Since Jinshui's identity as the primary descendant of Yumen was already exposed to the members of Jianyin Bang and Haitang Jian Pai and there were so many who wished for his death, Jinshui and his friends could not take the main road or walk through the bustling city. They continued the journey on a horse carriage, and Huang Yu asked Xiaoshan and Xiaohu to prepare the lodge, meals, and everything for them.
Leaving the Dongting Lake area, Huang Yu led Jinshui and the others heading west, and a few days later, they arrived at Anning Hegu (Valley of Peace). A complex of stone houses was hidden in that valley, and Huang Yu called it the residence of one of his father's old friends, an old merchant named Wang Ruanya.
Huang Yu asked Xu Qiao and Liuxin both to wait in their horse carriage, then asked Jinshui, Xiaohu, and Xiaoshan ahead to Wang Ruanya's residence.
"Jinshui Gege, why do we have to wait here?" Xu Qiao asked since she didn't want to be left behind for no apparent reason.
"Wang Laobo (Uncle Wang) has a son who is a bit of a jock, if he sees one of the two of you beauties, it will be troublesome," Huang Yu said, either telling the truth or making up words. "We are going to go there first to see if the masher boy is there or not. He often goes out, and I hope he really isn't home now."
"Qiao-er, just wait here," Jinshui gave Xu Qiao a subtle order. "Liuxin Meimei, you make sure she doesn't leave this place until we return."
"I know," replied Liuxin.
Jinshui turned around, set foot, and followed Huang Yu, hovering among the trees towards the hidden residence. Not long after they arrived there, they found a towering wall of a house built under a steep cliff. It was secluded residence, hidden better than Baitu Shanzhuang. It seemed that the occupant was not an ordinary merchant.
"Xiaohu, Xiaoshan, you two know what to do," Huang Yu suddenly said, "no one can leave this valley alive."
His words startled Jinshui, not knowing that they came here for killing anyone. He immediately confronted his friend.
"Yu, you want to kill the men in the valley?" he asked Huang Yu.
"Wang Ruanya is not a friend of my father, he is a traitor," replied Huang Yu. "Thirteen years ago he was the one who leaked the identity of all of Yumen's followers, causing them to be hunted down and killed along with their entire family. This person had also brought a lot of treasures and heirlooms belonging to our sect, stored in those buildings there. Chailang Shifu once gave me an order to take everything back. Over the past few years, I've spent a lot of effort trying to find this hidden residence in Anning Hegu."
He preceded Xiaoshan and Xiaohu off horseback, approached the gate in the middle of the high wall, and knocked several times. An old servant opened a small hole in the edge of the gate and looked outside, asking warily. Apparently, this house apart from being hidden, its residents were also very wary of strangers. It really represented the residence of a traitor.
"Tell your master, the son of Huang Weiqun, Huang Zongbiaotou from Hailang Biaoju is coming for another visit," Huang Yu said calmly. "We are also here to deliver some presents."
"You wait here," the servant replied unfriendly while closing the small hole, letting the guests stay outside.
Huang Yu waited patiently and asked Jinshui to cover the xuanlong sword on his back so it wouldn't be seen and recognized.
"You can kill that traitor," Jinshui said, "his servants and the others are innocent, spare them."
"So that they know who killed their master and get out of the valley telling everyone that the descendants of Yumen have come and started collecting old debts," Huang Yu replied flatly. "If I know you have this kind of thinking, I don't need to ask Xu Guniang to wait in the horse carriage, it would be better if she comes along to witness everything."
They were kept waiting for quite a while before the gate was finally opened, and the four of them were ushered in and escorted to a dreary-looking water garden. By then it was getting dark and no one lit the lanterns, only in the middle of a gazebo in the garden there was a candle that was already lit.
Xiaoshan and Xiaohu walked calmly and smiled politely all the time. They didn't show any intention to kill. Huang Yu really had those two trained well. No one will suspect two sweet young girls like them as sadistic assassins.
