Shaking Rongcheng

Knowing that the Huo Yan Family had hired members of the Tian Luo Men to pursue them, Li Wu Ya took Li Qi Lang and went out to the streets of Rongcheng.

Rongcheng was a large city, and finding the Huo Yan Family's strongholds within the city was not an easy task. However, Li Wu Ya was not afraid; her spiritual power had advanced to the point where she could sense everything within a radius of a hundred meters. She methodically searched the streets, pinpointing the locations of the Huo Yan Family's strongholds and marking them as black dots on a simple map she carried.

At this moment, there were already three black dots on the map, signifying three of the Huo Yan Family's strongholds.

After a few more days, Li Wu Ya and Li Qi Lang scoured the entire city of Rongcheng and found all five of the Huo Yan Family's strongholds.

"We'll take down one stronghold each day," Li Wu Ya declared, laying out their plan.

However, Li Qi Lang had a different opinion. "Sister, I think we can be faster. We don't need a whole day for each stronghold. Two or three days should be enough."

To avoid attracting the attention of the Duhu Mansion, the Huo Yan Family dared not send Ninth Grade experts to guard their strongholds, and the highest level of power they had was Eighth Grade warriors.

Eighth Grade warriors. In the past, Li Qi Lang might have been a little nervous facing them, but after taking down the North Yan spies in Xining City, his confidence had soared, and he no longer feared Eighth Grade warriors.

Li Wu Ya glanced at her slightly absent-minded little brother but didn't dampen his confidence. Instead, she reminded him, "There will always be someone stronger than you. Never underestimate others."

Li Qi Lang nodded earnestly, promising not to underestimate anyone and saying that he wouldn't actively provoke anyone unless he was confident he could defeat them.

"But now you have me with you. If I see one person, I'll fight one person; if I see two, I'll fight two. If I can't handle them, then it's your turn," Li Wu Ya added.

Li Wu Ya's deadpan expression made Li Qi Lang twitch his mouth, and he asked, "What if you're not around?"

Li Qi Lang didn't seem embarrassed at all as he replied, "Then I'll keep my tail tucked between my legs."

Li Wu Ya chuckled silently and shook her head. "We could be faster, but I'm afraid the members of Tian Luo Men won't react quickly enough. It's better to be a bit slower and give them some time to come looking for us proactively."

Waiting passively to be hunted was not her style. She believed it was better to take the initiative and draw them out.

The Ten Luo Men, she was waiting for them to come and kill her!

In mid-October, the first snow fell in Rongcheng. On a night when snowflakes danced in the air, the Huo Yan Family's first stronghold, a brothel in the southern part of the city, was quietly eliminated.

The next morning, when the neighbours opened their doors, they saw the guards of the brothel hanging from the gate, and all the female performers tied up in the main hall.

White Moonlight and Black Lotus had visited here, successfully taking down one of the Huo Yan Family's strongholds in North Yan!

As in Xining City, the same throwing knives and a note were firmly inserted into the door of the brothel.

The news of the North Yan people setting up strongholds in the city and how close they were to them spread, shocking the people in the vicinity.

The local authorities quickly arrived and cordoned off the brothel. When asked about the situation, they found that except for a few managers who were killed, everyone else had been tied up and put to sleep.

"Lock them all up in the prison and interrogate them thoroughly," ordered Xu Mao, the chief officer of the local authorities, as he continued to focus on examining the bodies on the ground.

All the bodies had a black eagle emblem on their wrists—the insignia of the Huo Yan Family.

It was evident that these were members of the Huo Yan Family.

Aside from a small blood hole on their foreheads, there were no other wounds on their bodies.

At a glance, Xu Mao could tell that these people were killed with a single strike, dying in shock and extreme unwillingness.

"Chief, take a look at this," someone called out to Xu Mao.

One of the subordinates picked up an iron bead from a corner and immediately handed it to Xu Mao.

Xu Mao looked at the iron bead and then at the bodies on the ground, taking a deep breath. "Such formidable internal strength!" The person who acted only used a few iron beads to kill several Seventh and Eighth Grade warriors with a single strike.

"White Moonlight and Black Lotus," Xu Mao muttered, thinking of the previous assessment made by the local authorities, that the two were around Eighth Grade warriors. Xu Mao couldn't help but self-mockingly smile. They had underestimated them; these were not Eighth Grade warriors, but Ninth Grade experts, and top-notch ones at that.

