Chapter 94

Beyond the large gate that seemed out of place in the narrow alley, there was a spacious open area, and in the middle of it, a small shrine was set up. Scattered around the open area were small tents that seemed to have been used to block the rain, bonfires, bowls that had been used for eating, iron kettles, and blankets that had been laid on the ground, as if the members of the Huilongdan organization had been resting there until a little while ago.

Among them, there was a member who had not come out like the others but had been waiting inside.

"Whoosh?"

The shrine was slightly elevated compared to the open area, which was like a market floor, so one had to climb some steps to reach it. The organization member was sitting right in front of these steps, sipping tea.

He looked bewildered when he saw Zhang Jian and the sword in his hand as he entered through the open gate, seemingly unable to grasp the situation. Zhang Jian walked up to him, stopped, and looked around the shrine and its surroundings. No one else was in sight.

Zhang Jian fixed his gaze on the dazed organization member and asked, "Are the Wang brothers inside?"

The organization member blinked his eyes, looked up at Zhang Jian, then glanced at the slightly open gate, and his face stiffened.

"Y-Yes."

Zhang Jian passed by the tense organization member and climbed the steps. The organization member, watching his back, swallowed hard and, trembling, brought his right hand, holding an iron teacup, to his waist. As Zhang Jian ascended the few steps of the small shrine, a mix of emotions seemed to cross his face.

In the next moment, he threw the iron teacup and drew the sword from his waist.

The sword was swift. Perhaps because of his skill, which was the reason he had been waiting inside alone, his sword flashed even though his stance was not perfect.

However, that flash was not faster than Zhang Jian's sword.

A clear metallic sound echoed in the open area, and the blade, cut in half, flew through the air and landed some distance away. At the same moment, the organization member crumpled forward.

Zhang Jian, leaving the dead man behind, casually wiped his sword and climbed the steps to the shrine's entrance. When he gently pushed the door, it opened easily with a creak, as if it had not been locked from the beginning.

Inside the shrine, there was only a large wooden Buddha statue, and nothing else. Without a single candle lit, the Buddha statue, which should have been benevolent, looked dark and ominous.

Zhang Jian was not surprised. The secret passage must lead underground, as he had been told. It was not difficult to guess that there was a secret passage somewhere.

After looking around the shrine from the outside for a moment, he entered. He found a rope coming up from the floor behind the wooden Buddha statue. It was not a cleverly hidden secret passage. Perhaps that was why the Huilongdan members were guarding the outside.

When he grabbed and pulled the rope, the wooden floor creaked and opened. A cold, damp air rushed up, and a staircase leading down was visible.

After a moment of looking down, Zhang Jian began to descend without hesitation. In such a narrow passage, it would be difficult to react to situations, and he might be ambushed at the end, but Zhang Jian thought that the people below would not be expecting his attack.

In fact, Zhang Jian's appearance was like a bolt from the blue to them. Who would have thought that someone would chase the massacre of the indigenous people in the distant east, track down the culprit, and follow them all the way to this underground chamber?

The main character, Qing, was here, and the person who had taken over the Yuan Ying Hall had disappeared to a more distant east. There were only two survivors. Even if the burned indigenous village were discovered, it would be impossible for someone to chase the culprit, Qing, all the way to this Gan Mountain City and then to the Huilongdan hideout without some kind of supernatural ability.

But Zhang Jian had come. Through a strange coincidence and determination.

He did not know what Ma Gong was up to here, but he did not care about their plans or schemes. He only wanted to make the blue snake, who was down there, pay.

A tremor was felt from the black spear tip tied to his waist. The hatred lingering in the spear tip was excited by the proximity of the enemy.

As Zhang Jian had expected, nothing obstructed him as he descended the stairs. At the end of the path, a metal door blocked the way, completely dark without a torch or lamp. However, Zhang Jian approached the metal door without much difficulty, closed his eyes, and placed his left hand on it.

He felt the coldness of the metal on his palm. Confirming the vibrations that seemed to be human voices from the other side, he opened his eyes and examined the metal door.

