Standing directly across the road, blocking the path to freedom, were the three leaders of the Seventy-Two Islands: Hu Hong, Yao Qianfan, and Yen Tung. They observed the two new arrivals with curiosity, their expressions growing stern. The three leaders recalled their many years wandering the martial world, yet these two strange faces were entirely unfamiliar. They had fought countless Central Plains martial artists but had never encountered these two men.
Yao Qianfan smiled thinly and asked, "May I know your name?"
Bazar Batu quickly got up and walked to stand strategically beside his two new acquaintances. He knew his greatest strength lay in a war of words and stalling for time, so he moved an inch closer to the chasers. "Tell us your name, and we will tell you ours," he challenged.
Yao Qianfan continued to smile, looking pointedly at Xue Horan. "I don't care about the names of those people, but I really want to know your name." He looked at Xue Horan with a flirtatious sneer. "I have seen thousands of beauties, but see no beauty in them... I have tasted hundreds of wines, but none of them can satisfy my taste..."
Bazar Batu burst out laughing, loud and unrestrained.
Yao Qianfan frowned slightly. "What's wrong?"
Bazar Batu was still laughing. "If you have seen thousands of beauties but did not see the beauty in them, then you must be blind! If you drink hundreds of wines, and none of them can satisfy your taste, then you have dysgeusia!"
Yao Qianfan scoffed. "You are still young and don't understand metaphor."
Bazar Batu's smile vanished. "You call me stupid?"
Yao Qianfan shrugged. "Interpret it however you want."
Bazar Batu smirked, his eyes lighting up with mischief. "Alright... um... how about this: the three dogs wanted to bite me, but they didn't realize that I belong to a pack of wolves!" He smiled wickedly at Yao Qianfan.
Yao Qianfan looked at him, grudgingly impressed. "You are not that stupid after all."
Bazar Batu leaned forward. "You don't know what I can do... I may be your sect's downfall."
Yen Tung looked at Bazar Batu, his face contorted with anger. "Si ge, he is not good at anything other than his mouth!"
Bazar Batu goaded him. "Your three-section staff was broken by me, are you still upset?"
Yen Tung smiled venomously. "You are so pathetic." He sprinted forward; his weapon raised and aimed his three-section staff directly at Bazar Batu. Bazar Batu quickly retreated, and Xue Horan instantly intercepted the weapon, his sword clashing with Yen Tung's staff.
Hu Hong and Yao Qianfan sprinted forward and went straight for Bazar Batu. Suddenly, a wave of needles shot out, forcing them to stop. The two leaders of the Seventy-Two Islands quickly dodged the flying projectiles.
Hu Hong looked at Gu Yingjie angrily. "Who are you?"
Gu Yingjie's voice was flat and dismissive. "We are just passing wanderers."
Hu Hong's face darkened. "Then you should act like passing wanderers and not stick your nose in other people's problems!"
Zhu Mingyang stepped forward, pointing his sword directly at Hu Hong's throat, his eyes cold and dangerous. "Be careful," he warned, his voice a low threat.
Gu Yingjie smiled tightly at Zhu Mingyang, and the latter rushed forward, swinging his dao sword forcefully straight at Hu Hong. Hu Hong raised his two hatchets to block, but the sheer force of Zhu Mingyang's blow caused him to kneel on one knee. Zhu Mingyang instantly leapt over Hu Hong to avoid Yao Qianfan's metal fan flying in from the right. He then delivered a sharp kick to Hu Hong's back, using the momentum to fly directly toward Yen Tung.
Gu Yingjie simultaneously sent a rapid volley of needles at Yao Qianfan to prevent him from flanking Zhu Mingyang.
At that moment, Hu Hong spitefully hurled one of his hatchets at Xue Horan, but the weapon was intercepted mid-flight by a flash of silver: a butterfly sword. Hu Hong's hatchet clattered harmlessly to the ground, and the butterfly sword flew back into the skilled hand of Rao Zhengsheng.
Xue Horan's eyes widened. He muttered softly, recognizing the familiar face, "Da shixiong."
Rao Zhengsheng immediately turned, pulled Xue Horan into his arms, and hugged him tightly, his relief palpable. He whispered urgently in Xue Horan's ear, "Hao'er, I miss you so much... where have you been all these years?"
Xue Horan blushed, shyly murmuring, "Da shixiong, there are people around." He slowly broke free from the embrace.
Rao Zhengsheng turned, his eyes blazing with anger at Hu Hong. He gritted his teeth, demanding, "Who allowed you to hurt my Hao'er?"
Hu Hong met his gaze bitterly. "Rao Zhengsheng, I walked the martial artist world when you were still drinking your mother's breast milk. Your little threats can't scare me."
Bazar Batu, shouting from his position behind Gu Yingjie, retorted, "Walking the martial artist world early does not mean that your skill is stronger than his!"
Yao Qianfan dashed forward, aiming for Gu Yingjie and Bazar Batu, while Hu Hong flew up and attacked Rao Zhengsheng.
Rao Zhengsheng instinctively pushed Xue Horan away. "Hao'er, stay back!"
Rao Zhengsheng kicked Hu Hong's flying hatchet with his left foot and aimed a fierce kick at Hu Hong's chest with his right. Hu Hong rolled to the far left, scrambling to grab the hatchet on the ground.
Yen Tung's three-section staff swept at Zhu Mingyang's feet, forcing him to flip backward four times before landing precisely in front of Hu Hong. Zhu Mingyang swung his dao sword toward Hu Hong, who managed to block it, but the sheer force of the blow still sent Hu Hong sliding back toward Yen Tung. Zhu Mingyang then sprinted left, heading straight toward Yao Qianfan.
