Xu Chui quickly calmed down. Indeed, as long as the Sect Master was around, there was no danger or trouble worth worrying about.
He stood up and followed Lu Sheng out of the courtyard.
The night wind was a little cold. It blew past the driveway outside Beiyuan, and there was a faint whistling sound.
The Crimson Whale Sect men from the opposite courtyard also came out. Seeing Lu Sheng, they hurried over and saluted him.
"Sect Master, something's not right. The White River Sect men who were patrolling outside in the afternoon haven't moved at all. We asked the servants to serve some food and wine. It's been more than two hours, but we haven't seen a single maid. The brothers who went out to look for them said that there's no one outside! "an old sect Elder said gravely.
"All of you wait here. I'll go ask Brother Bai," Lu Sheng frowned, sensing that something was amiss.
"This old man will go with Sect Master."
"Your subordinate is willing to go with you."
A few stepped forward, wanting to go with him, but were stopped by Lu Sheng.
"All of you gather in the courtyard first. If I'm not back for a long time, leave the White River Sect headquarters and find a safe place to wait for me."
The Intent Proficiency experts understood the gravity of the situation and hurriedly nodded in agreement.
Lu Sheng did not bring anyone with him. Leaving Xu Chui behind, he left the North Court alone and headed for the Central Court of the White River Sect headquarters.
Towering black walls. Desolate passageways. Rows of pale yellow lanterns swaying in the wind, stretching as far as the eye could see.
Dining hall. No one.
Back hall. No one.
Torture hall. No one.
Even in the backyard where the family lived, there was no movement at all.
Along the way, Lu Sheng passed by many places. The areas that were supposed to be occupied were also empty.
The entire White River Sect seemed to have become a dead zone.
Arriving at Bai Zhenming's courtyard, it was pitch black inside. Even the lanterns had been extinguished.
A faint scent of blood wafted out from the courtyard.
Lu Sheng stopped in front of the courtyard.
He already knew the answer without entering. The scent of blood belonged to Bai Zhenming, whom he had interacted with for the past few days. Moreover, there was already a faint smell of decay.
"I can't stay here for long!" Lu Sheng narrowed his eyes and looked deeply at the lantern in front of the gate. Then, he turned around and left quickly.
The White River Gang was not related to him in any way, so there was no need for him to take risks for them when he did not know anything about them. As long as the other party didn't provoke him, he wouldn't meddle in other people's business.
To be able to turn the headquarters of the White River Gang into such a state overnight without anyone noticing, the faction was definitely not weak.
Lu Sheng didn't think too much about it and quickly retreated. This time, he had not come alone. Instead, he had brought along dozens of Crimson Whale Sect's elite experts. Naturally, he could not afford to take any risks.
Along with the hurried footsteps, he quickly disappeared around the desolate and quiet corner, and the sound of his footsteps quickly faded away.
Just a few dozen breaths after Lu Sheng left, two figures, one black and one red, slowly appeared in front of the courtyard gate.
"Why is he here?" The black figure looked in the direction in which Lu Sheng had left, a little surprised.
"Hehe … Lu Sheng … could it be … that he also knows … about the evil jade?" The other figure was a girl in red, holding a red paper umbrella in her hand. Her face was hidden under the umbrella.
If Lu Sheng were still here, he would definitely recognize this girl as the umbrella girl of Scarlet District whom he had fought before.
"Impossible. He's just a Northern Lands Sect leader. How could he know about the evil jade?" The black figure said in a low voice.
"Then … what … do you intend to do? He's from Shangyang Family … "the umbrella girl stammered.
"He's just a lowly servant of Shangyang Family. Do you think this old man should avoid him?" The black figure said coldly. "Since he's here, let's just get rid of him as well."
"My Lord, you're amazing … hehehe …" the umbrella girl giggled.
"The evil jade is about to fully activate. Have our men avoid the center. Don't get hurt accidentally. The evil Qi doesn't care whether you help or kill it. Go quickly. Don't delay. Finish it as soon as possible, the sooner the better, "the black figure said calmly.
"Yes …" the umbrella girl replied. Her figure slowly walked away, disappearing into the shadows in a few moments.
The black figure clasped his hands behind his back and quickly left the corner of the street, disappearing completely.
After another dozen breaths, a third wave of people finally arrived at the gate of the courtyard.
Li Shunxi and the panting Bai Qiuling finally stood in front of Bai Zhenming's courtyard.
"Dad!" Bai Qiuling called out loudly, rushing up to push the door open in excitement.
"Creak …!"
With a soft sound, the courtyard's wooden door was pushed open, revealing the scene inside.
Blood.
Blood all over the ground.
In the dark and gloomy courtyard, Bai Zhenming sat in a circle with a dozen or so White River Sect executives. They seemed to be in a meeting, but all of them were pale and motionless.
Bai Qiuling immediately saw the gaping hole in Bai Zhenming's chest. Blood was flowing slowly from the edge of the hole, along the legs of the chair and onto the ground.
