At first, several people went missing from the surrounding villages, all of them young girls. When villagers came to report the cases, the authorities did not pay much attention to them.
It wasn't until recently, with the increasing number of missing persons, including some daughters of local dignitaries, that the news reached the prefect's ears.
However, the yamen runners sent to investigate died mysteriously in an abandoned village fifty miles outside the city; no matter how many went, they all died.
The small prefectural city was too remote, and the prefect wanted to borrow troops from the governor, but was told that most of the governor's troops were out suppressing bandits and could not be deployed for the time being.
The government is currently keeping this news from the public, for fear of causing panic.
The Cheng family held this martial arts contest to find a husband for Cheng Yun, and also to fulfill the magistrate's request to organize a group of skilled fighters to investigate the matter.
Ye Feng's appearance was like a godsend for them. No matter what kind of den of thieves was outside the city, or even a stronghold of the Demonic Sect, with Ye Feng's skills, he could surely break in and out and bring out some information.
Since the safety of the people was at stake, a self-proclaimed hero like Ye Feng could not abandon the matter. He quickly sent someone to inform Ling Yan and ask if she wanted to go with him.
"Yinshui Village?"
Upon hearing the name of the village, Ling Yan's brow furrowed; it was indeed a familiar name.
If Gu Zhong had left Tianji Pavilion a month ago, she would have been seriously injured and unfortunately kidnapped into this den of thieves. She struggled to survive inside until Ye Feng arrived. The two worked together to defeat Yinshui Village.
True friendship is nothing more than this.
Chapter 53 The Righteous Alliance Leader and the Demonic Cult Leader (Part Six)
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"I will go with you."
After thinking it over for a moment, Lingyan agreed.
Judging from the actions of this prefect, murders are becoming increasingly rampant in this area. Even if one dislikes meddling, the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion is still a righteous organization, and it is only right that it should help protect the peace of this region.
Ye Feng and Ling Yan had many followers, so it was inconvenient for them to go together. In the end, only Cheng Yun accompanied the two to the government office.
Why did you bring her along?
Sitting in the carriage specially sent by the prefect to welcome the distinguished guest, Ling Yan held back for a long time before finally turning to Ye Feng and asking the question that had been bothering her.
"Miss Cheng has been acquainted with the Prefect since childhood, and she said she also wanted to share the burden with her uncle, so..."
Ye Feng chuckled somewhat sheepishly.
"···"
Upon hearing this, Ling Yan felt utterly powerless and just wanted to slap Ye Feng on the head.
It's obvious to everyone that Cheng Yun wants to spend more time with Ye Feng. As for her purpose, whether she really has feelings for Ye Feng or simply wants to use him as a stepping stone, it's anyone's guess.
This young sect leader has always been easily swayed by women, a natural womanizer, and as long as it doesn't go against his own interests, he will grant any request.
If he were the protagonist of this world, it would be a novel about a genius leveling up and building a harem.
After discussing the situation with the prefect for two hours at the government office and gaining a general understanding of the current circumstances, Lingyan quickly drafted a plan to investigate.
Most of the murders occur late at night, but the manpower they bring is far from enough to guard the entire city, so it's better to wait and see.
Lingyan then assigned some of the attendant disciples from Tianji Pavilion and Tianwu Sect, who, along with Ye Feng, were to lie in ambush at night on the only road leading to Yinshui Village.
If the thieves were to actually carry out their plan, they would definitely pass through the ambush site, unless there were some unknown secret passages in the village that allowed passage from a distance.
The frequency of thieves' crimes has been increasing recently. The last missing person case was three days ago. Logically, they should have taken action tonight.
It's just unknown whether the news of Ye Feng's arrival will have any impact on this.
This time, Ye Feng didn't do anything foolish again, and Cheng Yun didn't dare to risk his life, so they didn't take her with them on this mission.
The moon is bright and the stars are few; the night breeze is cool; the weather is lovely tonight.
The sparse tree branches rustled in the darkness as the wind occasionally blew through them.
The chirping of cicadas in summer gradually increases in volume and becomes more widespread and resonant.
The lotus leaves in the roadside pond were layered upon each other, with blooming petals on top, but in the darkness, no one appreciated them.
Only passing frogs croak twice and hop from one broad leaf to another.
The night was both noisy and quiet, much like any other night before.
At the end of the country lane, four or five furtive figures appeared, hurrying towards the dilapidated village. The last one, a large man, carried a burlap sack on his back, which looked quite heavy.
They didn't whisper among themselves, but hurried on their way as if a wild beast was chasing them.
Ling Yan and Ye Feng's group had indeed been quietly following them, but their detection skills were so poor that they failed to notice the long tail trailing behind them.
Soon they arrived at the entrance of the dilapidated and abandoned village. The leader waved for them to stop and circled the entrance, as if carefully examining something.
He then waved his hand, and the people behind him entered the village one by one. The man looked around warily a few more times before catching up with his companions.
Strangely, the group disappeared in the blink of an eye as soon as they entered the village.
Lingyan whispered a few words to someone beside her, and that person nimbly leaped to the village entrance. After gazing at the stone array at the entrance for a moment in thought, he then moved a few pebbles in his hand, and the scene in the village instantly changed slightly, yet no one could quite put their finger on what the difference was.
