Chapter 88 - Plundering the Golden Tong
Outside the Colosseum, there were cultivators who were swarming towards Gu Hai. But there were many more cultivators who hadn"t moved. This included Ninth Young Master and his subordinates!
Ninth Young Master started coughing as he covered his mouth with a handkerchief. However, he narrowed his eyes as he gazed at Gu Hai.
"Ninth Young Master, has Gu Hai gone crazy? Why in the b.l.o.o.d.y h.e.l.l did he take out the Hundred Years Longevity Peach before everyone? Wouldn"t it be so much better if he had said that the Hundred Years Longevity Peaches were gone?" a subordinate asked, confused.
"Ha, you understand s.h.i.+t!" Ninth Young Master answered, narrowing his eyes.
"Uh?"
"You only saw the Hundred Years Longevity Peach, but didn"t notice his underlying intentions. Although he showcased the Hundred Years Longevity Peach, it will muster all the cultivators of Nine-Five Island for his own use! He is manipulating their minds! He is an expert at controlling human psychology! Ke ke ke!" Ninth Young Master said, covering his mouth as he coughed.
"Ah! Gathering all the cultivators of Nine-Five Island for his own use? Ninth Young Master, your subordinate doesn"t understand!"
"He is protecting his family, or to say, protecting his two adopted sons, Gu Qin and Gu Han!" Ninth Young Master explained.
"Oh?"
"As Gu Hai hadn"t appeared for a long time, those cultivators waiting outside Gu Mansion for Gu Hai to take the bait have slowly lost their patience. But now, with the appearance of the Hundred Years Longevity peach, their patience is renewed again. They will continue to wait under the tree every day, in the hope that a hare will kill itself by cras.h.i.+ng into the tree trunk. They will be waiting for Gu Hai to fall into their traps, so no harm should come to their "bait". They will not only not cause any harm to Gu Qin and Gu Hai, they would do their utmost to protect the two in return, until Gu Hai has fallen into their snare!" Ninth Young Master readily explained.
"Gu Hai is gathering cultivators from everywhere to protect Gu Qin and Gu Han? And for this, all he has to pay is to display a Hundred Years Longevity Peach for a bit?" A bewildered look showed up on the face of that subordinate.
"Although it has still not successfully developed, standing right there with that majestic dignity, as much as the cultivators around wanted to step up and grab him, no one dared to step forward. Gu Hai has, as easily as raising his hand and moving his feet, bound all the cultivators" hands and feet! What a scheme! What a bold move!" Ninth Young Master said, surveying the scene with his eyes narrowed.
"Ninth Young Master, should we take action?"
Ninth Young Master, shaking his head, replied in a cold tone, "Remember, I was never here, okay? I don"t need to step up for this! Isn’t Luo Tiange nearby? Go and inform him. Let’s see if he or Gu Hai has what it takes to become my subst.i.tute!"
"Yes, Sir!"
---
In the Colosseum, Gu Hai departed, bringing along a large group of men.
All the cultivators in the vicinity could only watch helplessly as Gu Hai swaggered out.
Of the former convicts, Gu Hai trusted Gao Xianzhi the most, so he handed the task of plundering the Golden Tong to Gao Xianzhi. Gao Xianzhi"s efficiency was also very high. First, he conducted separate questioning of Golden Tong disciples. At the same time, he sent someone to isolate the Golden Tong from outsiders, preventing them from approaching. Finally, he began searching and plundering the Golden Tong premises.
As for Shangguan Hen"s Death Company, it was accompanying Gu Hai.
At this moment, Shangguan Hen retrieved a ring from the vegetable Li Wei.
"Is that a storage ring?" Gu Hai looked at Shangguan Hen.
"Yes, my Lord. There is a small s.p.a.ce inside it. However, the ring doesn"t seem particularly good, it"s just one zhang wide s.p.a.ce at best. If my Lord leaves it to this subordinate, this subordinate can dispell its seal and extract the stuff stored inside after two days!" Shangguan Hen said confidently.
"Sounds good!" Gu Hai nodded.
As the downpour continued, the former prisoners temporarily took shelter. On the other hand, the cultivators kept staring at the inner section of the Golden Tong, as if they were afraid Gu Hai and his team would escape.