The way to the garden was guarded by a dozen men, from their appearance it seems that they were hitmen and criminals who were made guards. Apart from the little servants who opened the gate and ushered them into the garden, there was no other servant in sight.
In the middle of the garden gazebo sat a middle-aged man dressed in black silk who looked luxurious. He was tall and a little skinny and his face was pale like someone suffering from a strange disease. To the right and left of the middle-aged man stood two women dressed in light silk, presumably the man's concubines.
The servant escorted Huang Yu and his friends to the front of the gazebo, asking them not to step any further. The old man in luxury clothes didn't get up, only glanced briefly at their arrival, then drank the wine poured by one of his mistresses. A serrated saber laid on the table, and the luxury man had one hand on its hilt.
"The son of Huang Weiqun," the luxury man said in a rough voice. "What do you have for me today?"
"Wang Laobo, every year I come to see you on your birthday, each time bringing you a precious gift that you like." Huang Yu said with a smile, carrying a very attractive and familiar style, not in the least resembling a man who came to kill. "The last time we met, you were willing to invite me out for a drink, even to introduce me to your little niece, Jinglan. I come to visit you again this year, why do you keep me at a distance again?"
The luxury man was none other than the owner of Anning Hegu, Wang Ruanya, calling himself Kan Mo Dao (Demon Slashing Saber). As a traitor to Yumen, he had enjoyed some amount of gain over the past thirteen years, but also he never had a good night sleep, always wary and worried that someone might come to collect his head. The rumor of the emergence of the Yumen descendants in the last three years made him even more uneasy, making him afraid that one of them would find out about his tracery and come to take everything back.
"I'm not in a good mood, willing to invite you in is because of your late father, also because every year you always come to visit me and I trust you enough," Wang Ruanya said. "Every time you come you bring a different bodyguard, this time which another criminal was willing to submit to you?"
"Xiaohu dan Xiaoshan followed me all the time, Wang Laobo should remember them," Huang Yu said. "My new friend here is the fugitive of Jianyin Bang, but today I will not leave him here to become Wang Laobo's new bodyguard." He pointed at Jinshui. "He has quite good martial arts, of course, I have to keep it to protect myself."
"What did you bring me today?" Wang Ruanya asked again, glancing at Jinshui warily, at the same time pretending not to care.
"If I may ask, why is Wang Laobo in a bad mood today?" asked Huang Yu. "Is it because Anning Hegu has run out of good wine? Or is it because no woman has come here for a long time?"
"Jinglan has been missing for a few days," Wang Ruanya said. "I've sent my men to look for her, but so far haven't been able to find her."
"Oh," Huang Yu said curtly, still smiling as always.
Huang Yu gave signal to Xiaoshan and Xiaohu, and the two servants then each handed a wooden crate to the guard standing beside the gazebo. The luxury man asked the two bodyguards to open the wooden chest without coming any closer. One wooden chest turned out to contain a handkerchief embroidered with blue orchids, Huang Yu calmly took out the handkerchief and showed it to Wang Ruanya.
The handkerchief was also still wet with fresh blood, and inside the handkerchief was a small beaded bracelet. Huang Yu also showed it to Wang Ruanya. The luxury man looked shocked, suddenly grabbed his saber, and took two steps back in fear.
"What is this?" he asked Huang Yu. "Those handkerchiefs and bracelets belong to little Jinglan, how come they are on you?"
Huang Yu did not give him any answer. He took out the contain in the other box, a scroll of paintings, he also showed Wang Ruanya without opening it. A smile still graced his face, as if he was enjoying every bit of Wang Ruanya's reaction.
"I got this painting from my master," Huang Yu said again. "When he gave it, he said that the person in the painting was very unapproachable, had to meet him several times, give him valuable items, and patiently listen to his every story, slowly until he trusts you. After that, you only had one chance to kill him."
Before Huang Yu finished his words, a chess piece had already flown toward Wang Ruanya, instantly hitting his acupuncture points and petrifying him. Two other chess pieces followed and knocked out the two bodyguards in front of the gazebo. It was a secret weapon shrewd ability of Chailang's descendants, even Jinshui would not be able to do it so quickly, precisely, and unexpectedly by the opponent.
