Zou Feng hesitated no longer. He immediately tapped a finger on the Ten Directions Cultist’s forehead.
The man’s eyes quickly lost their light, becoming vacant and unable to focus.
It was as if the poison had instantly turned him into an imbecile.
"Why is your Ten Directions Sect looking for me?"
The Ten Directions Cultist opened his mouth, wanting to speak, but he seemed to be fighting against the last vestiges of his sanity.
After stammering for a long while, he finally managed to say intermittently, "Co... cooperate..."
’Cooperate?’
The answer surprised Zou Feng, but on second thought, if the Ten Directions Sect could really win him over, it would be a devastating blow to the Black Flood Dragon Gang, and even to other gangs!
The reason was simple: he could cure the poison of the Great Compassion Hand!
Take the Black Flood Dragon Gang, for example. If he hadn’t intervened, Xiang Kang and several other high-ranking Hall Master Level members, even if they hadn’t died, would have been bedridden to this day, let alone participating in any encirclement operations.
’Then the question is...’
’How did the remnants of the Ten Directions Sect, who have been beaten into hiding and barely dare to show their faces, know that I can cure the Great Compassion Hand, and how did they know so precisely that I would be attending the Yang Mansion’s wedding banquet today?’
It would be truly strange if there wasn’t a mole in the Black Flood Dragon Gang.
"Who is your informant inside the Black Flood Dragon Gang?" Having thought of this, Zou Feng naturally had to ask immediately.
The Ten Directions Cultist’s eyes grew even more vacant. He just shook his head, indicating he didn’t know.
Zou Feng knew that the poison was continuing to take effect and had already caused irreversible damage to the man’s brain.
’But it’s normal that he doesn’t know. For the sake of secrecy, the mole probably only has single-line contact with a specific leader within the Ten Directions Sect.’
Seeing the man was on his last legs, Zou Feng quickly asked his final question. "Where in Yuan Guang County Town did you live before?"
His phrasing was very deliberate. He didn’t ask, "Where is your Ten Directions Sect hiding?"
Otherwise, it would have been easy to trigger the man’s remaining rationality to resist, which would have accelerated the poison’s effects and caused him to die prematurely.
"Mei... Meihua Lane... PTAH—"
Just as he uttered those words, the Ten Directions Cultist could hold on no longer. He vomited blood and died on the spot.
Even the Chaos Finger, at the level of Refined Skill, couldn’t function like a Truth Serum.
It could only poison the target into an imbecilic state, and then you’d have to hope that imbecile could answer a few simple questions.
But this time, the haul was big enough. The two words, "Meihua Lane," had significantly narrowed down the search area.
Speaking of which, the Ghost Market had once operated in Meihua Lane.
The first time Zou Feng bought a Qi Dispersing Pill after Entering Grade was at the Meihua Lane Ghost Market.
However, because of the trouble stirred up by the Ten Directions Sect, the Ghost Market hadn’t seemed to open for a long time.
A moment later, Zou Feng peeked out of the alley. Seeing no one was passing by, he tossed the two corpses into the river, letting them float downstream and merge into the East River.
After disposing of the bodies, Zou Feng continued his stroll along the riverbank as if nothing had happened.
But he was already heading back the way he came.
’Considering the time, Bian Yixia should have arrived at the teahouse by now with her people.’
Meanwhile, Zou Feng was considering whether he should seize this opportunity to lead a team and wipe out this Ten Directions Sect hideout.
After all, he definitely couldn’t take down a Ten Directions Sect hideout on his own.
’As for the benefits of taking down the hideout...’
Although the Celestial Essence Sword Sect hadn’t sent many of its own disciples here, they offered extra rewards to those who killed Ten Directions Cultists.
Especially if one could kill a mid-level member of the Ten Directions Sect, the rewards were so great that even Seventh Grade Experts like Xiang Kang and Bian Yixia would covet them.
Therefore, the benefits of taking down a hideout would be absolutely immense.
And what Zou Feng wanted most had always been the manual for the Great Compassion Hand.
After his recent fight with the Ten Directions Cultist who knew the Great Compassion Hand, he was even more certain that it was a Cultivation Skill that could strengthen his own Poison Skill.
And as he was already an expert in the Poison Dao, his Cultivation of this Skill would clearly be twice as effective with half the effort.
After a moment of thought, Zou Feng made his decision.
’Let’s do this!’
’But I have to be fast. I need to act before those Ten Directions Sect remnants in Meihua Lane realize something has happened to the men they sent.’
’And also before the mole in the Black Flood Dragon Gang has time to warn them.’
As Zou Feng quickened his pace back to the teahouse, the atmosphere inside was clearly off.
The storyteller, who was usually clear-spoken and extremely fluent even when improvising stories, had started to stutter.
But you couldn’t blame him. Any storyteller would start stuttering if they saw some twenty-odd, murderous-looking members of the Black Flood Dragon Gang suddenly sit down in the teahouse.
Especially since these weren’t ordinary gang members.
The Black Flood Dragon Gang’s Miss, "Rotating Wheel Hammer" Bian Yixia.
Her other, secret nickname was "Meat Pie Hammer."
Beside her sat "Fire Vajra" Chen Jingsheng.
And next to them, "Beast Taming Scholar" Wang Xingjian...
Each one was an infamous and fearsome figure in the eyes of the common folk of Yuan Guang County.
