Chapter 1318: Forcing Their Way In

So many people had suddenly appeared that the situation left Yucang's side bewildered.

Thousands had gathered without warning and completely surrounded Fufang Garden. They were certainly not friendly forces. No one yet knew what they intended or what they might do, but the pressure on Yucang was enormous.

Including his original entourage and the people hastily summoned afterward, he had only several hundred men under him. The other side numbered in the thousands. How could the pressure not be great?

Most importantly, he knew how many experts he had on his side, but had no idea how many experts were hidden among the crowd outside.

Yucang's face was taut. He ground his teeth. "That old thief Hei Li refuses the face he's been given. I refuse to believe he dares command thousands of people to start killing in the Qi capital!"

Dugu Jing felt obliged to remind him, "Master, rumor says the Ghost Doctor never lets a grievance go unanswered. He may truly act recklessly... We still have to guard against it." The implication was obvious: they could not rely on wishful thinking.

Guo Xingshan agreed. "Master, Senior Brother is right. If that old thief really acts recklessly and we're underprepared, we'll suffer for it. Yan Baoru, Zhu Jian, and You Peipei are all at his side now. He did not come with good intentions."

Yucang's eyes shifted between light and shadow for a moment. He drew a deep breath, then slowly exhaled. "Send someone to contact Qi's three great sects immediately. I refuse to believe they want to see chaos break out in their own capital. Ask them to send men to assist us. Go!"

"Yes!" Guo Xingshan hurried away. There was no time to waste. A storm was about to break, and conflict could erupt at any moment.

...

On the city wall, Xu Bang stood facing inward, looking faintly astonished.

They came back?

The carriage with the strange bell had returned and was heading toward the western gate again. Xu Bang was puzzled. Were they leaving?

They were not.

The carriage stopped as it neared the gate. At a flick of the driver's whip, it turned around.

Once they had changed direction, the driver looked back and asked, "Master, we've made one circuit. Where to now?"

Hearing that, Yan Baoru looked at the driver in surprise. This man was another disciple of the Ghost Doctor?

The old, deep voice inside said, "It's time to go meet the man who seized your senior brother."

Senior brother? Yan Baoru was surprised again. Wuxin was already young enough; she had not expected him to have a junior brother. She had just assumed the driver was Wuxin's senior brother.

Crack!

The driver's whip suddenly snapped through the air with force, and the carriage surged forward, no longer moving at its previous leisurely pace.

Zhu Jian and You Peipei spurred their horses and accelerated after it.

Watching from the city wall, Xu Bang could not understand what they were doing. He had just been thinking of going down to meet them again and perhaps finally seeing Hei Li in person. Why had they turned back?

...

Inside the lakeside pavilion, Bu Xun entered and reported, "Your Majesty, Mr. Yucang has sent a letter requesting that the three great sects dispatch people to Fufang Garden in assistance, in fulfillment of the alliance between our states."

Yuwen Yan laughed. "Looks like Yucang is getting worried."

San Qianli said, "Several thousand people have surrounded Fufang Garden, after all."

Hao Yuntu looked at the three men. "How should we reply?"

Bei Xuan said, "Don't reply. If the Ghost Doctor truly dares make the situation explode, it won't be too late for us to step in and suppress it then."

Yuwen Yan nodded. "That old ghost rarely shows himself, and we've never seen him confront a power as large as Xiaoyue Pavilion. This is a rare opportunity to weigh his true measure. Even if he does possess such ability, I don't believe he would dare kill Yucang. If he did, Xiaoyue Pavilion and the Ghost Doctor would become mortal enemies from that day forward."

Hao Yuntu reminded them, "If Yucang really is killed, I'm afraid it will affect our alliance in resisting Jin."

Yuwen Yan said, "Tianhuo Sect would continue even without me. Besides, the Ghost Doctor has already stated that well water does not mix with river water. His reputation is that of a man who keeps his word. He shouldn't deliberately create chaos in the capital."

