Chapter 120: The Arrival

Bang bang bang!

Boom boom boom!

This time, because of the pressure from that Cultivator, Han did not hold back at all. In just the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, he had sustained injuries. Of course, Captain Wang was also not faring well; several more wounds had appeared on his body.

“Captain Wang!”

“Captain Wang, you must hold on!”

Those on Captain Wang’s side silently prayed one by one, hoping their Captain Wang could defeat his opponent.

“Boss Han!”

The people over there also hoped one by one that Han could win.

“Hmph!”

Captain Wang dodged a hand slash from Han, snorted coldly, rotated his body, and suddenly punched with his right fist towards Han’s abdomen.

“Not good!”

Han sensed the power of Captain Wang’s punch and changed expression drastically. At that moment, wanting to dodge was already too late, so an involuntary fierce expression appeared on his face. With a flip of one hand, the hand slash that had been dodged by Captain Wang was turned back and sliced towards Captain Wang’s neck.

Han had no choice by that time. If he chose to dodge, he would definitely be injured, so he might as well fight to the death.

“What?”

Discovering that Han actually did not intend to dodge but was going all out against him, Captain Wang revealed an even more furious expression. However, he did not stop; his fist continued punching towards Han’s abdomen.

“Ah!”

The two roared simultaneously as they struck, ferocious expressions appearing on both their faces.

Boom!

“Ah!”

However, it was clear that Han was blasted away by Captain Wang’s punch before he could slash Captain Wang, letting out a cry of pain.

“Hmph!”

Discovering that his speed was faster, Captain Wang showed a trace of pride and disdain on his face.

“Ah!”

But Han, who had been thrown back, was still formidable. Enduring the pain, he suddenly held out a small Embroidered Needle in his hand and shot it towards Captain Wang.

Swish!

The Embroidered Needle was too fine, and Captain Wang was not paying attention. Suddenly, his right eye felt cold, and then his right eye went dark.

Bang!

“Boss Han!”

Captain Wang’s comrades instantly rushed forward the moment they saw their leader injured and thrown backward.

Thud, thud, thud!

It took a few moments before Captain Wang finally reacted. He touched his right eye instinctively and felt a chill on his fingers. Lowering his hand, he was horrified to find it soaked with fresh blood, nearly sending him into a mad rage.

Thwack, thwack, thwack!

Despite the pain, Captain Wang, having spent years toughened on the streets, resisted the urge to act rashly. Instead, he forcefully plucked the Embroidered Needle from his eye and flicked it sharply, aiming at Han Pengfei’s vital acupuncture points several times.

Whoosh!

The needle transformed into a weapon hurling straight back at its attacker. Han Pengfei, though in agony, mustered his strength. His expression warped with alarm as he seized a nearby comrade and hurled him bodily into the weapon’s path.

“Ah! No!”

The flung man’s face drained to a ghostly pallor as he screamed. But before his cry could fully form, his body spasmed violently. The Embroidered Needle punched straight through his torso, flew limply a short distance, and clattered harmlessly onto the ground.

Thump!

Though still alive, the man fainted dead away, collapsing in a heavy, unconscious heap.

“Han Pengfei!” Captain Wang barked, one hand clamped tight over his bleeding eye. “You call yourself a veteran of the underworld? Resorting to such cowardly tricks! How dare you expect the martial world to ever respect you again now?!”

“Cough!” Han Pengfei staggered to his feet, coughing weakly. His face ashen, he retorted with a sneer, “Hah! The underworld? What use are outdated underworld rules? This is the world of Cultivators! Never forget that! You’re just a martial nobody. What qualifies you to lecture me about underworld affairs? Natural selection prevails here—only the strong survive. Spare me your moralizing! Just answer me now: will you hand over the Millennium Spirit Ginseng or not? With Young Master Chu himself here, your refusal is nothing but a death wish! Choose wisely!”

“You—!”

Captain Wang’s expression twisted with bitter hatred at Han Pengfei’s words, yet he found himself unable to formulate a counter.

“Hmph! The audacity of you Gongsun Family scum!” Chu Yunfei finally spoke up, dismounting from his grisly, human-cushioned seat. “You dare collude with Demon Beasts to plot against my Chu Clan?! Every last member of your clan deserves execution!”

“What?” Captain Wang recoiled as though physically struck, outrage warring with disbelief. “Impossible! Our Gongsun Family has served you Chu Clan loyally for generations! There is absolutely no collusion! Our sole purpose in coming was to entreat Cultivators from the Chu Clan to eliminate a Demon Beast threat! How could we possibly plot against you? This must be a terrible misunderstanding!”

“Hah! Deny it all you want,” Chu Yunfei spat, eyes gleaming with resentment as he fixed his glare on the stationary carriage. “Why don’t you ask your own Gongsun Lver? Ask her if I, Chu Yunfei, would stoop to slander your rotten family!”

“Ah!”

A distinctly startled gasp escaped from within the carriage curtains.

“Young Lady! Young Lady Gongsun!” Captain Wang whirled around anxiously, his heart pounding against his ribs. “Tell us! What the Young Master says… it cannot be true! Tell us it’s not true!”

But no sound emerged from the carriage. Only silence.

“What…?”

“How could that be?”

“Young Lady?”

A wave of stunned disbelief washed over the guards. The silence spoke volumes, and Chu Yunfei’s accusations suddenly carried a chilling weight. Confusion turned to dawning horror on their faces.

