"What a pity, we return empty-handed. Itâs truly regrettable."
A group stood outside Meng Mansion, with Zhang Rongfang at the forefront, wearing a mask, and the torch in his hand crackling softly.
"Go." He tossed it forward.
The torch spun, tracing a yellow-red streak as it flew over the wall and into Meng Mansion.
"Make a move!!"
Suddenly, a shadowy figure in black leaped into the air, slashing the handle of the torch with a knife, sending it flying back over the wall, and landing outside the mansion.
After slashing the torch away, the figure tapped the top of the wall with his toes, using the momentum to swiftly charge toward Zhang Rongfang.
The speed of this body technique was astonishing, even Duan Valley couldnât react.
"Interesting." Zhang Rongfang tilted his head up, lunging forward suddenly, his right palm bounced up, muscles tensed in the palm, fingers like an eagleâs claw, reaching forward to grab.
Clang!!
The eagle claw heavily gripped the side of the curved knife and bent it.
Thump!
The blade spun like a wheel, forcibly torn from the personâs grasp.
Zhang Rongfangâs other hand drove inward, slamming into the personâs outstretched left fist.
The two collided with a boom, the person who had just landed was hit by a powerful force, flying back into the air, and soaring several meters high.
At this moment, he was forced into the air, becoming a live target for those around him.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh!!!
In an instant, all the Golden Wing Pavilion death warriors raised their hands, launching poisoned darts.
A dense swarm of black poisoned darts flew toward the person, covering the sky.
Caught off guard, he shed his outer robe and rolled it around, sweeping away most of the poisoned darts.
Yet a few darts, launched by experts, broke through the robeâs barrier, piercing his back and arms.
"Iâll handle this!" Xiang Ling shouted fiercely, rushing in to engage the person in close combat.
The two exchanged fast blows, rapidly clashing in over ten moves. The surrounding death warriors hesitated to throw darts as Xiang Ling was now involved.
Suddenly, Xiang Ling grunted, retreating several steps, allowing the person to leap alongside the wall and disappear into the poplar tree canopy.
In a blink of an eye, two Golden Wing Pavilion death warriors under the tree were struck down as the person landed, knocking them to the ground.
The figure twisted, quickly running toward the distance to escape.
Xiang Ling exhaled in relief.
She had spent a huge cost to control an eighth-grade expert like Xiao Chenyi, and couldnât afford to lose him here.
Thatâs why she had to take a risk and pretend to fight him, actually looking for a chance to let him leave.
Returning to Zhang Rongfangâs side, she was full of guilt, blood on her lips, she cupped her fists and bowed deeply to him.
"My lord! I did my utmost to stop him, but failed, please punish me!"
"Punish?" Zhang Rongfang smiled lightly.
Bang!
Suddenly, he slapped Xiang Lingâs face.
The immense power, combined with ninth-grade speed, left her unable to dodge.
Xiang Ling was struck sideways, rolling on the ground several times.
Her head spun, dizzy and disoriented, trying to get up, but everything around seemed to sway and spin.
A nauseous feeling welled up inside her.
Finally coming to, she realized she had been hit!
"My lord... I.... I..." The severe pain spread from her cheek throughout her body.
Rage surged within Xiang Ling.
But it was quickly interrupted by intense fear.
"My lord, next time I will risk my life to stop the opponent! I wonât make this mistake again! Please give me one more chance!"
She suppressed the hatred and fear in her eyes.
Just get through tonight, once she was away from the emissary, she would use all her resources to kill him!
She was already afraid.
Zhang Rongfang was capricious, capable of unpredictable actions at any moment.
From tonightâs actions, he might already suspect her and Tongxin.
If she didnât act first, she would eventually die at his hands!
Xiang Ling quickly crawled to Zhang Rongfangâs feet, kowtowing repeatedly, apologizing and begging for forgiveness.
"Boring." Zhang Rongfang took another torch, tossing it forward.
The torch spun as it fell into the mansion.
The flames spread quickly, illuminating the entire Meng Mansion.
"Letâs end it here for tonight." Zhang Rongfang raised his hand, clenching it.
