Chapter 405: Reinforcements

In the underground hall, the flickering light of the torches cast shadows that danced across the walls. Countless coffins were scattered about in disarray. In one corner of the hall, Zhang Xiaohua stood silently. He was indeed exhausted—not physically, but mentally and emotionally drained.

Casting his gaze around the somewhat chaotic hall, Zhang Xiaohua walked over to where Little Orange lay. Although the underground chamber had no view of the outside, Zhang Xiaohua could clearly sense that it was not far from midnight. Even if he could take Little Orange out right now, he himself would soon fall into unconsciousness. And now, in the bitter depths of winter, the cold outside was bone-chilling. While he was not afraid of the cold, how could someone like Little Orange possibly endure it?

Thus, Zhang Xiaohua looked around, then walked straight toward one of the few remaining jade coffins that still had a lid. He lifted the lid, climbed inside, and pulled it shut over him, closing his eyes to begin cultivating.

The next day, when Zhang Xiaohua awoke, he did not immediately climb out of the coffin. First, he used his divine sense to sweep through the entire underground hall. Then he extended his senses upward to the surface. Everything seemed normal—no signs of disturbance. Clearly, this underground chamber was an important place within the sect, and without orders from the Order Master, no one would dare disturb it lightly.

Just as Zhang Xiaohua was about to extend his divine sense even farther, the sound of fierce fighting suddenly reached his ears.

A faint smile appeared at the corners of Zhang Xiaohua’s mouth. So Yu Deyi really had gone to Lu Town to bring back reinforcements.

Like a silver thread, his divine sense stretched outward. At the front gate of the estate, over a hundred government troops were wielding weapons, fighting alongside a dozen or so robust men in tight-fitting clothes. They were shouting as they launched an assault on the estate. Inside, several dozen gang members, also armed, were busy defending against the attack. The “Brother Zhang” and “Old Seventh” whom Zhang Xiaohua had seen the previous day were now locked in a fierce melee with the government troops. Even Banner Leader Gao had drawn a longsword and was battling several of the muscular men. The other banner leaders were nowhere to be seen—most likely, they had already left yesterday.

Even so, the government troops held no advantage. In fact, they were on the losing side. Cries of pain rang out as many soldiers fell under the blades of the gang members. Not far from the front lines, Yu Deyi and another middle-aged man in an official’s robe stood watching, both with anxious expressions on their faces. Yu Deyi’s eyes weren’t on the battle in front of the gate, but were instead fixed intently on the interior of the estate, as though he were desperately waiting for something.

The middle-aged man in the official robe couldn’t help but urge Yu Deyi a few times with increasing impatience.

Yu Deyi grew even more anxious.

Seeing this, Zhang Xiaohua understood that the government troops couldn’t compare to these seasoned, blood-hardened men of the martial world. Even though the soldiers were only attacking from the front and leaving the other three sides of the manor completely unguarded, it was clear that the authorities hoped these Jianghu gangs would retreat after realizing the odds, perhaps even escape from other directions. The officials wouldn’t pursue them. But the leader of this manor had already been reduced to ashes by Zhang Xiaohua the night before—who was left to issue commands?

With no order to retreat, the gang members naturally didn’t dare withdraw on their own. What’s more, in a situation where they held the upper hand, how could these Jianghu men possibly choose to flee?

Seeing the situation unfold like this, Zhang Xiaohua dared not delay. He leapt out of the coffin, stepped up to Little Orange, scooped her gently into his arms, formed a hand seal, and performed an Earth Escape.

Once he had tunneled out of the manor, he spread out his divine sense—ah, that Sibu Xiang had wandered off to the side gate! Thankfully, it wasn’t far from the front. Activating his levitation technique, he flew swiftly to Huanhuan’s side.

Huanhuan neighed softly in excitement when it saw Zhang Xiaohua. He patted its bald horn, gently laid Little Orange on its back, then drew his long sword from the saddle and turned back toward the front gate.

