Unparalleled Double Harmony

Chapter 644 Capturing and rescuing people along the way

As the sun sets and night deepens, the darkness of night grows ever stronger.

However, the turmoil surrounding the ascent of Wudang Mountain has yet to subside.

First, the Niu brothers mingled in the crowd and detonated the stench-inducing powder; then, Hao Dazhu and others "risked their lives" to silence Park Daling... These two incidents alone are enough to make people suspect that there are still undiscovered disciples of the "Hun Yuan Star Gate" among the crowd that made a scene at Wudang Mountain today.

If we consider this as a premise...

Was the fact that Sun Huang and the Niu brothers were able to "disappear" without a trace also due to someone's cooperation?

Furthermore, judging from some "remains" in the forbidden area behind the mountain, it seems that Sun Huang and Chun Kong have been hiding there for a long time. Is this reasonable?
Could it be... that there are spies from the Hunyuan Star Gate within the Wudang Sect?

Following this line of thought, the inside agent in Wudang might not necessarily be a Wudang person, right?
Putting aside other things, Master Chunxin's previous behavior was rather strange...

In short, once a chain of suspicion is formed, almost no one can escape it; after all, from a conspiracy theory perspective, you can even assume that the three Shaolin monks of the "Ji" generation attacked Hao Dazhu and others to silence them.

So, upon realizing what had happened, those who had gotten involved in the matter were now in a situation where "no one could leave the mountain until things were cleared up."

This situation is a loss for both sides, but neither side can do anything about it.

At this point, the secluded place of cultivation in Master Yao's sect, which was previously described as "overgrown with weeds and cramped with small huts," suddenly seemed spacious... as if it could accommodate so many people.

Of course, being able to accommodate them doesn't mean these people can rest comfortably.

Everyone knows about odor-eliminating agents; without a special deodorizing solution, the smell can take several days to dissipate.

Although after an hour or two, the victims' bodies had basically adapted to the stench, or rather, become numb... the initial uncontrollable tears, snot, and vomiting had all stopped, their current feeling, to borrow a line from the movie "Pulp Fiction," was—"I'm pretty fuckin' far from okay."
As for Master Yao himself, although he was not physically affected, he continued to work on mental resilience.

To be honest, if he had known he would be facing this kind of protracted and fraught situation, full of uncertainty, doubts, and a foul stench, Master Yao would have preferred that the other side launch a frontal attack to "destroy Wudang from behind." That way, even if he died in battle, he could have died a quick death instead of suffering this torment.

So when will this "torture" end?
Then we should at least wait until Master Zheng and Chun Kong wake up before discussing it further.

These two are now key figures. There is a lot of information that only they know, and it can only be discussed further when they are present. However, both of them are currently in a very strange deep coma and cannot be woken up no matter what they do.

During this time, Abbot Jizhen and Sect Leader Yao also tried to use their internal energy to check if the two had any internal injuries, hoping to wake them up by healing them. But the result was... these two sect leaders not only failed to understand the situation, but they were also frightened.

According to them, the Qi Sea within Chun Kong and Master Zheng's bodies was like the vast emptiness of the sky and the deep abyss of the earth, respectively. The former's true Qi gathered naturally with each breath, while the latter's Qi surged silently with each breath. They were both unattainable and unfathomable... Even though the two sect leaders each possessed orthodox internal skills from Zen Buddhism and Taoism, and their skills were both very profound, when they tried to investigate, it was as if they were blocked in front of an invisible gate. They could only peek inside, but could not cross the threshold even half a step.

Since the leaders of Shaolin and Wudang have said so, everyone has no choice but to wait for Chun Kong and Master Zheng to "wake up naturally".

Before the two woke up, the large group of people who remained on the mountain and could not descend had to endure the torment of the atmosphere of mutual suspicion and the lingering stench.

…………

On the other hand, below the sheer cliff on the back mountain.

"Damn it... Is this idea reliable? What if this path has already been exposed? What if a group of people suddenly appear on top of us when we're almost at the top and throw stones, hot oil, excrement or something down on us... Aren't we doomed?" Sun Yixie and the others had already returned to the spot where they had sneaked down the mountain during the day.

"Heh..." Upon hearing this, Huang Donglai immediately sneered, adding with a hint of mockery, "Brother Sun, don't always judge others by your own standards... Normally, if someone discovered our escape route, then from afternoon to evening, whether they climbed down this path or came down the mountain from elsewhere... someone would eventually come to this 'end' to check, right? Since the sentries left by Boss Ding said no one has been here, that means everything is fine; besides... even if this path was indeed discovered on the other side of the mountain, they don't know we'll be making a 'comeback' tonight, so how could they be as cunning as you say, preparing hot oil and manure to ambush us overnight?"

