Cheng Mo was surprised and didn’t understand why Zi Xiao pulled out in such a hurry when he suddenly heard people approaching. They had lowered the sound of their breathing and it was obvious that it was an ambush. Zi Xiao had already tidied his clothes and helped Cheng Mo get dressed. He grabbed his long sword that was leaning against the wall of the carriage. Shu Changhua raised his head and gently pushed Qin Fangchuan away from him before the whistling sound of arrows pierced through the air. Qin Fangchuan was pushed off his horse by Shu Changhua and after stumbling a few steps backwards, he was shocked to realise that the dozen or so arrows were all aimed at him. The second wave of arrows rained down towards Qin Fangchuan. Qin Fangchuan quickly retreated and the ground in front of him was filled with arrows. Shu Changhua used the saddle to support himself as he jumped up and rushed towards the person lurking in the nearest tree. The person had no intention of fighting with Shu Changhua, so he simply did a flip and jumped to the tree behind him. Shu Changhua did not intend to chase after him, but there were more than ten archers lurking in the trees. Shu Changhua alone could not stop all of the arrows that were aiming at Qin Fangchuan. Zi Xiao stepped out of the carriage with his sword in his hand and with a slight leap, he and Shu Changhua attacked from behind and blocked the way of an archer. However, at this moment, he saw Qin Fangchuan forced to retreat in a specific direction. Once his body leaned against one of the big trees, a pair of iron cuffs suddenly appeared on both sides of the thick tree trunk and cuffed Qin Fangchuan’s arms. Qin Fangchuan was startled and the ground beneath him disappeared and he fell through the gap. The whole process was over in an instant, everything in the woods was restored to its original state and the archers in the trees retreated. Shu Changhua wanted to save Qin Fangchuan, but when he landed in front of the big tree, the ground was already solid under his feet and he was unable to find the tunnel that suddenly appeared. Zi Xiao dragged the archer they caught towards their carriage and held his sword to his neck. “Who are you?”
Shu Changhua rested one hand on the tree trunk and stroked the rough bark, but he could not find out how to trigger the mechanism again. When Cheng Mo got off the carriage, his cheeks were rosy and a few strands of his hair that were damp from sweat were stuck to the side of his face. He asked: “Was Mr Qin kidnapped?”
Shu Changhua filled his feet with his internal energy and stepped on the dirt ground beneath him, but could not find anything unusual. He sighed: “What an ingenious mechanism.”
“Mechanism…” Cheng Mo walked towards Zi Xiao and looked at the man on the ground before saying: “The Luoyang Qianji Yun family?”
The man remained silent. Cheng Mo asked again: “Why did you kidnap Qin Fangchuan?”
The man finally answered slowly: “I don’t know anything. I was just ordered to kidnap a weak young man with white hair.”
Shu Changhua walked over and said softly: “You can’t get any answers like this. Why not let me interrogate him.”
Cheng Mo saw that when he raised his fingers slightly, a dark red insect poked its head out from his fingertips through the gloves. He shook his head and said: “Forget it. Let’s go to Luoyang first and return to the Wulin Alliance’s secret branch in Luoyang. I want to formally greet the branch and also pay a visit to the Qianji Yun family.”
The Wulin Alliance has many secret branches throughout the Central Plains and they were all set up by the previous Alliance Leader – Cheng Mo’s father. It was not that the rest of the martial arts world was completely unaware of their existence, but they have always kept a low profile and they have never been involved in the Wulin Alliance. Instead, they operated in the dark and were responsible for collecting all kinds of intelligence for the Wulin Alliance. The Wulin Alliance disciples reported the current situation of the Qianji Yun family to Cheng Mo. Cheng Mo listened carefully and questioned doubtfully: “You say that the current head of the Yun family is Yun Xiaoxing, but he has an older brother?”
The disciple replied: “Yes. Yun Xiaoxing’s older brother is Yun Shuxing. However, he has not been seen in Luoyang for a very long time.”
