Chapter 368: The Banquet

After receiving the whistle-code message, Bai Rong replied with a code of his own to indicate he understood.

However, he did not immediately walk out of Huaying Pavilion; instead, he washed and groomed himself before walking out slowly.

He had always been a clean freak and could not tolerate the slightest bit of filth; he could not do anything else until he had tidied himself up.

When Bai Rong walked out of Huaying Pavilion, the night outside was already deep.

Huaying Pavilion was managed by Hu Huanhuan, so he could be a hands-off Manager most of the time; this was the reason why, even though he detested Hu Huanhuan, he had kept her on.

Bai Rong walked out of Huaying Pavilion and strolled to the opposite side of the street, walking along the shadows of the trees and walls by the roadside. Suddenly, at the mouth of an alley, Bai Rong abruptly accelerated; dressed in white, he flashed like a white shadow and darted into the pitch-black alleyway.

The moment Bai Rong walked out of Huaying Pavilion, Duan Rong locked onto him with his Divine Sense.

Inside the building, the scene where he exchanged whistle-codes with a short scout hiding in the darkness not far from Duan Rong was all perceived by Duan Rong through his Divine Sense.

It was just that Duan Rong had no way of knowing the meaning of those whistle-code messages.

However, Duan Rong did "hear" Bai Rong talking to himself while grooming in that room on the second floor of Huaying Pavilion, mentioning Ruan Fengshan, a banquet, and so on.

After the scout exchanged whistle-codes with him, Bai Rong went out in the dead of night; clearly, he was about to do something very confidential, and it was related to Ruan Fengshan.

Regardless of the reason, Duan Rong had to investigate Bai Rong's subsequent actions.

It was just that Duan Rong already knew at this moment that Xiangu County had been controlled by the Filthy Blood Sect and was filled with scouts, so he had to be extra careful.

After Bai Rong darted into the darkness, Duan Rong walked to that alley entrance a few breaths later. Because a patrol of yamen runners happened to be passing by nearby, Duan Rong yawned and pretended to walk lazily into the alley.

The leader of the patrolling yamen runners glanced at Duan Rong, saw that he was a thin, cowering beggar, and ignored him directly.

As soon as Duan Rong's figure merged into the darkness, he suddenly increased his speed. He was already at the True Qi Realm Great Perfection, and his Lightness Skill was exquisite. Coupled with his Divine Sense Envelopment locking onto the target, it was not difficult at all to tail Bai Rong in the night.

Duan Rong followed Bai Rong through streets and alleys, only to see Bai Rong suddenly stop his figure beside a high wall of a certain residence.

Duan Rong's brows furrowed slightly; he was very familiar with that residence—it was the old house of Wei Yutian.

This house had been the site of the Filthy Blood Case and had been sealed by the government three years ago, during Shen Yanliu's tenure.

Why would Bai Rong suddenly come to this residence in the bleak night?

Just then, a group of men in black carrying lanterns walked over from a corner not far from the high wall.

Before this group of people even appeared, Duan Rong's Divine Sense had already swept over them. They were patrolling and standing guard outside the high wall.

Those people did not seem surprised to see Bai Rong standing by the high wall. One of them walked over slowly, suddenly stopped, and cupped his fists to Bai Rong, saying, "Sixth Master, you've come."

Bai Rong looked at the man in black carrying the lantern, smiled, and said, "It's Kui, is it? Is it your shift patrolling today?"

"Yes." Bai Rong's attitude was casual, but the man in black was very respectful in his etiquette.

Bai Rong asked, "Have the others arrived?"

The man in black said, "The First Master and Second Master haven't arrived yet. And Temple Keeper Xu hasn't arrived yet either."

Bai Rong suddenly gave a strange laugh and said, "With Old Xu's old arms and legs, it's normal for him to be slow."

After Bai Rong finished speaking, he suddenly leaped, his body as light as a leaf, and drifted over the top of that high wall.

The group of black-clad men patrolling with lanterns saw Bai Rong leap over the high wall and continued their patrol forward.

Duan Rong was hiding in the shadows not far away; his projected Divine Sense had already completely enveloped the inside and outside of Wei Yutian's old residence.

The defense and patrol of this residence were surprisingly tight; not only were there multiple checkpoints and patrols in the vicinity, but the guards inside were also strict.

This was definitely not the level of defense an abandoned and sealed residence should have.

The moment that group of black-clad men carrying lanterns disappeared around the corner on the other side of the high wall, Duan Rong's figure became as fast as a ghost; he leaped and landed from the same spot Bai Rong had just crossed, vaulting over the high wall.

Duan Rong landed as lightly as a falling leaf, almost silently, and then he moved his figure, slowly closing in on a certain location under the cover of shadows and obstacles.

Bai Rong arrived at the side of the Rockery in the Back Courtyard. Under the dim light of a few lanterns, more than a dozen figures could be seen sitting scattered about.