It wasn't just him. Everyone else was the same. Everyone's blood gathered together, forming a huge, strange face on the ground.
It looked like a human, but also like a cat.
"Dad …!" Tears gushed out of Bai Qiuling's eyes. She covered her mouth to stop herself from crying too loudly, but her body was still trembling uncontrollably.
Li Shunxi walked in and stood beside her, sighing softly. This was Bai Zhenming's end. The evil jade had been unsealed. If they didn't leave now, they wouldn't be able to once it erupted.
"Ashoka Manor is behind this," Li Shunxi said softly.
But in this extremely quiet environment, even if he spoke softly, Bai Qiuling could hear him clearly.
"Ashoka Manor?! What's that? "Bai Qiuling spun around, staring at him with bloodshot eyes. "How did you know!?"
Li Shunxi sighed helplessly.
"Because …"
"Because he's too familiar with our methods."
A deep and aged voice suddenly sounded from outside the courtyard behind the two of them.
Bai Qiuling and Li Shunxi spun around, only to see an old man in black robes standing behind them.
The old man's black robes covered his entire body, making him look thin and lanky. A pair of faintly green eyes stared at Li Shunxi and Bai Qiuling.
"Spirit Giant Blood and Jade of Secrets. Now they're all here. What good luck …"
Li Shunxi's expression changed abruptly. Pulling Bai Qiuling along, he lunged to the left.
"Chi!"
A lock of black hair pierced into the ground where he had been standing.
…
Northern Yard.
Lu Sheng strode into the yard. All the men in Crimson Whale Sect were currently gathered in this small area.
They were waiting for him to give the orders.
"Sect Master, everyone's just packed up and ready to leave," Xu Chui reported.
Lu Sheng scanned the people in the yard. None of them were weak. There were several Intent Proficiency experts and dozens of Strength Proficiency experts.
Such a force was already the cream of the crop in Crimson Whale Sect. Especially those inner force experts who cultivated Yang-attribute inner Qi, they could deal with ordinary ghosts head-on. Although it was strenuous, it was still useful.
"Fall into formation. We're leaving at once," he ordered.
The group of Crimson Whale Sect experts guarded the ordinary sect members as they led the carriages and horses out to prepare rations.
Soon, everything was ready. Ox carts and horse carriages filled the yard. Some even pulled out the luxurious carriages used by White River Sect's upper echelons.
At Lu Sheng's command, the group quickly exited White River Sect's Northern Yard and entered the driveway of the headquarters.
The streets were deserted. It was dead silent.
The ordinary gang members started to feel a little uneasy. It must be known that the White River Gang's headquarters was a huge gang that had several hundred people stationed here. It was extremely strange that it had suddenly turned into such a state. If it was a battle, there was no sound at all.
Lu Sheng noticed this as well. But he still led the way on horseback.
As the convoy neared the exit of the headquarters, grayish-black shadows appeared on both sides of the street.
The movements of these shadows were soundless. When they got closer, some people could see that the shadows were actually skinny humanoid monsters with black bodies.
"They're just Corpse Servants," he had gotten some information from his Senior Apprentice Brother and Li Shunxi and recognized them.
Corpse Servants were zombie-like existences that crawled back to life after a dead body was tainted by some sort of energy. They resembled zombies, but were naturally controlled by humans.
These creatures were extremely twisted. Their bodies were decayed and translucent, and they had no shadows. Their faces were the same as when the corpses were alive.
What was strange was that as more and more Corpse Servants crawled out from the corners of the buildings, no matter how many people surrounded them, the Corpse Servants had no intention of touching the Crimson Whale Sect convoy.
Judging from the many suspicious points, Lu Sheng already had some guesses in his mind. Who was the culprit behind White River Sect's misfortune? It had to be Scarlet District and Ashoka Manor.
But he was not in the mood to poke his nose into other people's business. White River Sect's tragedy was all too common in this world.
Death, oddities, evil spirits, darkness. No matter where he went, such themes could be seen everywhere. Most of the time, as long as the other party did not provoke him, he did not want to cause any trouble.
At this moment, there was a slight commotion in the convoy. Clearly, they were frightened by the sudden appearance of the Corpse Servants. Some experts who were experienced in external affairs could adapt to it, but the ordinary sect members were different.
Seeing the situation, Lu Sheng also comforted them loudly.
"Don't worry, everyone. They should know their limits and won't hurt our brothers. We'll just walk straight out and leave this place as soon as possible, and everything will be fine …"
"AHHH!!"
A sudden scream interrupted Lu Sheng's words.
His face froze as he looked at the surrounding sect experts who were watching him.
He then looked at the distant periphery and saw a gang member lying on the ground. His chest was covered in blood.
"Courting death!!"
With a roar, Lu Sheng shot forward.
"BOOM!!!"
The wooden door to the entrance exploded into pieces. In the blink of an eye, Lu Sheng's figure disappeared through the door.
"Sect Master!!" Only then did Xu Chui and the rest react. They hurried out of the door, but could no longer find their way.
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