Chapter 879
: Catching a Big Fish?
First, there was a small spark, then a second, a third... more than a dozen sparks flickered in the fog, like will-o'-the-wisps.
Zhao Sanhuai walked at the front, followed by twenty-seven people—a one-armed swordsman, an archer with one eye blind, and a young cultivator with fresh scars on his face. Each of them wore a gray-black raincoat, with a short knife or crossbow at their waist. Their footsteps were so light they were almost inaudible, yet they carried an extremely suppressed killing intent.
Zhao Sanhuai walked three zhang in front of Zheng Yi, knelt down on one knee, and said in a hoarse but firm voice, "Lord Dark Night, Zhao Sanhuai... has brought men."
Zheng Yi glanced down at him and said, "Get up."
Zhao Sanhuai stood up and waved his hand.
Behind him, everyone knelt down on one knee in unison, their movements so synchronized as if they had practiced countless times.
Zheng Yi didn't let them get up, but simply asked, "Where's the intelligence?"
Zhao Sanhuai pulled out a crumpled piece of parchment from his pocket and presented it with both hands: "Last night, a team from the Li family transporting spiritual medicines came down from upstream. There were thirty-seven guards, and the leader was Li Tianque's cousin, Li Xuanhong, who was in the late stage of the Mahayana realm. There were also two mid-stage Mahayana cultivators accompanying them. The team had three boxes of Nine-Turn Spirit-Condensing Pills and seven boxes of Rejuvenating Powder... enough for Li Tianque to recover from his injuries for another six months."
Zheng Yi took the parchment and lightly ran his fingertip across it.
The ink on the parchment suddenly glowed, revealing a winding river line marked with twenty-three red dots—these were the sentry posts and ambush points that the Li family's team was expected to pass through.
He glanced at them for a moment, then asked softly, "Will they spend the night at Kufeng Ferry at the foot of Black Pine Ridge?"
Zhao Sanhuai nodded: "Yes. Kuteng Ferry is located in a low-lying area, surrounded by withered vine forests, making it easy to defend and difficult to attack. Li Xuanhong is confident in his high level of cultivation and never travels at night, always setting up camp before dawn."
Zheng Yi folded the parchment and put it into his sleeve.
"Kufeng Ferry...a good place."
He turned to look at the river surface shrouded in mist.
"Zhao Sanhuai".
"exist."
"Your men are skilled at night raids?"
Zhao Sanhuai's lips curled into a sinister smile: "Ten years ago, the Zhao family was massacred, and I led the remaining people to make a living on both sides of the Blackwater River. Night raids, arson, cutting off our retreat... we know it better than anyone else."
Zheng Yi hummed in agreement.
"At three-quarters past midnight tonight, we will make our move."
"There is only one target—Li Xuanhong. As for the others, kill them if you can, and spare their lives if you can't."
Zhao Sanhuai's eyes lit up: "Live...are we keeping them alive for questioning?"
Zheng Yi's voice was even lower: "Keep it...use it."
In the fog, all twenty-seven people gasped for breath at the same time.
Zheng Yi didn't say anything more and turned to walk towards the river.
He raised his hand and waved.
A covered boat silently emerged from the fog, with Guo Tianyou and ten elite guards standing at the bow. Each of them had a black veil covering their face, revealing only their eyes.
Guo Tianyou said in a low voice, "Sir, everything is ready. There are three carts of oil drums, rockets, rolling stones, barbed wire... enough to turn Kufengdu into a sea of fire."
Zheng Yi stepped onto the bow of the ship and said calmly, "Let's go."
The covered boat silently sailed into the fog.
Behind him, Zhao Sanhuai and twenty-seven men followed closely, like a group of ghosts.
The river water was icy cold, and the sound of it lapping against the side of the boat was monotonous and rhythmic.
After the boat had been sailing for a while, the fog suddenly became so thick that you couldn't see your hand in front of your face.
Zheng Yi suddenly raised his hand.
All ships stopped at the same time.
He closed his eyes, and a flash of golden light appeared between his brows and disappeared.
Heavenly Induction.
