Chapter 87: Mountain Goose Uprising – Betrayal (1/2)
On the same night, Xie Tian was brought to the brothel's underground dungeon. The elder physician was also with him as he was responsible for Xie Tian's health.
”Stay there for tonight. Once we killed Jia Shan, our mistress will have a chat with you.”
The warden sneered at the elder as she locked them behind the bars. The prison cell was humid and wet, which wasn't suitable to keep an injured patient.
”Haiz. I should have fled the sect,” The elder lamented his fate. He gazed at the protagonist, who was still asleep, ”You're an unlucky kid. What have you done to provoke these nasty girls?”
.
.
.
Seven days and seven nights passed, but the Nine Fish Killing Formation of Jia Shan managed to hold against three 6th-stage cultivators and their siege arrays.
However, it came with a price. All formation masters ran out of essence from operating the formation for a week without rest. They also suffered minor injuries from the three masters' force, which slipped through the formation of barriers and hit them.
At the morning of the eighth day, the Nine Fish Killing Formation was broken. Yet, Xu Xiuying, Wei Huang, and Fu De stopped attacking.
They spent half of their essence to destroy the protective formation. They regretted that they were underprepared as they didn't bring array masters to battle against the Nine Fish Killing Formation. They had yet to fight against Jia Shan, but they were also half-spent.
Without a choice, the three masters retreated before Jia Shan came after them. They also withdrew their troops back to the outer sect perimeter, so they could recuperate.
At the villain alliance camp, the three masters rested in their perspective tents, absorbing energy from refined stones to replenish their qi and essence. Their subordinates guarded their master while they were recovering their strength.
Elite clansmen could only look around in nervousness after their masters retreated here. Their morale plummeted as they thought that they failed to siege the mountaintop.
Many guards gossiped about their masters.
”This is bad. Do you think Jia Shan and his men will attack us while our masters are resting?”
”I don't think so. We attacked them for 7 days without stopping. There should be some damages to their side.”
”Right? Those array masters can't simply feed that spell forever. They must be exhausted, too.”
”But… Jia Shan never appeared during the siege.”
”…”
Opinions varied. The minority of clansmen still had high hope, but the majority of them already had negative thoughts.
None of them noticed that female clansmen from the Xu Clan and the silver phoenix sect had already packed their belongings. These women were leaving the battlefield at night.
Also, nobody realized that there were too many clansmen among the night guards. These extra men went around and started another gossiping topic.
”Do you know that the silver phoenix sect has already found Xie Tian?”
”Guys, I think the silver phoenix sect has already found Xie Tian.”
”Those women have already secured Xie Tian. They've already brought him to their sect in secret.”
The gossip was simple and direct. However, they were effective.
Nightguards began relaying words to their superiors, and those superiors reported their discovery to their clan leaders. It didn't take long for Wei Huang and Fu De to hear the rumor.
Although the rumor was baseless and there was no proof, Wei Huang sent his men to investigate Xu Xiuying's camp right away.
When they found out that Xu Xiuying was planning to withdraw her disciples and her subordinate elders, Wei Huang and Fu De were enraged.
Fu De immediately retreated back to the southern district. Meanwhile, Wei Huang lifted the siege and returned to his base in the west district as it was impossible to fight Jia Shan alone.
Just like that, the villain alliance was disbanded. Jia Shan and his sect survived the calamity.
…
Wei Huang might be frustrated by Xu Xiuying's betrayal, but he was still an elite tactician. Shamelessly, he texted to Jia Shan.
”You win. I wish to surrender. Please spare my clansmen.”
Jia Shan was also an old fox. Since he successfully drove a wedge among the powerhouses, he capitalized on the momentum.
[Since nobody dies, I'll overlook this incident. However, you and your family members will be expelled from my sect and this city! Leave the mountain goose city within tomorrow, or I'll crush your clan myself!]
”Fair enough. Oh, by the way, was it you that spread the rumor?”
[No comment.]
Jia Shan blocked Wei Huang's MeChat account and cut the communication.
Wei Huang snickered. He could guess that Jia Shan intentionally leaked the intel and ruined their alliance. The oni lord didn't mind that he failed to overtake the mountain goose sect by force.
No matter if the silver phoenix sect had Xie Tian or not, it wouldn't change his goal. He knew Xu Xiuying since childhood that the succubus queen was a capitalist. Therefore, once she extracted Xie Tian's secret, she would immediately contact him to sell the information.
In summary, Wei Huang could leave the interrogation job to Xu Xiuying while he could concentrate on managing his clan and killing Jia Shan.
'Oh, well. It's not like I don't have another trump card. It's a waste of refined stones, but it can get the job done.'
…
Unaware of Wei Huang's stubborn ambition, the mountain goose elders celebrated for their victory. Although they failed to kill any elders or the alliance's leaders, they repelled the evil force that had threatened to destroy their precious sect.
Jia Shan also held a banquet to honor his array masters, who sacrificed their essence and energy for this war.
In the grand hall, over twenty elders were enjoying their spirit wines and food even though they didn't need to eat or drink to live anymore. They were savoring the glory.
”A toast to the brave masters!”
”To our elders!”