Chapter 66: All Must Be Taken

Thirty strings for a young man? At these words, the crowd began whispering among themselves; although the Wu You Cave usually sold few men, such a high price had never been seen before.

"Why is it so expensive?" someone asked.

The man in colorful robes pointed at the youth: "He has Wu Gong cultivated in his body; capturing him truly required great effort, and brothers inside the cave were injured. Had we not used some tricks, we truly could not have captured him, so naturally the price is higher."

"But if he possesses Martial Arts..." a man with a large belly, wearing an External Official hat, let his eyes flicker.

"Please rest assured, noble one; we have already destroyed his acupoints and abolished his Wu Gong. Whoever buys him may use him as they please at home."

As the man in colorful robes spoke, he walked before those women, picked one who still looked pretty, tore at her shoulder, and said: "None of this batch has been touched; we guarantee they are clean. Noble ones, do not hesitate; bid immediately!"

Hearing this, the crowd made a clamor and began to rush forward to place bids.

Zhao Ti calculated the time in his heart, tapped the handle of his fan lightly against the table, and Shang Qi, standing nearby, shouted loudly: "Stop bidding! One thousand strings per person; my Young Master wants them all!"

Instantly, silence fell over the hall. The man in colorful robes frowned and said: "Noble one, are you joking?"

Shang Qi said: "What joke? Not only these, but we want everything remaining in your Wu You Cave as well!"

The man in colorful robes said: "Does the honored guest carry so much money? Or have you come specifically to smash our Wu You Cave?"

Shang Qi laughed loudly: "Money? Does one need money to buy things in your Wu You Cave?"

At these words, everyone in the hall was shocked. The man in colorful robes sneered coldly: "Noble one's words are too..."

He had not finished speaking when his expression suddenly changed. He turned his head toward the hall door and heard a "Boom!" as the door was forcefully kicked open. Two corpses tumbled in; they were the spies left outside.

Looking out the door, one saw that the Imperial Guards, all holding crossbows, filled the area. The leader was none other than Zhong Pu, who looked into the hall and shouted: "None shall move! Whoever dares to stir shall be shot dead by a hail of arrows!"

At this moment, a second door behind was also smashed, and some Imperial Guards flanked from the rear.

Inside the hall, everyone fell silent as if frozen by winter cicadas. Looking at the armored soldiers holding crossbows, they felt a chill run down their spines; no one dared to move a muscle.

Zhao Ti rose and walked toward the door, saying calmly: "Bring out those who were kidnapped and that man in colorful robes."

Zhou Dong and Shang Qi immediately stepped forward, first restraining the man in colorful robes, while the Imperial Guards led the men and women being sold out of the hall.

Watching these people emerge, Zhong Pu said in a low voice: "Your Highness, those inside..."

Zhao Ti, expressionless, said: "Leave none."

"Yes!" Zhong Pu immediately ordered the archers to fire. Just then, several flashes of cold light swept through the hall, and the candles were actually knocked out.

The crossbow bolts had already been fired. A series of screams echoed through the hall, but suddenly a tremendous "Boom!" rang out. A large hole burst through the roof, and two figures shot up into the sky.

The soldiers below immediately raised their bows to shoot. Whether they hit or not was unknown; the two figures, like birds, skimmed through the air a few times and vanished.

Zhong Pu could not help but sweat on his forehead. He looked at Zhao Ti: "Your Highness, this..."

Zhao Ti narrowed his eyes, withdrawing his gaze from the roof: "They are not ones you could capture, nor are they people from the Ghost Ghost Fanlou."

Zhong Pu breathed a sigh of relief. As long as they were not from the Ghost Ghost Fanlou, it was fine. If the Ghost Ghost Fanlou possessed such experts, it would be extremely difficult to completely eradicate them.

The rain of arrows continued for a while longer. Then the soldiers began to light torches and clean up the aftermath.

Over there, Zhou Dong brought a chair for Zhao Ti to sit on, while Shang Qi escorted the man in colorful robes over.