"Hmph..." Although he knew Huang Donglai had a point, Sun Yixie still snorted indignantly and retorted, "It's not hard to find manure. The 'ammunition' you left behind is enough for them to use on the spot." He paused, "Also, are Fatty Ding's men really reliable? What if they overlooked something? If they were so confident, why didn't Fatty Ding come himself? Look at how even a weak woman like Master Ling came."

"What you're saying..." Ling Sheng'er was so angry at Sun Yixie that she laughed. She immediately retorted sarcastically, "Boss Ding has been working hard and contributing money and effort, but he didn't want to be a burden just because his martial arts skills were almost lacking, so he became 'Fatty Ding'. If I, the 'commander without any troops,' didn't come either, who knows what people would say behind my back."

Sun Yixie had originally intended to subtly flatter Ling Sheng'er and showcase his elder brother status by mentioning him at the end of his previous statement. However, Ling Sheng'er not only failed to appreciate it but also responded with a few sarcastic remarks that left Sun Yixie in an awkward position.

"Ha! Haha... Hahahaha!" Of course, Huang Donglai was delighted with this. Before Ling Louzhu had even finished speaking, he burst into a three-part barking laugh and looked at Brother Sun with a mocking expression.

As the laughter echoed through the night sky, Huang Donglai realized that he had laughed a little too loudly. Although there shouldn't be anyone other than the Youjia Gang's sentries in this area, it was better to keep a low profile in the middle of the night, so he immediately stopped laughing and fell silent.

However, he shut up a few seconds too late.

Often, major events go wrong because of seemingly insignificant details.

Because it was nighttime, Huang Donglai's laughter carried much farther than during the day.

Although the sound becomes extremely faint at a certain distance, and an ordinary person might not even notice it, there just happens that... there is a member of the True Hero Hall in that spot today.

Yes, since the people on the mountain hadn't come down, the people from Zhenxia Hall responsible for intercepting them hadn't left either, and they kept watch until nightfall. Huang Donglai's laughter at this moment had already caught the attention of one of them.

…………

A moment later, at the mountaintop.

Led by Sun Huang, who was already very familiar with this "rock climbing path," Jiang Muchan, Ling Sheng'er, Sanzi Wang, and Yun Shili all made it up the mountain without any major incidents.

As an aside, the Niu brothers didn't participate in this operation, not because they didn't want to help, but because they had "somewhat been exposed" to the smell during the day, and if they didn't wash it off, they would easily give away their whereabouts. So, they stayed at the Youjia Gang's stronghold tonight to "soak in the medicinal solution."

"Nobody's here, let's go up." Huang Donglai was the first to reach the top. After he stood on the flat ground, he looked around and listened carefully to make sure that there was no noise in the vicinity. Only then did he call the others to follow.

As we mentioned earlier, the rock climbing path that Sun Huang used to descend the mountain is very well hidden, so this area has indeed not been discovered by anyone at this moment.

However... the pursuers must have discovered the entrance to the grotto located in the forbidden area behind the mountain, and many people believed that Shuangxie and the Niu brothers had escaped into that grotto, so many people were guarding that place.

Regarding how to open the grotto in this forbidden area, everyone must have asked Sect Leader Yao. However, since this is a secret passed down from the ancestors of Wudang, Sect Leader Yao had also mentally gone through the process of "Although I know how to open it, to be honest, I can't open it either, and it's not convenient for me to tell outsiders how to open it, so it's better for me to pretend I don't know." This is another point where he has to withstand the pressure, but fortunately, he can still stall for the time being.

"See? I told you this place hadn't been discovered yet!" Huang Donglai whispered to Sun Yixie after the group of six had all climbed up and stood still.

"Don't talk nonsense..." Sun Yixie knew that his good brother's words were always jinxed, so he quickly interrupted, "The dangerous part starts now, so don't rush to make judgments."

"Hey! What's wrong with talking about it? Don't be so superstitious..." Huang Donglai understood what the other person meant, and it was precisely because he understood that he wanted to argue.

"Alright, alright, you two stop arguing." Yun Shili's vocabulary had been distorted by these two. Seeing that Sun Huang was about to start another impromptu argument, he immediately interrupted, "From now on, you'll follow my orders."

Before Sun Huang could say anything after he finished speaking, the Three-Character King raised his hand and poked his shoulder, asking as Sun Huang turned around, "Why?"

