Volume One: Miscellaneous Duties in Changshui County Chapter 115: The Two Parties Unite
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Lu Jiuzhang awoke to the scent of something delicious.
When he opened his eyes, he saw the big black dog sprawled on the floor, a bowl set before it as it devoured its meal with gusto.
The rich aroma of meat assailed his nostrils, making Lu Jiuzhang’s stomach growl.
“Woof…”
Noticing Lu Jiuzhang’s gaze, the big black dog hugged the chipped bowl to its chest protectively and said, “Ninth Master, there’s still meat in the pot. This is mine, so don’t try to steal it!”
Who was trying to steal it from you?
Lu Jiuzhang would never be so bored as to fight a dog over food.
After getting up, Lu Jiuzhang walked toward the side room.
A small dish of meat was still warming in the kitchen pot.
He took out the dish, served himself some rice, and began eating in the side room.
Clatter, clatter, clatter…
Just then, a burst of footsteps sounded.
The curtain was lifted, revealing Zhong Zhengming. “Have you started eating?”
“Mm.”
Lu Jiuzhang nodded and picked up another piece of demonic beast meat with his chopsticks.
“Only this dish?”
Zhong Zhengming lifted the lid of the pot and asked.
What?
So that was all that remained? Had Zhong Zhengming not eaten yet?
Lu Jiuzhang set down his chopsticks. “Let’s eat together. We’ll make do with what we have.”
Zhong Zhengming nodded, served himself some staple food, and ate it with the demonic beast meat.
After the two of them finished eating and left, they returned to the house only to discover that the big black dog had already fallen asleep, its belly round and taut from overeating.
Apparently, most of the demonic beast meat had ended up in its stomach.
That dog could certainly eat.
“Mr. Lu!”
Suddenly, Feng Wanqing’s voice came from outside.
She hurried in and said, “The Manor Lord has asked you and Mr. Zhong to come over.”
“All right!”
Upon hearing this, Lu Jiuzhang and Zhong Zhengming left Feng Wanqing’s home and hurried toward the Manor Lord’s residence.
When they arrived, they saw the Manor Lord standing in his courtyard, brewing a pot of water.
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What had been placed in the water was not tea leaves, but spirit-herb leaves. A faint fragrance of spirit herbs drifted through the air.
“Manor Lord!”
Lu Jiuzhang cupped his hands.
“Please, sit down, gentlemen.”
The Manor Lord pointed to the stools before him. “Everything has been arranged. Tomorrow afternoon, we will go to the border and hold the annexation ceremony.”
As he spoke, he produced a map. “There are several damaged formations at the border. I have chosen this location as our ambush site.”
He pointed to a spot on the map. “There is a small hill behind it. Mr. Lu and Mr. Zhong can hide behind the hill and conceal your auras.”
“When the Blazing Flame Sect’s leader enters this area, we will activate the damaged formation at once. If the formation fails to kill him, Mr. Zhong can join me from behind the hill. We will do everything in our power to see whether we can slay him!”
It amounted to a double safeguard.
If even this failed to kill the Blazing Flame Sect’s leader, the Manor Lord would have no choice but to abandon the attempt.
“Rest assured, Manor Lord. I have confidence in the power of the damaged formation,” Lu Jiuzhang said.
Though three tens of thousands of years had passed, the damaged formation here remained tremendously powerful.
Those high-grade martial artists might not fear it, but the Blazing Flame Sect’s leader possessed only sixth-grade martial cultivation. He should have no way of escaping it.
“Then I shall have to trouble you, Mr. Lu.”
The Manor Lord offered his thanks, then abruptly changed the subject. “You said that you had reached more than forty levels of the Ancient Trial Pagoda. May I ask whether you gained anything else after reaching its higher levels?”
That was the true reason the Manor Lord had summoned Lu Jiuzhang.
“You want to know whether it is possible to leave, don’t you?” Lu Jiuzhang asked directly.
“Indeed. Mr. Lu is truly perceptive—you saw through my thoughts at once.” The Manor Lord nodded.
“It is possible to leave, but you cannot take martial artists of excessively high cultivation with you, nor can you take too many people,” Lu Jiuzhang explained. “The formations here are damaged. Once they collapse, space will become unstable. At that point, I fear this entire ruin-world will be destroyed.”
“This…”
The Manor Lord had felt as though he had finally glimpsed hope, but in the very next moment, that hope was doused with cold water.
“Why are you so worried, Manor Lord?”
Lu Jiuzhang smiled at the leader of Parting Sword Manor. “I, Lu Jiuzhang, do not consider myself an ordinary man. In the future, I will surely ascend to the very summit. When that day comes, I will certainly save everyone and lead them out.”
“Having hope is better than having none, is it not?”
The Manor Lord could only nod.
There was nothing else he could do.
The token was in Lu Jiuzhang’s hands, and only Lu Jiuzhang could enter and leave.
What else could he do?
…
As they left the Manor Lord’s residence, Zhong Zhengming looked troubled.
“Brother Lu, what will you do if they force you to take them out? You should not have revealed this so soon!”
“Director Zhong, which do you think is the greatest power in this place?” Lu Jiuzhang asked with a smile.
“The Northern Blade Sect? No, that cannot be right. The Northern Blade Sect’s heir has not appeared in public for several years. It may already have declined.” Zhong Zhengming frowned. “Could it be the Blazing Flame Sect?”
“No. It is the demons,” Lu Jiuzhang said. “Demons occupy this place, and the final trial of the Ancient Trial Pagoda is guarded by a second-rank demon-path creature.”
“That creature survived from the era of the Heaven-Stepping Sect and has lived for more than thirty thousand years.”
“With it here, we will not encounter any danger within these ruins.”
Lu Jiuzhang was not worried in the slightest.
“Once the Blazing Flame Sect’s leader has been dealt with, I will search this place for resources and help myself reach eighth-grade martial cultivation. Then I will leave,” Lu Jiuzhang said. “When I return next time, I believe I will possess enough strength to break open this place and rescue everyone.”
“I hope so.”
Zhong Zhengming nodded.
The people here had been trapped for decades, even centuries. It was both a calamity and a blessing.
Living in this secluded paradise, they were untouched by the rampage of demons and suffered no exploitation at the hands of the authorities. That was already an extraordinarily fortunate existence.
Yet so long as they were human, they would never be content with the status quo, nor would they be satisfied to remain confined within a narrow world.
Hopefully, everyone would be able to leave.
…
That night, Lu Jiuzhang and Zhong Zhengming went to bed early.
The following morning, after eating and resting for a short while, they set off for the border together with several experts and a group of disciples from Parting Sword Manor.
They would meet there, lie in wait there, and put an end to the Blazing Flame Sect’s menace once and for all.
The area was relatively open, with hill after hill rising all around them.
The hills were covered with all manner of towering trees, making it easy to conceal one’s tracks.
Lu Jiuzhang, Zhong Zhengming, and the big black dog hid among the hills.
The Manor Lord led the people of Parting Sword Manor to stand at the foot of the hill, quietly awaiting their arrival.
After roughly fifteen minutes, a jumble of footsteps approached.
The people of the Blazing Flame Sect appeared on the hill opposite them.
At their head was an elderly man with red hair and a face covered in thick whiskers. He looked extremely hot-tempered.
“Hahaha, Manor Lord! Joining the Blazing Flame Sect is the wisest decision you have ever made in your life!” the red-haired elder declared with a booming laugh.
He was the leader of the Blazing Flame Sect, a sixth-grade martial artist and the strongest person present.
Unless he died, Lu Jiuzhang would never be able to leave in peace.