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墨書 Inktalez
After a while of listening, Xunuo still hadn't received any news about Lu Duhou. He decided to stop eavesdropping and called over a young waiter from the tea house. After giving him a few coins, he got straight to the point, asking about the Xu family and Lu Duhou's whereabouts.
As expected, the waiter, who had heard many things during his shifts, knew a bit about the case. Although he was puzzled by Xunuo's inquiry, he was happy to earn some extra money and shared everything he knew.
Xunuo learned that while Lu Duhou had not been captured, he was already wanted. Strangely enough, Xunuo himself had been overlooked and was not on the wanted list.
It seemed that the corrupt official, in an attempt to evade punishment for the escaped prisoner, had suppressed this matter, especially since Xunuo was still young and posed no real threat.
Though Xunuo was concerned for Lu Duhou's safety, he also understood that there was little he could do.
He could only silently pray for Lu Duhou's good fortune and hoped he would not linger in the city. After paying the waiter, he left the city.
Now that he had a map, he could no longer wander south at will; he needed to follow the map to avoid taking unnecessary detours.
Not long after setting out, he felt a deep sense of unease in his heart.
The recent news about his parents and Lu Duhou weighed heavily on him, filling him with sorrow and helplessness that seemed impossible to shake off.
Seeing a dilapidated temple not far from the roadside, he decided to enter.
The temple had long been abandoned; even the gate was barely hanging on its hinges, and weeds grew wildly in the courtyard.
Many tiles on the temple roof were broken, allowing sparse sunlight to filter through the gaps and illuminate the statue inside.
The paint on the statue had mostly chipped away, but it remained relatively intact without any major damage.
Xunuo approached the statue of Buddha, kneeling down on both knees and silently offering a prayer. His mind began to calm slightly.
After a moment of contemplation, Xunuo thought to himself: such a state of mind is not suitable for traveling; it would be better to rest and adjust my mindset within this temple.
He turned to the back of the statue, sweeping away the broken bricks and tiles on the ground to clear a somewhat cleaner space.
Sitting cross-legged, he did not practice any techniques but instead fell into deep thought, eliminating distracting thoughts.
This state of meditation lasted for most of the day, until the sun had set and the moon had risen.
At that moment, three people entered from outside. All three were well-built and moved with light steps.
It was clear they were skilled in some form of martial arts.
Upon entering the temple, they dismantled the doors and windows to start a fire for light. One of them, a middle-aged and lean man who seemed to be the leader, sat facing the temple door.
The two younger ones busied themselves cooking food over the fire.
They soon brought out a jar of wine. Without cups or bowls, they simply took turns drinking straight from the jar.
The three of them drank wine and ate meat in silence, appearing to carry heavy thoughts.
After consuming nearly half of the jar, one young man with a slightly flushed face finally spoke up: “We’ve been preparing for this excavation for half a year, yet we encountered such a ghost hole. It’s truly frustrating.”
Another young man with a dark complexion stomped his foot in response: “That box must contain treasures.”
He turned to the Tall, Thin Middle-Aged Man and asked, "Boss, is there really no way to crack this Ghost Hole?"
The Tall, Thin Middle-Aged Man furrowed his brows.
After pondering for a moment, he replied, "You two Brothers may not know this, but the cave we entered is called the Ghost Breeding Cave, commonly referred to as the Ghost Hole. The Master or their descendants must be well-versed in ghostly matters. I have heard from my ancestors that entering this cave often leads to an untimely death. Such pits usually contain rare treasures, but we would be risking our lives to retrieve them. Only someone with abundant Yang Qi can stabilize it."
The Red-Faced Man responded, "We are precisely those with abundant Yang Qi and have prepared these talismans for protection. Are we still afraid to take a chance?"
The Tall, Thin Middle-Aged Man spat in response, "You and I spend our days in haunted places dealing with corpses and spirits. Not only do we lack Yang Qi, but we are likely filled with ghostly energy ourselves. Moreover, the Corpse Binding Rope and Black Dog Blood we have prepared may not be enough if we encounter a formidable Ghostly Entity. It’s not that I’m not tempted by the treasures in that box; it’s just that I have no confidence at all. Having been in this line of work for a while, I know what I can handle."
The Red-Faced Man grew anxious and said, "If that's the case, why not probe the Zhang Brothers for information? We could team up and do this business together."
The Black-Faced Man immediately retorted, "Have you lost your mind? The Zhang Brothers are ruthless and treacherous; they turn on people without a second thought. How many of our peers have they betrayed? Are you looking to throw your life away?"
Just as the Red-Faced Man was about to argue back, the Tall, Thin Middle-Aged Man added, "That's not wise. This matter can be discussed further, but we cannot team up with them. The Zhang Brothers do have some skills, but they are not trustworthy."
With that, the three fell silent again.
Xunuo had known about their conversation since they entered the temple. However, he was surprised to see them eating and drinking as if they planned to stay overnight. Just as he contemplated whether to leave, he overheard their discussion. Although he didn’t fully understand it, he sensed they were not good people. Recklessly revealing himself could lead to disaster.
