Chapter 21: Luring The Snake Out Of Its Hole
Yang Family Martial Arts School, martial practice field.
A new large wooden bucket was placed on the sand ground, filled with water. Several apprentices took turns laboriously stirring the stone ball inside, but they couldn’t form a whirlpool at all.
Bang! Bang bang!
On the other side, Meng Yue had cold eyes and a gloomy expression. His whole body exuded a menacing aura as he punched and kicked, shaking the jujube wood stake repeatedly, with sand and gravel splashing from below the stake.
“Damn it, is that Hong kid a turtle? Does he only know how to hide in his turtle shell?”
In the blink of an eye, another three days passed, and Meng Yue still hadn’t thought of a way to lure Hong Yuan out of the martial arts school.
He had again urged Li Hai and another apprentice who was his lackey to invite Hong Yuan twice. He himself also fawned over Hong Yuan from time to time while Hong Yuan was instructing the apprentices, trying to get close.
But it was no use.
“What to do? What to do? Mr. Cui is already very impatient over there. Can’t delay any longer. Maybe try drugging him, but…”
While Meng Yue was anxious and racking his brains for a plan, he heard the apprentices shouting “Senior Brother.” His gaze shifted, and he saw Hong Yuan not wearing his usual training clothes, but changed into a black cloud brocade outfit with a long saber at his waist.
Meng Yue’s heart skipped a beat, and a certain thought emerged.
“Senior Brother Hong, are you going out?” an apprentice asked.
“Yes!” Hong Yuan nodded, his gaze sweeping over the more than ten apprentices on the martial practice field. He smiled and said, “I’m going to Little Lone Mountain outside the city to cultivate the Ape-Walking Technique. You all train well and don’t slack off.”
The body strengthening method passed down by Yang Erhu, such as stretching tendons and pulling bones in the Bedrock Skill, lifting stone locks and stone balls, could all be practiced in the martial arts school. But the Ape-Walking Technique for body movement was somewhat restricted in the martial arts school’s grounds.
Moreover, the Ape-Walking Technique imitated the climbing, leaping, and rolling movements of apes, so it was best practiced in mountain wilderness and forests.
Hong Yuan greeted everyone and leisurely walked out of the martial arts school gate.
On the martial practice field, Meng Yue watched Hong Yuan’s gradually receding back, and for a moment, he felt like hot tears were welling up—finally, after years of enduring like a long-suffering wife who becomes the matriarch.
It had been too hard. This Hong turtle was finally willing to go out.
At this moment, Meng Yue couldn’t care less about whether it would arouse suspicion. He called Li Hai over and asked him to inform Yang Erhu of a family emergency leave on his behalf, then he himself dashed out of the martial arts school like smoke.
“Little Lone Mountain… Little Lone Mountain, huh! This trip will make sure you don’t come back.”
Meng Yue gritted his teeth, his heart filled with vicious intent, his feet not stopping as he quickly passed through a long street, heading to find the contact person arranged by Yan Tieshan.
“Sigh! I haven’t offended anyone, yet there are always villains trying to harm me…”
A slender figure stood at the alley corner, his face hidden in the shadow of the wall, letting out a low sigh.
It was Hong Yuan!
After his comprehension improved again, Hong Yuan had gained some mysterious spirit sense.
Although Meng Yue usually treated him very attentively and respectfully, Hong Yuan could occasionally sense a trace of malice from him.
Moreover, in recent days, those idlers and vendors on the streets would intentionally or unintentionally peer into the martial arts school when passing by, with many gazes falling on him, which aroused Hong Yuan’s vigilance.
Hong Yuan hadn’t forgotten the Biwu Immortal Realm incident. He was working so hard on cultivation to guard against Wei Zhenzhu’s possible retaliation at any time.
He first suspected that Wei Zhenzhu’s people had come knocking, but then felt it wasn’t likely, since Meng Yue had been at the Yang Family Martial Arts School for two years already.
Hong Yuan was always a man of action. Since he felt something was off with Meng Yue, he wouldn’t defend against a thief for a thousand days. Thinking about how apprentices had invited him to gather several times recently, he vaguely suspected Meng Yue was behind it, so he decided to indulge that intention.
Lure the snake out of its hole!
“I hope it’s just my persecution complex. Otherwise, after leaving that fat pig’s estate, the first saber strike on a fellow disciple’s head would really be heartbreaking… Oh! But he’s not really a fellow disciple, so that’s fine.”
Hong Yuan still had leisure to let his thoughts wander. He followed Meng Yue unhurriedly from behind, only stopping by a general store on the way to toss out some silver shavings and pick up a conical hat to wear on his head.
Actually, common folk mostly used copper coins or bartered goods, but Hong Yuan found carrying copper coins troublesome, so he carried only silver.
After pulling down the hat brim to cover half his face, hardly anyone noticed him anymore.
With the world in chaos and bandits everywhere, in these dozen years, wandering knights wearing sabers and swords had become as numerous as the fish in the river.
Meng Yue wasn’t very vigilant. After all, he didn’t expect anyone to tail him. He only occasionally glanced back out of habit, but Hong Yuan always avoided his line of sight in advance.
Ape-Walking Technique was best cultivated in mountain forests and wilderness.
With Hong Yuan’s excellent root bone, these technical kung fu were effortless for him regardless of location. He could learn them by watching once and master them with minimal training.
After a few turns, Meng Yue had hurried for about a quarter of an hour and arrived at a secluded standalone courtyard.