The next moment, he opened his eyes and said in a very soft voice: "Three miles ahead, there are twelve hidden sentries in the withered vine forest on the left bank. There are two on the right bank. Li Xuanhong's camp is in the center of the withered vine ferry, and there are four mid-stage Mahayana cultivators on duty outside the tent."
Guo Tianyou gasped: "Sir...you can even hear their breathing?"
Zheng Yi didn't answer, but just looked at Zhao Sanhuai.
"Your swordsman is skilled in stealth?"
Zhao Sanhuai nodded: "My specialty."
"Take twelve men with you. The sentries on the left bank are your responsibility. Take care of them all within half an hour, without alerting a single person."
Zhao Sanhuai grinned, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth: "Understood."
With a wave of his hand, twelve black shadows instantly disappeared into the mist, like fish entering water, without a sound.
Zheng Yi turned to Guo Tianyou: "You take the two on the right bank and lead them there yourself."
Guo Tianyou clasped his hands in a fist and said, "Yes."
The two groups separated, like two undercurrents, quietly merging into the mist.
The fleet continued on its way.
The fog grew thicker, and even the sound of the river seemed to be muffled.
Zheng Yi stood at the bow of the boat, his right hand on the hilt of his sword, his gaze piercing through the thick white mist, locking onto the direction of the withered vine ferry.
There, a very faint light shone.
That was the campfire outside Li Xuanhong's tent.
The firelight flickered, like a dying eye.
Half an hour later.
Zhao Sanhuai was the first to return.
He had a new wound on his left arm, blood dripping down his sleeve, but he smiled as if he had found a treasure.
"The twelve on the left bank have all been dealt with. Slit their throats, leaving no survivors."
Guo Tianyou returned shortly after, followed by two men dragging two corpses behind him.
"Two on the right bank, one was captured alive and has been acupunctured."
Zheng Yi nodded.
"very good."
He raised his hand and made a forward motion.
The fleet accelerated.
The awning boat pierced through the mist like a black dagger, heading straight for the withered vines at the ferry.
We've arrived at Kuteng Ferry.
The ferry crossing was surrounded by tangled vines, like a giant net that completely enveloped the camp. The tents were pitched in the center, and the campfire was burning brightly, casting flickering shadows on the tents.
Li Xuanhong was sitting in the main tent, a map spread out on his lap, a communication jade slip in his hand, his brows furrowed.
"Strange... why haven't any of the sentries on the left bank replied?"
He was about to get up when suddenly—
"puff."
A very faint muffled thud.
On top of the tent, a rocket with a fiery tail plummeted straight down.
Then, the second one, the third one...
In an instant, dozens of rockets shot in from all directions, like a reversed rain of fire.
"Enemy attack—!"
The camp exploded instantly.
The Li family guards rushed out of their tents, only to find that a raging fire had already broken out in the surrounding vine forest. The fire spread extremely quickly thanks to the dry vines, and in the blink of an eye, the entire camp was engulfed in flames.
"Form ranks! Form ranks!" Li Xuanhong rushed out of the main tent, his face ashen.
Just as he raised his hand to form a hand seal, a cold laugh suddenly came from above his head.
Zhao Sanhuai leaped down from the withered vine, his short knife aimed straight for the man's throat.
Li Xuanhong shouted and struck out with his right palm, the wind from which was like a knife.
Zhao Sanhuai did not take the blow head-on; instead, he lowered his body and stabbed Zhao Sanhuai in the abdomen with his short knife.
Li Xuanhong dodged to the side and grabbed Zhao Sanhuai's shoulder with his left hand.
Just then, a black sword light swept in from the side.
"Zheng—!"
The sword sheath blocked Li Xuanhong's palm.
Zheng Yi appeared to his left, his black robe fluttering in the firelight.
Li Xuanhong's pupils constricted sharply: "Dark Night?!"
Zheng Yi did not answer.
He simply raised his hand and swung his sword.
The sword light flashed like a bolt of lightning, wreathed in golden flames, aiming straight for Li Xuanhong's brow.
Li Xuanhong was greatly alarmed and unleashed his full spiritual power, summoning an ancient bronze mirror.
The mirror shone brightly, transforming into a curtain of light that blocked his way.
