The situation in Wansui Gu was still intense.
One of the men who fought Jinshui forced him to clash their palms, surprising Jinshui because that man turned out to have strong inner energy, instantly staggering him. Another man's blade almost slashed his back, but dodging the blade forced him to take another hit from the man who had strong inner energy.
That man's hand seemed to move to the left but suddenly attacked from the right. His attack looked like a palm strike yet suddenly turned into a fist, what seemed far away was already close, every movement was extremely fast and unpredictable, like a shapeless ghost hand.
Jinshui just fought someone who also used these kinds of moves a few days ago. He immediately recognized that under the black robes and face covering, his opponent was none other than Liangshan Liu Mo's second member who could conjure you ling shen shou or the ghostly palm, Ma Yongtao.
Those Liangshan demons were among the ones who supported Zhou Sangong's rebellion, no wonder the second disciple Zeng Baifeng could be so bold.
"Yu," Jinshui told his friend, "Liangshan Liu Mo."
At that time Huang Yu had come face to face with a very tall man, presumably the thief Wang Wei of Liangshan Liu Mo. Huang Yu couldn't find the other members around, and this worried him.
Meanwhile, Jinshui was still trying to deal with Ma Yongtao's you ling shen shou.
"Hua Jinshui, you still remember me," Ma Yongtao said, he quickly removed the cover of his face while still tightly blocking Jinshui, not giving him the chance to put any effort into exerting his internal energy.
However, Ma Yongtao had no real fighting intentions. He was just playing around and testing Jinshui's abilities. Every time his attack was about to hit Jinshui, he always pulled it back. He was tricky, and his seemingly dangerous attack was just for fun.
Jinshui started to realize that Ma Yongtao was just an outsider with his very own agenda, apparently not really wanting to support Zhou Sangong's rebellion.
However, the scholar was quite troublesome to him, making him unable to prevent the slaughter of Haitang Jian Pai's disciples. He saw some more black-robed men coming out of nowhere, dragging three other Haitang Jian Pai disciples, hanging them from a tree, and watching them die.
Jinshui attempted to leap toward the three Haitang Jian Pai disciples, recognizing one of them as the eighth disciple Yunxue. But Ma Yongtao continued to block him with his ghostly palm, giving him no chance. Jinshui had already drawn his sword and slashed quickly, but the ghostly palm movements wer even faster, really making him very anxious. Watching the three Haitang Jian Pai disciples lose their lives in front of him really made Jinshui feel a tightness in his chest.
Ma Yongtao showed a victorious smile. It might be his chance at that time to kill Jinshui or at least snatch his xuanlong sword. Only somehow, he did not take the opportunity.
The number of Zhou Sangong's followers did not seem to decrease until a dozen minutes later. Huang Yu was unbelievably busy, Yanzi's situation was the same. Zhou Xiangnu's temper exploded, everyone around her was hit by her whip, but she injured herself in the process. While her father screamed around giving orders to beat her mercilessly and it put her in a desperate situation.
Most of Zhou Sangong's followers apparently weren't Wansui Gu people. Their origin sects weren't clear. Their primary weapons were blades, which on average were made of bad iron, and looked dull and rusty, but their physical strength was tough. Yanzi's fists or Zhou Xiangnu's whips didn't affect them too much. They were bleeding, but not even the scratches of the weapons seemed to be felt.
Ma Yongtao led Jinshui away from the chaotic field, to the edge of the cliff and towards the cave where Xu Qiao was. Jinshui was aware that the scholar must not find out that there was anyone else he had to protect, he tried to strengthen his attack and shouted quite loudly, indirectly calling Zhu Baique to come and fight Ma Yongtao.
"Huang Yu Gege, you better help my sister deal with my father first," Yanzi shouted. "If you want to catch a snake, first catch its head."
Of course, Zhou Sangong had been wary of this tactic since the beginning. His people had also been arranged to force their enemies to disperse, not unite in one place. Yanzi, Zhou Xiangnu, and Yang Lei had already separated and were herded further away from Huang Yu.
Huang Yu was about to take a leap toward Zhou Sangong, but Wang Wei had already blocked him and attacked his feet repeatedly. Huang Yu lose his balance for only half a second and Wang Wei managed to push him to the ground, causing the young man to spit out a large amount of fresh blood.
A moment later Zhou Xiangnu was also brought down while Yang Lei desperately tried to protect her. Yanzi saw this condition, anxiety caught her off guard. The strike of the opponent's weapon was felt on her back, leaving a deep mark, and she immediately fell down. Dozens of needles in her hand that were ready to be thrown scattered on the ground.
