Chapter 554 - The Black Sands (1/2)
Xiao Chen conjured a ball of light that illuminated their surroundings. In the dark, all they could see was the wet, moss-slicked walls. “Let’s go,” he said, already expecting what laid ahead.
After an hour of plowing through the half-submerged tunnels, they finally saw light. The water began to deepen and ordinary people would have needed boats to leave the tunnel. But being mages—practitioners of arcane magic—they effortlessly leaped out of water and glided over the surface of the river to reach ground.
With the vastness of Black-horn City, the sprawl of its outskirts were equally as large. They traveled on foot back to the outer peripheries of the city to hear the people whispering rumors about.
“Have you heard? Something big happened last night at the Bloodied Moon District. More than a thousand of Black Horn men were killed, including the members of two of its Halls… That’s terrifying…”
“Is what you’re saying true? But who would have such powers? Gods… is there going to be turmoil again? Heaven forfend helpless peasants like us be caught in the middle of all this carnage…”
“Of course it’s true. Look at how the sky is dark today. King Shen is leading raids to apprehend the suspects. Word on the street is that there are six of them.”
“Six?! Look that way, there’re six people there… Do you think they look like the criminals? Gods, we’d better get out of here…”
Huddling together under a roof, one of Yang Qing’s men spat bitterly, “Damn that King Shen! He’s led us into a trap!”
Xiao Chen’s forehead wrinkled deeply in thought. He knew that it was King Shen’s guards who had come hunting for them at the Illusive Aroma Lane in the morning. The monarch had been hinting to him about how they shared a common enemy in Black Horn and how he wished to weaken them. That encouraged him to turn a blind eye to Xiao Chen’s and his companions’ movements, in addition to provide some degree of assistance.
However, the catastrophic failure last night had forced King Shen into supporting Black Horn instead and King Shen had had to disavow them like pawns.
So, here they were inside Black-horn City, hunted by both factions like dogs. Unless they retreat back to White Fog City, they were as good as sitting ducks here.
Xiao Chen squeezed his fingers as he calculated a plan. This, naturally, was all a game laid out by Meng Wuyan. He had the chance to kill them last night, yet he chose not to. He was enjoying this like a cat with a vole…
The rest of his companions could see this too themselves. They slipped quietly into a tavern. They needed to find a place to stay while they discuss their next recourse.
Inside the room, everyone frowned. With two factions now pursuing them, they were caught between anvil and hammer with no way out.
Not even Xiao Chen could come up with any ideas. He had admittedly underestimated the might and influence of Black Horn, and for that, two of Yang Qing’s companions have become prisoners of the Wuyan Chamber, to be tortured mercilessly until they die. Ren Yuntian could possibly be there too. But they could not know; storming Wuyan Chamber with their inferior numbers and strength was tantamount to committing suicide.
Xiao Chen rubbed his fingers again, taking a deep breath to think clearly. This was the Wastelands, not the Violet Manor, where he could always count on allies such as Yi Tong and None-flower, and even the occasional assistance from Su Lianyue, if the Elders Zi Mo and Qingfeng and his friends at the Jade Qing Sect were not able to. Last but not least, there was also Fengxi from the Xianyong Sect too.
But this was the Wastelands, where he would have to fend for himself. The Cloud Mist Academy could never be in open conflict against Black Horn for him. No one, probably… And the notion of being lonely here roused a certain forlorn sadness in him.
Time passed on and the company came no nearer to finding a solution to extricate themselves from the kettle of fish they found themselves in. If anything, the news about the death of the one thousand Black Horn members blazed through the Wastelands so quickly that even the people in the White Fog City heard about it.
Admittedly, Chu Qi and the others had killed no more than two or even three hundred Black Horn members last night. Apparently, King Shen had conveniently attributed the massacres at both Bluestone Hall and Purple Wind Hall to them.
Before long, the whole of White Fog City swirled with whispers and hushed voices discussing the massacres, including the Cloud Mist Academy. Since the early hours after daybreak, disciples and acolytes of the Academy, old and new alike, could be found huddling together to talk about this. Yet it was only natural. The deaths numbering up to a thousand, within which included the complete wipeout of two Halls of Black Horn, would have been great news anywhere.
At the Mystic Sky Pavilion, a relaxed Elder Wu nibbled casually on his banana. “I say, Elder Shui Yue,” said he to her, “Don’t you worry. I’m sure the brat is only out somewhere for some fun. I know young people like him. He won’t be in any trouble, I’m sure of it.”
That did little to quell the worried frown on Shui Yue’s forehead. “No,” she muttered sourly, “There’s something wrong about him when he wanted a leave to leave the mountain… Yet he refused to tell me why…” She paused, only to give Elder Wu a very hard look, “I bet one hundred Mystic Stones, that that damned brat must have gone to Black-horn City!”
“Pfttt!” Elder Wu almost spat out his banana. Startled by what he heard, he hastily recollected himself and gasped, “Wait! Do you mean to… You think it’s him, don’t you?! You think it’s possible?!”
Quietly, a distressed Shui Yue replied, “I’m not sure. But there has been disturbing word from the Abyss of the Hidden Dragon. With the three Perfected Immortals allowing some of the students to venture outside, I’m sure that damned boy won’t be returning in seven days. I should have known! I should have stopped him!”
“There, there, Elder Shui Yue,” Elder Wu waved her off with gentle dismissal, “Don’t you worry. I’m sure he’ll come back sure enough when he’s had his fill of fun. But then again,” he paused and glanced at Shui Yue again, saying, “Aren’t you behaving strangely these days? I’ve never seen you being so concerned with any students before?”
“What makes you think so?” Shui Yue stared at him, irritated.
“You don’t think so?” Elder Wu remarked with a shrug.
“I don’t think so,” Shui Yue responded curtly and she spun around to leave. With a little tap of her heels, she floated into the air, gliding towards the magical teleportation formation and disappeared, leaving only Elder Wu sighing alone inside the granite chamber.
At the same time, inside the training areas, scores of students clustered together to talk. A youngster went to Qin Tianyu, looking worried, and whispered to him, “It’s been two days Brother Xiao Chen has left… I do hope everything is all right…”
That earned him a glare from Qin Tianyu who hissed, “What piffle you speak!”
The boy slapped a hand over his own mouth as if he had uttered something foul. But a split-second later, he went again, “But it’s scary, don’t you think? A thousand men dead in one single night… It’s a terrible coincidence that Xiao Chen’s away for these two days… and he refused to tell us why is he away for… Gods, I’m only worried…”