Cheng Mo asked: “Then is there any news about any disputes between the Yun family and Qin Fangchuan? Or does he have a request for Qin Fangchuan?”
The disciple shook his head and said: “I don’t know.”
Cheng Mo fell silent in thought. Zi Xiao was seated to the side and was drinking tea quietly. Shu Changhua thought for a moment and said: “Maybe it’s both.”
Cheng Mo looked at him. Shu Changhua continued: “That kid has offended a lot of people already. Perhaps he might have had a dispute with the Yun family previously, but the Yun family has a request for him so they simply kidnapped him.”
Cheng Mo sighed: “In any case, I do need to personally visit the Yun family. We have to keep an eye on the man we captured today. We’ll prepare to pay our respects to the Yun family tomorrow and we will take him with us.”
Qin Fangchuan’s two children were dejected and they were in low spirits. Cheng Mo arranged for them to rest first. The three of them had a simple dinner. When they were done with their meal, Zi Xiao set down his chopsticks and said: “I want to search the Yun family’s estate tonight.”
Cheng Mo was surprised and repeated: “Tonight?”
Zi Xiao said: “He was just kidnapped. Now is the best time to save him.”
Cheng Mo said worriedly: “The Yun family’s estate has many traps. I’m afraid that it wouldn’t be that easy to find someone. Why don’t we wait until I visit them tomorrow?”
Shu Changhua replied: “If the Yun family really respected you, then they wouldn’t have kidnapped him without a word today. If you ask me, I do think it is a good idea to have a look tonight. However, I think it’s better for me to go instead of Taoist Zi Xiao.”
Zi Xiao looked at him and questioned: “Why?”
Shu Changhua laughed and said: “Cheng Mo can’t be alone. If the Yun family’s estate has many traps and once you get in you are unable to get out, it would be more appropriate for you to accompany him to visit the Yun family tomorrow instead of me, a demonic cultivator.”
Cheng Mo was surprised and didn’t understand why Zi Xiao pulled out in such a hurry when he suddenly heard people approaching. They had lowered the sound of their breathing and it was obvious that it was an ambush. Zi Xiao had already tidied his clothes and helped Cheng Mo get dressed. He grabbed his long sword that was leaning against the wall of the carriage. Shu Changhua raised his head and gently pushed Qin Fangchuan away from him before the whistling sound of arrows pierced through the air. Qin Fangchuan was pushed off his horse by Shu Changhua and after stumbling a few steps backwards, he was shocked to realise that the dozen or so arrows were all aimed at him. The second wave of arrows rained down towards Qin Fangchuan. Qin Fangchuan quickly retreated and the ground in front of him was filled with arrows. Shu Changhua used the saddle to support himself as he jumped up and rushed towards the person lurking in the nearest tree. The person had no intention of fighting with Shu Changhua, so he simply did a flip and jumped to the tree behind him. Shu Changhua did not intend to chase after him, but there were more than ten archers lurking in the trees. Shu Changhua alone could not stop all of the arrows that were aiming at Qin Fangchuan. Zi Xiao stepped out of the carriage with his sword in his hand and with a slight leap, he and Shu Changhua attacked from behind and blocked the way of an archer. However, at this moment, he saw Qin Fangchuan forced to retreat in a specific direction. Once his body leaned against one of the big trees, a pair of iron cuffs suddenly appeared on both sides of the thick tree trunk and cuffed Qin Fangchuan’s arms. Qin Fangchuan was startled and the ground beneath him disappeared and he fell through the gap. The whole process was over in an instant, everything in the woods was restored to its original state and the archers in the trees retreated. Shu Changhua wanted to save Qin Fangchuan, but when he landed in front of the big tree, the ground was already solid under his feet and he was unable to find the tunnel that suddenly appeared. Zi Xiao dragged the archer they caught towards their carriage and held his sword to his neck. “Who are you?”