There were no doors or windows behind the statue of Buddha, so Xunuo planned to wait until these men fell asleep before sneaking away.
Just as the Tall, Thin Middle-Aged Man picked up a wine jug, he suddenly frowned. He scanned the Temple and signaled to the two younger men.
Having worked together for a long time, the two immediately understood his intent and sprang into action, flanking both sides of the Buddha statue.
The sound of drinking and feasting had just stopped, and at first, Xunuo thought nothing of it, assuming the group had grown tired and were preparing to sleep.
But then he heard faint footsteps, and he realized something was amiss. He quickly turned over. At that moment, the red-faced youth stepped out from behind the statue.
Seeing that there was only a young boy behind the statue and no one else, Xunuo felt relieved and scolded, "You little thief hiding in the shadows, eavesdropping on our conversation, you must be up to no good."
He took a few steps forward and raised his hand to slap the boy.
Having just practiced the Eight Extremes Fist, Xunuo felt a surge of confidence and raised one hand to block the attack while his right elbow instinctively struck out.
The elbow connected with the opponent's chest, causing the red-faced youth to take a step back in pain. However, Xunuo himself staggered back three or five steps before regaining his balance.
His right elbow and even his entire arm throbbed with pain. It dawned on him that his skills were still lacking when faced with such overwhelming strength.
But now that things had come to this, he could only brace himself and push through. As long as he could break free from this dilapidated temple and run away, these three wouldn't necessarily be able to catch him.
With that thought in mind, he circulated his True Qi to strengthen his body.
At that moment, the black-faced youth emerged from another direction.
Seeing the situation unfold, he did not rush in but instead chuckled mockingly, "Third brother, if you can't handle it, let me take over."
Hearing this, the red-faced youth's face flushed with embarrassment as he coldly snorted, "I was just being overconfident; how could I possibly fail to catch this little brat?"
With that, he spread his fingers wide and lunged toward Xunuo. Not daring to confront him head-on, Xunuo sidestepped and lifted his leg to sweep at him.
The Red-Faced Youth struck at Xunuo's vital points, and realizing he could not afford to be reckless, quickly stepped back to avoid the attack. He then turned and delivered a series of powerful kicks.
As the real fight began, Xunuo found himself struggling to keep up.
After dodging a few kicks, he looked up just in time to see a massive fist coming straight at him. He tried to evade, but the fist was already upon him. Lowering his head did not help; he was unable to escape.
The punch landed squarely on his forehead with tremendous force, sending Xunuo flying three yards away, unconscious.
The Red-Faced Youth was not unscathed either; it felt as though he had struck iron or stone. The pain shot through him, causing him to clutch his hands and cry out, sweat pouring down his face.
With a fierce expression, he muttered, "I want to see whether your head is harder or my blade."
He reached for his sword but realized he could barely grip the hilt; that punch had injured his muscles and bones.
Frustrated, the Red-Faced Youth switched to his left hand and drew his waist knife, stepping closer to Xunuo.
At that moment, a voice rang out from the Tall, Thin Middle-Aged Man: "Don't take his life; bring him over here."
Though the Red-Faced Youth was reluctant, he dared not disobey and instead kicked Xunuo on the ground twice in frustration.
The Black-Faced Youth worried that if they continued kicking him, they might end up killing the boy. He quickly lifted Xunuo with one hand and dragged him forward.
He tossed Xunuo in front of the fire and said, "When did our boss develop a compassionate heart? This kid overheard our conversation; keeping him alive is a disaster waiting to happen."
The Red-Faced Youth added, "Though this kid is young, he has some skills. He must belong to a sect. If we deal with him now, no one will know."
The Tall, Thin Middle-Aged Man replied, "If you two still want that treasure from the Ghost Hole, you cannot kill him."
The Red-Faced Youth's eyes darted as he said, "Is this kid the one with the extreme Yang Qi?"
The Tall, Thin Middle-Aged Man nodded.
The Black-Faced Youth asked, "How can you be so sure that this kid has extreme Yang Qi?"
With a sly smile, the Tall, Thin Middle-Aged Man replied, "Have you noticed anything different today?"
After exchanging glances for a moment, the Red-Faced Youth suddenly exclaimed, "Your Shadow Monkey hasn't come out."
"Exactly," the Tall, Thin Middle-Aged Man said. "Usually when we drink and have fun, my Shadow Monkey would dart out to scavenge for some food. At first, we were too preoccupied with our worries to pay attention to this matter. But today, not only did it not come out, it even started trembling in my arms. I concluded that there must be someone here with extreme Yang Qi. I raised my Shadow Monkey in the ghostly realm; it can sense Ghostly Entities, which is why we've avoided disaster several times. However, it fears pure Yang energy the most; if there is someone with extreme Yang Qi, it will be as terrified as a tiger."
The Black-Faced Youth said excitedly, "If that's the case, we might just find a way out of this predicament. But what will we do with this kid once we succeed?"
The Tall, Thin Middle-Aged Man's expression turned stern as he replied, "Naturally, we must eradicate him completely. We are already treading on the edge of a knife and hunting for survival on a cliff. We cannot afford any mistakes."
The two youths nodded solemnly in agreement.
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