"clang!"
The tip of the sword touched the light screen.
The light screen trembled violently, but did not shatter.
Li Xuanhong grinned maliciously: "Want to kill me? Not so easy!" Before he finished speaking, Zheng Yi suddenly pressed his left hand against the sword.
The celestial energy surged wildly into the sword.
The golden flames surged.
"Snap—!"
A thin crack appeared in the ancient bronze mirror.
Li Xuanhong's expression changed drastically.
Before he could react, Zheng Yi's right hand suddenly twitched.
The sword light surged three zhang (approximately 10 meters) in size, like a golden, furious dragon, instantly tearing through the light barrier.
Li Xuanhong screamed as a deep, bone-revealing wound was slashed open on his chest by sword energy, and blood gushed out.
He staggered backward, only to be stabbed in the right shoulder from behind by Zhao Sanhuai.
"what--!"
Li Xuanhong knelt on the ground, pressing his hands tightly against his wound.
All around, the Li family guards had been slaughtered and scattered. Zhao Sanhuai's men were like a pack of wolves, specifically targeting those who were alone, their blows drawing blood with every strike. Guo Tianyou and his men blocked the retreat route, unleashing wave after wave of rockets, turning the entire Kuteng Ferry into a sea of fire.
Li Xuanhong, panting heavily, looked up at Zheng Yi, his voice hoarse: "Dark Night... what... what exactly do you want to do?!"
Zheng Yi squatted down to look him in the eye.
The tip of the sword was pressed against his brow.
Golden flames danced on the sword, like countless tiny golden snakes.
What do I want to do?
His voice was very soft, like a whisper.
"I want... you to know what your Li family was thinking when you slaughtered the entire Zhao family."
Li Xuanhong's pupils trembled violently.
He suddenly burst into maniacal laughter, his mouth filled with blood.
"Hahaha... Revenge?! You think you can get revenge by killing me?! My Li family has our patriarch in charge! You...you'll die sooner or later!"
Zheng Yi didn't laugh.
He simply raised his hand and placed it on Li Xuanhong's dantian.
The celestial energy, like fine threads, seeped into the meridians.
Li Xuanhong's face turned deathly pale instantly.
He felt that the golden core in his dantian was gradually disintegrating, as if it were being crushed by an invisible hand.
"no, do not want……"
His voice trembled, and it sounded like he was about to cry.
"Dark Night... have mercy... I... I can tell you all the secrets of the Li family! My father's secluded cultivation location, the ancestor's weakness... I'll give you everything!"
Zheng Yi tightened his fingers slightly.
"Click".
The first crack of the shattered golden core resounded.
Li Xuanhong screamed in agony as his body convulsed.
"Please...please..."
Zheng Yi suddenly stopped.
He looked at Zhao Sanhuai.
"Take it back."
Zhao Sanhuai's eyes lit up: "Yes!"
With a wave of his hand, two swordsmen stepped forward, pierced Li Xuanhong's collarbone with black iron chains, and dragged him away like a dead dog.
Li Xuanhong left a long trail of blood on the ground, still roaring, "Dark Night! You'll die a horrible death! You... Ah—!"
The sound gradually faded into the distance.
The firelight reflected off Zheng Yi's face.
He looked at the corpses scattered on the ground, at the burning withered vines, and at the limbs floating in the river.
The wind blew in from the sea of fire, carrying the stench of burning and blood.
He spoke in a low voice, as if he were talking to someone, or perhaps just to himself.
"The second one."
Zhao Sanhuai walked over, his face covered in blood, laughing like a madman.
"My lord... what's next?"
Zheng Yi looked towards the upstream direction of the river.
That place, dark and gloomy, is the direction of the Li family's ancestral home.
"go back."
"Tell everyone... the Li family's debts have only just begun to be repaid."
Zhao Sanhuai knelt down heavily.
"Zhao Sanhuai...is willing to follow you, sir, until the Li family's blood flows like a river!"
Behind him, twenty-seven people knelt down in unison.
The firelight cast their shadows long across the river, making them look like a group of vengeful ghosts.
Zheng Yi did not let them get up.
He turned and stepped onto the awning boat.
