Wuu, shouldering Sun Yixie, proceeded into the cave, advancing along the path.
Not far along, a source of light already appeared ahead.
Without a doubt, there must be some sort of lighting setup inside the cave, or else those six guys wouldn't have been able to settle down there for long periods.
At first, out of fear that villagers would explore the cave, those six kept a low profile, only installing some oil lamp brackets embedded in the walls far from the entrance. But later, having figured out the temperament of the villagers, they grew bolder, moving the lamp brackets closer to the outside—anyway, as long as the light inside couldn't be seen from the entrance, all was fine.
After a short while, Wuu had already made several turns and twists and had traveled quite a distance. It was unclear which fork in the road or corner of the cave he had reached.
Finally, upon reaching a dead end, he stopped.
He wasn't tired, but he was planning to execute Brother Sun right there on the spot.
People can be like this sometimes, especially those driven by lust. Once their desires cloud their judgment, they'll throw caution to the wind. At that moment, Wuu thought, why should every girl that's brought here have to be touched by Kang Haijiao first? And after him, it would be the Second Brother, Third Brother, Fourth Brother... By the time it was his turn, they would be nothing but spent flowers, wilted willows—what fun could there be in that?
So, this time he had decided to be the first to have a taste. After the deed was done he planned to threaten the girl into silence. Besides, even if it all came to light eventually, Wuu felt... that his brothers wouldn't turn on him over a woman who was bound to die sooner or later; at worst they would just scold him a little.
With his mind made up, he brought the "girl" to a secluded corner of the cave...
"Hehe, my dear~" After gently setting down Sun Yixie, he rubbed his hands sleazily and laughed, "You've been waiting anxiously, haven't you? Don't worry, Master Wu will make you truly happy now."
As he spoke, he reached out to lift the veil covering Sun Yixie's head.
At that moment, Wuu was as excited as one waiting for lottery results, full of anticipation for the "girl's" face before him.
However, the instant the veil was lifted... Wuu was startled by the face of the man that appeared. That's when Sun Yixie launched a surprise attack, delivering a groin kick as swift as lightning.
The Sun Yixie of today was no longer the man he had been. With five years' worth of power from Iron Monk Yi Huai, his strength and speed had greatly increased. That kick of his... let's just say the preparations for scrambled eggs were complete.
Faced with such a ferocious move, Wuu had no chance to react. By the time he felt the pain, grabbed his crotch, squeezed his legs together, and knelt down... his crotch area was already a wet, sticky mess...
"Yi——"
Anyone who has been kicked in the groin knows that when a man is hit hard in that area, he can't shout "Ah——". He can only grunt or let out a low moan.
Wuu was in that very state.
You could see him clutching his crotch, kneeling down, tipping forward, only managing to let out a strangely high-pitched groan.
Seeing him in distress, Sun Yixie chuckled. "How does it feel? Is it refreshingly cool down there?"
Under normal circumstances, that kick should have incapacitated the opponent for at least five minutes.
But Sun Yixie was not the kind to let his guard down just because his opponent was temporarily helpless. Having seen too many sudden "leg hug kills" and "black brick slaps" in the fish market, he wouldn't be reassured until the foe was completely dealt with.
Swift as light, before Wuu could even catch a breath from the first blow, Sun Yixie's consecutive moves were already upon him. With a motion resembling a modern soccer volley, he aimed another kick at the opponent's chin.
Wuu, like a turtle flipped on its back, was kicked from his kneeling position, sent flying backward, landing with his back on the ground, face up... then rolled to his side. Throughout this whole process, his hands never left his groin, because the pain from there was still more intense than from his chin.
Still not finished, Sun Yixie sensed a threat in the opponent's still mobile limbs. So, he nonchalantly picked up a stone from the ground and promptly smashed Wuu's joints in both arms and legs.
Having reached this point... he finally felt somewhat at ease.
Then, stepping on Wuu's chest from above, he looked down and said, "Heh... brother, I'm indeed quite happy now. But I wonder, are you?"
"You... you..." Wuu was just beginning to recover from the series of cruel sneak attacks, "You're... a man..."
"Hehe..." Sun Yixie laughed triumphantly, "Indeed, I am a man." He said, glancing at the bloodstain that had seeped through Wuu's trousers, "But as for you... it's hard to say now."
