Chapter 14 All Parties Gathered

Chapter 14 – All Parties Gathered

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The sounds of slaughter stopped.

Outside the gates of the Divine Orchard Gang headquarters, the atmosphere had fallen into a strange and quiet peace. All of the observers that came to watch seemed to have forgotten to breathe; they could even hear their own heartbeats.

Ma Junmo’s expression was unsure.

The lord county magistrate should have won, right?

He hesitated. Then, he finally firmed his resolve and was about to step in.

But suddenly, from behind, the thunderous sound of galloping horses rose up.

Over 500 soldier guards of Alabaster County rushed forwards, led by the county commander Zheng Longxing.

“Ma Junmo, where is the lord county magistrate?” Zheng Longxing shouted out from afar.

“Reporting to the county commander, Lord Li killed his way in…” Ma Junmo respectfully answered.

He was the chief captain and the county commander Zheng Longxing was his immediate superior; he didn’t dare despise him in the least.

“If he’s inside then why are you still outside? Soldiers, don’t stop, rush in with me and rescue the lord county magistrate.” Zheng Longxing roared out, an expression of worry and anxiousness etched on his face. He kicked his horse and shot forwards like a bolt of lightning, racing past the collapsed gates of the Divine Orchard Gang headquarters.

Zheng Longxing also came?

As the various parties watching from afar saw this, all of them felt a strange feeling stirring in their hearts.

Just what was the meaning of this?

Everyone knew that the one supporting the Divine Orchard Gang from behind for all these years was this County Commander Zheng.

As for why the Divine Orchard Gang would anger Li Mu, anyone with the slightest bit of intelligence could imagine that reason for that occurring. Now, with the Divine Orchard Gang being crushed, that was no different from one of Zheng Longxing’s arms being chopped off. And if Zheng Longxing were to rush in and help clear away the Divine Orchard Gang, wasn’t that the same as lifting a stone and smashing it on his feet?

For Zheng Longxing to arrive here in such a hurry, the most likely reason was that he wished to finish things as soon as possible and take this chance to destroy any and all evidence that he was colluding with the Divine Orchard Gang. Only then would he be able to free himself from the consequences of what would occur.

But, how could things be so easy?

Everyone knew that with this, County Commander Zheng would be in a great deal of trouble.

But as Zheng Longxing and his soldiers rushed forwards, the sound of more footsteps came rapidly approaching from behind.

From afar, County Deputy Zhou Wu was leading a force of 300 soldier guards to catch up.

And at the very front of this force, standing side-by-side with Zhou Wu, there was the county registrar Feng Yuanxing as well as Li Mu’s two young attendants Qing Feng and Ming Yue; it was unknown how those two had arrived here together with Zhou Wu.

“Ma Junmo, where is Lord Li?” Zhou Wu’s performance was completely similar to that of Zheng Longxing’s. He shouted out this question from afar.

Ma Junmo pointed towards the gates of the Divine Orchard Gang headquarters, not even saying a single word…

Woosh!

A gust of wind raced past him.

“Sir! Sir! Are you inside….did you die? Are you alive?” The silly and cute little attendant Ming Yue raced forwards like a wild dog, dragging the anxious and sweaty young attendant Qing Feng behind her. They hurtled directly past Ma Junmo and the others, leaving them behind in their dust.

So fast!

Ma Junmo was startled.

Just what food did that little girl eat growing up to be able to run so quickly?

“What? County Commander Zheng already went it? This is…we must hurry and rescue Lord Li!” Zhou Wu heard that County Commander Zheng Longxing had rushed into the wreckage of the headquarters first and immediately fell into a panic. He knew that he couldn’t allow Zheng Longxing to arrive first and destroy all the evidence of his involvement and wash himself clean. He quickly led his subordinates forwards.

Looking at Zhou Wu’s worried face, those that didn’t know the situation would think that the ones inside the Divine Orchard Gang headquarters were his parents.

At this time, Ma Junmo no longer hesitated. He immediately followed behind them and rushed in.

Soon, the ruins of the stone forest appeared before them.

“Heavens, this is…”

Seeing the stone forest within the headquarters, everyone was shocked.

It didn’t look like a fight had taken place in the Divine Orchard Gang headquarters at all. Rather, it seemed as if a cataclysmic earthquake had ruined the land.

Nearly all of the buildings had collapsed and stone columns had fallen everywhere. Giant hollows formed by punches and kicks were still visible everywhere, and severed limbs littered the ground. Pools of blood soaked the earth and smashed up flesh and bone dust filled the air…the corpses of the Four Heavenly Guardians had already been collected by the soldier guards who arrived before. As for the other core disciples of the Divine Orchard Gang, they didn’t even have complete corpses to collect; they had been blown apart alive.

Seeing the wreckage around them, Zhou Wu, Feng Yuanxing, and Ma Junmo felt their hearts shiver.

It was hard to imagine just how horrifying the battle must have been at the time.

Although Zhou Wu had already heard news of this from his subordinates, truly seeing it with his eyes was another matter. He couldn’t help but be shocked again. In his heart, a deep sense of fear and powerless began to swell up. It was clear from this just how great Li Mu’s true strength was and it was far higher than his worst expectations. Vaguely, he felt like he was facing some ancient primal beast and not some imperial scholar candidate that hadn’t even reached 15 years of age.

Zhou Wu suppressed the panic racing through his heart. He turned and gave several orders in a low voice to the county registrar Feng Yuanxing.

Feng Yuanxing nodded. He waved his hand and a team of elite soldier guards dispersed outwards.

