in2ebook Chapter 256: The Old Fox’s Methods
Chapter 256: The Old Fox’s Methods
By the time Fu Jundao had finished off the last few survivors at the Yulong Gang hall and captured the disciple hiding in the shadows who had fired off the distress flare, footsteps suddenly rang out from all directions. His expression changed drastically as he shouted,
“This is bad!”
“We fell for that old fox’s trick!”
“Quick!”
“It’s a trap!”
“Break out!!”
At Fu Jundao’s command, the group of martial artists from the sub-branch vaulted onto the rooftops with Running Across Roofs and Walls.
But Yang Feiyue had already arrived.
The Yulong Gang Leader, his temples streaked with gray, had gotten to the rooftop first and cut off Fu Jundao’s path.
He Haisheng, the Hall Master of the Water Stronghold hall, blocked Fu Jundao’s retreat from behind.The rest of the Beggar Sect disciples were already locked in battle with the Yulong Gang disciples closing in from every side.
CLANG! CLANG!
CLANG! CLANG!
In an instant, saber light and sword shadows flashed everywhere, metal shrieked against metal, and people began dropping one after another.
“Gang Leader Yang, what fine methods you have.”
Realizing there was no way out, Fu Jundao fixed his eyes on Yang Feiyue and said through gritted teeth, word by word, “To think you could endure all the way until now before making your move.”
Yang Feiyue glanced at the courtyard below, where the corpses of his gang members lay sprawled in every direction, butchered beneath blades and swords. Pain and sorrow flashed through his eyes, but he quickly regained his composure and replied,
“I also never expected that the Beggar Sect would now act with such tyranny, seeking to wipe out a hall of my Yulong Gang the moment words failed. First Feng Shaoguang murdered for loot and stabbed his allies in the back during an escort raid. Then Branch Master Chen relied on brute strength to bully others and attempted to assassinate me. And today, you, Fu Jundao, brought men to destroy my Yulong Gang hall. What more do you have to say for yourself?”
As he watched the men he had brought being surrounded and slaughtered by Yulong Gang disciples who outnumbered them several times over, falling one after another, Fu Jundao’s gaze turned resolute and desperate. He silently raised the iron staff in his hand and assumed the opening stance of the Snake-Driving Staff Art.
“Affairs of the Jianghu should be settled in the Jianghu. Since you’ve already caught me red-handed today, what else is there for me to say? After this, neither the Jianghu, nor the Beggar Sect, nor the authorities will have any place left for me, Fu. Please, enlighten me with your skill, Gang Leader Yang.”
“No rush.”
Yang Feiyue cast a look downward.
Then Fang Kui Elder was seen pulling a cylindrical object from the body of a Beggar Sect disciple. He yanked it open and fired it into the sky.
FWEEE!!
The Beggar Sect’s distress signal shot upward and exploded, its firelight once again tearing through the night sky, visible both inside and outside Rong County.
Fu Jundao instantly understood Yang Feiyue’s intention, and his face twisted in fury.
“Yang! You are vicious beyond measure!!”
Yang Feiyue had deliberately fired the Beggar Sect’s distress signal to lure every beggar in Rong County into attacking the Yulong Gang hall.
He wanted to blow the whole matter wide open!
Fu Jundao hurriedly shouted,
“Beggar Sect disciples, do not—”
But Yang Feiyue had already joined forces with He Haisheng and attacked, forcing the unfinished words back down his throat.
By then, Fang Kui and the others had already dragged all the Beggar Sect corpses back into the hall. Working in pairs, they clashed blades and swords together, creating the illusion that fierce fighting was still raging inside.
Very soon, a mass of hurried footsteps sounded outside the hall.
The Beggar Sect disciples from the sub-branch had already been “summoned” by the signal flare.
When they heard the sounds of fighting inside, quite a few hesitated.
To launch an assault on the Yulong Gang hall on their own initiative?
That would get them placed on the wanted list.
But the sounds of battle and slaughter inside were so intense...
If they did not save them now, the Branch Master and the others would die inside.
“Move!”
“Charge in and save them!”
Among the crowd, more of the beggars stopped caring about the consequences. Without pausing for even a moment, they vaulted over the walls and charged into the hall.
There were corpses everywhere inside.
Some belonged to Yulong Gang disciples, and some to black-clad Beggar Sect men.
“Get out!”
“Get out of here!”
“It’s a trap!”
Fu Jundao’s body was already marked by multiple wounds. Burning with anxiety, he shouted for the Beggar Sect disciples to withdraw, but it was useless. More and more of them kept climbing over the walls, and they had already engaged the Yulong Gang disciples in battle.
