"What? We are not going to investigate?"
"How can that be? That's absurd!"
"Even if they are cultivators, we can't let them go just like that!"
The crowd seemed flabbergasted by City Lord Lan Huolian's words, almost as though the city lord was giving the cultivators an unbelievably huge preferential treatment.
Zhao Yunxiao could not help but let out a smirk.
So, this was what these people came up with after yesterday's incident? To confront them in front of the masses?
If they were to force City Lord Lan Huolian and his son Lan Guyue into submission now, they would inevitably receive an unfavourable judgement from the court of public opinion. Regardless of the truth, that would only have a detrimental impact on the reputation of the Black Tortoise Sect.
Quite clever.
That said, it was truly remarkable how they managed to persuade the masses to support them in such a short time!
But why were they doing this?
Was it truly only to prevent them from spreading negativity about the city's respected ancestors? Or was there more to it than they were letting up on?
Regardless, did they really think this was going to work?
"Go ahead and investigate us," Zhao Yunxiao shrugged. "In fact, let's do it right here, right now. What do you want to hear? I will answer you immediately."
City Lord Lan Huolian frowned. He never expected that a great cultivator would actually accept being forced into public interrogation. However, what happened next caused him to secretly let out a sigh of relief.
"What more is there to ask? Just leave the city!"
"That's right, leave the city!"
"Leave the city! Leave the city!"
"Leave the city!"
"Leave the city!"
The crowd's volume erupted in anger upon seeing how confident and unrepentant Zhao Yunxiao was, their thunderous voices ensuring that there was no longer a way for City Lord Lan Huolian to ask questions even if he had wanted to.
Huu-!
Zhao Yunxiao ignored the chants, focusing his attention on the two currently on horseback.
"How foolish. Did you really think that I wouldn't have left any contingencies after seeing your attitude yesterday?" Zhao Yunxiao's words cut through the thunderous voices of the crowd, resounding in the father-son duo's ears.
City Lord Lan Huolian was startled by those words, but gritted his teeth to put on a confident front. He fully understood that cultivators possessed incredible means, as well as the fact that their lives meant little to the great cultivators.
To stand up to these cultivators, he had to think from a completely different perspective.
Unlike when dealing with ordinary mortals, it was not about forcibly suppressing the opponent.
What orthodox cultivators cared about most had always been their reputation. As long as he could create a scenario where the cultivators' reputation would suffer even if they won, then it was possible to make the cultivators lose all interest in participating in the fight in the first place!
City Lord Lan Huolian raised a hand, intending to calm the crowds so that he could speak.
And the crowds did fall silent, but not because of him.
Pierce-!
An arrow flew through the air to find Lan Guyue, piercing straight through the back of his neck for the arrowhead to reappear from the front.
"U-Ugh-!"
Blood spurted out from his neck from both ends, as well as bubbled out of Lan Guyue's mouth as he tried in vain to speak his last words.
Thud-!
City Lord Lan Huolian turned around just in time to see his son – the young master of the Lan Clan and future city lord – fall from his horse, landing onto the floor like a limp ragdoll.
He froze.
"K-Killed..." a member of the crowd broke the silence with a stutter.
Gu Qiansi, Nie Hanchang, and Lu Zhiying all turned towards Zhao Yunxiao anxiously, only to see that his eyes had equally widened in complete disbelief.
Yes, he had made plenty of plans and calculations, but this was definitely not one of them!
And that arrow... it was fast!
By the time he saw it coming, it was already too late to rush forward and save Lan Guyue. There was no doubt about it – it was the work of a cultivator!
"Guyue!" City Lord Lan Huolian broke out of his daze and dismounted to rush to his son's side. "Guyue, wake up! Don't sleep! Someone call a physician! Call all the physicians!"
Screams of terror ensued as the weak-hearted rushed to escape the venue. That left less than half of the original crowd, who stood firm and tightened their grips on their weapons.
"It's the cultivators! They must have done this!"
"City Lord Lan was kind enough to offer them a public trial, but they went straight for an open execution! Terrifying!"
"It must be to hide something! They don't want what they did to be revealed!"
"Yes, this is clear evidence! They must be guilty of the recent deaths!"
