Chapter 328
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Fighting and killing, again and again, there finally came some results—someone discovered the wealth hoarded by Li Jinfeng’s household in Lu Town, and others found stashes of contraband hidden away by various people. It was as though cold water had been thrown into a pot of boiling oil—chaos erupted instantly. The scene became even more uncontrollable, with more deaths and injuries, and the plunder was snatched up in complete disarray. Only when Zhang Xiaohu returned once again to West Cui Mountain did this farcical dog-eat-dog struggle come to a halt. The survivors each took whatever spoils they had obtained, disembarked from the bandits’ ship, turned their backs on the darkness, and went their own ways in search of a new life.
The bandit’s words, however, left Zhang Xiaohu utterly confused. Since when had his younger brother become so powerful? So awe-inspiring? Yet no matter how carefully he questioned, he couldn’t get anything meaningful out of the man. After all, those who had managed to survive to this point were all wily, seasoned bandits. Moreover, this particular bandit hadn’t even witnessed Qin Shiyue killing anyone. Just as he said, the martial expert had slaughtered as easily as one might butcher chickens. Before the sentries on the stockade walls had even reacted, more than half were already dead. The rest, waking up and shouting in alarm, tried to flee—only to be cut down in droves. By the time the others were fully roused, dawn had already broken, and the martial expert was long gone. Who could have caught even a glimpse of his true appearance?
With a stomach full of questions, Zhang Xiaohu still chose to let the bandit go. After all, he couldn’t very well block the man’s path to repentance, could he?
But judging by the terrifying combat prowess described, that martial expert could not possibly be his own younger brother—Zhang Xiaohua! Yet if that man wasn’t his brother, then where had his brother gone?
Could it be that he had been mistaken for a bandit and killed by that revengeful martial artist?
At that thought, Zhang Xiaohu could no longer remain in ambush by the roadside. With a leap, he rushed up the mountain path toward West Cui Mountain.
As he stepped through the gates of West Cui Mountain, a scene of utter devastation greeted him. Fortunately, the bandits were used to scattering when trouble came—they looted their own base in an oddly orderly fashion and hadn’t set fire to the stronghold, as though intending to return one day. Only worthless corpses were strewn everywhere.
Most of the mountain bandits had already fled; those who remained were old, weak, sick, or injured—a few small fry, no one who cared whether strangers wandered into the stronghold. Especially when this particular newcomer went from body to body, carefully inspecting each one. They assumed he was just another vulture picking at the dead and mocked him silently: “He’s only just shown up? We’ve already gone through these corpses more times than we can count—there’s nothing left worth taking!” Then they each went back to their own business, indulging in one last bout of madness.
There were hundreds of corpses on the ground. Zhang Xiaohu, regardless of size or clothing, checked each one meticulously, terrified that he might miss something. Every time he flipped a body, he feared he would see a familiar face. Yet once he had examined every last corpse and still hadn’t found the one he dreaded, joy surged in his heart. Since there was no body, then there must be hope that his brother had survived! Filled with renewed strength, he scoured every corner of the stronghold once more—but still came up empty-handed. Only then did he truly relax. Thinking of his younger brother’s qinggong, it seemed likely he had escaped. Yes—that was when a sudden thought struck Zhang Xiaohu like a bolt from the blue: “Could Xiaohua have already returned to Guo Village?”
Steady and cautious as always, Zhang Xiaohu did not head home immediately. Instead, he once again turned over every single corpse, checking them all anew. He worked through the night until dawn broke, only then rousing his spirit and mounting his horse to ride back to Guo Village.
In his heart, he truly hoped—when he returned to the village, he would see his youngest brother squatting beneath the big tree, bowl in hand, teasing him for coming back so late. He’d probably laugh and say, “Why are you so slow? Didn’t you even think to come back to the village first and check?”
But as his horse galloped back to Guo Village, and he spotted from afar the figures of his mother and sister-in-law standing anxiously at the village entrance, a chill gripped his heart.
Xiaohua didn’t come back after all!
A thousand thoughts spun through Zhang Xiaohu’s mind, but none offered a good excuse. If he said Zhang Xiaohua had mentioned returning early or going to take care of something else, how could he explain the empty reddish-brown horse at his side? Yet if he told their mother that Xiaohua had gone missing… how could he bring himself to say the words?
As for Guo Sufei at the village entrance, she had already waited long and hard for her two sons to return. At first, she consoled herself, thinking perhaps the Li Jinfeng family had been especially hospitable and insisted they stay another day. But two whole days had passed—what kind of hospitality lasts so long without a word? She could no longer sit still. The night before, she had waited at the village entrance, hoping to see her sons return. She hadn’t slept well the entire night and had been standing at the village gate since the break of dawn.
Near midday, she finally caught sight of the familiar reddish-brown horse, her heart leaping with joy—only to plummet in the next breath when she saw a second, riderless steed. The one missing from its saddle was her precious child!
When Zhang Xiaohu arrived at the village entrance and dismounted, Guo Sufei immediately grabbed his arm in a death grip, her teeth clenched, demanding to know where Xiaohua was. Zhang Xiaohu’s face was ashen, and how could he dare speak the truth there at the village gate? He could only pull his sister-in-law along and forcefully bring their mother back to the small courtyard. Only when the whole family had gathered did he recount the entire matter, word for word, from beginning to end.
Upon hearing that her youngest son had gone missing after saving someone, with no sign of life or corpse to be found, Guo Sufei could no longer hold back her grief. Though she knew deep down that his actions were those of a true man—righteous and brave—he had risked his life to save someone, a stranger they’d never even met… yet the one who had disappeared was her own beloved child. How could she not weep?
