Chapter 304: Xiao Feng Seeks an Audience

Chapter 304: Xiao Feng Seeks an Audience

Early the next morning, a commotion broke out in a corner of Wusheng Hall.

It quickly drew the attention of many Wusheng Hall disciples.

However, those who arrived late were unaware of what exactly had happened and could only inquire around.

"You haven’t heard?

"Hall Master Wu from the Fourth Hall was killed last night, and after an entire night, there’s still no sign of the assassin.

"Hall Master Xing from the Seventh Hall claimed last night that this was the doing of Chief Escort Su from Ziyang Escort.

"But then, last night, the young miss suddenly showed up, saying that when Hall Master Wu was attacked, Chief Escort Su was with her... having a moonlit conversation?

"At that point, Hall Master Xing had no choice but to back down temporarily.

"He didn’t sleep at all last night and came to see Chief Escort Su early this morning with dark circles under his eyes.

"Who knows if he found any evidence or what’s going on?"

"Ah? Where is he now?"

"He's in the room, with people from the Seventh Hall guarding outside, not letting anyone in.

"Honestly, Hall Master Xing really needs to change his attitude.

"The Eastern Wasteland's Number One is not just unparalleled in martial arts; his kindness is known far and wide, with people all over the Eastern Wasteland owing him favors.

"If he truly becomes enraged with our Wusheng Hall, with a single call, Wusheng Hall would become everyone’s target.

"What are we supposed to do then?"

"That's true, especially now, with Mr. Li and the young miss about to marry, it’s not wise to keep causing trouble like this.

"If Chief Escort Su loses his temper and takes action...

"By the way, what’s Hall Master Li’s take on this?"

"Hall Master Li can’t handle it anymore; last night he tried to mediate the situation.

"But in the end, it didn’t work..."

At this point, the Wusheng Hall disciple spoke mysteriously:

"There’s some connection between Hall Master Xing and the madam, and although Hall Master Li holds a higher position, it’s hard for him to make Hall Master Xing obey.

"I’ve heard that Hall Master Li has mentioned to the hall master several times about wanting to dismiss Hall Master Xing from his position.

"But the hall master never agreed, there must be some consideration for the madam's face, otherwise... how could Hall Master Xing dare to behave like this?"

The Wusheng Hall disciples who were inquiring about the commotion looked at each other, and for a moment, they were filled with worry:

"If we really anger this Eastern Wasteland's Number One... our lives could end in an instant."

"There’s no way, we’ll just have to wait and hope that Hall Master Xing can be cautious with his words and actions..."

For a moment, everyone felt insecure, but they could only wait anxiously outside.

Let alone them, even the people from the Seventh Hall are not as steady as one might imagine.

Our own Hall Master, as if he has a death wish, provokes Su Mo every day.

This is like dancing on the edge of a cliff, not fearing a swift death.

……

……

The Wusheng Hall disciples outside are all on edge, feeling as if they could smell the tension through the doors and windows.

Yet inside the room, the atmosphere was harmonious.

Yang Xiaoyun, having not seen her father for over half a year, couldn't help but show emotion, her eyes reddening despite her usual tough demeanor.

Yang Yizhi, seeing that Yang Xiaoyun was safe and sound, naturally felt a sense of relief.

Immediately, everyone started talking, and the first to speak was Ji Feiyang.

He had been mocked by the Kirin Swordsman since last night, and now, using a disguise, he posed as a servant of the Seventh Hall.

He spoke indignantly:

"This Madam Wan is nothing more than a witch.

"Her methods are despicable, shameless, and utterly disgraceful.

"Last night, it was not my will; clearly she used acupressure on me and forcibly dragged me onto the bed...

"I fought back fiercely, but unable to break free from the acupressure points, I could only let her have her way."

Although he spoke with indignation, his words amused everyone present.

But soon, no one could laugh after that, as Ji Feiyang said:

"This Madam Wan seems to have some strange method. When she humiliated me, I actually felt a faint withering of my vitality.

"I say... I'm not joking with you, is this woman's background really as simple as the Hou family of the Western Frontier?"

"Oh?"

Su Mo was taken aback and couldn't help but glance at Yang Yizhi.

Yang Yizhi nodded slightly: "We examined him last night, and indeed there are signs of withering.

