Yan Liqiang panted heavily for more than ten seconds as he watched that man slump to the floor before his breathing evened out. Then, he slowly walked to the front.
This basement was like a palace. Thick camel fur rugs were laid on the floor. Both sides of the tunnel were decorated with lavish wall candle holders made of silver and even the surrounding walls were decorated with gold and silver borders. There were also various weapons that were hanging on the wall as ornaments. Walking along this tunnel didn't feel like he was walking into the devils' lair, but instead, it felt like he had just wandered into a high-class clubhouse.
Yan Liqiang's heart raced even more wildly upon arriving at this area because he knew that people who were able to decorate such lavish basement were definitely not merely your average rich people. It seemed like the party he had provoked this time was of a different caliber. When he just entered the basement earlier, he thought it was some sort of dungeon. Even if there were people here, there would be only a few of them and he thought that he would be able to rescue those two girls by coming here. Little did he expect that the underground tunnel would actually lead to a place like this.
Judging from his current position, he was most likely right below the grand mansion with a big courtyard near the boutique.
In that exact moment, a warning flashed across Yan Liqiang's mind — this place was too dangerous. It wasn't a place he could handle by himself. It would be wisest for him to retreat for now and call for reliable backup later.
Just when that idea rose from Yan Liqiang's mind, he suddenly spotted a Horned Python Bow hanging on the wall.
That Horned Python Bow was a lot more gorgeous than the one that Zhou Yong had given to him. Its azure frame was exuding an exotically beautiful. The bow was hanging on a bow rack on the wall, with a quiver of arrows next to it.
When Yan Liqiang laid his eyes on this bow, he couldn't help but mutter under his breath that it seemed like lady luck was on his side after all.
To Yan Liqiang, the disparity in his battle strength between having no bow and a bow in his hands was ten folds apart. Seeing that Horned Python Bow was akin to seeing a powerful assistant for Yan Liqiang. He neared the wall and quickly plucked that Horned Python Bow off it. He felt the Horned Python Bow with his hands and realized that this one was sturdier than his own. It was probably a powerful bow of six piculs. At a time like this, a six-picul powerful bow was exactly what Yan Liqiang needed.
A quiver of arrows was next to this Horned Python Bow. At the first glance, Yan Liqiang discovered that there were exactly thirty-six arrows in it. The quiver that held the arrows was made out of high-quality deerskin specially made for archers. There was also a special belt for archers on its side. Beside the belt was a gleaming shortsword that was suitable for archers.
Yan Liqiang wasn't going to be shy now that he had spotted these babies. After he sheathed his kukri knife into the scabbard at the side of his thigh, he instantly equipped the new weapons as fast as possible.
Perhaps the owner of these weapons left them here display purposes or for show only. If that person knew Yan Liqiang had already equipped them on him, he'd definitely regret leaving them here.
Different sets of armor were hung on the wall as decoration. If it were possible, Yan Liqiang desperately wished he could wear all these ten armor suits. However, at this moment, they weren't something he could put on by himself. So Yan Liqiang had no choice but to give up on the idea of wearing the armor. He only took down the breastplate from the wall and strapped it in front of his chest.
After doing all this, Yan Liqiang mustered up his courage, took up the bow, nocked an arrow, and made his way deeper inside.
The passage was extremely quiet, without even a single soul in sight. Walking on the thick carpet, Yan Liqiang's footsteps were silent. Due to such silence in the surroundings, the voices in a distance could be heard very clearly.
"Is that Yan Liqiang really this impressive? He's just a new student in the martial arts academy…"
The voice came from somewhere ahead of the passage. When Yan Liqiang heard the voice, he wondered if his ears were playing a trick on him. How could someone be talking about him in this kind of place?
Yet almost instantly, another voice rang out and Yan Liqiang was able to confirm that he wasn't imagining the whole thing.
"An academy tutor who teaches the spear technique at the martial arts academy told us personally that Yan Liqiang's basic spear technique is about to pass the second level!" Yan Liqiang had heard this voice in the morning. It was Wang Haofei, who had blocked his way along with a few others. Compared to the arrogant bully he was this morning, Wang Haofei's voice was filled with cautious flattery at this very moment. "Young Master Ye ought to know that person with surname Xu is a simpleton, he's not going to deceive us at a time like this. I believe Young Master Ye has met Qu Long before too. His strength and fist technique can be considered the best among us. Even Qu Long was sent flying by Yan Liqiang with a single punch when they competed with their fists. His knuckles are still swelling while Yan Liqiang seems to be perfectly fine…"
While Wang Haofei was speaking, Yan Liqiang had already made his way to the outside of that room.
There seemed to be a large bath inside the room. Steam was rolling out from the inside and the sound of movements in running water could be heard.
Yan Liqiang stood right outside the room, eavesdropping in on the conversation of the two people in the room.
"That Yan Liqiang is nothing but a country bumpkin from Qinghe County. He isn't even apprenticed to any master. How can he be that impressive? Can it be that he has some sort of secret manual technique on him?"
"That I have no idea. I've asked around about this person. He only had a small reputation back in Liuhe Town before the Martial Arts Examination. Within the entire county of Qinghe, not many have heard of him. He had only emerged as a new force to be reckoned with during the Martial Arts Examination, shocking everyone. However, prior to the Martial Arts Examination, this guy had already done something shocking in Huanglong County. I believe I have mentioned this to Young Master Ye before. It was about rescuing the drowned through the method of performing moxibustion on their navels. It was rumored that this method originated from Yan Liqiang."
"Oh, now I recall you mentioned this incident to me before. I heard that the method has saved quite a number of lives in your Huanglong County this year and it has already spread all the way to Pingxi City?"
"That's right!"
"Do you know who passed that life-saving method to him?"
"It's quite an unusual tale in Huanglong County. People said the method was imparted to Yan Liqiang by some God in his dreams…"
"Tsk, who believes in God nowadays?" That man who was named Young Master Ye snorted disdainfully. "If there were really Gods in this world, why didn't they go claim a throne for themselves or establish some sects instead of encountering by that Yan Liqiang of all people? This is obviously a lie that is good enough to fool only his fellow country bumpkins!"
"My thoughts exactly!" Wang Haofei agreed, trying to ingratiate himself with Young Master Ye. "Yan Liqiang must have learned that from someone else or perhaps he have got some inheritance. Otherwise, there's no way a country bumpkin like him would able to advance by leaps and bounds in such a short time. I'm guessing he has some secret manual or treasure with him but wouldn't tell anyone about it. However, I'm guessing his father will definitely know…"
"So, you looked for me in such a hurry this morning and asked me to send someone to capture his father because you wanted to make a move, starting with his father?"