Chapter 51

The Demon's Hand (51)

"Huh?"

Adou was taken aback.

The person he had been chasing had suddenly vanished.

He had seen the person turn the corner of the alley and immediately followed, but now there was no one in sight.

Moreover, the alley was a dead end.

At that moment, a chilling voice came from behind him.

"Are you from the Poor Family Gang?"

Adou was startled and turned around to see the man who had disappeared blocking the entrance of the alley he had just entered.

"How many generations of disciples are you?"

"Excuse me?"

Adou was perplexed.

What exactly was the Poor Family Gang, and what did 'generation' mean? Then, he suddenly recalled something.

The First Sect of the world, the Beggar Sect, was composed of beggars.

There was no place in the world without beggars. Wherever there were people, there were beggars, and a significant number of them belonged to the Beggar Sect.

Of course, this had nothing to do with him.

Shrinking under the aura emitted by Li Gui, Adou answered in a barely audible voice.

"I am not a martial artist."

Li Gui looked at Adou with a cold gaze.

Indeed, there was no sign of the knot that symbolized a Beggar Sect disciple anywhere.

"If not, why were you following me?"

"It was to find someone named Ling Suomi..."

A fierce light flashed in Li Gui's eyes.

"Why?"

"I can't tell you... Ah!"

A scream burst from Adou's mouth.

Li Gui's hand, curved like a hook, had grabbed his shoulder. Since Adou was just a street beggar and not a Beggar Sect disciple, there was no reason for Li Gui to hold back.

"The Eagle Claw Technique I have mastered can make finger holes in even a solid rock. What do you think would happen if the target were a human body?"

Li Gui's eyes turned cold.

Overwhelmed by the excruciating pain as if his shoulder was being torn off, Adou hurriedly spoke.

"A letter! I was told to deliver a letter!"

"Who told you?"

"I don't know his name! Ah!"

Li Gui, who had searched Adou's body and found the letter, hesitated for a moment.

It was because of the red character written in the center of the letter.

Blood (血).

The moment he saw the character written in a swift stroke, he felt his blood boil.

'It's him!'

Though the letter contained nothing but a single character, Li Gui instinctively knew that this was the person behind the order for Ling Suomi to investigate the martial arts alliance.

Heaven had truly given him the perfect opportunity.

Li Gui leaned down to look Adou in the eye.

"Follow me. If you try anything funny..."

Li Gui's voice trailed off, and he gave a quiet laugh.

The chilling laughter, combined with the killing intent, was a sufficient threat on its own.

Adou nodded with a frightened look.

"Alright."

With a satisfied expression, Li Gui started walking. Adou hurriedly followed behind him.

At that moment, raindrops began to fall from the sky.

Swish!

The raindrops, which had initially fallen one by one, soon turned into heavy rain, pounding the ground loudly. People on the street began to run frantically to avoid the sudden rain. However, Li Gui continued to walk calmly.

As a result, Adou had to endure the pouring rain.

It was then that Li Gui, who had been walking ahead, suddenly spoke.

"Have you delivered such a letter before?"

"Yes..."

"When was that?"

Adou, recalling the date he had delivered the letter, revealed it without hesitation.

Li Gui's eyes narrowed.

'That day.'

Yueyue Xiang, the famous courtesan of Xiangyan Tower.

The day Ling Suomi, who had boldly set out to embrace her, returned with a dejected look.

Looking back, his behavior had noticeably changed from that day.

'The letter contained nothing.'

This meant that the meeting place had been predetermined.

Li Gui, as the deputy leader of the New Beggar Sect, knew all the secret meeting places.

'Really, heaven is helping me.'

Meeting the young beggar named Adou and discovering that he was carrying a letter from someone he suspected to be the mastermind.

It seemed as if everything was arranged for him.

'Kicking away such an opportunity would be the act of a fool.'

Suddenly, Adou felt a chill.

Li Gui, who had stopped in the middle of the bridge, was looking at him expressionlessly.

"I haven't thanked you yet."

Adou wanted to say something but couldn't.

Li Gui had already struck his pressure point with lightning speed.

His body stiffened instantly, and Adou's face turned pale.

"Thank you for your hard work."

With those words, Li Gui pushed Adou over the bridge railing.

