The mountain forest under the night was cold and desolate, only occasionally accompanied by the cries of birds and beasts, indicating the danger there.
A colorful poison spider slowly crawled on a tree branch, aiming for a nearby bird’s nest.
But before it could get close, a figure suddenly darted out from the darkness, its toe landing right on the spider.
With a soft crack, the spider was squashed.
Looking again, the figure had already blended into the forest and disappeared.
The traveler was Zhao Ya.
After settling Meng Shiwen and Zui’Er, he left the city alone, heading towards Cyan Bamboo Ridge.
He needed to first gather some intelligence, at least discern what Cyan Bamboo Ridge was planning.
His figure swiftly darted through the forest, and if not for the occasional need to press on a branch for leverage, it was almost indistinguishable from flying.
Ever since practicing the Little Five Paths Chasing Soul Leg, Zhao Ya’s body technique greatly improved, though he was still one insight away from breaking through to Returning to the Essence; he was significantly better than before.
Even this prolonged journey didn’t exhaust Zhao Ya particularly.
Within merely half an hour, he reached the fringes of Cyan Bamboo Ridge.
Upon arrival, Zhao Ya slowed down, activated his Concealing Breath Technique, and merged quietly with the forest.
Yet, not long after, footsteps sounded ahead; although faint, Zhao Ya’s ear power was exceptionally sharp, allowing him to keenly detect the noise.
With a swift movement, he leaped onto a nearby large tree, using branches to shield his figure.
True to expectation.
In merely a few seconds, a squad of Mountain Patrol emerged from the forest, led by one wearing vine armor, wielding a long knife, presenting quite a presence.
His eyes scanned about, not sparing a single tree, even gazing towards the one where Zhao Ya hid.
But with the concealment of the Concealing Breath Technique, the patrol leader did not notice anything unusual and withdrew his gaze in the end.
"Lately, this area has been restless; you must remain alert, else if there’s a mishap, you and I will be sent to the mining pits as labor, understand?" the leader said solemnly.
"Yes!"
The subordinates behind him, whether intimidated by his presence or frightened by the threat of being thrown into the mining pits, their expressions turned very grave.
But relying on these people’s methods, naturally, they couldn’t detect Zhao Ya.
After a thorough search confirming the surrounding was safe, the patrol squad finally left.
Once they left, Zhao Ya’s expression became somewhat solemn.
From this patrol team, it was evident that Cyan Bamboo Ridge was no longer an average bandit hideaway; these people were not ordinary bandits.
They had evolved into a disciplined army.
Though they essentially used violent intimidation to maintain discipline, it was already quite frightening.
If this development continued, Cyan Bamboo Ridge would become a major threat.
Nonetheless, Zhao Ya was here to investigate matters related to Wuxiang City, so he temporarily suppressed these thoughts and continued forward.
Minutes later, he could faintly see the outline of Cyan Bamboo Ridge.
Cyan Bamboo Ridge wasn’t particularly high, named for the bamboo spread across the mountain.
But the path was perilous; the only entry route was encircled by several hills, making it easy to defend and hard to attack.
Upon arrival here, the guards grew even more strict.
Within a short distance, Zhao Ya encountered at least three patrol squads; without his outstanding body technique and the Concealing Breath Technique, even Zhao Ya couldn’t guarantee remaining undiscovered.
The stricter the guards, the clearer Zhao Ya understood the correctness of his visit.
Because for just a bandit hideout, is it worth deploying such extensive defenses?
Especially when Wuxiang City and its surroundings forces have been wiped out by Cyan Bamboo Ridge, what are they defending against here?
After advancing further, a small hill appeared ahead.
This was also the first checkpoint of Cyan Bamboo Ridge.
At this moment.
Several houses were built under the hill, lights on inside, with patrols occasionally coming and going, seemingly reporting to those inside.
Although there were several lamp posts lit in the clearing before the houses, it was still insufficient for the pitch-black night.
Following the shadowed areas unlit by these lamps, Zhao Ya quietly circled to the back of the houses.
Presumably because this was the core area of Cyan Bamboo Ridge, with so many patrols guarding it ahead, the defenses here weren’t too strict.
Zhao Ya easily reached one house’s rear wall.
Being built against the hill, the rear walls had no windows.
However, that didn’t pose a problem for Zhao Ya.
He gently pressed his ear against the wall, listening intently.
Inside, a Mountain Patrol was replying.
"Reporting to the Village Chief, none of the seventeen patrol teams sent out found any abnormalities."
"Good."
An elderly voice responded and continued, "Do not relax; the Great Village Chief is at a critical moment, caution is imperative."
"Yes!"
"Now, what is today’s contact code?"
"It’s the clear sky and bright moon."
"Change it to strong winds and heavy rain."
"Understood!"
Upon hearing this, Zhao Ya frowned slightly while lying against the back wall.
For he felt the voice sounded somewhat familiar.