Don't think that the Three-Character King is deliberately picking a fight. If you put yourself in his shoes, it's not hard to understand his actions... First, as an assassin, he has never gotten along well with the people from the Six Doors. Yun Shili suddenly said he wanted to take charge of him, so he couldn't just stay silent. Second, the Three-Character King felt that he should be the most skilled in martial arts among this group. Although he himself didn't want to be the "leader," logically, if a choice had to be made, his opinion should be asked first, right?

Of course, Brother Yun is no pushover either. Putting aside his martial arts skills, when it comes to scheming and verbal sparring... even ten Three-Character Kings wouldn't be a match for him.

"Then you come?" Without saying much, Yun Shili mimicked the tone of the Three-Word King and replied with the same three words, immediately stumping the other party.

"Hmph..." Upon seeing this, the Three-Character King snorted coldly, "You win." He had no choice but to give up.

"Does the others have any objections? If not, I'll make some arrangements." Seeing that the Three-Character King had nodded, Yun Shili then looked at the other four and said.

What else can we say? In times like these, it's a good thing that someone is willing to take the lead and shoulder the blame.

“Then I’ll make the arrangements…” After a brief silence, Yun Shili continued, “First, we need to capture someone alive and ask about the current situation on the mountain… Although according to the reports from our scouts down the mountain, no one had come down before we set off, we still need to find out how the various factions are distributed and what Chun Kong’s situation is.”

"Then, there's Chunxin, whom you mentioned. I think this guy is not simple. If possible, besides rescuing Chunkong tonight, it would be best to capture and kidnap this guy alive as well."

"Of course, if we can't capture him alive, we can also settle for second best and use the 'hooks' you left behind to frame him and hand him over to those great heroes and sect leaders for interrogation. That way, we can find out the results through other means afterward."

"So we'll have to split into two groups in a bit. This will not only make our actions faster and more covert, but also allow us to support each other... Even in the worst-case scenario, such as if one of our groups is exposed, at least that exposed group can draw away some of our forces, creating a better opportunity for the other group to strike."

After he finished speaking, everyone thought for a moment, and it was Xiao Jiang who spoke first: "Lord Yun, then I'll go to the 'capture people' route. I'm good at 'moving things out,' I can carry boxes that weigh one person or even two or three people."

"Heh..." Yun Shili joked, "Judging from this... you've 'cheated on someone' before?"

"Hey~ don't talk nonsense." Jiang Muchan knew the other party was playing a pun, so she wasn't angry. "I've never done anything like kidnapping or womanizing."

“Alright, as you say,” Yun Shili replied. “Is there anyone else who wants to ‘arrest’ people?”

“I’ll go!” Sun Yixie volunteered. “I’ve wanted to kill that bastard Chunxin for a long time.”

It makes perfect sense for Brother Sun to join this group, after all, he's "Deep Sea," and he knows everything about the communications and private exchanges with "Buddha Niche," so he's better able to handle any situation that might arise.

“Then I’ll go to the side where they’re ‘catching people’ too,” Ling Sheng’er said after thinking for a moment.

"Oh? So, Lord Ling really thinks my approach is more reliable, right?" Sun Yixie beamed with joy the moment he heard that a girl was coming.

“I was thinking…” But Ling Sheng’er’s next sentence was, “If you fail to capture Chunxin alive, and the letters used to frame him have been destroyed, then I might as well… tear my clothes, scratch a few bloody marks on my body, and then lie down under the monk’s bed or in the wardrobe, so that others can ‘discover’ me. That way, at least I can be safe all the way.”

Upon hearing this, everyone was filled with awe. And upon careful consideration, Ling Sheng'er's move didn't seem to have any major flaws. In any case, almost no one recognized Ling Sheng'er now, and with her intelligence, it wouldn't be difficult for her to escape unscathed afterward. Therefore, her "safety net" move was undoubtedly the best strategy.

"As expected of 'Ghost-Faced Wind,' I admire you greatly." Being from the same Green Forest faction, Xiao Jiang couldn't help but clasp his hands in a gesture of respect and exclaim in admiration.

"Alright." Seeing that he had such a reliable teammate, Yun Shili would not raise any further objections. "Then the 'rescue' team will be me, Donglai, and Sanzi Wang." He paused. "Anyway, no matter which team succeeds later, we can choose to retreat first or stay behind to support the other team, depending on the situation. Of course, the most important thing is... in critical moments, everyone must prioritize their own safety."

(End of this chapter)