A rare hint of seriousness flashed in Ye Feng's usually carefree eyes.
What was that sound?
"what happened?"
A cacophony of voices and footsteps came from the other side of the door.
"Prepare for battle, prepare to meet the enemy!"
Without time to think further, Ye Feng hurriedly called out.
As the dust from the falling gravel dissipated, a group of about ten people, neatly dressed in black cloth, appeared in the narrow passageway behind the door.
Upon seeing the menacing attackers before them, the one who was lagging behind immediately let out a sharp whistle and ran backward.
Lingyan flicked her wrist, and a poisoned silver needle, as thin as a hair, shot straight at the man, hitting him accurately. In an instant, the man collapsed to the ground, foaming at the mouth.
Unfortunately, he still managed to shout out the last alarm.
"Intrusion!"
The small team in front of us could be considered second-rate experts in the martial arts world, and they could certainly be compared with the inner disciples of the major sects.
I wonder who this person is, that they could gather such a group of people.
However, Lingyan and Ye Feng had brought only the best fighters from their sect with them today, and their fighting style was overwhelming. They subdued everyone in front of them in no time.
Seeing his companions being slit one by one, and realizing the situation was dire, the last remaining person became a fence-sitter.
"Heroes, spare me! Heroes, spare me! I'm just here begging for food; I haven't committed any heinous crimes!"
The short, rat-eyed man, after being disarmed, knelt down in panic and prostrated himself on the ground, kowtowing repeatedly.
What kind of place is this?
With Ye Feng's permission, one of the Tianwu Sect members pressed his broadsword against the man's neck and demanded an explanation.
"This is a branch altar of the Holy Sect... no, the Demonic Sect."
"The Demonic Cult?"
Upon hearing this, Ye Feng frowned, his face filled with hatred and disgust.
Lingyan's fingers, which had been constantly twitching around her chest, suddenly paused. "The Demonic Sect?"
If it really is a demonic sect, how could Gu Zhong have been trapped here for more than a month in the original story?
"Were you responsible for the recent disappearances of women in the city?"
"this···"
The man seemed somewhat hesitant.
"explain!"
The knife placed against his neck sank a little further.
"I haven't been on this mission myself! I've only heard about it! Just heard about it, sir!"
The man was immediately terrified, tears streaming down his face, his whole body trembling uncontrollably.
"It seems so. What's your purpose?"
"I don't know... I... We lowly henchmen just follow orders, we don't know anything!"
"There's no use keeping you around."
At Ye Feng's signal, the disciples raised their knives, ready to strike.
"Don't kill me! Don't kill me! I know where those kidnapped women are being held!"
As soon as he finished speaking, a hail of arrows flew straight toward them, but they were all easily blocked.
Dozens of people rushed out from the depths of the passageway, coming in a menacing manner. The rat-eyed man's small eyes flashed with a shrewd light, clearly indicating that he was up to no good.
"Don't even think about trying any tricks."
Sensing his dishonesty, the knife was once again placed across his shoulder.
With overwhelming strength, no matter how many people come, it's useless unless there are hundreds or thousands of them. Only then can they possibly exhaust Ye Feng and his group of martial arts masters to death.
After the reinforcements were completely wiped out, the rat-eyed man quickly became their guide, acting respectfully as if he were an undercover agent. He sold out all the information he knew, even though his low rank meant he didn't actually know anything useful.
The underground tunnels beneath Yinshui Village were crisscrossed and far larger than they had imagined.
They followed the rat-eyed man cautiously through the vast underground labyrinth, constantly on guard against their surroundings.
"Tonight, several of the sect's top experts and elders have gone to protect the sect leader. There aren't many people left here, so you can all rest assured. Generally speaking, there won't be anyone else here."
Even with the rat-eyed man's explanation, they couldn't possibly let their guard down.
"The leader? The leader of the Demonic Cult is here?"
However, Ye Feng suddenly reacted extremely, grabbing the rat-eyed man by the collar and questioning him coldly.
Yes...yes...
The rat-eyed man swallowed hard in fear and answered tremblingly.
Lingyan also turned her head sharply to look at the rat-eyed man. Why was Gu Zhong here?
"What law are you protecting?"
Ye Feng then asked the question that Ling Yan wanted to ask.