Hao Yuntu looked from one to another. Seeing all three held the same view, he could only nod to Bu Xun.

Bu Xun had barely stepped aside when another messenger arrived outside. He immediately went out to confer, then returned shortly afterward. "Your Majesty, the Ghost Doctor's carriage has suddenly accelerated. Judging from its route, it appears to be heading straight for Fufang Garden!"

San Qianli stood, chuckling. "Looks like the real thing is about to begin. Gentlemen, shall we go take a look?"

Yuwen Yan and Bei Xuan rose as well. Bei Xuan said, "We've never met him. I'd like to see what the Ghost Doctor actually looks like. Your Majesty, have the capital's forces make preparations. If anything changes, we must prevent the situation from getting out of control."

Hao Yuntu said, "The army and its accompanying cultivators have already been deployed."

"Good."

The three left as soon as the words were spoken, gathering their men and flying away.

Hao Yuntu wanted to go watch the spectacle himself, but travel was inconvenient for him. He could only watch them leave. At times like this, he genuinely envied people who could simply fly wherever they wished.

...

"Master! The Ghost Doctor's carriage is approaching at speed."

"Master! The Ghost Doctor's carriage has passed the northwestern avenue."

"Master! The Ghost Doctor's carriage has passed the pavilion at the southern bend."

Inside Fufang Garden, Yucang had already seated himself to wait, his face expressionless.

Inwardly, however, the repeated reports placed him under tremendous pressure. As the person he awaited drew closer and closer, the unpredictability of what might happen next left him secretly tense.

He did not know whether the Ghost Doctor was deliberately building this atmosphere or doing it unintentionally, but either way the man was applying pressure step by step, and the weight on Fufang Garden kept increasing.

He had not even arrived, yet in sheer momentum he had already gained the upper hand.

"Keep the prisoners under firm control," Yucang suddenly reminded them.

Dugu Jing said, "Master can rest easy. Wuxin cannot escape. We can dispose of him at any time."

Yucang's voice sank. "Still no reply from Qi's three great sects?"

Dugu Jing's cheeks tightened. "No reply at all."

Bang!

Yucang slapped the table and rose with a cold snort. "Pass the order. Prepare for battle!"

Dugu Jing replied, "Everything is already prepared."

"Utterly lawless. I want to see how many heads this Ghost Doctor has grown!" Yucang snorted, swept his sleeves, and strode outside.

...

"Ding-didi... ding-didi..."

The short, strange peal of the carriage bell approached.

The people crowded along the road outside Fufang Garden pressed to both sides, opening a path. From time to time, someone cupped their hands toward the passing carriage.

With so many people ahead, the carriage slowed as it threaded through them and came directly to Fufang Garden's main gate.

Fufang Garden had once been extraordinarily lively outside as well, many years ago, on several occasions when crowds had come hoping for a glimpse of the foremost beauty beneath Heaven.

The liveliest occasion had been even more extravagant than this. When the foremost beauty beneath Heaven was to toss an embroidered ball in search of a husband, people had poured in from every direction until the nearby alleys were packed so tightly no water could pass through.

Those romantic affairs of the red dust were long gone.

What gathered here today was trouble.

A line of Xiaoyue Pavilion personnel guarded the entrance. They too felt the pressure keenly. A dark mass of people filled the area outside, and if anything happened, these guards would bear the brunt of it.

Especially because the carriage showed no sign of stopping. It was heading straight through the gate.

One guard shouted, "Stop the carriage! Stop immediately!"

When it still did not slow, he did not dare attack outright under such pressure as he ordinarily might have. Instead, he rushed forward and grabbed for the horse's bit, intending to halt the carriage by force.

The unseen driver's whip sang through the air.

Bang!

It struck the man's arm. He screamed and was hurled away.

They actually attacked directly?

Yan Baoru, seated beside the driver, was faintly startled.

