Chapter 71: Battle in the Hall

Night shrouded the earth.

It also shrouded the villa where the Ghost lived.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

A series of bell tolls suddenly rang out in the evening breeze.

In Ghost Villa, this was called the "Evening Meal Bell," which was the bell that summoned everyone to the hall for dinner.

Of course, this did not happen every day; at most, it happened four or five days a month.

On the first and fifteenth of the lunar month, during festivals, or when a famous person arrived.

Yu Liancheng was sitting in the hall.

There were many dishes, but very little wine; today was his first time acting as Old Knife Handle, and he hoped everyone would be sober enough to listen to his instructions.

Of course, before this group of Ghosts arrived, he had already finished half a bottle of Bamboo Leaf Green from a golden goblet.

As the boss, he naturally did not need to follow these rules.

But unfortunately, a quarter of an hour had passed since the Evening Meal Bell, and only four old men in black had walked in.

One of them said coldly, "You no longer need to wait."

Yu Liancheng ate and drank without even raising his head, merely replying with a single word in a flat tone.

"Oh?"

Another old man in black said, "Whenever an important person arrives at the villa, the Evening Meal Bell is rung so everyone can dine together. But if the person who arrived is dead, there is naturally no need to come."

"Amitabha." Another old man pressed his palms together, a hint of compassion appearing on his face: "Furthermore, no one likes to eat while looking at a corpse."

Yu Liancheng had already set down his chopsticks and raised his head: "So, you have the ability to kill me."

The four old men in black said in unison, "No matter who it is in this world, the four of us are confident we can kill them."

The voice was not very loud, yet it was resonant and filled with a sense of power.

Only those with great confidence could speak in such a tone.

Yu Liancheng looked at these four; he had already recognized their origins and had to admit that what they said was indeed not false at all.

In the past, five people roamed the Edo, killing countless others, and were known as the "Dragon, Tiger, Lion, Elephant, Leopard" five evil beasts; every one of them had hands stained with blood.

Later, for unknown reasons, they joined the Shaolin Temple and attained Buddhahood on the spot, transforming from the notorious five evil beasts into the five Lohans of Shaolin Temple: Wulong, Wuhu, Wushi, Wuxiang, and Wubao, from then on laying down their butcher knives and possessing only a heart of Buddha.

Later still, Lohan Wulong became heavily intoxicated, knocked over a candle stand, and nearly burned the Cangjingge to the ground; he was punished with ten years of wall-facing and twenty strokes of the disciplinary rod, and Wulong died in resentment.

The remaining four great Lohans sought revenge for Wulong, but after failing to assassinate the sect leader, their life or death became unknown, and their whereabouts were lost.

Yet, it was unknown that they had already joined Ghost Villa, waiting at every moment to seek revenge.

These four old monks possessed extraordinary martial arts, and even Old Knife Handle was respectful toward them. In the original work, the four monks nearly clashed with Ximen Chuixue.

That was already the late-stage "Sword God" Ximen Chuixue, who, after defeating Ye Gucheng, had cleared his mind and reached a new realm in his Sword Technique, yet he still lacked the confidence to defeat these four.

Although he could kill one or two of them, he himself would inevitably be killed as well.

Of course, this also had to do with Ximen Chuixue not being skilled in group combat, as his Sword Technique was too absolute and too solitary.

But that these four were top-tier experts of the current age was a point no one could deny.

As for those who could defeat these four when they joined forces, they were few and far between.

Just then, three of them tapped their toes and had already surrounded Yu Liancheng from the front, back, left, and right.

Boom!

The next moment, internal energy exploded.

Wushi, Wuhu, Wuxiang, and Wubao attacked Yu Liancheng simultaneously.

At this moment, the four's Qi suddenly became one, their essence, energy, and spirit merging to form a flawless whole, as if they had transformed into four evil beasts, pouncing toward Yu Liancheng.

Wushi's face revealed a solemn expression, his robes billowing; it could be hard or soft, changing abruptly, shrouding Yu Liancheng like a piece of drifting cloud. This move of "Kashaya Demon-Subduing Art" already possessed eight or nine parts of the true essence; even Master Tiejian in the Shaolin Temple did not have this level of skill.

Monk Wuhu and Monk Wuxiang, one on the left and one on the right, suddenly each threw a punch.

They were actually both using the Demon-Subduing Divine Fist, known for its hardness and vigor; the force was immense and unstoppable. They did not hold back in the slightest, and the power of their fists was enough to snap metal and shatter stone. As for a mere flesh-and-blood body, it would likely be turned into minced meat in an instant.

The final monk, Wubao, was positioned behind Yu Liancheng and suddenly stepped forward, striking out with a palm. This palm appeared ordinary, without any refinement, but midway through the strike, it suddenly swayed slightly, and one palm turned into two, two into four, four into eight...

Before long, the sky and earth were filled with palm shadows, compressing the air and surging toward Yu Liancheng's back like a landslide.

The power of these four black-clad monks joining forces was indeed invincible.

Even when facing twenty or so Ghosts, Yu Liancheng had never felt such pressure.

But his expression remained unchanged, his posture like a mountain, radiating a vast and ancient aura. One hand formed a fist, striking out like thunder and lightning, the fist force whipping up a literal hurricane. The other hand formed a palm and struck lightly, his skin jade-like and translucent, ethereal and agile.

Rumble!!

The next moment, a heart-stopping battle unfolded throughout the hall, and tables and chairs were crushed to pieces by the internal energy. Muffled, thunder-like explosions erupted continuously from the five people's clash.

Outside the hall.

Night had completely shrouded everything.

And in the night, one could vaguely see twenty or thirty figures, including Ye Xue, Ye Ling, Hai Qikuo, and others.

Although they could not see the specific situation of the battle inside the hall, they could already tell from the muffled, thunder-like collision sounds how heart-stopping this fight was.

The success or failure of this battle might already determine the ownership of Ghost Villa.

Boom!!

The collision sounds rang out incessantly, and after an unknown amount of time, an unprecedented, massive explosion erupted; a large hole was blown through the roof, and the entire room was trembling, on the verge of collapse.

After this massive sound, the noise inside the hall fell completely silent.

The entire world seemed to have quieted down as well.

Even the birds and insects dared not whisper, as if they had been frightened by something.

"Come in, all of you." Just then, a clear and resonant voice rang out.

Everyone's heart couldn't help but jump; they looked at each other, already having guesses in their hearts, but no one dared to flee, and they pushed the door open one after another to enter.

The situation inside the hall was a complete mess, with pits and holes visible everywhere; everyone could already imagine how intense the exchange had been.

But what was most hair-raising was that Yu Liancheng still maintained a light and breezy posture, a smile on his face.

He did not look at all like someone who had just experienced a life-and-death battle, but rather like a young nobleman returning from a stroll among the flowers.

The four old men in black had not died after all.

But they were certainly not having an easy time.

They were actually kneeling in a row, the hard floor beneath their knees shattered inch by inch, their knees already deeply embedded into the stone slabs.

Their faces were deathly pale, blood spilled from the corners of their mouths, their eyes were wide open and bloodshot, and their bodies were trembling as if they wanted to struggle to stand up.

But helplessly, Yu Liancheng's True Qi had already sealed all of their acupoints.

The crowd wore expressions of astonishment and fear.

Clearly, these four men kneeling in unison on the ground was far more shocking to the heart than the four of them lying dead on the floor.

"These four offended their superiors, but considering it is their first offense, they are punished to kneel for three days."

"Additionally, have someone prepare wine and food; tonight, everyone shall get drunk."