Meng Yue knocked on the gate. At first no one answered, so he had to pound on the door loudly. After a moment, a cursing burly man opened the door and let him in.
On the left side of the courtyard was an old locust tree with a thick trunk, its branches extending into the courtyard wall.
If there were thieves, they could climb in along the branches without even needing a ladder.
However, Hong Yuan knew that if there were guards inside, this spot would be watched most closely. He directly went around to the back of the house, exerted a little force underfoot, and his body leaped lightly and nimbly like an old ape. With a leg kick and hand grab, he was on the roof more than a zhang high.
His feet landed on the roof tiles silently.
Noisy clamor came from the main house below his feet. The chaotic voices indicated many people, and a strong smell of alcohol wafted up.
Hong Yuan crouched low, lifted a roof tile to expose a small gap, and peered inside.
The room was spacious, with a stove warming liquor, steam rising.
In the autumn weather, more than ten burly men were bare-chested, surrounding two tables drinking and eating meat, having a great time.
Hong Yuan withdrew his gaze and surveyed the entire small courtyard. He felt his caution was unnecessary; everyone was inside enjoying themselves, and the courtyard was unguarded.
Meng Yue’s earlier heavy knocking had disturbed their fun. Now as he was led into the room, someone with drunken hazy eyes cursed, “Damn it, who’s here?”
Meng Yue frowned deeply.
At this time, a sober one saw Meng Yue and quickly stood up with a smile: “Yo, Brother Meng is here! Come, sit! Drink!”
Meng Yue’s face turned green. He took a deep breath and asked, “Is Military Advisor Qian here?”
Military Advisor Qian was the poison-hearted scholar under Yan Tieshan. Meng Yue didn’t want to chat idly with this group of ruffians and directly asked for the one in charge.
“Military Advisor Qian? He’s of course back with Third Master. Brother Meng, you’re all talk no action! You haven’t lured out that Hong kid after so long, leaving us just drinking here to kill time…”
A man three-parts drunk squinted at Meng Yue, staggered forward, and “hah” breathed a mouthful of alcohol into his face.
Meng Yue dodged in anger.
The man laughed heartily, patted his belly, and walked out: “Ugh… I’m going outside to piss first. Gotta go bad.”
“Brother, wait for us to go together!”
Immediately, two more men stood up cheerfully and went out together.
Meng Yue sniffed the pungent alcohol smell in the room, looked at the more than ten men before him—more than half drunk and bleary-eyed—and frowned even tighter. He said solemnly, “That Hong kid went out today. Go find Military Advisor Qian right now and have him arrange men to ambush. Don’t miss this good chance.”
“Huh? That little bastard finally showed his face! Good! Where is he? Tell me quick!”
“Right! After making us brothers wait in vain for so many days, I’m gonna torture him good!”
Immediately several drunks shouted loudly. One staggered to his feet, lost balance and fell, half his body on the ground still slurring, “Where’s my saber? Who hid my saber… Give me my saber quick, I’m gonna kill!”
Veins bulged on Meng Yue’s forehead. His hands clenched into fists; he itched to kill a few of them first to vent.
Though he knew deep down it was because he hadn’t lured Hong Yuan out for so long. With these street ruffians’ habits, they could barely endure two or three days; dragging it to nearly ten days, they went fully debauched.
They were only drinking and eating meat inside; it was already restrained not to have dragged in women for fun.
The few relatively sober ruffians exchanged glances, looking at their dead-drunk brothers, feeling numb. With these guys who couldn’t even walk straight, how to kill anyone?
“Leave one here to watch the brothers. The rest whose heads are still clear, come with me. Brother Meng, let’s go find Third Master together.”
A ruffian who seemed like the leader collected himself and spoke.
“Good, let’s do that!”
Meng Yue nodded too.
The leading ruffian strode past Meng Yue, walking ahead. As he neared the half-open door, he suddenly seemed to remember something and turned: “Right, Brother Meng, has that Hong kid been tailed? Don’t want him slipping away after finally coming out.”
“Don’t worry, he went to Little Lone Mountain outside the city,” Meng Yue said.
“That’s good…”
Rip!
Before the ruffian leader finished the word “good,” a tearing light sound suddenly rang out. The leader hadn’t reacted when he felt a chill in his chest.
He stared down blankly. A steel saber pierced in from the half-open door, running him through the chest where he stood by the door.
The ruffian leader’s pupils dilated, smile frozen on his face. Intense pain surged, but before he could cry out, a “bang” shook as the door shattered into pieces, fragments flying.
Wood chunks shot scattered, hitting the people inside, while the ruffian was flung by great force, his body flying horizontally toward Meng Yue and the others.
Meng Yue reacted fastest. He retreated, dodging the ruffian’s body while kicking up a steel saber into his palm, blocking horizontally!
Clang!
Almost as he blocked, a blade flash shot in fast from outside, clashing with his raised long saber, sparking a shower of fire. The attacker chuckled lightly, turned, abandoned Meng Yue, and with quick steps wove between the few sober ruffians.
Sounds of slicing rang out. Blade light linked into a line like a startling swan, throats of those ruffians already cut open. Great gushes of blood poured as they fell in horrified shock, clutching throats but unable to make a sound.
Swish!
The attacker shook his arm, flinging blood from the blade, then turned to face Meng Yue and chuckled lightly: “Junior Brother, you’ve really disappointed me!”
