The carriage rumbled along the single, straight, lonely road, and Ma Jingguo cautiously peered through the window.
He had visited the Gu Manor countless times before, yet the sight unfolding now was profoundly different from the sections where Gu Tingfang usually welcomed guests. This part of the sprawling estate felt less like a home and more like a fortress.
A single, narrow road traveled directly toward the front steps—an unsettling design choice engineered to ensure that any desperate prisoner attempting to slip through their tight security would have absolutely no chance of escaping unseen by the vigilant guards. The oppressive atmosphere was no accident. With such deliberate construction, it was a grim guarantee that anyone bold enough to dare an approach or attempt a break-in would be clearly and immediately exposed the moment they turned the final corner. The entire road was a glaring, inescapable spotlight.
The carriage stopped right in front of the Gu Manor. Yuan Chaomei informed him, "Chief, we are at the foot of the Gu prison."
Ma Jingguo opened the curtain and stepped out. "Chaomei, stay here to accompany them." He then looked at Wen Huifang. "Wen Qianbei... let's go."
Ma Jingguo, Wen Huifang, Si Meifeng, and Tong Keung led the way, followed by hundreds of members of the Sunset Sect. When they reached the door, ten guards dressed in black blocked their path.
A guard demanded, "Who are you?"
Tong Keung announced their purpose. "We are here to take back what belongs to us."
The second guard issued a cold dismissal. "This is the Gu territory, return to where you came from."
Wen Huifang snapped, her patience gone. "You talk too much!" She instantly shot three needles at the guard. Her red string wrapped around the guard's neck as she flew over and kicked behind the guard's knee. "Kneel down in front of our chief!"
Guard two spat on the ground. "I am a guard of the Gu household, and I will never bow my head to anyone!"
Ma Jingguo smiled, a chilling promise in his eyes. "Very loyal." He raised his right palm and slammed his hand down, striking the second guard's head with lethal force. "Then you deserve to die as a very loyal dog."
Wen Huifang loosened the rope, and the second guard collapsed, dead. She then shot four needles straight at the remaining three guards.
Si Meifeng urged them onward. "Don't waste time on these useless servants!"
Wen Huifang and Tong Keung deftly leaped back toward Ma Jingguo, just as Si Meifeng surged forward, throwing a dense cloud of white powder at the three remaining guards. Their flesh immediately began to rot and blister. Wen Huifang finished the execution with cold efficiency, sending three needles that pierced clean through the guards' bodies. The three men instantly collapsed, vomiting mouthfuls of black blood.
Si Meifeng watched, a smile of genuine admiration touching her lips. "Senior Wen, I'm still fascinated by your poison."
The group of Sunset Sect members strode into the main area where the cell block was located. Immediately, thirty armored guards rushed toward them, sealing the path to the prison cells.
Wen Huifang, recognizing the superior training of the Gu Household forces, knew this would be a difficult battle. She and Tong Keung immediately engaged the nearest guards.
"Chief, we'll stay behind to deal with these guards!" Wen Huifang called out.
Ma Jingguo's voice was firm, resonating with uncompromising loyalty. "We came together, and we will leave together." He reached into his robe, pulling out his black, weighted gloves and snapping them onto his hands. He stepped powerfully in front of his three subordinates and flew forward, launching a ferocious, full-force attack on the Gu guards.
Si Meifeng watched his aggressive, lethal move, a slow realization dawning on her face. "No wonder you bend your knees," she murmured to Wen Huifang.
Wen Huifang returned the look, her gaze steady and challenging. "Meimei, it's time for you to faithfully bend yours."
Gu Gouliang appeared dramatically at the top of the stairs, his voice echoing with outrage. "Who are you? How dare you cause such trouble here?"
Wen Huifang met his demand directly. "We sent a letter to inform you we wanted Zan Huangming and Ma Jingguo!" She challenged the Gu Gouliang her voice ringing with scorn. "But Chief Gu chose not to take our words seriously. So, we are here now to take our right-hand guard home!"
Gu Gouliang looked genuinely perplexed. "Right-hand guard?"
Ma Jingguo sneered, his voice ringing with contemptuous, intimate knowledge. "The person who was chained in your dungeon. You and your brother go there every month to ask him about the Devil Fists Manual!"
Gu Gouliang was completely taken aback. Other than his brother, Gu Xiaowen, no one—not a soul—would visit Zan Huangming so frequently. "How do you know that?" His voice, stripped of its authority, trembled with genuine alarm.
Ma Jingguo was utterly relentless, his focus solely on the mission. "Stand aside if you don't want to die," he commanded.
Gu Gouliang struggled to regain his composure and maintain his authority. "If I refuse to move, what exactly do you plan to do?"
"If you refuse to stand aside, you will die," Ma Jingguo stated, the plainness of the threat far more chilling than any shout.
"I'm not afraid of you," Gouliang spat, trying to sound brave. "Do you think some unknown person can make me tremble? You give yourself far too much credit..." He ordered the guards beside him, his voice cracking with desperation. "Kill them all!"
The thirty men in black, pulling their dao, surged down the stairs toward the four invaders. Ma Jingguo merely sneered, flying forward and punching the first guard with brutal force. Another guard immediately stabbed his dao at Ma Jingguo, but Ma Jingguo met the blade with another devastating punch, bending the heavy steel and shattering the guard's right knuckle instantly. Ma Jingguo seized the collapsing man's neck with his left hand, breaking it with a sickening snap. He then hurled the dead guard's body into the oncoming wave. Without breaking stride, Ma Jingguo sprinted past the ensuing melee, aiming straight for Gu Gouliang.
"Up!" Si Meifeng shouted a warning.
