Chapter 330: Familiarity

Inside the mountain gate of the Kongming Sect, Hua Zhiqiu stood in silence, not paying the slightest attention to the fact that Gao Anyu and Cao Hanyan had already paved a path of blood up to ten zhang in front of him.

In his hand was Gao Anyu's black ruler; a disciple had pulled it from a corpse and presented it to him. He had been holding the black ruler and staring at it for a long time, saying nothing, his expression shifting between light and shadow.

An elder standing by his side stepped forward and spoke in a low voice.

"Sect Master... is that the weapon?"

Hua Zhiqiu nodded.

"Yes, Elder Qi, you have seen it too."

"I originally thought today's events were a disaster, but now it seems this might be a stroke of fortune for our Kongming Sect—the 'Heaven-Man Inheritance' we have bitterly sought for decades has delivered itself to our doorstep."

He suddenly looked toward Gao Anyu, who was still fighting, his eyes filled with undisguised greed.

"Elder Qi, tell me, what are our chances of capturing this brat alive?"

The elder sighed.

"I fear only sixty or seventy percent."

"Although these two young people are still young, they are both prodigies capable of suppressing the Jianghu. Their moves, true energy, power, and adaptability in battle are all at the peak of the first-rate."

"In a life-and-death struggle, having to hold back to avoid killing them, while also preventing the two from escaping... even if we know how to break one of their moves, I fear we only have a sixty or seventy percent chance of success."

Hua Zhiqiu stared fixedly at Gao Anyu, the greed in his eyes intensifying as the corners of his mouth curled up.

"Is that not enough?"

"That is the Heaven-Man Inheritance! At the Moon-Gazing Banquet, those major sects fought until the ground was soaked in blood just to keep this thing in their own hands. Even Shaolin and Wudang had to bow their heads to the imperial court for this."

"Elder Qi, Heaven-Man, Heaven-Man!"

"Eternal youth, seeing the divine without decay, regrowing severed limbs! Is this not enough for our Kongming Sect to stake everything on a gamble?"

The old man was silent for a moment, then said in a deep voice.

"But, the Embroidered Uniform Guard's Officer Xue will be coming shortly... We are not a 'Peak' sect; according to the rules of that Commander, we are not qualified to possess a Heaven-Man Inheritance."

Hearing this, Hua Zhiqiu frowned.

The Heaven-Man Inheritance was good, but the dead could not practice Wu Gong. The scheme he had just used to lure the Embroidered Uniform Guard over and frame Gao Anyu and Cao Hanyan had now become a problem.

After a long while, a look of ruthlessness appeared on his face.

"Unless—we go all the way!"

Under Elder Qi's astonished gaze, Hua Zhiqiu's expression grew increasingly frantic.

"Today, thieves came up the mountain, destroyed the wooden tablets, and killed the Embroidered Uniform Guard. Our Kongming Sect fought them to the death, suffering countless casualties, and only then managed to surround and kill them—what do you think of this story?"

"You want to kill the Embroidered Uniform Guard!?"

The old man was shocked and lowered his voice.

"Why not?"

He was met with Hua Zhiqiu's increasingly greedy smile.

"Once I attain the Heaven-Man state, I can go anywhere in the world! Even if our Kongming Sect moves the entire sect to the Western Regions, it would be better than being stifled here in Guangxin Prefecture! Is there any treasure in this world that can be picked up so easily?"

The words sounded fine, but the old man knew in his heart that there was no such thing as a wall that didn't leak. With so many Kongming Sect disciples, no one could guarantee that everyone would keep their mouths shut; Hua Zhiqiu could not be unaware of this.

The Embroidered Uniform Guard would eventually discover the truth. After Hua Zhiqiu obtained the Heaven-Man Inheritance, he would likely disappear without a word. He would escape the Great Ming before the Embroidered Uniform Guard discovered the truth, leaving the entire Kongming Sect to face the wrath of that Embroidered Uniform Guard Commander.

His feelings for the sect and his greed for the Heaven-Man Inheritance left the old man unable to make a choice for a moment.

Hua Zhiqiu said slowly.

