Chapter 332: The Outlaw Known as Ghost Old Seven

“You need to be careful.”

“Today, over at the Water Stronghold, a fourth-rank martial artist showed up. His martial arts looked very mixed, and judging from what they said to each other, they were all from the Beggar Sect.”

Inside the cabin, Bai Jingtang reminded Wangchuan:

“Now that only that fourth-rank martial artist managed to escape, and the fleet has already reached the Sanjiang Branch Helm, the Beggar Sect probably no longer has any chance to strike at the fleet again. But you still need to guard against them venting their rage by attacking your hall and killing people.”

Bai Jingtang understood very well that the current situation of the Caobang’s Sanhe Commandery hall was far from optimistic.

All three hall masters had been injured, and Old Seven was, to all appearances, still receiving treatment from Divine Physician Shen. This was precisely the moment when the rear was most vulnerable.

What she clearly did not know was that Old Seven had recovered long ago.

At present, the only people who knew that Old Seven’s injuries had completely healed were Wangchuan, Cui Mingjue, Lin Cunxin, Divine Physician Shen, and Hall Master Yin…

All of them were trustworthy.

Wangchuan had no intention of revealing this to Bai Jingtang. He merely nodded and said that Lin Cunxin was still guarding the hall, glossing the matter over.

…

Deep in the night, all was silent.

The dock plaza of Sanhe Commandery lay in utter stillness.

A shadow slipped soundlessly out of the river, quietly slid into a nearby wooden crate shed, then darted like a ghost into the black alleys of Sanhe Commandery.

That man was none other than Elder Zhu of the Beggar Sect, Zhu Rong.

Ever since he and Luo Laoqi had failed to seize the Sanhe Commandery hall, he had been secretly moving men into place, transferring a capable batch of Beggar Sect disciples from Qinghe Commandery and infiltrating them quietly, all while waiting for a chance to launch a direct assault on the Sanhe Commandery hall.

The best moment would have been when Old Seven died from the poison and the hall was left leaderless.

And yet—

With Divine Physician Shen prolonging his life, Old Seven had dragged things out until now.

Even after the Beggar Sect had left the Caobang’s two martial artists who knew 《Poison Sand Palm》 with one dead and one wounded, Old Seven still had yet to suffer the poison’s fatal onset.

Then, at precisely this moment, the Ouyang family’s major shipment had drawn away Wangchuan, the man currently overseeing the hall, along with a group of people who followed him out of Sanhe Commandery to carry out the mission.

At first, Zhu Rong had not wanted to storm the Sanhe Commandery hall by force. After all, the Caobang had eyes and ears everywhere here. One small mistake would bring pursuit from every side and get many of his men killed.

So Zhu Rong had settled for the next best thing and devised a vicious plan: burn the fleet, deal the Caobang a crippling blow, and force them to compensate the Ouyang family.

And yet—

That snap decision of Zhu Rong’s had cost him more than a hundred brothers.

Even as an elder of the sect, after losing so many men, he would certainly have no pleasant outcome waiting for him when he returned.

At this point, there was only one way left: redeem himself through merit.

Zhu Rong decided to gamble on one dangerous move.

After changing into a set of black night clothes in the city, he covered his face, took a short blade, and silently approached the Sanhe Commandery hall. Relying on sound to judge position, he found an opening and vaulted into the Caobang hall.

He knew exactly where Old Seven’s courtyard was.

Keeping to the shadows, he crept forward in silence until he reached the vicinity of Old Seven’s courtyard, where he heard at least six voices inside.

Zhu Rong stilled his breath and focused.

One second-rank martial artist.

Four first-rank martial artists.

And one very weak presence.

That last person had to be Old Seven.

Killing intent flashed in Zhu Rong’s eyes. Tightening his grip on the short blade, he pushed off with one foot, vaulted over the wall, and landed within sight of the four first-rank martial artists in the courtyard.

“Who’s there?!”

The cry of alarm had barely left their mouths before throwing knives came flying straight at them and struck them in the throat…

Two first-rank martial artists died on the spot!

Moving with astonishing speed, Zhu Rong closed in on another first-rank martial artist. His hand rose, and his blade fell.

Slash! Slash!

A throat cut!

A stab through the heart!

With those two close-range strikes, the third first-rank martial artist’s HP dropped to zero.

