Martial Arts Crossover: Something's Wrong with This Evil Sect

"We cannot see the true face of Mount Lu, simply because we are in the mountain ourselves..."

Shangguan Haitang muttered to herself, her mind racing with thoughts.

She is a rare intelligent person; otherwise, she wouldn't have been able to manage the number one manor in the world so successfully.

She naturally understood the meaning of Shan Tianxie's poem.

Between the lines, it was nothing more than a reminder to her that her adoptive father might not be as loyal and righteous as she thought.

But as she carefully recalled the moments of the past, how could this be?!

A person can pretend for a year, two years, or even three or four years.

But is it really possible to maintain a facade for ten or twenty years without any flaws?

If someone could actually do that, how terrifying must that person be?

Could my godfather really be that kind of person?

impossible!

Absolutely impossible!

Shangguan Haitang's first reaction was that there was absolutely no such possibility.

But if that's not the case, why did that senior's gaze look so strange...?

Moreover, her words revealed her familiarity with her godfather.

Thinking of this, Shangguan Haitang couldn't help but feel a slight wavering in her heart, just a tiny bit...

What if?

What if my godfather is such a ruthless and ambitious man?

Then how should he, his elder brother, and Yidao face this?

Thinking of this, Shangguan Haitang dared not imagine any further, because she simply could not bear such an outcome!

Then, Shangguan Haitang shook her head vigorously, seemingly trying to put this rebellious idea out of her mind.

However, sometimes the more people try to escape, the harder it is for them to control their thoughts...

Without realizing it, she looked out the car window at the scenery, and the scene of her godfather teaching her to read when she was a child came to mind.

The candlelight flickered then, and my godfather's voice was gentle yet firm:

"As subjects, loyalty and righteousness should be the foundation. Your godfather hopes that each of you will remember these four words: loyalty to the emperor and love for the country!"

Seeing this, Shan Tianxie, who was standing to the side, curled up a meaningful smile.

Shangguan Haitang clearly understood his meaning and had a slight suspicion of Zhu Wushi.

However, Zhu's decades-long facade cannot be destroyed in just a few words.

Now that the seed of doubt has been quietly planted in Shangguan Haitang's heart, all that's needed is to wait for it to take root and sprout.

By staying by his side, this girl named Haitang will surely see another side of her godfather.

........

The group then set off, traveling at full speed on horseback without stopping.

Finally, they arrived in Hanhai City before evening.

"Crunch—"

The sound of wheels rolling over the bluestone slabs was particularly clear in the twilight as the carriage slowly passed through the city gate inscribed with the words "Han Hai".

The torches on the city wall flickered, casting a cold light on the armor of the defending soldiers.

It's quite obvious that there's a sense of panic and paranoia in Hanhai City right now, with even the number of soldiers guarding the city gates noticeably increasing.

However, since everyone was traveling in the Giant Whale Gang's carriages, the journey was smooth and unimpeded.

"Young Master, we've now entered Hanhai City. Why don't we find an inn to rest for a while?"

At this moment, Xia Xueyi, who had been acting as a background figure, suddenly spoke up and asked a question.

"Well, no need for that."

Dan Tianxie shook his head and spoke softly.

“The Hua family also has businesses in Hanhai City, so let’s just go there directly and save ourselves the trouble of paying for a hotel. That’s what you call saving where you can and spending where you can.”

After speaking, Shan Tianxie raised his head slightly, waiting for everyone to praise his frugal behavior.

Given his status, he's probably the only one in the Valley of Bliss who has been so frugal over the decades.

Xia Xueyi glanced at Xi Yu without revealing her expression, and the two exchanged glances across the distance.

Xia Xueyi: "What does Young Master mean by this? Are you waiting for us to praise you?"

Drizzle: "That should be the case."

Xia Xueyi: "Shall we praise him?"

Drizzle: "A person should have backbone! You can praise me if you want, but I won't!"

Xia Xueyi: "Awesome! Then I'll definitely take the challenge!"

After the two finished exchanging glances, Xia Xueyi was just about to offer her compliments.

Unexpectedly, at this moment, Xiyu suddenly spoke up first: "What the young master said is truly enlightening. Save where you should and spend where you should! What a simple and profound truth."

Upon hearing this, Xia Xueyi was instantly stunned. Wait a minute, you're talking about my lyrics!

Young Master, I want to report that there are bad people among the crowd!

Dan Tianxie, unaware of the complicated relationship between the two, nodded with satisfaction as he looked at Xiyu.

Now, Xi Yu is getting more and more clever. She glanced at Xia Xueyi, who was standing there dumbfounded, and the disappointment in her eyes was obvious.

"Xia, you should learn from this!"

.......

Hua Family Inn.

During this period, the city of Hanhai was in turmoil because of the princes' struggle for the throne.

The Hua Family Inn, which had always had a fairly good business, closed its doors early for this reason, fearing that it might bring trouble.

During this period, those patrolling lackeys have finally had their fill of food and drink!

The waiter, exhausted from a long day, had just lain down on the inn's table, intending to take a good nap.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door...

"Please stop knocking, sir."

The waiter called out sleepily.

"The rooms are all full. Let's try another inn..."

Unexpectedly, the knocking on the door didn't stop, and the noise even brought the shopkeeper, who had just gone upstairs, down down as well.

"What's going on, waiter?"

"Shopkeeper, someone keeps knocking on the door, and it seems like they won't leave until we open it! What a scoundrel!"

When the waiter saw that the shopkeeper had been woken up, he quickly got up and started dressing while complaining.

"That's it."

The shopkeeper stroked his goatee, looking rather helpless.

"Forget it, the world is in such a mess these days. Let him knock. As long as he doesn't break in, we'll ignore him!"

However, the knocking suddenly stopped, just as the shopkeeper and the waiter thought the other party had given up.

Suddenly, I noticed the way the other person knocked on the door had changed...

Upon hearing this voice, the shopkeeper's face suddenly changed, becoming grave.

It's just because the knocking sound was a bit unusual!

One heavy strike followed by two light strikes, then eight more strikes in quick succession.

It was clearly the code that the Hua family had given to the contact person at the time.

Are the people outside our door our own? Or are they fishing?

Hua Bei quickly came up with several possibilities, because the situation in Hanhai City was too chaotic.

The city has been operating under strict entry and exit rules, which has meant that he hasn't been in contact with his master for a long time, and he doesn't know what the visitor's situation is for the time being.

However, since the visitor had given the coded message, it was neither reasonable nor ethical to ignore it.

Thinking of this, Hua Bei quickly got up and went to the door, asking in a low voice, "Who are you, sir?"

"Fellow villagers, open the door! We're here to bring warmth to the Hua family!"