Upheaval at the camp

The elders of the two households gathered with the senior members of the Langya Hired Mercenary Corps to discuss their strategy.

"How much do you know about the Xu Household's camp?"

Langya rarely dealt with the four great households. When the Tian Household and Wan Household approached him this time, he had hesitated for a long while before choosing to take the risk in the face of enormous temptation.

Rumors had circulated through Canglan City these past few days that the Xu Household was not far from destruction. Only then had Langya dared to take the risk. If Xu Yilin learned of his involvement, he would certainly wipe out the Langya Hired Mercenary Corps.

"The camp has two Xiantian Realm experts. The strongest is Xu Yishan, Xu Yilin's younger brother. Once we eliminate him, the others will be nothing to worry about."

They produced a detailed report, laying out everything about the hundred-odd guards, Xu Yishan, and Deacon Hu before Langya. The two households had done considerable homework before coming.

"Are you certain there are no other experts in the camp?"

Langya suddenly frowned. Having spent years walking the edge between life and death and grown up alongside wild wolves, he possessed an instinctive alertness to danger. He looked toward the camp, his subconscious telling him there was danger within.

His keen nose had allowed him to claim a share of the spoils from the four great households over the years. He relied not only on strength, but also on caution.

Every day, he lived by licking blood from a blade's edge. The slightest carelessness would leave him dead without a burial.

"No. The household head sent me a message by carrier pigeon yesterday. Xu Yilin is still in Canglan City. He hasn't left."

Tian Qihong thumped his chest and guaranteed that the information was entirely correct. They had long since investigated the Xu Household's mine thoroughly.

"Good. We strike in an hour, when they'll be sound asleep."

Langya nodded. He knew perfectly well how many experts the Xu Household had. Perhaps he was being overly cautious.

Inside a modest hall in the camp, Xu Yishan drank alone to drown his frustrations. Liu Wuxie's arrival had put him in a foul mood, and with no outlet for it, he could only drink.

"Old Xu, it's getting late. Get some rest."

Deacon Hu came over and sat beside him, urging Xu Yishan to stop drinking and not torment himself over a good-for-nothing.

"Old Hu, go get some rest. Don't worry about me."

Xu Yishan waved a hand, telling Deacon Hu to rest first, then poured another cup of wine down his throat.

"Old Xu, I know what you're thinking. You simply look down on the young master-in-law. But the timber has already been made into a boat. What's done is done, and dwelling on it won't help. Better to let things take their course. Can we really force the household head to change his mind?"

The two had worked together for over a decade and were already as close as brothers. Deacon Hu did not hide certain thoughts from Xu Yishan, and he understood how he felt at this moment.

"Sigh... I don't oppose what my elder brother did. A man should keep his promises. But there are exceptions to everything. We can't let a good-for-nothing hold back the entire Xu Household."

Xu Yishan sighed and gulped down his wine in frustration. Ultimately, Liu Wuxie was simply too useless, leaving him resentful that iron would not become steel.

"Old Xu, the young master-in-law mentioned this afternoon that the Tian Household and Wan Household would launch a surprise attack on our mine. Do you think that information is reliable?"

Deacon Hu suddenly asked. Such talk would not arise from an empty cave without wind. Judging by the young master-in-law's manner that afternoon, he had not seemed to be lying.

"You believe that good-for-nothing's words? If those two households dare come, I'll make sure none of them leave alive."

The Xu Household's camp was equipped with a large number of bows and arrows made from special teak. Though inferior to the Stone-Breaking Army's crossbows, they were extremely lethal and could easily pierce through someone at the peak postnatal stage.

Xu Yishan sneered, scoffing at Liu Wuxie's words.

"We can't simply dismiss it. Even if the information is false, we should strengthen our patrols to prevent a surprise attack."

Deacon Hu believed they needed to take it seriously. Storms had been brewing in Canglan City lately, and the Xu Household was swaying in the wind and rain. A cautious hand could steer a ship for ten thousand years.

Xu Yishan set down his cup and frowned. He did not believe Liu Wuxie's words, but with Deacon Hu bringing the matter up, he still had to give it some thought.

"I'll consider your suggestion and have my elder brother send more elites over."

The night deepened. The oil lamp flickered, its fuel nearly spent. Its bean-sized flame suddenly wavered as a gust of wind swept inside, plunging the hall into darkness. Then the flame flared again, as though nothing had happened.

"The wind is strong tonight. Let's both turn in early!"

Xu Yishan stood, stumbling slightly. He had drunk a little too much tonight and headed toward his room.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...

Suddenly, hundreds of arrows shot into the camp from outside.

"Aah..."

A piercing scream rang through the entire camp. An arrow had pinned a patrolling guard to a wooden post, piercing his left shoulder. The scream had come from his mouth.

Then!!

Countless dark figures moved, closing in from every direction. A blade hacked through the fence, and over a hundred people charged into the Xu Household's mining camp. In an instant, battle cries shook the heavens. In just the first clash, more than a dozen Xu Household guards were seriously wounded.

"Night attack! Night attack!"

Cries of a night attack spread through the camp. Countless people jolted awake, threw on their clothes, and rushed outside. Firelight blazed around the camp as the miners lit torches and stood in the clearing, illuminating the entire camp as brightly as day.

Xu Yishan and Deacon Hu had been about to retire when the cries of a night attack outside drove away their drunkenness. Both blurred into afterimages and rushed out of the hall. Fighting still raged in the camp.

Everything had happened too quickly. Before the Xu Household guards could react, the attackers had already stormed into the camp.

