Chapter 101 : Chapter 101
Chapter 101. Was There Another Motive?
Everyone’s hearts were heavy as they rushed toward the neighboring Second Field as fast as they could.
Before they even got close, the fierce sounds of battle cries and clashing weapons were already coming from afar.
The fighting in the Second Field was clearly still ongoing.
When they charged into the field, they saw dozens of martial artists locked in combat, the scene utterly chaotic.
Under the leadership of the field guards, the martial artists of the Second Field were desperately resisting the Bai Family fighters, who held a slight advantage in numbers.
At the center of the battle, the Second Field’s chief guard, a burly middle-aged man wielding a thick-backed saber, was engaged in an intense fight with a Bai Family five-meridian martial artist who used a sword.
Both were at the five-meridian level, and their strength was evenly matched. Blade and sword flashed back and forth as waves of force burst outward, making it impossible to tell who had the upper hand.
“Kill!”
The moment Zhang Cheng saw the situation, he charged into the battle without hesitation and attacked the Bai Family five-meridian martial artist from the flank.
Xu Yuan, Yang Caiyu, and the other chief guards and field guards also joined the fight one after another.
The arrival of fresh reinforcements, especially several five-meridian martial artists, instantly broke the deadlock.
The Bai Family five-meridian martial artist had originally been evenly matched with the Second Field’s chief guard, but once he was suddenly surrounded, he was immediately thrown into disarray.
Shocked and enraged, he tried to break out, but under the group’s combined assault, he quickly fell into a disadvantage.
Slash!
A flash of saber-light swept through the air, and blood sprayed three feet high.
The Bai Family five-meridian martial artist staggered backward. A deep wound, so severe that bone could be seen, opened across his neck. He clutched at his throat as the light in his eyes rapidly faded, then collapsed to the ground with a heavy thud.
With their leader dead, the morale of the remaining Bai Family fighters immediately crumbled. Under the group’s combined slaughter, they were swiftly wiped out or scattered in flight.
“Many thanks for your assistance!”
The Second Field’s chief guard was covered in blood. Leaning on his saber, he cupped his fists toward the group and panted heavily, clearly exhausted.
“How is Chief Guard Xie’s side?” Zhang Cheng asked urgently.
The Second Field’s chief guard shook his head. “I don’t know. The moment we engaged the enemy here, it turned into a desperate fight to the death. There was no time to exchange information.”
Everyone’s hearts tightened further.
The First Field was the most important of all. If it had fallen as well...
At that moment, hurried footsteps suddenly came from ahead.
The group turned to look warily and saw a party of people rapidly approaching from the direction of the First Field.
At the head of the group was none other than the First Field’s chief guard, Xie Yun, the only six-meridian martial artist among all the medicinal fields.
He looked to be around fifty. His face was gaunt and resolute, but at this moment his expression was extremely grim. More than twenty martial artists from the First Field followed behind him.
“Chief Guard Xie,” Zhang Cheng and the others called as they hurried over.
“So you’ve arrived!”
When Xie Yun saw them, he relaxed slightly, but his brows remained tightly furrowed. “What’s the situation in the Third Field and the Second Field?”
Zhang Cheng answered with a grave expression, “The Third Field... has already fallen. Chief Guard Li died in battle. The Second Field has just driven back the enemy, and we killed one of their five-meridian leaders.”
When Xie Yun heard that, his face turned livid. His fists clenched so tightly that they made cracking sounds. “As expected. The Bai Family has been planning this for a long time. Their methods are ruthless. The First Field was attacked as well, and the one leading them was Wang Tao!”
The moment they heard that name, everyone’s expressions shifted, and Yang Caiyu’s face also turned rather ugly.
Seeing the confusion on Xu Yuan’s face, Zhang Cheng explained in a low voice,
“Wang Tao is the former chief guard who was pushed out by Yang Caiyu. It seems the Bai Family not only took him in, but also gave him considerable benefits, enough for him to break through to the six-meridian level.”
Xu Yuan immediately understood and cast Yang Caiyu a sidelong glance.