Zhang Cai and Mr. Liu, however, felt differently. As strict fathers themselves, they felt proud—deeply proud—that the boy had acted so righteously. This, they believed, was the very conduct of a man. Had they been there, they would have encouraged him too, even gone with him willingly. Besides, the worst news had not yet come. Zhang Xiaohua had acted in the name of righteousness—surely Heaven would protect such a person! How could he be lost so easily?
Alas, how could they know—
Heaven and Earth are unkind, treating all things as straw dogs.
In this world, how much justice truly gets its due? How many good deeds are truly repaid? If not for a fateful stroke of luck, Zhang Xiaohua would have already been captured by the Heavenly Dragon Cult—and who could say what fate would have awaited him then?
Everyone tried their best to comfort Guo Sufei with kind words, but none could ease the knot in a mother’s heart longing for her child. In the end, it was Mr. Liu, an outsider to the situation, who tentatively suggested: “Could we ask the Piaomiao Sect to help rescue Zhang Xiaohua?”
These words struck Zhang Xiaohu like a bolt of lightning, waking him up from his daze. Of course! His own abilities were limited, but behind him stood a powerful sect in the martial world. How could he not make full use of them?
With this thought, Zhang Xiaohu lost all desire to linger at home. He quickly packed his things and set out from Guo Village, traveling through the night back to the Piaomiao Sect in Pingyang City. He also made arrangements with his family: if there was any news, they must inform him at once.
After returning to the Piaomiao Sect, Zhang Xiaohu found himself at a loss for how to seek help. He couldn’t just barge in to see Sect Master Ou and say his younger brother was missing, asking if the sect could help search for him, could he? Zhang Xiaohu could already imagine Ou Peng throwing him out for such a request. So, he could only turn to his mentor, Wen Wenhai, for help. Wen Wenhai, though a direct disciple of Ou Peng, held no real power within the sect and had no authority to mobilize the disciples of the Divine Forging Hall.
Thus, Wen Wenhai took the opportunity to discreetly mention the request to Senior Brother Zhang Chengyue, hoping that, for the sake of their brotherhood, Zhang Chengyue would lend a helping hand. Zhang Chengyue knew well the importance of Zhang Xiaohua. Upon hearing this, he didn’t even respond to Wen Wenhai before rushing out the door to report the matter to Ou Peng, leaving Wen Wenhai standing there, thinking Senior Brother was angry over such a trivial issue.
Just as Wen Wenhai was apologetically telling Zhang Xiaohu that he might not be able to help, and suggesting he try seeking out Ou Yan if all else failed, Zhang Chengyue hurriedly came looking for Zhang Xiaohu. When Zhang Xiaohu recounted Zhang Xiaohua’s disappearance in the Meeting Hall, Ou Peng’s reaction far exceeded Zhang Xiaohu’s expectations. The sect leader immediately dispatched ten disciples from the Divine Mechanism Hall, ordering them to head to West Cui Mountain and, no matter what, find out what happened to Zhang Xiaohua-dead or alive.
Zhang Xiaohu was deeply moved; he never expected Sect Master Ou to be so righteous and compassionate!
True professionals live up to their name. It wasn’t long before the disciples of the Divine Mechanism Hall returned with news. Although they hadn’t uncovered Zhang Xiaohua’s whereabouts, they did discover that West Cui Mountain had some connection with the Heavenly Dragon Cult. On the day of the incident, an envoy from the Heavenly Dragon Cult had been present at the mountain stronghold.
[TL_Note: I got to be honest, I mistranslated the Shenji Hall, I previously translated it as Divine Forging Hall, but it’s actually Divine Mechanism Hall, sorry for the confusion]
Upon hearing this news, Ou Peng hesitated. At that time, the Heaven’s Way Alliance and the Heavenly Dragon Cult were in fierce conflict, but there had yet to be any direct large-scale clashes. Many individuals associated with the Heaven’s Way Alliance had been killed by disciples of the Heavenly Dragon Cult, with some cases even resulting in the extermination of entire families. However, the Heaven’s Way Alliance did not dare to truly confront the Heavenly Dragon Cult head-on; they only issued stern statements and serious protests, occasionally probing at the cult’s weaknesses, but as a superpower in the martial world, they remained cautious and restrained. How could Ou Peng dare to face such a formidable opponent directly? He immediately ordered the Divine Mechanism Hall disciples to return to the sect at once and instructed Zhang Chengyue to put the Immortal Dao Plan on hold, fearing that the Heavenly Dragon Cult’s abduction of Zhang Xiaohua might have a deeper motive, or that they might learn the significance of the Big Dipper Divine Fist from him.
To Zhang Xiaohu, Ou Peng simply said that the Divine Mechanism Hall disciples had not found any news of Zhang Xiaohua, brushing him off. With no news of his younger brother, Zhang Xiaohu naturally had nothing to report back to Guo Village, and could only hope that time would heal his parents’ grief.
Time passed quickly, and soon more than a year had gone by since Zhang Xiaohua’s disappearance. Who in the martial world would still remember the young man who once made a splash at the Piaomiao Sect’s martial arts tournament, apart from Zhang Xiaohu?
Perhaps only Ou Peng, unable to suppress the burning anxiety in his heart, would think of Zhang Xiaohua, the originator of the Big Dipper Divine Fist, when, seeing that the Heavenly Dragon Cult seemed to have no interest in the Piaomiao Sect, he once again pinned his hopes on the Big Dipper Divine Fist, only to be sorely disappointed.
At this time, Ou Peng’s troubles were not limited to the setbacks of the Immortal Dao Revival Plan; what angered him even more was something else entirely!
