Chapter 125: Escape…

After the smoke cleared, a puff of acrid black smoke rose in the hall. Apart from Chen Mo, the remaining plainclothes officers were at the grenade's epicenter. When the grenade was just thrown in, they already had the intention to escape, yet despite that, they were blown to pieces by the grenade.

Limbs flew through the air, blood spattered, and the spacious hall was obviously turned into a blood‑stained battlefield.

"Team One covers, Team Two protects Brother Zheng and his sister‑in‑law and retreats into the underground passage; once Brother Zheng withdraws, the brothers on cover duty will quickly enter the passage and then close the stone gate…" Fan Wuchang's eyes were red as he helped Chen Zheng and Dong Yumin up from the debris, then shouted at everyone: "Hurry, speed is essential."

I crawled out from under the table and closely followed Fan Wuchang with Pangzi and the others toward the underground passage. Fortunately, Pangzi and the others were standing farther from the grenade, and Pangzi grabbed Chen Mo and pulled him away. Aside from those few plainclothes officers, everyone suffered only minor injuries, just looking a bit disheveled.

Not long after, deafening gunfire came from behind, along with the muffled groans of several black‑clad bodyguards who had been hit.

Soon after, a sunglasses‑clad bodyguard responsible for covering the front hall staggered over; upon seeing Fan Wuchang, he collapsed straight to the ground.

"The secret‑passage door is already shut; the Fierce Tiger Gang has rushed in. Brother Chang… you must quickly take Brother Zheng and go."

After painfully uttering those words, he spat out a mouthful of fresh blood, gave a muffled groan, and collapsed. Fan Wuchang turned him over and saw a large gaping wound on his back, starkly visible to everyone.

That sunglasses‑clad bodyguard… had clearly been hit. He was propping himself up with sheer will, supporting his own body; the moment he finished his report, his wish fulfilled, he instantly lost that sustaining will and completely departed from life.

He was a loyal warrior; in the face of death, his thoughts were for Fan Wuchang's and Chen Zheng's safety, placing his own life aside.

Even the cold‑hearted Fan Wuchang's eyes welled with tears as he clutched the sunglasses‑clad bodyguard's corpse, choking out: "Brother, rest in peace; I will look after your family. As long as Eastern Mausoleum and I, Fan Wuchang, exist, they will never go hungry—your parents are my parents, your sisters… are my sisters."

Chen Zheng fell silent for a moment, then knelt down and bowed his head several times before the sunglasses‑clad bodyguard.

Being closest to Chen Zheng, I also heard his murmuring as he knelt: "Brother, in this life I, Chen Zheng, cannot share wealth with you; in the next life, I will repay you as an ox or a horse…"

At the same time, artillery fire ahead grew fiercer; Chen Zheng showed no hesitation, pulling everyone into the underground passage to retreat.

"Ah Chang, why have the forces of the Heaven, Earth and Person character factions not come to support us after all this time?" While withdrawing, Chen Zheng asked Fan Wuchang with a grim face.

Fan Wuchang's face flushed with anger as he snapped: "Brother Zheng, the Old Ma of the Person‑character faction suddenly betrayed us, attacking the Earth‑character faction; they are now locked in combat, and the Heaven‑character faction's people are entangled by the Fierce Tiger Gang, leaving them unable to come to our aid at all."

Chen Zheng remained silent for a long while, then a long while more, his face as calm as usual.

"I understand… Chang, you take Yumin and the brothers and go first; I will hold the rear here."

The artillery fire behind grew increasingly intense, and Chen Zheng had already snatched a gun from a black‑clad bodyguard beside him.

"Brother Zheng, you must not—if you die, Eastern Mausoleum will lose its backbone; who will lead our troops to avenge our fallen brothers? I will hold the rear; you take your sister‑in‑law and go first." Fan Wuchang suddenly dropped to his knees, his expression resolute.

The remaining few black‑clad bodyguards also fell to their knees with a thud, unable to suppress their excitement.

"Brother Zheng, it's too dangerous back there—you can't go."

"Brother Zheng, leave the rear route for the brothers to guard; you go first……"

"Brother Zheng, I have never regretted following you in my life; if it weren't for you, I would have been dead long ago. From the day I followed you, I swore that even if I had to give my life, I would suffer no harm."