Zou Feng himself probably never imagined he had this much clout.
Aside from his close comrades Bian Yixia, Chen Jingsheng, and Wang Xingjian, three additional Hall Masters and five Incense Masters had also come.
With a lineup like this, if they had just a few more ordinary gang members, it would be comparable to the force the Black Flood Dragon Gang deployed to clear out the shantytown last time.
Before long, Zou Feng, who had quickened his pace, returned.
He was indeed taken aback when he saw the scene.
"Miss, Master Chen..."
Quickly entering the teahouse, which was now devoid of regular customers, Zou Feng couldn’t help but greet each of them in turn.
Seeing he was unharmed, the first to let out a long sigh of relief was Chen Jingsheng. "It’s good that you’re okay. Did you shake them off?"
This, in turn, made Zou Feng feel a little awkward.
"Any leads? Who did you provoke?" This question came from Bian Yixia.
Zou Feng had already prepared his story. "This subordinate is as familiar with the streets and alleys of Yuan Guang County Town as one can be."
"I took a few detours and lost him!"
"Then, catching him off guard, this subordinate seized the opportunity to turn the tables and tail him instead..."
And so, the storyteller in the teahouse was replaced by Zou Feng, who began to share his fabricated tale with the crowd.
He even claimed that while counter-tailing the man, he deduced he was a remnant of the Ten Directions Sect based on certain characteristics of Great Compassion Hand cultivators—traits he’d discovered while treating its poison.
"He really went into Meihua Lane?!" Bian Yixia shot to her feet, the two Large Round Hammers on her back clearly thirsting for action.
Wang Xingjian, however, stroked his chin and said, "Worthy Brother, are you sure the one tailing you was a Ten Directions Sect remnant? We already went to Meihua Lane during the last encirclement operation..."
Another Hall Master, surnamed Huang, said, "We went, but that was over ten days ago!"
"Right, these sons of bitches are always hiding and moving around."
Bian Yixia immediately made a decision. "Excellent. Brothers, follow me, and we’ll wipe them out!"
They had been fighting the Ten Directions Sect for so long that what started as a cooperative effort with the Celestial Essence Sword Sect had long since turned into a personal vendetta.
What’s more, killing Ten Directions Sect remnants meant they could go to the Elite Disciples of the Celestial Essence Sword Sect to claim an extra reward.
Therefore, after Bian Yixia made her decision, no one present objected. Everyone was eager and couldn’t wait to cash in.
They were even afraid other gangs would find out and take a cut of the spoils.
"Zou Feng, there’s no time to lose. Lead the way!"
In truth, Zou Feng didn’t know the exact location of the Ten Directions Sect remnants’ hideout in Meihua Lane.
But a general area was enough. Once inside Meihua Lane, he could rely on his sense of smell, which was far superior to that of an ordinary Martial Artist, to find those Ten Directions Cultists who were thoroughly steeped in the stench of Evil Pills.
Zou Feng agreed and immediately rushed out of the teahouse first.
The others immediately followed, but Bian Yixia didn’t forget to toss one tael of silver to the long-faced teahouse owner.
On the street, although their group looked menacing, the residents of Yuan Guang County were already used to such sights.
After all, everyone knew that the various powers in Yuan Guang County were all focused on surrounding and annihilating the Ten Directions Sect.
Situations like this, where a group of people would immediately rush over upon discovering traces of Ten Directions Sect remnants, were common.
The key to this operation was speed. They had to finish it before the enemy had time to react.
After a mad dash, the twenty-plus members of the Black Flood Dragon Gang swarmed into Meihua Lane.
This place was, after all, just a rather deep alley, its terrain nowhere near as complex as the shantytown’s.
So, Zou Feng walked at the very front, sniffing the air as he went. Soon, he caught a familiar scent.
The smell was coming from a small courtyard with high walls.
Ever since entering Meihua Lane, everyone had, without needing to be told, used their Qinggong to move as silently as possible.
Thus, after catching the scent, Zou Feng simply turned and gave everyone a meaningful look.
An Incense Master, whose face was only vaguely familiar, stepped forward and whispered in Bian Yixia’s ear, "Old Deng’s family lives here. They have a shop in town that sells mountain goods..."
Bian Yixia nodded, then looked at Zou Feng and asked in a low voice, "Are you sure?"
Zou Feng nodded. "There’s no mistake!"
This affirmative answer meant that Old Deng’s family had likely already met a terrible fate.
The next moment, Bian Yixia gave a few hand signals, and the gang members behind her immediately spread out, surrounding the small courtyard in the shortest time possible.
Chen Jingsheng chose to guard the courtyard’s back door and ripped off his shirt.
The fight hadn’t even begun, and he was already ripping his shirt off.
Those whose Cultivation Skills required weapons naturally drew their tools of the trade in silence.
But what Zou Feng couldn’t quite understand was that Wang Xingjian had taken out a flute.
’Uh, what’s he planning to do? When the fighting starts, is he going to play a rousing tune to boost everyone’s morale?’
Although he was puzzled, the arrow was already on the bowstring, so Zou Feng couldn’t very well go over and ask questions.
Seeing that everyone was ready, Bian Yixia finally walked to the main gate of the courtyard.
She took a deep breath, then viciously kicked the gate.
"Granny Bian is here! Aren’t you going to hurry up and come accept your deaths?!"