Jiaohua

Chapter 1658: Self-destruction of the entire family
On the wall, in the corner, on the cabinet, Feng Qingang quickly pressed his two palms, but did not press any mechanism.

"Master...save me!" The gray-robed man writhed in agony behind him.

Feng Qingang pressed faster and faster, but didn't press anything.

He stopped, thinking, "How could this be?"

Yunwan Village is full of traps, but he knows almost all of them. How come there are secret passages here?

But Bei Xingze knew about the secret passage that he was unaware of.
"Master... help me..." the gray-robed man pleaded.

Feng Qingang turned to look at him.

The roar Feng Qingang let out at Elder Gu and Mu Tingyu just now was the biggest emotional upheaval he had experienced in the past ten years.

He has now regained his calm and indifferent demeanor, looking down at the gray-robed man struggling on the ground.

The gray-robed man's eyes were rotten, and blood was flowing all over his face—his nostrils, mouth, and ears.

He slowly breathed his last in extreme pain.

Feng Qingang watched as his loyal and devoted subordinates, who had served him like slaves, slowly died.

Life and death are separated by a fine line.

This line separates two realms. When that last breath is exhaled, the body is no longer a life, but a shell that will begin to decay.

From existence to the end of nothingness, the difference of just one breath is truly wondrous.

Even this light breath, not a high wall, not a chasm, has no thickness at all, it's just a breath.

When that breath is cut off, corruption begins.

Feng Qingang had always enjoyed appreciating the process of death. Once something alive dies, its frantic struggles, its lingering reluctance, its resentment and bitterness, all eventually return to tranquility and peace, which is especially beautiful.

No matter how brilliant and glorious this life may have been, at this moment only silence remains.

Even if he doesn't wield the knife, this body will return to dust after its brief struggle against corruption.

Oh--

Feng Qingang snapped out of his daze and looked back at the wall in front of him.

He had something important to do right now; he needed to find Bei Xingze.

Half an hour later, Feng Qingang still hadn't found anything.

Several more of his men came looking for him. One of them said that they had found evidence of someone spending the night on the mountain.

Feng Qingang remained silent. After a few breaths, his subordinates heard Feng Qingang murmur, "That makes sense. Bei Xingze arranged Gu Xinghai and Fu Guang in this room not because he picked them randomly, but because he knew there was a secret passage here, leaving himself a way out."

Feng Qingang turned his head: "Have Bei Xingze's disciples returned?"

"Not yet."

"Have Gu Xinghai and Fu Guang been found?"

"Not yet..."

"Go and fetch the tools, and tear this house down."

One of his subordinates frowned: "Master, the area around Yunmaru Village is fraught with danger."

Feng Qingang simply said, "Demolish."

The house was exceptionally sturdy, and it took six men half a day to finally push it down.

After being knocked down, a hidden passageway covered by a large stone slab was revealed.

Several men tried to push it open, but they couldn't; it was stuck inside.

Feng Qingang squatted down to examine it. The entrance to the secret passage was not new; it had existed for at least several decades.

Feng Qingang always thought he knew Yunwan Village inside and out, but he really didn't know about this secret passage.

How did Bei Xingze find out about this secret passage?
"Let's go," Feng Qingang said, standing up.

There's no need to stay in Yunmaru Village any longer.

However, all their efforts were in vain once again.

Gu Xinghai and Mu Tingyu ran away, Bei Xingze ran away, and he lost the bait that could lure Ali into the trap.

However, Feng Qingang had plenty of time and patience.

Things that are readily available are not truly desires.

Feng Qingang left without hesitation. Of the corpse parts he had carefully selected over the past few days, he only allowed his men to take a portion of them, discarding the rest.

He lost three men on this trip, including the one who later went to chase Gu Xinghai and Mu Tingyu; their bodies were later found.

If we include Bei Xingze, then there are four in total.

Feng Qingang was very suspicious. He carefully cultivated each of his subordinates, observing them for a long period of time, usually over a decade, before making a decision.

Therefore, although he had few subordinates, they were all loyal.

Bei Xingze was the first person to betray him.

But Bei Xingze's betrayal was worse than Feng Qingang had imagined.

Just as he led the remaining eight men out of Yunwan Village through the secret passage, voices came from the other side of the passage.

Many people arrived, and one of them exclaimed, "There really is a way! Elder Bei of the Wangxing Sect didn't lie to us!"

Feng Qingang immediately ordered his men to hide, preparing for a sneak attack. However, these men did not come over; they only studied the route nearby and dared not venture further.

Through their conversation, it was also learned that they were from Lingchuan Taoist Temple, and that Bei Xingze had sold all the underground passages in Yunwan Village.

After they left, Feng Qingang briefly pondered and chose to take the secret passage with the most traps and mechanisms.

This road is extremely difficult to travel; it starts at the stream and then crosses a wide underground river.

After walking for a long time, they finally heard the sound of water. Feng Qingang suddenly stopped and muttered, "Something's not right..."