Chen Zheng fell silent, then suddenly burst into uncontrollable laughter toward the sky.

"I, Chen Zheng, was merely an insignificant thug; countless bloody struggles brought me to today, giving me a lover and brothers, yet today I watch helplessly as my comrades fall one by one for my sake, unable to do anything."

"Why… why is this? Time and again I have tolerated them, only to receive their limitless challenges in return. Could… that thing really be so important? For its sake, one could squander such precious lives."

The bitterness in Chen Zheng's laughter revealed a piece of information: the Fierce Tiger Gang's arrival today may not be solely to avenge the Northeastern Tiger; they have poured out their entire nest, motivated more by whatever Chen Zheng holds in his hand.

As for what that thing is, I have no way of knowing, nor time to ponder, for soon we are again in imminent peril.

A few booming roars sounded—the noise of mortars. To hunt down Chen Zheng, the Fierce Tiger Gang spared no expense in deploying heavy weapons.

The roar came from not far from the secret passage—that was the stone gate of the passage being battered by artillery fire.

"Go quickly…" Fan Wuchang shoved Chen Zheng and Dong Yumin hard, his eyes blood‑red as he bellowed at us. He then led the bodyguards and warriors, without hesitation, charging off in the opposite direction.

Watching Fan Wuchang's retreating back, Chen Zheng's tiger eyes brimmed with tears as he helped Dong Yumin and hurriedly fled the secret passage.

"Go…" a hoarse voice came from Chen Zheng's mouth; we closely followed his steps, swiftly escaping this fiery battlefield.

At this moment, my mood and that of Pangzi Yuan Qiu are not good; we feel very heavy.

Although our time with Fan Wuchang was brief, it gave us a deep affection. Moreover, he once saved us—both publicly and privately, Fan Wuchang owes us a debt of gratitude beyond mere feeling that we have yet to repay.

Pangzi beside me fell silent for a moment, then lowered his voice and said, "Hai Sheng, you follow Brother Zheng first… I'm going to help Brother Chang."

"The situation is so dire now that going back might not be of any help," I replied, shaking my head and speaking softly.

"But you forgot—I know magic; maybe I can be of use."

I shook my head again: "Precisely because we know magic, we must stay here. Tonight's attackers include not only mercenaries and street thugs, but also sorcerers who control paper‑man troops. You haven't noticed? Everything Fan Wuchang has done is to protect Brother Zheng; as long as we stay close to his left and right, guarding him well, we fulfill Brother Chang's wish."

Pangzi fell silent for a moment, then sighed: "Alright, we'll follow."

As time dragged on, the gunfire behind grew weaker. This indicated the battle was nearing its end, yet our mood did not relax—it grew even heavier. Judging by the current situation on all fronts, our chance of victory is extremely slim, while the likelihood of Fan Wuchang losing his life is very high.

"After… past this stone gate, you'll be safe." Half an hour later, Chen Zheng pointed to the stone gate not far ahead and told us.

Beside the stone gate is a small mechanism; as long as we turn it, we can escape from the secret room—however, from Chen Zheng's words it seems he does not intend to leave with us.

"And what about you, Brother Zheng, after we leave?" After a moment of silence, I asked.

Chen Zheng turned his head, glanced at the pitifully lovely Dong Yumin beside him; Dong Yumin gave a soft smile, as if she understood her husband's intention.

And just then, something unexpected happened: Chen Zheng formed his right hand into a blade and, at great speed, struck Dong Yumin's neck.

In an instant, Dong Yumin fainted; before losing consciousness, her gaze toward Chen Zheng still held astonishment.

While everyone wondered why Chen Zheng had knocked Dong Yumin unconscious, he shook his head with a desolate expression: "Take Yumin away first and look after her… I must go back."

"Going back…" Not only I was surprised; nobody understood why, after all our hardship to get out, we would turn back.

"Yes……" Chen Zheng spoke with a resonant, forceful voice: "I want to go back to fight alongside my brothers; even if I die, I will share the Yellow Springs with them. Because I am afraid…"

Chen Zheng's expression suddenly turned utterly desolate, his voice hoarse: "I fear that in the netherworld, my brothers will be bullied by other factions."