How foolish. Did you really think that I wouldn't have left any contingencies after seeing your attitude yesterday?
Zhao Yunxiao's earlier words echoed through City Lord Lan Huolian's mind, sending a chill down his spine.
"Kill them..." City Lord Lan Huolian laid down his son's corpse with trembling hands before drawing the ornamental sword hanging by his belt. "Kill them! Even if we have to die trying! So what if they are cultivators? We shall throw everything we have and take down these ruthless oppressors! Our ancestors overcame the odds and succeeded, so will we! This is the destiny that belongs to us, the people of Demonfall!"
"Fight!"
"Kill them!"
"Aaaahhh!"
City Lord Lan Huolian's roar stirred the emotions of those present, causing them to yell in response. They charged forward with unprecedented fervour, their weapons raised menacingly in the air.
Their eyes were filled with a crazed light born of vengeance, as though their lives meant little as long as they could contribute even the slightest in taking down the cultivators.
And by taking down the cultivators, that meant killing the cultivators.
"Please tell me that wasn't you," Gu Qiansi said.
"That's not me," Zhao Yunxiao felt the corner of his lips twitch. "Did you really have to ask?"
"Thought so. I just wanted to be sure," Gu Qiansi answered. "But what do we do now?!"
"Get ready to fight, Junior Martial Sister Lu," Nie Hanchang said.
"Yes, I'm ready!" Lu Zhiying nodded.
"No, we are not fighting!" Gu Qiansi quickly intervened. "Zhao Yunxiao, say something!"
"We can only retreat for now," Zhao Yunxiao said with a frown. "They don't look like they would stop until they are dead, and we can't possibly just kill everyone here. Let's think about what to do next after getting out of here."
"Then let's go already!" Gu Qiansi urged.
"Let's go!" Zhao Yunxiao was confused and angered by the current situation, but he also maintained his composure. He knew that despite their numbers, the people of Demonfall had nothing on them in an open space like this.
If they truly wanted to escape, no number of ordinary mortals could stop them.
Zhao Yunxiao grabbed Lu Zhiying by the waist, which was the cue that everyone needed.
[Snapping Burst]
To the militia and soldiers closing in on them, the quartet seemed to have vanished all of a sudden, reappearing near the edge of the crowd in the blink of an eye.
However, that was not quite enough to throw off everybody. Some of those in close proximity actually reacted quickly enough to swing at them. This forced the cultivators to raise their weapons to block a few hits that they could not fully avoid.
"I will go look for you guys later!" Nie Hanchang said before suddenly speeding off in a different direction.
"Take this with you!" Zhao Yunxiao threw a talisman over, which Nie Hanchang caught without turning around.
"Where's Senior Martial Brother Nie going?" Lu Zhiying asked as she allowed herself to be carried along by Zhao Yunxiao.
"He's probably going to do what he does best," Zhao Yunxiao replied.
"What he does best?" Gu Qiansi repeated probingly.
"That's right," Zhao Yunxiao's eyes narrowed. "Hunting."
***
The sound of keys sounded out as Zhao Yunxiao Two casually unlocked a cell door in the basement of the Lan Clan Residence.
"Hmm?" Cai Caoyuan looked up from within the cell. "Young Hero? How did you know that I am here?"
"I should be asking you instead," Zhao Yunxiao Two pushed open the cell door. "Just how did you find yourself sitting in a cell within the Lan Clan Residence?"
"Hah," Cai Caoyuan let out a self-deprecating chuckle. "Let's talk about this elsewhere. This is not exactly the best place to talk."
"Then get up," Zhao Yunxiao Two replied. "Let's get you out of here."
"Sounds like a good idea," Cai Caoyuan gingerly got to his feet. "So, I assume you managed to thwart the city lord's plan to frame you?"
"Not at all," Zhao Yunxiao Two replied bitterly. "The entire city probably sees us as their enemies now. Who knows? You might just be joining us as soon as Lan Huolian discovers that you are missing from your cell."
"Wait, what?" Cai Caoyuan furrowed his brows. "What happened?"
"I thought you were the one who said that this is not the best place to talk," Zhao Yunxiao Two raised an eyebrow. "Since we are going to talk, why don't you tell me your side of the story first?"
