Chapter 45: Sacrifice
During the night in Yunzhong City, the number of people out and about decreased significantly. Although cultivators were not afraid of the dark, most of them followed the habits of ordinary people – eating when it was time to eat and sleeping when it was time to sleep. Only a few places remained brightly lit.
Liu Hui cautiously took out a special stone and rented a room at the inn. The members of the Giant Wave Fish Gang rented rooms surrounding them, keeping watch all day.
"I ran out of money. This is the only spirit stone I have left on me, so tonight, we have to make a decision."
"Uncle, what should we do? Maybe we should fight them. If we can save one person, it's better than nothing."
Liu Dong spoke, his father Liu Jie had already died in battle at the hands of the Giant Wave Fish Gang. He was filled with hatred and wanted revenge.
"Silly, what do you have to fight with?"
"If we don't fight, what can we do? We don't have money, even if we don't eat, drink, or sleep, we can only survive for ten days or half a month at most, and still end up dead."
"So we have to make a decision, little sister, are you afraid of death?"
"No, brother."
Liu Yuan said, the Liu family used to have more than thirty people, now only the four of them are left. She is no longer afraid of death, just like Liu Dong, and only wants revenge.
"Alright, then the little sister and I will die together, while Siyu and Xiaodong will survive."
"Ah, father, what about you..."
"Shut up and listen to me. We are already at the mercy of the Giant Wave Fish Gang, there's no point in fighting desperately. All I can do is to keep you alive. In the second half of the night, we will leave. The little sister and I will attack the members of the Giant Wave Fish Gang, while Siyu and Xiaodong should run immediately to Lin Yu's place."
"Lin Yu, will he help us?"
"Yes, he told me that."
Liu Hui said, during a meal invitation from Lin Yu, Liu Hui and Lin Yu reached an agreement in a very secretive way that even members of the Giant Wave Fish Gang weren't aware of.
"Brother, is he really trustworthy?"
"This was acquired through a trade. It's a treasure map, not a very powerful treasure, but a distribution map of some spiritual medicines beneath the Yuntuo River. If you give it to him, he will let you both stay."
Liu Hui took out a map and said, "The Trident Fish Gang controls a long section of the Yuntuo River. Beneath this river, there are spiritual veins, demonic beasts, minerals, and of course, spiritual medicines."
One elder of the Liu family is an elder of the Trident Fish Gang. It is privately held by the Liu family, and only he, Liu Jie, and that elder knew about it. Now only he knows, and the spiritual medicines hidden below could be worth tens of thousands of spirit stones.
Liu Yuan showed surprise but didn't say anything. Even if they give this treasure map to the Giant Wave Fish Gang, they won't survive, but if they give it to that Taoist Friend Lin, they might have a chance.
"Uncle, I..."
"No need to say more. You are the last remaining members of the Liu family. If you want to seek revenge for us, then strive to stay alive, cultivate, and improve your cultivation. If one day you can reach the Golden Core Period, then you can take action. If you can't reach the Golden Core Period, then leave Yunzhong City and settle elsewhere."
Liu Hui said that sacrificing himself and Liu Yuan to save Liu Siyu and Liu Dong was the only thing he could do, hoping that this plan would work.
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In the middle of the night, Liu Hui and the other three left the inn. The members of the Giant Wave Fish Gang followed them, their task was to keep an eye on Liu Hui and his companions until they couldn't survive in Yunzhong City anymore and were killed when they left the city.
Liu Hui remained unmoved, leading the four of them until they arrived at a brightly lit area. This area was where the restaurants, brothels, and gambling dens of Yunzhong City gathered. It was the entertainment district and nighttime was the busiest time. The security guards of Yunzhong City focused on this area at night because it was the most prone to trouble.
"Kid, come here."
Liu Hui pointed at the members of the Giant Wave Fish Gang and shouted.
"Old man, what do you want?"
"Hehe, aren't you coming? With so many people here, let's rush into one of the brothels. Do you dare to follow us in?"
Liu Hui sneered. The Fish Gang was a force outside the city, but anyone who could run a brothel inside the city would definitely not be weak, maybe even stronger than the Fish Gang because Yunzhong City's brothels were probably more profitable.
"You, what do you want to do?"
"Go."
"Stop them."
Liu Hui led the way towards a brothel, making the members of the Giant Wave Fish Gang anxious. The brothel was their easiest escape route. Would Liu Hui dare to cause trouble once they went inside?
"Kill."
