Chapter 1397: The Great Emperor of Jiuyou Arrives

Chapter 1382: The Great Emperor Jiuyou Has Arrived

If the mantis stalks the cicada, he'll try being the oriole.

"Do you think their target is Qi Yuncheng or Xue Zongwu?"

"Naturally, it's Xue Zongwu!" He Lingchuan said without hesitation. "Qi Yuncheng is indeed hated by many, but he's a retired old man after all. Why did the explosions happen precisely when Xue Zongwu visited, and not earlier or later?"

"Xue Zongwu himself must be thinking the same, so he'll be highly vigilant now. But we're even more certain of one thing than Xue Zongwu: the other party began plotting against him back in Shuangxi City."

Soul-Mirror gasped, "Ah, so they were the ones who ambushed and killed Qian Yu in Shuangxi Town?"

"Such crude methods, and causing trouble in public – yes, it's very similar." Of course, He Lingchuan was only speculating. "If they're as persistent as us, they'll surely follow him to Mangzhou."

Qi Yuncheng and Xue Zongwu met. Just as Qi Yuncheng was about to speak, they were interrupted by three or four consecutive explosions in the eastern and northern parts of the villa, each no smaller than the first.

"This is outrageous!" Even with Qi Yuncheng's good temper, he was furious now. "What kind of rats dare to run rampant on my territory!"

"I have 171 men outside the villa. Hearing the explosions, they'll all come into the villa to find me."

Qi Yuncheng's face was grim. "The first explosion was in the west, so the gates and walls should be damaged. I've already given orders to activate the escape-blocking spell; the troublemakers won't be able to escape."

He took a deep breath. "I need to go calm the guests and check for further dangers; as for you..."

With such a major incident at Xiaotao Mountain Villa, he, as the host, had a responsibility to reassure his guests.

Xue Zongwu immediately said, "The arsonists are mine. I'll hunt them down and shatter every bone in their bodies!"

Xiaotao Mountain Villa currently housed over two thousand people, but most were guests or servants, with only a little over two hundred guards. There's no such thing as being on guard for a thousand days against thieves; how could Qi Yuncheng have known the perpetrators would cause such a large-scale disturbance? The villa was short-staffed and struggled to cope with the current situation, necessitating assistance from Xue Zongwu's team.

Qi Yuncheng nodded. "There are 260 guards in the villa. I'll keep sixty, and the rest are under your command."

In a few words, the division of labor was complete.

Xue Zongwu turned on his heel and headed west. His personal guard casually launched a signal flare into the sky; green smoke rose into the air.

The elite soldiers at Xiemating would enter the villa as soon as they saw the green smoke. Xue Zongwu only needed to head southwest to quickly rendezvous with them.

Qi Yuncheng immediately told his butler, "Yu Er, go help the young master-in-law gather men!"

Butler Yu Er looked bewildered, as if he couldn't remember what had happened.

Where was he, what was he doing? He seemed to have been in a trance moments ago.

Qi Yuncheng said angrily, "Why are you still standing there? Go quickly!"

Butler Yu Er awoke as if from a dream, and spurred by Qi Yuncheng's urging, he quickly chased after Xue Zongwu.

Xiaotao Mountain Villa, after all, wasn't a proper city with strong walls and high ramparts. If they acted even a little slowly, the saboteurs might escape or succeed in their objective.

Connecting this with recent abnormalities, Xue Zongwu naturally suspected that whoever caused such a commotion intended to target him.

He let out a cold chuckle. "Well then, let's see who kills whom, shall we?"

He was a man who had clawed his way out of mountains of corpses and seas of blood; why would he fear such a small disturbance?

Xue Zongwu strode west, encountering panicked guests along the way. With explosions in three directions of the villa, people instinctively gathered towards the south, hoping to quickly exit through the main gate.

Along the way, any guards they encountered were called over by Butler Yu Er to join Xue Zongwu's team.

After walking a dozen paces, the number of people behind him grew to over twenty.

Once he rendezvoused with the elite soldiers outside the gate, Xue Zongwu's team would expand to over two hundred.

Just then, Xue Zongwu seemed to sense something, and suddenly turned his head to look towards a fork in the path.

To the west was a greenhouse, where many exotic and valuable plants were cultivated. At night, it was pitch black. However, as Xue Zongwu watched, something moved in the darkness, approaching the group.

A voice then rang out: "Xue Zongwu!"

It had been a long time since anyone dared to address him so directly. Xue Zongwu frowned as he saw a black-clad figure stride out of the greenhouse's shadows. The person wore a mask and wisps of black smoke curled around his body.

"You've committed countless evil deeds, your crimes are unforgivable." This person was both growling and roaring, "I've come to take your dog's life!"

Xue Zongwu sneered, "Hiding your face, what kind of creature are you?"

"Who I am, you know perfectly well." The black-clad man laughed loudly, "Heaven's justice is clear; it's your turn for retribution!"

Xue Zongwu's eyebrow twitched. According to the intelligence he had received, the phrase "Heaven's justice is clear" was indeed a catchphrase of the Great Emperor Jiuyou. But those words weren't exclusively certified; anyone could say them, couldn't they?

However, the appearance of the person opposite him wasn't imposing enough, bearing no relation to "Jiuyou" at all, at best possessing a slight air of mystery.

Then, he smelled the acrid scent of smoke coming from the person.

Alright, scratch "mystery" from the list too.

"The last group who came seeking revenge from me, I flayed them alive. Ha, that was years ago."

And it was done in public.

He had once massacred a small town. Years later, two descendants of survivors came seeking revenge, only to be ordered by him to be flayed alive for two days, their entire skins perfectly peeled off and hung at the city gate.

Since then, no one dared to come knocking again.

Heh heh, they're all cowards, clinging to their own lives. Where's the "eagerness for revenge" in that?

Xue Zongwu waved a hand at the black-clad man and said grimly, "Seize him! I don't care if he lives or dies!"

The people behind him responded in unison, "Yes, sir!"

Then, several people charged forward.

Three of them were his personal attendants, the rest were guards from Xiaotao Mountain Villa.

Seeing this, the black-clad man, without a word, turned and ran!

He truly ran like the wind, in an undignified manner, completely devoid of any concern for his image.

Xue Zongwu almost burst out laughing in exasperation.

The ten people pursued the black-clad man into the greenhouse, immediately disappearing into the darkness.

Xue Zongwu pursued for a few paces, then stopped.

Putting himself in danger alone was not his habit. He still didn't understand the methods of these two.

Sure enough, just three to five breaths later, there was another loud boom, and flames shot skyward—

The greenhouse had exploded too!

This explosion was more violent than the previous ones. Xue Zongwu, still three yards away from the greenhouse, was thrown backward by the incoming blast wave. Protected by his spiritual power and instantly channeling strength to his feet, he managed not to be knocked over. However, several villa guards directly behind him were instantly sent flying, landing askew. Two of them were cut on their hands and faces by flying debris, crying out in pain.

It was unclear how the black-clad man had set up an explosion of such power, but everyone who went in suffered greatly. Xue Zongwu's subordinates, protected by their spiritual power, might fare somewhat better, but most of Qi Mansion's guards were likely doomed.

The intense flash of the explosion also made Xue Zongwu instinctively close his eyes and turn his head.

At the same time, he instinctively raised a hand to shield his eyes, preventing his face and head from being cut by flying sharp objects.