"A wise decision, milady."
Hearing this, Uncle Shan nodded slightly, then gave the bodyguards a meaningful look.
They understood immediately, quickly forming a protective circle around the young heiress as they turned and headed back down the mountain.
Seeing the excitement was over, many in the crowd of onlookers dispersed and continued up the mountain path.
Only the man from the Yellow Heaven Corps remained, still curled up on the ground, clutching his stomach without moving.
Lu Yun walked past the edge of the crowd, his gaze lingering for a moment on the man in the short yellow tunic.
He had heard the name Yellow Heaven Corps on the ship, mentioned by that enthusiastic security captain.
It was one of the most active civil organizations in Nanling Province, with tens of thousands of followers and considerable influence among the common people.
It was said that the kung fu they practiced was sinister. Their high-ranking members were not only immensely strong but also had skin as tough as leather, so that ordinary swords and blades would bounce off them as if striking cowhide.
At the edge of a flat landing midway up the stone steps, a burst of hurried footsteps echoed from below.
Six men in matching gray uniforms, with Western pistols at their waists, ran up, panting for breath.
The one in the lead was a man of about thirty with a square-jawed face.
"Move, move, move! Everyone, make way!"
The men pushed through the crowd of onlookers and came to a stop before the yellow-clad man still curled up on the ground.
The leader glanced down, his brow furrowing. "He’s the one causing trouble?"
A tourist in a silk shirt standing nearby nodded eagerly and gave an embellished account of what had just happened.
"Brother Song, should we carry this guy down the mountain?" a young guard behind the leader suddenly asked.
Hearing this, the man called Brother Song waved his hand dismissively. "Of course! Hurry up, carry him down and dump him with the other guards. Don’t let him be an eyesore here."
Just as two of them were about to act, another young guard suddenly exclaimed, "Huh? Brother Song, look at his clothes. He’s dressed like one of those lunatics from the Yellow Heaven Corps!"
Hearing those three words, Brother Song froze. He quickly bent down for a closer look.
A short yellow tunic, a coarse cloth belt, and a pair of worn-out black cloth shoes on his feet.
Though covered in dust, the fabric and color were indeed what those lunatics from the Yellow Heaven Corps usually wore.
Brother Song’s expression changed instantly. He subconsciously took two steps back.
’It’s not that we can’t beat this guy from the Yellow Heaven Corps,’ he thought. ’Besides, we’re all carrying the latest model Western revolvers at our waists.’
’The five brothers behind me are armed with rifles and pistols. If it really came to a fight, even ten of those Yellow Heaven Corps lunatics would be no match for Shuangfeng Gorge’s security forces.’
The problem was, no one wanted to provoke a bunch of lunatics for no reason.
These guys fought as if they had a death wish. They wouldn’t even cry out when hit, and they were like sticky toffee—once they latched onto you, you couldn’t shake them off.
What was worse, members of the Yellow Heaven Corps were always shouting things like, "The Blue Sky is dead, the Yellow Sky shall arise."
They were always muttering mystical nonsense. Normal people couldn’t reason with them at all.
Just then, the same young guard from before lowered his voice and asked again, "Brother Song, what do we do now?"
Brother Song opened his mouth, but just as he was about to speak, the man on the ground suddenly moved.
He didn’t get up. Instead, he snapped his head up, his eyes staring straight toward the back of the crowd.
He was looking in the direction of Lu Yun, who was leaning on his purple wooden staff and wearing a black Zhongshan suit.
No, to be precise, it seemed the man wasn’t looking at Lu Yun, but at the empty air behind him.
In an instant, the Yellow Heaven Corps man’s eyes turned bloodshot.
"A GHOST!!!"
The sudden, shrill scream nearly pierced the eardrums of everyone around!
"A ghost! There’s a ghost! Don’t come any closer! Don’t eat me!!!"
As if launched by a spring, he leaped up from the ground, scrambled through the crowd, and sprinted headlong toward the summit without a single look back.
All the way up, the Yellow Heaven Corps man shrieked and howled, stumbling and shoving people out of his way, which drew a series of startled cries and curses from further up the path.
But for all the cursing, no one dared to stand up and stop him. Everyone was too frightened by his crazed state and scrambled to get out of his way.
In the blink of an eye, the yellow figure vanished up the stone steps leading to the summit.
The six security guards stood where they were, looking at each other in bewilderment. Brother Song slowly turned his head to look at the calm-faced Lu Yun.
After seeing nothing out of the ordinary, he looked behind Lu Yun. It was just as empty. There was nothing there.
Only sunlight and the mottled shadows of trees bordering the stone steps.
A young guard scratched his head. "A ghost? Where would a ghost come from in broad daylight?"
Another guard spat. "Dammit! Those lunatics from the Yellow Heaven Corps... not a single one of them is sane!"
"Brother Song, what now? Should we give chase?"
At that, Brother Song finally snapped out of it. He waved his arm forcefully. "Chase him! Hurry, after him! Don’t let him cause any serious trouble!"
"It doesn’t matter if these lunatics damage some flowers or grass, but if he hurts a foreigner, then we’ll have a real incident on our hands! Go! Go, chase him!"
And so, the six men swarmed up toward the summit, guns in hand.
The crowd gradually dispersed, and the chatter died down. Only Lu Yun remained standing in the same spot.
’Judging by the burst of speed that guy just showed, he’s clearly an expert at the Dark Force level.’
’A Martial Artist of that caliber has perception far beyond that of an ordinary person. He wouldn’t just randomly see a ghost in broad daylight.’
’And his breakdown... it didn’t look like an act.’
’A ghost? That doesn’t add up either. If any of those ghastly things were near me, I would have been the first to notice.’
’After all, as someone at the Peak of Huajin, not a single blade of grass stirring or the slightest hint of yin coldness within a hundred-meter radius could escape my senses.’
’That’s what’s so strange. I didn’t sense anything at all just now.’

Comments

Loading...