บท 19: Chapter 17 The desolate temple on the snowy night! The wicked guest's pact!_1
"Li Erlang! It's Li Erlang!"
In the midst of the chaotic and terrified crowd, there were still some who kept their composure and recognized the identity of the severed head.
Li Erlang was a Forging Master at Black Iron Manor, and just like Yang Chao, he had disappeared yesterday. Yet now his head appeared at the entrance of Black Iron Manor, brutally murdered!
"Who could have done this? Such a ruthless deed!"
Some were frightened, yet filled with rage at the same time. The murderer had not only killed Li Erlang but also delivered his head to Black Iron Manor—it was undoubtedly deliberate.
"The Manor Lord is here!"
No one dared to act rashly. Upon hearing the commotion, Manor Lord Mo Tie also rushed over at the first moment.
Mo Tie, seeing the head of Li Erlang on the ground, was equally shocked and angry.
"Hmm?"
But Mo Tie was clearly more composed than the others. With a solemn face, he approached the head of Li Erlang and began to examine it. Soon, his expression shifted slightly, as he saw something in Li Erlang's hair—an envelope!
Without a word, Mo Tie opened the envelope and read its contents, his face growing uglier and darker by the moment.
"Manor Lord... what on earth has happened?"
Director Liu asked cautiously from the side.
Mo Tie snapped back to reality and said in a deep voice, "It's nothing... Everyone go back to rest for now. I will handle Li Erlang's matter."
"Shouldn't we report this to the authorities?"
"Go back... Just go back."
The crowd was at a loss, some suggested reporting to the authorities, while others, not wishing to invite trouble, obediently left.
"Someone killed Li Erlang and sent an envelope; judging by the Manor Lord's face, it seems they are targeting Black Iron Manor? And Master Yang Chao, he is likely in the hands of the murderer as well. It's unknown whether he's dead or alive!"
Su Changkong witnessed this scene and began to speculate in his heart.
He didn't know what was written in that envelope, but from Mo Tie's demeanor, it was probable that the murderer was threatening Black Iron Manor to achieve a certain goal.
However, since Mo Tie said he would handle it, Su Changkong could only hope Mo Tie would successfully resolve the issue.
The death of Li Erlang had undoubtedly stirred up trouble within Black Iron Manor, causing many to worry about their own safety.
At dusk, after bathing, Su Changkong sat on a chair in the courtyard, casually stretching his limbs and practicing his breathing, circulating the Turtle Breathing True Qi in his body. With each circulatory cycle, the True Qi became more refined.
The cultivation of Turtle Breath Technique was gradual and required long-term accumulation!
During the breathing exercise, Su Changkong's senses became incredibly sharp, so that not a single movement within a radius of more than ten zhang could escape his notice.
"Creak!"
It was now nighttime, and although winter had not yet passed, this particular night was exceptionally cold, with fine snowflakes dancing in the air. Su Changkong heard the sound of Black Iron Manor's gate being opened amidst the snowflakes, along with the low murmurs of conversation, prompting him to open his eyes.
"Let's take a look..."
After hesitating for a moment, Su Changkong came out of his meditative state, stood up, and headed towards the entrance of Black Iron Manor.
At the entrance of Black Iron Manor, there were several men dressed in tight-fitting clothes, led by none other than Mo Tie.
"I see... I understand."
At that moment, Mo Tie was instructing Director Liu on something. Liu's face showed concern, but he could only nod in agreement.
Mo Tie and the others, each with a weapon at their waist, were fully armed.
"Let's go." After giving the instructions, Mo Tie gestured to the others, and a group of four or five people stepped through the open gate and disappeared into Black Iron Manor, seemingly headed somewhere.
"Could it be... are the Manor Lord and the others going to meet that murderous outlaw? And they're taking weapons, it's bound to be dangerous."
Su Changkong watched this scene from afar.
It must be related to Li Erlang's incident during the day. The killer had sent Li Erlang's head along with a letter, prompting Mo Tie to leave the Black Iron Manor quietly at night with a few trusted associates to meet the murderer.
After a long pause, Su Changkong sighed, "Forget it... Let's follow and see."
