Chapter 610: Seeking Aid

After recovering slightly, Tu Fei recounted the experience of his journey back in full detail.

In truth, once laid bare, the matter was very simple. The two Manor Heads had returned to the manor feeling both triumphant and exhausted; furthermore, since they were returning to their own home, how could they have remained vigilant the entire time?

As a result, the moment they stepped through the door, the two were ambushed.

The attacker was intimately familiar with the manor's layout and the two men's temperaments, specifically choosing the moment they were most relaxed to strike, and the attack was exceptionally ruthless.

Jin Jiu died on the spot.

Tu Fei was a more cautious person and always carried a few protective Art Tools on his person; this time was no exception, and by relying on one such Art Tool to provide defense, he barely managed to dodge the first wave of the ambush.

Then, he saw the face of the attacker clearly—it was none other than Xing Ruo, whom he and Jin Jiu had imprisoned in the dungeon.

Tu Fei was furious, but his fear diminished significantly—he feared most the arrival of some unknown enemy, such as the mysterious and powerful forces of the Long Life Society, but seeing it was Xing Ruo, he was immediately unafraid. After all, the two sides had fought more than once or twice, and the victor had long been decided; Xing Ruo was merely a defeated opponent of his.

Moreover, if it were Xing Ruo, escaping from the dungeon to launch an ambush was reasonable. Although he and Jin Jiu had conducted a thorough purge of the manor after the outcome was decided, clearing out the other party's confidants, Xing Ruo had deep roots; perhaps one or two fish that slipped through the net had been lurking and found an opportunity to rescue Xing Ruo while he and Jin Jiu were busy with Sword Fighting affairs and away for long periods?

Thinking this, he felt he had seen through the truth; his courage returned, but he relaxed his vigilance again.

"Who could have imagined... that this bitch didn't escape on her own, but actually hooked up with an outsider? That bitch didn't show herself at first, hiding in a corner to launch a sudden ambush; I... almost didn't make it out. Bitch, bitch! She has been plotting to seize my Changyi Manor for more than a day or two. I shouldn't have been sentimental and spared her life back then; I should have killed her long ago."

The gathered Manor Masters were unimpressed upon hearing this; they were all old slave owners, and none of them believed he was being sentimental. He must have been trying to extract something from that person, and because he never got results, he dragged it out without killing her, leaving behind a hidden danger.

Tu Fei sighed and lamented: "I barely managed to escape, and those two bitches were still chasing me. Fortunately, I still had an Airship in hand, so I desperately boarded the ship and escaped the First Ladder. As it turned out, my luck was at its worst; halfway through the escape, I ran into a Ghost Disaster, and the ship crashed. If I hadn't met Lord Tang Zhao, I would have lost my life."

The crowd was horrified and exclaimed one after another: "Ghost Disaster? A Ghost Disaster is happening outside? Isn't a Ghost Disaster at this juncture adding frost to snow?"

Tu Fei sighed: "It is happening. It was fine when I left, but just as I was halfway through the escape, the sky suddenly seemed to crack, and You Water flooded in; the ship could not remain Floating. If that isn't a Ghost Disaster, what is? And it's a massive Ghost Disaster at that. In previous Ghost Disasters, the cracks in the sky would flicker; they only looked like cracks, but were actually lightning. Now, the cracks in the Ghost Disaster outside are not only extremely dense but stable, just like shattered porcelain, as if they can never close again. I truly feared the fragments of the sky would fall from above and crush me to death. The You Water is also flooding severely, surging like a tsunami. It barely diminished from the First Ladder to the Second Tier, and it has already submerged the manors at lower elevations. I have never seen such a large Ghost Disaster."

The crowd listened with great anxiety: originally, it would take two or three days for carriages and horses to go down the mountain and come back up; if they encountered a Ghost Disaster, those below would not be able to come up, causing further delays. If they were even more unfortunate and those carriages and horses on the mountain road did not avoid the Ghost Disaster and were overturned in it, then the prospect of returning home would be indefinitely postponed.

Immediately, someone accused Tu Fei: "Why didn't you say so sooner about such a big matter?"

