23: Chapter 23 Fishing in Troubled Waters

"How is the search for the Two Yin going?"

Hearing Liu Xi's words, Witch Hand and Witch Foot's eyelids twitched, and they became apprehensive.

Finally, Witch Hand braced himself and replied, "Reporting to the director, for the time being... there are... no results yet."

"Useless!" Liu Xi roared in anger, a murderous glint hidden in his gaze as he looked at the two.

Witch Hand and Witch Foot immediately knelt down in fear.

Immediately after, Witch Hand lowered his head and explained, "director, please forgive us! It's not that your subordinates aren't doing our best, but women with the Pure Yin Fate are already hard to find. On top of that, they must have practiced decent Martial Arts; it's truly like searching for a needle in a haystack."

Witch Foot followed suit, saying, "Exactly, we ask the director to grant us a few more days!"

Liu Xi naturally knew this matter was difficult to handle. His outburst was merely because the arrival of the Five Yang experts like Tie Ruyun was imminent. Feeling anxious, he wanted to urge the progress of the Two Yin. Hearing their words, he took the opportunity to back down: "Then this director will give you a bit more time."

"If there are still no results before the Seven Stars Align, and my great cause is delayed, do not blame this director for showing no mercy!"

Witch Hand and Witch Foot hurriedly kowtowed in gratitude: "Thank you, director!"

...

Night fell, and dark clouds obscured the moon.

At the Inn, Tie Ruyun was pondering with Mad Bull Li Gao, True Person Yuanyang, Divine Walker Zhao Qianhe, and Iron Abacus Meng Zhongliu about the purpose of Liu Xi's urgent summons to Chang'an.

Suddenly, a throwing dagger shot in from outside the window and embedded itself into a pillar in the room.

Tie Ruyun and the others were startled.

Mad Bull Li Gao and Divine Walker Zhao Qianhe instinctively wanted to go out and chase the person.

True Person Yuanyang noticed a note attached to the dagger and quickly called them back, then unfolded the note on the table.

The five of them leaned in to look and saw a line of words written on the note: If you wish to know the inside story of this trip, tonight at midnight, Chang'an Street Inn.

Tie Ruyun and the others looked at each other, speechless for a moment.

After a short while, Meng Zhongliu fiddled with the abacus in his hand and said, "I'm afraid this is a trap."

Li Gao had a reckless personality, a violent temper, and was even a bit crazed, hence he was called the 'Mad Bull.'

Hearing this, he spoke with total indifference, "Whether it's a trap or not, won't we know once we go? Even if it is a trap, with the Martial Arts of the five of us, if we want to leave, who can stop us?"

True Person Yuanyang also said, "Chang'an is the capital of this dynasty; there shouldn't be any major problems."

Zhao Qianhe turned his gaze toward Tie Ruyun: "Alliance Leader Tie, what do you think?"

Tie Ruyun stroked his beard and said, "Since we've come, we must clarify things. Let's go and see."

And so, the matter was settled.

On the roof, Meng Li, having heard the whole story, quietly returned to his room to change into the night-traveling clothes he had prepared in advance. He adjusted his state and waited for the right moment.

Soon, it was nearing midnight.

Tie Ruyun and the other four set out together for the Chang'an Street Inn.

Meng Li put on a headscarf and a mask, following them in the shadows.

At midnight, not a soul could be seen on the streets.

Just as Tie Ruyun's group entered the Inn, they saw a group of masked men in black jumping down from the upper floor with blades in hand.

Tie Ruyun swept his gaze across and saw there were ten opponents, double their own number, and he couldn't help but frown slightly.

The next second, the ten masked men charged without a word, forming an encirclement to kill them.

Seeing this, the bellicose Li Gao directly swung the iron staff in his hand to meet the challenge.

Seeing the situation, Tie Ruyun and the other four knew a fight was unavoidable, so they all drew their weapons and joined the fray.

Tie Ruyun wielded a two-handed longsword, sweeping in all directions.

Meng Zhongliu took the path of unconventional weapons, using an Iron Abacus for skillful close-quarters combat and entanglement.

True Person Yuanyang held his sword, handling the situation with poise as he dodged and moved.