"But... similar to such evil techniques of yin and yang extraction, they have long been rare in the martial arts world.

"Madam Wan's origins are well known, the Hou family, the first family of the Western Frontier.

"However, the family's martial arts are of the righteous path; otherwise, it would be extremely difficult to have been passed down to this day.

"Now, where this variable comes from is really hard to determine."

Su Mo recalled the conversation between Madam Wan and Wan Yutang last night and seemed to understand something.

Madam Wan once said that once she saved Wan Yilan, it would be logical for her to kill her, could it be because of this?

After a moment of contemplation, he spoke:

"Uncle Yang, you've seen it all. Among the Three Great Demon Sects of East City, I know a bit about the Eternal Night Valley and the Youquan Cult.

"But I don't know much about the Palace of Heavenly Bliss...

"I've only come across two real martial arts masters, one is Gu Biyuan from the Blue Wind Valley.

"The other is a person with a half-male, half-female face I met in East City. This person's skills are seriously impressive."

"Oh?"

Yang Yizhi didn't seem too bothered, but the Qilin Swordsman was taken aback:

"You mean Lady Chà Yuán Jūn?"

"Huh? Is she famous?"

"One of the top fighters in the Palace of Heavenly Bliss!"

The Qilin Swordsman immediately nodded and said, "If you run into her, watch out for her HeavenEarth Convergence Grand Sutra. This technique blends yin and yang, and it's no joke. It also messes with your head, stirring up desires, making it super hard to defend against..."

"Oh..."

Su Mo nodded: "No big deal, I already took care of her, so no need to sweat it."

"..."

The Qilin Swordsman was at a loss for words. You already killed her, what's the point of bringing it up?

This Su guy is seriously something else!

"What I'm really asking is, does the Palace of Heavenly Bliss use tricks like Madam Wan's? I'm sure you all know their style."

Su Mo glanced at the few people present.

Yang Yizhi shook his head:

"The folks from the Palace of Heavenly Bliss are all about indulgence, their main goal is to let loose.

"Not to rip others off.

"The catch is, their indulgence comes at the expense of others, which is why they're a cult.

"But deep down, they don't have those kinds of tricks.

"Plus, most of their martial arts are about messing with your head, stirring up desires, making you lose control, and then taking whatever they want...

"They're not just about killing, it's all about the thrill.

"Of course, whether they kill after having their fun is totally up to them.

"So, they've racked up a ton of innocent lives."

Su Mo nodded, exhaling lightly: "If that's how it is, then the Palace of Heavenly Bliss is probably off the hook. The issue's probably somewhere else... I'll keep that in mind and check it out tonight."

At this point, he paused slightly and looked at Ling Hongxia:

"Aunt Ling, you went after the killer last night, how'd it go?"

"This is also what I wanted to tell you today... After the kill, this person stuck around the Wusheng Hall."

"After a series of twists and turns, we finally reached the Tenth Hall."

"Deng Fengbai?"

"That's correct."

Ling Hongxia said, "However, there are two surprising aspects to this..."

She paused briefly and got straight to the point:

"The first thing is, I wasn't the only one pursuing this person; there was someone else too."

"Who?"

"The Second Hall's Deputy Hall Master... Guicang Blade, Xiao Feng!"

Su Mo gave a slight nod upon hearing this:

"Xiao Xiong, the former Hall Master of the Second Hall, is Xiao Feng's father. The way Bei Zhangzhi took over was somewhat unusual.

"Over the years, aside from the title of Guicang Blade, Xiao Feng hasn't done anything out of the ordinary.

"This is somewhat strange in itself...

"Since he showed up last night, it might mean he knows something.

"I can try to reach out to him and dig into his background."

"Mo'er, what are you planning to do?"

Yang Yizhi quickly asked.

Su Mo smiled and said, "The Second Hall's inherited martial art is known as the Great Blaze Divine Saber. Since the Second Hall's Hall Master, Xiao Xiong, disappeared, this saber technique has been lost. However, I have a guard named Hu Sandao, who originally hailed from the Forging Saber Gang in Wusheng Hall's territory..."

He gave a brief rundown of Hu Sandao's background.

Everyone present, except Yang Xiaoyun, was astonished.

