I am dying of old age, and I have awakened to the character of longevity.

The words were barely out of his mouth when Zhang Lin himself was startled.

Even in the deep autumn season, with the night wind biting, fine beads of sweat emerged on Zhang Lin's forehead.

In Zhang Lin's mind, Baiyutang had always been a renowned chivalrous sect, holding sway over the six surrounding towns, enjoying the tributes of wealthy merchants, and performing the heroic feat of protecting the region, earning widespread praise.

Even the county magistrate would send people to the sect every year to offer condolences and encouragement.

And all of this was thanks to Fang Baiyu's magnanimous and righteous character.

No wonder Zhang Lin found it difficult to accept for a time.

Xie An, who had lived two lives, saw things more clearly; those Jianghu heroes who constantly spouted benevolence, righteousness, and morality were mostly hypocrites like Yue Buqun.

They were simply using righteousness to satisfy their personal interests.

In the chaotic Jianghu world, how could there be so many great heroes?

Perhaps there were, but they were definitely rare, at least Xie An had never seen them.

"Brother Zhang, we must leave quickly. If we are discovered… I'm afraid we will be in mortal danger," Xie An urged in a low voice, hurrying his horse away.

Gulp.

Zhang Lin swallowed, and the words "kill and silence" instinctively surfaced in his mind.

Immediately, Zhang Lin dared not linger any longer, quickly urging his horse to catch up with Xie An, not daring to delay for even a moment.

…

In a dense forest, on a mountain path.

The corpse of the Plum Blossom Fiend lay quietly on the ground.

Wang Ziwu squatted on the ground, carefully examining the wounds on the Plum Blossom Fiend's body, then said to Fang Baiyu beside him, "Sect Leader, this fellow is wearing Chen Er's human skin mask; he should be the real Plum Blossom Fiend."

Fang Baiyu stood beside him, holding his saber, his eyes filled with murderous intent, his face flushed with anger.

He had set up the scheme, but the Plum Blossom Fiend had played him instead.

The falconer had his eyes pecked out by the falcon.

Wang Ziwu continued as he examined, "Judging from the engraved serial number, the saber that killed the Plum Blossom Fiend belongs to Zhang Hengshui. Judging from the wounds… I can roughly reconstruct what happened—"

"Zhang Hengshui should have noticed Chen Da and Chen Er sneaking into the backyard early on, then secretly followed them to the backyard. He saw that Chen Er was the Plum Blossom Fiend in disguise and killed Chen Da. Then he followed the Plum Blossom Fiend as he left. He ambushed the Plum Blossom Fiend with a bow and arrow along the way, wounding him. The Plum Blossom Fiend pulled out the arrow from his body, trying to fight back desperately, but because the arrow wound was too severe, he was killed by Zhang Hengshui."

"Zhang Hengshui wanted to pull out his saber and leave, but the Plum Blossom Fiend grabbed the saber tightly, and Zhang Hengshui panicked, fearing that our people would discover him, so he didn't continue to entangle with the Plum Blossom Fiend and directly took the immortal treasure and fled."

After speaking, Wang Ziwu also looked at the ground in front of and behind the mountain path, "Unfortunately, it hasn't rained recently, and the surrounding mountain paths are all compacted hard soil, leaving no footprints. Otherwise, we could determine the direction of Zhang Hengshui's escape."

Fang Baiyu had been listening attentively, and his lack of objection meant that he agreed with Wang Ziwu's analysis.

Zhang Hengshui's saber and the scattered ordinary arrows could all corroborate the rationality of Wang Ziwu's deduction. Moreover, the Tiger Wolf Sect conducted annual examinations for the branch leaders, including archery. Zhang Hengshui's strength was inferior to that of the Plum Blossom Fiend, so it was reasonable for him to choose to ambush with a bow and arrow.

As for the broadsword left at the scene…

After all, for Zhang Hengshui, he was already planning to run away, and Fang Baiyu would suspect him sooner or later. Whether or not he left the saber was no longer important; he only wanted to seize every second to escape.

Clang!

Fang Baiyu suddenly drew his saber and chopped down a tree as thick as a bowl beside him, saying fiercely, "Zhang Hengshui, you old thief, I, Fang, will never rest until you are dead!"

Fang Baiyu had spent so much time and effort, and had almost dragged the entire Baiyutang down with him.

In the end, he gained nothing.

It was all to Zhang Hengshui's benefit.

How could Fang Baiyu accept this?

He wished he could skin Zhang Hengshui alive and eat all his flesh. Even that would not be enough to vent one ten-thousandth of his anger.

Alas.

Wang Ziwu sighed and cupped his fist in consolation, "Sect Leader, calm your anger. I will immediately mobilize everyone in the sect to find Zhang Hengshui. We will dig three feet into the ground to find this person."

Anger was anger, but Fang Baiyu also knew that anger was useless, so he suppressed the anger in his heart, "The world is vast, and finding a person is like searching for a needle in a haystack. However, he can take the blame. Find an excuse and say that Zhang Hengshui betrayed my Tiger Wolf Sect, and all the losses of the sect tonight are his fault."

Wang Ziwu was stunned for a moment, then said, "Yes."