What startled her even more was the strength hidden within that seemingly casual strike. From several paces away, the driver had moved so quickly the other man could not react. Yan Baoru herself had almost failed to see exactly how he struck.

Young Sir Wuxin's junior brother?

Had this man perhaps entered the Ghost Doctor's tutelage midway through life? Judging from Wuxin's age, it seemed impossible that a younger disciple trained from childhood could already possess strength like this.

She suppressed her doubts for the moment.

Glancing back slightly, she heard no objection from inside the carriage. Since the Ghost Doctor had the confidence to permit it, she had nothing to fear and no reason to remain polite.

Seeing the carriage force its way in and even injure one of their men, the gate guards immediately prepared to retaliate.

Yan Baoru swept both sleeves outward and made grasping motions with her hands.

The pressure in the air seemed to increase without limit in a single instant. The agitated guards abruptly slowed, their movements turning sluggish as though transparent matter had wrapped itself around them.

That was how it appeared to outsiders.

Those caught within could feel an invisible force suppressing their bodies.

Yan Baoru drew both hands inward.

Seven or eight men were yanked toward the carriage at once.

Just before they crashed into it, she thrust both arms outward.

A blast of invisible force flung the entire group away like leaves in a gale.

The obstruction at the entrance was swept clean. The driver, completely unmoved, guided the carriage through the gate and into the garden.

Watching from afar, Yucang's cheeks tightened.

He looked up toward a large tree nearby. A group of people had just landed in its crown. The Sect Leaders of Qi's three great sects were among them.

They had plainly come to watch him make a spectacle of himself.

Yucang was secretly furious.

They attacked the moment they arrived!

The three Sect Leaders exchanged looks from the treetop. This Ghost Doctor was astonishingly forceful. He truly behaved as though Xiaoyue Pavilion was beneath notice.

Where did that confidence come from?

The moment the gate guards were swept aside, a group of Xiaoyue Pavilion cultivators flashed forward.

Yucang abruptly shouted, "A distinguished guest has come to our door. Do not be rude. Stand down!"

The Xiaoyue Pavilion members who had moved to block the way immediately withdrew.

Zhu Jian and You Peipei, following behind the carriage, found the whole thing somewhat troublesome as well. The Ghost Doctor had started using force the moment he arrived.

And once the carriage entered the garden, it was not only the carriage party that went inside. A crowd of cultivators from outside followed it through the gate.

Whether every one of them had come to support the Ghost Doctor, no one knew.

Yucang focused his Dharma Eye and examined the people following the carriage, trying to identify them. Yet almost all wore false faces, clearly intending to conceal their identities.

They were confronting Xiaoyue Pavilion, after all.

A favor was a favor, but some people still had no desire to oppose Xiaoyue Pavilion openly.

What good could come from being clearly identified?

Outnumbered or not, Yucang would not yield in bearing. He abruptly swept his sleeves back and strode forward, stopping in the open space ahead.

Facing the approaching carriage, he cupped his hands and laughed loudly. "Mr. Hei Li, I've long heard your great name. When I learned you were coming, I, Yucang, waited here for you for quite some time!"

As the carriage approached him, the driver pulled the reins.

The carriage stopped abruptly.

A reply came from inside, the old, deep voice perfectly calm. "Yucang, neither I nor my disciple has any grievance with Xiaoyue Pavilion. Why have you bullied my disciple?"

The three Sect Leaders standing in the tree watched coldly, their eyes seeming to want to pierce straight through the carriage.

Yucang chuckled. "Mr. Hei Li, that's overstating the matter. This is a grievance between Qin and Wei. As far as I know, Brother Hei Li has never interfered in disputes between the states. Yet your disciple obstructed Qin when we tried to seize someone. I advised him civilly, but he refused to listen and even spoke rudely to me. I had no choice but to teach him a small lesson."

[End of Chapter 1318]