Although the sound was distorted due to the brick barrier, that feeling couldn’t be faked.
Who could it be?
While Zhao Ya was pondering, he heard another voice from within the room.
"Second brother, you’re much steadier now. What’s that saying? Sit firmly in the fishing platform!" someone praised.
Upon hearing this voice, Zhao Ya’s body trembled slightly, his eyes suddenly shooting out a cold glint.
He recognized it.
The one speaking later was Huo Tianxiao, the Fire Dragon Daoist, while the one who was ordering earlier was Zhan Feng, the Second Village Chief of Cyan Bamboo Ridge.
What a coincidence it is.
Initially, I just planned to gather some intelligence but unexpectedly, as soon as I entered the mountain, I encountered two major enemies.
Not mentioning Huo Tianxiao for now, Zhan Feng left a deep impression on Zhao Ya.
Back when Zhao Ya was just at the peak of the Third Realm, he was chased everywhere by Zhan Feng.
Although Zhao Ya managed to counterattack before leaving Wuxiang City with various arrangements and incapacitated one of Zhan Feng’s eyes, he had never forgotten this grudge.
But isn’t Zhan Feng the esteemed Second Village Chief of Cyan Bamboo Ridge?
Why is he now doing mountain patrol work here?
Zhao Ya was puzzled when he heard Zhan Feng’s bitter laughter from inside.
"Enough, don’t praise me. I’ve already fallen to become the Mountain Patrol Chief, what’s there to show off?"
"You’re always my second brother!"
Huo Tianxiao said, then with a tone full of resentment.
"I always feel the Great Village Chief has been brainwashed by those damn bastards, turning my second brother to do this kind of work."
"Hush, fifth brother, be careful with your words!"
"Be careful of what? Haven’t you seen the current situation on the ridge? Everything the Great Village Chief does is under their influence, leading to this current scenario, even the brothers who have followed the Great Village Chief for years have been pushed aside, it’s infuriating."
Towards the end, Huo Tianxiao’s resentment almost overflowed.
"Alas, those people have extraordinary abilities. They not only found an iron mine for the Great Village Chief but even helped him to break through barriers and ascend to the Fifth Realm. If it were you, wouldn’t you be tempted?"
Even though Zhan Feng was defending the Great Village Chief, there was evident bitterness in his tone.
"Bullshit, although they found the iron mine, all the dirty work of excavation is done by us, and if it weren’t for their meddling, killing nearly half the residents of Wuxiang City, why would we have to keep attacking and catching bandit forces around to make up for labor?"
Huo Tianxiao clearly had bottled up emotions, and once the box was opened, grievances poured out.
"Old Fifth, these words can only be spoken between us brothers, never to be shared with others!" Zhan Feng said solemnly.
"Don’t worry, Second Brother. I’m old enough to understand such reasons. I’m just angry, and not just me, even Miss Shiwen seems quite dissatisfied with the Great Village Chief’s current partiality and credulity!"
"Miss Shiwen? What did she say?" Zhan Feng was surprised and immediately asked.
"Miss Shiwen said these people have no bottom line, they poisoned nearly half of the Wuxiang City residents just to test their strength, showing they’re not trustworthy. She had advised the Great Village Chief to stop, resulting in a few private arguments between the siblings."
Zhan Feng finally understood the implication in Huo Tianxiao’s words.
"Old Fifth, what do you mean...?"
"I think we can’t just wait to be doomed like this; sooner or later we’ll be squeezed to death, hence I believe we should join hands with Miss Shiwen to get rid of those bastards first."
Zhan Feng was silent, pondering deeply.
Seeing this, Huo Tianxiao became anxious.
His temperament was as volatile as his specialty, kerosene, catching fire easily, extremely impatient.
"Second Brother, why are you hesitating now? I believe if we brothers join forces, we can definitely take down those few, after all, besides secretly poisoning, their strength is quite ordinary."
"This matter requires careful planning!"
After a long time, Zhan Feng slowly uttered a sentence.
Huo Tianxiao was stunned upon hearing this, he wanted to persuade more but was stopped by Zhan Feng.
"Now that one of my eyes is blind and I’m poisoned, my strength greatly diminished, even if I want to act with you, I’m powerless, hence I need to think carefully."
"Ah...alright then, Second Brother, please think it over, I’ll take my leave for now!"
Upon saying this, Huo Tianxiao got up and left.
The conversation between the two was clearly heard by Zhao Ya lying against the back wall, the information gained was significant.
However, the most concerning point was that a group of people had infiltrated Cyan Bamboo Ridge and gained the trust of the Great Village Chief of Cyan Bamboo Ridge.
Most events happening in Wuxiang City were the doings of this group.
So, who exactly are these people?
By now, Huo Tianxiao had already exited, walking along the mountain path.
It seems whether due to confidence or losing influence, he hadn’t brought any attendants.
Zhao Ya observed, his eyes flickering sharply, and silently followed him.