At the same time, some of the cultivators rushed about in various directions, pa.s.sing on the information about Gu Hai.
------
In the evening, the four captains gathered at Gu Hai"s place once more. It was the great hall where Li Wei once used to reside, the Dragon Turtle Hall!
Gu Hai was looking at Gao Xianzhi, who stood among the crowd of men stationed outside the Dragon Turtle Hall.
"My Lord, all the things we looted have been placed next to the hall. In here is Li Wei"s treasury, and this subordinate has already learned its secrets from the Golden Tong disciples!" Gao Xianzhi reported in an excited manner.
"Oh?"
Gao Xianzhi rotated a mechanism in the Dragon Turtle Hall, and a small door astonis.h.i.+ngly appeared in a corner of the wall. The small door seemed to be leading underground.
Gu Hai and the four captains looked at each other before they proceeded down the pa.s.sage, step by step.
Having arrived under the ground, their eyes were met with numerous luminous pearls, illuminating the pa.s.sage everywhere.
"This...is this a cavern?" Scar wondered, his eyes widening in surprise.
"There are arrays engraved over the walls as well, maybe to strengthen this huge cave and also prevent others from drilling their way to here!" Shangguan Hen said in a solemn voice.
"Spirit stones, so many spirit stones!" Chen Tianshan, on the other hand, shouted in excitement, without paying any heed to his surroundings.
A huge s.p.a.ce was completely jam packed with spirit stones piled up into a hill.
"I knew it!" Gu Hai pursed his lips as a sliver of a confident smile crept up on his lips.
"My Lord guessed it correctly, the Golden Tong sure has acc.u.mulated no small amount of wealth over these many years. Even if they paid tribute to the others, a large amount of wealth still remained!" Gao Xianzhi said, smiling.
"Since the spirit stones are sufficient, then let"s arrange an array!" Gu Hai said in a calm voice.
"Arrange an array?" Everyone turned their gazes at Gu Hai.
"That"s right! In this world, everything depends on the strength. Do you remember the spirit pool we arranged in the Xiantian Endgame World the last time? I will, once again, arrange a huge sprit pool for all three thousand of us to use! Everyone in the Valley of Crooks is ridden with invisible injuries over the course of so many years more or less, their bodies must be nourished first!" Gu Hai stated calmly.
"Then...then how many spirit stones would be consumed?" Chen Tianshan suddenly cried out in shock.
"Hahaha, so what!" Gu Hai replied as he broke into laughter.
"Yes, my Lord!" Gao Xianzhi agreed at once, excited.
"Spirit pool?" Scar and Shangguan Hen had a surprised look on their faces.
"Apart from the spirit pool, I still have to arrange a grand array. During this time, you must take turns helping me arrange the array, we must do everything to finish arranging it tonight. A brutal fight is ahead of us!" Gu Hai stated in a deep voice.
"Yes, my Lord!" everyone obliged respectfully.
"Chen Tianshan, is there any movement on Meng Tai"s side?" Gu Hai asked in a solemn voice, looking at Chen Tianshan.
"Uh, Meng Tai? Meng Tai doesn"t seem to be making any moves. He is focused on healing his injuries. I also had a chat with him! He said Feng Ling had suffered a lot over these years, he wants to take good care of Feng Ling!" Chen Tianshan said, shaking his head.
Gu Hai lightly smiled as he said, "You didn"t reveal our situation, including what we did in the Xiantian Endgame World to Meng Tai, did you?"
"Ummm...ummm...should I have not told him? I just talked a little. It was Meng Tai who was mainly asking, I just answered the questions casually!" Chen Tianshan explained as he shook his head.
"Meng Tai asked? Captain Chen, you should not underestimate Meng Tai. Meng Tai is not an oil-saving lamp! If he is setting you up, you will be completely tricked!" the nearby Shangguan Hen stated, shaking his head.
"That"s unlikely, right?" Chen Tianshan asked, perplexed.
"Nevermind, those aren"t any confidential matters. If Meng Tai wants to investigate, it would not be difficult for him!" Gu Hai a.s.sured Chen Tianshan calmly.