You just kept talking about the trivial matter of your home being destroyed.

Tu Fei was extremely displeased. A Ghost Disaster was indeed a major matter, but to him, matters involving his own safety were naturally more urgent. In any case, Ghost Disasters were frequent nowadays, occurring once or twice a month, some large and some small; what had the people in the mountains not seen? Wouldn't it be enough to just hide? He had just lost his partner and even his home!

Wei Se's heart stirred. Previously, when Tang Zhao used the Sun Storm Sword Technique to cut off Yinglang, there was no Ghost Disaster at that time. It could be seen that the Ghost Disaster was not caused by the signal being cut off leading to the flooding of You Water, but rather that some other core change had caused both the flooding of You Water and the signal cutoff.

He recalled Tang Zhao's instructions before leaving: "Miss Ling might have made progress there, which will inevitably cause turmoil; at that time, unknown variables will likely appear that we cannot predict or avoid. You don't need to worry about anything else; sitting securely in the manor and stabilizing these people is a great contribution."

I wonder how the other teams are progressing? How is the Master?

Although worried, Wei Se still smiled calmly: "Everyone, do not be nervous. My Huanri Manor has a deep foundation and secure defenses; the water dam at the entrance is as solid as gold. The Ghost Disaster cannot get in, and the sky will not collapse. Even if there is a Ghost Disaster outside, just treat it as traffic congestion; isn't it lively for everyone to stay here for a few more days?"

The crowd was helpless and continued to sigh: even if Sunset Manor is good, how can it compare to being at home?

Moreover, when the few of them left, none were prepared to stay on the mountain for a long time; there were more or less unfinished matters at home, with only Sword Slaves keeping watch. How could they let it drag on? Not to mention anything else, the Sacrifice was imminent, yet the necessary items had not been prepared; if something went wrong with the Sacrifice, it would be a catastrophe.

Everyone was anxious, except for the Fuhu Manor Master, who persisted: "It must be the remnants of the Long Life Society! They are pervasive and specialize in sabotage! Changyi Manor, Sunset Manor, Xianglong Manor, and even my Fuhu Manor were all caused by them; they are simply troublemakers specifically sent to harm Wangliang Mountain. Such an organization is a boundless poison; killing the ringleaders is not enough, they must be completely uprooted! Kill every one you see."

Tu Fei nodded upon hearing this and said: "Perhaps it is indeed them."

After being ambushed, Tu Fei had fled in a panic and then encountered the Ghost Disaster and the ship crash; still shaken, he had no way to think about who the other party was. He himself could not figure it out: Xing Ruo had been in the dungeon without seeing the light of day, so how did she hook up with outsiders? Why would outsiders want to deal with him?

Aside from the mess at his own home, he had never offended anyone else outside, had he?

Prompted by the Fuhu Manor Master, Tu Fei's train of thought immediately continued: Right, it must be the Long Life Society causing trouble. If it weren't for this bunch of lunatics, who would deal with a good person like me?

Could it be that the Long Life Society hates me for not joining them, and is greedy for the large amount of money I've earned recently, wanting to seize my family property?

But... you didn't ask me, did you?

If you wanted to recruit me, I definitely would have joined.

Isn't this just a misunderstanding?

Having received Tu Fei's affirmation, the Fuhu Manor Master continued to shout: "We cannot allow the Long Life Society to stir up trouble like this! Today it is him, tomorrow it will be me, and the day after it will be you! Let's go up the mountain and wipe out the remnants of the Long Life Society first! How can we allow such people to control a First Rank Manor?"

He spoke with great conviction, but after he finished, the people present were silent.

Seeing everyone looking at him, the Fuhu Manor Master realized and added: "Not now, after the Ghost Disaster. After the Abyss Envoys quell the Ghost Disaster, we will go up the mountain to crusade."

The crowd still remained silent.

Go up the mountain with whom? Which mountain?

Are you joking? Since when did we on Wangliang Mountain have a tradition of mutual aid?

Isn't it just your own Sword Slaves rebelling? Who hasn't seen that before? No one cared in the past, so why should they care this time?

