Chapter 14: The Spy

Seeing this scene, Meng Shan was visibly stunned for a moment.

Once he snapped out of it, he hurriedly tried to intervene, but it was already too late.

A flash of frustration crossed Meng Shan's eyes. He had no choice but to charge at the bald brute again with his saber, while simultaneously shouting back to Yuan Mei

"I'll hold him off! You two leave immediately!"

Hearing this, Yuan Mei said nothing more and immediately led the scholar away quickly along the mountain path ahead.

"Trying to run? The experts of my Blood Bath Alliance are nearby. All of you will die here today!"

The bald brute's eyes bulged with rage. He didn't care at all about Meng Shan's interference; right now, he only wanted to smash the man before him into meat paste with his fishing rod!

...

Meanwhile, standing on a branch in the mountain forest, Li Musheng shaded his eyes with his hand, gazing at the fireworks that had not yet fully dissipated in the sky. He asked

"Miss Cang, did this go sideways?"

The situation was already quite obvious. Since the bald brute couldn't win the fight, he had started calling for reinforcements.

If nothing unexpected happened, this forest would soon be surrounded by members of the Blood Bath Alliance, and the path ahead would likely be even harder to traverse than it was just now.

Upon hearing this, Cang Yinyue's delicate eyebrows twitched involuntarily.

It was she who had proposed the strategy of "driving a wolf to swallow a tiger." Given the current predicament, she indeed bore a great deal of responsibility.

However, she was not one to admit defeat easily. She glanced at Li Musheng and said

"No need to rush. The worst-case scenario is only this much; at most, we can just force our way through."

As she spoke, her gaze shifted toward Meng Shan and the other man who were fighting, saying

"Besides, with them there, they can draw a significant amount of the Blood Bath Alliance's attention away from us."

Li Musheng shrugged and said nothing more.

He was not at all surprised by this girl's unruly and stubborn temperament.

Before long, seeing that the timing was right, Meng Shan gathered his true qi and swung his saber with immense force.

The powerful blade light split the ground and stones, repelling the bald brute, while Meng Shan quickly turned and fled rapidly along the mountain path.

Seeing this, the bald brute naturally could not let him go. He angrily brandished his fishing rod and continued the pursuit!

Once the two had departed, Cang Yinyue and Li Musheng finally emerged from the woods on their mules and continued forward along the mountain path.

After walking for a distance, they remained safe and sound, encountering no one to block their way.

However, Cang Yinyue suddenly spoke in a low voice

"I still overlooked something. The Blood Bath Alliance are no fools; if I could think of it, they surely could as well."

She had miscalculated. To guard against the invasion of hostile forces, the Blood Bath Alliance would inevitably not let any path into their territory go unguarded.

And such hidden mountain paths were naturally well-known to the Blood Bath Alliance, who acted as the local power.

Therefore, in the current special circumstances of Changzhou, the path that seemed the safest actually harbored the greatest danger.

"Miss Cang, you needn't blame yourself. One must compare all variables. Our current situation is much better than those three unlucky souls," Li Musheng said with a smile, rubbing his chin while sitting on the mule.

"Those three are currently being hunted for their lives by the Blood Bath Alliance. They can't enjoy a leisurely ride like we are."

Cang Yinyue's expression shifted slightly. Looking at Li Musheng's composed demeanor, she secretly marveled at how thick-skinned he was.

Little did he know that this was merely the calm before the storm. Given the Blood Bath Alliance's influence in this region of the martial world, it was impossible for Meng Shan's trio to escape.

And next, she estimated that she and Li Musheng would likely not escape either, potentially facing the same predicament as Meng Shan and his companions.

As she was thinking, Cang Yinyue's expression suddenly changed, and she looked up ahead.

What she feared most had come to pass. A group of figures suddenly emerged on the mountain path ahead, blocking their way.

Looking closely, there were many bloodstains remaining on the path, and several corpses wearing red headbands lay among the fallen bushes nearby.

The disciples of the Blood Bath Alliance were accustomed to wearing red headbands; these people were likely killed during Meng Shan's flight.

"Who are you?"

The one questioning them was a middle-aged man in gray robes holding twin hammers.

His gaze was wary and dangerous, projecting a strong killing intent toward Li Musheng and his companion.

As he spoke, a group of subordinates armed with sabers slowly began to surround the two.

Seeing this, Cang Yinyue produced a token from her sleeve and said coldly

"I am a Silver-rank Constable of the Imperial Six Doors. I am on orders to return to Jingzhou to handle a case and am passing through here. Why are you blocking the way?"

As soon as these words were uttered, Li Musheng turned his head, a look of astonishment on his face.

Wasn't this girl from the Hidden Spy Division? How had she suddenly become a member of the Six Doors?

He looked at the token in Cang Yinyue's hand; it did indeed appear to be a Six Doors constable's token.

It seemed that when traveling, this girl simply assigned herself whatever identity she needed?

Sensing Li Musheng's gaze, Cang Yinyue quietly transmitted her voice to his ear using a thread of true qi, explaining

"The identity of the Hidden Spy Division cannot be seen in the light. When I need to use an imperial identity, I generally claim to be from the Six Doors."

"If the Blood Bath Alliance recognizes this Six Doors token, we might not have to fight in a moment."

Li Musheng nodded almost imperceptibly.

At that moment, after the middle-aged man ahead glanced at the token in Cang Yinyue's hand, his eyes narrowed instead. He said

"A few days ago, a spy from the Yinshan Sect used a forged order from the Six Doors of the prefectural government to investigate a case, taking the opportunity to launch a sneak attack and assassinate one of our Alliance elders."

"What I hate most right now are the people of the Six Doors. You spies are trying to use the same old trick; it won't work on me."

With that, he gave a look to his subordinates, signaling them to move forward

"Seize these two first. If they dare to resist, kill them on the spot!"

Seeing this, Li Musheng raised an eyebrow and turned to Cang Yinyue

"This man clearly hasn't read much; he has no logic at all. Impersonating the Six Doors to kill people—what does that have to do with the Six Doors? He might as well just say plainly that he doesn't like the look of us and wants us dead. He's not an honest man at all."

Cang Yinyue's face remained cold as she said indifferently

"I only brought out this token to test them. Imperial orders are only useful to ordinary citizens; to these martial artists, they are worth less than the swords in their hands."

As soon as she finished speaking, her entire figure suddenly transformed into a dark shadow and drifted outward.

The armed crowd cried out in surprise as the shadow swept over their heads like a gale, reaching the middle-aged man in the blink of an eye.

The man's pupils shrank suddenly. Once he reacted, the true qi in his body erupted violently, and he raised his twin hammers, smashing them forward with all his might.

In an instant, the air produced a thunderous boom, swirling into a fierce whirlwind that seemed intent on tearing that dark figure apart.