Most of the sub-branch’s elites had already been encircled and killed.
The majority of those who came rushing in as reinforcements only had the strength of Quasi-Martial Artists...
Facing the Yulong Gang’s First-Rank Martial Artists and full-fledged martial artists, they quickly fell in droves.
Fu Jundao’s eyes nearly split apart with rage.
“Yang Feiyue!”
“You old fox!”
“You lured my Beggar Sect disciples to their deaths!”
“You will die badly for this!”
Yang Feiyue’s expression did not change in the slightest.
“You were the one who came to murder people on my doorstep, Fu Jundao. These people were drawn here by you. What right do you have to accuse me?”
Another slash came down on Fu Jundao’s hand.
Clang!
The iron staff flew from his grasp and hit the ground.
Seizing the opening, He Haisheng thrust his sword again.
Fu Jundao toppled from the rooftop, blood spraying wildly, wretched beyond words.
One Beggar Sect disciple after another collapsed in the courtyard, collapsing right in front of Fu Jundao...
In agony, he reached for a weapon, only for a throwing knife to punch straight through his palm.
“AAAH!!”
Fu Jundao screamed in pain, blood filling his mouth as the muscles on his face convulsed violently.
Then a sword pierced through his heart from behind.
His body shuddered sharply, then fell limp and died where he lay, never moving again.
There had been more than two hundred people in the Beggar Sect sub-branch...
Only half had managed to climb over the walls and charge in.
The rest, lacking the ability to run across roofs and walls, had instead lucked into surviving. Armed with staffs, sabers, and swords, they crowded at the gate and tried to smash it open.
At that moment...
A large ship rapidly pulled alongside the shore and stopped at the dock.
SHWIP!
SHWIP! SHWIP!!
A volley of powerful arrows came shooting from the river.
More than a dozen beggars were struck on the spot and cried out in agony.
The beggars all turned around, only to see the banners and ships of the Caobang, along with a group of agile Caobang elites surging onto the dock. Their faces filled with horror at once.
“The Caobang!”
“The Caobang is here!”
“The Yulong Gang’s reinforcements have arrived!”
“Run!”
These beggars were guilty to begin with and knew this was no place to linger. At once, they scattered like frightened rats and fled toward the city.
Tap! Tap!
Tap! Tap!!
Wangchuan, bringing Chen Ergou and Zhao Heiniu with him, used their movement arts to reach the rooftop of the hall. At that exact moment, his gaze met Yang Feiyue’s as the latter looked up from the courtyard.
Yang Feiyue stood amid a field of corpses with a steel saber in hand, his expression grave.
The Yulong Gang disciples were doing everything they could to kill off the Beggar Sect disciples still putting up stubborn resistance.
Inside the hall, blood flowed like a river.
“I came too late?”
Wangchuan led his men down into the front courtyard and found a familiar face among the corpses—Hall Master Qin Ming.
“The Beggar Sect made its move ahead of time.”
Yang Feiyue spoke with blunt concision.
“You came at the right moment. Bear witness for me, and help my Yulong Gang stand firm tonight as well. Tonight, I am going to wash the Beggar Sect sub-branch in blood.”
“Are you certain?”
Wangchuan frowned.
He understood what Yang Feiyue meant.
Take this chance to uproot the Beggar Sect’s sub-branch in Rong County once and for all, and pull out this nail.
But...
The Beggar Sect sub-branch was nothing like Qingyi Sect or the Qingzhu Gang...
Yang Feiyue’s gaze was unwavering, and his words struck the ground like iron.
“My Yulong Gang Hall Master was assassinated in his own hall by the Branch Master of the Beggar Sect sub-branch! No matter how this is argued, the Beggar Sect is in the wrong!”
“All right.”
“Since you’ve decided, then do it.”
Wangchuan nodded and said,
“You inform the authorities.”
“I’ll notify Old Seven.”
“Many thanks.”
Yang Feiyue cupped his fist, turned, and immediately led his men into action.
The Yulong Gang’s martial artists and outer disciples all poured out, beginning a citywide hunt for Beggar Sect disciples.
The Beggar Sect sub-branch was burned clean to the ground in a single fire.
All the gray-market businesses that had fallen into the Beggar Sect’s hands changed owners overnight.
The people Wangchuan had brought were responsible for clearing up the hall.
The bodies of more than sixty inner and outer disciples were covered with white cloth, including Hall Master Qin Ming.
More than two hundred Beggar Sect members had died...
Including the Branch Master, Fu Jundao.