Chapter 153: Old Matters

Chapter 153: Old Matters

The scar-faced man and the one-armed tiger lay on the ground, barely clinging to life.

Su Mo then looked at Feng Baichuan and the others:

"What do you want to ask?"

Feng Baichuan's expression was cold and stern, his voice sharp like a blade: "The whereabouts of our Great Uncle Master."

Su Mo raised an eyebrow, then heard Liu Mo quickly say:

"By speaking this way, Chief Su might misunderstand. In any case, Chief Su should act first.

"We will explain everything in detail afterward."

"Very well."

Su Mo nodded, understanding why Liu Mo was so urgent.

Zhen Xiaoxiao slapped the scar-faced man, nearly killing him.

She then sat down and tormented his remaining life until he was almost dead.

If they didn't ask now, he might die within moments.

Su Mo squatted down without further ado, simply taking the scar-faced man's hand.

The scar-faced man glared at Su Mo, his ferocity undiminished even in this state, but his intimidation had no effect on Su Mo and his companions.

This man had many tricks, but when it came to real skill, he probably couldn't defeat any of them present.

So his ferocity was like that of a mischievous child, not taken seriously.

Su Mo didn't bother to speak much, casually tapping the scar-faced man's Spirit Gate point.

In the next instant, the previously fierce scar-faced man's face contorted in pain.

He suddenly bit down, nearly severing his own tongue.

Fortunately, Yang Xiaoyun saw the danger and quickly intervened, kicking his chin to turn his head, preventing him from biting his tongue off.

The next moment, a piercing scream echoed through the dense forest, lingering for a long time.

Su Mo examined the man's injuries, ensuring that such a scream wouldn't worsen his condition, before he felt relieved.

He asked casually, "So, what exactly is going on? Why is he with you?"

While speaking, Su Mo glanced at Fu Hanyuan.

Fu Hanyuan instinctively shrank back.

Since there was nothing else to do while waiting for the pain to subside, Liu Mo briefly recounted their situation.

After Su Mo and the others left the Heavenly Blade Sect, they went to the Yuejiang Pavilion to investigate.

They learned that the seventh-generation ancestor's footsteps had spread across the Eastern Wasteland.

However, the story of the Jade Cone only appeared briefly in the territory of East City.

Following the clues, they discovered an interesting point.

It turned out that Tong Yun had also left marks at the same place where the seventh-generation ancestor had left the Jade Cone.

Ultimately, they locked onto this point and began their journey to East City.

They set out much earlier than Su Mo.

At the time of departure, it wasn't just the three of them; Ji Feiyang was also with them.

Fu Hanyuan joined them because he realized he had become a pawn in someone else's hands and needed to find a way to save himself.

After much persuasion and after being given some poison by the Heavenly Blade Sect, he was reluctantly allowed to join.

As for Ji Feiyang...

The people of the Heavenly Blade Sect hadn't intended to hold onto him, but after explaining the entire situation, he felt it was unfair to blame everything on the Heavenly Blade Sect.

However, he was also unwilling to believe that the Heavenly Blade Sect was completely innocent.

Therefore, to uncover the truth, he joined the team.

When the group reached the intersection of the seventh-generation ancestor's and Tong Yun's marks, something happened to Ji Feiyang, and he disappeared.

The remaining three searched for several days but found no trace of him, alive or dead. They could only give up and continue their search for clues.

In the process, they didn't find Tong Yun, but they did discover more traces of Tong Yun in East City.

They found that this Great Uncle Master of the Heavenly Blade Sect had acted very mysteriously in the Eastern Wasteland years ago.

He seemed to be investigating many things, but the details were always vague.

Following the clues, they eventually found the Five Tigers of Huai Mountain.

Based on the information they had, it was determined that at least twenty years ago, Tong Yun had an encounter with them.

This encounter was closely related to the Jade Cone.

Thus, the pursuit of the Five Tigers of Huai Mountain began from Minyue Mountain.

The reason they are called the Huai Mountain Five Tigers is not because they operate in Huai Mountain.

They have committed so many evil deeds that various righteous sects in East City all want to take their lives.

Yet, for some unknown reason, they never stray into the territory of the demonic cult, only moving between the various sects in East City.

The name "Huai Mountain Five Tigers" is a reminder of their origins; initially, they started their activities in Huai Mountain.

Earlier, when Feng Baichuan said he wanted to inquire about his grand-uncle's whereabouts, he was actually asking what Tong Yun did twenty years ago...

However, the Heavenly Blade Sect's awkward martial arts and personalities make them poor at expressing themselves, often leading to incoherent speech.

By the time this conversation reached this point, it had taken about the duration of a stick of incense.

Su Mo turned and glanced at the scar-faced man, casually unblocking the pain point on his Shenmen acupoint.

The scar-faced man's expression suddenly relaxed, and when he looked at Su Mo again, it was as if he were facing a demon.

Among those present, Fu Hanyuan understood his current state of mind the most, sighing:

"I say, just answer our questions. It's better than suffering here. This gentleman's methods are not easily endured, and this is just the Shenmen acupoint...

