Got you?

The entrance to the secret passage was clearly newly dug, and the entrance itself couldn't be far from this opening.

Upon entering the secret passage, the light dimmed immediately. Zhou Heng took out a tinderbox from his pocket and quickly made his way through the passage by the faint light.

It seems that the Medicine King and the Valley Master have only recently descended, and they shouldn't have gone far yet.

The group hadn't gone far when they smelled an odor. The three of them quickly covered their mouths and noses with their sleeves, but continued walking without the slightest hesitation.

Knowing who they were dealing with today, everyone involved in the operation had taken an antidote prepared by the imperial physician beforehand, just in case.

They naturally didn't know whether the antidote pills prepared by the imperial physician could neutralize the poison from the poisonous fog, but covering their mouths and noses should help.

At the end, there was a ladder. Zhou Heng gripped his sword and climbed up, while the other two also gripped their swords and remained vigilant.

There was a wooden board covering it. Zhou Heng used his sword to pry open the wooden board and carefully climbed up.

Upon going up, they discovered that the place was actually the inn's woodshed, and there was no one inside.

As soon as Zhou Heng left the woodshed, he put his whistle to his lips and blew it, and countless guards in full uniform gathered around him.

The Prince of Shun's men also heard the commotion and came over.

The first group to arrive were naturally those who had been lying in ambush around the inn.

"Have you seen anyone leave the inn within the last fifty breaths?"

"Yes, it was an old woman."

Without even guessing, Zhou Heng knew he must be the Valley Master of Medicine King Valley.

"Chase!"

The guards who had just seen the woman led their men to chase after her, and Zhou Heng in the inn was not spared either, for fear that the other party would use a feint.

If one secret passage can be dug, then two can be dug; he fears there might be other secret passage entrances inside the inn.

"search!"

Everyone scattered, frightening the people staying in the inn so much that they trembled with fear, but no one dared to utter a sound.

After the execution was over, jailers came to collect the body, and the people all left.

Xiao Ce's ears twitched, and he faintly heard a whistle coming from afar. A person leaped and flew far away.

Those who hadn't gone far witnessed this scene, and some of the young women even adopted a pose reminiscent of Xi Shi clutching her heart.

At this moment, Prince Shun was practically a god descended to earth in their eyes.

As Xiao Ce passed by the street, he noticed an old woman walking unsteadily below. The people around her had all quickened their pace because of the commotion earlier.

Only she walked at a leisurely pace, as if she had some kind of leg problem.

Xiao Ce landed in the crowd and instinctively felt that there was something wrong with the old woman in front of him, but he didn't know if she was from Medicine King Valley.

The old woman, leaning on a cane, watched as she got closer and closer to Xiao Ce. When she was still a dozen steps away, she noticed Xiao Ce standing in front of her and quickly moved aside, as if afraid of blocking the way of the important person.

Xiao Ce gripped the hilt of his sword tightly with one hand. As the woman moved aside, he moved, drawing his soft sword and pointing it directly at her throat.

The change was so sudden that some of the people walking by were startled and cried out in surprise.

Just as the sword was about to pierce the old woman's throat, she could no longer pretend. She ducked and, with the agility of a monkey, leaped onto the roof of the nearby house.

"Gotcha!"

Xiao Ce revealed a cold, bloodthirsty smile, drew his sword, and gave chase.

Those who were lying in ambush nearby followed suit.

Having gone to so much trouble to lure the people from Medicine King Valley out, Xiao Ce was not about to let them go easily; he relentlessly pursued them.

Luo Yan was truly surprised by Xiao Ce's keen senses. He thought his disguise skills were already superb, but Xiao Ce still recognized him in the crowd at a glance.

Luo Yan brought almost all the available manpower with him when he came out of Medicine King Valley, and they were all hidden in the crowd.

Upon seeing that their master had been targeted, the members of Medicine King Valley no longer cared about concealing their tracks and all flew forward to try to stop Xiao Ce and his group.

The Thousand-Clad Guards and the men under Prince Shun were no pushovers; the group from Medicine King Valley were entangled almost as soon as they appeared.

Xiao Ce was single-mindedly focused on chasing Luo Yan ahead, ignoring everyone else.

If we don't catch him this time, it will be difficult to catch him again next time.

As long as he lives, Ji Yueru and her daughter will be constantly watched, so this time he must spare Luo Yan's life no matter what.

Luo Yan is already in his early seventies, but because he takes good care of himself, he looks to be around sixty years old.

But people are no longer young and their physical strength is limited. After being chased for a quarter of an hour, Luo Yan, who was ahead, was already panting heavily.

Knowing he would be exhausted if he kept running, he simply stopped.

The moment the man stopped and turned around, Xiao Ce had already drawn his sword and was aimed straight at his face.

He raised both hands in front of his head, and two daggers appeared in his hands, directly blocking Xiao Ce's fatal sword strike.

The two separated but then engaged in a fierce battle, clashing daggers and soft swords. The Thousand-Clad Guards and Xiao Ce's men who arrived later could only see bursts of sparks.

They surrounded the two men, but no one went to help without Xiao Ce's instructions.

In terms of unorthodox methods, Luo Yan was definitely stronger than Xiao Ce, but when it came to actual martial arts, he was no match for him. After only a dozen or so moves, Luo Yan showed signs of defeat.

Seeing that he was no match for Xiao Ce, Luo Yan reached into his robes and tucked four black balls between his fingers before throwing them directly toward Xiao Ce.

"retreat!"

All those surrounding Luo Yan moved outwards, and Luo Yan, without the slightest hesitation, turned and broke through in the direction furthest from Xiao Ce.

Despite the white mist, Xiao Ce's eyes immediately fell on Luo Yan, and he threw the soft sword in his hand forward fiercely.

Hearing the sound of wind breaking behind him, Luo Yan shifted his body and narrowly dodged the soft sword that Xiao Ce shot at him.

As they drew ever closer to the encirclement, Luo Yan, intending to repeat his old trick, had already placed it in his arms.

But he didn't see that Xiao Ce behind him had already pressed his hand down.

Everyone threw their longswords toward Luo Yan. He might be able to dodge one, but Xiao Ce didn't believe he could dodge dozens.

The sound of wind breaking from all directions made Luo Yan's heart skip a beat, and a strong sense of crisis made him leap into the air.

But a sword still pierced his calf, going right through him.

Luo Yan, who had flown into the air, fell heavily to the ground due to his leg injury. His body was as light and agile as a monkey, and he had already stabilized his body as he landed.

Without the slightest hesitation, he pulled the sword out of his calf, took out a bottle of pills from his pocket, poured a handful into his mouth, and fed it to him.

"Prince Shun, don't push your luck. Even if you kill me today, my disciples and followers from Medicine King Valley will not let you off easily."

"This is outrageous! I should be the one to return those words to you."

"If it weren't for the fact that people from your Medicine King Valley have repeatedly dared to harm my people, I wouldn't have had to resort to such ruthless extermination."

Upon hearing that the other party's tone seemed to be softening, Luo Yan also softened his tone.

"If you spare me today, I guarantee that no one from Medicine King Valley will ever set foot in the Ming Dynasty again."

Furthermore, this Valley Master will also present the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty with five longevity pills as a token of sincerity.