“A cave?”
If Su Li had not insisted on staying here and blasting away the mountain wall, they would never have believed that the mountainside under the hard rocks was actually empty.
They conveniently made two torches and slowly walked into the corridor.
“The mountain road is extremely rugged. It is not smooth at all. Is it natural?” Qu Qingning, who leaned against the wall and carefully measured the cave, couldn’t help but ask.
“Indeed.” Su Li looked slightly surprised and said, “Besides the cave, the tactical matrix in front of the cave is also natural. The tactical matrix can only trap someone and has no destruction. The old village head was so lucky that he could run out.”
Qu Qingning suddenly understood. Yin Xuetong’s eyes became brighter. Tactical matrix… Only those from the martial arts circle could come into contact with such an advanced matrix. The Yin, Fang and Qu Families had lived in the Nanjiang Country. They didn’t completely belong to the martial arts circle. She increasingly believed that Su Li was not a descendant of the Su Family in the Dasu Town at all. She probably had other family backgrounds.
The mountain road was not complicated, but it became narrower and narrower. Although the entire place was no more than ten cubic meters in the end, Su Li was very satisfied with it.
With a natural tactical matrix in the entrance available, there was no such a suitable training base in the entire Dahan Country after the place was well developed.
She just came here for a beginning. If she couldn’t find an appropriate place near the Dawang Village, she would select a site for the base in other remote places. She had never thought that the old village head could actually give her such a big surprise.
“Thus, we can proceed to single out suitable training targets. Only…” Yin Xuetong asked with hesitation on her face, “How should we develop this place? If we ask craftsmen to come here, this place will easily be exposed. If we kill them…”
“It doesn’t matter! I have a way.”
Su Li didn’t say it out. There were slight rays of light flashing through her eyes.
Qu Qingning and others became impatient after they had waited here for three days. Su Li finally took out a wooden token with strange signet on it.
“One can freely enter into this place without great efforts with this wooden token.”
“Is there really such a miraculous thing?”
Qu Qingning took the wooden token. He looked at the entrance of the cave which had already turned to the mountain wall. The natural tactical matrix had automatically restored to its original appearance in the past three days.
“Since you are interested in it, you should have a try.”
Qu Qingning felt miserable when Su Li handed him the wooden token. He turned around and saw that Yin Xuetong and others were enjoying the show with enthusiasm. He could only shake his head and reluctantly walk to the mountain wall. It seemed that he had already known that he would knock his head against the brick wall.
When Yin Xuetong and others thought that Qu Qingning was about to bump against the hard stone wall, the wooden token gave off slight rays of light and the entire stone wall rippled just as a lake surface. It seemed that Qu Qingning was integrated into the stone wall without difficulty.
“There is such a miraculous thing in the world?!”
Qu Qingning shuttled back and forth with excitement on his face. After Yin Xuetong and others had fun with it for several times, they went back. Since they had found the suitable place, they didn’t need to linger and continue to waste time in the Dawang Village.
It was six days later after they returned to the Dawang Village. Su Li and others rode back. They found that the entire village was filled with slight bleakness.
“Something wrong?”
Fang Yuan and others suddenly looked solemn. A normal fishing village by the sea would never have such atmosphere. They all hurriedly rushed to the Wang Dafu’s home. They saw that half of the courtyard wall outside the small building collapsed and that two white lanterns were hung on the small door. It was obvious that someone passed away.
Su Li’s eyebrows slightly rose. But she didn’t see a mourning hall. There was only a straw mat with a dead body in it.
Fang Yuan immediately stepped forward and lifted up the straw mat. He felt a little relieved when he found that it wasn’t Mammy Li. Then he instantly smoothed his lips. He turned around and said in a low voice, “It is the old village head! He died because of a fatal hit. The killer must be a warrior in the acquired third hurdle.”
Except Su Li, all people’s looks changed somewhat when they heard the words. Particularly, there were flames of fury in the eyes of Fang Mu who had spent more time with the old village head.
