Chapter 98

Hearing Su Xin's suggestion, He Tian's eyes immediately lit up, and he hurriedly said, "Alright, let's go to the entrance."

Su Xin glanced at Meng Changhe and said, "Take him along too."

He Tian immediately gave Su Xin a thumbs up, "Leader Su is truly righteous. Meng Changhe used to be so hostile to you, and yet you still save him at this moment."

Although Su Xin had a smile on his face, he was inwardly sneering.

If it weren't for the fact that he needed two witnesses to prove that Gong Qingfeng was strong enough to fight Fang Dongting and Aqi to a stalemate, he wouldn't have bothered to save these two people.

Su Xin and He Tian dragged Meng Changhe to the entrance. They had just sat down for a short while when they saw a figure slowly emerging from the mist.

Their hearts tightened, but when the figure came closer, they saw that it was Xie Zhiyan.

"Are you still alive?" Su Xin and Xie Zhiyan asked simultaneously.

Su Xin said, "Fang Dongting and his servant Aqi fought to the death with Gong Qingfeng. I barely managed to save my life."

A hint of doubt appeared in Xie Zhiyan's eyes. From her understanding of Fang Dongting, he didn't seem like the type to fight to the death.

However, Xie Zhiyan didn't ask more. She just said, "I also killed Jiang Ling."

Su Xin nodded without asking how she killed Jiang Ling.

As a direct disciple of the Yi Jian Men and a disciple of the current Yi Jian Men leader, Xie Zhiyan wouldn't be without some trump cards. Su Xin didn't believe otherwise.

Everyone was silent. When the hour passed, the sealed door indeed opened automatically.

Su Xin looked at the five keys on the door and said, "Keep the keys."

Xie Zhiyan nodded, took the keys without hesitation, and put them away.

Now, there was no one in Changning Prefecture who could compete with her for the treasure. This trip was not in vain for the Yi Jian Men.

After they went out, Huang Bingcheng and Li Hua were waiting. Seeing only Su Xin and the others come out, Huang Bingcheng was stunned and wanted to ask something but was stopped by Su Xin's wave of the hand.

They first sent the heavily injured He Tian and Meng Changhe back to their respective gangs. Su Xin and Xie Zhiyan also hurried back to the hall.

To make it more convincing, Su Xin stabbed himself with a sword, and Xie Zhiyan, having used the Supreme Ninefold Sword, was exhausted and slightly injured.

After returning to the hall, Su Xin quickly asked Huang Bingcheng to bring some qi-nourishing and injury-healing pills. After taking the pills and resting for half an hour, their faces improved.

Huang Bingcheng, who had been holding back, couldn't help but ask, "Boss, what exactly happened? What about the others?"

Su Xin took a deep breath and told Huang Bingcheng what had happened in the underground palace, leaving him speechless.

Gong Qingfeng, who had lived in Changning Prefecture for over thirty years and was the leader of a gang, turned out to be a remnant of the former Three Hunan Martial Alliance leader, the Mad Lion Du Yuansheng. This secret was truly shocking.

However, Huang Bingcheng then excitedly said, "Boss, now that Gong Qingfeng is dead, the Divine Wind Society's territory is leaderless. Should we just take over their territory?"

Su Xin inwardly sighed. Now wasn't the time to think about taking over territory. If he didn't deal with the Qingcheng Sword Sect, he might be stuck in Changning Prefecture forever.

Just as Huang Bingcheng was about to say something, a commotion came from outside the hall. A group of people barged in, pushing aside anyone who tried to stop them. Huang Bingcheng and Li Hua's faces changed.

Su Xin shouted, "These people are not to be trifled with. Don't act rashly!"

Huang Bingcheng and Li Hua gritted their teeth.

They used to be important figures in Changning Prefecture, but now, since the disciples of the major sects arrived, anyone could boss them around.

Five people burst into the hall, one of whom was Fang Dongting's former servant. The other four were young men in their thirties, and all four, except the servant, were at the innate realm.

Su Xin thought they had arrived quickly.

It had been less than two hours since they entered the underground palace, and these people were already here.

The servant said to one of the young men, "Senior Brother Hou Ming, Master was with them when they entered, but now they haven't come out!"

Hou Ming looked at Su Xin and shouted, "Speak! Where is my junior brother? Why are only you out? If you dare to lie, do you think I won't wash Changning Prefecture in blood?"

Su Xin inwardly sneered. Threatening to wash a prefecture in blood, were these righteous people?

But before Su Xin could speak, Xie Zhiyan said coldly, "Senior Brother Hou of the Qingcheng Sword Sect, what a great show of power. We are not his nanny. Whether he lives or dies, do we have to be responsible?"

Hou Ming, who had been worried about Fang Dongting, hadn't paid much attention to who else was in the hall.