He turned back to look at the road he had come from: "Lingchuan Taoist Temple is much farther away, so it's impossible for the people from Lingchuan Taoist Temple to have arrived. It's just that Old Man Liling, Danxianzhou, and Yuan Muxue, who set off from Jinzhou, haven't arrived yet."

One of his men said, "Could it be that these Taoist priests weren't at the Lingchuan Taoist Temple, but received Danxianzhou's letter near Zhuzhou and came over?"

Feng Qingang nodded.

It's possible that this is true.

But an inexplicable sense of fear made him dare not go any further towards that underground river.

He has always been very suspicious, and once suspicion arises, he will never continue with an option that his intuition has ruled out.

“…Let’s go!” Feng Qingang said in a deep voice, choosing another path.

His suspicion saved him once again.

At the end of the road, Fang Xiyu and two members of the Fang family sat under the secret passage, intently listening to the sounds outside.

The sound of three or four people's footsteps passed by above and gradually faded into the distance.

A member of the Fang family whispered, "Feng Qingang has kicked a hornet's nest. We 'hidden families' are most afraid of clashing with sects and temples that are in the open. He actually kidnapped Gu Xinghai from Yeshan. Look how many people he has attracted now."

Another person said, "He deserves to die. He killed Fang Hu."

The thought that Fang Hu's head was still hanging high at the entrance of Yunwan Village plunged both of them into despair.

One of them looked at Fang Xiyu: "Uncle, when are we going up?"

Fang Xiyu said calmly, "Three days from now. Stay here for the next few days. There is water here, and there are fish in the water. You won't have to worry about food and drink."

The two replied in unison, "Yes!"

But to the surprise of all three of them, more and more people arrived over the next three days.

Not only Lingchuan Taoist Temple and Yuanhe Sect, but almost all the Taoist sects, whether you can name them or not, came.

On the morning of the fourth day, sunlight streamed through the weeds outside the secret passage.

One person gazed longingly at the sunlight: "Uncle, it's the fourth day..."

Fang Xiyu sat upright in meditation, closed his eyes, and said, "Stay here."

Another person said, "This group of people is also useless. So many of them came, but they still couldn't find Gu Xinghai and his little disciple."

Fang Xiyu said, "Don't judge others lightly. Let's focus on what we're about to do."

Just then, Fang Xiyu suddenly heard a familiar voice. He opened his eyes abruptly, looked up, and his eyes flashed with anger.

The speaker had a very low voice and was hiding not far away.

The two Fang family members standing nearby also heard this and silently raised their heads.

The two people mentioned above are Lü Wuwei, whom Lin Wumei hates so much that she is willing to go to Beiyuan, break into Tao Lan's mansion to assassinate Tao Lan, so that he can also be buried with her.

The other one is Fang Xiyu's arch-rival, named Xie Huaichu. Fang Xiyu has met him five times, winning two out of three.

The last time they won, but it was an unfair victory. Fang Ziqian and several other members of the Fang family helped launch a sneak attack, and Xie Huaichu was wounded and fled. He rarely showed his face for many years afterward, but they unexpectedly met again in Yunwan Village.

It's not surprising, though. I've heard that Tang Xiangsi has lost many of her generals in recent years, including Dongfang Shi, who died tragically in Yong'an not long ago.

It seems that Tang Xiangsi doesn't have many people available to use.

As soon as the thought crossed Fang Xiyu's mind, he couldn't help but feel sad.

The Fang family has also suffered from a decline in talent. In recent years, many members of the Fang family have died, especially when Fang Zhenwan went mad and led people to Hengxiang to kill civilians. After that group of Fang family members were arrested, they were all beheaded in the street.

Composing himself, Fang Xiyu stood up and looked up at the ceiling.

Lu Wuwei and Xie Huaichu were completely unaware of the hidden passage; they thought they had concealed it very well.

Xie Huaichu remained irritable: "What's so interesting about this lousy village? Why did we have to come here?"

Lu Wuwei said, "Didn't the lord say that Feng Qingang is here? What we need to deal with is not the village, but Feng Qingang."

Xie Huaichu was even angrier: "These idiots! Nearly a hundred people have been searching here for so many days and still haven't found Feng Qingang. They've wasted my time."

"There are many secret passages here. When Feng Qingang set up his tomb here, he deliberately imitated Heng Xiang and dug countless traps and hidden passages. This village was originally his tomb-guarding village."

Xie Huaichu was stunned: "What do you mean?"

"What do you mean?"

"Feng Qing'ang, he also has a village dedicated to guarding tombs? What's his background?"

"Don't you know?"

What should I know?

Fang Xiyu and the two Fang family members beside him pricked up their ears, unaware of what was happening.

Lu Wuwei looked around and said in a deep voice, "Feng Qingang is none other than the Prince of Nanrui, Han Ruiqian. The deaths of Han Ruiqian's family members are not due to any evil in the Zhuzhou fiefdom, but rather because Han Ruiqian annihilated his entire family to offer sacrifices for his immortality."

Xie Huaichu's eyes widened, and Fang Xiyu and the two Fang family members beside him were also astonished.