it. We won't be able to start a fire. Besides, even if we could, we'd be in serious trouble if he slipped into the crowd during the chaos! Those officials are all headed into the capital. We can't search them, and we can't kill officials. He could easily slip in among them. Wouldn't that just make things worse?"

"No one knows about our master's connection to the Opera House anyway. I don't see what's so terrible about killing them all."

"Idiot! Those rumors didn't come from nowhere. People simply keep their understanding unspoken. Besides, the officials who go to the Sun-Moon Prosperity Restaurant all belong to Zhao Wenhua's faction, which means they're our master's people too. Kill them, and everyone beneath him will panic. Our master certainly won't spare us then!"

"We can't do this, and we can't do that! What are we supposed to do? Sit here waiting for people from the capital?"

Everyone talked over one another, pacing in agitation.

Dragon raised his hand, and the other voices immediately fell silent.

Everyone looked at him.

"At this point, we can only attack head-on!"

Dragon's expression was stern as he gave his orders. "Contact the restaurant first and have them help us put on a show. Snake, use your Bee-Driving Spell to send bees inside. Keep them on him and force everyone else out. That'll give the restaurant staff an excuse, too. The rest of us will slip in during the confusion and seize the Fire Tortoise. Take off your masks and hide your identification tokens. From this moment on, we're notorious bandits. Understood?"

"Understood!"

"Move!"

Suddenly.

The faint sound of a flute rose, mingled with a strange, dull buzzing. The restaurant's guests heard an unusual rumbling noise.

"What's that sound?"

"An earthquake?"

"It sounds like thunder."

As everyone wondered, a black cloud swept toward them from the distance with a thunderous roar, reaching the windows in the blink of an eye!

Only then did they realize that the dense black cloud consisted of countless venomous bees, packed so tightly that they blotted out the sky!

Before anyone could react, the bees burst through the windows and flew into the restaurant through every gap!

Guided by the flute, they rushed straight toward the table of Embroidered Uniform Guards in the center of the main hall like countless moths charging into a flame!

"They're bees!"

"Get out of the way!"

A venomous bee's sting was painful enough, let alone a swarm of this overwhelming size. It looked as though every venomous bee for miles around had been summoned!

The diners in the main hall hurried outside!

Those in the private rooms upstairs hastily locked their doors!

"What scoundrel dares cause trouble at the Sun-Moon Prosperity Restaurant!"

Several figures darted out from upstairs and went "in pursuit" of the source. On cue, the flute began to falter, as though a fight had broken out over there.

In moments, only Cao Jinxing and Lu Kunlun remained in the restaurant, submerged beneath the swarm.

"Hahahaha!"

Listening to the flute's bizarre melody, Lu Kunlun doubled over with laughter. "What a performance. They really went to a lot of trouble. They just never imagined you'd have a Poison-Averting Pearl on you..."

Cao Jinxing opened his palm.

The emerald-green pearl glimmered.

The vast swarm surged toward him, only to stop a full ten feet from his body, not daring to come any closer.

All the venomous bees hovered in midair, forming a sphere with a ten-foot radius.

From outside, the two men appeared to have been completely engulfed by the swarm. From inside, however, the bees had not even touched them.

"This is only the appetizer."

Cao Jinxing said casually, "Ordinary wild bees can only distract us. They certainly won't pin their hopes on these... Here comes the main act."

The moment he finished speaking.

Nine masked figures in black attacked simultaneously from nine directions, front, back, left, and right!

They moved blindingly fast!

Their attacks were vicious!

Almost instantly, nine weapons-sabers, swords, staffs, and spears-reached the table and struck down from nine directions!

These were Xiantian fighters, wielding extraordinary force. Nine powerful strikes crashed down together, their true qi sealing off every direction. An ordinary person would have been reduced to pulp on the spot!

"Just what I wanted!"

Lu Kunlun slapped the table and sprang up. With two whooshing palm strikes, he first attacked Rabbit and Goat coming from either side, then thrust one palm upward to meet Drought Dragon descending from above.

He took on three opponents alone, launching three palm strikes almost simultaneously. Vast palm force surged toward them, the fierce wind howling like a raging dragon's roar!

"The Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms?!"

Drought Dragon was aghast!

Lu Kunlun's Breath Concealment Technique was exceptional. None of the three had imagined that this seemingly unremarkable beggar possessed such strength. All three were sent flying at once!

Flesh-Eating Rabbit specialized in speed and wielded a flexible sword, while Boneless Goat practiced the Western Regions Soft-Flex Technique and excelled at close-range grappling kills.

Both relied on soft, insidious techniques. Taking those two palm strikes squarely shattered their bones and sinews. They fell to the floor vomiting blood, unable to rise.

Even Drought Dragon, a mid-stage Xiantian fighter, felt his arm go numb. He staggered back several steps, his arm bones nearly broken by that single palm strike!

The Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms was an ultimate art of the Beggar Gang, ranked at the middle tier of the fifth grade. Everyone entrusted with it was an outstanding member of the gang!

At his young age, Lu Kunlun certainly could not match the older masters in raw strength, yet he had still been taught this supreme art. There was only one possible explanation: he was a disciple of the current Beggar Gang leader and a candidate to become the next leader!

"You're Lu Kunlun!"

Drought Dragon gritted his teeth. He had actually recognized him. "This has nothing to do with you. Get the hell out of my way!"

"Well, well! You recognize me and still dare mouth off..."

Lu Kunlun's face darkened. "You're asking to die!"

His figure flashed as he lunged forward, tying down the strongest opponent and leaving the rest to Cao Jinxing.

Cao Jinxing had not moved from his seat beside the table and was still guarding the box. But three men already lay dead beside him, all decapitated!

They were Molten-Iron Ox, who specialized in hard-body techniques; Sound-Feather Rooster, who specialized in claw techniques; and Fire-Beak Monkey, who excelled in staff techniques.

They had died in their very first exchange. They had not even seen when he attacked!

His strength far exceeded their estimates. The remaining Tiger, Pig, and Horse were utterly horrified, forcing them to abandon their original intention of killing him.

"Grab it!"

Smiling Tiger gave the order.

The other two worked with seamless coordination. Impermanence Pig joined Smiling Tiger in holding Cao Jinxing off, while Chain Horse, who specialized in lightness techniques, split into shifting afterimages to seize the prize!

Realizing how formidable Cao Jinxing's swordsmanship was, Smiling Tiger grabbed several tables and chairs and hurled them at him. The instant Cao Jinxing swung his sword, he accelerated, combining the White Tiger Divine Claw with his Darksteel Gloves to launch a rapid assault, countering speed with speed!

"Attack!"

Cao Jinxing's sword was extraordinarily fast, and his sword qi extraordinarily cold. Though darksteel was virtually indestructible, the freezing sword qi could still penetrate it!

After just two exchanges, Smiling Tiger felt himself beginning to freeze solid.

"Take my Five Fiends Divine Palm!"

Impermanence Pig roared. His palm suddenly turned an eerie purplish red, and his venomous palm force struck toward Cao Jinxing's dantian.

The two attacked furiously, risking their lives solely to create an opening for Chain Horse.

Chain Horse reacted swiftly, immediately unleashing the Heavenly Birds Sect's Twin Flying Swallows lightness technique. His figure split in two as he accelerated, closing in like lightning. The two figures approached from either side and simultaneously reached for the Cold Jade Box...