You were driven out; if you have the ability, recruit people and fight your way back. If you don't have the ability, wait for the Sacrifice and see if Wangliang recognizes you. If it doesn't recognize you, Wangliang will naturally destroy the rebels, saving you the trouble of doing it yourself. If it does recognize them, they are the new Manor Masters, so go find somewhere cool to stay; by then, you will be the rebel.

Besides, if it were the peaceful situation from before, if you paid enough, we wouldn't be unable to consider helping you. Now, with both the Long Life Society and the Ghost Disaster, natural disasters and man-made troubles combined, everyone is terrified and huddled in Huanri Manor for refuge, all worried about not being able to return home; who has the time to pay attention to you?

Tu Fei was not surprised by this situation and gave a bitter smile.

If all the Manor Masters of Wangliang Mountain were warm-hearted, it wouldn't have been his turn to be a Manor Head.

The Fuhu Manor Master clamored a few times, but no one responded; some even looked at him with the expression of "I see through you; are you trying to use the name of helping Changyi Manor to get us to help you suppress the rebellion in Fuhu Manor for free? Sorry, we don't do charity." He was both angry and frustrated, saying repeatedly: "These people are not worth conspiring with."

Then, he turned to Wei Se and said: "Huanri Master, I wonder where Lord Tang Zhao is?"

Wei Se frowned and said: "Why?"

The Fuhu Manor Master said: "For lawless villains like the Long Life Society, we need to ask the Sword Hero Tang to take action. My Fuhu Manor is willing to pay the reward in advance. I ask the Huanri Master to request this on our behalf."

Wei Se said: "It is not that I am unwilling to help you. It wouldn't be a big deal for me to mention it, but the Sword Hero Tang is not so easily hired. In those years I spent outside, it was by a stroke of luck that I obtained a favor from him to invite him; it is not so easy for you to hire him."

The Fuhu Manor Master paused slightly and asked in pursuit: "I wonder what it would take to move Lord Tang?"

This was also asked on behalf of Liu Hu; he had just brought Liu Hu to ask about Tang Zhao's preferences, but was interrupted by Tu Fei before he could speak, and only now had the opportunity to ask.

This answer was something even the others wanted to know; if one could hire a powerful Sword Hero, one could accomplish many things.

Wei Se pondered for a moment and said: "Only Lord Tang Zhao himself can answer this question. When he returns, I can take you to ask. However, we must wait for him to return."

The Fuhu Manor Master let out an "Ah" and said: "Has the Sword Hero Tang left?"

Has he left temporarily, or is he gone for good?

Wei Se calculated the time and said: "That is right. Didn't Tu Fei just say so? He was the one saved by the Sword Hero Tang outside."

Only then did the crowd remember that Tu Fei had just mentioned that Tang Zhao saved him; at the time, everyone thought Tu Fei had fallen to the manor entrance and Tang Zhao had come out from inside and saved him in passing. Could that not be the case?

Tu Fei said: "That is correct. At the time, I crashed at the border of the First and Second Manors and happened to run into the Sword Hero Tang and the Abyss Envoys together. The various Abyss Envoys were high and mighty and did not spare me a glance; only Lord Tang pitied me, not only saving my life but also using his Sword Technique to send me on my way. Otherwise, how could I have returned? He himself, however, did not return."

Someone said: "He was actually with the Abyss Envoys? Presumably, the Abyss Envoys invited Lord Tang Zhao to go to the Altar together? Every time there is a Ghost Disaster, the Abyss Envoys must go to the Altar to request aid; this time, perhaps they were short-handed, so they invited Lord Tang to go together. Let's wait; as long as the Altar is opened, the Ghost Disaster will naturally dissipate, and we will also be able to go down the mountain."

Tu Fei grunted in acknowledgment, then suddenly realized an unspeakable fact: the direction they were heading in did not seem to be the direction of the Altar, did it?

That place seemed to be...

Anxing Manor?

Anxing Manor.

In the main hall, someone Ask-ed, "Have the letters for the two Pillar-State Ministers been sent out?"