The powder and paint on the man in colorful robes' face had long been washed into a mess by sweat, and his eyes darted about wildly.

Zhao Ti said calmly: "Little Butterfly Cui Chong?"

The man in colorful robes said nothing. Shang Qi sneered, drew out a sharp blade, and said: "I have heard that all from the Ghost Ghost Fanlou are desperate men who fear neither life nor death. I shall test this!"

Seeing the dagger, the man in colorful robes suddenly shrieked: "This humble one is not desperate..."

"Oh, not desperate?" Zhao Ti nodded slightly: "Interrogate him."

After a long while, this Cui Chong confessed everything. He was not originally from the Ghost Ghost Fanlou; he had been from an out-of-town opera troupe coming to Jingcheng for a performance, but was captured by the Ghost Ghost Fanlou and forced to join them.

Because he was eloquent and presentable, unlike the fierce demons inside the cave, he won the favor of the Wu You Cave Master. Many matters were assigned to him, and he was also called to host this auction.

As for the situation underground, Cui Chong could not speak completely. He did not know Wu Gong and dared not go too deep. Moreover, inside, besides the Cave Master, various forces of all sizes were complex, and he could not recognize them all.

After listening, Zhao Ti ordered: "Go in and explore. Use crossbows to clear the way; beware of traps."

Zhong Pu replied in the affirmative, led a thousand soldiers, ordered Cui Chong to lead the way, and entered the underground through the Eight-Character water outlet not far away.

Zhao Ti then pondered the two figures who had broken through the house and fled. Although he had only seen their backs, he could confirm they were the old man and the young girl he had met when entering the main street.

Although the young girl wore a veil, he recognized her as the little maid he had met at Duan Wang Fu last time. At that time, he had noticed she seemed to possess Wu Gong and thought she was a spy planted by some faction in Dongjing, but now it seemed she was not so simple.

The old man beside her had too strong a Jianghu air, incomparable to the sect figures in Jingcheng who built things behind closed doors. It was a true Jianghu air, like that on the Four Great Villains.

Then who exactly were these two? Zhao Ti recalled the tone of the other party's speech last time. Although their mouths were full of Dongjing flavor, there was still a slight accent mixed in—the dialect of the Jiang Nan Wu-Yue region.

He said indifferently: "Bring over those kidnapped by the Ghost Ghost Fanlou."

Zhou Dong received the order. Moments later, he coordinated with the soldiers to bring them close. These people were no longer dazed and stupid, allowing themselves to be manipulated; previously, they had been in that state because they were poisoned by the Ghost Ghost Fanlou's special drug. Spraying their faces with water had already dissolved the effect.

Shang Qi questioned them one by one. The women's accents were no different, at most with a suburban tone, and the little boy was the same.

Finally, Zhao Ti looked at the youth. This youth, Cui Chong said, knew Wu Gong. Capturing him had required immense effort; later, his acupoints were ruined and his Wu Gong broken.

Shang Qi looked at him and said: "What is your surname and name? Where is your home?"

The youth, knowing he was saved, did not look as happy as the women. He said bitterly: "I am a native of Jiang Nan. I came to Jingcheng to seek out relatives, but before I could find them, I was caught and harmed by these villains."

Shang Qi said: "Now that you are saved, why are you not happy?"

The youth sighed and said: "I originally had some Wu Gong in my body and practiced shallow internal energy. I could guard homes or seek a livelihood at a escort agency. Now my Martial Arts at This Moment are completely abolished; I am even worse than an ordinary person. How can I be happy?"

Shang Qi said: "Since you had Wu Gong in your body, why were you captured so easily?"

The youth shook his head: "It was only because I was an outsider that the villains targeted me. Then they took the opportunity to drug me with sleeping powder and knock me out. It was not as those thieves said, capturing me after a fight. With their meager skills, they could not have captured me in a direct confrontation."

Zhao Ti looked at him, narrowing his eyes slightly. This youth spoke with a full Jiang Nan Wu-Yue accent. Could it be that the old man and the young girl came here to find him?