Jiaohua

Chapter 1661 From Never Killing to Killing All the Way
Dan Xianzhou, who was skilled in medicine, examined the wound and said, "The injury is quite serious. You will need to rest and recuperate for the next few days."

Liu Jia, who was standing to the side, asked Dan Xianzhou, "Old man, are you the abbot of the Taoist temple here? Where is your temple located?"

Danxianzhou sized him up: "Who are you?"

Liu Jia truthfully stated, "We followed a group of tomb raiders here. They were originally soldiers of Ying Jinliang from Tongdu. The leaders of the troops were the Fang brothers, Fang Yi and Fang Yiping."

Zhili's original plan was to make thorough preparations before luring Fang Yinai and Xie Zhong to Zhuzhou, with at least two fake imperial tombs to be built along the way. However, before they could guide them, the Fang family army suddenly headed straight for Zhuzhou, forcing them to follow.

Now, they arrived in Zhuzhou more than two months earlier than originally planned, and they haven't had time to make proper arrangements to protect the villagers here.

Upon hearing that Fang's army had captured several villagers by the river, killed two of them, and even stripped one of their clothes to write words in blood, Zhi Li could no longer sit still. He immediately sent a messenger to call for reinforcements and dispatched Liu Jia and his men to keep a close eye on Fang Yinai's movements.

As soon as Liu Jia arrived, he saw Fang Yin shooting an arrow at the old man, but fortunately, he escaped unharmed.

Danxianzhou looked Liu Jia over again and suddenly remembered the large bird that had flown by earlier. Old Liling had said that the bird was fragmented.

Danxianzhou tentatively said, "I have a worthy nephew whose name is Zhili."

Liu Jia and his men were taken aback.

Seeing their expressions, Danxianzhou smiled: "Are you Madam Zhao's people or Madam Qu's people?"

Liu Jia raised his hand and clasped his hands in a fist salute: "May I ask who you are, senior?"

“I am a good friend of Zhili’s master. My surname is Dan.”

"Are you Abbot Dan of Lingchuan Taoist Temple?!"

Danxianzhou nodded.

The disciple of the Half-Nine Immortals opened his eyes wide and said, "You must be Abbot Dan of Lingchuan Taoist Temple! Abbot Dan, I have long admired your name!"

Liu Jia was overjoyed: "Senior, I am Zhao Da Niangzi's person, and we have been following Young Master Zhi for more than half a year. During these six months, Young Master Zhi mentioned that Elder Li Ling has been with you and Mr. Yuan. During this time, Young Master Zhi has been waiting for Elder Li Ling's letter, but it has never come."

Danxianzhou said, "We've been changing routes all the time, so correspondence is inevitably delayed. But to meet here is truly a coincidence."

Then, the two sides exchanged information.

Upon learning that the villagers of the three tomb-guarding villages had already been murdered and that the remaining villagers were all disciples of various Daoist sects, Liu Jia and his men were greatly shocked. They were eager to send the news back, but Fang Yinai's troops were definitely searching for them, so it was not advisable to turn back now.

Master Banjiu worriedly said, "Master Dan, will Fang Yinai and his men immediately lead their troops into the village? Our disciples are still in the village."

“It’s alright,” Danxianzhou said. “Old Yuan and Old Liling are both in the village. They will help if necessary.”

Liu Jia also said, "Young Master Zhi also has quite a few people on his side. Although they are not many, it is not a problem to briefly harass the Fang family army and prevent them from entering the village."

Master Banjiu nodded, his eyes reddening: "Master Dan, I have other disciples who have fallen into their hands. They were sent by Bailu and me to survey the water quality. I wonder if we will be held responsible."

Danxianzhou thought for a moment, then looked at Liu Jia: "Young brother, I'm quite skilled, I can go out and find people. I'll trouble you to stay here and protect them. I'll be back as soon as possible."

"Master Dan, please go! This junior will certainly protect Master Banjiu!"

Liu Jia and his men helped Banjiu Xianshi and his disciples into a nearby house that had been abandoned for a long time, while Danxianzhou, relying on his sense of direction, returned to the riverbank from the previous location via another path.

