Chapter 365

"That's still better than sitting idle and waiting to die; everyone was terrified back then, thinking Gu Yue Cun would be destroyed. But luckily, they discovered Gu Yue Cun wasn't the target—the strange army had merely passed by. So all the previously planned countermeasures were carried out. The village even expanded its underground storage, stockpiling food and other supplies."

Fang Yue understood: this was panic-driven desperation.

Still, when people are terrified, they always want to do something—it's understandable.

"By the way, when you came, did you see the second wave of strange armies?" Lin Ling asked anxiously.

Only those who had witnessed that vast, strange force—like a long dragon—roaring past the village could truly feel what helplessness meant.

That kind of number, that kind of strength—the strange army was beyond Gu Yue Cun's ability to resist; they could only retreat, and retreat again!

Of course, if Lord Han intervened… perhaps there'd still be a chance to fight.

Though powerless against the endless tide of strange forces, every villager of Gu Yue Cun held boundless faith in Lord Han—as if, as long as Lord Han was there, no crisis could not be resolved!

Lord Han was a faith, a conviction, propping up Gu Yue Cun's final line of defense—and unbreakable!

"No… we came straight after the tail end of that strange army, and behind us, there was no sign of any strangeness. But after analyzing it with the Blood Hunter, I suspect a Great Strange was following us then, which is why it scared off so many others and forced them to flee."

"And now?"

"We don't know."

Fang Yue shrugged. He only knew that their group had outrun the unknown Strange and reached Gu Yue Cun safely—that was all.

As the two spoke, they could already see the Patrol Team the Blood Hunter had mentioned ahead.

"Everyone ahead, stop!"

From afar, Lin Ling shouted loudly.

The moment he shouted, one man in the group suddenly whipped his horse and accelerated away from the formation.

"That's him!"

"That's Ma Tiejiang! He's using something like a Human Skin Mask to alter his appearance!"

The Blood Hunter and Fang Yue shouted together, then spurred their horses into a gallop.

Their team rode specially bred fast horses, while the Patrol Team rode only ordinary ones.

So the speed difference quickly became clear.

Though Ma Tiejiang had started fleeing first, Fang Yue's group gradually caught up and overtook him.

This wasn't because Gu Yue Cun refused to give the Patrol Team special fast horses—it's just that such horses were scarce, reserved only for special needs; otherwise, everyone used ordinary mounts.

"Ma Tiejiang, stop!"

Fang Yue roared, burning his lifespan… Flame Heart Method!!

Boom!!

Flames erupted. A jade-like mark faintly glowed on Fang Yue's chest as he leapt from his horse.

As Lin Ling and the others gasped in shock, Fang Yue plummeted like a burning meteor, striking the horse ahead with pinpoint accuracy.

Crash!!

A thunderous explosion.

Amid the horse's agonized scream, Fang Yue smashed a deep crater ahead, kicking up thick dust.

When Lin Ling and the others arrived, they saw Fang Yue standing calmly, one hand raised high, gripping a middle-aged man, bloodied and battered.

The man's face was split: one half was Ma Tiejiang's, the other half, a stranger's face none had ever seen.

Beside them lay a horse, its belly torn open, blood gushing, ribs exposed, barely breathing.

"Is that really Ma Tiejiang?!"

The arriving crowd stared at the disheveled Ma Tiejiang and cried out in shock.

"So he really was a Strange traitor! Mu Zi's incident isn't over yet!" Hua Wuye's face darkened.

"Xiao Ye, let him go. I want to hear how he explains this. Ten years of village kinship—was it all a lie?!"

Lin Ling's face was grim, eyes fixed on Ma Tiejiang, his gaze smoldering with suppressed fury.

Fang Yue was different—he had little bond with Ma Tiejiang, barely knew him.

But these villagers of Gu Yue Cun? They were different.

They had lived alongside Ma Tiejiang in the same village for ten years—ten years of friendship!

With such deep emotional ties, betrayal by Ma Tiejiang drove many into blind rage. Lin Ling was one of them—he had always loved Gu Yue Cun, trusted its people, yet traitors kept appearing, again and again!

The crowd formed a circle, blocking all escape routes for Ma Tiejiang.

Under everyone's gaze, Fang Yue released his grip and dropped Ma Tiejiang to the ground.

"Take off the mask, Ma Tiejiang."

"…"

Ma Tiejiang fell silent, then slowly raised his head, glaring coldly at Fang Yue, and quietly removed the mask, revealing his true face.

"Where is Ma Ling'er'er?"

"Still care about your daughter? Father-daughter affection—truly touching."

Fang Yue sneered coldly: "What's your connection to the Wu Yu Clan? Are you a Strange of the Wu Yu Clan?"

Wu Yu Clan?

Most in the crowd wore confused expressions—they'd never heard the term.

Even Lin Ling and Hua Wuye looked baffled.

But they all knew the word "Strange."

Ma Tiejiang had truly become a Strange's dog!

"Unforgivable!"

"First Mu Zi, now Ma Tiejiang! You Stranges are truly cunning and deceitful!"

Many gnashed their teeth in curses, but Ma Tiejiang remained unmoved—then suddenly bared his teeth in a grin.

"Captain Ye, Captain Ye! From the moment you led the escort team back to the village, I knew something was wrong—and sure enough, it turned out exactly as I feared, to this very situation. But it shouldn't have! It absolutely shouldn't have! How could Miss Ma have failed? What happened to her in Mo Cun? Did she die on the road? Did she fail to contact the Messenger Group? Otherwise, why are you still alive to return to the village?"

Ma Tiejiang seemed to have many questions, but Fang Yue had no intention of answering them; he merely replied coldly.

"The Miss you're referring to is Ma Ling'er'er, isn't she? She's dead—dead in my hands, twice! Once as a human, once as a strange entity! Now, I ask you: what is your connection to the Wu Yu tribe? Why did you lie low in Gu Yue Cun for so many years? Why did you remain passive for so long, only to suddenly begin your actions now?"

Fang Yue lied—Ma Ling'er'er was not dead; she had escaped Mo Cun and vanished somewhere.

But such matters did not require honesty with Ma Tiejiang.

Extracting Ma Tiejiang's intelligence was the urgent priority!

"Miss Ma is dead? Killed by you? You, a mere Third-rate Realm cultivator? What a joke!"

(End of Chapter)