22: fishing

The wooden fences outside Kuangfeng Stronghold were made of three to four zhang tall wooden stakes driven into the ground and connected.

The stronghold gate was cast from incredibly thick Black-Scaled Ironwood, making it exceptionally sturdy.

On either side of the gate stood two towering watchtowers.

Inside each watchtower, four or five bandits remained vigilant, scanning their surroundings.

At the same time, people patrolled both inside and outside Kuangfeng Stronghold.

The defenses were quite good.

However, Xiao Shi had a clear understanding of Kuangfeng Stronghold’s layout and where these patrolling personnel would appear, thanks to the map provided by Yin She even before Xiao Shi arrived.

He went directly to the most weakly defended position.

He leaped, climbing over the fence-like wall made of wooden stakes.

Kuangfeng Stronghold was mainly divided into two layers: inner and outer.

The outer area comprised the living quarters and activity zones of the ordinary bandits; usually, many people could be seen there, but with today's banquet underway, many had gone to the inner area to attend, which meant that after Xiao Shi infiltrated, he saw no one else except the patrolling bandits.

Following the map in his mind, Xiao Shi, after infiltrating, skillfully entered the inner area as if he had been there before, heading straight for the separate courtyard where the Huihai Restaurant Owner’s wife was being held.

Along the way, he passed a spacious area.

That was where the banquet was being held.

From a great distance, Xiao Shi could smell the overpowering scent of alcohol.

Looking at the large number of bandits passed out on the ground, a murderous intent flickered in Xiao Shi’s eyes.

In his view, these bandits were all Entering Martial Rank items, presenting a strong temptation.

He took a deep breath to restrain the urge to punch them one by one.

His personality was cautious.

He felt it was better to proceed in the safest way.

Rescue the person first.

Thinking this.

Xiao Shi no longer looked, heading directly to his destination.

This was a rather elegant small courtyard.

Flowers and plants were grown in the courtyard, making the scenery beautiful and quite charming.

The people originally guarding the courtyard had also gone to the banquet, leaving it completely silent, with only the light from the lamps in the courtyard house.

Xiao Shi did not rashly step into this courtyard.

He first took out numerous miscellaneous items from his storage bag and threw them one by one into the courtyard, preparing to check if there were any traps on the ground.

However, nothing happened after these items were thrown in; everything remained fine.

But Xiao Shi was still not at ease.

He looked at the flowers and plants in the courtyard.

He suspected that these flowers and plants were not ordinary ones, but rather some kind of poisonous herbs that released toxic gas.

So, he quickly used the miscellaneous items from his storage bag to throw from a distance, smashing all these flowers and plants.

Immediately afterward, he inspected the floor tiles and walls of the courtyard, not missing any corner where a mechanism or trap might exist.

His brow gradually furrowed.

“There aren’t any mechanisms or traps? Nor any other defensive measures…”

This was quite unexpected for him.

In his mind.

This courtyard should have been covered by an inescapable net.

But the reality was completely different from what he had guessed.

Everything here was normal.

Xiao Shi pondered, deep in thought.

After some consideration.

He walked straight into the courtyard, arriving at the courtyard door, and after confirming that the door was not poisoned and had no mechanisms or traps, he shattered the door with a palm strike and quickly threw a puppet inside.

A woman's scream came from the room.

Xiao Shi looked from outside the door, confirmed there were no mechanisms or traps inside the room, and that the puppet he threw in was intact, then cautiously entered the room.

At this time, Xiao Shi not only wore a wide black bamboo hat but also had his face covered with a black cloth; this was a special black cloth, its main purpose not being to cover the face, but to prevent toxic gas.

Upon entering the room, Xiao Shi immediately saw the woman inside.

This was a beautiful and voluptuous woman, with a graceful figure and delicate features, a pair of glistening beautiful eyes paired with thick eyelashes, possessing the unique charm of a mature woman, like a full-bodied begonia flower.

She exuded abundant charm.

Especially in the thin gauze clothing she wore at the moment, her excellent figure was fully displayed, emanating a strong allure.