Adou screamed, but the sound was drowned out by the rain.

Splash.

Adou sank into the river, causing a splash.

It was already dark, and the rain made the bridge deserted. Even if he were found downstream, there would be no trace left on the drowned body.

It was a perfect method of evidence destruction.

"The only thing left is to negotiate with the martial arts alliance."

Thinking he now held the upper hand, Li Gui immediately headed towards the martial arts alliance branch.

* * *

An abandoned temple on the outskirts of Nanzhou.

The temple, untouched by human hands for a long time, was in a state of disrepair. It was so dilapidated that it seemed it would collapse at the slightest touch.

The pillars supporting the walls were tilted, and the roof, barely held together by mud and tiles, was half-collapsed, ready to fall at any moment.

"Tsk."

Chao Eklang clicked his tongue.

The roof was leaking so badly that his efforts to avoid the rain were in vain.

His body was already drenched from the rainwater seeping through the temple.

Moreover, what annoyed him even more was that Ling Suomi, who was supposed to appear, was nowhere to be found.

How much time had passed?

Chao Eklang's eyebrows twitched.

He had sensed the presence of people surrounding the abandoned temple. And it wasn't just one or two.

'Twenty... No, twenty-one people?'

At that moment, someone entered the temple.

Chao Eklang immediately recognized the person's face.

'That guy?'

He was someone he knew.

One of the loyal subordinates of the traitor Qi Jiemajun, Nuo Danyang, named Wang Yitian, the Eight-Armed Troublemaker.

Chao Eklang felt a bitter taste in his mouth.

Wang Yitian was wearing the uniform of the martial arts alliance, specifically the Demon Slayer Corps.

'He betrayed me...'

He had thought Wang Yitian had a good eye for people, but it seemed he was wrong. Ling Suomi had betrayed him.

'What can I do?'

There was no reason to stay in this place now that the situation had turned this way.

"Funny."

A voice came from the darkness, startling Wang Yitian.

"Who's there!"

As soon as Wang Yitian spoke, the Demon Slayer Corps members rushed into the temple. The torches they held illuminated the darkness inside.

Chao Eklang, who had been hiding in the darkness, stepped out into the flickering light.

"Remarkable. The Demon Slayer Corps following a mere minor villain."

Wang Yitian, initially stunned, soon recognized Chao Eklang and gasped.

"Y-You, Blood Hand Venerable!"

He was so shocked that his voice trembled.

He never imagined he would suddenly encounter Chao Eklang in such a place.

'Damn it!'

The deputy leader of the New Beggar Sect had not mentioned anything about Chao Eklang.

He had only said that there was a person suspected of instructing Ling Suomi to investigate the martial arts alliance and a place where they might meet.

However, this was a matter that couldn't be ignored once the intelligence was received.

But Chao Eklang...

It was like stirring a rabbit's burrow and suddenly encountering a tiger.

'What should I do?'

Wang Yitian's mind was filled with the thought of escaping this place immediately.

If the Demon Slayer Corps had concentrated all their forces here, it might have been different, but with this number of people, he didn't dare to fight.

The unease spread among his subordinates like wildfire.

At that moment, one of his subordinates spoke.

"Chief, shouldn't we report to the leader first?"

Hearing the frightened voice of his subordinate, Wang Yitian felt a glimmer of hope.

It was a reasonable excuse.

Reporting was always the top priority in any situation.

Even the ruthless Nuo Danyang would not punish him for reporting.

At that moment,

"You're still a coward, as always. Fine, I'll give you a special chance out of old friendship. Go back."

Wang Yitian's eyes widened in surprise at Chao Eklang's words.

'He's letting me go?'

The great Blood Hand Venerable wouldn't show mercy without a reason.

Then, he suddenly remembered a story he had heard before.

The martial arts alliance's experts, sent to kill Chao Eklang, had all lost their lives, but Chao Eklang himself had not escaped unscathed.

Nuo Danyang, his superior, had been the one to collect the bodies.

He was also a martial arts expert.

Based on the traces left at the scene, his conclusion was reliable. Wang Yitian decided to retreat but make a quick strike.

"Is this really the venerable I know? I didn't realize you were so generous."

Chao Eklang frowned.

"Too much suspicion is a