Now, hearing Xie Zhiyan speak, he saw that the 'Heavenly Maiden' Xie Zhiyan of the Yi Jian Men was also there.

Hou Ming inwardly cursed. Involving the Yi Jian Men, he couldn't be as domineering and arbitrary as before.

As one of the Five Sword Sects, the Yi Jian Men's strength was no less than the Qingcheng Sword Sect. If his attitude caused friction between the two major sects, he couldn't bear the consequences.

So Hou Ming immediately reined in his arrogant attitude and smiled, "It's Sister Xie of the Yi Jian Men. Of course, I don't mean that. I'm just worried about Junior Brother Fang's safety. How come only four of you came out when so many people entered the underground palace?"

The last question was directed at Su Xin, as he didn't expect Xie Zhiyan to answer.

Su Xin cooperated and told Hou Ming the situation in the underground palace, as he had fabricated it.

Upon hearing that Fang Dongting was dead, Hou Ming felt a chill, and the other three Qingcheng Sword Sect disciples also looked grim.

Fang Dongting's identity was special; he was the only son of the Qingcheng Sword Sect elder 'Qingxu Sword' Fang Rui.

Hou Ming and the others were all Fang Rui's disciples.

Now that their master's only son had died in Xiangnan, they could imagine how furious their master would be, and they might be implicated.

So Hou Ming and the others had to find the murderer and give an account to Fang Rui.

Moreover, as one of the Five Sword Sects, if a direct disciple died without a clear cause, it would be a laughingstock to other sects.

But the problem was, according to Su Xin, Gong Qingfeng, who had killed Fang Dongting, was already dead. Would their master be satisfied with a dead man?

Thinking of this, Hou Ming looked at Su Xin and said coldly, "You said that besides my junior brother and Aqi, the three of you, the leaders of the Changning Prefecture gangs, fought with Gong Qingfeng. Where are the other two?"

Hou Ming, of course, didn't believe Su Xin's words. He had to verify it himself.

"The other two gang members were also seriously injured and have returned to their respective gangs to recover," Su Xin answered honestly.

Hou Ming waved his hand, "Have your people lead the way and bring them here."

Su Xin immediately had two Qingcheng Sword Sect disciples take Meng Changhe and He Tian to the hall.

These two gang leaders were truly unfortunate. They had just returned to their gangs to rest when they were brought back to the Jin Yue Hall by the Qingcheng Sword Sect disciples.

Seeing everyone, Hou Ming said coldly, "Tell me every detail of what happened. Don't leave out a single thing. By the way, we'll ask you separately."

Hou Ming was smart enough to know that separating them would put pressure on them and prevent them from colluding.

Unfortunately, this tactic was destined to be useless.

He Tian and Meng Changhe knew limited information. They only described Gong Qingfeng's strength, leaving the listeners confused.

Their limited strength and perspective could only see so much. The rest, Su Xin had fabricated in advance, detailing every aspect clearly, leaving no room for doubt.

But Hou Ming still felt something was off. He dismissed He Tian and Meng Changhe and asked Su Xin alone, "Where are my junior brother and Aqi's bodies?"

"Still in the underground palace," Su Xin answered.

Hou Ming frowned, "Why didn't you bring my junior brother's body out?"

Su Xin smiled bitterly, "We were all afraid of being pursued by Jiang Ling. How could we think of anything else?"

Hou Ming thought about it. Su Xin's explanation made sense. He said, "Alright, take us to the underground palace to see and bring out my junior brother's body."

Su Xin said, "The key to the underground palace is with Miss Xie."

Hou Ming frowned but had no choice but to go to Xie Zhiyan and ask her to open the door.

As for forcibly taking the key, even though they were stronger than Xie Zhiyan, they didn't dare to do it.

When the key was unclaimed, everyone could fight for it, but now that it was in Xie Zhiyan's hands, it belonged to the Yi Jian Men.

If Hou Ming and the others tried to forcibly take it, they would be challenging the Yi Jian Men, breaking the unwritten rules between major sects.

Unless the relationship between the two sects had deteriorated to the point of irreconcilable enmity, they wouldn't do such a ruthless thing.

Xie Zhiyan didn't make it difficult for Hou Ming and opened the door to the underground palace, letting them in.

Following Su Xin's guidance, Hou Ming and the others quickly found Fang Dongting's bodies.

Gong Qingfeng, Aqi, and Fang Dongting were all holding long swords, and when they fell, they seemed to be in the middle of attacking each other. A large pool of blood had formed on the ground.

Hou Ming frowned and said, "Don't just stand there. Everyone, check the bodies for any abnormalities."

These few were all direct disciples of the Qingcheng Sword Sect and had noble backgrounds before joining. Naturally, they were reluctant to touch the bodies.

But they knew the importance of the situation, so despite their disgust, they patiently examined the three bodies for any irregularities.