However, Xu Mao didn't blame them; almost all of the top Ninth Grade experts in Da Chu were listed on the Wind and Cloud Ranking. White Moonlight and Black Lotus had appeared out of nowhere without any reputation, so it was understandable that they were initially mistaken for Eighth Grade warriors.

Xu Mao kept the iron bead and turned to ask his subordinates, "Have you found anything else?"

"Sir, White Moonlight and Black Lotus took all the silver from the brothel."

Xu Mao wasn't surprised by this; even though some powerful martial artists had impressive skills, they often lived in poverty.

After that, Xu Mao personally investigated the brothel again but found no other useful information. He returned to the local authorities when he was certain of that. He ordered all the people from the brothel to be locked up in the prison and interrogated thoroughly, hoping to gather any information about White Moonlight and Black Lotus from them.

Unfortunately, after interrogating them all night, not a single useful piece of information was obtained, which frustrated Xu Mao. Just as he was about to go home and rest, his subordinates hurriedly came to him.

"Sir, bad news. White Moonlight and Black Lotus have taken down another one of the Huo Yan Family's strongholds."

Xu Mao's expression changed, and he quickly rushed to the scene.

The second Huo Yan Family stronghold is a restaurant in the west of the city.

The scenario was the same; the attendants were hanging from the gate, and the managers were killed. Flying knives were stuck in the door, with a note attached to them. Aside from the missing silver, everything else was intact, just like the previous incident at the brothel.

"Thoroughly search the place," Xu Mao loudly commanded his subordinates. At this point, he was extremely interested in White Moonlight and Black Lotus and refused to believe that they could leave no traces.

Unfortunately, after a whole day of searching and another night of interrogation, besides finding the iron bead, they obtained no other useful information.

Xu Mao felt disappointed, and after enduring two sleepless nights, he was becoming exhausted. As he was about to rest in the guest room of the local authorities, his subordinates rushed in again.

"Don't tell me, White Moonlight and Black Lotus have taken down another one of the Huo Yan Family's strongholds."

His subordinates were frightened by Xu Mao's anger but managed to nod with difficulty.

Xu Mao stood stunned for a while before regaining his senses. He then grabbed his clothes, his face turning grim, and rushed out of the room.

Three nights in a row, White Moonlight and Black Lotus had continuously taken down three of the Huo Yan Family's strongholds.

What did this indicate?

It meant that their local authorities were all incompetent, just a group of useless people living off the state!

Over the years, the local authorities had been tirelessly eliminating North Yan spies infiltrating Rongcheng, but the results were unsatisfactory. Previously, they could make excuses, blaming the North Yan people for being cunning.

However, the appearance of White Moonlight and Black Lotus was undoubtedly a strong slap to the face of the local authorities!

The third Huo Yan Family stronghold was a warehouse in the north of the city. Xu Mao looked embarrassed as he inspected the scene. How come they hadn't noticed any traces of North Yan people's activities in such an obvious place before?

Xu Mao considered, "Huo Yan Family's three strongholds were set up in the south, west, and north of the city. If there's another one, wouldn't it be in the east?"

But will there be another stronghold?

Just as Xu Mao was about to lead his subordinates to investigate the east of the city, the Prefectural Government sent someone.

The news of the discovery and silent elimination of the three North Yan strongholds in the Huo Yan Family had spread like a tsunami throughout Rongcheng. Everyone who should or shouldn't know about it was now aware.

The Prefectural Government paid particular attention to this matter and called Xu Mao for questioning, keeping him for most of the day until it got dark.

Under the night sky, with the falling snow, Xu Mao remained silent for a while, then led a group of his subordinates to the east of the city.

"Huo Yan Family already set up three strongholds in Rongcheng, which is already extreme. There shouldn't be another one, right?"

"I wonder how the Huo Yan Family offended White Moonlight and Black Lotus? Nevertheless, removing the Huo Yan Family's strongholds has helped us a lot."

Night patrols were already exhausting, and now with the snow falling, the men from the local authorities were finding it even harder to endure.

Seeing his subordinates shivering from the cold, Xu Mao persisted in leading them to patrol every street in the east city. By the time they finished, the sky was getting bright.