Wen Huifang, Tong Keung, and Si Meifeng launched themselves into the air. Si Meifeng threw a dense ball of white powder into the cluster of guards below. Recognizing the immediate threat of poison, the guards instinctively pulled back. Wen Huifang immediately followed up, throwing multiple needles into the resulting chaos. While some needles struck their targets, the majority of the guards were still surging forward, their numbers and training focused on overwhelming the intruders.
Ma Jingguo struck the guard on his left, effortlessly clearing a path, and charged straight at Gu Gouliang. Gu Gouliang retaliated, throwing three razor-sharp silver leaves. Ma Jingguo, without breaking his stride, effortlessly caught the projectiles with his left hand and instantly flung them back, sending them piercing into the three guards who were rushing him from the left flank. He closed the distance in a blur, seized Gu Gouliang's hands, and savagely twisted his wrist. He followed up with a precise kick to Gu Gouliang's left knee, forcing the Gu prominent elder son to drop onto one knee with a cry of pain. Before Gu Gouliang could recover, Ma Jingguo gripped his neck.
Ma Jingguo squeezed Gu Gouliang's neck, lifting him clean off the ground. He glared fiercely at the remaining guards and roared, "Stop!" The guards, recognizing their leader's peril, instantly halted their attack and retreated from Wen Huifang, Si Meifeng, and Tong Keung. Ma Jingguo issued his iron-clad threat. "Dare to take another step... and I will break his neck." He then violently slammed Gu Gouliang to the cold stone floor.
Tong Keung immediately grabbed Gu Gouliang by the back of his collar, securing the hostage, and followed Ma Jingguo toward the prison cell entrance.
The lead guard, seeing his leader neutralized, barked an urgent order to his men, "Go get Xunsu gugu and Tianjian shushu!"
With Gu Gouliang held firmly hostage, the remaining guards were paralyzed. They watched helplessly as Ma Jingguo and his three lieutenants descended into the unforgiving darkness of the underground prison.
Ma Jingguo stood before the rusty, heavy iron door of the dungeon cell. He commanded, his voice vibrating with absolute authority, "Open."
Gu Gouliang, coughing to clear his constricted throat, weakly repeated the order. "Open."
The terrified guard quickly complied, pulling open the heavy iron door with a loud, grating creak that echoed through the stone corridor.
A weak, sarcastic voice called out from the darkness inside. "Did you just step out? Why come back so soon?" Zan Huangming smiled thinly, mistaking the silhouette for one of his usual tormentors.
Ma Jingguo's voice was full of raw, undisguised emotion. "Shifu, it's me. I am here."
"Jingguo?" Zan Huangming questioned, the sound layered with profound disbelief and shock.
Ma Jingguo looked back at the guard fiercely. He said, "Light up the room!"
The guard hurriedly lit the dim candles lining the walls.
Ma Jingguo immediately walked over and knelt on the damp dungeon floor in front of Zan Huangming. "Shifu, I'm here to take you home."
Zan Huangming's lips trembled, and tears welled in his eyes. He had always been plagued by the doubt that Ma Jingguo might abandon him the moment he was free from the Gu family's clutches, but here he was, keeping his sacred promise. He said joyfully, "Very good, very good."
Wen Huifang knelt before Zan Huangming and gently took his hand. "Right-Guard Zan, Huifang... I never knew you had been imprisoned here for so many years."
Zan Huangming smiled warmly, his gaze keen despite the darkness. "Look at your appearance. You successfully completed the Immortal Child Manual, didn't you?"
"Yes," she replied. "I did, just to prove you wrong."
"Huifang, you are still as young as I remember," he said, clearly delighted by her unchanging face.
Ma Jingguo quickly worked to untie and unchain the heavy restraints locked onto Zan Huangming. He then squatted down, and Zan Huangming climbed onto his back. Ma Jingguo carefully carried his Shifu out of the cell.
Wen Huifang quickly sealed Gu Gouliang's acupuncture points, rendering him paralyzed, and leaned him against the cold wall. She looked at Tong Keung. "Leader Tong, you're known for your clever traps. Can you set a nasty surprise for this young Gu gongzi?"
She then walked up to the immobilized Gouliang, a cruel smile spreading across her face. "Gu gongzi, the next person walking into this prison cell will be your killer." She chuckled lightly. "If no one comes to rescue you within twelve hours, then you escape death, but..." She paused, her voice turning icy. "If someone opens this door before your points are released, then you can't blame anyone but the person who locked Guard Zan here in the first place." She then strode out, leaving him to his fate.
Ma Jingguo handed a key to Si Meifeng. "Release them."
Standing before the captives, Si Meifeng announced, her voice ringing with authority, "Today, our Chief Xin Taiyang of the Sunset Sect graciously releases you. We welcome any of you to join us. Those that don't wish to join, we will not force."
The prisoners in the surrounding cells roared their immediate allegiance. "We will serve Chief Xin!"
Ma Jingguo, perplexed by the sudden recruitment drive, asked Si Meifeng, "Why should we want them to join us?"
Si Meifeng quickly explained her tactical thinking. "Chief, the Gu guards are not ordinary soldiers. They are very skilled. With these martial artists, their numbers can help shield us during the escape."
Wen Huifang and Tong Keung walked up. Tong Keung nodded in agreement. "I concur with Leader Si on this one. We need the extra bodies."
When Ma Jingguo and his suddenly swelling group reached the gate, they found their path blocked by forty disciplined Gu guards standing alongside Gu Tianjian and Gu Xunsu.
Gu Xunsu spoke first, her voice ringing with cold fury. "How dare you break into our home? You wouldn't shed a tear if you didn't see blood?" She looked at Ma Jingguo with a sneer of contempt. "Sunset Sect. What a joke." She moved with lethal, blinding speed, releasing five fast and powerful silver leaves that flew directly toward Ma Jingguo's head and chest.