Duan Valley and the rest of the death squad captains lowered their heads, silently passing the order to retreat.
All of them withdrew silently in groups.
Xiang Ling looked up at the growing flames consuming the Meng Mansion, her heart cold.
Her losses were smaller than Tongxinâs, but everything being destroyed would inevitably reveal the hidden entrance.
The Dream Boat Association wasnât without enemies, and the Huang family and Sea Dragon could not dominate the entire Wushan Prefecture.
Such a flaw, the Zhengming Association would certainly not overlook.
And then there was Zhang Rongfang!
An uncontrollable wariness rose in Xiang Lingâs heart.
His character was erratic; no one knew what he was thinking.
Just wanting to play around resulted in so many deaths. Just enforcing his rules brought down the entire Tianxiang Gorges Pavilion.
This person cannot be left alive!
Xiang Ling planned; after tonight, sheâd go to the Huang family and Sea Dragon, inviting experts to ambush the emissary Zhang Rongfang.
But a Ninth-Grade expertâs strength was terrifying, they must plan perfectly or risk eternal troubles if he escaped.
Huang Yuzhen once caused many atrocities, and the Huang family still harbors deep hatred for him, a testament to his strength.
âEverything must be carefully considered and planned.
Perhaps, starting with his sister Zhang Rongyu....â Poof!!
Suddenly, a short sword pierced straight into her chest from behind.
The bladeâs sting abruptly shattered all of Xiang Lingâs thoughts and schemes.
Her mind went blank, staring in a daze at Zhang Rongfang before her.
Itâs not him.
He wore the same look of incredulity.
Thud.
The short sword was pulled out, and Xiang Ling fell forward, crashing onto the ground.
She struggled to turn her head, looking behind her.
In her gradually blurring vision, she saw Duan Valley shake off the blood from the wounded short sword, not even glancing at her, but instead kneeling and bowing his head to Zhang Rongfang with a mournful expression.
"Master! Itâs not our fault! Itâs all Xiang Lingâs doing! She is the owner who founded the Dream Boat Association. We were all deceived and coerced by her, which is why we were drawn into this!"
Duan Valleyâs expression was convincing, his feelings veering between hatred and desolation, chilling the hearts of Tongxin and Qingsu watching on the side.
They always thought this guy was genuinely honest and simple, but unexpectedly, he had a separate deal with Xiang Ling!
Zhang Rongfang could also see the theatrical aspect of Duan Valleyâs performance.
Clearly, this guy realized things werenât looking good and decisively took action, trying to make amends for his earlier mistakes.
Thatâs why he acted against Xiang Ling.
"Dream Boat Association? She founded it?"
Zhang Rongfang was slightly surprised, looking at the immobilized Xiang Ling on the ground, feeling slightly regretful.
However, the matter of the Dream Boat Association was inconsequential; with or without it, he would find another excuse to dispose of these two.
Itâs just that he intended to play further, but these few surrendered so quickly, making it rather dull.
Thud!
Tongxin beside him also knelt heavily on the ground, desperately bowing his head.
One bow after another, Tongxin, a sixth-grade expert, surprisingly showed no intention of resistance, only frantically kowtowing to plead for forgiveness.
"Master, spare my life! Spare my life!! Please give me another chance! Please!"
"Indeed, I heard some astounding insider information." Zhang Rongfang chuckled, squatting down and pressing a few points on Xiang Ling, forcibly stopping her blood flow using a vascular interception method.
"Duan Valley, take her to get treated, make sure she doesnât die, Iâve got big plans."
"Yes." Duan Valley was suddenly delighted, knowing he was temporarily safe, and quickly stood up to respond.
Then he called two female death warriors forward to carry Xiang Ling away for treatment, awaiting sentencing.
However, with such a severe chest injury, recovery wouldnât be possible within a few months.
"Letâs go, letâs leave here first." Zhang Rongfang glanced at the increasingly ablaze Meng Mansion. He turned around and was the first to walk away.
Both Tongxin and Xiang Ling were sixth-grade experts, valuable talents.
