EFB Chapter 97 Opening the City Gates
Chapter 97 Opening the City Gates
Lin Mu entrusted his second uncle and aunt's family to Senior Brother Zhou and Junior Brother Liu, asking them to sneak out of the city by blending in with the evacuating crowd.
Watching their departing figures, he put on the eagle-head mask, moved silently with his swift steps, and circled back to the Palace Guard through another alley.
The demons were trapped in the main hall; some were talking in hushed tones, while others remained silent.
When Lin Mu pushed open the gate of the Palace Guard, Yu Mubai was leaning against a pillar with his eyes closed, resting.
He opened his eyes at the sound of footsteps, saw the eagle-head mask, and his pupils contracted slightly.
"Forest......"
Lin Mu did not give him a chance to speak.
The inch-force was activated in an instant, and the fist, wrapped in dark golden light, slammed into Yu Mubai's chest.
Then came the second, and the third.
When the Palace Guards fell silent again, the fists of Shattered Mountains and Rivers were stained with blood.
Wen Haoran, in the end, was somewhat too kind-hearted.
You must know that if you don't cut the weeds at the root, they will grow back in the spring.
The demon descendants are people of the Xuanmen sect, and the Xuanmen sect has countless connections with demons and beasts.
Leaving them behind is like stabbing yourself in the back.
Lin Mu wiped the blood off the edge of his Shattered Mountains and Rivers fist and pushed open the door of the Palace Guard.
After doing all this, he began to plan for himself.
Given Wen Haoran's personality, the fact that he wants to restrict Yu Mubai indicates that there are differing opinions within the demon race.
How loud is this sound? Will it be so loud that we have to abandon Heyuan? We don’t know.
Staying to observe will certainly bring gains in martial arts techniques, but it also means facing off against monsters at the Core Formation Realm.
If you're lucky, you can replicate the original mark; if you're unlucky, you'll lose your life.
But a horse won't get fat without night grass.
First assess the situation; if things look bad, then make a strategic retreat.
He used his agility and strode towards the city wall.
When I stepped onto the city wall, Wen Haoran was standing in front of the crenellations, holding bamboo slips in his hand, his expression solemn.
Zhang Ji had already knocked Yue'er unconscious and left Heyuan. Two other guards stood behind him, while Duanmu Hong stood with his hands behind his back at the other end of the city wall, his plain black robe fluttering in the morning breeze.
Everyone looked very serious.
Across the moat, the monsters had gathered into a vast, black ocean that stretched as far as the eye could see.
Demon wolves, tusked boars, blood pythons, armored rhinoceroses, and ice field wolves—all the powerful demon beasts that had ever appeared were present, their dark golden pupils forming a undulating sea of light in the morning glow.
Five three-tailed foxes stood in a row at the forefront of the beast tide, their three tails swaying slowly in the morning breeze, and the dark golden orbs at the tips of their tails creating ripples in the air with each rotation.
In the very center of the five three-tailed foxes, on the back of the largest three-tailed fox, sat a middle-aged scholar.
He was wearing a grayish-blue scholar's robe, the material of which was old and faded from washing, with a faded bamboo embroidered on the lapel.
He had a thin face, slightly high cheekbones, and his eyebrows and eyes bore a resemblance to Wen Haoran.
He held a scroll of bamboo slips in his right hand. The edges of the bamboo slips were worn smooth and shiny, and the patina shone with a warm, dark brown luster in the morning light.
If he weren't standing on that three-tailed fox, and if he weren't behind that endless horde of beasts, he would look like a schoolteacher who had just come out of an academy and was on his way to the next poetry gathering.
The middle-aged scholar raised his eyes, his gaze passing over the moat and the city wall, landing on the young man on the crenellations who was also holding bamboo slips.
His voice wasn't loud, but every word was clearly heard by everyone on the city wall.
"Wen Haoran".
"A literary genius."
"Didn't they notice anything wrong with Heyuan?"
The middle-aged scholar clearly understood the principle of killing someone by destroying their spirit.
Wen Haoran tapped the bamboo slip lightly in his palm, as if considering how to reply.
The other person suddenly started speaking faster, clearly not wanting to give him time to think.
Are you waiting for reinforcements?
Are you sure they'll come?
"I heard you sent out a carrier pigeon; I wonder if it has returned."
Wen Haoran's fingers tightened slightly as he held the bamboo slip, and a very faint white layer appeared on his knuckles.
