After entering the territory of Huai Shuo Province, the sky was completely dark. The night watchman, in disguise, was responsible for driving, and Yang Xiao sat in the front passenger seat.
At this moment, the One-Eyed Monk in the back seat was still explaining to Yang Xiao, saying that the previous incident was entirely Chui Mei’s nonsense. He claimed he had nothing but admiration for the Netherworld Emperor Captain; he dared to swear to Buddha.
The next second, before Yang Xiao could react, someone let out a light chuckle, which immediately made the One-Eyed Monk lock onto Chen Nang; it was he who laughed.
"What are you laughing at?" The One-Eyed Monk was wary of Yang Xiao and cautious of Ku Daoist, but he was most apprehensive about Chen Nang, nicknamed the Prisoner.
After all, he had witnessed Chen Nang in action; the man barely exerted himself to defeat the Butcher, leading to the latter’s tragic death.
Even more terrifying was that this person possessed a very rare spell-type magical artifact.
Faced with the threatening gaze of the monk, Chen Nang just waved his hand, "Sorry, I suddenly thought of something cheerful."
"You..."
The monk was about to lose face and burst into anger when Yang Xiao’s cold voice penetrated without him turning his head: "All of you, shut your mouths. I need to rest."
Since Yang Xiao had spoken, no one dared to continue. Shortly before reaching their destination, Yang Xiao finally told them that tonight’s target was a stronghold of the Withered Bone Pavilion.
"Netherworld Emperor Captain, what level of stronghold is it?" The cautious Trickster lowered his voice to ask.
"To call you all here, the opponent must be quite strong. As far as we know, there is one Second Guardian; the rest are still unclear."
Yang Xiao chose not to disclose the truth. Firstly, he didn’t want them to be intimidated before the battle; after all, he needed them to draw out the real ambush of the Withered Bone Pavilion. Secondly, Yang Xiao was unsure of the accuracy of Vice Commissioner Zhao’s intelligence.
However, contingencies were prepared. As long as the Withered Bone Pavilion people dared to show up tonight, they would be captured all at once.
The Great Protector must be captured alive, to pry information from him and then turn him into a puppet. The Second Guardian should be killed on the spot, and the corpse brought to the Esoteric Sect as a meeting gift.
Yang Xiao was someone who valued face, and he wouldn’t return empty-handed on this occasion.
The group first arrived at a secluded part of the town, found the marked spot, hid the car, and then set off lightly along a path to quickly advance toward the target mining area.
On the way, Yang Xiao contacted the people of the Huai Shuo Provincial Bureau by phone; they had already dispatched a small team and were assembled nearby in the mountain, ready to provide support if an unexpected situation arose.
Nonetheless, the people from the Huai Shuo Provincial Bureau also reported that, because Yang Xiao prohibited them from conducting close reconnaissance—fearing they would alert the enemy—they were quite uninformed about the internal situation of the mining area, unsure of the specific number and strength of these evil cultivators.
In consideration of the safety of Yang Xiao’s team, the Huai Shuo Provincial Bureau requested a joint operation between the two teams, but Yang Xiao politely declined.
He did not want the credit for eliminating the evil cultivators, giving it all to the Huai Shuo Provincial Bureau, but the Great Protector must solely fall into his hands.
His Ghost Lantern Rod had been in the hands of the Master of the Bone Pavilion for too long; he needed to retrieve it.
Soon, Yang Xiao’s group arrived near the miners’ quarters. It was more a cluster of low, connected old huts than a proper dormitory area, totaling over twenty rooms. Not all were occupied; some spaces were allocated for storing food or equipment.
"Netherworld Emperor, there’s something not quite right in here." Ku Daoist half-squatted, staring intensely at the darkened side of the dormitory area.
Yang Xiao also noticed it. The few houses were peculiar; their windows were covered with dark cloth, then reinforced with planks, and the doors were locked.
"It’s too quiet here, none of the usual sounds, like a deathly mountain." Chen Nang also whispered.
It was a mining area, but there were still forests nearby. They had traversed a patch of woods to reach here, but upon arrival, the whole mountain felt different; there wasn’t a sound from any living thing.
In the next moment, everyone heard the faint sound of a bell. Looking in its direction, they saw Ku Daoist with a stern face. The corpse-controlling bell hung at his waist moved on its own without wind, ringing incessantly.
"Not good, it’s an ambush!" Ku Daoist instantly confirmed his suspicion.
"It’s an ambush, quickly retreat!"
To make the scene convincing, Yang Xiao planned to reveal all of the opponent’s cards and made a strategic retreat.
He knew the opponent had detected their arrival; this setup was laid out for him, and the Withered Bone Pavilion people wouldn’t let them go easily.
Just as they began to retreat, a door in the dormitory area not far ahead suddenly opened, and out walked a strange Taoist, wearing a tattered Immortal Crane Patched Clouds and Mist Robe, a Five-Colored Lotus Crown on his head.
Ever since the Taoist appeared, his gaze was fixated on Ku Daoist.
"Hehehe..." The strange Taoist’s voice screeched like a night owl, "Who would have thought, it’s Ku Daoist. The corpse-controlling bell on you is quite the treasure, being able to sense my Golden Corpse."
Upon seeing the newcomer, Ku Daoist’s face turned ghastly. The arriving person’s identity was recognized by him, and he too recognized the stranger.
"Who is he?" Yang Xiao had read intelligence about the Second Guardian of the Withered Bone Pavilion, named Blood Sun True Man, but this didn’t seem to be the person.