While on Mount Hua, my mind is at peace!

Chapter 145 The Truth Gradually Becomes Clear

A streak of purple light suddenly pierced the night, instantly blocking Xie Tianqing's path. It was a throwing knife about three inches long, with a black hilt and a silver-white blade.

The black-clad man's palm strike, like a tidal wave, collided with the small throwing knife and dissipated instantly. At the same time, a gentle burst of true energy erupted from the throwing knife, pushing Xie Tianqing away from the spot.

The throwing knife, as if having fulfilled its purpose, clattered to the ground. Before the second knife could be thrown, the man in black vanished in a flash.

Xie Tianqing stared blankly at the throwing knife on the ground, seemingly unable to understand how such a small knife could neutralize the black-clad man's palm strike.

A hazy blue figure appeared at the end of the street. In the blink of an eye, Xie Tianqing saw the figure close at hand—it was Yue Feng. Yue Feng quickly dealt with the black-clad men fighting the Qingcheng Sect disciples, walked up to Xie Tianqing, and asked:

Are you alright?

Xie Tianqing let out a long sigh of relief and forced a smile: "I'm fine. I've accomplished my mission; the people you asked us to watch over... are still here."

Yue Feng's brows furrowed tightly, and his lips pressed into a straight line, as if he were angry. Xie Tianqing had never seen Yue Feng so angry since they became friends. He simply said:

"I only asked you to watch over them, not to risk your life to protect them! If I had arrived any later, wouldn't I have..."

Xie Tianqing said, "The ancients valued righteousness over life... Are we... inferior to them?"

He struggled to his feet, and Yue Feng rushed to help him. Xie Tianqing picked up the throwing knife and returned it to Yue Feng: "Besides, I believed you would come. It's okay if you're a little late; at least you can avenge me, haha."

Yue Feng said with utmost seriousness, "No matter what, you must never do such a thing again. You are my brothers; living well is the greatest loyalty you can show. Okay?"

A smile slowly crept onto Xie Tianqing's lips. He nodded and said nothing more.

Seeing that many of the Qingcheng Sect disciples were injured, and some of them were seriously injured, Yue Feng treated their injuries first before checking on Fang Xiu and her child.

Neither of them was seriously injured; they had simply been rendered unconscious by a powerful acupressure point. Yue Feng released the pressure points, and they would wake up in a while.

When everyone returned to the White Horse Escort Agency, Yue Feng arranged a superior room for Fang Xiu and her son, and also instructed Ma Liangcai to send several maids to guard the door while they waited for them to wake up.

After finishing these tasks, Ma Liangcai invited Yue Feng and Xie Tianqing to sit in his study. As soon as they sat down, Ma Liangcai asked what had happened. Xie Tianqing briefly recounted the events and sighed:

"If it weren't for Brother Yue arriving in time, I would have lost my life. That man in black's palm strike was truly terrifying; even now, thinking about it, I still feel lingering fear."

Yue Feng suddenly asked, "Was there a faint, lingering heat within that person's palm strike?"

Xie Tianqing paused for a moment, then nodded and said, "Now that you mention it, it does seem to be true. That heat... it's somewhat like the kind of heat that comes from mastering a martial art like 'Iron Palm.' But that person definitely didn't use a martial art like Iron Palm."

Yue Feng smiled coldly: "Very good, now the identity of that man in black is obvious."

Xie Tianqing and Ma Liangcai exchanged a glance. Ma Liangcai said, "Brother Yue, are you saying that the man in black was also a member of the Black Clothes Society?"

Yue Feng said, "That's not all. If I'm not wildly wrong, that man in black is none other than Chang Gaizhi, the dignified Eight-Bag Elder of the Beggars' Sect and the leader of the Hanzhong branch! He used to practice a style of kung fu like Iron Sand Palm, but now he's practicing the long-lost Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms!"

Xie Tianqing and Ma Liangcai jumped up from their chairs, both looking shocked and confused, full of questions but unsure where to begin. Yue Feng was also silently organizing his thoughts—

Although he is now almost certain that Chang Gaizhi is the leader of the Black-Clad Society and the one who stole the manual of the Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms, he still has not figured out what role the Eastern Depot played in this matter.

If we act rashly before this, we may not be able to achieve complete success, and we may not be able to kill all the villains, nor may we be able to find the manual for the Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms.

But where can we find this missing link?

Xie Tianqing and Ma Liangcai calmed down a bit and, seeing Yue Feng deep in thought with his eyes closed, dared not disturb him. The study remained quiet for a while. Suddenly, a maid ran over and said, "Chief镖师, gentlemen, Miss Fang has woken up."

Yue Feng suddenly opened his eyes, darted to the door, opened it, and rushed out. Xie Tianqing and Ma Liangcai quickly followed. The three arrived outside the room of Fang Xiu and her son. Fang Xiu had already gotten up. Seeing that it was Yue Feng, her face flushed slightly, and she said:

"Young hero, how...how did I get here? What happened?"

Yue Feng recounted the whole story, including how he feared retaliation from the Ouyang family and therefore asked Xie Tianqing to secretly protect him. Fang Xiu, tears streaming down her face, immediately knelt down and kowtowed to the two of them.

"This humble servant thanks you two young heroes for saving me! This humble servant kowtows to you two benefactors!"

Yue Feng helped Fang Xiu up and said, "You don't need to do this. I have my own selfish reasons for doing this."

"Madam, could you please help me understand why someone came to arrest you as soon as the Ouyang family ran into trouble? Do you know something that makes you of some special value to them?"

Fang Xiu said blankly, "I...I don't know anything. In the Ouyang family, my job is to be a good wife and mother."

"When my father was still alive, Ah Ying's father, perhaps to curry favor with him, had me manage the accounts, but later handed it over to someone else. Other than that, I haven't done anything else, have I?"

Yue Feng asked, "Where is your accounting office?" Fang Xiu told him the location. Yue Feng then instructed Xie Tianqing and Ma Liangcai to guard the White Horse Escort Agency and Fang Xiu and her son closely before leaving.

Outside the back gate of the Ouyang residence.

A swordsman wearing a straw hat, with the brim pulled low, slowly walked forward along the alley.

He walked slowly but straight, his head never turning, as if the ravaged manor beside him had nothing to do with him and he didn't care at all.

He had just walked through the back door when six men in black jumped out from behind the wall, three in front and three behind, trapping him in the middle.

The swordsman wearing a straw hat was silent for a moment, then said, "This doesn't seem like a recruitment formation?"

The six men in black were stunned for a moment. One of them said, "Kid, so you committed this crime to join our Black Clothes Society? You're fucking ridiculous. You're trying to mess with us, and you won't even know how you died!"

The other five men in black couldn't help but laugh as well. The swordsman wearing the bamboo hat took it off, tossed it aside, and rubbed his face with his hands, revealing Lin Pingzhi's handsome features.

Lin Pingzhi said, "Oh... so the Ouyang residence is your base? That's quite a coincidence, because... that's exactly the base I was looking for!"