"Sir, the east city seems fine. It appears that the Huo Yan Family doesn't have a stronghold in this area."

Just as the words fell, they heard a sharp scream coming from the right rear.

Xu Mao's expression changed, and he quickly turned around, running towards the direction of the scream.

Soon, they arrived at the front gate of a carriage shop, where they saw more than ten strong men hanging from the gate.

Looking at the flying knives stuck in the door, Xu Mao fell into an unusual silence.

They had patrolled this street, and yet, they hadn't discovered anything.

He was only a new Ninth Grade expert; even if White Moonlight and Black Lotus were stronger, he shouldn't have been unable to sense anything at all.

Among the crowd of onlookers about ten meters away, Li Wuya quietly left with Li Qilang. Ninth Grade experts should not be underestimated; if she didn't have her psychic power, she might have been discovered. It seemed that she needed to be more careful in her future actions.

Under the snowy night sky, Li Wuya and Li Qilang arrived at the last Huo Yan Family stronghold—a large casino in the city.

"The Huo Yan Family intends to monitor the entire Rongcheng by setting up strongholds in all four directions!"

At this moment, it was almost midnight, but the front courtyard of the casino was still bustling with people. However, the backyard of the casino was completely silent.

"Sis, there seem to be many people inside!"

Li Wuya's lips curled up, and she replied, "After losing four strongholds consecutively, the Huo Yan Family should have taken some measures by now. Otherwise, they wouldn't be one of the top three martial families in North Yan."

More than ten people were ambushed in the casino's backyard, and there were seven or eight more inside the house.

After memorizing their positions, Li Wuya swiftly entered the backyard. With a leap over the wall, the iron beads in her hand seemed to have eyes, flying towards the hidden figures in the dark.

Li Qilang didn't follow her but hid in the shadows. He opened and closed his lips rapidly, sending inaudible sonic attacks that quickly penetrated the minds of everyone in the casino's backyard.

The power of the sonic attack depended on the strength of the inner energy, and it required time to accumulate. Even with Li Qilang's enhanced constitution, he couldn't yet achieve invisible assassination. However, shaking their mental states was sufficient.

As the sonic attack struck, the people in the casino's backyard felt their minds shaken, becoming dizzy and disoriented.

In a martial arts battle, losing focus was the most detrimental, which made them even more vulnerable to Li Wuya's overpowering attacks.

Inside the backyard, there were no loud noises; only the iron beads flying out caused faint air-breaking sounds.

The most significant sound was the thud of bodies falling to the ground.

The backyard fell silent after Li Wuya dealt with everyone. However, Li Qilang knew better than to enter right away. Before their departure tonight, Li Wuya had specifically instructed him not to do so.

Soon, Li Qilang understood why.

More than twenty black-clothed figures descended from above, surrounding the casino's backyard.

"At last, they've come!"

"From the first Huo Yan Family stronghold being taken down, it's been four days and five nights. I must say, I'm a bit disappointed that you from Tianluo Gate only showed up now."

A mocking voice came from the hall in the backyard. Around ten black-clothed figures exchanged glances, holding their swords, and flew inside together.

Just as these figures leapt over the wall, "whoosh, whoosh," the sound of air being pierced could be heard, and then, one after another, the other black-clothed figures fell to the ground.

The Left Guardian of Tianluo Gate, Cold Speech, had a grave expression, clearly indicating that he found the opponent quite formidable. "Everyone, attack together, but be careful."

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh~"

As they moved, numerous iron beads shot out from the hall.

This time, these black-clothed figures were more skilled. Many of them evaded the first wave of iron bead attacks. However, when Li Qilang's sonic attack hit, their mental states were shaken, and they still ended up with iron beads piercing their heads.

In the end, only Cold Speech rushed into the hall.

When he saw a little girl sitting on the main seat, yawning and covering her mouth, Cold Speech, even in such a life-threatening situation, couldn't help but be stunned.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh~"

At that moment, five iron beads shot out continuously, hitting five acupoints on Cold Speech's body. Instantly, he lost control of his body and collapsed like a lump of mud on the ground.

Cold Speech came back to his senses, his heart in turmoil.

How could it be a little girl?

Is she ten years old?

Impossible, absolutely impossible. Even if she were exceptionally talented, a ten-year-old child couldn't cultivate to Ninth Grade and above.

She must be an old monster pretending to be young!