"It's nothing special. City Lord Lan came together with the various faction leaders and asked me to frame you for the deaths relating to the curse," Cai Caoyuan sighed. "I disagreed and, well, here I am."
"That's interesting," Zhao Yunxiao Two leaned against the iron bars of the cell. "Why didn't you just take the easy way out and go with the city lord's directions? That sounds like something that you would do."
"The fact that they are foolish enough to even consider such a plan simply proves how ignorant they are about the power of cultivators," Cai Caoyuan shook his head. "I am not as foolish."
"Is that so?" Zhao Yunxiao Two smirked. "Let me tell you what just happened then. The city lord and his son confronted us along with the citizens of Demonfall, insisting that we have kidnapped Xi Hei and yourself, thereby demanding that I leave the city."
"I guessed as much."
"I bet you won't be able to guess what happens next."
"What happened next?"
"Someone shot an arrow that took out Lan Guyue in front of everyone."
"What?!" Cai Caoyuan almost shouted in shock.
"That's the right expression," Zhao Yunxiao Two's smirk deepened as he matched Cai Caoyuan's gaze, carefully watching and analysing his every reaction. "There's no way that Lan Huolian would have planned to sacrifice his own son, so who is the one really in charge here? Is it the Chang Clan? The other faction leaders of the city? You know this, don't you?"
A few moments passed in silence while the two matched gazes, but Cai Caoyuan finally let out a sigh.
"Things have already progressed beyond your control. It's best that you stop interfering in this matter and just leave as the city lord said," Cai Caoyuan advised. "The one behind the current situation is far more terrifying than the ones you just mentioned. Even you cannot afford to offend them."
"Cultivators, right?" Zhao Yunxiao Two asked rhetorically. "Even then, don't underestimate the Black Tortoise Sect. Things are far from being beyond our control."
***
"Watch out!" Zhao Yunxiao shouted while dodging to the side.
"Tch!" Gu Qiansi clicked his tongue in irritation as she steered her body in tandem.
"Got it!" Lu Zhiying followed suit. Zhao Yunxiao had let her down by now, and she was doing her best to keep up with the other two.
Boom-!
In their original path, a ball of fire erupted from the ground, catching nothing but their shadows.
However, this also brought them straight into the path of a group of five city guards, all of whom were waving their swords menacingly. All of them looked just as nervous, but the cultivators could sense essence energy shrouding one of those swords.
The trio frowned, but were not surprised. After all, this was no longer the first cultivator who had been hiding among the city forces.
After leaving the original entrapment of crowds, they had encountered group after group of city guards and forces of various factions trying to get in their way, and were shocked to find out that a few among them were actually cultivators in disguise.
With a flick of his wrist, the Penta-Edge Grimoire Halberd appeared in Zhao Yunxiao's hand. He swung it without hesitation, sweeping across all five of the city guards at once.
[Weight]
The inscription rune lit up mid-swing, activating in the exact moment before the halberd slammed into the disguised cultivator's sword and deactivating right after.
Bang-!
Just like that, all five guards were sent stumbling back with seemingly equal force. Taking this opportunity, Zhao Yunxiao, Gu Qiansi, and Lu Zhiying raced past the guards towards the city gate.
Gu Qiansi waved her hand, and thick roots as thick as tree trunks shot out of the ground to blockade the path behind them. This was enough to hold back the ordinary guards for now, and the disguised cultivators would be forced to expose themselves if they wanted to quickly get rid of the blockade.
As expected, the disguised cultivator hesitated, pretending to be helpless against the blockade. Just like that, Zhao Yunxiao's group quickly pulled away.
Unfortunately, that was all they could do.
Under the gazes of the ordinary guards, they could not directly take down these disguised cultivators. They were already being suspected as the ones who plotted the death of Lan Guyue. To kill anyone in broad daylight would officially brand them as evil cultivators who had no qualms openly massacring the citizens of Demonfall!
Zhao Yunxiao gritted his teeth in frustration as he thought about how this mission was supposed to be a walk in the park – purely an excuse to leave Purple Plum Mountain for a breather.
"What a mess!"