"Catch them all!" Zhou Sangong gave an order.
But before his men had a chance to act against Huang Yu, Zhou Xiangnu, and Yanzi, the cave door of Zeng Baifeng's residence opened. No one was seen coming out of there, but Zhou Sangong and several people around him were suddenly hit by an extraordinary force, and instantly knocked down to the ground, blood spurted from their mouths, indicating that all of them had suffered deep injuries that instant.
Huang Yu still managed to roll on the ground, dodging the invisible force. Wang Wei, who was about to lay another punch on him, was also hit hard on his back and fell right in front of Huang Yu with both eyes bulging.
The situation changed in just one blink of an eye.
Huang Yu didn't miss the chance, a baihua chen needle was already in his hand, directly stuck into Wang Wei's head, killing him instantly. This Chailang descendant was indeed quite ruthless and able to act quickly, secret weapons seemed to be hidden in every part of his body and were ready to be used at any time.
The rest of Zhou Sangong's followers didn't expect events to turn around so quickly, they all became chaotic when they witnessed a human figure stepping out of the cavernous space, carrying Yuan Wancui on his arm, approaching Zhou Sangong who could no longer stand up.
Zhou Sangong tried to stand and run, but his strength was clearly not enough, he could only wait for his master's punishment.
"I have sworn not to kill people with my hands, but have never vowed not to hurt people," Zeng Baifeng said to Zhou Sangong, his expression uncharacteristically stiff. His tone was sharp, hiding a tremor that indicated some deep pain. Only Yanzi understood the most, Yuan Wancui was dead.
"Shifu...." Zhou Sangong tried to kneel before his master.
"Take it to the punishment cave," Zeng Baifeng ordered Duan Meng.
The words of the punishment cave were clearly familiar to Zhou Sangong's followers who were residents of Wansui Gu. They no longer cared about their leader who had been caught, some immediately turned around and took steps as fast as possible, the rest who knew that it was impossible to escape quickly knelt down to beg Zeng Baifeng for forgiveness. Their other comrades understood this situation, most chose to run away.
But Zeng Baifeng did not like a rebellion to break out and words spread out from Wansui Gu, damaging his reputation. He raised his hand, whistling softly with his fingertips. Some of those who were running away knew what this whistling meant, but however they quickened their pace, it was too late.
Hundreds or maybe thousands of small and large poisonous animals soon appeared from various directions and surrounded the place. There were snakes, centipedes, scorpions, and so on. All of them were Zeng Baifeng's pets, controlled by his whistling sound. Instant panic ensued.
Liao Xian carried Yin Xiuchen up the cliff above the cave where Xu Qiao and the others were. The sound of the bayinxiao flute was still heard, blocking the poisonous animals from passing through the entrance of the cave. Liao Xian and Yin Xiuchen also sounded their flutes silently to keep the great master Wansui Gu's pet away from them.
"Hua Jinshui, I'll play with you again next time," Ma Yongtao suddenly spoke to Jinshui, "tell Zhu Guniang I didn't have a chance to see her today."
He already took a leap towards the cliff before he utter the last sentence, using a distant voice to finish his words. Jinshui didn't give chase, apart from knowing the scholar's cunning as well as his own condition. The xuanlong sword in his hand still managed to grab a few striped snakes, then he retreated towards the cave.
Simultaneously, Huang Yu also pulled Yanzi to safety, while Duan Meng protected Zhou Xiangnu and Yang Lei.
None of those who escaped had ever left the Wansui Gu territory. Corpses lay strewn all over the place, even Yanzi was horrified to see her yeye now. Zeng Baifeng didn't kill a single person, but his pets killed dozens of lives on his orders, dozens of others groaning in agony from the poison that didn't immediately take their lives. Yanzi still managed to kneel down, begging for forgiveness for her father.
"Yeye, my father wronged you, but this was because someone provoked him... can... can you spare him?"
"There are still those who beg for Zhou Sangong, but no one begs for Xiaowan," Zeng Baifeng only said one sentence in response, cold and emotionless, completely unlike his usual self. Yanzi knew that Wansui Gu's punishment was worse than death, and there was practically no hope for her father.
"Yeye...."
Zeng Baifeng didn't care about anyone anymore. He still carried Yuan Wancui's body, carrying her towards the east, towards the most peaceful interior of the valley. His pets followed him, the others just escorted him from a distance.
But that day was not yet over.