Zhao Qianhe had the best Lightness Skill; holding a short sword, he moved through the rafters to disrupt the formation of the ten masked experts.

Watching from the doorway, Meng Li marveled at the display in his heart, while also preparing to strike.

At that moment, a masked expert was knocked back by Tie Ruyun's sword, happening to retreat right to the doorway.

He saw Meng Li and froze for a moment.

Wearing a full set of night-traveling clothes, a black headscarf, and a mask—one of their own?

What are you doing hiding at the door?

Slacking off and fishing in troubled waters?

Aren't you afraid of...

The masked expert's speculative thoughts were cut short before they could finish, because Meng Li struck while he was dazed.

A heavy palm strike to wound him, and a hand to seize him.

Then he dragged him to a nearby corner, pinned his vital points, and activated the Wedding Dress Divine Skill!

He had experimented with this set of maneuvers many times over the past two years on villains and criminals, and had specifically simulated it in his mind before coming to the Inn. He was as familiar with it as could be.

The masked expert had just recovered from the shock of his 'comrade's' sneak attack when, before he could figure out the situation, he felt his Internal Energy rapidly leaking and draining away. His eyes widened, and he said with terror, "Absorbing Qi..."

Well, here's another one who hasn't seen the Wedding Dress Divine Skill before!

Meng Li dislocated the man's jaw with one hand, laughing inwardly.

This masked expert indeed hadn't seen the Wedding Dress Divine Skill before, because Yao Yue's fierce reputation was too great for him to dare provoke her.

At the same time, in his understanding, Yao Yue's Martial Arts were supreme and her personality was arrogant; she disdained sneak attacks.

On the contrary, Liu Xi was the one who frequently carried out sneak attacks.

That's why, the moment his energy was being drained, he thought of the Absorbing Qi Technique rather than the Wedding Dress Divine Skill.

Meng Li didn't bother explaining. Once he had drained the opponent's Martial Arts, he used the Great Force Vajra Palm, which he had 'learned' by chance from a Shaolin Monastery renegade, to kill him. Since he had decided to hide his identity, he had to disguise himself thoroughly, leaving no flaws in his Martial Arts either.

Furthermore, while it was true he was a reasonable person, he also looked at the occasion and timing.

Right now was clearly not the time for chatter.

Besides, this group was ten against five; they clearly had no martial ethics to speak of.

After finishing the man off, Meng Li pulled off his mask and took a look, finding a plain-looking middle-aged man. He didn't recognize him, but could roughly deduce he was from the Kongtong Sect. This was because after absorbing the man's Martial Arts and comparing the traits with the general knowledge of various sects' Martial Arts he'd gained from chatting with Tie Ruyun, he could be certain these techniques belonged to the Kongtong Sect.

Next, he circulated his energy to adapt to the increased Internal Energy in his body, then turned and crept toward the Inn.

The chaotic battle was still ongoing inside; the disappearance of that Kongtong Sect expert had gone unnoticed.

This was normal. It was the middle of the night and the light was dim. Even if the people inside were experts, their vision would be limited.

Plus, there were many people inside, the majority of whom were masked and dressed in black, and it was a chaotic melee.

If only one person disappeared, no one would notice in the short term.

But over time, someone would likely sense something was wrong.

Therefore, Meng Li did not hesitate, seizing the opportunity to sneak attack another masked man and drag him away.

This scene happened to be witnessed by another masked man who had been defeated and retreated to the side.

He froze on the spot, his head full of questions.

One of their own attacking their own, then dragging the person away?

What kind of operation is this?

Although he didn't understand it, he saw that something was wrong and immediately shouted in a low, heavy voice, "Something's wrong! There's a traitor! Retreat!"

Having said that, without waiting for his other accomplices to react, he turned and fled through a window.

This behavior left everyone else on the field stunned, and they instinctively stopped fighting.

The next second, the more alert ones among the masked men quickly scanned the scene and instantly noticed that more than one of their own was missing. The gap between them and Tie Ruyun's group was no longer large, and they feared they wouldn't come out on top if they continued. Thus, they quickly seized the opportunity to flee on the spot.

Tie Ruyun and the other four then snapped out of it and hurriedly took the chance to attack the remaining masked men who were a beat slower to react, intending to capture them alive to interrogate them for the truth.

...