Chapter 236 - 176: Storming the Execution Ground?

Soon, Zou Feng learned the details of the situation in Yuan Guang County from He Yuan.

Seven days ago, a large contingent from the Cheetah Camp arrived. They swiftly took control of the Yuan Guang County Government Office and began hunting down members of the Hongxing Gang and disciples from the major martial arts schools.

Having recently broken through to the Gang Qi Realm, Bian Yixia naturally refused to surrender without a fight. She led her fellow gang members in a fighting retreat.

A head-on clash with the Cheetah Camp was impossible; their only hope was to carve out a bloody path to escape.

Fortunately, thanks to her efforts, quite a few gang members managed to escape.

Among them were Wang Xingjian and the family of Zou Feng’s master.

Before leaving for Qifeng Mountain, Zou Feng had asked Wang Xingjian to look after his master’s family, a duty Wang Xingjian had never once neglected.

When trouble broke out, he immediately fled with Luo Yong’s family.

They were now all temporarily hiding in Canglan County.

He Yuan was one of the men who had escaped here with Wang Xingjian.

Zou Feng hadn’t expected such a pleasant surprise and immediately had He Yuan lead him to where Wang Xingjian and the others were hiding.

After arriving in Canglan County, Wang Xingjian had bought a dilapidated, run-down little courtyard in a remote location.

Before he even entered, Zou Feng smelled the strong scent of medicine.

Sure enough, when he went inside and saw Wang Xingjian, he could tell at a glance that the man was heavily injured.

But even during his escape, he hadn’t forgotten to bring the white fox. When Zou Feng walked in, Wang Xingjian was napping, still cradling the creature.

Upon opening his eyes and seeing Zou Feng, Wang Xingjian thought he was dreaming and rubbed his eyes three times.

"Zou... Brother!?"

Once he was sure he wasn’t dreaming, Wang Xingjian was overcome with shock and joy, leaping straight up from his rattan chair.

The other gang members in the house, along with Luo Yong’s family, heard the commotion and hurried over.

What followed, naturally, was an emotional reunion filled with sighs and commiseration.

Zou Feng did a quick count. Besides his master, Luo Yong, and his family, only ten other gang members had escaped, including Wang Xingjian.

Of these ten, five were members of the Iron Blood Gu Poison Group.

Clearly, aside from trying her best to save Luo Yong’s family, Bian Yixia had also deliberately arranged for more members of the Iron Blood Gu Poison Group to escape.

After all, in Bian Yixia’s eyes, the members of the Iron Blood Gu Poison Group were all people of great use to Zou Feng.

And that was indeed the case. Zou Feng had originally planned to use the members of the Iron Blood Gu Poison Group he had cultivated to refine their toxins and break through to the Gang Qi Realm.

Although he had long since made his breakthrough, the Iron Blood Gu Poison Group was still indispensable if he wanted his Five Poison Fire Lotus Skill to quickly reach the Realm of Transcendence and Sanctity.

But all Zou Feng wanted to know now was whether Bian Yixia was safe.

Wang Xingjian, who had been gathering information every day, said confidently, "Her life should be safe for now. Old Thief Yuwen considers everyone who participated in forming the Rebel Army an accomplice in his son’s death, so he’s imprisoned them all."

"But the pretext he’s using isn’t avenging his son, of course. He’s framed the entire Rebel Army in Yuan Guang County, including Magistrate Huang and his men, as traitors to the state."

"After a sham trial, he scheduled a public execution. It’s in ten days!"

Zou Feng didn’t have to think hard to guess why the execution was scheduled so far out.

’In Yuwen Boxi’s eyes, the "accomplices" he’d already captured deserved to be drawn and quartered for their role in his son’s death.’

’But the true masterminds—namely, myself and Tian Yun—are still at large.’

’Zou Feng and Tian Yun were the two most powerful members of the Hunting Team that entered Qifeng Mountain.’

’Without the two of them, the strongest members, interfering, how could anything have happened to Yuwen Shuo and his personal guard, Wu Xing?’

’So, without needing any evidence, Yuwen Boxi had concluded that Zou Feng and Tian Yun were the masterminds.’

’That’s why he wasn’t in a hurry to execute the "accomplices" he’d caught. He wanted to use them as bait to lure me and Tian Yun out.’

"So, Yuwen Boxi went to Yuan Guang County Town in person?" Zou Feng asked after a moment of thought.

Wang Xingjian nodded. "The day after the Cheetah Camp mobilized, he arrived in Yuan Guang County with a number of experts to preside over the trial himself."