"If you don't speak up, we'll move on to the Fengshi acupoint, and then you'll truly understand what it means to prefer death over life."

The scar-faced man was taken aback: "You... you've experienced it too?"

"None of your business!"

Fu Hanyuan's face darkened instantly, flicking his sleeve and giving a cold snort.

"..."

It was you who spoke first!!

The scar-faced man felt deeply wronged but dared not protest.

He took a deep breath: "You... you... want to know what the Unstoppable Blade Tong Yun asked us to do more than twenty years ago?"

Although he was in intense pain earlier, the pain did not cloud his mind; rather, it made him more alert.

In this situation, he had heard every word of Su Mo's conversation.

He took a deep breath: "Alright, I'll tell you... but what I say, you might not believe."

"Oh?"

Liu Mo was taken aback but nodded: "Just speak your mind. We can discern the truth ourselves."

"Alright!"

The scar-faced man took a deep breath: "The Unstoppable Blade Tong Yun... what a grand reputation, a top expert of the Heavenly Blade Sect, a righteous hero... to be honest, I suspect his background is far more complex than you imagine...

"One day, he suddenly found us brothers, with incredible skills and power!"

A hint of fear flashed in the scar-faced man's eyes.

It seemed he was recalling some terrifying events from the past.

But then he said something shocking: "But his purpose was to have us... rob a convoy!!"

Rob a convoy!?

Su Mo's eyebrows lifted slightly. As someone who runs an escort agency, he naturally paid close attention to such matters.

Yang Xiaoyun also subconsciously tightened her grip on the Longyuan spear.

"What convoy?"

Liu Mo followed up.

"That thing..."

The scar-faced man frowned: "He said it was a musical score."

"..."

Su Mo and Yang Xiaoyun were both startled.

A musical score!?

When Li Siyun came to Wufangji, he only mentioned the Mandarin Duck Score as a musical score.

Now, this scar-faced man was saying that Tong Yun had once asked them to rob a convoy carrying a musical score?

Could it be... the Mandarin Duck Score?

Though they were shaken, they did not show it on their faces.

They listened quietly as if this matter had nothing to do with them.

Liu Mo was taken aback: "Tong Yun asked you to rob a musical score?"

As he spoke, he looked at Feng Baichuan.

Feng Baichuan was also puzzled, but his confusion only made his gaze colder.

"Be straightforward, don't hold back. Just tell us everything to avoid unnecessary speculation."

Fu Hanyuan let out an angry roar.

"Hmph!"

The scar-faced man took a deep breath. "Well, hey, that Tong Yun back then didn't use this name when he came to us.

"He gave himself an alias and didn't speak directly when he found us.

"Instead, he first knocked us to the ground, his saber techniques were like those of a demon, extremely vicious.

"At that time, we had only been in the martial world for a few years, and our skills were far inferior to what they are now.

"When had we ever seen such bizarre and ferocious saber techniques?

"In the martial world, if you're not a match, you can only kneel and beg for mercy.

"But he told us that he hadn't come to kill, but needed someone to help him with something.

"His words still ring in my ears. He said: 'Seven days from now, an escort agency will pass by the foot of Huai Mountain, with a flag on the carriage bearing the words Ziyang. At that time, you will rob the escort and search for a music score among the escorts. If you succeed, your lives will be spared. If you refuse, your heads will be taken by the blade, don't say I didn't warn you!'"

As he spoke, Liu Mo and the others were all shaken to their cores.

This scar-faced man did not know that Su Mo was now the head of Ziyang Escort Agency.

When Su Mo first took over the agency, the words "Ziyang" were still on his sleeve.

However, after Yang Xiaoyun took charge, she changed the uniforms of Ziyang Escort Agency.

The words "Ziyang" on the sleeves were removed, so until now, the scar-faced man had no idea about Su Mo and Yang Xiaoyun's backgrounds.

Su Mo remained calm and asked, "Then what happened?"

"At the time, we had no other choice.

"That man came and went without a trace, his martial arts were extremely high. Since we weren't a match, we could only follow his orders.

"So we asked him in detail about the Ziyang Escort Agency and learned that it was founded by the former chief of Purple Sun Sect after leaving the sect.

"It has deep roots and is far superior to ordinary escort agencies.

"Even after the death of the great Chief Su, his descendants were still considered members of the Purple Sun Sect.

"The relationship between this escort agency and the Purple Sun Sect is so close that it's truly terrifying.

"Although we had to do this because of his high martial arts, robbing the Ziyang Escort Agency at Huai Mountain, whether we succeeded or failed, was no different from courting death.

"So, after much probing, we finally found out his name, hoping to use it to our advantage later.

"After much discussion, we decided to go through with the job.

"If the Ziyang Escort Agency was too powerful and we weren't a match, we would pretend to die or beg for mercy.

"But if the Ziyang Escort Agency was just a paper tiger, we would rob the carriage and immediately flee far away.

"If we could find that cursed music score, we would split it into several parts and hide them in extremely secret places.

"This way, even if he hesitated to harm us, he might not really kill us.

"But if we actually gave him the loot, that would be a dead end."

