Chapter Seventy-Two: Blowing Forth a Thunder Pool in One Breath

A dozen men surrounded the two of them. Hou Baiyu’s face was dark, and he said coldly, “Wu Yue, you actually dared to deceive me. I doubt you can even protect yourself now. Your breath is chaotic, your strength gone—do you still think you’re the Wu Yue of Luoyang?” He finished in one breath, and his expression eased. “Hmph, you’re still lacking if you want to trick me!”

“That’s right, that’s right. Boss Hou, you have such discerning eyes,” the others immediately chimed in, their flattery flowing like a tide.

“When have I ever lied to you? You got it right, I never denied it,” Wu Yue replied, blinking innocently. He just needed to buy a little more time.

“Heh, don’t bother arguing. You can’t even save yourself, and yet you still try to deceive me, make—” Hou Baiyu’s voice rose, but then faltered abruptly. “Make…?” What exactly was Wu Yue trying to do? Hou Baiyu suddenly felt a headache coming on.

The underlings looked at their boss with eyes full of admiration, respect, and encouragement. Boss, why did you stop? You were doing so well!

“What are you all looking at? Grab them!” Hou Baiyu glared and barked, “Are you all blind? What’s in your heads?” Tears welled up in the eyes of his men—Boss, what did we do wrong this time?

“Um, Boss, didn’t you just say no one was to make a move? That you wanted to handle it yourself?” one subordinate ventured, the others nodding along.

That’s what he’d said, but looking at Wu Yue, who still seemed to be smiling, Hou Baiyu felt inexplicably uneasy.

“You there, you who just spoke up. Didn’t you want to merit yourself? Go, tie him up. Don’t be afraid; he’s just a cripple now.”

The man’s face filled with terror, and he shook his head desperately. Everything had been fine, harmonious even—until this guy had scared them all with his talk about Wu Yue’s terrifying reputation and the elites he’d killed.

“If you don’t go, I’ll beat you to death!”

He’d rather die than go. Hou Baiyu himself had warned of the terrible fate awaiting anyone who fell into Wu Yue’s hands. And this kind of head-shaking was contagious; soon, everyone was shaking their heads in refusal.

Hongxiu was utterly stunned. Was this really the infamous Black Cloud Stronghold, notorious for being unreasonable and vicious? Where was their legendary fearlessness, their cunning, their ferocity? The answer was simple: this was the power of example—what kind of leader, what kind of followers.

An awkward silence fell. Hou Baiyu, after all, was still the boss; desperate, he racked his brains and quickly said, “Wu Yue, come with me back to Black Cloud Stronghold. I guarantee your life will be safe as long as you hand over the goods. With your reputation, our chief might even recognize you! Not just any chief, but the chief of our five strongholds!”

A perfect plan, he thought. By then, he’d brought the man in; whether the goods were handed over was none of his concern. If anything went wrong, it wouldn’t be on him. Besides, his reasoning made sense, Hou Baiyu thought with a sly smile.

“And Hongxiu?” Wu Yue asked.

“She can go,” Hou Baiyu replied grandly. “As long as she keeps out of trouble in the future, no one will bother her.”

Wu Yue chuckled softly. Enough time had been gained; at last, amid the confusion, he grasped a thread of divine consciousness.

“What are you laughing at?” Hou Baiyu shivered inexplicably at the sound and shouted.

“Still pretending? Your ear’s bleeding! Look, look! Everyone, look—his ear is bleeding!”

“Hongxiu, blow a breath of spiritual energy onto the little house tattoo on my arm,” Wu Yue said.

“This…”

“He’s about to cast a spell! Seize him now!” Hou Baiyu roared. The group immediately retreated as one.

“What are you doing?” You said it yourself, boss—if we don’t back away now, we’d be disrespecting you.

“I don’t want to die here with you—” Wu Yue started.

Suddenly, thunder split the sky, and black clouds blotted out the sun.

Silver lightning danced madly as the clouds descended. Bolts of lightning crashed down as if heaven itself were passing judgment.

Hongxiu stood frozen by the display. What a breath—what skill!

He had conjured a field of thunder.

The famed warhorses of Black Cloud Stronghold, as notorious as the bandits themselves, were the first to submit before this divine might, collapsing to the ground and screaming in terror.

“I can’t hold this for long. Unless you give me a reason not to kill you all, I’m afraid you’re out of luck,” Wu Yue said with a bitter but dazzlingly bright smile. His figure swayed, kept upright only by the lightning staff that had appeared in his hand.

“Run!” Hou Baiyu shouted, fleeing first. Instantly, the rest scattered in panic.

Wu Yue tilted the staff forward slightly, and thunder rolled out in all directions.

The fate of Black Cloud Stronghold’s men was unknown—alive or dead.

“Stop, or die.”

Hou Baiyu, who had barely run a few steps, turned stiffly around, his face contorted in misery. “You—”

Wu Yue gave an apologetic smile. “Sorry, I couldn’t quite control my strength.” His tone was sincere; Wu Yue was not bloodthirsty—he swore it was true. Everyone who died by his hand had a reason, and a very good one at that. For instance, those who had stalked him—once discovered, they insisted on suicide, and he couldn’t even stop them.

Hou Baiyu shook his head frantically. “No, no, no, you did the right thing. They were evil to the core, deserved far worse than death.”

“And you?”

“I’m just a new recruit. I know nothing. My first task was… was just to make sure she kept quiet.” Hou Baiyu pointed at Hongxiu, his voice trembling.

Suddenly, the storm cleared as if the thunder had been an illusion. In truth, everything just now had happened in a few breaths, though it had seemed much longer.

Hongxiu finally snapped out of her daze.

Hou Baiyu, who had been trembling all this time, suddenly twisted his face into a snarl, eyes flashing with viciousness, then turned and bolted.

Wu Yue sighed. “I’d thought you’d take this chance to attack.”

“Should I blow another breath?” Hongxiu hesitated, “If you don’t cut the weeds, they’ll grow again.”

“There’s no need.” At the tip of the lightning staff, a bolt of white lightning shot out, trailed by a long wave of air. Hou Baiyu, who had run hundreds of miles, collapsed with a crash.

“It really takes effort to use this now,” Wu Yue said, taking a deep breath.

“Hurry, help me hold this—it’s dozens of pounds, and I can’t handle it anymore.”

“You—” Hongxiu pointed at Wu Yue’s face.

“I’m fine,” Wu Yue wiped the blood from his ear. “I can still live for three more months.”