Sometimes it's one thing to guess something, but it's quite another to have it said out loud in public.
Admitting it in front of everyone would affect morale.
He remained silent for a long time, so long that the middle-aged scholar on the other side of the moat thought he wasn't going to answer before he spoke.
Have you met Wen Xiuyuan?
The middle-aged scholar smiled slightly, a faint hint of mockery flashing in his eyes, which shimmered with dark gold.
"That idiot Wen Xiu who came to the Eternal Night Forest fifteen years ago, wanting to convert the demonic beasts?"
"He didn't die, he was just eaten."
"The monster that ate him was named Chilu."
Wen Haoran's hand holding the bamboo slip trembled slightly.
"Chilu can devour people's memories, take on human form, and speak in a human voice."
"So you are Chilu?"
Lin Muke had no patience to listen to their reminiscing.
He walked to Wen Haoran's side, glanced at the endless horde of beasts on the other side of the moat, then at Wen Haoran's hand holding the bamboo slip, and lowered his voice.
Tell me everything.
"I can fight for Heyuan, but I cannot die without knowing why."
Wen Haoran turned his head and looked at him for a long time before speaking.
"The sect has abandoned us."
"There shouldn't be any reinforcements within three days."
"But I invited Yue'er's father."
"He is the sect leader of the Idle Sect."
"But you told Zhang Ji to be ready to knock Yue'er unconscious and take her away at any time." Lin Mu frowned.
"The moon will definitely come to save me."
"Xianzong also has the strength to quell the demonic threat at the source of the river."
Everyone knows about Yue'er's feelings for Wen Haoran.
Lin Mu remained silent for a moment, then leaned close to Wen Haoran's ear and whispered a few words.
Wen Haoran's eyes lit up.
It was the sudden enlightenment a scholar felt after figuring out a long-standing problem.
"You are quick-witted and a literary genius."
"No wonder he was able to master the Mind-Cleansing Technique so quickly."
Therefore, Wen Haoran did have suspicions about Lin Mu...
Lin Mu raised an eyebrow. "Is this the time to talk about this?"
Wen Haoran understood, turned around, and faced the endless horde of beasts on the other side of the moat.
This time, his back was ramrod straight, and his fingers holding the bamboo slips were no longer white. The half-worn bamboo slips lay steadily in his palm, the patina on the edges of the bamboo slips gleaming with a warm, dark brown luster in the morning light.
Abdominal poetry and gas from China.
On the opposite bank of the moat, the middle-aged scholar frowned slightly.
He clearly noticed the change in Wen Haoran.
How did he suddenly become so confident?
Are you sure they've given up on me?
Wen Haoran's voice came down from the city wall, not loud, but every word was clearly delivered to the middle-aged scholar's ears.
He exuded a composure that came from the core, as if he held a trump card and was ready to turn the tide.
The middle-aged scholar frowned even more deeply.
His gaze swept past Wen Haoran and across the faces of everyone on the city wall.
Duanmu Hong still maintained his imposing and dignified demeanor.
There were no new people, no new weapons, nothing at all.
"You saw it too."
"I only have four Core Formation Pills here."
"The five three-tailed foxes behind you, along with your avatar, can completely crush us."
Wen Haoran pointed the bamboo slip forward, his voice suddenly rising.
"If you have the guts, if you trust those in the sect who lie without batting an eye, then come and fight."
"Lower the drawbridge."
The winch creaked and the drawbridge slowly descended, its planks slamming onto the frozen soil on the opposite bank of the moat, splashing up a cloud of muddy water.
"Open the city gates."
The iron-clad city gate slowly opened with a heavy thud, its hinges emitting a long groan.
The city gate was empty, and everything was clearly visible.
The middle-aged scholar stared at Wen Haoran for a long time.
He devoured Wen Xiuyuan's memories, knowing full well that there must be something fishy about things that are not normal.
In matters like this, the demon beasts have been tricked by the sects far too many times.
This time, he didn't want to fall for it.
On the city wall, Wen Haoran tucked the bamboo slips into his sleeve and looked down at the dark golden sea of light on the opposite bank of the moat.
Behind him were empty city walls and a few silent guards.
The wind was strong, and his scholar's robe fluttered in the wind. He stood straight, his eyebrows and eyes were clear and bright.
A gentleman is like jade, a scholar is unparalleled.
Lin Mu leaned against the city wall and muttered, "With such deception, how can Scholar Wen's daily self-reflection continue?"