The door seemed to be openable only from the inside, with no keyhole and a smooth surface. There was no gap for a blade to cut the lock, making it difficult to break it open. Upon closer inspection, he realized that the area around the metal door was not entirely made of metal.

In that case, there was only one way: to force it open.

"What a waste of effort."

Zhang Jian sheathed his sword and stood in front of the metal door. His feet were spread slightly wider than his shoulders, and his hands were placed below his stomach with the palms facing down. He took a deep breath.

The expansion of his lungs and the elongation of his diaphragm stimulated the dantian, where the energy was stored, causing it to move. The energy from the dantian swirled through his body like wind, splitting into two and surging through his left and right sides. The end points were his palms.

The internal energy, which had been calm like a breeze, became intensely hot as it flowed through the meridians of his arms and down to his palms. This was not just a concentration of positive energy but a heat generated by the rapid twisting and rotation of yin and yang energies as they flowed through the meridians. This mysterious power, arising from the friction between the energies, was also the essence of the Sammae Jinwha technique.

The heat not only lingered in Zhang Jian's arms but also stirred the air outside, causing his collar to flutter. If someone were to see Zhang Jian at that moment, it would appear as if two blurry fire dragons were sliding down from his shoulders and finally slipping into his palms.

After a moment, when the energy was sufficiently gathered, Zhang Jian slowly raised his hands to his chest and, with a held breath, unleashed it toward the metal door.

A loud thud echoed, and the metal door crumpled and was pushed inward. The area around the door shattered, sending up a cloud of dust. The conversation inside abruptly stopped.

Zhang Jian fearlessly pushed through the dust and entered.

Inside, a space as large as the shrine and the open area unfolded. Except for a few thick pillars, there was nothing else. In the center, there was a coffin-like object, surrounded by three people in a 品 (pin) formation.

When Zhang Jian saw one of them, he smiled.

Staring blankly at the broken door and the smiling Zhang Jian, they soon sprang to their feet and began to guard. The man with the long, stylish beard stepped forward and asked, "Who are you?"

Hearing his voice, Zhang Jian was even more certain. It was the person he had seen and heard in his dreams.

"Who, me? I'm the one who came looking for you."

The man with the long beard's already serious face became even colder. He glanced at the other two, and they slowly moved to encircle Zhang Jian.

The man with the long beard said, "If you came looking for me, there shouldn't be anyone in Gan Mountain who knows me."

"I'm not from Gan Mountain City."

The man with the long beard stroked his beard and tilted his head.

"Strange. From your eyes and expression, it seems you really know me, but I don't recognize your face at all."

His eyes flicked to something else. At the end of his gaze was the crumpled metal door, with clear handprints on it. The man with the long beard's eyes narrowed.

"Remarkable internal energy."

"Compared to what you've done, it's nothing."

The man with the long beard glared at Zhang Jian with narrowed eyes.

"What I've done?"

"Yes, what you've done."

Zhang Jian ignored the man's puzzled gaze and scanned the other two men who had spread out to his left and right.

"You must be the Wang brothers. Wang San sends his regards."

The two men paused and looked at each other. They knew that Wang San had been captured by the Wulin Alliance. They had come down to this underground chamber to expedite a major event because the Gan Mountain branch, which had been cooperative until now, had suddenly moved.

The man on the right, who had been moving to the right, glared at Zhang Jian and asked, "Wulin Alliance? We haven't heard of any special warriors being sent from Xinshatian."

The man on the left, who had been moving to the left, continued, "What happened to the third one? Did you kill him?"

Zhang Jian scanned them, still holding the hilt of his sword with his left hand, and said, "You seem to have a lot of questions. Actually, I have a question for you too."

The man with the long beard seemed to be trying to recognize Zhang Jian, while the other two slowly completed their encirclement. Then Zhang Jian continued, "If Wang San was the third of the Wang brothers, are your names Wang Yi and Wang Er?"

The two men frowned. The man on the right spoke first.

"I am Wang Yi."

