n

n

nChapter 81: Chapter 81: Kill the Chicken to Warn the Monkey

nThe wind whipped up dust and debris.

nZhou Heng spurred his horse on, galloping as fast as he could to reach Yuyang County.

nIt wasn’t that he was impatient.

nBut that he had to be fast.

nNow that his Pure Yang Body was unsealed from the talismans, at any moment he could attract unknown and powerful ghost creatures.

nThis was an unpredictable crisis.

nHe had to hurry.

nOn his way there, Zhou Heng already encountered two ghost creatures.

nAlthough neither was very strong, merely Ninth and Eighth Grade, a single Palm Thunder was enough to kill them; yet from these encounters, it was clear that his Yang Energy truly was attracting ghost creatures.

nIf he could not find Cheng Jianjian soon, there might appear Seventh or even Sixth Rank ghost creatures.

nThe law of yin and yang convergence was just so unreasonable.

nFinally, when his fine steed was gasping for breath and could barely continue, Zhou Heng once again arrived at Yuyang County City.

nHowever, in less than half a month’s time since he last left, Yuyang County City had changed dramatically.

nThe city gates were now guarded by a group of people who were clearly martial artists from Jianghu.

nThey were checking people coming in and out.

nThese martial artists seemed to be from the same faction, all dressed in uniform white robes embroidered with a black dragon, looking quite ferocious.

nZhou Heng led his horse to the city gate.

nSeeing the waist knife he carried and the long-shaped object that appeared to be another weapon in his luggage, these people immediately surrounded him, blocking his way.

n“You, where are you coming from, what are you doing?”

n“Tsk tsk, this kid’s got delicate skin and a nice outfit; looks like there’s money to be made here.”

n“Mhm, not bad, not bad.”

nThe men blocking Zhou Heng were burly fellows with meaty faces and unkind expressions, holding machetes as if they were hunters sizing up prey.

n“Here to visit a friend,” Zhou Heng said indifferently, then attempted to continue forward.

n“Hey hey hey, who said you could go?” One of the burly men stepped in front, grabbed the horse’s bridle to stop him, squinted at Zhou Heng, tilted his chin up slightly and sneered, “Kid, do you really not know what’s going on, or are you just pretending?”

n“So many of us blocking the city gate, do you really think we’re just doorkeepers?” Another burly man came over, patted Zhou Heng’s shoulder and said mockingly, “Little brother, we’re here for money, get it? You have to pay to enter!”

nThe others around them burst into raucous laughter.

n“Hahaha! Looks like this little brother really is taking his first strides into Jianghu, a little chick who knows nothing!”

n“Brother Ma, give this little chick a lesson, don’t think Jianghu is just about the joys and sorrows of storytelling in booklets; let him gain some insight into what the real martial world is like.”

n“Take it easy, just take the money. The kid looks decent; don’t strip him all the way to his underwear, hahahahaha!”

nZhou Heng remained composed, his gaze sweeping over these people with a faint smile, “It seems you’ve used similar tactics on quite a few people already, haven’t you?”

n“Cut the crap!” The burly man glared fiercely at Zhou Heng, brandished his machete, and held out his other hand, “Thirty taels of silver to enter the city, if you don’t have it, scram!”

n“Thirty taels?” Zhou Heng raised an eyebrow and shook his head, “I don’t have that, how about a discount?”

n“Then it’s sixty taels!” The burly man looked at Zhou Hengwitha sneer, shaking his hand again, “You think you are someone special, daring to haggle with us, Black Dragon Fort?”

nClang!

nJust at that moment, a sudden ring of a blade sounded.

nZhou Heng’s hand flashed with silver light, and the burly man in front of him immediately lost his hand, blood spurting out.

n“Aaahhh!” The burly man screamed, clutching his arm where the hand had been, shaking all over, his expression frightened and disbelieving as he looked at Zhou Heng, “You, you actually dared, you actually dared to cut me?!”

nThe others were equally stunned, looking at Zhou Heng as if they’d seen a ghost, extremely shocked and almost disbelieving their own eyes and ears.

nHe must be crazy!

nThis kid actually dared to be so bold!

nIn front of so many people, he dared to make a move and injure someone?!

nBut that blade just now—

nSo fast!!

nThis induced wariness in their hearts.

n“Why wouldn’t I dare?” Zhou Heng scoffed, then kicked, sending the burly man flying, looked around and said calmly, “These past few days, you’ve blocked quite a number of people, haven’t you?”

n“So what if we have, you dare to hurt someone from Black Dragon Fort, you must be tired of living!” another burly man roared, with the rest echoing his sentiment.

nIndeed, that’s what they had been doing these past days.

nInitially, they were quite cautious in their actions, treating people decently out of fear of inadvertently offending someone they couldn’t afford to provoke.

nBut as days passed, they realized that those coming and going were either ordinary people or martial artists without any significant background.

nSeldom were there masters.

nEven some martial artists with sect backgrounds would respect Black Dragon Fort and pay the fee to enter the city without hassle.

nThis made them increasingly bold and reckless.

nBut they had not anticipated that they would encounter someone as ruthless as Zhou Heng.

n“Black Dragon Fort?” Zhou Heng slowly walked up to the burly man and said indifferently, “I have heard of it—it’s a bandit stronghold in the nearby mountains, known for plenty of looting and plundering. The leader seems to be an old Eighth Rank expert?”