Three people were sitting in the pavilion, two were sitting cross-legged on the Rockery, and several others were sitting on the grass in front of the Rockery.

A burly man with a full beard saw Bai Rong and laughed, "Look at Brother Rong's fair and tender face; it's truly succulent, damn it."

As soon as he finished speaking, a burst of laughter erupted.

Bai Rong's expression turned cold, and he shot a glare at the burly man.

Just then, Temple Keeper Xu Dongyang was seen walking slowly from behind the pavilion, wearing a Daoist robe. At this time, the season was still winter and the temperature was cold; inside Xu Dongyang's Daoist robe, he was clearly wearing thick cotton-padded clothes, which puffed up his originally loose robe.

Xu Dongyang walked into the pavilion and sat on a Stone Chair. He panted heavily, poured himself a cup of tea, and gulped it down his throat.

A rather obese middle-aged man sitting on the crossbeam by the pavilion looked at Xu Dongyang and said, "Old Xu, if you can't handle it, come less often. I see you coming twice a month, and you seem to be struggling a bit, don't you?"

After the man finished speaking, he laughed out loud.

Xu Dongyang also laughed and said, "Better to die under a peony flower than to be a ghost who is not romantic. How can I come less? I just got some tonic medicine recently and only started taking it; the effects haven't shown yet. Wait a while, once the effects kick in, don't look at me as an old man—I might be even more vigorous than you, kid."

"Is that so? In my opinion, you shouldn't get yourself into a state where you're too weak to absorb the tonic."

"You kid, why do you keep cursing me? Bring your daughter over, and see if I'm too weak to absorb the tonic."

"You..."

The obese middle-aged man was about to fly into a rage when a thin, gloomy-looking man sitting beside Xu Dongyang suddenly said in a deep voice, "Enough! Why are you two arguing as you talk?"

Xu Dongyang snorted coldly and turned his face away.

The thin, gloomy man looked at Xu Dongyang and asked, "Old Xu, you are well-informed. Isn't this Mandala at Wei Yutian's place already rarely used? Why did today's banquet come here? Did something happen?"

Wei Yutian's old residence had already been confiscated by the government during Shen Yanliu's time, but it had been abandoned and unused.

After Sun Qian took over as County Magistrate, he put this place back into use. Since this was a residence confiscated by the government, he directly used the power of the government to designate it as a restricted area and then renovated the interior.

After all, he wanted to build Xiangu County into a stronghold for the Filthy Blood Sect. In this way, a large number of Filthy Blood Sect members would inevitably have to enter Xiangu County in secret.

Then he had to solve the cultivation problems of these members; otherwise, how could he keep them? And how could he have the reputation to recruit others to come to Xiangu County?

Because of this, Wei Yutian's Mandala became a gathering place for the Filthy Blood Sect members to cultivate.

But soon, as more and more Filthy Blood Sect members entered Xiangu County, Wei Yutian's Mandala seemed a bit small and not enough to go around.

Therefore, Sun Qian discussed with Ruan Fengshan and built a larger Mandala next to the Sealed Treasury of the Yuanshun Escort Agency to solve everyone's cultivation problems.

Temple Keeper Xu Dongyang, hearing the man's question, only coldly replied that he didn't know, and then said no more.

The man glanced at Xu Dongyang, his expression clearly somewhat displeased.

In fact, Xu Dongyang knew a few clues.

Before dawn today, a secret agent came to find him, telling him to use a carrier pigeon to send a secret letter to the Yuanyang Hall.

Xu Dongyang had read the contents of that secret letter; it asked the Hall to help check with the Prefecture Government Office to see if Duan Rong and Xiao Yu were Registered Disciples or Outer Sect Disciples.

Plus, over half a month ago, Xiao Yu's father had caused such a major incident at the Yuanshun Escort Agency.

As soon as Xu Dongyang saw that secret letter, he understood the meaning behind it.

But he was a man who kept his mouth tightly shut; he would not leak a single word of information that shouldn't be revealed.

Just then, a rumbling sound suddenly came from the Rockery, and then a stone door opened.

As soon as the stone door opened, men in black walked out from inside one by one.

On the shoulders of those men in black, each carried a bulging Sack.

The moment they saw the Sacks, the people around them all had a look of fanaticism. They knew all too well what was inside those Sacks.

Following the group of men in black, two people walked out slowly. They were none other than Sun Qian and Ruan Fengshan.

Upon seeing the two of them emerge, the people around immediately gathered from all directions, cupped their fists, and said, "Big Brother, Second Brother!"

"Brothers, I trust you have all been well!" Sun Qian and Ruan Fengshan also smiled and returned the salute with cupped fists.

Ruan Fengshan suddenly saw Xu Dongyang in the crowd, his eyes flickered slightly, and he said, "Old Xu, has the secret letter sent to the Yuanyang Hall been dispatched?"

