Chapter 31: Cui Elder

“Cui Elder, you’ve arrived so quickly.” Yin Lady tilted her head upward, then cried out joyfully to the sky.

Wang Yu blinked in surprise, then saw a slender green wooden skiff floating silently in the air, over ten zhang above.

Standing on the skiff was a burly man with a full beard of bristling whiskers, clad in a yellow robe, with a massive black iron mace slowly rotating before his chest.

“I was nearby handling some matters; as soon as I received the message, I came at once—that’s why I arrived so fast. Where are the bandits? Did they escape?” The man’s dark eyebrows furrowed as he bellowed from above.

“Cui Elder, the bandits are the Four Fiends of Lanshan. They struck half a day ago and fled eastward with their looted goods. By the way, I saw from afar that they had a flying artifact—seemingly a standard Skyworks Sect mechanical airship.” Yin Lady replied respectfully.

“Hmph, so it’s those four scoundrels, the Four Fiends of Lanshan. No wonder they dared attack our Baizhen Pavilion’s magic vessel.”

“The east leads to Yu Kingdom—they must be heading back to their Lanshan stronghold. My Qingguang Skiff may be faster than low-grade mechanical airships, but they’ve had too much of a head start. I’ll notify the Yu Kingdom branch to issue a bounty and put out a warrant for the Four Fiends of Lanshan.”

“...Who is this brat? Not one of our Pavilion’s people, is he?”

The bearded man muttered a few threats, then his gaze swept over Wang Yu below. Cold light flashed in his eyes, and a tremendous pressure descended from the sky, fully engulfing Wang Yu.

Wang Yu felt as if a mountain had crushed him; his bones cracked loudly under the strain, and he could no longer stand—he collapsed onto one knee, sinking to the ground, his heart pounding with terror as he shouted:

“I am merely a passenger on the Iron Arrow! I am no bandit!”

“Cui Elder, Wang Yu is truly just a passenger aboard the vessel—has nothing to do with the bandits!” Yin Lady, seeing this, quickly added.

“Hmph. A mere pseudo-cultivator? Could he possibly have escaped the Four Fiends of Lanshan? Whether he’s involved or not, I’ll find out after I search his soul.” The bearded man’s eyes flickered as he instantly discerned Wang Yu’s true cultivation level, yet spoke with utter arrogance. At the same time, the black iron mace before him began to hum ominously.

At these words, Wang Yu’s face turned pale.

Soul-searching? That sounded terribly ominous!

Seeing this, Yin Lady grew flustered and hesitated, then prepared to explain further.

But before she could finish speaking, a sudden ripple disturbed the air behind the bearded man—a blood-red short sword materialized and silently stabbed forward.

The Cui Elder’s upper body bent sideways at an impossible angle, as if his waist had snapped.

The blood-red sword barely grazed the side of his shoulder.

“Who are you?”

In the next instant, the bearded man’s body snapped back to normal. He roared in fury, and the black iron mace beside him shot backward like lightning.

“Boom!”

“Not bad for a Foundation Establishment cultivator—you’re not as easy to catch off-guard as I thought.”

A gust of wind surged behind him, and a green-clad figure appeared midair, laughing lightly. She reversed her flight, stopping ten zhang away—she was the green-robed girl, Qin’er.

With a mere gesture, the previously missed blood-red short sword spun back into her hand.

“Blood She Devil! Very good, very good. You dare attack me, a mere late-stage Qi Condensation cultivator? I’ll show you what a Foundation Establishment cultivator truly is.”

The bearded man glared at the girl, each word icy and sharp.

“Hehe, if it were just me, I’d never dare provoke you, Elder. But the Four Fiends of Lanshan never fight alone. Luoyue, show yourselves—we’re in for a hard fight.” Qin’er blinked her large eyes and laughed softly.

No sooner had she spoken than two white clouds drifted down from the sky, landing silently beside her before transforming into two figures.

One wore a Daoist robe, a sword strapped to his back, and carried a tattered lantern—it was Luoyue Daoist.

The other wore a white palace gown, her face beautiful and radiant—it was the woman who had been aboard the magic vessel with Qin’er.

Wang Yu stared, frozen in shock.

He had not sensed a single soul nearby—yet three living people, the very Four Fiends of Lanshan he feared most, had been hiding there.

Yin Lady’s expression shifted uncertainly, as if wrestling with hidden thoughts.

“Hmph. Luoyue Daoist, Fengshou Gu, and Qiankunzi—let him show himself too.”