Then, with lightning speed, he hurled his short blade.

Thud!!

The blade buried itself deep in the last first-rank martial artist’s heart.

That strike, infused with internal energy, was terrifyingly powerful. It pierced straight through the heart and killed the final guard.

Crash!

Without sparing the four men even a second glance, Zhu Rong smashed through the window and burst into Old Seven’s room.

Inside the room, Cui Mingjue, a second-rank martial artist, was holding a ‘Heart-Piercing Crossbow’ and pulling the trigger.

At the exact instant Zhu Rong entered, an Armor-Piercing Crossbow Bolt sank into his body.

Zhu Rong let out a muffled grunt.

“You seek death!”

The Armor-Piercing Crossbow Bolt had indeed caught him by surprise, but the injury was not too severe.

Zhu Rong lunged forward in quick strides, his five fingers twisting as he clawed toward Cui Mingjue’s throat. At the same time, he flicked a throwing knife that struck the sickly figure in the bedcovers of the inner chamber…

And yet—

Cui Mingjue tapped his feet repeatedly and retreated at high speed, while a whole row of fine steel crossbow bolts shot out from the wall behind him.

Zhu Rong’s face changed dramatically. He twisted sideways and threw himself into a rolling tumble, barely avoiding the mechanisms hidden in the room.

A great cloud of lime powder came pouring down from above!

At the same time, the sharp clatter of crossbow triggers rang out.

Zhu Rong was horrified.

A trap!!

He immediately hurled himself through the door and window, crashing back into the courtyard.

“AAARGH!!!”

Though Zhu Rong had acted with extreme decisiveness, he was still struck by two crossbow bolts. They punched into his calves, ruining his movement technique. He had no hope left of escaping alive.

“That damned Ghost Old Seven!”

“Get out here!”

Zhu Rong was clever. Seeing how many traps had been laid inside, he had roughly guessed that Old Seven had not been killed by his throwing knife after all. Baring his teeth in pain, he roared furiously at the top of his voice.

“So, it’s Elder Zhu of the Beggar Sect.”

Old Seven appeared atop the roof.

Beside him stood Deputy Hall Master Lin Cunxin.

Pain had twisted Zhu Rong’s face out of shape. He glared at Old Seven with bloodshot eyes and cursed through gritted teeth, word by word, “Shameless! You got the poison purged long ago, yet you joined hands with Divine Physician Shen to put on an act and lure me into this trap! You’re despicable!!”

Old Seven looked thoroughly delighted and replied with a smile, “That’s a strange thing to say. If you hadn’t come harboring murderous intent, how could I have guided you into sneaking into the hall by night to assassinate me?”

Then he added, “Still, after enduring more than half a month in this hall, drawing out Elder Zhu and killing a fourth-rank martial artist means all my efforts during this time were not wasted.”

As he spoke, Old Seven casually raised his hand and fired a crossbow bolt.

Thud!

Zhu Rong had been trying to retrieve his throwing knife, but the Armor-Piercing Crossbow Bolt pierced straight through his hand, and the knife clattered to the ground.

“AAARGH!!!”

With his right hand transfixed, Zhu Rong cried out in searing pain.

“Ghost Old Seven, may you die a miserable death!! Aaah!!!!”

More and more people from the Sanhe Commandery hall were waking up and gathering around. When they saw Hall Master Old Seven standing perfectly well atop the roof, they all bowed in salute.

“Old Seven!”

Old Seven did not even glance at them. Unhurriedly, he re-cocked the ‘Heart-Piercing Crossbow.’

Then he pulled the trigger again, and the bolt buried itself in Zhu Rong’s knee.

“AAARGH!!!”

Zhu Rong writhed and rolled on the ground in agony, drenched in sweat, blood filling his mouth.

“Ghost Old Seven! If you’ve got any guts, give me a clean death!”

“A clean death?”

“You’ve forgotten where my outlaw nickname ‘Ghost Old Seven’ came from?”

Another bolt shot out and pierced Zhu Rong’s other knee. Only after Zhu Rong lay paralyzed on the ground, all four limbs useless, reduced to a cripple without even the ability to move or resist, did Old Seven finally give the order:

“Take him away.”

“Torture him harshly.”

“I want every secret hidden in his head dug out, one bit at a time.”

“Yes!”

Cui Mingjue bowed with utmost respect and accepted the order.