“Boohoo, my poor son…”
The cry faintly spread from the room. Su Li stepped forward and opened the door. She instantly saw Wang Dafu and his wife as well as Mammy Li. Wang Li was no longer rude and unreasonable as if she had lost her soul. She talked about something again and again with tears ceaselessly rolling down from her cheeks. And Wang Dafu was not better. He had not changed clothes for days and the bloodstain on them had already turned brown.
“Miss, you are finally back!”
When Mammy Li raised her head and saw Su Li and others, she was instantly happy. She hurriedly trotted to Su Li and held her hands. Then she anxiously said, “Miss, we are in big trouble now! In the third night after you left, a group of people came and carried off the grandson of the Wang Family. Xiaowu and others tried to stop it, but were also arrested. The old village head was slapped to death. Many children in the village have disappeared. They are committing a sin!”
“Who are they? Do you have any clue?”
Su Li’s eyebrows slightly narrowed and she asked. It was hard for her to get any clue only based on what Mammy Li said. After all, three days had passed.
“All these must be done by them!”
Wang Li unexpectedly came to her sense before Mammy Li said anything. She quickly jumped to Su Li and kneeled down before the latter with excitement on her face. She pulled the bottom of Su Li’s trouser legs and implored, “Miss Su, please bring off my son! Six days ago…”
Wang Li carefully told her what had happened in these days. Six days ago, a group of people dressed in fancy clothes came to the village after Su Li and others left. These people said that they came to buy kids; and if villagers weren’t willing to sell their kids, they could still receive much money for having their kids examined.
It was the closed fishing season at that time. Villagers hardly had any income. All households of the village immediately sent their children for examination after hearing such a good thing. Wang Li was no exception. She still remembered that brokers praised Wang Lizhuo after she sent him for examination and that she received ten taels of silver accordingly. She was very delighted at that time.
In the following three days, brokers lingered in the Dawang Village. They examined all the children of the village during that period. Many families couldn’t afford to raise their children, so they took the opportunity and sold them for a good price.
When villagers were bursting with happiness, something unusual happened in the third night. More than half of the kids in the village were stolen. The Wang Family, however, noticed it.
The old village head was getting up in the night to urinate and he saw a group of figures holding Wang Lizhuo in their arms. He immediately shouted and rushed up with a shovel in his hands, but he was killed as soon as he just approached them.
Xiaowu and Datian walked out and saw the scene. They immediately rushed up as if they went crazy. But how could they be a match? They were easily defeated and brought away as well.
Wang Dafu and his wife walked out when they heard the sound. But they dared not come close after seeing such a dreadful scene. They tremblingly lifted up their father with tears streaming down their cheeks after the figures left.
“Madam Wang wasn’t in the mood to decorate the mourning hall because her son was caught. Wang Dafu still had some conscience. He hung two white lanterns on the door.”
Mammy Li whispered. She knew what happened clearly. So, she naturally added something which Wang Li felt embarrassed to say.
“Kidnapping virgin boys and girls? They even checked their bones…”
Su Li fell into meditation and slightly frowned. She certainly knew that those people were absolutely not brokers. But too many cults could do such a thing. How could she find out the cult only with these clues?
Fang Yuan also looked sullen. They were more confused and didn’t know what to do. After all, even Su Li felt it’s knotty.
“Miss Su!”
Fang Mu stood up and said. He became calmer after the anger. He still remembered his current identity, so he called Su Li with respect.
Su Li raised her head and looked at Fang Mu with inquiring eyes.
Fang Mu kept away from the sight of the couple and took out a butterfly-shaped stone from his arms with his teeth clenched. Then he whispered, “This probably can help us!”
Fang Yuan’s face greatly changed when he saw what Fang Mu took out. He stepped forward and grasped Fang Mu’s collar. There were even intentions of killing flashing through his eyes. He said, “How can you have it?!”
Fang Yuan looked bitter, but he had no intention of defending himself.