Xu Dongyang said, "It was sent before dawn."

Ruan Fengshan nodded upon hearing this.

Xu Dongyang was originally one of his subordinates; when Sun Qian rebuilt the team, he kept him on, letting him continue to be responsible for the liaison tasks between Xiangu County and the various Filthy Blood Sect organizations.

This task was actually quite important. Xu Dongyang had originally done a good job, and he was quick-witted, strict, and kept his mouth shut, making him the perfect candidate for this position.

The fourteen people here each managed a force in Xiangu County and were basically all experts of the True Qi Realm; only Xu Dongyang had mediocre martial arts, but his Filthy Blood Divine Art had reached the Second Layer, so he still had no problem protecting himself in ordinary battles.

In a shadow not far away, the moment Ruan Fengshan appeared, Duan Rong's brows furrowed slightly.

Three years had passed, but Ruan Fengshan's appearance had not changed much.

In the darkness, Duan Rong muttered, "Master, I never expected that when we met again, we would already be mortal enemies!"

Duan Rong not only paid attention to Ruan Fengshan but also used his Divine Sense to carefully scan Sun Qian beside him.

Sun Qian was thin and short with deep eyes; the Sun Qian before him seemed to gradually awaken the vague image in the depths of Duan Rong's heart.

The people here, seeing that everyone had arrived, went together toward the Secret Chamber Mandala.

After the crowd had walked far away, Duan Rong used his Divine Sense to carefully investigate the surrounding environment before following them.

The entrance to the Secret Chamber was actually the same side room as before.

There were only two men in black at the door of the side room, holding lanterns and standing guard.

If it were with the Divine Soul strength Duan Rong had three years ago, he would have had to go around to the back of the side room and penetrate his Divine Sense downward to be able to detect the situation inside the Secret Chamber Mandala.

But now it was different; he only needed to hide far away in the shadows of the trees here, and the Secret Chamber Mandala under the side room was already "fully in view."

Three years ago, Sun Qian had people tidy up and renovate this Secret Chamber Mandala of Wei Yutian's, but the basic layout had not been changed much.

The group walked slowly into the Mandala. Sun Qian and Ruan Fengshan walked at the very front.

As soon as they entered the Mandala, many people's breathing stagnated slightly, and a wave of heat surged in their lower abdomens.

The Temple Keeper Xu Dongyang, in particular, widened his eyes in an instant, staring fixedly at the Altar in the center of the Mandala, unable to move his eyes away again.

At this moment, one could see that on the Altar, there were actually fourteen stark-naked women placed. They were all completely bare, lying unconscious on the Altar.

These naked women were the ones the men in black had carried over in the Sacks just now.

Among these people, only one person's expression was very ugly at this moment, as if he had swallowed a fly.

This person was Bai Rong, who was walking at the very back of the crowd. For someone like him with a penchant for men, he wanted to vomit every time he touched a woman. But in order to practice the Filthy Blood Divine Art, he had no choice but to do this.

Although many people's lusts were swelling, practicing the Filthy Blood Divine Art had strict and complex steps for worshipping the Five Tong Gods, and they had to proceed step by step.

Worship, Smoke Offering, and ritual implements—not a single step could be out of order.

Soon, the Secret Chamber was filled with thick smoke, almost obscuring people's vision. Only when it reached this level could the Smoke Offering be considered complete.

Looking at the Altar looming in the thick smoke, a trace of regret flashed through Xu Dongyang's heart. Every time it reached this point that excited him the most, it would be filled with smoke, and he couldn't see anything; and every time the smoke dissipated, those vivid and fragrant women would all turn into dried corpses.

Every time he finished, he would feel a bit dazed—were those he had been with actually these dried corpses all along?

Amidst the rolling thick fog, the group walked toward the central Altar from different directions.

Soon, screams of varying intensity came from the Altar...

Those screams were mixed together, shrill like tearing silk.

This was the so-called evening banquet!

Duan Rong, in the shadows of the trees in the darkness, had an ugly expression; although the Secret Chamber Mandala was filled with thick smoke and the people inside could see nothing, under the Envelopment of Duan Rong's Divine Sense, he "saw" it all clearly.

This kind of filthy and bizarrely evil scene was truly hitting Duan Rong's psychological defenses, and a wave of nausea rose in his heart.

If it weren't for the fear of missing important information, he would have really wanted to withdraw his Divine Sense.

The sentence Ruan Fengshan asked Xu Dongyang back at the Rockery had made Duan Rong's vigilance rise sharply.

What exactly was the secret letter sent to the Yuanyang Hall?

And it was sent before dawn today. Yet he and Xiao Yu had entered Xiangu County yesterday afternoon.

The timing was so tight that Duan Rong vaguely felt that the secret letter must be related to him and Xiao Yu.

(End of this chapter)