"Besides, we don't just have a sixty or seventy percent chance of winning. There is another force we can borrow—the Prefectural Garrison!"

The old man frowned.

Today was the day the Prefect of Guangxin Prefecture was scheduled to "inspect" the Kongming Sect.

At the beginning of this year, the imperial court was in turmoil, which affected the previous Prefect of Guangxin Prefecture, leading to his family being wiped out and his property confiscated. The new Prefect had only arrived a few months ago, and it was said he was a failure who had been kicked out of the capital.

After spending months confirming that neither he nor the Prefect was a good person, they had finally set the formal invitation for him to come and "inspect" today—in reality, they were preparing to conduct some interest exchanges in secret.

With the Prefect coming, and this not being a secret visit, he would certainly bring Prefectural Garrison guards. If these garrison troops were added... they would likely have an eighty or ninety percent chance of keeping these two brats here!

Hua Zhiqiu said slowly.

"First kill the Embroidered Uniform Guard and pin the disaster on these two brats."

"Then we will throw the entire sect at them and see if we can take them down. If we can't, we will drag it out until the Prefect arrives. Compared to these two brats of unknown origin, he will certainly trust our Kongming Sect more."

"With the full strength of our Kongming Sect, plus the garrison troops, this matter is already in the bag! Elder Qi, opportunity knocks but once!"

The old man gritted his teeth; such an opportunity was indeed hard to come by.

"Fine! Let's do it!"

"Good!"

Hua Zhiqiu smiled with satisfaction.

As the two spoke, footsteps could be heard coming from the back hall. The disciple sent to the back mountain to deliver the message ran over first, followed by a middle-aged man in black tight-fitting clothes with a Embroidered Uniform Guard saber at his waist, walking slowly with a frown.

"Officer Xue."

The two bowed.

This person was Xue Zhongjing, the Embroidered Uniform Guard Platoon Leader stationed at the Kongming Sect after the Moon-Gazing Banquet, responsible for counting heads and distributing rewards, and a subordinate of An Ziyang.

"What is going on? Who dared to destroy the wooden tablet issued by our Embroidered Uniform Guard!"

At this moment, he was furious to the extreme.

With the wooden tablet destroyed, his assignment was ruined beyond repair. Given how much his superior An Ziyang valued Li Miao's rules, he would absolutely not show him any mercy; hoping to keep even half his life would be a luxury.

If not for the fact that he still wanted to make up for his mistakes and earn a way out for his wife and children, he would have packed his bags and fled long ago.

At this moment, Xue Zhongjing was consumed by rage, his eyes red, his hand gripping his saber hilt tightly, looking at everyone with murderous intent.

"Sect Master Hua, what is going on! Can your Kongming Sect not even guard a single wooden tablet! How do you have the face to stand in the Jianghu!"

He cursed angrily.

Hua Zhiqiu put on a fawning and aggrieved expression.

"Officer, it is not that our Kongming Sect did not do our best, it is just that the thieves are too fierce! Look—"

He gestured, drawing Xue Zhongjing's gaze toward the battle circle.

"The thieves are these three people."

Xue Zhongjing followed his gaze.

During this time, Gao Anyu and Cao Hanyan had already forced their way three zhang closer to the main hall, the ground covered in blood, broken swords, and rolling, wailing human bodies.

Xue Zhongjing first glanced at the two young men. Although his Wu Gong was poor and he could only serve as a Platoon Leader, he had served in the Embroidered Uniform Guard for many years and his eye for talent was not bad.

At a single glance, he knew both were prodigies who would surely become peak experts in time. If they had the opportunity, they might even attain the Heaven-Man state.

It was understandable that the Kongming Sect, lacking a peak expert to hold the line, could not stop them.

He turned his gaze toward Li Miao, who was being protected in the middle by Gao and Cao and walking slowly toward them, and frowned.

Li Miao was also looking at him. As their gazes met, Xue Zhongjing's heart skipped a beat for no reason, and his knees felt weak.

He had no impression of the face.

But this manner of walking with hands behind his back, this narrow, casual smile, made him feel inexplicably familiar—a familiarity that went deep into his bones and was carved into his nerves.

A familiarity that made him fear to his very core.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 331 =====