Before coming, Xiao Shi had already heard the Huihai Restaurant Owner describe his wife’s appearance.

And had him draw a portrait.

Given his cautious nature, he would naturally consider that Kuangfeng Stronghold Lord might use other women to pull a switch.

Before rescuing her, he had to know what the Huihai Restaurant Owner’s wife looked like.

At that time, from the Huihai Restaurant Owner's description and drawing, Xiao Shi had already realized that his wife should be quite beautiful.

He hadn't expected to be so amazed upon seeing her in person.

Xiao Shi now understood why Kuangfeng Stronghold Lord wanted to abduct her to be his bandit chief’s wife… Faced with Xiao Shi's forceful intrusion.

The beautiful woman looked at him in terror.

However, after seeing his attire, the terror on her face immediately dissipated somewhat.

“Night Watch?”

Xiao Shi nodded.

“Time is of the essence, quickly come with me to leave this place.”

“Mhm, mhm!”

The beautiful woman nodded repeatedly.

Just as she was about to move.

Clap, clap, clap!

A round of applause suddenly came from outside.

Two figures walked in from outside the door.

One of them was none other than Kuangfeng Stronghold Lord, Xu Feng, who should have been drunk and passed out.

He was very different from the image Xiao Shi had imagined.

Xiao Shi had originally thought that these bandit chiefs would all be fierce-looking men, built like oxen, with broad backs and strong waists, and faces full of flesh.

He hadn't expected this Kuangfeng Stronghold Lord to be a slender, elegant, handsome man with a high appearance, carrying a long saber on his back.

At the same time, the fluctuation of vital energy emanating from him was also different from the information Xiao Shi had received in the mission beforehand; it was no longer Entering Martial Realm Sixth Rank, but had already reached Entering Martial Realm Seventh Rank!

Beside him, there was also a Black-Clothed Old Man, also at Entering Martial Realm Seventh Rank!

Xiao Shi’s expression immediately became solemn.

He couldn't help but ponder where the plan had gone wrong this time.

“Could it be Yin She?”

He recalled carefully.

From Yin She’s various behaviors, he should not betray the Night Watch Division.

But intuition told Xiao Shi that the reason this plan failed must be because of Yin She.

“Could it be…”

Xiao Shi’s heart stirred.

He thought of a possibility!

Kuangfeng Stronghold Lord, Xu Feng, and the old man beside him clapped their hands as they walked into the room, trapping Xiao Shi inside.

“I must say, among all the Night Watch who have infiltrated my Kuangfeng Stronghold, you are the most cautious, the smartest, and the one with the most hope of success.”

Kuangfeng Stronghold Lord, Xu Feng, commented with a smile.

“If you were the first Night Watch to infiltrate my Kuangfeng Stronghold, I think you would have succeeded by now, but unfortunately… I’ve long known that Yin She is an undercover agent you Night Watch Division planted.”

“The reason I didn’t kill him, allowing him to continue being your undercover agent, was to use him to lure you Night Watch in to your deaths!”

“From the moment Yin She brought me wine, I guessed that you would take action; although I couldn’t figure out your specific plan, I knew it must be related to this wine…”

“So, I didn’t drink a single drop of wine today!”

Xiao Shi sighed in his heart.

It was indeed so!

Just as he thought.

It was just a pity that he realized too late.

This time, he had been careless after all!

In fact, when Yin She told him that in the past, after those Night Watch failed, the undercover agents who helped them infiltrate were all exposed, he should have realized this point.

Yin She had helped several Night Watch infiltrate Kuangfeng Stronghold consecutively, and other undercover agents were exposed because of it; why could he continue to hide?

He should have realized long ago that Yin She’s identity had already been exposed.

No matter what… Xu Feng would pay special attention to this undercover agent.

“Using our Night Watch Division’s undercover agent to fish, that’s indeed something I didn’t expect, but… you also made a very serious mistake.”

A meaningful smile appeared on Xiao Shi’s face.

“Hmm?”

Xu Feng’s eyes narrowed slightly.