The boat slowly sailed away from Kuteng Ferry.
Behind them, the fire burned even more fiercely.
The firelight illuminated half the sky.
The river water surged, as if it were roaring.
The fog gradually dissipated.
A cold, waning moon was revealed.
The moonlight spilled onto the river, shattering into countless silver blades.
Zheng Yi stood at the bow of the ship, the wind blowing his black robe.
He was looking upstream.
The sound was soft, yet it reached everyone's ears clearly.
"Seven days later... let's do it again."
The fleet disappeared into the night.
Behind them, all that remained was a sea of fire, and the screams that were gradually dying out within it.
The embers of the withered vine crossing upstream on the Blackwater River had not yet been completely extinguished. The charred vines lay scattered haphazardly on the riverbank like twisted corpses, and the night wind stirred up fine ash, making one's throat dry. Zheng Yi's fleet of awning boats did not return directly to Hongyun City, but instead turned into a hidden tributary. The boats glided along the steep cliff face, where damp moss grew in the crevices. Occasionally, the oars would strike the rocks, making a muffled sound, like someone coughing softly.
Inside the cabin, Li Xuanhong was bound hand and foot and thrown into a corner. The black iron chains binding his collarbone were rusted, the blood and rust mixed together, turning black. His face was sallow, his lips cracked, and he twitched occasionally, like a fish about to die. Zhao Sanhuai squatted in front of him, poking his cheeks repeatedly with the tip of a dagger, drawing tiny beads of blood, but not letting him cry out in pain.
"Uncle Li," Zhao Sanhuai's voice was sickeningly soft, "if your cousin Li Tianque knew you'd been kidnapped, do you think he'd personally lead a team to bail you out?"
Li Xuanhong's eyelids twitched, and he squeezed out a few words: "...He won't come...The Ancestor forbids it..."
Zhao Sanhuai's smile grew even more sinister: "That's not necessarily true. Your Li family values 'blood ties' the most, doesn't it? I heard that your mother snatched half a Nine Nether Cold Lotus from the Lu family to protect you back then... Tsk tsk, how touching."
Li Xuanhong's pupils constricted sharply, and his voice suddenly became shrill: "How did you know?!"
Zhao Sanhuai pressed the dagger against his Adam's apple and slowly drew a faint red line down: "Ten years ago, when you slaughtered my entire Zhao family, I was hiding at the bottom of the well and heard everything clearly. Your Li family never does things cleanly."
The ship suddenly swayed.
Zheng Yi walked in from outside the cabin, his black robe soaked with river water, clinging wetly to his calves. He glanced at Li Xuanhong, said nothing, and directly told Zhao Sanhuai, "Pass on the word that Li Xuanhong is still alive."
Zhao Sanhuai's eyes lit up: "How do we pass it on?"
“Use his own communication jade slip.” Zheng Yi took out a green jade slip from Li Xuanhong’s storage bag. It was covered with cracks, but still retained a trace of spiritual light. “Let him speak for himself.”
Li Xuanhong shook his head desperately, his voice trembling: "I...I won't talk...just kill me!"
Zheng Yi squatted down and placed the jade slip between his eyebrows.
The celestial energy seeped in like silk, causing Li Xuanhong's body to stiffen and his pupils to instantly lose focus.
Zheng Yi's voice was very soft, as if he were coaxing a child: "Speak. Tell Li Tianque that you were tied up by An Ye at the bottom of Duanhun Cliff, three miles upstream from Kuteng Ferry. If you don't come... before sunrise tomorrow, I will slowly extract the last bit of residue from your dantian and feed it to the dogs."
Li Xuanhong's lips trembled, and tears mixed with snot streamed down his face.
The jade slip glowed with a faint blue light.
His voice was mechanical, yet tinged with tears, as he repeated Zheng Yi's words, one by one.
The message has ended.
The jade slip shattered into powder with a snap.
Zheng Yi stood up and clapped his hands: "Let's go. To the Cliff of Broken Souls."
Zhao Sanhuai trembled with excitement: "Sir, are you trying to catch a big fish?"
Zheng Yi didn't answer, but simply looked out at the dark river. (End of Chapter)