51: Earth God Temple

When only Gou Longxun remained in the main hall, his originally tall and straight figure suddenly stooped.

His disdainful expression also grew old.

“Alas…” Gou Longxun sighed deeply and pulled out an oxidized silver hairpin from his embrace.

“Do you think my life has been a failure?”

“My strength has reached its limit, and it’s impossible to advance further.”

“My lifespan is nearing its end, and my Qi and blood are starting to decline.”

“My children and grandchildren are unfilial, and my subordinates are disloyal.”

“And I haven’t even been able to protect Qiyang City, which you left to me.”

“Master, what should I do…”

After releasing the frustration in his heart, Gou Longxun’s gaze returned to its previous state.

“I’ll make one last gamble; whether it succeeds or not depends on fate.”

...At the White Tiger Hall, Qi Longhu was happily discussing with Qi Qing how to deliver this good news to Chen Heng.

“If you ask me, we should just tell him directly. That kid is probably feeling quite stifled right now.”

Qi Longhu had both feet propped on the table, occasionally swaying the chair beneath him.

“It’s better to wait until the investigation results from Hook Dragon Sword are out.”

Qi Qing still maintained his honest demeanor.

“It shouldn’t take too long; we’ll probably have results within three days.”

“Anyway, the task of annihilating the Wutong Sect will definitely be handed to Vice Envoy Chen, so there’s no rush.”

“That makes sense,” Qi Longhu nodded.

“Then I’ll leave it to you. Your old man is off to find someone to drink with.”

With that, Qi Longhu sprang to his feet with a carp flip.

He pulled out a wine cup the size of a human head from under the table and ran out.

“Is this White Tiger Hall yours or mine…?” Qi Qing was speechless.

Since ten years ago, his biological father had stopped managing things, leaving all matters, big and small, for him to handle.

He was no longer young, several decades old, and his body was deteriorating day by day.

No matter how he looked at it, his old man seemed destined to live longer than him.

“He’s almost a hundred years old, yet he acts like a child every day.”

Although he said this, Qi Qing dutifully sat in Qi Longhu’s seat.

He picked up a brush and began to deal with daily affairs.

Just as Qi Longhu and Xu Lieying were drinking themselves to oblivion, smoke was already beginning to rise from Chen Heng’s head.

His eyes were bloodshot, and wisps of steam emanated from his scalp.

This was due to CPU overload (crossed out), or rather, the Qi and blood being concentrated for too long.

“Big Brother, if it’s too much, let’s take a break,” Yagyu Han said, looking at Chen Heng with a hint of fear.

He suddenly realized that his Vice Envoy Chen was a bit stubborn.

This was the rhythm of not giving up until the problem was solved.

“No need to rest,” Chen Heng waved his hand, his eyes fixed on the interior of the mine.

“I refuse to believe this evil; today, I’ll get to the bottom of this.”

Chen Heng was stubborn in his past life, otherwise he wouldn’t have drunk himself to death.

Yagyu Han realized he couldn’t persuade Chen Heng at all, so he simply stopped trying.

He took a few swordsmen and started playing cards to pass the time.

Amidst the clattering of cards, time slowly passed.

It wasn’t until the moon hung high in the sky that they finished their game.

“Big Brother, how about we…”

Yagyu Han saw Chen Heng still staring at the mine with wide eyes and couldn’t help but try to persuade him.

“Shut up, I smell something.”

Chen Heng’s nose twitched twice, and a nauseating stench of decay entered his nostrils.

“A smell?” Yagyu Han also sniffed carefully.

But besides the metallic smell of the mine, he smelled nothing else.

“Stay here, don’t move. I’m going to check.”

Chen Heng, who had basically been sitting all day, stood up and walked towards the mine pit.

“Big Brother! Don’t go!”

Yagyu Han quickly grabbed Chen Heng, fearing he would follow in Qiu Hao’s footsteps.

“Don’t worry, a mere Anomaly can’t harm me.”

From the moment Chen Heng smelled that odor, he was certain that everything here was caused by an Anomaly.

Because this smell was seventy percent similar to that furball on Goulan Street!

Shaking off Yagyu Han’s hand, Chen Heng walked into the mine with firm steps.

A familiar sense of impedance came over him, and Chen Heng’s movements began to slow.

“The smell is getting stronger.”

Chen Heng looked towards the source of the smell, a small earth temple in the center of the mine.

In Chen Heng’s eyes, every miner was connected by a thread.

And the source of that thread was precisely that earth temple!

During the day, Chen Heng couldn’t see those threads at all.

He only felt that there was something vaguely there.

It wasn’t until the moon cast its light that those threads revealed their true form.

But the closer he got to the earth temple, the heavier the sense of impedance became.

By the time Chen Heng was less than a hundred meters from the earth temple, his feet could no longer lift.

Looking down, Chen Heng realized his legs had sunk into the ground.

Snow-white arms grabbed his body, trying to drag him underground.

But in Yagyu Han’s eyes, outside the mine, the scene was completely different.

After Chen Heng walked to within a hundred meters of the earth temple, he stopped moving, his eyes hollow, staring at the moon.

“It’s over, Big Brother has fallen for it!”

Yagyu Han’s heart tightened, and he quickly called over the other swordsmen.

“Tie the prepared rope around me; I’m going to drag Big Brother back.”

Yagyu Han gritted his teeth; he couldn’t stand by and do nothing.

“Brother Liu, are you really going?” a swordsman asked while tying the rope.

“Even Vice Envoy Chen fell for it; you’ll just be throwing your life away!”

“…” Yagyu Han was silent for a moment but showed no sign of stopping.

“Remember, there aren’t many people as loyal and righteous as Big Brother Chen, let alone the fact that he’s our Big Brother.”

Yagyu Han took a deep breath and walked towards Chen Heng with firm steps.

“If I ran today, no one would blame me, but I wouldn’t be able to live with myself.”

Yagyu Han gritted his teeth and rushed towards the hollow-eyed Chen Heng.

But before he could run much further, his body also stiffened in place, his eyes gradually becoming hollow.

“Pull the rope quickly!” The swordsmen panicked and quickly pulled on the rope in their hands.

But Yagyu Han was as if his feet were rooted to the ground; no matter how they pulled, he wouldn’t budge.

These men were all external strength martial artists; each could easily exert two to three hundred jin of force with one hand.

Yet, they couldn’t budge a small Yagyu Han.

“It’s over, Brother Liu is also down,” a swordsman sighed, but without much sadness.

Those who join Gangs are usually prepared to die on the spot, so everyone’s reaction was not very strong.

“Let’s go back to the hall and report; we’re probably going to be punished.”

The men released the rope and dejectedly began to pack their things.

Just then, a beast-like roar echoed from the mine.

The men immediately turned back and saw that Chen Heng, who had originally had hollow eyes, had regained consciousness.

However… he looked somewhat different from before.