Chapter 44: The Four Great Evildoers

Outside the Mandarin Duck Manor.

Most of the previously lush camellias had now been leveled, leaving the ground strewn with broken branches and crushed blossoms. Faint lights were visible within the manor, while outside, several canvas tents supported by wooden frames stood brilliantly illuminated.

"Dammit, Murong Fu was beaten and injured by the boss just the day before yesterday, how could he possibly make a move last night? It was pitch black in the middle of the night, I'm afraid someone else must have intervened!"

The scar on the cheek of Yue Lao San, one of the Four Evils, trembled as he spoke, turning a bright, blood-red color as if it were about to bleed again. The pull on his wound immediately caused him to bare his teeth and grimace.

The injury on his face was precisely inflicted by the second brother—no, the blade of Third Brother Ye.

Beside him, Ye Ernang shook her head, her complexion somewhat pale, and said, "The 'Returning What You Give' technique of Gusu Murong cannot be faked. It's likely he feigned defeat earlier."

Lao Si, Yun Zhonghe, whose arm was supported in a hemp sling, hummed with an ugly expression and said, "From the mouth of that little maid in the manor, I heard that Madam Wang has an extremely poor relationship with that Gusu Murong family."

"It must be that Murong Fu was unwilling to exert himself, nor did he want to allow his maternal aunt to be captured by us, which is why he feigned defeat."

When Madam Wang married the maternal uncle of Murong Fu, she had already been with child, resulting in an exceptionally poor relationship with the late Madam Murong, to the point where they practically lived as strangers who refused to cross paths. Many of the elderly maids at Mandarin Duck Manor were aware of this matter.

Of course, what remained unknown was that, setting aside the cuckolded king who harbored a single-minded infatuation with Li Qingluo, the one who profited the most from this marriage was actually Murong Boling. This fellow first acquired the martial arts manuals from the Langhuan Jade Cave, and later, in his youth, discussed and researched the ripples on water with his wife, reaping considerable benefits.

Li Qiushui was also quite generous; when marrying off her daughter, she freely distributed the martial arts techniques of her sect. However, this woman was not one to keep manuals to herself, earning her the reputation of being the most generous disciple of the Xiaoyao Sect.

Ye Ernang made a noncommittal sound, raised her head, and said, "Nurehai sent an order saying that Helian Tiezhu was captured by Qiao Feng, and wants us to go back to rescue him..." She stopped before finishing her sentence.

Duan Yanqing, the leader of the Four Evils who was being stared at, frowned in contemplation. Even though he had attached himself to the Yipin Hall and won the high regard of Helian Tiezhu, he had once been a crown prince, possessing a high self-regard. He disliked being ordered about, and thus had always acted alone. This time, too, he had led his men independently, obeying orders to conquer Mandarin Duck Manor and capture Ding Chunqiu.

Yet who could have imagined that things would go so unsmoothly on his end? First, he was plagued by Ding Chunqiu's poison, which cost the lives of quite a few Xixia warriors. After scouting the true strength of the manor and discovering that Ding Chunqiu was all bark and bite, "Murong Fu" had jumped out to obstruct them. And now, the other figure of the pair—"Northern Qiao Feng, Southern Murong"—had inexplicably appeared and abducted the commander of the Yipin Hall. If he were to simply leave now, he would feel deeply resentful in his heart.

However, if he did not withdraw, he would be unable to conquer Mandarin Duck Manor in a short time. If this stalemate continued and Helian Tiezhu truly died, he would have no way to report back to Xixia.

One must bear in mind that Helian Tiezhu was no ordinary person; he held the official title of Great General Conquering the East and was a prince, occupying a lofty position in Xixia.

In theory, the Four Evils could still roam the world freely even if they parted ways with the Yipin Hall. The problem was, if they did not return to Xixia, what meaning would conquering Mandarin Duck Manor hold?

Thinking up to this point, he had already reached a conclusion in his heart and was just about to speak.

"Thud! Boom!" A deafening explosion suddenly echoed from afar.

"Has a mountain collapsed?!" Yue Lao San shouted mindlessly.

"Get lost, Yue Lao San! Where on earth are there mountains on this Tai Lake?"

"Lao Er!"

"Shut up."

