Observing Wanfa from the martial arts school servants

Chapter 96 Entrusting the Orphan

The battle ended in a draw between Duanmu Hong and the Three-Tailed Fox, after which the Three-Tailed Fox led the demonic beasts away like a tide.

The next morning, a thin line of bluish-gray had just appeared on the horizon.

The lookout bell rang again.

When Wen Haoran climbed the city wall, the dark red light from the direction of the Eternal Night Forest had already faded.

Instead, five moon-white figures appeared.

They stood in a row, crouching at the edge of the wasteland.

They were much larger than the fox cub from last night, and each fox tail had a fist-sized dark golden orb of light at its tip.

Even from dozens of miles away, those orbs of light could still be seen slowly rotating in the morning light.

Each rotation creates a visible ripple in the air.

Five three-tailed foxes.

Five Core Formation Realm demonic beasts.

Five pairs of dark golden vertical pupils crossed the moat and the city wall, landing on the faces of everyone on the crenellations.

Wen Haoran stood in front of the battlements, holding the bamboo slips in his hand.

A morning breeze swept in from the direction of the Eternal Night Forest, causing his scholar's robe to flutter in the wind.

Three steps behind him, three guards stood silently in a row.

Yue'er rubbed her eyes and peeked out from behind the guards. Still half asleep, she mumbled, "Brother Haoran, how many more monsters have come?"

No one answered her.

"Zhang Ji".

Wen Haoran did not turn around.

The eldest guard stepped forward and clasped his hands in a fist salute.

Wen Haoran's voice was very soft, so soft that only the two of them could hear it.

"If things go wrong, knock her unconscious, take her away, and make sure to hand her over to her father."

Zhang Ji remained silent for a moment.

"Lord Wen, aren't you coming along?"

Wen Haoran did not answer.

He gazed at the five moon-white figures in the distance, tapped the bamboo slip lightly in his palm, then turned around and walked towards the foot of the city wall.

After walking several steps, Zhang Ji thought he wouldn't answer, but then his voice drifted over from the morning breeze.

As light as a sigh.

"Where else can I find refuge?"

The Demon Alliance wanted to get rid of him as soon as possible, but the Wen family had already abandoned him, and he had nowhere to go.

……

Inside the temporary command room on the city wall.

Duanmu Hong sat in the armchair, his plain black robe still bearing the marks left from his fight with the three-tailed fox cub the night before, and a thin layer of scab had just formed on the tiger's mouth of his right hand.

Wen Haoran placed the bamboo slips on the table and got straight to the point, saying four words.

"It's only the seventh day, and there are still three days until the day we agreed upon with the sect."

"Five Core Formation demonic beasts appeared overnight, and the restriction is almost rendered useless."

"I'm afraid we won't be able to hold out, so we need to get the people of Heyuan evacuated as soon as possible."

Duanmu Hong nodded in agreement.

"But I need to take care of something before that. Wait for my news."

"Lin Mu, come with me to do something."

Wen Haoran called for Lin Mu to follow, and the two of them descended the city wall one after the other.

After passing through the bluestone-paved streets of the inner city and the training grounds still bearing traces of previous battles, we stopped in front of the Palace Guard Office.

Wen Haoran pushed open the door and entered, with Lin Mu following closely behind.

Yu Mubai was sitting in the armchair in the main hall, flipping through a stack of files, with a teacup beside him, the tea still steaming.

He heard footsteps and looked up, his gaze first falling on Wen Haoran, then on Lin Mu, the smile on his lips fading slightly.

"A scholar who passed the imperial examination."

Yu Mubai put the file down and bowed.

What brings you here?

Wen Haoran did not sit down.

"Lord Yu is still in Heyuan."

"With Lord Wen still fighting, how dare I desert my post?"

"Is Lord Yu waiting to take over Heyuan, or to welcome them from there?"

Yu Mubai's smile remained unchanged, but the curve of his lips stiffened slightly for a moment.

"Lord Wen is too kind. As the chief instructor of the Palace Guard, I naturally wish to do my part for Heyuan."

"If Lord Yu truly cares about Heyuan, then do me a favor."