Over a hundred black-clad men had charged inside. After breaking through the gate, they did not rush to kill. Instead, they secured the exit, trapping their prey like turtles in a jar. Mountains enclosed three sides, leaving only one entrance. Their targets could not fly out.

"Second Master, disaster! Someone has broken in!"

Before Xu Yishan could rush outside, a guard ran in, crying out in alarm. The entrance had fallen, several people had been wounded in succession, and everyone was now trapped in the camp's central clearing.

"Let's go take a look!"

The group hurried outside. Both sides faced off in the square, the Xu Household guards retreating step by step. These black-clad men were too powerful, particularly the man in their midst, whose formidable Spirit Cleansing pressure swept through the entire camp.

The miners hid around the edges, trembling. Nothing like this had ever happened before. They were all at a loss, unsure what to do.

"Listen, everyone! We're only killing members of the Xu Household, not miners. You can rest easy."

Tian Qihong stepped forward and called out. After seizing the Xu Household's mine, they would still need these miners to work it. If they killed them, where would they find so many replacements?

"Who are you? Why have you invaded the Xu Household's mining camp?"

Xu Yishan stepped forward with a fierce shout. His peak Xiantian Realm cultivation unleashed powerful waves of Qi, making the surrounding bricks and tiles rattle.

His gaze fell on Tian Qihong, and killing intent surged. He recalled what Liu Wuxie had said that afternoon. The two households had indeed launched a night attack on the Xu Household's mine.

"Xu Yishan, stop struggling in vain. All of you, cripple your own cultivation, and I'll consider giving you a more comfortable death."

Tian Qihong sneered. He was also at the peak Xiantian Realm and belonged to the same generation as Xu Yishan. The two were no strangers.

Xu Yishan's face turned livid. He thought little of a mere Tian Qihong. His gaze swept around before finally settling on Langya's face, and his expression changed.

"Langya, you dare oppose our Xu Household? Have you grown tired of living?"

Their greatest enemy tonight was none other than Langya, who was at the fifth level of the Spirit Cleansing Realm. Unless his elder brother came, no one present was Langya's match.

"Second Master, my apologies. After tonight, your Xu Household will no longer exist."

Langya remained quite courteous. Ordinarily, out of respect for Xu Yilin, he addressed Xu Yishan as Second Master. His cultivation realm was far above Xu Yishan's.

The situation was extremely unfavorable for the Xu Household. At the name Langya, the Xu Household guards trembled all over. They had long heard that he killed people like scything hemp and had far too much blood on his hands. They had never expected him to lead the force tonight.

"Hmph. Even if you kill us, my elder brother won't spare you. Langya, I advise you to leave immediately. We'll treat tonight's events as though they never happened."

Xu Yishan took a deep breath, suppressing his fury. Until recently, the Langya Hired Mercenary Corps had always treated him with the utmost courtesy. Yet tonight, they had stormed the Xu Household's camp and trampled its dignity.

Langya frowned. The only person he feared was Xu Yilin, whose peak Spirit Cleansing Realm cultivation was enough to crush him with one hand.

"Hahaha! To think the mighty Second Master would see such a day! Do you really think those words will frighten Langya? I forgot to tell you: our Tian Household and the Wan Household have already mobilized experts to besiege your Xu Household. Your elder brother can barely look after himself right now."

Tian Qihong burst into wild laughter. Their two households had divided their forces, sending one contingent against the Xu Household's mine and another to seize its businesses.

Apparently, they still did not know that the Stone-Breaking Army had failed. Liu Wuxie had already foiled their plan to use the Stone-Breaking Army against Xu Yilin. They themselves had only set out for the Sunset Mountain Range in the past two days, and word of the events at Perching Wind Gorge had only recently reached Canglan City.

The precise details remained unconfirmed. The Tian Household did not know whether the Stone-Breaking Army was alive or dead and merely assumed something had delayed them.

Xu Yishan's expression darkened. When Liu Wuxie arrived that afternoon, he had warned him that the Tian Household and Wan Household would ambush the camp. Yet he had scolded him instead. Looking back now, he had been far too muddleheaded.

Had he taken precautions earlier, they would not have been left so helpless. As long as they held the entrance, lasted a little longer, and sent word for his elder brother to come, they would still have had a sliver of a chance.

Now that the attackers had breached the camp and trapped them inside, escaping would be as difficult as ascending to heaven.

"Second Master, what should we do?"

The guards panicked. They could handle ordinary opponents, but facing the Langya Mercenary Corps, renowned for its ferocity, what little confidence they had vanished without a trace.

"Defend the mine to the death! We must never let it fall into their hands."

He quickly made his decision: they would hold the mine until reinforcements from the Xu Household arrived.

The order went out. The Xu Household guards held their bows and aimed at the Langya Hired Mercenary Corps and the experts from the Tian and Wan households.

Liu Wuxie heard everything happening outside clearly. Only then did he slowly dress, get out of bed, open his door, and walk out at an unhurried pace.

Firelight reflected on his face. His youthful features held a trace of ruthlessness and a wisp of killing intent.

The situation was poised to erupt. Xu Yishan had given an absolute order: they were to die rather than retreat a single step.

"Attack! Leave no one alive!"

Langya gave the order. He knew very well that he had already boarded the Tian Household's ship. Getting off again would not be so easy.

"The mighty Langya Hired Mercenary Corps, wading into these muddy waters. Should I laugh at you or curse your ignorance?"

Just as the Langya Mercenary Corps was about to attack, an icy voice drifted over from afar. A youth in blue robes emerged from the darkness, a short saber in his left hand. With firm strides, he walked toward the gathering, step by step.