So this was an old grudge between former and current rivals.
Xie Yun swept his gaze over the crowd and said through gritted teeth,
“That bastard Wang Tao led his men in a surprise attack on the First Field. His offensive was fierce, but he never intended to fight to the death. He tangled with me for about half an incense stick’s time, then quickly withdrew with his men.”
“I was worried about the other medicinal fields, and his retreat felt suspicious, so I immediately gathered my men and came out to investigate.”
Everyone’s expressions grew even heavier.
There had actually been two six-meridian martial artists involved.
The Bai Family had truly made an enormous move this time.
One of them had tied down Xie Yun, while the other used overwhelming force to strike the Third Field. They had also sent strong fighters to the Second Field. It was obvious that they intended to destroy or seize the most important medicinal fields as quickly as possible.
“Then where are Wang Tao and the other six-meridian martial artists? Could they have already withdrawn with the medicinal treasures they looted? Wouldn’t that be far too fast?”
One of the chief guards voiced his doubt.
Zhang Cheng frowned as he thought it over. “It is suspicious.”
“The Third Field was completely stripped bare. They failed to take the First Field, and they were blocked at the Second Field. Logically, they should either concentrate their forces and attack the First Field again, or cover the withdrawal of the loot from the Third Field... but now the main force is nowhere to be seen.”
Xie Yun’s face darkened. Just as he was about to speak, his nose twitched slightly, as if he had noticed something.
He suddenly raised his head and looked in one direction, and his expression changed drastically.
At almost the same moment, Xu Yuan also sensed that something was wrong.
At some point, a thin layer of white mist had begun to spread through the air, so faint that it was almost impossible to see with the naked eye.
Mixed into the mist was an extremely faint muddy, fishy smell that nevertheless made one’s heart pound with inexplicable dread.
“This mist...” Zhang Cheng also noticed it, his face full of confusion.
“It’s Qinglong Lake!”
Xie Yun seemed to realize something at once. His pupils shrank violently as he shouted in disbelief, his voice filled with shock. “How is that possible? How could Wang Tao know about that place?!”
Everyone was stunned by Xie Yun’s intense reaction.
What was wrong with Qinglong Lake?
Xu Yuan’s heart tightened abruptly.
Qinglong Lake was the shared water source for all nine medicinal fields. Its spiritual energy was abundant, but only to that extent.
Yet from Xie Yun’s tone, Qinglong Lake clearly seemed to hide some secret unknown to others.
And that secret appeared to be connected to the strange mist in front of them. It might even be the Bai Family’s true objective in launching this sudden assault.
“Chief Guard Xie, what exactly is going on? What is at Qinglong Lake?” Zhang Cheng asked urgently.
Xie Yun’s face shifted constantly, his eyes filled with shock and fury, along with a trace of deep concern.
He looked at the group, especially Yang Caiyu and several of the more senior chief guards, as if trying to make up his mind.
But just then, the gray-white mist drifting over from Qinglong Lake suddenly grew denser. It rolled and churned, spreading outward at a speed visible to the naked eye, while the fishy odor became even stronger.
Wherever the mist passed, the grass and trees on the ground seemed to curl slightly, losing some of their luster.
Everyone’s hearts rose into their throats.
“Quick, come with me to Qinglong Lake! If something goes terribly wrong, neither you nor I will be able to answer for it!”
Seeing this, Xie Yun had no time left to explain. He gave a hurried shout and immediately rushed ahead.
Though everyone was utterly confused, they could only follow him.
When the group arrived at Qinglong Lake, they found that the mist there was several times denser than it had been before.
Through the blurred view, they could vaguely make out dozens of Bai Family fighters dressed in black robes patterned with red, standing on a small island near the center of the lake.
Among them, an elderly man with graying temples, around sixty or seventy years old, was throwing something downward.
The moment Xie Yun saw the scene, he roared,
“Wang Tao, you traitor! You truly have the audacity of heaven itself! You actually dare set your sights on the Purple Gold Eel!”