The man on the left continued, "I am Wang Er. What's so strange about that?"

Zhang Jian laughed. Whether they were aliases or real names, they were clearly made up. The man with the long beard, who had been stroking his beard, flicked his hand and said in a low voice, "You broke the door and now want to introduce yourselves? Fine, I am Nangong Yezhun. Who are you?"

"Zhang Jian."

Nangong Yezhun looked at Wang Yi and Wang Er, as if asking if they had heard of Zhang Jian. Wang Yi shook his head, but Wang Er frowned, as if something was coming to mind. He soon recognized Zhang Jian and said, "Zhang Jian! The scoundrel who interfered with the theft of the Gouyin Saxue! A high-level expert, likely from the Huang Army!"

The mention of the Huang Army made Nangong Yezhun and Wang Yi's expressions turn cold. Zhang Jian, who had been misunderstood, only smiled strangely.

Zhang Jian had interfered with Ma Gong's plans more than once. Once in the northeastern valley tribes, again when he killed Xue Weiliang, who was trying to take over the economy of Gan Mountain City, and once more in the incident involving the Gouyin Saxue, which he assumed referred to Zhen Xueha. Zhang Jian did not know, but the Red Bandits and their leader, Gan Shangqing, who had caused trouble in the central region and were eventually killed by him, were also connected to Ma Gong.

Regardless, the fact that they only mentioned the Gouyin Saxue and assumed he was from the Huang Army indicated that Ma Gong did not fully understand Zhang Jian.

Considering the vastness of this new continent and the lack of modern technology, it was understandable. Information needed to be gathered by living informants and then compiled to form a coherent story.

For Ma Gong, which had to operate in secret even in this new continent, this was not an easy task. Even the Dark Dragon Corps, the emperor's intelligence agency, could only operate effectively because of the state's resources.

"Servant of the emperor? Ah, I see... You've gathered information about the eastern plains, haven't you? Sniffing around and poking your nose into everything, just like a dog."

Nangong Yezhun, who had guessed Zhang Jian's identity as a member of the Huang Army, stroked his beard and showed a look of disdain. He nodded, as if understanding the meaning of Zhang Jian's words.

"From what I can see, you're not a Taoist or a monk... So, you only know that the red monkeys are dead. Just like the useless dogs you are, you can't uncover the hidden truth of the matter. And..."

Nangong Yezhun, still stroking his beard, let his hand fall to the hilt of the sword at his waist.

"Coming down here alone, you're quite arrogant."

The Wang brothers, seeing him draw his sword, also drew their swords. Zhang Jian, facing them, still held the hilt of his sword with his left hand. Nangong Yezhun, looking at him, twisted his lips into a sneer.

"Servants of the emperor are always like this. Ultimately, they are exiled to this land due to their lack of ability. They always act as if they are elite guards or generals of the Huang Army, with their heads held high. You must have come here alone, thinking you could claim credit, but that will be your mistake."

As he finished speaking, a dark blue light began to flash in his eyes. The same was true for the Wang brothers, who surrounded Zhang Jian on both sides. The veins in their hands, gripping their swords, bulged.

"I will show you the divine skill forged over a thousand years."

As their eyes glowed dark blue, the underground space suddenly became cold. The space, already dim with only a few torches, became even colder, an abnormal phenomenon.

As the temperature dropped, the flames of the torches, which had been burning brightly, gradually dimmed, and in a short time, the underground space became a cold and eerie cave. This was not just a feeling of cold due to the drop in temperature but a damp, chilling cold that forced a primal fear upon life, emanating from the ruthless aura centered around Nangong Yezhun and the two men.

Their aura was unmatched by any of the demons Zhang Jian had encountered so far. More accurately, it was the martial skill of Nangong Yezhun, not the Wang brothers, that was so formidable. With three demons instead of one, Zhang Jian instinctively knew this fight would not be easy.

However, even as he felt this instinct, he did not argue that he was not from the Huang Army or look for a way to retreat. Instead, he awakened all his senses and, after breaking the door, once again stirred the