Chapter 79: Didn't Expect That, Did You?

"Soaring to the heavens in one leap? Just by relying on this?"

Glancing at the secret manual in his hand, then looking at the unwilling-looking Dahuzi, Shen Yu laughed somewhat unkindly.

If you're counting on this thing to achieve something, even if you practice it until you're blue in the face, it's impossible to truly overturn rivers and seas!

I reckon even the person who originally created this manual was only a half-baked amateur; it's not even certain if they had the strength of a Grandmaster, let alone overturning rivers and seas—just ask them if they could do it themselves.

It's the same with Evil Man City and Cannibal Valley; even if you're trying to fool people, you should at least put on a show. Bringing out these things to fool idiots?

Even at your worst, you have plenty of experts among your own people; compiling some manuals yourselves would be better than these. Do you really think everyone is an idiot who can't tell the difference between a good manual and a bad one?

But then again, there really are idiots willing to be fooled, and they're even risking their lives to snatch them here—blood has even flowed all over the ground!

However, I have to say, these wandering cultivators of the Jianghu who have no sect or faction and rely entirely on their own struggle don't have it easy. Everything depends on themselves, and once there is a glimmer of hope, they have to grasp it with their lives.

They might not be very talented, but they are definitely the most hardworking and the most desperate to change their current situation.

Tossing the secret manual in his hand aside, Shen Yu then looked at Dahuzi and asked, "Have you heard of anyone from Cannibal Valley or Evil Man City appearing recently? During this time, have a large number of innocent commoners been killed in Xiaozhou?"

"Cannibal..." Hearing these two words, the muscles on Dahuzi's face trembled visibly; he was clearly deeply fearful of these two places.

In Xiaozhou, Cannibal Valley and Evil Man City are the uncrowned kings, their fearsome reputation deeply ingrained in the depths of everyone's heart. Even just mentioning a name is enough to make people tremble.

According to Dahuzi's account, the entire Xiaozhou has almost turned into a complete mess; there is no doubt that this is their handiwork.

"Great Hero, I haven't heard of anyone from Cannibal Valley or Evil Man City appearing. However, I have heard that there have been frequent murders in Xiaozhou recently, with many villages being slaughtered one after another, and no one knows who did it!"

"It's not just them; even in some cities, it seems quite a few people have died. It feels like more people have died in all of Xiaozhou than in the past!"

Dahuzi had never cared about these ordinary people before. In Xiaozhou, wasn't it normal for Jianghu vendettas to involve ordinary people?

It was just that the unrest had been greater recently and more people had died, which still fell within the normal range, so it hadn't made him think too deeply about it.

But Shen Yu knew clearly that this was the work of the people from Cannibal Valley and Evil Man City; they were truly fast and ruthless!

After dealing with Dahuzi and that group of people fighting to the death, Shen Yu returned directly to the State Yamen, but the Yamen was empty at this time; neither Gu Yutong nor the people from the Beggar Gang were there.

He had sat in meditation for several days to comprehend the insights brought by the experience card, and as a result, after a few days passed and he returned to Xiaozhou, he discovered that quite a few things had indeed happened during this time.

Now that he had returned, he couldn't contact Gu Yutong through the original means of communication at all; the situation before him was truly a bit of a blind spot for him.

So Shen Yu turned and left, finding the Xiaozhou Black-Clad Guard Thousand Household, Lu Shuanghe. Fortunately, he managed to find Lu Shuanghe quite smoothly.

However, Lu Shuanghe's situation was somewhat intriguing.

"Lord Shen, you, didn't you leave Xiaozhou?"

When he saw Shen Yu arrive, a trace of panic appeared subconsciously in Lu Shuanghe's eyes, and this fleeting expression was also taken in by Shen Yu.

Panic? Shouldn't he feel relieved to see him at this time?

"I did leave Xiaozhou, but I didn't say I wouldn't come back. Where is Yutong?"

"This, Hero Gu discovered the tracks of Evil Man City and Cannibal Valley, and then went to track them. It has now been two days, and there is still no news from Hero Gu!"

"But don't worry, Lord, with Hero Gu's strength, there shouldn't be any problems!"