Mo Tie had shown no small kindness to Su Changkong. When Su Changkong first arrived in this world, he was young, unfamiliar with the place, and would have starved if Mo Tie hadn't taken him in.
Now that Mo Tie was going to meet the killer, one could imagine that the other party was extremely vicious. There was a chance that Mo Tie would encounter danger.
After thinking it over, Su Changkong couldn't just watch Mo Tie walk into danger. Following to see the situation seemed like the right thing to do, as a way to repay Mo Tie's kindness for taking him in!
However, Su Changkong didn't act immediately; instead, he went back to his room, quickly put on a set of black clothes, and took out a mask from the cupboard, the Ape mask he had used at the Zhao Family's auction before.
Not only that, but Su Changkong also employed the Bone Shrinking technique from the Turtle Breath Technique!
"Ka-ka-ka!"
Sounds echoed from Su Changkong's bones, and his height shrank by half a foot, no longer looking tall as before. Even his aura became more restrained.
"Let's go." After doing all this, Su Changkong, armed with a knife, quietly left Black Iron Manor, following the footprints left by Mo Tie and the others in the snow.
Twenty li away from Black Iron Manor, in a desolate forest.
With a solemn expression, Mo Tie said to the other four, "Zhang Qian, you guys wait out here; I'll go in and take a look."
Upon hearing this, a dark-skinned man suddenly spoke with excitement, "Manor Lord, at a time like this, you're still saying such things? Let's go in together and meet these bastards!"
At dusk, Li Erlang's severed head was thrown outside Black Iron Manor, along with a letter. The content of the letter was straightforward; it named Mo Tie and threatened that if he didn't come to the appointed place, not only Li Erlang's head would appear at the gate of Black Iron Manor but also Yang Chao's head!
Mo Tie couldn't ignore the well-being of his manor members, let alone the fact that even if he didn't care about Yang Chao's safety, the other party probably wouldn't stop there; they would continue to harass Black Iron Manor. He had no choice but to go to the place mentioned in the letter!
Mo Tie, along with several other sturdy members of the manor, stepped into the desolate forest.
In the center of the forest was an abandoned, dilapidated temple with flickering lights barely visible inside.
Taking a deep breath, Mo Tie pushed open the temple door and entered.
Inside the temple's main hall, candles were lit, and in the center of the hall, there was a fire with three men of different appearances, sitting around it, drinking wine and eating roasted meat.
Upon seeing Mo Tie and his group arrive, mocking smiles appeared on their faces.
"Manor... Manor Lord..."
A hoarse voice rang out. Mo Tie and the others looked in its direction and saw a strong man tied to a pillar with heavy bindings, covered in bloodstains that dyed his clothes a dark red, as if he had been tortured inhumanely.
It was none other than the missing Yang Chao. When Yang Chao saw Mo Tie and the others arrive, he revealed a mix of excitement and concern.
Seeing that Yang Chao was still alive, Mo Tie sighed in relief, then turned his gaze back to the three men beside the fire. He said sternly, "Gentlemen, I have read the letter. Yang Chao and Li Erlang offended you, and I apologize on their behalf. Would you please let Yang Chao go and show some mercy?"
The letter that Mo Tie had found next to Li Erlang's head in the daytime stated that Yang Chao and Li Erlang had offended them. It demanded that a person in charge of Black Iron Manor should come to this place to apologize, or else Yang Chao's head would be delivered to Black Iron Manor.
They were ordered to come one or two hours after the letter had been discovered in the evening. There was no time to report to the officials, so Mo Tie had to bring a few trusted men with him to the rendezvous.
"These two ignorant fools offended us, and you, as their leader, think a simple verbal apology is enough to settle the matter?"
One of the three, the man on the left, spoke up. He had a face covered in pockmarks, was slightly obese, and looked ferocious. He gave a smile that wasn't quite a smile.
Fire was practically shooting from the eyes of Zhang Qian and the others beside Mo Tie. They didn't know the specifics yet, but it was a fact that the three men had killed Li Erlang. Now, they were forcing Mo Tie to apologize for them, an act of extreme arrogance and lawlessness!
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