Chapter 374: Recapturing the City and the Authority of the City Gate Guards

The effect of the Baile Tianluo was unexpected.

Kunpengzi fell into the net, as if isolated in another world, and the traces he left behind were quickly wiped away.

The martial artists manipulated by the Bewitching Seal Script awakened on the spot, causing the battle situation to collapse rapidly, and Gongliang City changed hands.

The situation, which had originally held a slight upper hand, quickly took a sharp turn for the worse.

"Shield!"

Zhou You carefully examined that mass of black gauze; it seemed to absorb the surrounding light, and even the information inside could not be transmitted out.

And...

With a faint sound, like a water bubble bursting, the isolated space around him shattered instantly.

The surroundings were like an aerospace capsule in a rapid descent, plummeting toward a corner of the nearby city wall.

Zhou You stared at the Baile Tianluo on the table; it was still placed there, without any spots or possibility of movement.

"..."

The fat, orange cat looked up blankly, watching an object fall under the azure sky, and the more it looked, the more it seemed like it was going to smash down on its head.

It arched its back, its fur standing on end, and sprang into mid-air like an arrow.

Duang!

Zhou You felt as if he had landed on a rubber mat full of clear water; it was very soft and bouncy, and he landed on the ground successfully.

The stall was torn to pieces, and the mass of black gauze transformed by the Baile Tianluo rolled into the dust, coming to a firm stop on the ground.

"Meow!"

A dissatisfied cry came.

The orange cat walked over with squinted eyes, its expression very dissatisfied, and it raised a paw to reveal its paw pad, "..."

It seemed to have discovered something fun; it raised its tail and walked around Zhou You's feet a few times, looking him up and down and clicking its tongue in approval.

Zhou You thought, that couldn't be; he was currently in the second persona transformed by the Void Face, and from his appearance, physique, and Qi and blood, he was Moyunzi Yan Ping. This fat cat's cheeky look, however, seemed to have seen through the disguise.

The orange cat meowed, its attention turning to the Baile Tianluo, and it raised a paw to poke the black ball, rolling it back and forth.

It played very intently; from the outside, it was just a fat cat with low intelligence.

A handprint from the inside out propped up the surface of the Baile Tianluo; at this very moment, the cooldown time for Hunger had ended.

"Hahaha, I'm out."

Amidst Kunpengzi's loud laughter, he pried open an exit in the Baile Tianluo, and the fist-sized black gauze increased in volume tenfold.

Just as he walked out, he met the eyes of the orange cat playing with the black ball; big eyes stared at small eyes.

The orange cat was very dissatisfied; it raised a plump paw and swiped it, giving him a rude slap directly.

Kunpengzi was stunned on the spot; since he could remember, he had never been hit like this! He subconsciously wanted to get angry, but seeing the orange cat's gaze, it was like a basin of cold water poured over his head.

"Meow!"

Kunpengzi's body trembled, and without a word, he lifted his hem and walked away quickly.

Not good, this old guy is trying to run! Zhou You just wanted to chase after him, but was blocked by the orange cat, which raised a paw and waved it.

The orange cat's eyes clearly carried a playful smile, as if to say, "I have already recognized you," it's so much fun, don't pay attention to that old geezer.

Zhou You picked up the orange cat, "Don't delay me from chasing someone."

At this moment, Kunpengzi had already sat on a sedan chair, four Disciples in front and behind exerted force in unison, kicking up dust like clouds beneath their feet.

Swish, in the blink of an eye, he disappeared ten miles away.

This speed was also incredible! Zhou You saw that he couldn't catch up, so he thought about carrying the orange cat away, but suddenly his hands were empty.

The orange cat escaped from his hands, stretched after landing, and actually didn't want to go home with him.

These days, the distinction between house cats and wild cats is not clear, and they change between each other at any time.

"I'll give you some jerky, see you again if fate allows."