Wen Haoran's voice was very calm.

"Gather all the demon descendants of Heyuan County at the Palace Guard, and forbid them from leaving for three days. I guarantee with the honor of the Wen family that I will not harm your lives."

Yu Mubai set down the teacup, making a very light and crisp sound.

"Is Lord Wen going to place us under house arrest? On what grounds?"

"Because you are of demonic lineage."

"With the monsters about to attack the city, I'm not sure how many of you will defect at the crucial moment."

"I can't afford to gamble."

"What if I don't want to?"

Yu Mubai stood up, and the aura of his internal energy spread out from his body, causing the files on the table to rustle and turn.

"Though I am a descendant of demons, I am still human."

"Lord Wen's righteous spirit may work on demonic beasts, but it might not work on me."

He took a step forward.

Lin Mu also took a step forward.

The inch force was activated in an instant, and the fist force layer silently spread on the skin surface, with an extremely thin and dense layer of dark golden light film covering the whole body.

He took a step forward.

As he landed, he was already right in front of Yu Mubai, his fist, capable of shattering mountains and rivers, pressed against Yu Mubai's chest at the Tanzhong acupoint.

The dark golden light from the inch-force layer spread along the fist's edge to Yu Mubai's clothes.

Yu Mubai parried with his right palm, the edge of his palm wrapped with neutralizing force as he struck Lin Mu's wrist.

Lin Mu neither dodged nor evaded, letting the palm strike the barrier of the inch-force.

The force of the punch rebounded along the contact surface, and Yu Mubai's tiger's mouth went numb.

The second move was Lin Mu's left fist flipped out from his waist, and the short-range force of the Mountain-Crushing Fist, wrapped in the fist's momentum, slammed towards Yu Mubai's ribs.

Yu Mubai dodged to the side, his sleeve torn open by the force of the punch.

With the third move, Lin Mu's knee struck, hitting Yu Mubai's blocking arms and sending him flying sideways, his back slamming into a pillar in the main hall.

The vermilion lacquer on the pillar was shaken and fell off in a flurry. Yu Mubai groaned and slid down against the pillar.

His right hand was split open at the base of his thumb, and blood was flowing down his fingers.

He raised his head, looked at Lin Mu, and a faint, cold regret flashed in his eyes.

Whether she regretted not killing the servant with one blow when she first met him at Changfeng Martial Arts School, or regretted letting him survive the first, second, and third matches on the stage, remains unknown.

Wen Haoran gently tapped the bamboo slip in his palm, walked up to Yu Mubai, and looked down at him.

"Lord Yu, may we cooperate now?"

Yu Mubai leaned against the pillar in silence for a moment, then took out a bronze plaque from his sleeve and threw it on the ground.

The front of the bronze plaque is engraved with the two characters "Xuanmen" and the back is engraved with several spiral patterns.

That afternoon, all the demon descendants in Heyuan County were gathered at the Palace Guard.

Lin Mu and Quan Feng locked the gate of the Palace Guard from the outside and moved several large stones to block the entrance.

After doing all this, Wen Haoran climbed the city wall and looked towards the inner city.

There were only a few soldiers left guarding the city walls, and Duanmu Hong withdrew most of his troops to the inner city.

Only a few sentries remained on the city wall, along with Wen Haoran and his three guards, and Lin Mu.

Zhang Ji stood in front of the battlements, his right hand on the hilt of his sword at his waist, and his left hand holding a torch.

Wen Haoran said.

"Let's retreat."

Zhang Ji glanced back at him, her lips moving as if she wanted to say something.

Wen Haoran put the bamboo slip into his sleeve, looked at the five moon-white figures in the distance, at the sky that was darkening at a visible speed, and at the city wall beneath his feet that had borne the will of countless sages.

His voice was so soft that only those standing at the edge of the battlements could hear it.

"Pass down the order: everyone evacuate the outer city and retreat into the inner city."

"We don't need the outer city."

"If you're still alive after the Eternal Night ends, you can come back."

Zhang Ji stuck the torch into the crenellation and strode down the city wall.

His footsteps were heavy, each step causing the blue bricks to tremble slightly.