Yes, that must be it.

Just as Cold Speech convinced himself of this, Li Qilang walked in.

Seeing Li Qilang, who appeared quite childish, Cold Speech started to lose it. His blood surged, and he even spat out a mouthful of blood.

Witnessing this, Li Wuya and Li Qilang were both surprised.

"What? Even the Tianluo Gate's people are so useless that he's spitting blood himself? His constitution must be weak! Yet they still issued a kill order for us? I thought we were going to have a bloody battle with them tonight."

"Yeah, I'm quite disappointed too."

Li Wuya squatted in front of Cold Speech, shaking her head and sighing, "I have to say, why do you all have to interfere? The ones we have enmity with are the Huo Yan Family. You didn't have to stick your nose into this, why bother?"

"Tianluo Gate, do you know that we had no idea what Tianluo Gate was before? But now, you've issued a kill order for us, making us enemies."

Cold Speech's pupils trembled as he wanted to say something. Unfortunately, he was hit by a dumb acupoint and couldn't say anything.

Li Wuya continued, "You see, you've caused quite a mess. Today, we killed so many of your people, the enmity is settled. To avoid future revenge, I have no choice but to go and wipe out your nest."

Hearing this, Cold Speech's excitement rose immediately, although he couldn't make any sound, the redness in his face and neck fully revealed his emotions.

"Sis, where is the Tianluo Gate's nest?"

"In the Pralaya Mountains at the southernmost tip of the Western Regions under the control of the Western Defense Palace."

"How do you know?"

"Just now, I fed a Dissolving Bone Pill to someone from the Huo Yan Family, and he couldn't bear the pain of his bones melting, so he told me."

Cold Speech listened to the siblings' conversation, his heart understanding that he was doomed today.

He regretted it deeply. It was he who took the deal from the Huo Yan Family.

He had thought that White Moonlight and Black Lotus wouldn't have a significant reputation and wouldn't be too formidable.

If he knew that they would attract such formidable opponents from Tianluo Gate, he wouldn't have provoked these little demons even if he were beaten to death.

"Tell me about Tianluo Gate's situation."

Li Wuya undid Cold Speech's dumb acupoint.

Cold Speech immediately said, "Let me go. Tianluo Gate won't pursue today's events, and from now on, we'll go our separate ways."

Li Wuya shook her head, "It's too late. You've seen the faces of my brother and me. I don't like fighting and killing, but if you talk about us, we won't have a peaceful life."

Cold Speech's heart sank, and then he coldly looked at Li Wuya. Didn't like fighting and killing? Who killed everyone in this courtyard, then?

Li Wuya seemed to understand what he was thinking, "Don't doubt it. If you hadn't provoked me, I wouldn't have bothered with this."

"Alright, enough nonsense. Tell me about Tianluo Gate. How many Eighth Grade or higher experts do you have, and how many Ninth-Grade experts? How many people are there in your headquarters?"

Cold Speech remained silent.

Li Wuya took out a small porcelain bottle from her pocket, "This is a Dissolving Bone Pill. If you cooperate, I'll make it easier for you. If you go against me, then I'll let you suffer a bit."

Cold Speech looked at the porcelain bottle but still didn't speak.

Li Wuya helplessly let him experience the power of the Dissolving Bone Pill.

The pain of melting bones was unbearable for ordinary people. Soon, Li Wuya learned everything she wanted to know.

"Let's go!"

As they were leaving, an iron bead flew out and hit Cold Speech's forehead directly.

The front courtyard of the casino was still bustling with people, completely unaware of what had happened in the backyard until the next day when someone discovered the incident.

If the North Yan spies in Xining City being taken down was a minor incident, then the Huo Yan Family's five strongholds being taken down was an earthquake, especially with Tianluo Gate being involved, making the situation even more shocking.

Xu Mao stood in the backyard of the casino, looking at everything that had happened there.

He quickly reconstructed the intense battle that had taken place here last night. After the Huo Yan Family's stronghold was taken down, Tianluo Gate received the news and rushed over to take action against White Moonlight and Black Lotus.

Unfortunately, they were counter-killed.

Even the Left Guardian of Tianluo Gate, Ninth Grade expert Cold Speech, died!

As the news spread, the names of White Moonlight and Black Lotus shook the entire Rongcheng and spread rapidly in all directions.