He walked right up behind Yu Deyi. Though Yu Deyi had some martial skills, at that moment, his full attention was on the battle ahead. He had no thought of guarding his back.

He only heard Zhang Xiaohua chuckle and say: “Brother Yi, you’ve arrived quite early.”

“Ah!” Yu Deyi heard the voice and was overjoyed. The savior he’d been waiting for had finally appeared! He turned quickly and said: “Great hero, where did you go? I thought you were still inside the manor. Why… why are you only arriving now?”

“Ahem.” Zhang Xiaohua coughed a few times, scratched his head and said sheepishly: “Well, it got a bit too late last night, and I figured you all wouldn’t be here until midmorning at the earliest… so… I overslept!”

With a plop, Yu Deyi lost his balance and fell from his exhausted chestnut-colored horse. “What kind of person are you! I haven’t slept all night, running around, working so hard to convince the officials at Lu Town to bring reinforcements—and here you are, saying you overslept!”

Still, Yu Deyi didn’t know the true depth of Zhang Xiaohua’s abilities and dared not offend him. He quickly scrambled up from the ground and cupped his fists respectfully. “Great hero, I wonder what you discovered during your investigation yesterday? We’re clearly failing to break through—if your so-called reinforcements don’t show up, I fear…”

Sigh, Yu Deyi was still holding onto that nonsense Zhang Xiaohua had made up yesterday about some reinforcements.

At that moment, the official beside Yu Deyi rode forward. Seeing Zhang Xiaohua’s face covered by a mask, the man already felt averse. Then, hearing Zhang Xiaohua speak so lazily only made him angrier. He urged his horse forward and didn’t even bother to salute. “You there, so-called hero! Young Master Yu claims you and your companions have already scouted this manor and discovered remnants of a Jianghu gang inside, who even dared to abduct Young Master Yu’s niece. It’s not that I don’t believe you, but you’ve got no proof, just empty words. If today yields nothing of substance, you’ll be held responsible!”

He raised his eyes and glanced at the battle raging ahead, his brow furrowing deeply. His tone turned cold. “My men have already suffered heavy casualties, and we’ve yet to breach the manor. If you’ve fed us false reports and lured us into a trap, I’ll return to Lu Town at once and report to my superiors. You will be declared wanted by land and sea! Even if you’re a man of the martial world, I’ll have you arrested and brought to justice to avenge my fallen brothers!”

Zhang Xiaohua’s expression darkened at those words. “Hmph, I hand you a great merit for free, and instead of thanks, you come here running your mouth, threatening this Young Master? Who do you think you are?”

He narrowed his eyes at the man and gave a disdainful spit on the ground. Then he raised his voice and laughed: “Brother Yi! Who’s this guy? Why’s he calling you ‘Young Master Yu’?”

Yu Deyi looked embarrassed and stammered: “Well… please don’t take offense, Great Hero. My full name is Yu Deyi. I didn’t mean to deceive you before—it’s just, when I first met you, your circumstances seemed a bit unusual, so I kept a few things back, just in case.”

Zhang Xiaohua chuckled, stuck a finger in his ear and gazed up at the clouds in the sky. “Oh, is that so? Tch, what a mess… Here I am, out for a morning stroll, didn’t even wash my face or brush my teeth, and now I’ve got to listen to all this nonsense? I can’t even make heads or tails of it. You know what, forget it. I think I’ll go grab some soup dumplings, fill my stomach, then head back for a nice nap. Isn’t that the more reasonable thing to do?”

Having said that, Zhang Xiaohua patted his rear as if to dust himself off and turned to leave.

Yu Deyi was shocked—his daring to venture into danger alone had all been based on his trust in this so-called great hero. If this fellow just upped and left, what would he do? Let alone his niece’s life, even his own safety would be at risk. No longer caring about propriety, he hurried forward and grabbed Zhang Xiaohua’s arm, crying out: “Great Hero! Please, don’t take it to heart. We’re just ordinary folks, not of the Jianghu—we’re bound to say a few things that rub you the wrong way. You’re a man of great stature, don’t lower yourself to our level. Just treat our words like a fart—let the wind blow it away!”