At this, Wuu was nearly grinding his teeth to dust, "I don't care who you are, my brothers won't let you off the hook. If you know what's good for you, let me go now! Otherwise, once Master Wu has recovered, I'll slaughter your entire village... Mmph—"
Before he could finish his sentence, Sun Yixie's shoe sole was already pressing down on his cheek, tilting his mouth aside: "I don't care who you are. I have questions for you. Smarten up and give me a full account. Otherwise, I'll make you eat back what you've lost down there from up here."
...
Meanwhile, Huang Donglai had also infiltrated the Dragon King Cave and quickly followed Third Brother and Sixth Brother, who had entered shortly before him.
In truth, Huang Donglai's tracking skills weren't particularly impressive, but since those two thieves had entered the cave shouldering "offerings", their heavy burdens left deep footprints, making them nearly impossible to miss.
After catching up with the silhouettes of those two, Huang Donglai employed his qinggong to silence his footsteps, maintaining a cautious distance as he followed stealthily.
At this point, he had no idea that Wuu had taken Brother Sun away on his own. Logic dictated that Sun Yixie, the "bride", would also be delivered to the foes' lair along with the offerings.
Of course, this unexpected development didn't greatly affect their plans.
Being extremely cautious, Sun Yixie had already asked Huang Donglai for some "self-defense items" before coming. Plus, Brother Sun's martial arts skills had also improved, making it feasible for him to act alone.
All was silent on the way, and after following for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Third Brother and Sixth Brother arrived at their destination.
It was a larger space within the cave, not unlike the main bedroom of a devil's cave seen in TV dramas, complete with tables, chairs, and even a bed made from flat stones.
The lights inside that "room" were bright. Huang Donglai, hiding in a dark corner, looked on from a distance and saw that apart from the two who were carrying things, there were three others sitting around a table, drinking and feasting on meat.
At this time, Huang Donglai didn't know that he was facing a gang with a total of only six people. If he had known, things would have been much easier—he could have just burst out and blocked the entrance, a handful of poison dust thrown, and the entire gang would be caught in one net.
But since he was unaware, he decided to bide his time, fearing that any rash move might startle the snakes, causing more than a hundred people to surge out from elsewhere within the cave.
"Eh? Where's Wuu?" Inside, Kang Haijiao, who had been drinking, noticed that Third Brother and Sixth Brother had returned with the offerings, so he spat out a half-eaten bone and casually asked.
"Huh?" Upon hearing this, Third Brother's expression changed, "What? He hasn't come back?"
"Nope," Second Brother responded, "Aren't you supposed to be together? Why are you asking us?"
"This is bad..." Third Brother set down the items, slapping his thigh, "That kid is probably sneaking around some blind alley with that woman... already having his way with her."
"What?" Kang Haijiao only realized when he heard the word "woman" that besides stuff, a person had been delivered today as well, "What are you talking about? Explain clearly."
Upon which Third Brother briefly recounted what had transpired when he went out to "collect the offerings" with Wuu and Sixth Brother.
After hearing this, Kang Haijiao immediately started cursing, "Dammit... Third Brother, you too. Knowing this kid has a dangerous lust, how could you let him go alone with the girl?"
"This... I..." Third Brother was aggrieved, speechless upon being reprimanded.
"Forget it, Big Brother. We're all brothers here," Fourth Brother, who was educated, usually played the mediator in such situations, "Let's just consider it giving Wuu a break this time."
"Pah!" Unexpectedly, Kang Haijiao wasn't willing to step down. Slamming the table, he stood up angrily, "This kid has caused trouble over women more than once. And now he's brought it right on top of his own brothers? Can we just overlook this?"
"Big Brother, it's just a woman..." Second Brother tried to calm him, "Why get angry over this..."
"It's not about the woman!" Kang Haijiao waved his arm, a bit drunk, raising his voice, "Don't try to persuade me today! I'm going to clean house!"
This declaration was similar to the common phrase "It's not about the money". But at the end of the day, it really was about that very reason.
Rage can't be stopped.
A reasonable person might be persuaded, but for someone like Kang Haijiao, forget it; moreover, his brothers weren't going to throw themselves under the bus for Wuu's sake.
"Wait here. Third Brother, come with me." Kang Haijiao stepped to the weapons rack on the wall, grabbed his Wolf Fang Club, and stormed out angrily.
Third Brother obediently picked up a saber and followed.
The remaining three, seeing how things were, didn't bother to intercede. They simply continued to eat and drink.
Huang Donglai, observing everything from the shadows, pondered for a moment. He thought the three men in the room were unlikely to act for now; it would not be too late to deal with them later. Thus, he employed his qinggong and stealthily followed Kang Haijiao...