"They even set up an ingenious trap formation. Luckily, we didn't go into the village first."
When Lingyan passed by the stone formation, she couldn't help but exclaim in admiration. The person who set up this formation had quite the skill in using mechanisms, which was a pity.
"The Pavilion Master's considerations are indeed thorough."
Ye Feng flattered him at the opportune moment.
"Catch up."
Ling Yan then instructed another subordinate skilled in tracking that the group had unknowingly left behind an indelible trace—a special scent that only specially trained individuals could detect.
Following the scent, they arrived at a dilapidated temple in the village.
The bodhisattva statue, sculpted from mud and stone, has half of its face broken, while the other half, intact, wears a benevolent smile. The bright moonlight shines through the dilapidated roof and directly onto it, yet for no reason, it appears eerie and unsettling.
Spiderwebs covered the offering table in front of the Buddha, and thick dust indicated that it had not been cleaned for a long time.
Beneath my feet lay a mess of dry, soft thatch, obscuring the footprints and sounds of my footsteps, and perhaps something else entirely.
Lingyan carefully observed the dilapidated little temple, her gaze sweeping over every corner before finally settling on the haystacks surrounding the offering platform.
"Behind the Buddha statue."
After a short while, she spoke, and her subordinates, who were skilled in mechanical arts, leaped onto the offering platform and went around to the back.
After a moment of fumbling, a loud bang was heard, and the altar and the Buddha statue slowly moved aside, revealing a dark opening just wide enough for one person to pass through.
"Sect Master, let Ye Feng go ahead and scout ahead."
Stopping Ling Yan from taking another step forward, Ye Feng volunteered with considerable confidence.
"Thank you for your hard work, Young Master."
Lingyan didn't stand on ceremony. Ye Feng had always been lucky, so he was the perfect scout.
Ye Feng straightened the black mask covering half of his face, then leaped down. The Tianwu Sect members he brought with them followed their young sect leader and jumped down one after another.
On the Tianji Pavilion side, Lingyan left one person with mediocre martial arts skills and one expert upstairs, so that if something happened down below that made it difficult to escape, there would be someone to help.
The two people guarding the crossing had already been dealt with by Ye Feng when he jumped down.
After Lingyan came down, she went up to them and felt their pulses; they were already lifeless.
"Young Master, you have impressive skills."
She let out a sigh, which others couldn't discern as joy or anger, but interpreted as praise.
"You flatter me, Your Excellency. I am unworthy of such praise."
Ye Feng thought so too.
In truth, Lingyan was quite dissatisfied with Ye Feng's way of handling things. The situation in the thief's den was not very clear. Although it was to pursue a perfect infiltration, knocking them unconscious and tying them up would have been enough. Unless it was a matter of life and death, there was really no need to take their lives.
Crimes vary in severity. Except in life-or-death duels, martial arts practitioners should not arbitrarily decide the life or death of others, as this would appear too arrogant and arbitrary.
However, it is a case of a knight-errant breaking the law with his martial arts.
The tunnel beneath the temple was even darker than the night itself, but fortunately they had brought tinder with them. Now that they had reached the thieves' lair, they were no longer afraid of alerting them and simply used flint and steel to light their way.
The person who designed the tunnel must have considered what would happen if someone broke in, and set up many traps, but unfortunately, they were all cracked by the people of Tianji Pavilion.
After walking for an unknown distance and turning several corners, they finally saw a faint light. The group quickly extinguished their own flames and tentatively looked toward the light.
There was a grotto, with a heavy stone door blocking the way, and two men holding torches guarding the entrance. Because it was so late, I couldn't stop yawning and looked around absentmindedly.
Chapter 54 The Leader of the Righteous Alliance and the Leader of the Demonic Cult (Part 7)
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"Young Master, please show mercy. These lowly minions might be useful later."
Before Ye Feng could act, Ling Yan gave him an order.
Ye Feng nodded in agreement and then flashed past. The two guards lost consciousness before they could even utter a cry of alarm.
However, the stone door posed a problem for them. There was a groove on the side of the door, which seemed to require a matching object to be pressed into in order to open the mechanism.
A thorough search of the two gatekeepers revealed no matching key. Perhaps only those leaving the gate would carry it; as long as the person leaving doesn't betray them, the gate's absolute security is guaranteed.
"Please step back a little."
Ling Yan apologized, and her subordinates discreetly took out a small black bag and placed it under the door. The others dragged the two unconscious thieves aside.
After everyone had left a certain distance, he took a fire starter and lit the long thread that was extending from the small bag, then quickly left.
In less than three breaths, a huge explosion rang out, and the originally thick and solid stone door shattered into pieces in an instant.
For mechanisms that require a key, there is no other way but to forcibly dismantle them.
"This is... gunpowder? And it's so powerful?"
Looking at the scene before him, Ye Feng hesitated before asking a rather surprised question.
"It's just some minor improvements. The Heavenly Mystery Pavilion has always enjoyed tinkering with these ingenious and eccentric techniques. I hope the young sect leader will forgive us."
Ling Yan responded calmly.