n“You, you do have some knowledge!” Seeing Zhou Heng approach, the burly man became instantly terrified, and his voice trembled, “What, what do you want to do? Are you really going to make an enemy of Black Dragon Fort?” “How could that be?” A smile appeared on Zhou Heng’s face; he used the flat of his blade to pat the brawny man’s cheek and chuckled, “Take me to your leader.”

n“Ah?” The brawny man was taken aback and said in astonishment, “You want to see our leader? Why?”

nSlap!

nZhou Heng slapped the brawny man across the face and said indifferently, “No reason.”

nA red mark instantly appeared on the brawny man’s face, causing the onlookers to be filled with fear—everyone clamped their mouths shut, not daring to make a sound.

nThe brawny man had no choice but to nod and lead the way for Zhou Heng.

nEntering Yuyang County City.

nZhou Heng felt many eyes watching him.

nThese gazes came from all directions, each with different intentions.

nHowever, he didn’t care, allowing those people to look on as he and the brawny man made their way to where the leader of Black Dragon Fort was staying.

nAlong the way, Zhou Heng also learned about the general situation in Yuyang County City from the brawny man.

nThere were both individuals and powers that had come here.

nThere were five or six Seventh Rank experts, including one ranked seventy- first on the listing of great experts.

nThere were even more Eighth Rank experts—more than twenty.

nAmong them, more than a dozen had brought their own forces and followers, forming several not insignificant powers within the city, with frequent friction between them.

nAs for Ninth Rank Warriors who had come to join in the hubbub, there were too many to count.

nBecause the rumored treasure had not been found, the number of martial artists in the city had already reached a certain level, creating a rather chaotic situation.

nNo one wanted the number of people to continue increasing.

nSo, a few factions with significant numbers were selected to seal the city gates, intending to check incoming individuals and block Ninth Rank Warriors from entering the city as much as possible to prevent further chaos.

nBlack Dragon Fort was one of the chosen powers.

nOf course, no one expected them to be able to block Seventh or Eighth Rank experts.

nMainly, it was about performing checks when entering the city, demanding money, irritating people, intimidating newcomers, and facilitating suppression.

nIn short, the “old powers” of Yuyang County City had reached a consensus to some extent and had begun to combine efforts to “exclude” and “suppress” outsiders.

nTo them, people like Zhou Heng, who had just arrived, were naturally considered “invaders.”

nExclusion and suppression were expected.

nHowever, Zhou Heng was not here for any “treasure.”

nHe was well aware that it was most likely a trap set by Xuan Yang to lure people in.

nHe was here to find members of the Three Poison Sect and Plague Emperor Sect.

nHe was here to find Cheng Jianjian to reseal the Yang Energy of his Pure Yang Body to avoid attracting powerful ghosts.

nBeyond that, everything else was irrelevant to him.

nYet since the “old powers” here had already agreed on excluding outsiders,

nZhou Heng felt he should also take some action.

nTo avoid a series of future troubles.

nBlack Dragon Fort was exactly the “chicken” delivered to his door.

nAmid the half-amused, half-sympathetic gazes of many, Zhou Heng followed the brawny man and arrived at an inn.

nAs it happened,

nthis inn was the very one Zhou Heng had stayed at on his last visit.

nWhen he saw the innkeeper, he greeted him warmly and cordially.

nBut the innkeeper seemed terrified and didn’t even dare to lift his head, naturally offering no response.

nThe Tian Suite.

nThis was the suite where Zhou Heng had previously stayed; now it served as Black Dragon Fort leader’s temporary Brotherhood Hall and his place of regular abode.

nAt this moment, there was a large chair in the center of the main hall, where a stout man with a tiger’s back and bear’s waist, with a black face full of whiskers, wearing a black uniform, flanked by a large axe on each side, was sitting.

nIt was Yang Jiaolong, the leader of Black Dragon Fort.

nHis face was gloomy.

nIn fact, when Zhou Heng entered the city, he had already received the news and had roughly guessed what Zhou Heng intended to do.

nSo the anger in his heart was already burning fiercely.

nIn this hall, besides Yang Jiaolong, there was also a scholarly-looking young man standing by his side, apparently acting as a strategist.

nPlus, there were ten brawny men lined up in two rows, wearing white uniforms with black dragon patterns, armed with weapons, looking very fierce.

nA short time later, Zhou Heng, accompanied by a brawny man, arrived at the place.

nHe looked relaxed and casually surveyed the situation before his eyes eventually settled on Yang Jiaolong.

n“So you are the notorious Yang Jiaolong who frequents the surrounding villages to rob?” Zhou Heng assessed the black-faced brawny man and chuckled, “Indeed, you do look the part of a bandit.”

n“Who are you exactly, and why do you seem to harboring animosity against Black Dragon Fort?” Yang Jiaolong furrowed his brows.

n“I hold no animosity,” Zhou Heng shook his head gently, slowly drawing his waist knife, and scanned the surroundings before his gaze settled back on Yang Jiaolong. He chuckled and said, “It’s just to avoid some needless trouble later on, I need to find a suitable ‘chicken’ — ”

n“To slaughter, for the monkeys to watch.”

n