…

Shuideng Town, Baiyutang Branch.

Secluded courtyard.

"Pfft!"

Wei Dian took off the bamboo hat he was wearing, revealing an extremely old face, covered with wrinkles, not to mention patches of festering skin lingering on his face, looking particularly disgusting.

Lin Yun, however, seemed to be accustomed to this. He fetched hot water in a basin and gently applied a wet towel to the festering bruises on Wei Dian's face.

"Branch Leader, you have suffered another serious injury this time, you must take good care of your body. Next time Branch Leader Fang has any orders to encircle and suppress the Plum Blossom Fiend, you must not go."

Cough cough cough.

Wei Dian coughed up blood violently, his face becoming even worse, "Since I was poisoned by the Plum Blossom Fiend's Corpse Poison Pill last time, our lineage has begun to weaken. The other branch leaders are all brave and aggressive, if I fall behind, it will only disappoint Fang Baiyu. Over time, our lineage will inevitably be unable to hold on, and I, as the branch leader, will be replaced. All I am doing is maintaining our lineage."

"I didn't expect tonight's fierce battle to be so tragic. Although all the branch leaders were severely injured, it has narrowed the gap between our lineage and the other branch leaders. But my injuries have also worsened. If Fang Baiyu knows about my injuries, I'm afraid I won't be able to keep my position as branch leader, and our lineage… will be handed over to others."

Alas.

Lin Yun sighed helplessly, wanting to say a few words to comfort Wei Dian, but he didn't know where to start.

The Jianghu has always been so cruel.

If you lose your value, the higher-ups don't care if you are injured or not, they will only try to replace you.

"This black market is the culmination of our life's work, I really don't want to make it cheap for others!" Wei Dian's face showed a desolate and helpless sigh:

"Lin Yun, we started from running a horse gang, and all the way we hacked out a Blood Ridge Black Market, how many hardships and fights have we experienced."

"My own younger brother died on the road, so I have treated you as my only brother. The only person I, Wei Dian, can't let go of in this life is you. If Fang Baiyu sends someone to take over the Blood Ridge Black Market, after I leave, only you will be left… how will you survive."

"Brother Wei! You will definitely get better!" Lin Yun suddenly knelt on the ground, tears welling up in his eyes, his voice hoarse.

Wei Dian sighed, "You go to the county town overnight and find Tang Qingyun. Tell him everything here."

…

County Town, Tang Family Fortress.

Giddy up!

A fiery horse galloped to the entrance of the Tang Family Fortress, and the gatekeeper immediately went up to take the reins.

"Second Master."

"Mm."

Tang Qingyun dismounted, handed the reins to the gatekeeper, and then rushed through the gate. He passed through layers of magnificent courtyards, and finally arrived at a separate courtyard.

In the courtyard outside the bedroom, Tang Qingfeng, wearing thin clothes, was still practicing health-preserving exercises in the night wind. When he saw Tang Qingyun, he immediately stopped, "Second Brother, why are you here so late at night?"

"Big Brother."

Although Tang Qingyun was anxious, he was still very polite to Tang Qingfeng, cupping his fist and bowing, "Has Father gone to sleep?"

"Foster Father has just rested, what's the matter, Second Brother, is there an emergency?"

Tang Qingyun hesitated, wondering whether to go in and disturb his father.

Just then, an old voice came from the room, "Is Qingyun back? Come in and warm yourself, I haven't gone to sleep yet."

Only then did Tang Qingyun walk in with Tang Qingfeng.

The room was lit with a dim oil lamp, and there was a stove near the bed, making the whole room warm. And an old man with white hair, wearing an inner shirt, was leaning against the head of the bed.

It was the old patriarch of the Tang family, and also the founder of the Tang Family Fortress—Tang Zhengyang.

Tang Zhengyang was already very old, much older than Xie An during his stroke. Perhaps because he was an inner strength martial artist, coupled with years of practicing health-preserving exercises, his spirit was still good.

After some pleasantries, Tang Qingyun went straight to the point, "Father, I just received news that Baiyutang besieged the Chen family tonight…"

Thanks to the information provided by Lin Yun, Tang Qingyun basically reconstructed the events of the Chen family.

The reason why Tang Qingyun was so anxious to find his father was because he knew… that his father was the personally taught disciple of Li Changchun. This matter was related to his father, so he had to inform him as soon as possible.

Cough cough cough.

Tang Zhengyang suddenly coughed violently, "What should come has come…"

Tang Qingyun said, "Father, what does this mean?"

Tang Zhengyang sighed, "This tomb was built by me and my senior brother in the beginning. Apart from me and my senior brother, no one knows where the tomb is located. Moreover, when we sealed the tomb, we used the Bright Jade Skill to seal the tomb door. Even if ordinary tomb robbers found the tomb, they wouldn't be able to open the tomb door."

Tang Qingyun suddenly realized something, "Are you saying… that the ancient tomb was not accidentally dug out by the Chen family, but was guided by someone…"

"It must be so!"

Tang Zhengyang sighed, "That thing was what Master used to enter the tomb, it can't be taken out, it can't be…"

After speaking, Tang Zhengyang braced himself and sat up, "Quick, take me to Chen's residence to take a look."