"My Lord, aren"t we biased against Meng Tai? Judging from what he has told me, Meng Tai is the most sentimental person. For Feng Ling, he let himself get imprisoned for twenty years. He is deeply in love with Feng Ling. Against such a sentimental man, aren"t we...?" Chen Tianshan said, confused.
"Sentimental man? Ha!" Gu Hai coldly laughed as he shook his head. "I admit Meng Tai is highly capable, but a sentimental man, I highly doubt it!"
"Oh? Isn"t he?"
"If he was a sentimental man, he would not have betrayed his friends. He would not have beheaded Yue Yao, whom he grew up with, at moment notice for the so-called future. He simply didn’t hesitate even when they had a brother and sister kind of relations.h.i.+p between them. By killing her, he also didn"t care about Li Wei"s feelings. Would you kill your relatives for the future?" Gu Hai stated calmly.
"Ah? I...!" Chen Tianshan"s face changed.
"Furthermore, he is quite an actor. Before I returned to the Valley of Crooks, he was so weak that he couldn"t move. But by the time we arrived, he could still keep Li Wei occupied? Also, when Feng Ling remembered everything, he was pretending to be dead, but he still had the strength to kill Li Wei?" Gu Hai laid out all the facts calmly.
"Maybe!"
"Not maybe, certainly! As he is the Earth Throne Master, my colleague, I won"t do anything to him, so long as he hasn"t schemed against me! However, I also don"t have any friends.h.i.+p with him. I helped him to get free, and he promised me that he would help us get the method to unlock the masks. But he forgot my life-saving grace immediately. And you say he is a sentimental person?" Gu Hai challenged him calmly.
"Ah?" Listening to this, there was a big change in Chen Tianshan"s expression.
"Captain Chen, this Meng Tai is not an ordinary figure. This man is extremely calculative. He has a very cold temperament. Don"t be deceived by his appearance. His pitiful appearance is all a disguise; nothing more, nothing less! Under his pitiful appearance, he may be hiding a b.l.o.o.d.y fang pointed at you!" Gao Xianzhi said solemnly.
The nearby Scar and Shangguan Hen nodded in agreement.
"Alright, I understand, I will be more careful!" Chen Tianshan nodded.
"My Lord, what about my token?" Gao Xianzhi looked at Gu Hai.
The Earth Throne Master token that they had obtained from the fake Meng Tai was, in fact, a property of the Ascendant Hall.
Gu Hai shook his head and answered, "Keep it!"
"What? But, what if the Hall Lord came to know...?" Chen Tianshan asked, curious.
"So what if she came to know? Meng Tai lost it himself. We are not obligated to help him recover it. We spent so much effort to get that thing, why should we give it to him without anything? Since my Lord said it, I will keep it with me!" Gao Xianzhi retorted in an earnest manner.
After a moment of silence, Gu Hai"s eyebrows twitched as he said, "I feel that Meng Tai is hiding something from us!"
"Oh?" Everyone was slightly taken aback.
"Yes, my Lord, it sure seems unusual!" Shangguan Hen"s expression suddenly changed as he agreed in a heavy voice.
"Oh?" Scar and Chen Tianshan turned their gazes on Shangguan Hen.
"Earlier, although my Lord did not have a complete fall out with Meng Tai in the Colosseum, at the very least, my Lord was keeping him at arm"s length. Meng Tai surely would have noticed this. In normal circ.u.mstances, Meng Tai should have left the Golden Tong with Feng Ling, yet he didn"t. He chose to remain, why?" Shangguan Hen continued in a deep voice.
"There must be something in the Golden Tong that Meng Tai wants!?" Gao Xianzhi"s expression flickered.
"Maybe it"s Li Wei?" Scar ventured in surprise.
"Keep an eye on Meng Tai each and every moment. Also, keep a close guard on Li Wei!" Gu Hai ordered.
"Yes, my Lord!" everyone obeyed immediately.
"Alright! Each of you must choose subordinates to help me with arranging the array. I will draw the designs for you right away. All you have to do is arrange a lot of spirit stones in accordance with the designs and help me place them in the entire inner section!" Gu Hai said in a deep voice.
"Yes, my Lord!" everyone answered respectfully.
With the support of piles of spirit stones, Gu Hai started working.