Zhou You hung a pouch on the orange cat's neck, which was so fat it was almost impossible to find, and stuffed it full of snacks like beef jerky and dried salted fish.

He knew that it would be difficult to see the orange cat again after this parting.

This cat carried many suspicious points, and even Kunpengzi's voluntary departure was because of it.

Regarding this, Zhou You kept his distance; since the orange cat didn't want to follow him, let it go as fate dictates! The orange cat squinted its eyes and opened its mouth, scratched its ears, and scampered away in a flash.

It crawled through a hole in the wall, kicking up dust along the way, walking through the desolate and ruined wilderness, and eating the jerky in the pouch earnestly.

Before long, the jerky was finished, and it felt a bit thirsty.

The orange cat found a water source and lowered its head to lick it, when a sharp sound of wind brushed past its ear, and it immediately looked up.

This was a rebel martial artist who had fled the battle; after regaining his freedom, he left quickly and passed by this place.

The orange cat curled up by the water, inconspicuous; although the passing martial artist noticed a small animal, he didn't care. He was terrified that Kunpengzi would poison him again after recovering, and only wanted to hide as far away as possible.

Suddenly...

The orange cat opened its mouth, its bloody maw a full 5 meters high, and swallowed the sprinting martial artist directly inside.

After chewing a few times, gulp! The orange cat returned to its fat and lazy appearance; from the outside, one could absolutely not tell it had just eaten a living person.

It continued to lower its head to lick the water, but the surroundings were quiet; not only were there no other living creatures, but not even a single mosquito or insect could be seen.

Gongliang City was recovered, but it was devastated! The population had decreased to less than one-tenth, ruins of buildings were everywhere, and there were more corpses than living people.

"We can't collect them all; let the people of the Religion of the Released God collect the corpses and cremate them to avoid the recurrence of the Plague."

Commander Chen made the final decision, and the long-absent white-robed believers reappeared on the streets, with smoke columns from fires rising one after another outside the city.

The solemn chanting of scriptures seemed to become the mainstream between heaven and earth, both inside and outside the dead-silent city.

On the ruins outside the city gate...

A youth leaned on his sword hilt, guarding the ruins, when suddenly someone walked toward him, and he became alert instantly.

"City Gate Guard station, halt. Trespassers will be killed without mercy."

The person who arrived was Yu Jiuzhang; he saw the devastation everywhere, his gaze swept over the youth, and seeing the cauldron deep within the ruins, he nodded, "The Divine Artifact is still here, and the person is here too; it's not a total loss."

He immediately revealed his identity, "I am Fucheng City Gate Guard Chongyi Captain Yu Jiuzhang, here specifically to assist you in rebuilding the City Gate Guard."

He pointed to the person behind him, "Zheng Qing, you shall temporarily take over the affairs of the Gongliang City Gate Guard and act as the Ghost-Catching Captain."

The youth recognized Zheng Qing and knelt on one knee to pay respects, "Greetings, Captain Zheng."

Zheng Qing felt a moment of trance, a sense of sorrow rising in his heart; there were once eight captains in Gongliang City, but now only he remained, with only an inexperienced youth under his command.

Right, there was also Zhou You; he heard he had just advanced to Martial Master, and if he could be invited back, he might be a great help.

"Captain Zheng, the small cauldron previously recognized a master and killed the Great Hidden Charm from a distance."

The youth stated this situation, causing Yu Jiuzhang and Zheng Qing to be shocked in unison; to be able to drive a Divine Artifact bestowed by the Monarch, could it be that a Captain-level City Gate Guard still existed nearby?

They did not think of Zhou You, only assuming that perhaps there were other surviving City Gate Guards from Su Cheng or other directions.

Since the door ring had recognized a master, things were troublesome; Zheng Qing was acting as the local Captain, and if he could not use the door ring, he would be helpless when encountering strong enemies in the future.

Therefore, the most urgent task at hand was to find that mysterious 'Captain' and transfer the authority.

(End of this chapter)