They didn't encounter many soldiers along the way, but they killed every one they met.

In his early years, Danxianzhou was a kind-hearted man with a principle of not killing, but the ten years of chaos changed him a lot.

After killing more than twenty people along the way, interrogating them as he went, he learned that the disciples who had been kidnapped were still alive. Danxianzhou was delighted and sped up his pace.

As soon as Banjiu Xianshi and Liu Jia entered the house and rested, they smelled an unpleasant odor.

The group of men, having traveled extensively and possessed considerable experience, knew something was amiss as soon as they smelled the odor.

After exchanging glances, Liu Jia said, "Senior, I'll go take a look."

Master Banjiu said, "Be very careful!" Liu Jia responded, drew his sword and walked towards the source of the smell. He pushed aside the wildly growing weeds inside the house, and the intense stench almost made him faint.

Upon closer inspection, Liu Jia exclaimed, "Senior, there's a secret passage!"

Master Banjiu immediately said, "Don't go down there so easily!"

That's what they said, but Master Banjiu couldn't contain his curiosity. With his disciple's help, he hopped over, limping on one leg.

The entrance to the secret passage was hidden among the weeds, with nowhere to step. There was not a trace of the weeds being trampled down, which showed that no one had been here for a long time.

But the smell was "fresh," wafting up from below the secret passage.

Master Banjiu frowned: "I wonder where this secret passage comes from and where it leads."

Liu Jia said, "Could they be the corpses of the villagers from the tomb-guarding village? They might not have all been abandoned by Feng Qingang in that ditch over there."

"It's possible."

"Senior, let me go down and take a look. If they really are the villagers' bodies, we can't leave them down there forever. There must be a waterway down there too."

Half-Nine Immortal Master hesitated: "But you..."

"It's alright, I've done this job before."

After saying this, Liu Jia took out a handkerchief and wrapped it around his nose. He then instructed his men to protect Master Banjiu and went down alone.

There was a loose stone door blocking the way. Although it was loose, it couldn't be pushed open. Liu Jia felt around on the stone wall, looking for the mechanism.

His fingers suddenly pressed against something soft. He pressed down hard, and the loose soil caved in, causing the stone door to move.

Before he could even feel happy, a loud bang was heard, and the ancient ground itself began to shake.

The stone gate was enormous, and the ground collapsed entirely. The Half-Nine Immortals and the others who were standing on it cried out "Ah!" and fell down, tumbling into the deeper secret passage along with Liu Jia.

After a while, the four of them got up in the darkness, the swirling dust making them cough repeatedly.

The stench intensified with each cough and deep breath.

Liu Jia's subordinate couldn't hold it in and vomited violently.

"Shh!" Liu Jia suddenly said.

Everyone fell silent.

Liu Jia took out a tinderbox and shone it forward, then immediately frowned.

A corpse lay across the room, surrounded by countless flies. The body was rotting from the arms down, half of the face and neck were completely rotten and oozing fluid, while the other half of the body still looked like a normal person.

Master Banjiu recognized him: "It's Bei Xingze!"

Liu Jia said, "Is this the person you mentioned who kidnapped Sect Master Gu?"

"Yes, he escaped from the secret passage earlier and ran into us, where he confessed everything. Seeing that he was seriously injured, Bailu thought that she would rescue him first and then hand him over to Elder Gu for personal punishment. Who would have thought that he was familiar with every secret passage in these tomb-guarding villages and let him escape again."

Liu Jia examined the corpse: "In the end, he still died."

"The poison on his shoulder was extremely insidious. Bai Lu did her best, but couldn't save him. Bei Xingze said himself that it was Feng Qingang who poisoned him. If he had known that Master Dan Guan and Elder Li Ling were here, his life might have been saved. In Elder Li Ling's hands, there is no life that cannot be saved."

As he spoke, Master Banjiu looked ahead in the dim light and said, "Bei Xingze must have come from the front, which means there is a road ahead. We might be able to go back along this road."

Liu Jia glanced at the road behind them, which was blocked by collapsed rocks.

There was no other way to go but ahead.