"So, the saber technique Hu Sandao learned must be the Great Blaze Divine Saber.

"Then, could the person trapped in the cave be Xiao Xiong?"

Su Mo nodded:

"Now, it seems very likely.

"Moreover, before dying, this person tasked Hu Sandao with coming to Wusheng Hall to find the Endless Prison [a mysterious dungeon within Wusheng Hall] and rescue someone from it.

"He also made it clear that this person could teach Old Hu the remaining techniques of the Great Blaze Divine Saber.

"However, Old Hu, aware of his weak martial skills, didn't dare come to Wusheng Hall, fearing he'd meet his end.

"As for the Endless Prison... last night, with young miss Wan's help, I overheard some intriguing things..."

He then told everyone about the conversation he overheard between Wan Yutang and Madam Wan in the study's secret room last night, with Wan Yilan's help.

After he finished, everyone present was nearly speechless.

The sheer amount of information was overwhelming!

"The person locked up in the Endless Prison... is the real Wan Yutang?"

Anyone who caught wind of last night's talk would naturally jump to that conclusion.

"Then who is the current Wan Yutang?"

When Yang Yizhi posed the question, his eyes had already sharpened with intensity.

Su Mo chuckled: "Uncle Yang, let's not get ahead of ourselves."

"Exactly."

Yu Lingxin also nodded:

"There's another angle to consider here. Wan Yutang isn't who he seems, but that doesn't automatically make him the turncoat from Li Siyun's clan.

"It might be Wusheng Hall's internal power struggle, with someone seizing the chance to off Wan Yutang and toss him into the Endless Prison.

"If we don't dig deep and just charge in,

"If it's really him, great, but if not... with his smarts and slyness, he'd just burrow deeper underground.

"Tracking him down again would be like finding a needle in a haystack."

"Exactly."

Ling Hongxia also nodded: "The Yu girl's got a point, and Mo'er's likely on the same page, or else you'd have made your move last night."

"The big problem is we still haven't located the Endless Prison."

Su Mo said: "If we can crack the Endless Prison and lay eyes on the prisoner, a lot of puzzles would fall into place. Sadly, I've got the layout down but the entrance still eludes me.

"So tonight, I'm planning to sneak into the back mountain's forbidden zone.

"If the back mountain's a bust, I'll have to snatch up this Wan Yutang, whoever he really is.

"If it's him, we're golden, but if not... we'll need a new game plan."

"The forbidden area of the back mountain..."

Ling Hongxia frowned slightly: "That place is downright eerie. I've snuck in a few times, and each time, I got busted for no good reason. If my footwork wasn't up to snuff, I'd have been toast. If you're heading to the back mountain, watch your step. I'll tag along to have your back."

Su Mo nodded: "Aunt Ling's backup would be a big help... Hey, Aunt Ling, you left us hanging earlier. What's the second surprise?"

"It's about Wusheng Hall's Tenth Hall."

Ling Hongxia said softly: "This second twist involves the Tenth Hall. Deng Fengbai's now bowing to Ren Xiongfei, treating him like his boss in every way.

"At first, I didn't get it, but now it's clear.

"If Ren Xiongfei's from the Eternal Night Valley, no wonder he's got Deng Fengbai under his thumb.

"But... from the chatter, Ren Xiongfei's not in Wusheng Hall. He's off the grid, and if we don't reel him in, he could spell big trouble..."

"Ah, so that's the deal."

Su Mo paused, then shot a glance at the swordsman.

"What's up?"

The Qilin Swordsman was baffled by Su Mo's gaze and instinctively said:

"Are you planning to hit me again?"

"What are you talking about?"

Su Mo rolled his eyes: "When have I ever hit you, huh?"

"You took your chance to get back at me last night—don’t think I didn’t notice!"

The Qilin Swordsman shot Su Mo a glare, though he kept his thoughts to himself.

Su Mo, on the other hand, just smiled:

"The situation with Ren Xiongfei is actually straightforward.

"Since Aunt Ling has already found concrete proof that the person who killed Wu Yong came from the Tenth Hall,

"Then we can have Hall Master Xing step in and directly apprehend Deng Fengbai and the others from the Tenth Hall."

"Hmm?" Yang Yizhi murmured, momentarily stunned, and suddenly glanced at Su Mo: "Are you trying to flush out the snake?"