"I heard that the sect leader is about to complete his divine skill. Several elders are guarding the sect leader day and night, for fear that something might go wrong."
"Master, please take these ladies out of here. Ye Feng wants to meet the leader of the Demonic Sect."
Ye Feng cupped his hands in a gesture of apology, but one could hear the burning anxiety in his voice.
"Young Master, please calm down. After this trip, I have observed that you deeply abhor the Demonic Sect, and you are even more distraught when you hear about the Demonic Sect's leader."
Regardless of your connection with him, you should know that the leader of the Demonic Cult is one of the top experts of the time. Your master still has the strength to fight him. If you rush over, you will only be throwing your life away, not to mention that there are also elders of the Demonic Cult here.
"Even if you bring your fellow disciples and followers, fighting against multiple opponents alone will only result in unnecessary casualties."
This was arguably the longest statement Lingyan had made in recent days; she had gone to great lengths to stop Ye Feng's impulsive actions.
"Once we rescue the woman here, I can take you to meet that cult leader."
Seeing that Ye Feng was still unwilling to give up, Ling Yan could only helplessly continue.
"The Pavilion Master is right; Ye Feng was rash."
Finally, the young sect leader relented.
Ling Yan secretly thought to herself that it was fortunate, and she only hoped to keep Ye Feng calm at this moment.
Hopefully, Gu Zhong will know the truth and back down, otherwise her acting skills will be wasted.
However, Lingyan did not expect that she would have to perform in more than one show; even the touring stage actors were not as exhausted as she was.
--------------------
Author's Note:
In the next chapter, we can finally bring up the other one!
Chapter 55 The Leader of the Righteous Path Alliance and the Leader of the Demonic Cult (Part 8)
==================================
"What fun things are you guys up to?"
Upon entering a significantly wider, dark cave, four or five people sat together, spewing vulgarities and making jokes.
Forced by Lingyan's orders, the rat-eyed man had no choice but to bite the bullet and force a smile as he went up to greet her.
"Hey? What brings you here, kid?"
One of them lazily glanced at the rat-eyed man and asked dismissively.
"Patrol is so boring, I sneaked out to take a break."
"If you want to take a break, stay away from here. This is a prison, and you can't afford to take responsibility if something happens here."
Before the words were even finished, the group of people silently collapsed to the ground one by one.
“Gentlemen, you are all highly skilled in martial arts and possess such abilities, so why do you need to push me out as your pawn?”
The rat-eyed man breathed a sigh of relief, muttering a few complaints to them with a gloomy expression, but after seeing the gleaming knife that had been pressed against his neck, he swallowed all his complaints.
Although they had already forced their way into the thieves' den, they hadn't encountered any other thieves along the way, which felt a bit off. It wouldn't hurt to be more cautious. It would be even better if they could rescue the kidnapped woman without alerting more people.
After obtaining the prison key from the guards, the group ventured deeper into the prison.
Perhaps because the women in the village were all weak and helpless, the small houses built from stone were relatively clean and tidy, without the bloody filth of the official prisons.
Strangely, the rooms were initially empty, yet there were obvious signs that people had lived there.
It wasn't until the fifth cell that they saw two or three women with numb faces. They were neatly dressed, but there was no hope for life on their faces. Even when they saw unfamiliar visitors who were clearly different from the guards they had been with, they showed no emotion.
Even when the cell doors were opened, they remained motionless. They were like puppets, devoid of consciousness and manipulated.
"Master, they..."
Ye Feng looked at Ling Yan with a puzzled expression. When in doubt, he was always at the mercy of the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion Master, and he now trusted her quite a bit.
"He has probably been drugged and has lost his mind."
After a moment's hesitation, and a closer look at one of the women, Lingyan came to a less-than-pleasant conclusion.
"The actions of this demonic cult are utterly heinous! In doing this, wouldn't all these girls be ruined?"
Ye Feng said angrily.
"Perhaps there is a way to reverse the situation. Let's get them out of here first. I'll have to trouble you all."
With a single swift chop, he knocked all the women in the cell unconscious, and the same thing was done to the other cells.
Now they have no choice but to act as laborers and carry people out.
However, this number is much smaller than what the prefect said, and it is feared that most of them have already met with misfortune.