Su Li’s eyebrows slightly rose. She asked Qu Qingning to send the couple back to their room. Then she stepped forward and took the butterfly-shaped stone. She said in a low voice, “The Poisonous Man Hunting Insect is actually the third-grade poisonous olfactory insect. One could imagine its rareness. It is probably the Fatal Insect of the head of the Fang Family. Fang Yuan, am I right?”
Fang Yuan didn’t answer Su Li. He still coldly stared at Fang Mu. The former asked the latter word by word, “How is my father?”
“Eldest brother, kill me!”
Fang Mu closed his eyes with a painful face. He had known that Fang Yuan would become furious when he took it out. If it hadn’t been used to take revenge for the old village head and save Xiaowu’s and others’ life, he would have kept the secret forever. He couldn’t bear to lose his eldest brother!
“Fang Yuan, calm down.”
Su Li patted Fang Yuan’s taut shoulder and said, “It is impossible to forcibly take away the Fatal Insect of the Poisonous Insect Clan. And this Fatal Insect is intact and is in the trance of convalescence. So, it is more unlikely for Fang Mu to forcibly take it from your father. You’d better ask your brother how on earth your father died instead of spending some time getting furious.”
Fang Yuan’s body slightly trembled. He finally let Fang Mu off after a long-time silence. As young patriarch, he certainly knew the characteristics of the Fatal Insect above the third grade. Since the Fatal Insect had been taken out from his father, it naturally signified the death of his father.
As a collateral clansman, Fang Mu was unqualified to know the secret of the Fatal Insect above the third grade. After hearing what Su Li said, he immediately looked guilty. Then he kneeled down with a flop and said while lowering his head,
“Sorry, eldest brother! I’m afraid of being misunderstood by you. If I had known these, I would definitely have handed this poisonous insect to you in the first time! It is my fault!”
Fang Yuan raised his head, so that no one could see his face. His voice slightly trembled, “How did… my father die?”
Then Fang Mu’s eyes were filled with hatred and he said, “Mo Youtian, the major general of the royal family of Nanjiang! If he had not set up the head of our family, we wouldn’t have been reduced to such a situation! I used the secret method to escape at that time. Afterwards, I chose to be caught by the Dahan Country and became a prisoner. I would not have lived and seen the eldest brother if the head of our family had not kept me alive with his last breath…”
Fang Mu was about to tell Fang Yuan all the secret things that happened that year. But Su Li interrupted him and said, “All right! All right! What can you do after you tell him all the things?”
Fang Mu stopped talking and his mouth was instantly filled with bitterness. Indeed, they didn’t have the ability to take revenge even if they knew the truth…
Yin Xuetong and Qu Qingning became sullen and they both became silent.
“Clap”
Su Li clapped and handed the Poisonous Man Hunting Insect to Fang Mu and then said, “We should focus on something urgent in the first place. Let’s take our old revenge later. Fang Yuan, you should wake up the insect so as to make your family pass on. Hurry up.”
Fang Yuan took over the poisonous insect without saying anything. He immediately made a small wound with a sword near his heart and his lips slightly trembled. The butterfly-shaped poisonous insect seemed to come alive. It lay on Fang Yuan’s chest to suck his blood.
Fang Yuan felt that half of the blood in his body was lost after just a very short time. Everything turned dark before his eyes. He nearly fell down. At this time, there was a white and slim palm on his back. Immediately, the viscera were wrapped in green rays of light. His hematopoietic capacity was improved so quickly that it could actually catch up the speed of the lost blood.
The poisonous insect with murky grey color like a stone turned to a colorful butterfly after an hour. It spread wings and lightly landed up on Fang Yuan’s shoulder with intimate movement.
Fang Yuan breathed a sigh of relief. He finally refined it. He had never expected that it was so hard to refine the third grade poisonous insect. If Su Li had not helped him at that critical moment, the poisonous insect would probably have drunk all of his blood.
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