The Cui Elder glanced at the two newcomers, sneered, and showed no sign of panic.

“Stop pretending. You’ve already fallen from Foundation Establishment—you’re nothing but a half-step Foundation Establishment. Do you still think you’re a true Foundation Establishment master? Are three of us not enough to send you to your grave?” Luoyue Daoist rolled his eyes and spoke bluntly.

The bearded man froze for a moment, then realized the truth. His face darkened. “How do you know I’m half-step Foundation Establishment? I understand—you came for me. There’s a traitor in our Pavilion?”

“If we hadn’t wanted to lure you here, we wouldn’t have bothered hijacking your vessel. Now, will you hand over the item peacefully—or shall we fight, and leave all our lives here?” Qin’er grinned.

“Hah! The Four Fiends of Lanshan are truly arrogant. I’ll show you that even a half-step Foundation Establishment is still a Foundation Establishment. Yin Guard, wait here for me. I’ll deal with these three brats, then we’ll continue our journey.” This time, the Cui Elder laughed bitterly with rage. His green wooden skiff trembled slightly; his body instantly glowed with emerald light, then shot sideways like a launched arrow, vanishing dozens of zhang away in an instant.

“Trying to run? Chase him!”

Luoyue Daoist blinked, then shouted immediately, flicking his sleeve. A yellow talisman flew out, expanded in the wind, and transformed into a gale that swept up the three of them, chasing after the green skiff.

The three paid no attention whatsoever to Wang Yu or Yin Lady below.

“We must leave too.”

At nearly the same moment, Yin Lady’s voice whispered into Wang Yu’s ear. He blinked, then saw her holding a miniature wooden carriage, murmuring incantations before tossing it onto the ground nearby.

A swirl of black smoke erupted, revealing a wooden carriage over a zhang long, pulled by four massive black hounds.

Yin Lady gestured to the boy, then hurried toward the carriage.

Wang Yu finally understood and rushed after her.

But at that moment, a strange howl erupted from the nearby forest—a golden light shot out and struck the carriage.

“Boom!”

The carriage shattered into pieces. The golden light flew back, landing in the hand of a short figure emerging from the trees—transforming into a golden ring.

“Qiankunzi!”

Yin Lady halted, staring at the dwarf, her face pale.

Wang Yu gasped sharply, gripping his iron-essence long knife tightly.

“Don’t be afraid. Your opponent isn’t me—it’s them.” The dwarf smiled faintly.

As soon as he spoke,

three more figures slowly stepped out from behind him—two men, one woman.

Wang Yu stared—and froze in disbelief.

It was Yu Bin, the young Huang couple.

Their faces were pale, drawn, exhausted.

But what struck Wang Yu most was the inch-long, filthy bone-fish clinging to each of their shoulders, their long tails coiled tightly around their necks.

“I won’t give you two a choice. Kill those three, and I’ll spare you.”

“And you three—listen well. Kill those two, and I’ll lift the restrictions and let you go. Fail, and you know what happens.” The dwarf’s cruel words echoed through the air.

All five of them stiffened.

“Split up!”

Yin Lady shouted, her body wrapped in black mist, sinking instantly into the earth and vanishing deep underground.

Wang Yu didn’t hesitate—he dropped flat, pressed his hands and feet against the ground, then pushed off with all four limbs.

“Whoosh!”

Four foot-deep mud pits remained where he’d stood; he launched forward like a cannonball, then scrambled like a wild beast, leaping repeatedly until he vanished behind the trees.

“Hah! Interesting. If you don’t chase now, you might lose them.” The dwarf, utterly unconcerned, let out a shrill laugh directed at Yu Bin and the others.

“Enough.”

Yu Bin sighed, flipped his hand, and revealed a yellow talisman. He slapped it onto his chest and sank into the earth, chasing after Yin Lady.

The young Huang couple stared, surprised, then exchanged glances.

The woman suddenly plucked a lotus-shaped jade hairpin from her hair, tossed it low before her, and it rapidly expanded into a massive green lotus, over a zhang in diameter.

The couple leapt onto the lotus and soared into the air, heading toward where Wang Yu had disappeared.

In an instant, only the dwarf remained.

“Marvelous, marvelous—I can hardly wait. No, no, wait a little longer. Too soon, and they won’t let loose—they won’t fight to the death.”

The dwarf seemed ecstatic, his face flushed, several of his braids standing on end.

After waiting a moment longer, he pulled a white banner from his robe, waved it once, and it transformed into a white cloud that shot skyward, circled once, then flew off in the opposite direction from Wang Yu.