Su Mo and the others believed this.

The Five Tigers of Huai Mountain were merely pawns in that man's hands, to be discarded after use.

If they succeeded, he wouldn't let them live to keep the secret.

"But... we never expected the Ziyang Escort Agency to be so formidable.

"That Chief Su..."

At this point, he suddenly glanced at Su Mo. "That man shares your surname, but his mastery of Purple Sun Sect's techniques is truly formidable.

"His movements were like the sun blazing in the sky... if it weren't for his age, I would have suspected he was the current leader of the Purple Sun Sect.

"With such martial arts, how could we be a match for him?

"Moreover, among their group was a skilled spear user.

"At that time, he was unknown, but now we know he is Yang Yizhi of Iron Blood Escort Agency in the southwestern region...

"His dragon spear penetrated three mountains, seven villages, and eighteen gangs, making even the most feared bandits lose their nerve.

"Such a person... to rob their escort, what difference is there from courting death?

"Fortunately, Chief Su is not a bloodthirsty man. After driving us back, he didn't finish us off.

"But at that moment, the knife fighter suddenly attacked...

"He had been hiding among us, pretending to be defeated. When Chief Su stood before him, he tore off his disguise and unleashed a world-shattering saber technique.

"It was because of that one strike that I confirmed he was from the Heavenly Blade Sect.

"That move... is one of the Seven Emotions Immortal Saber techniques, 'Unshaken Spirit'!"

Hearing this, Liu Mo couldn't help but glance at Feng Baichuan.

Feng Baichuan's expression grew colder, his eyes filled with a chilling blade intent, as if he wanted to split the scar-faced man in two right there.

The scar-faced man, having said this much, no longer cared about the attitudes of those around him.

Having spoken so much in one breath, he was already on his last legs, but he became resolute:

"There are very few people in this world who can wield a blade to such a degree.

"Just by counting on our fingers, we could know exactly who this person is.

"But... this is not something to be happy about; it’s rather terrifying.

"As an expert from the Heavenly Blade Sect, he changed his name and suddenly intruded into this affair, using us as bait to suddenly kill.

"His methods were ruthless and secretive; how could he possibly let us live after succeeding?

"But what a man, Chief Su!

"When that blade was unleashed, we all thought he was surely dead, but unexpectedly, he just laughed heartily and loudly declared, ‘I have been waiting for you!’

"After saying this, he struck back with a palm.

"The two met, their palm and blade intersecting half a foot apart, and the blade aura and heat wave instantly spread, extending for hundreds of feet.

"The ground was instantly crisscrossed with slashes, the grass scorched and deeply marked.

"After his move, Tong Yun returned empty-handed, deeply versed in the ways of the assassin, and immediately fled far away.

"Chief Su, however, was unwilling to let him go and immediately flew off in pursuit.

"The remaining members of the escort agency promptly drove the carts in chase, leaving us brothers behind.

"It was precisely because of this that we brothers managed to save our lives.

"After that, we could no longer stay in Huai Mountain and had to find another way.

"For a while, we lived in constant fear, afraid that Tong Yun might return at any moment to kill us.

"But as we waited and waited, our hearts grew cold, and he never came back.

"On the contrary, we brothers decided to live for today, disregarding the rules of the green forest.

"Our behavior gradually became more reckless... well, you know the rest."

With these words, he closed his eyes, adopting a carefree attitude towards life and death.

Su Mo and the others fell into silence.

After a long while, Liu Mo asked, "Do you know where that escort mission, led by Chief Su back then, was headed?"

"..."

The scar-faced man frowned and said in a low voice, "That place is long gone..."

"Answer me."

"Hmph..."

The scar-faced man sneered, wanting to retort, but after hesitating for a moment, he sighed:

"According to the information we gathered...

"They were to deliver it to Misty Mountain, Blue Wind Valley, to the Yu Clan."

At these words, Su Mo's heart was shaken!

The Yu Clan!?

How could it be the Yu Clan!?

As Liu Mo and the others exchanged glances, they voiced the question on Su Mo's mind:

"The Yu Clan? The same Yu Clan that preferred to shatter like jade rather than remain whole as pottery?"

"Yes."

The scar-faced man shook his head lightly: "Back then, the Yu Clan was a remarkable clan, holding a seat in Tianqu City.

"But, over a decade ago, for some unknown reason, they were wiped out in a single night.

"The entire clan was completely exterminated...

"This world is perilous, and nothing is more dangerous than this. My brothers and I have roamed for many years, eating what we should eat, drinking what we should drink, killing who we should kill, and playing as we pleased.

"Whether we have committed too many evils or are despised by others, it’s just a stormy journey through the rivers and lakes, coming hastily... leaving... why bother with farewells..."

As he spoke, his gaze began to waver.

Su Mo extended his hand and infused him with a bit of internal energy, barely maintaining his breath, then asked:

"Is there anything else you want to ask?"

Feng Baichuan stepped forward: "His alias."

The man from the Heavenly Blade Sect was concise, but the scar-faced man smiled and spat out three words:

"Mo Chengkong."

The three words fell, and he breathed his last.