After An Ziyang stepped into the secret passage, he smelled a strong scent of blood.
He squatted down and wiped his hand on the ground, only to feel a thin, sticky film on his fingertips. It crumbled upon touch, with the surface adhering to his fingers and a gelatinous layer underneath that spread out on his fingertips.
His heart sank.
An Ziyang naturally knew that this was dried bloodstain.
Just by looking at the amount of bloodstains on the ground, it was no less than the total blood volume of three or four people. And this was just the passage, far from the actual place of detention and interrogation.
It seemed that most of the people in the An Family who had been replaced were likely to meet a tragic end. The decisive and ruthless methods of the Ming Cult were evident.
Fortunately, after meeting Li Miao today, An Ziyang had already planned to escape, and he carried all his life-saving items with him. As long as he didn't face more than three first-rate masters at the same time, he still had the ability to protect himself.
An Ziyang proceeded cautiously.
A moment later, he found a secret chamber.
He pressed his ear against the door panel and listened carefully, hearing intermittent cries for help from inside, which should be the An Family members held captive there.
Boom!
A loud bang came from above, and some dust rustled down from the ceiling of the secret passage.
An Ziyang cursed inwardly, "Is this something a human can make?"
This sound was precisely the stomp Li Miao made on the ground after knocking the woman down.
The secret chamber suddenly fell silent, evidently startled, and then suddenly became noisy again, with several people speaking at once, their voices filled with excitement. Clearly, for the An Family members held captive here, any movement meant a change, and any change was better than being tortured and waiting for death here.
Before An Ziyang could carefully distinguish if there was his father's voice inside, a scream suddenly came from within.
"Ah!"
Screech—
An Ziyang's expression darkened.
That was the sound of blood spurting from an artery; with that volume, the injured person must not have survived.
"Something happened above. Listening to this commotion, it's not like cannon fire; it's a battle between Celestials."
"Shaolin is not far from here. That person just showed up in Shaolin a few days ago, so he probably came looking for trouble."
A calm voice said.
"The people are no longer useful; kill them all. Pour lamp oil on all the items and light them before leaving."
"That person is like an immortal; it's only a matter of time before he finds this place. We only have at most a quarter of an hour, hurry!"
Only a chorus of 'yes' was heard from inside, at least a dozen voices.
An Ziyang clicked his tongue, revealing a bitter smile.
He didn't have time to figure out the situation and then act. If he waited any longer, the An Family members inside might be completely killed.
Crack!
An Ziyang kicked open the door suddenly and announced loudly,
"Jinyiwei (Imperial Guards) are on duty! Kneel if you don't want to die!"
Taking advantage of that instant, he clearly saw the situation inside the secret chamber.
Small wooden cages were built along the walls on all four sides of the secret chamber, with more than a dozen people huddled inside, looking at him with hopeful eyes. The ground was stained with blood, and several wooden tables held some torture instruments, paper and pens, vessels, and miscellaneous items. In a corner, several bags were piled up, oozing dark red liquid, which should contain corpses.
On a shelf in a corner, An Ziyang saw An Wenjie, head bowed, seemingly unconscious.
And all around, more than a dozen people, wearing simple clothes and carrying swords and sabers, were looking at him warily.
The situation quieted down for a moment.
An Ziyang just casually mentioned Jinyiwei (Imperial Guards), simply because the only thing the Ming Cult feared in this martial arts world was the Jinyiwei (Imperial Guards). But he had inadvertently startled these Ming Cult members.
No other reason, Li Miao was indeed a Jinyiwei (Imperial Guards).
They were already scared enough by Li Miao to consider running away, and hearing those three words out of the blue made their legs tremble a bit.
Like a rat and a cat both fearing each other, neither side made a move for a moment.
However, there were no fools present, and this situation only lasted for two or three breaths.
"He is An Ziyang."
That calm voice said.
"He is not a Jinyiwei (Imperial Guards); he's a dead An Family member, here to rescue people, only second-rate."
"Kill him!"
"Damn it!"
In an instant, blades flashed and swords gleamed!
An Ziyang replicated his trick, throwing a small pouch onto the ground, and instantly, smoke billowed.
"Close your eyes, cover your mouth and nose, protect your body, and dispel the true energy!"
That calm voice spoke again.
In an instant, the less skilled Ming Cult members consciously retreated to the wall, brandishing their weapons to protect themselves. Several first-rate Ming Cult members simultaneously unleashed their true energy, sweeping away the dust in just a few moves.
"Damn it, as expected, they're not easy to deal with!"
"They're not on the same level as those four outside!"
An Ziyang cursed inwardly.
This item was not easy to preserve; it would lose its toxicity after a moment of exposure to air. These Ming Cult members' actions had already defused this killing move.
However, all his items came in sets; if one didn't work, there was always another.
Please... you... collect 6... books... bar...!
He took the opportunity to slip to An Wenjie's cage, reached in and threw something, then quietly positioned himself behind a master who was dispelling the dust.
With a raise of his hand, a flurry of blue-glowing needles, fine as ox hair, scattered out.
"Ah!"
"Hidden weapons! Poisoned!"
"There! He's over there!"
"It's me! Don't hit!"
Several roars sounded simultaneously.
An Ziyang's lime powder obscured their vision, so everyone could only judge positions by sound. He scattered hidden weapons at several people, and after a few of them were hit, they attacked in the direction the hidden weapons came from, only to be blocked by the Ming Cult master An Ziyang used as a human shield.
"It's me! That little brat shot the hidden weapons from my direction!"
The master blocked his own people's attacks, just about to continue explaining.
But he felt a slight pain behind him.
"Behind me!?"
He suddenly turned and struck, but hit nothing.
"He's already escaped!? This kid is only second-rate, but his lightness skill and internal energy attainments are so profound that even I couldn't hear him?"
He was about to ponder, but then suddenly felt an itch behind him.
What followed was an intense, excruciating pain that instantly shattered his sanity.
"Ah!!!"
The master cried out in pain, striking wildly around him, instantly sending the Ming Cult disciple who had mistakenly attacked him flying, landing without a sound.
Screech—
Thud.
A fountain of blood erupted from the master's throat, and he fell to the ground, lifeless.
That calm voice spoke again: "He was poisoned by the Tang Sect's 'Divine Madness'; there's no saving him."
Beside the master's corpse, the masked man turned to look at An Ziyang, who was huddled in the corner.
"Tang Sect's poison, Shen Thief Sect's lightness skill, Shenji Sect's hidden weapons. And he's a swordsman."
"He has many tricks, and he's ruthless and smart enough."
"Unfortunately, you are ultimately just a second-rate nobody. Once your vision-obscuring tricks are gone, you'll have no room to struggle."
At this moment, the dust in the secret chamber had been dispersed, and the Ming Cult members looked coldly at An Ziyang, slowly surrounding him.
Ten Ming Cult members remained, four of whom were first-rate.