The official’s expression shifted between red and white. He knew the people of the martial world were unruly, eccentric, and would draw their blades at the slightest provocation. But he couldn’t help but feel sour about the way this masked man behaved just now. Still, looking at the battle ahead, things really weren’t going well. His earlier complaint had merely been a reflexive attempt at asserting official authority—as the government’s representative, he was used to being treated with deference. How could he have expected things to take such a turn?

Now, however, he had no way out—he’d mounted the tiger, and had no choice but to ride it.

Zhang Xiaohua simply continued gazing at the drifting white clouds above, as if fairies were dancing atop them, paying no heed to Yu Deyi. The official, seeing this, gritted his teeth, dismounted with a thud, and strode over. He bowed deeply before Zhang Xiaohua and said solemnly: “I am Le Zhichun. Just now I truly offended you, Great Hero. I beg your forgiveness. It was only because my men have suffered heavy losses, and I was not in the best of moods.”

Zhang Xiaohua let out a cold chuckle. “If you truly cared for your subordinates, would you treat someone coming to help you like this? No need to pretend—I know exactly what petty calculations you’ve got going on in your head. I’ve eaten more salt than you’ve eaten rice. You think I wouldn’t see through it? Forget it. This old man is soft-hearted. You’re defending your homeland, after all. If I don’t lend a hand to someone like you, who else would I help?”

Without waiting for Le Zhichun to rise, he merely pushed off the ground with his foot, and his body soared into the air like a great bird, diving straight into the chaotic battlefield ahead.

While exchanging words with Yu Deyi and Le Zhichun just now, Zhang Xiaohua had long used his divine sense to thoroughly survey the battlefield. He didn’t waste time dealing with underlings like Brother Zhang. The moment his sword pointed forward, his first target was the man surrounded by several fighters—Banner Leader Gao. No, to be precise, it should be Steward Gao.

Steward Gao was no slouch. Wielding a single long sword against several opponents, he hadn’t lost the slightest edge—and had even injured two of them. But when he saw a masked figure flying toward him with a mere sword blank in hand, and that person’s qinggong was clearly extraordinary, he immediately felt that something was wrong. By the time Zhang Xiaohua’s sword came swinging down, Steward Gao had already channeled all his inner strength to respond in earnest.

Yet he lacked the great inner skills of the Deputy Order Master. In the chaotic melee, he couldn’t clearly sense the terrifying power in that sword strike. When that overwhelming force surged through his blade, he no longer had any options—he was smashed into a bloody mess. [TL_Note: Sorry about the confusion, the old man Zhang Xiaohua fought was the Deputy Order Master after all, the raws omitted the deputy part, so I couldn’t add it without being sure, so Order Master at the time was more of a blanket term.]

Lying flat on his back, Steward Gao still didn’t understand—how could this sword strike be so devastating? It was far beyond what his inner force could match. And he had only been steward for a single day! Not even officially appointed—just verbally assigned by the Deputy Order Master!

The surrounding fighters who had been trying to bring Steward Gao down were all dumbfounded. None of them had expected that this masked stranger would take out such a formidable opponent with just one blow.

Zhang Xiaohua didn’t stop. With a few agile movements, he was already upon the next target—Steward Qi. He had some real skill; in one exchange, he managed to deflect a large part of that mountain-crushing force and narrowly dodged the blow. But unfortunately, there was no avoiding the second strike. With a swift thrust, Zhang Xiaohua drove his sword forward and shattered Steward Qi’s right arm.
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Orluros’s Vault of Secrets: Hi everyone, I’m taking a small vacation from posting this novel. I’ll see you all next year, so I wish you a merry holiday and a happy new year! If you liked the chapter feel free to donate 🙂 and if you find any errors in the translation please mention them in the comments here or in discord