Letting them die so easily would be too much of a waste.
The group quickly followed, disappearing rapidly into the night.
Only then did the numerous death warriors from the Golden Wing Pavilion withdraw, calmly and promptly following the few as they departed.
The night was hazy.
The fire spewed thick smoke, and shortly after, groups of government personnel came to extinguish the blaze.
Nearby residential mansions also dispatched household servants to help contain the fire.
But unfortunately, the blaze fueled by oil had fully ignited, far beyond what a mere splash of water could extinguish.
The fire grew more intense, illuminating half of the night sky in Xicheng District.
On the third floor of a distant inn.
In front of a window stood two robust figures.
"Master, do you think that person really knows, or doesnât know?" the young figure asked quietly.
"Whether he knows or not doesnât matter to that person." Another silhouette, with white hair and beard, was clearly an elder at least seventy years old.
The elder paused, gazing at the blaze at Meng Mansion.
"This person is ruthless and cruel by nature, having just arrived in Wushan Prefecture, all his subordinates are new. So he needs to use some new methods to establish authority and win hearts."
"But the Dream Boat Association is Xiang Lingâs; how can he win hearts acting this way?" The young man was puzzled.
"Actually, he doesnât care who owns the Dream Boat Association. Whether itâs Xiang Ling, Tongxin, what theyâve done, what stance they take towards him, he genuinely doesnât care." The elder replied coldly.
"Why?" The young man frowned.
"Because, for this person, regardless of what theyâve done, the outcome was set from the day he arrived here."
"Just because he set new rules?"
"No." The elder glanced meaningfully at the young man. "Rules are secondary.
The key is, in this world, thereâs never been a situation where subordinates own more than their superior....."
"Whether itâs money or power."
*
*
*
Wushan Golden Wing Pavilion HeadquartersâTen Thousand Miles Manor.
Zhang Rongfang turned and sat on the black leather chair representing the spirit envoy, behind him a fully mounted golden eagle specimen.
The golden eagle extended its wings, closely adherent to the wall, resembling soaring high in the sky.
Its wingspan was fully three meters, feathers a golden brown, exceptionally robust.
Looking at the respectfully standing Tongxin, Duan Valley, and Qingsu Weili below.
A smile appeared on his face.
"Speaking of which, this is my first time at the headquarters here; I never had the time before. Can any of you give me an introduction?"
"Master... please donât tease us anymore, how are we to handle Tongxin and Xiang Ling? These two have corrupted the name of our Golden Wing Pavilion, their crimes grave!" Weili asked solemnly.
Just ten minutes ago, Duan Valley had already fully disclosed every detail about Xiang Ling and Tongxin.
Especially concerning the human trafficking with Sea Dragon, making Qingsu Weili look icy cold.
"Our Golden Wing Pavilion stems from the Eastern Sect, Sea Dragon originally from the Western Sect, now these two are collaborating with traitors, using our resources and personnel to work with Sea Dragon, capturing and selling decent women! Itâs utterly heinous! Certainly deserving of capital punishment!" Qingsu declared sternly.
"Thereâs no rush." Zhang Rongfang smiled, "First, let Xiang Ling transfer all the personnel and structure of the Dream Boat to us, then save those previously captured individuals. Otherwise, finding them on our own is too troublesome and inefficient.
Besides, Iâm very interested in that Dream Liquid.
Doesnât she have a paramour? Heard heâs quite powerful..... What if I canât defeat him?"
The few exchanged looks, unsure of what to say.
"Wonder how the relationship between Xiang Ling and that person is.... If we use Xiang Ling as bait and poison him, can we gain something...."
Zhang Rongfang lightly tapped the armrest, appearing troubled.
"But Iâm a good person, a kind-hearted person, how could I do something so unkind?"
Their hearts skipped a beat, temporarily unable to discern Zhang Rongfangâs true character.
But this statement was almost explicit; if they failed to grasp the implication, theyâd be truly dim-witted.
Spurred into action, Duan Valley stepped forward. Through clenched teeth, he declared, "Subordinate! Subordinate is willing to serve diligently!"