Ma Junmo thought for a moment and then decided to follow County Deputy Zhou Wu, not leaving his side.

The further in they walked, the more horrifying the traces of the battle became.

Ma Junmo saw a thick stone column that needed at least five or six people to wrap their arms around it, and this thick stone column had been shattered from the middle. And from the impact site, one could still see the remnants of a half-meter deep hollow; it was obvious that this stone column had been broken by a punch. Just thinking of it caused a tingle of fear in his heart. What sort of strength was needed to accomplish this?

Even for someone whose cultivation was at the peak Energy Unity realm, it would still be impossible to barehandedly punch with such terrifying strength, right?

As County Deputy Zhou Wu saw all of this, his complexion continued to change.

After all, he was a martial arts master and naturally knew what the traces of battle around him signified.

The Divine Orchard Gang was one of the four great factions within Alabaster County City, and also the faction that was most troublesome to provoke. They had innumerable disciples that were skilled in poisons and they utilized all sorts of ruthless and sinister methods to achieve their goals. In his struggle for power, Zhou Wu once thought of using a few major cases as an excuse to wipe out the Divine Orchard Gang. This would also be the same as cutting off County Commander Zheng Longxing’s arm. But, his attempts failed several times, and in fact, though he caused some minor losses to them, the Divine Orchard Gang only continued to grow in influence and become even more solid.

But now, such a stubborn influence had been wiped out by a single person in less than two hours.

As Zhou Wu thought of this, he felt a cold chill shoot straight up his back and into the skies.

The subordinate warriors who followed behind him were also pale and shaken. Many of them were frightened senseless by the limbs and blood and bones that scattered the ground like some brutal battlefield. Some of them couldn’t stand what they saw and ran to the side to vomit.

The group walked about a kilometer forwards and finally arrived at the entrance of the Divine Orchard Gang headquarters’ stone cave.

But what was surprising was that County Commander Zheng Longxing and over a hundred of his subordinate soldier guards were only standing at the entrance of the cave; they hadn’t gone in.

The crowd of people stood at the entrance to the cave, seemingly hesitating for some unknown reason.

Zheng Longxing turned as he heard the sound of footsteps behind him. He saw Zhou Wu and the others, and a cold and ruthless light flashed in his eyes.

But soon, this cruel light faded from his eyes. In the next moment a genteel smile appeared on his lips once more, as if he were seeing an old friend he hadn’t seen in many years. He laughed and said, “Lord Zhou, you arrived quickly. It seems that this matter even alarmed you.”

Zhou Wu also put on a pretend smile. He walked forwards and cupped his hands across his chest, saying, “It would be bad if I didn’t come. The lord county magistrate is in danger so I should come rescue him, haha…I heard that there were some people that wanted to kill Lord Li….haha, Lord Zheng, it seems you arrived even faster than I did. How admirable of you.”

“Hoho, I am the county commander. Governing the soldiers is part of my responsibilities so of course I would arrive earlier.” Zheng Longxing laughed, all smiles.

The two spoke on good terms, with many smiles and laughs between them.

Those that didn’t know the situation would think that these two people were good brothers raised by the same mother.

“Oh? If that’s the case then how come Lord Zheng has yet to go in?” Zhou Wu asked.

Zheng Longxing faintly smiled, not replying.

He had already been at the entrance to this rock cave for the time it took to drink a cup of tea, but he hadn’t gone in.

The reason was simple. There were no longer any sounds coming from the rock cave. He had even shouted inside several times but there had been no response. He sent people to search around the cave but didn’t find any signs that someone escaped. With this, he could be sure that Sikong Jin or Li Mu was still in the cave.

Perhaps…the two of them had perished together?

Zheng Longxing had a good understanding of who this Sikong Jin was. He was cruel and merciless and took revenge for even the slightest affront to him. He had numerous cards hidden in his hands and his methods were evil and ruthless. Perhaps when Li Mu entered the cave, Sikong Jin had used some trap against him, and maybe in the end the two of them died together?

If that were the case then it would be far too good a result.

Thus, Zheng Longxing stood at the entrance, hesitating even as he kept watch outside.

He was worried that if he rushed in, Li Mu might not be dead but might perhaps be in a critical state. If that were the case, then he surely couldn’t finish off Li Mu with so many other soldier guards all around him.

And while he hesitated, Zhou Wu had caught up.

Zhou Wu quickly understood Zheng Longxing’s thoughts.

If Li Mu were to die inside, that would absolutely be good news to Zhou Wu. As long as he could use this matter and manipulate it a little, he could knock Zheng Longxing to the ground. Then the role of the ruler of Alabaster County would certainly be his in the future.

This was an opportunity sent down by the heavens.

Thinking of this, Zhou Wu also prayed. He prayed that Li Mu had died inside.

Like this, the two groups of troops stood at the entrance of the rock cave, both of them staring at each other in a bizarre standoff. They didn’t go in and they didn’t speak either; it was a weird atmosphere.

But at this time, loud sobbing sounds came from within the cave –

“Sir, how are you? Wuwuwu…Sir, you…”

It was the little boy attendant Qing Feng’s distressed cries.

Before, as Zheng Longxing was hesitating, the two young attendants had rushed into the cave without a second thought. At this time it was clear they had discovered something. Listening to the sad wails of the young attendant, it was likely that Li Mu truly had died inside, or at the very least his fate was worse than imagined.

A happy expression lit up Zhou Wu’s face.

Zheng Longxing also relaxed.

“Go, we must quickly enter and support Lord Li.”

“Enter!”

The two people spoke, leading hundreds of soldiers to rush in.

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