"But after the trial concluded and the execution date was set, Old Thief Yuwen and his experts left Yuan Guang County in a hurry, seemingly to attend to other urgent official business."

"But that’s most likely a ruse. After all, if he were personally standing guard with so many experts by his side, who would dare try to storm the execution grounds..." Wang Xingjian sneered.

At this, Wang Xingjian’s tone turned dejected. "Brother, even though you’ve already reached the Fifth Grade, going up against Old Thief Yuwen and his elite personal guards... it would be like..."

He couldn’t bring himself to finish the idiom: a mantis trying to stop a chariot.

It was no wonder Wang Xingjian sounded so defeatist; the disparity in strength was simply too great.

Storming the execution grounds—it sounded like a heroic, blood-pumping affair, a testament to brotherhood, loyalty, and unwavering righteousness.

But in reality, going there would be no different from throwing their lives away.

Zou Feng silently opened his List of Gods.

Ever since the names of Yuwen Boxi and Cheetah Camp Marshal Zhang Yinxiang appeared on it, more names had been added in the last few days.

Over a dozen new names in total.

’They must be either generals from the Cheetah Camp or the experts surrounding Yuwen Boxi,’ he thought.

Of course, the actual number of people who wanted him dead was surely even greater, but the List of Gods had an automatic filtering function.

Those who posed almost no threat to him would not be listed.

In other words, for a name to appear on the list, the person had to either be powerful in their own right or be backed by a faction with considerable influence.

"Brother, where there’s life, there’s hope! A true gentleman can wait ten years for his revenge!"

Seeing Zou Feng lost in thought, Wang Xingjian couldn’t help but try to persuade him.

He was genuinely afraid that Zou Feng, fueled by hot-blooded passion, would charge recklessly back to Yuan Guang County to storm the execution grounds.

It wasn’t that Wang Xingjian didn’t want to risk his life to save them; the problem was that they had absolutely no chance of success.

Never mind a Fifth Grade like Zou Feng—even a Fourth Grade Expert might not escape unscathed when facing numerous military masters, standard-issue magical artifacts from the Court, and killing arrays designed specifically to counter Jianghu Martial Artists.

Therefore, they had no choice. No matter how unwilling they were, if they didn’t want to die for nothing, they had to accept reality and wait for a future opportunity to take revenge.

Zou Feng didn’t immediately respond to Wang Xingjian’s reasonable advice. After a long pause, he said, "Old Thief Yuwen has too much time on his hands. It seems the nearby Rebel Army isn’t putting up enough of a fight to keep the old bastard swamped with his duties..."

Wang Xingjian gave a wry smile. "That’s true... But speaking of which, it’s not that Old Thief Yuwen is so formidable, but that the Celestial Essence Sword Sect is."

"Brother, you might not be aware, but a while ago, a rebel leader in Jiangnan Prefecture was successfully assassinated by an elite strike team from the Celestial Essence Sword Sect. Their squad only suffered a few minor injuries in the process..."

"The Rebel Army suffered a major blow and retreated hundreds of miles. Old Thief Yuwen even received a commendation from the Court for it."

Zou Feng raised an eyebrow. "So... the Rebel Army wasn’t completely routed?"

"Er, I suppose you could say that. Brother, you’re not thinking of... defecting to the enemy, are you?" Wang Xingjian asked, confused.

"That won’t be necessary. I just plan on giving Old Thief Yuwen something to keep him busy. Don’t want him getting idle and thinking about avenging his idiot son..."

There were still ten days until the execution of Bian Yixia and the others, which was more than enough time for Zou Feng to make a big move.

After all, charging headfirst into Yuan Guang County was, at least for now, clearly not a wise move.

’Assassinating Yuwen Boxi is even more out of the question. The man is already lying in wait, expecting me to walk into his trap in Yuan Guang County. His personal security will be at its absolute maximum.’

’Besides, Yuwen Boxi himself is an expert who reached the Fourth Grade many years ago. He has a brilliant combat record; his personal strength is the real deal.’

’The difficulty of assassinating him at my current stage is ridiculously high.’

’Even if I can weaken him with side effects, ten days isn’t enough time to wear down a Fourth Grade Expert like Yuwen Boxi until he’s a wreck.’

’But just because he’s difficult to kill now doesn’t mean he will be after some prep work.’

So, Zou Feng’s next plan was simple: help the Rebel Army near Jiangnan Prefecture get back on its feet.

The first step was to take out a relatively easier target—one of the top names on his list, the Cheetah Camp Marshal, Zhang Yinxiu.