Just then, Liu Hui took action, as did Liu Yuan. They suddenly turned and attacked the members of the Giant Wave Fish Gang, while Liu Dong and Liu Siyu quickly ran ahead.
"Ambushed, retreat quickly."
The members of the Giant Wave Fish Gang were extremely terrified. They wanted to run, but there was nowhere to escape. Liu Hui's flying sword was already approaching, and they were forced to defend themselves.
"Daring to make a move in Yunzhong City, they're asking for trouble."
Not far away, a group of guards on horseback saw Liu Hui and the others fighting and became very angry. They quickly charged towards them, but Liu Hui remained unfazed and continued to attack.
Seek revenge, doesn't he want that? The Liu family lost dozens of family members and there was nowhere for his hatred to go.
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"Here."
Lin Jiang saw Liu Siyu and Liu Dong, waved to them, and quickly hid inside the house.
Once inside Lin Jiang's house, they both sat down on the ground, panting heavily. Their bodies were drenched in sweat. But when they calmed down, they started crying again. They knew that Liu Hui and Liu Yuan were already dead.
"Cry all you want. My house is protected by a soundproofing spell. No one can hear you crying next door."
Lin Jiang said. He didn't try to comfort them because words were useless at this moment. He let them cry it out since no one could hear them anyway. It was safe.
They cried for two or three hours and finally stopped. Liu Dong stood up, bowed to Lin Jiang, and said, "Thank you, Taoist Friend Lin, for saving our lives."
"No need, I was just being kind-hearted."
Lin Jiang shook his head. He was truly kind-hearted for a moment. After speaking to Liu Hui, he regretted it. But now he could only grit his teeth and endure.
And the reason he was kind-hearted was because he thought of Lin Die and Lin Ying. His heart couldn't bear it.
"Regardless, thank you Taoist Friend Lin. This is something my uncle promised Taoist Friend Lin."
Liu Dong took out the map. He originally wanted to hide it privately. He wanted to save it for later. But in the end, he didn't do so. At present, his priority was to save his own life.
"Alright, here are three small rooms. You can choose for yourselves. Please don't enter my room. I won't care about the others. It's best if you don't go out either. Do you understand what I mean?"
Lin Jiang said, most of the houses in Yunzhong City were similar to shared rental housing, where a small yard was divided into several rooms for workers to rent. It was rare for someone like Lin Jiang to live alone in a small yard.
The next morning, Lin Jiang prepared to go out. As soon as he stepped outside, he saw the people from the Giant Wave Fish Gang.
"What's the matter?"
"Can you confirm if the people from the Trident Fish Gang were taken in by you, my Taoist friend Lin?"
"Do you have any evidence?"
"No, but they definitely ran in this direction."
"Why don't you come into my house and search?"
"I dare not."
The person from the Giant Wave Fish Gang quickly said, even the guards from Yunzhong City wouldn't dare search a cultivator's house without higher approval. Many cultivators have their own secrets, daring to intrude like that would be a great feud. The power of the Giant Wave Fish Gang is not yet powerful enough to be so arrogant.
"That's settled then, I have to go set up my stall outside, please move aside."
Lin Jiang didn't hesitate and walked away, leaving a few people from the Giant Wave Fish Gang at a loss for what to do.
For the next two weeks, Lin Jiang received the hospitality of Liu Hui's family. The people from the Giant Wave Fish Gang kept a close eye on him all day, but it didn't bother Lin Jiang. As long as Liu Siyu and the others didn't leave the house, he wouldn't have any problems.
After two weeks, the members of the Giant Wave Fish Gang retreated. This happened not only because Lin Jiang couldn't find any evidence, but also because the Trident Fish Gang had become a thing of the past. Most of the remaining members of the Trident Fish Gang had already been wiped out. Even if a few escaped, they couldn't change the overall situation. The focus of the Giant Wave Fish Gang shifted to how they could take over the territory of the Trident Fish Gang instead of chasing down the remaining enemies.
"The Giant Wave Fish Gang has stopped chasing after you, but I still suggest that you don't go out. The danger hasn't completely passed yet. Stay here, and you'll have food and drinks. Use this time to practice and train yourself."
Lin Jiang told Liu Siyu and Liu Dong, "It hasn't been even a month since the Trident Fish Gang was destroyed. Escaping now would be unwise. It's better to stay here for a little longer. I'll take care of your meals, but not your training resources. It won't cost much."
The two of them didn't have any objections, or rather, they didn't have strong opinions. Even though they were not young anymore, they had always been protected by their family and hadn't experienced much. They could only follow what Lin Jiang said.