The two mistresses moved quickly and were about to free their master, but the flick of the chess piece earlier was also Huang Yu's signal for Xiaoshan and Xiaohu. The two servants had already grabbed the two mistresses, in each hand already held a knife and immediately slit the throats of the two women.
Everything happened so fast. At the same time, the two bodyguards standing in front of the gazebo also collapsed and the box in their hands fell to the ground. The two knives in Xiaoshan and Xiaohu's hands both moved quickly and stuck to Wang Ruanya's neck.
Xiaoshan and Xiaohu were very fast because they have been trained for this one single chance only and there was no room for failure. Huang Yu really had everything planned out in detail.
"Catch them all!" Wang Ruanya could still shout. "Whoever succeeds will get a big prize."
Dozens of bodyguards who were there already formed a formation, and surrounded Huang Yu and the others, their weapons were all drawn, only they did not dare to attack because their master's neck was threatened.
"Little Jinglan didn't feel a pain," Huang Yu said as he unrolled the painting in his hand, he still stood quietly on his spot confidently, unaffected by the threat of so many weapons around him. "She will soon meet her mother and father."
"You…." Wang Ruanya looked at him in shock. The painting in Huang Yu's hand had been opened to reveal a painting of himself, holding the same demon-slashing saber that was held in his hand. The painting was torn at the neck, and just like the embroidered handkerchief earlier, it was also soaked in blood.
"I am the descendant of one of Yumen's guardians, Chailang Cai Wennian, Cai Shifu," Huang Yu said again, this time without a smile on his face. "This bodyguard who came with me today is Hua Jinshui, the son of our late jiaozhu, Wu Youwei, Wu Jiaozhu. Traitor Wang Ruanya, how can you not recognize him?"
"You…." Wang Ruanya tried to point at Jinshui, recognizing the figure and face that resembled the late Yumen leader. It's just that he was not an important member before, and had never personally seen the supreme leader of the sect, so just now when he saw Jinshui come as Huang Yu's bodyguard he also didn't think of anything about his identity.
"That's enough," Huang Yu said at last, "kill him."
Xiaoshan and Xiaohu didn't wait for another command, directly slit Wang Ruanya's throat, and let the man fall to the floor dying. Simultaneously, Huang Yu also scattered a number of chess pieces, knocking down Wang Ruanya's bodyguards in one move.
The fight took place right away. Huang Yu and Jinshui were surrounded by many people, and both of them had to draw their weapons. Xiaoshan and Xiaohu had done their job, then stepped in to help. Huang Yu and these two servants were just as vile, every strike of their hands was death to anyone who approached. Jinshui knew his friend intended to eliminate all of Wang Ruanya's bodyguards, and if he used the xuanlong sword and joined him in the massacre, this place would soon be flooded with unnecessary blood.
Jinshui exerted Moying's inner energy to knock out as many of the Wang Ruanya bodyguards around him as possible. Ten people fall to the ground, and their formation was a bit chaotic, didn't expect that the ones coming had high martial arts abilities.
"Stop!" Jinshui suddenly shouted loudly, aimed at Huang Yu and his two servants. He also grabbed one man who was nearly strangled by Huang Yu by the neck and pushed him aside. That man was holding his neck, only a moment later did he realize that his neck was not broken yet.
The fight stopped, Jinshui's shout made everyone's ears ache. Some of Wang Ruanya's bodyguards immediately realized that Jinshui didn't want to kill them, some were about to attack but were waiting for anyone to start.
"Stop the killing," Jinshui said to Huang Yu. "Carrying out a massacre like this is not the work of our Yumen people."
"They are supporters of a traitor, they deserve to die too," Huang Yu retorted sharply, hatred was clearly seen on his face.
"The traitor is dead," said Jinshui again, "that's enough."
