Chapter 169: The Underground Warehouse

The night was deep and the surroundings were still; all things were silent.

Meng Yifan led the ghost soldiers and ghost generals to begin a carpet search in the south of Luolong County.

Zhang Butou's figure drifted unsteadily, as if stepping on clouds; suddenly, he saw a man in black picking a lock.

Zhang Butou was stunned for a moment, and upon closer inspection, he discovered that this fellow was none other than Zhang San, a habitual thief; Zhang Butou had disciplined him several times while he was still alive, and he never expected that the man would still be incorrigible, going off to steal other people's things again.

"A dog really can't stop eating excrement," Zhang Butou snorted coldly, deciding to teach Zhang San a lesson.

Zhang San was squatting in front of a large iron chest, using a thin wire to reach into the lock, fiddling with the lock cylinder bit by bit; following a faint "Click!", the lock of the large iron chest was opened.

Zhang San was incredibly excited; he quietly opened the large iron chest and was just about to take the silver from inside, but suddenly, he felt a blur before his eyes, and Zhang Butou appeared in front of him.

"Zhang San, caught red-handed; go turn yourself in at the yamen tomorrow," Zhang Butou said coldly.

Zhang San was given a huge fright, and after seeing Zhang Butou's appearance clearly, he felt a chill shoot from the soles of his feet to the top of his head, making his back cold; he stammered, "Zhang Butou... aren't you dead? Why are you still managing theft?"

Zhang Butou said, "Hmph! I am now a ghost general under Lord Meng; get lost now, and remember to turn yourself in tomorrow, or else I will come to take your life tomorrow."

Zhang San was dumbfounded; he never expected Meng Yifan's methods to be so heaven-defying—having the constables manage the security of Luolong County during the day, and having ghost soldiers and ghost generals manage it at night; how were people like them who worked the fringes supposed to live?

Zhang San dared not resist; he could only nod dejectedly and leave the household, intending to turn himself in at the yamen tomorrow; he decided that he would never steal in Luolong County again—it was too dangerous.

Time passed bit by bit, and soon Meng Yifan had already led the ghost soldiers and ghost generals in a search of the south of the city for an hour.

After such a long time, they still hadn't found the place where the Three Great Gangs were hiding the grain, which made Meng Yifan secretly anxious; he wondered to himself, could the intelligence provided by Liu Ermazi be fake?

Zhang Butou led a team of ghost soldiers, walking on the streets of the south city; Meng Yifan had ordered them not to miss a single corner, so the ghost soldiers would drill into the houses on both sides of the street to search them one by one.

Suddenly, Fang Cheng ran over excitedly and said, "Chief Zhang, there is a huge space under that house ahead; one of our ghost soldiers just went in and discovered many Martial Artists inside; he didn't dare get too close and had to retreat."

Zhang Butou's heart stirred, feeling that it was very likely the place where the grain was hidden; otherwise, why would there be so many Second-grade Experts guarding it?

"Let's go, take me to see," Zhang Butou said, and they soon arrived near a civilian house.

This civilian house looked very ordinary from the outside, just a house where commoners in the city lived; a young couple lived inside, and everything looked perfectly normal; even if constables were sent to search, it would be very difficult to discover anything unusual.

But after Zhang Butou and the other ghost soldiers and ghost generals entered the house, their Yin Soul Bodies could shuttle through the rooms at will, and they soon discovered that there was a huge space beneath this house.

There were many Martial Artists patrolling inside this underground space, and the defense was very tight; the Martial Artists had vigorous blood and Qi, and their Three Yang Fires were burning fiercely, so ordinary Yin Souls dared not approach at all.

The one who had drilled in first was a First Grade Ghost Soldier; as soon as he drilled in, he appeared near a Second Grade Middle Stage Martial Artist.

That ghost soldier felt as if he had been thrown into a furnace; the Yin energy all over his body instantly boiled, as if it were about to be ignited.

If it weren't for the fact that this ghost soldier retreated in time, he would have been burned until his soul scattered.

That Second Grade Middle Stage Martial Artist was stunned for a moment; he had just felt a cold, chilly wind blow nearby and couldn't help but shiver; he looked around suspiciously, but didn't see any ventilation holes—how could there be wind? It was truly strange.

There were Martial Artists guarding this underground space, and it would be easy for other ghost soldiers to be discovered if they went in; Zhang Butou prepared to go himself; he was a Third Grade Ghost General, and Meng Yifan had taught him a secret technique for restraining his aura, which could gather the Yin Soul Body together, condensing it without dispersing.

As long as the Yin Soul energy did not radiate outward, it would be very difficult for ordinary Martial Artists to detect Zhang Butou's presence.

Zhang Butou transformed his Yin Soul Body into a thin black line and, under the cover of darkness, drilled into the underground space without a sound.

In this state, as long as Zhang Butou did not get within five meters of a Second Grade Martial Artist, it would be very difficult for them to discover him.

Even if there were Third Grade Martial Artists here, as long as Zhang Butou did not get within two meters of them, it would be very difficult for them to detect him.

Zhang Butou was like a small black snake, slithering through the underground space; soon he discovered that this underground space was very large, nearly two thousand square meters, and it was piled full of grain sacks.

Not only that, but around these grain sacks were placed a lot of gunpowder, oil, and other flammable materials; it was obvious that the Three Great Gangs were prepared to burn all the grain with one fire if they couldn't hold it.

After a brief search, Zhang Butou was surprised to discover that this underground space was connected in all directions, linking up with the underground drainage pipes of Luolong County; from these pipes, one could easily reach any place in Luolong County.

Zhang Butou did not continue to probe; following the wall corner, he returned to the surface without alerting the guards; he hurried to Meng Yifan and said excitedly, "Lord Meng, I've found the place."

"Finally found it," Meng Yifan was overjoyed and followed Zhang Butou to the vicinity of that house; on the way, Zhang Butou reported the situation inside the underground space, and when he learned that there was not only grain but also a large amount of incendiary materials inside the underground space,

Meng Yifan also felt it was quite tricky; the Three Great Gangs were very ruthless with this move, actually being prepared at all times to burn the grain with a single fire.

"Lord Meng, the entrance to the underground space is right under that water vat in the house." Zhang Butou had drilled into the underground space first, and then looked for the entrance from the inside out, so it was naturally very easy to discover the location of the entrance and exit.

"Tell me about the defensive situation in that space?" Meng Yifan asked.

"Lord Meng, in this underground space, there are five Second-grade Experts, specifically two Second Grade High Stage Martial Artists, one Second Grade Middle Stage Martial Artist, and two Second Grade Lower Stage Martial Artists; additionally, there are thirty-two First Grade Martial Artists; they are scattered throughout the grain storehouse, patrolling constantly."

"Moreover, this underground space is connected to the underground drainage channels; I saw a bronze bell at the channel entrance, which is definitely an alarm device; as long as someone rings the bronze bell, the Three Great Gangs will have a large number of experts coming to reinforce them," Zhang Butou said.

Meng Dayong frowned and said, "The Three Great Gangs' defense is very tight; we must be able to control the thirty-seven guards inside the underground space at the very first moment; if even one slips through the net, there is a possibility they will ignite the gunpowder."

"By then, even if we wipe out the Three Great Gangs, the grain will have been burned, and all the commoners in the city will have to go hungry; then what would be the point of us wiping out the Three Great Gangs?"