“Hmph, Wang Wanshan, I respect you as a man of principle. Though we cultivators shouldn’t interfere in mortal affairs, this concerns the future of our Chu Clan, the entire state of Suzhou, and even humanity across the Divine Wind Continent! I strongly advise you to abandon your obstinate stance. Right now, the interior of the Hundred Thousand Mountains is extremely unstable. The slightest misstep could spell doom for the entire human race. If you wish to avoid becoming a traitor condemned throughout history, hand the monstrosity over to us. We’ll deliver it to the Divine Wind Academy for judgment. Should you cooperate, the Chu Clan will exert its influence, passing on our Body Refining technique to you. With your talent, you might just carve out a powerful domain in the future!”

Chu Yunfei spoke directly, his words meant as counsel.

“No! I refuse to believe our Young Lady has any connection to Demon Beasts!”

Captain Wang clearly didn’t trust Chu Yunfei’s words and roared his denial loudly.

“Hmph! You persist in your foolishness. So be it. Then you are of no further use to me. DIE!”

Seeing Captain Wang remain unrepentant, Chu Yunfei’s expression turned cruel. He slapped a single hand against his Storage Pouch.

Buzz Buzz Buzz!

A soft humming filled the air as an emerald green Flying Sword instantly shot out from the pouch. Transforming into a beam of light, it streaked straight towards Captain Wang.

“Not good!”

Captain Wang’s face paled as he saw the sword flying at him. His heart screamed danger. He immediately threw himself into a roll, narrowly dodging the sword’s attack.

“Huh?”

The Captain, having evaded the sword, frowned slightly when he noticed it hadn’t continued its pursuit. However, his expression changed abruptly when he realized its target wasn’t him, but the carriage instead.

Whoosh Whoosh Whoosh!

Yet, to Captain Wang’s further shock, the Flying Sword didn’t slow. It shot relentlessly past, even piercing clean through the carriage and disappearing into the darkness of the Dense Forest beyond.

“This?”

Seeing that the sword’s target wasn’t even the Young Lady inside the carriage, Captain Wang grew utterly bewildered.

Clang Clang Clang!

Ding Ding Ding!

But just as confusion gripped Captain Wang, a jarring cacophony of metallic clashes erupted from within the depths of the dense forest.

“Ah!”

Surprisingly, moments later, the glow of the Flying Sword abruptly faded, seemingly vanishing amidst the trees. Chu Yunfei’s face registered a flicker of change, evidently affected by the sudden loss of connection to his weapon.

“What?!”

“There’s someone inside!”

“Who is that?”

Witnessing this sudden turn of events, the people on the scene gasped in fear. Someone had been lurking in the shadows all along!

“Friend! Hiding sneakily back there,” Chu Yunfei shouted, channeling his Spiritual Energy into his voice so it echoed clearly to everyone, “Surely you didn’t plan to wait while we fought and you reaped the benefits?”

Swish Swish Swish!

Sure enough, as soon as Chu Yunfei spoke, sounds of movement came from the Dense Forest. Then, moments later, a lean young man dressed entirely in white emerged from the shadows.

“Kehehe!”

The young man walked slowly out of the forest, a faint but cruel smile curling at the corner of his lips.

“What?! It’s you!”

“It’s him!”

When they saw the newcomer, most of Captain Wang’s group recognized Tang Jinbiao instantly, their faces etched with shock.

“Young Brother! So it’s you!”

Captain Wang, stunned by Tang Jinbiao’s sudden appearance, voiced his disbelief.

“Haha, Brother Wang!”

Tang Jinbiao scanned the scene briefly. Spotting Captain Wang, he forced a smile and offered a greeting. Inside, however, terror mounted. So much blood! Are these dead bodies? Damn it! I should never have come!

“Huh? A Body Refiner?” Chu Yunfei’s brow furrowed slightly, clearly not recognizing Tang Jinbiao as he asked pointedly, “Which faction do you belong to?”

“Haha, what do you think?” Tang Jinbiao countered, maintaining his slight, unsettling smile instead of answering directly. He slowly walked over to stand beside Captain Wang. Leaning in, he whispered conspiratorially, “Brother Wang, is that the jargon of your trade?”

While outwardly smiling, Tang Jinbiao’s inner panic was escalating. Seeing Captain Wang now missing an eye, the grotesque corpses strewn across the ground, others riddled with arrows like honeycombs – such horrific sights struck genuine primal fear into him. He’d never witnessed real carnage before. He hadn’t even slaughtered a chicken, let alone seen a man killed. While he’d played countless violent video games and watched gory movies, confronting such brutality firsthand had his stomach churning. He’d actually vomited earlier while watching secretly from the woods. This was utterly brutal for someone so inexperienced.

He fought to control his terror, but it gripped him tight. What in the Nine Hells is even happening here?

“Hmm?” Though Tang Jinbiao whispered, Chu Yunfei’s keen ears caught the muffled words, prompting another frown.

But then, Chu Yunfei’s expression morphed back into vicious amusement as he sneered, “Heh! So it’s just some wet-behind-the-ears brat! Wang Wanshan! I’ll offer you one more chance! Hand over Gongsun Lver, and butcher this meddlesome kid! Do this, and I’ll grant you and your men a path to flee!”