Shu Changhua rested one hand on the tree trunk and stroked the rough bark, but he could not find out how to trigger the mechanism again. When Cheng Mo got off the carriage, his cheeks were rosy and a few strands of his hair that were damp from sweat were stuck to the side of his face. He asked: “Was Mr Qin kidnapped?”
Shu Changhua filled his feet with his internal energy and stepped on the dirt ground beneath him, but could not find anything unusual. He sighed: “What an ingenious mechanism.”
“Mechanism…” Cheng Mo walked towards Zi Xiao and looked at the man on the ground before saying: “The Luoyang Qianji Yun family?”
The man remained silent. Cheng Mo asked again: “Why did you kidnap Qin Fangchuan?”
The man finally answered slowly: “I don’t know anything. I was just ordered to kidnap a weak young man with white hair.”
Shu Changhua walked over and said softly: “You can’t get any answers like this. Why not let me interrogate him.”
Cheng Mo saw that when he raised his fingers slightly, a dark red insect poked its head out from his fingertips through the gloves. He shook his head and said: “Forget it. Let’s go to Luoyang first and return to the Wulin Alliance’s secret branch in Luoyang. I want to formally greet the branch and also pay a visit to the Qianji Yun family.”
The Wulin Alliance has many secret branches throughout the Central Plains and they were all set up by the previous Alliance Leader – Cheng Mo’s father. It was not that the rest of the martial arts world was completely unaware of their existence, but they have always kept a low profile and they have never been involved in the Wulin Alliance. Instead, they operated in the dark and were responsible for collecting all kinds of intelligence for the Wulin Alliance. The Wulin Alliance disciples reported the current situation of the Qianji Yun family to Cheng Mo. Cheng Mo listened carefully and questioned doubtfully: “You say that the current head of the Yun family is Yun Xiaoxing, but he has an older brother?”
The disciple replied: “Yes. Yun Xiaoxing’s older brother is Yun Shuxing. However, he has not been seen in Luoyang for a very long time.”
Cheng Mo asked: “Then is there any news about any disputes between the Yun family and Qin Fangchuan? Or does he have a request for Qin Fangchuan?”
The disciple shook his head and said: “I don’t know.”
Cheng Mo fell silent in thought. Zi Xiao was seated to the side and was drinking tea quietly. Shu Changhua thought for a moment and said: “Maybe it’s both.”
Cheng Mo looked at him. Shu Changhua continued: “That kid has offended a lot of people already. Perhaps he might have had a dispute with the Yun family previously, but the Yun family has a request for him so they simply kidnapped him.”
Cheng Mo sighed: “In any case, I do need to personally visit the Yun family. We have to keep an eye on the man we captured today. We’ll prepare to pay our respects to the Yun family tomorrow and we will take him with us.”
Qin Fangchuan’s two children were dejected and they were in low spirits. Cheng Mo arranged for them to rest first. The three of them had a simple dinner. When they were done with their meal, Zi Xiao set down his chopsticks and said: “I want to search the Yun family’s estate tonight.”
Cheng Mo was surprised and repeated: “Tonight?”
Zi Xiao said: “He was just kidnapped. Now is the best time to save him.”
Cheng Mo said worriedly: “The Yun family’s estate has many traps. I’m afraid that it wouldn’t be that easy to find someone. Why don’t we wait until I visit them tomorrow?”
Shu Changhua replied: “If the Yun family really respected you, then they wouldn’t have kidnapped him without a word today. If you ask me, I do think it is a good idea to have a look tonight. However, I think it’s better for me to go instead of Taoist Zi Xiao.”
Zi Xiao looked at him and questioned: “Why?”
Shu Changhua laughed and said: “Cheng Mo can’t be alone. If the Yun family’s estate has many traps and once you get in you are unable to get out, it would be more appropriate for you to accompany him to visit the Yun family tomorrow instead of me, a demonic cultivator.”