Two of the guards came closer to Jinshui and Huang Yu. Both were men about three or forty years old, one man was blind in one eye, and his friend had his right leg mutilated. Even though they both had disabilities, their faces were very lively and they didn't seem to be affected by their physical flaws.
"Who are you?" the blind one asked. "Why did you kill our master?"
"We are the descendants of Yumen," Huang Yu replied, avoiding Jinshui and seeming to be looking for an opportunity to kill again. "Your master betrayed our jiaozhu years ago, and it is a regret to us that you must also be buried with him."
Chailang's inner energy had already gathered in his two hands and was directly aimed at the two disabled. The two of them were agile enough to dodge backward, but Huang Yu was faster and went after them.
Jinshui of course didn't let him, he jumped ahead of his friend, pushed the two men aside, and confronted Huang Yu's attack. The two immediately clashed in the middle of the garden.
"Why are you defending them?" Huang Yu asked angrily.
"I'm not defending them, I just don't like seeing you killing the innocents."
The inner energy given Moying was however stronger than Chailang's. Jinshui managed to push Huang Yu away, not hurting him, but xuanlong sword was suddenly unsheathed and stuck to Huang Yu's neck, startling everyone.
"If you insist to kill them, I won't hesitate," Jinshui said firmly.
"You're going to kill me?" asked Huang Yu.
"Yumen's rules are quite clear," Jinshui replied, "disobeying orders from jiaozhu, the penalty is death"
"What did you say?"
Jinshui put back his sword, then jumped onto the bridge in the garden, his flying style was beautiful and impressive. He stood on the bridge, facing everything with sharp eyes.
"Brothers, I am Hua Jinshui, son of the late eleventh generation Yumen Jiao leader Tongjian Leishen Wu Youwei," he said in a calm yet very clear voice. "Today I came here as the primary descendant of Yumen and the twelfth-generation leader. Your master Wang Ruanya is a traitor to my father and has caused the deaths of many of our brothers and their families, a crime that cannot be punished with just one death."
His words made everyone present speechless, even Huang Yu instantly forgot his intention to slaughter all the inhabitants of the valley. The one-eyed man and his one-legged friend were also listening attentively.
"If anyone of you today is willing to join our Yumen, then I Hua Jinshui will gladly accept," Jinshui continued. "Those who are not willing, you can leave now and I promise we will not get in your way."
Wang Ruanya's bodyguards looked at each other and a moment later whispered to each other. Huang Yu and his two servants were waiting for the result. However, they didn't expect Jinshui to take over and turn things around like this.
"The rumor in the martial world that Yumen Jiao has already prepared its descendants is true," someone was heard saying.
"He's here now," another one added.
"The reputation of our Yumen in the past was clear, I'm sure you all here have heard of it," Jinshui said again. "Our goal, our struggle, I don't need to explain anymore here. I Hua Jinshui intends to revive Yumen, and restore its former glory without any cruelty and injustice. If you are willing to support, then Hua Jinshui will be very grateful."
Everyone present was greatly affected by Jinshui's words, several people immediately cheered and declared that they would become Yumen's new followers. One-eyed and one-legged, apparently the two most influential among Wang Ruanya's bodyguards nodded their heads and clasped their hands together at Jinshui.
"Yumen's past reputation is well known to us," the one-legged said, "Yumen under Tongjian Leishen Wu Youwei was formed to deal with the cruelty of the real heretic sect, and we really appreciate this purpose. Most of us here are former members of the gang of robbers from Lushan, working for Wang Ruanya because we think he is a remnant of the Yumen members who were forced to go into exile."
"But you just said several times that he is a traitor, we also just found out that we were wrong," his one-eyed brother continued. "Even though we are members of the robbers, we highly respect brotherhood and look down on traitors. Moreover, we also greatly appreciate people who oppose cruelty and even dare to fight against their own brothers to prove it."
The words of the two disables were clearly aimed at Huang Yu, and were immediately greeted with cheers by the other bodyguards. Huang Yu smiled to himself, his emotions had subsided, and was also influenced by Jinshui's words just now so he realized he almost made a mistake.