"Is that so?" Looking Lu Shuanghe up and down, Shen Yu asked, "Then the people from the Black-Clad Guard sent by the Imperial Court should have arrived in Xiaozhou by now, right!"

"Now that the people from Cannibal Valley and Evil Man City are causing chaos, have you caught any of them? Have you asked where they are?"

"This..." A trace of panic flashed across his face again, and Lu Shuanghe hurriedly knelt on one knee, reporting to him in a low voice.

"Lord, please forgive me, the strength of the people from Cannibal Valley and Evil Man City is too great. With just us, we are simply no match for those experts; we have prepared to capture them time and again, only for them to escape!"

"Escaped?" Looking up at Lu Shuanghe, Shen Yu asked very calmly, "Is it that you can't catch them, or that you dare not catch them?"

"Lord, we Black-Clad Guards are loyal to the Imperial Court, how could we dare not catch them!"

"Is that so?" Standing there quietly, Shen Yu didn't even have a shred of patience left. If you're going to fool someone, can you at least hide the expression on your face first?

"Lu Shuanghe, do you dare to put on an act in front of this official?"

"I originally thought about luring the snake out of its hole to draw out the people from Cannibal Valley and Evil Man City. I didn't expect them to directly raid our home base and control all of you!"

"Lord, I, I..." Now that things had reached this point, everything was completely exposed, and the panic on Lu Shuanghe's face could no longer be contained.

In his desperation, he even chose to draw the saber at his waist. Perhaps only by holding the blade could he feel a little bit of peace at this moment.

He was no match for the people from Cannibal Valley and Evil Man City, and he was even less of a match for the Shen Yu before him. Why, why was it always him who had to suffer such torment!

"Lu Shuanghe, put down the saber!"

"Lord, the sounds of slaughter still ring in my ears!" Holding the saber, having reached this step, Lu Shuanghe was already nearly insane.

"You tell me to put down the saber, but if I put it down, I will be the one who dies!"

"Scoundrel!" With a cold snort, that single cold snort sent Lu Shuanghe flying, and even the saber in his hand was violently knocked away, embedding itself into the wall nearby.

"This official only wants to tell you that if you hold a saber, you will die faster!"

"Lord, we didn't want this either. But just after Hero Gu left, the people from Cannibal Valley and Evil Man City came to our door; the brothers couldn't hold them off!"

Struggling to lift his head, Lu Shuanghe's blood-stained face was full of sorrow and also carried a bit of fear.

"Their methods are even more cruel than us Black-Clad Guards; they are simply insane. This subordinate had no choice; this subordinate just wanted to live, what is wrong with that!"

At this moment, the look Lu Shuanghe gave Shen Yu even carried a bit of hatred. It was the arrival of this Lord Shen that gave him hope and gave him something to look forward to.

Before, he had even been planning how to start a new life after leaving Xiaozhou.

But in just a few short days, the situation had undergone a earth-shattering change. This Lord Shen had left Xiaozhou, leaving only Gu Yutong here.

This only expert was lured away, and in the end, only this group of Black-Clad Guards, whose strength was not top-tier, remained; how could they hold off the wolf-like and tiger-like Evil Man City and Cannibal Valley?

As a result, when the people from Evil Man City launched a surprise attack, they were completely routed and basically all captured by the people from Evil Man City.

In Xiaozhou, the power of Evil Man City and Cannibal Valley was greater than he had imagined. Their hiding places were supposed to be secret, yet they were found with ease.

It was even possible that their identities as Black-Clad Guards had long since fallen into the eyes of others.

For so many years, the reason they didn't take action against them was simply because they disdained to do so. Or perhaps they just wanted them to know what they wanted to reveal, and used the hands of the Black-Clad Guards to pass on the messages they wanted to convey.

Thinking about it this way was enough to make one's hair stand on end. Over all these years, just how much unreliable information had he passed on?

The inner conflict, combined with the various methods of Evil Man City, and perhaps some psychological suggestion or Illusion Technique, in short, Lu Shuanghe had surrendered.

That was why when he saw Shen Yu appear, he felt panic and hatred. This Lord Shen had clearly given him hope, yet had also made him step into the abyss.

In order to survive, he had no choice but to choose depravity; what other way did he have!