Duan Yanqing tapped the iron staff in his hand against the ground and flew out of the tent. Like a phantom, the disabled man threaded his way past the Xixia warriors who had come out to watch the commotion, reaching a high vantage point.

"Thud! Boom!"

Another explosion sounded. The other three members of the Four Evils also arrived by his side. With the visual acuity of the four of them, they could faintly see the surface of the distant lake bursting open, sending columns of water shooting dozens of zhang high into the air. Upon closer inspection, beneath the hazy moonlight, a figure was actually riding the wind and void above the water pillars, and as they saw the figure drawing closer and closer, they could not help but feel a great sense of shock.

"Playing the god and churning ghosts."

Duan Yanqing's ventriloquism jolted the other three from their stupor, yet at this very moment, they felt no sense of ease whatsoever.

Even if riding the wind and void was an illusion, simply using lightness kung fu to glide several miles away was a martial art they had never witnessed before, something they had only ever heard of in the immortal tales of storybooks.

Duan Yanqing refused to believe in such sorcery, suspecting it might be some kind of mechanical device or demonic technique—after all, others often thought of him as a corpse, yet his ventriloquism could summon and shatter souls.

The four of them waited quietly for a moment, only to see that figure glide down from the high sky and open his mouth to speak: "Oh, a cripple leaning on a crutch, a woman with a scar on her face—are you the Four Evils?"

The newcomer was none other than Zhang Chengshi. He had been wandering aimlessly across Tai Lake, initially arriving at the Listening to the Orioles Cottage, which was some distance away from here. Mistaking it for Mandarin Duck Manor, he had gone inside only to find Xixia warriors resting there, whereupon he casually dispatched them and rescued several servants and cooks.

After questioning them, he finally learned the direction and location of Mandarin Duck Manor, and with two consecutive leaps, he had flown right over. Who would have thought that the moment he touched the ground, he would encounter four leaders surrounded by a group of Xixia warriors?

"I am the Crocodile God of the Southern Seas!"

Without a second thought, Yue Lao San blurted out his identity.

Zhang Chengshi's gaze swept over them as he asked, "Are you this cripple Prince Duan Yanqing, the woman beside you Ye Ernang—the paramour of Abbot Xuanci from Shaolin Temple—and as for this one, he must be Yun Zhonghe, right?"

"Who are you?" Duan Yanqing's identity being exposed gave him a jolt of shock.

Ye Ernang's previously pale face instantly drained of all color. "You, you, you're talking nonsense!"

"Naturally—" Yun Zhonghe had barely started speaking when his head exploded with a loud pop.

Zhang Chengshi retracted his finger and smiled mildly. "Defiling women, you deserve a thousand cuts. Today I'm in a good mood, so I'll grant you a swift death."

Yue Lao San was splattered head-to-toe with a mixture of yellow, white, and red matter, swallowing his arrogant words right back down into his stomach. In terms of martial arts, he was certainly a little stronger than Yun Zhonghe, but if someone could kill the fourth brother from a distance with such ease, then killing him casually would be just as effortless.

He was simple-minded, not stupid.

Duan Yanqing also froze on the spot. That finger strike just now had been too fast and too fierce; he had completely failed to react in time. If he had been in Yun Zhonghe's place, he likely would have died on the spot just the same.

"Bang!"

One of the surrounding Xixia warriors turned to run, only for the ground beside him to explode into a massive pit, scaring him so badly that he collapsed onto the ground on the spot.

"Whoever runs dies."

Zhang Chengshi's voice arrived belatedly. Perhaps someone understood the sentence, or perhaps someone shouted out some unknown words—he couldn't tell whether it was the Tangut language of Xixia or some local dialect—but in any case, everyone froze in place.

He didn't know who deserved to die; what if there truly was an innocent person among them? The probability wasn't high, but it did exist. It was better to simply capture them and bring them back for Qiao Feng to sort out.

Yun Zhonghe was the first person he had determined unquestionably deserved to die, followed closely by Ye Ernang.

Fond of abducting other people's children, and tossing them away to others once she grew tired of playing with them, such an "utterly devoid of conscience" wretch was also destined for death.

As for whose paramour she was—whether Xuanci's or Xuzhu's mother—it mattered little in his eyes. Having ruined countless families, the most he would do was let her die with her eyes open.

The remaining two were a bit more complicated.