Chen Zheng's words filled everyone with sorrow; without hesitation, I, Pangzi, and Yuan Qiu all spoke at the same time.

"You go first; I will stay with Brother Zheng."

As those words left our mouths, we realized we had become perfectly in sync; when the three of us men looked at each other, we all smiled simultaneously, and vaguely we understood each other's decisions.

To our surprise, not only were the three of us men ready to stay, but the three women unanimously refused to leave.

Chen Mo shrugged indifferently: "I am a police officer; from the day I joined the force, I have always been ready to sacrifice my life."

Yao Yirong's reply left us speechless: "Such a perilous situation, and you're prepared to leave me behind—how dare you."

Silijing, meanwhile, broke into a smile: "You all stay; I couldn't possibly be the sole deserter."

At this moment we finally discovered a truly aggravating problem: having reached the exit, nobody wanted to leave. If so… why did we bother escaping at all? We might as well fight to the death right inside.

Tranquil…… an extraordinary tranquility wove through the upper air of the secret passage; besides that, my expression gained another layer of helpless laughter.

The silent Chen Zheng suddenly glanced at us and smiled, saying, "To know you, I, Chen Zheng, am truly delighted, really delighted." He paused, then shook his head, gave a sorrowful sigh, and told us, "But this is an affair of our Dongling; it has nothing to do with you, and you need not lose your lives over it."

He gazed at Dong Yumin in his arms with an expression full of affection: "If you care, just look after Yumin for me. I have owed her too much in this lifetime; she has shared hardships with me for many years, yet I have never given her even half a day of comfort."

Having said that, he produced a small knife as if performing a trick, and immediately prepared to slash his own wrist.

"No…" I grabbed his wrist, landing exactly on the lover's knot.

Although I didn't know why Chen Zheng wanted to cut his wrist, I vaguely guessed it was related to prolonging life. He intended to transfer his vital energy to Dong Yumin, then fight to the death with a resolve to die.

Chen Zheng's expression changed, and he prepared to push me away.

Suddenly, a hurried footsteps sounded from within the secret passage.

Everyone's faces tightened; Pangzi crouched, assuming a fighting stance, while Yuan Qiu casually picked up a large stone and guarded the corner entrance.

At that moment, Chen Zheng's brows were tightly knit, as if confirming something; then his face lit up and he said, "It's A Chang, A Chang has returned."

Everyone turned their heads in astonishment, and Yuan Qiu, at a loss, stared at Chen Zheng.

"It's A Chang, no mistake, that's his footsteps…"

After confirming again from Chen Zheng's mouth that it was Fan Wuchang, everyone hurriedly turned their heads toward the corner entrance, eagerly gazing at the dark opening ahead.

Not long after, the footsteps grew more frantic, and a figure stumbled out of the gloom.

Indeed, it was Fan Wuchang…

At that moment, Fan Wuchang held his left shoulder with his right hand, his face smeared with fresh blood, appearing badly wounded. The instant he saw us, shock crossed his face, and he even swore: "Damn it, why haven't you left yet?"

Pangzi spread his hands and said, "Aren't we waiting for you?"

At this moment, Chen Zheng pushed Pangzi aside and prepared to go meet Fan Wuchang.

Unexpectedly, Fan Wuchang's face showed fear as he shouted loudly, "Brother Zheng, don't come over, hurry…"

Suddenly, my heart tightened, and a feeling of panic slowly spread within me. I knew this feeling well; it was my spiritual sense, and whenever danger loomed, it would abruptly appear in my mind.

Behind Fan Wuchang, I faintly saw a flash of piercing cold light shooting toward his back at great speed.

Although I didn't know what that flash of cold light was, I instinctively acted on impulse. I grabbed a stone from the ground, sprinted quickly to Fan Wuchang's front, shoved him aside, and hurled the stone in my hand at that flash of light.

With a boom, the large stone shattered into sky‑filling shards, and at that moment the flash of cold light rapidly expanded in my pupils. It turned out to be… a silver flying sword about six inches long, streaking through the air at great speed, and behind the sword there was no one.

"How could this be… how could flying swords exist in this world? They ought to be props only found in myths and movies. Could it be… that there really are sword‑wielding immortals of Shu Mountain in this world?"