"Exactly."

Su Mo nodded:

"So we can’t be too heavy-handed—we can’t crush them in one go, otherwise the snake will slip away.

"We need to make him think there’s still a chance, then he’ll show up to protect the overall situation."

So, we’ll focus on the Seventh Hall, claiming that evidence has been found.

We can’t reveal the concrete proof yet, only provide some ambiguous hints, but we’ll need the Tenth Hall to cooperate with the investigation.

The Tenth Hall won’t just sit back and take this lying down, which will eventually lead to conflict.

Given Xing Lan’s temperament, a forced search of the Tenth Hall would make sense.

But... the Tenth Hall might not survive such a search, so Deng Fengbai will most likely not allow this to happen.

He’ll do everything he can to mediate and then figure out how to bring Ren Xiongfei back to take control.

We can use this to slowly draw him back in."

Yang Yizhi paused, then shook his head with a slight smile:

"But since Ren Xiongfei has managed to stay hidden in Wusheng Hall for years without being found...

"It’s obvious he’s got some serious skills, so we must be cautious in our approach.

"And our public identities might not be enough to outmatch Deng Fengbai, and Qilin’s martial arts are not of the same style as Xing Lan’s.

"If we rely on them too much, we’ll just end up exposing ourselves.

"So if things go south, it’ll be up to Mo’er to step in.

"You were just accused of murder last night, so now’s the perfect time for you to clear your name. Getting involved would make perfect sense."

"That settles it."

Su Mo smiled: "If that's the case, then the matters we can probably settle are...

"First, we need to find the Endless Prison.

"Second, we should contact Xiao Feng.

"Third, we need to flush out the snake...

"We can handle the first matter tonight.

"The third matter is urgent; it's best to act immediately.

"As for the second matter..."

Just as he spoke, the sound of footsteps rapidly approached the door. Su Mo suddenly slammed the table and shouted angrily:

"Hall Master Xing, you've got some nerve!!!"

The Kirin Swordsman's mouth twitched, and everyone in the room immediately stood up.

Everyone returned to their places.

As the Kirin Swordsman stood up, he was suddenly struck by a powerful force.

Before the visitor could reach the door, a loud crash echoed.

The Kirin Swordsman, along with the door, was sent flying and landed hard on the ground.

Sitting on the ground, he pointed angrily at Su Mo:

"So, Chief Escort Su, you only rely on your martial arts to bully others?"

As he spoke, he noticed the visitor—his subordinate from the Seventh Hall—and quickly got up, dusted himself off, and snorted:

"What's going on?"

The disciple, not daring to look at the Hall Master's disheveled state, bowed his head and saluted:

"Hall Master, Deputy Hall Master Xiao Feng from the Second Hall is here to see Chief Escort Su and refuses to leave the entrance."

As the words were spoken, Yang Yizhi and others rushed out to assist the Kirin Swordsman.

The Kirin Swordsman flicked his sleeve, turned, and glared at Su Mo:

"Chief Escort Su, we'll settle this later."

"One more word, and next year today will be your death anniversary."

Su Mo's voice was icy, his tone chilling.

Both sides were slightly surprised...

Why had Xiao Feng suddenly shown up?

But his timing couldn't have been better.

So now, the Kirin Swordsman and his group should indeed be making their exit.

He angrily flicked his sleeve and led his men out of the small courtyard with large strides.

Su Mo, however, frowned, feeling he had gone a bit too easy on them.

It wasn't that he had openly intended to strike the Qilin Swordsman.

The key point was... as the First of Donghuang, a martial arts master, he had fought a Hall Master multiple times without inflicting serious injury. Didn't that seem a bit too staged?

Just as the Qilin Swordsman left with Yang Yizhi and the others, a man casually carrying a saber approached.

He first looked at the shattered doorway and smiled helplessly:

"Hall Master Xing is quite resolute; it's truly our Wusheng Hall that has caused offense."

Su Mo scrutinized Xiao Feng before smiling: "Hall Master Xiao, what brings you here all of a sudden? Could it be that you also think I killed Wu Yong?"

"Of course not."

Xiao Feng smiled: "Moreover, I already know who the murderer is, which is why I came to find Chief Escort Su."

...

...