Suddenly, Yongzheng flew over Hu Hong and Yen Tung, swung his sword at the two leaders of the Seventy-Two Islands, and then quickly flew to Xue Horan's side. The two leaders raised their weapons to block Yongzheng's attack, but the explosive sword energy sent them tumbling further down the road, toward Wu Jinghua and the rest of the Seventy-Two Islands members.
The three leaders of the Seventy-Two Islands spoke in unison, recognition dawning on their faces. "Number One..."
Rao Zhengsheng stared at the newcomer. "Yongzheng... you are also here too?"
Yongzheng turned his head to look at Rao Zhengsheng. He murmured, "Rao Zhengsheng..."
A voice cried out happily from behind. Cao Yanmei exclaimed, "Yongzheng..."
Rao Zhengsheng spun to look at Cao Yanmei. "Stay there, don't come forward."
The swift pursuit came to a sudden, dramatic halt. Wu Jinghua skidded to a stop a few paces back, joining the three leaders already confronting the newcomers. Her subordinates from the Seventy-Two Islands rushed to join them, surrounding the area.
Now, the lonely, seldom-used dirt path had transformed. It was a narrow, tense arena, suddenly filled with figures—heroes and villains alike. The two sides were perfectly opposed: the black-clad forces of the Seventy-Two Islands forming a hard line against the gathered martial artists of Central Plains.
Yao Qianfan quickly retreated from Zhu Mingyang to join his brothers. He looked at the growing assembly of enemies and said, with a forced smile, "The land of martial arts is indeed a vast land, full of skillful heroes."
Yen Tung questioned him. "What shall we do?"
Wu Jinghua, now closer, interjected. "What are you afraid of?"
Hu Hong affirmed, "I'm not afraid of them."
Wu Jinghua explained their strategy. "We just need to stall time until Jiang ge comes."
"Jiang Koshing will not come to rescue you!" Yong Taihua shouted from behind, striding into view, accompanied by many armed martial artists.
Everyone turned to look at Yong Taihua. Bazar Batu spotted a familiar figure who stood taller than the rest of the martial artists—Kuo Lok. Bazar Batu raised his hands high and shouted, his voice cracking with joy, "Lok gege! I'm here!"
Kuo Lok rushed to Bazar Batu, his large frame radiating relief. He smiled warmly. "Batu, are you okay?"
Bazar Batu replied quickly. "I'm fine!" He pointed to Yongzheng and Xue Horan. "They saved me." Kuo Lok looked at the two men, nodding his thanks to them.
Wu Jinghua looked at Yong Taihua with a sneer. "What do you mean?"
Kuo Lok looked directly at Wu Jinghua and stated flatly, "He lost and ran away."
Bazar Batu seized the opportunity. "Lok gege, catch that woman! She may know who killed jiefu!"
Kuo Lok sprinted forward instantly, with Yong Taihua following closely behind, heading straight for the four leaders of the Seventy-Two Islands.
Yao Qianfan waved his metal fan toward Kuo Lok, but Kuo Lok dodged and continued his aggressive charge at Wu Jinghua. Yao Qianfan's metal fan then spun toward Yong Taihua, but Yong Taihua deftly swung his sword, knocking the metal fan to the ground. The rest of the martial artists watched intently as Kuo Lok and Yong Taihua engaged the four leaders of the Seventy-Two Islands.
Tang Jianyu, standing with his disciples, looked at the distant mountains. He sighed heavily. "After so many years, I didn't expect to be here again."
A disciple asked, "Shifu, have you been here before?"
Tang Jianyu pointed. "Did you see the towers over there?"
The disciple confirmed. "Yes, even if they're far away, I can still see them."
Tang Jianyu explained, "Those are the Sunset Sect watchtowers."
The disciple asked, shocked, "So, we are in Sunset Sect territory?"
Tang Jianyu nodded solemnly. "Yes..."
The disciple voiced his fear. "Will Chief Xin attack us?"
One of the clan leaders reassured them. "Don't worry about it. Since Xin Taiyang agreed to stay in peace with us, I don't believe he will go back on his word and attack us."
Wu Jinghua punched Yong Taihua hard in the chest, causing him to stumble back toward Yongzheng and Rao Zhengsheng. Rao Zhengsheng immediately sprinted forward and began a fierce attack against Wu Jinghua.
Xue Horan rushed to help Yong Taihua up. He asked, worried, "Yong ge, are you alright?"
Yong Taihua coughed slightly. "I'm fine."
Xue Horan and Yong Taihua began to retreat toward the main body of martial artists.
Hu Hong and Rao Zhengsheng engaged in a fierce duel, separating themselves further from the main fight. Just as Rao Zhengsheng gained the upper hand, a sharp pain shot from his shoulder. He was instantly dragged away by a rope to another person standing behind Hu Hong.
Seeing Rao Zhengsheng captured, Yongzheng quickly struck Yen Tung and pointed his sword at the throat of the Chief Leader of the Seventy-Two Islands. The Chief Leader, however, grabbed Yongzheng's sword with his left hand and ruthlessly twisted it. He then hit Yongzheng's abdomen with a heavy punch. Yongzheng swiftly blocked, but the sheer power of the blow sent him flying back toward the injured Rao Zhengsheng. The four leaders of the Seventy-Two Islands hurriedly retreated back to their Chief.
Yongzheng looked at the Chief Leader's menacing metal claw gloves and muttered, a chilling realization dawning on him. "It's you... no wonder you know so much about Men of a Thousand Faces."
The Chief Leader of Seventy-Two Islands smirked, the metal claws glinting. "Number One, when you left us, many of us were hunted down. We had to protect ourselves." He paused, his expression hardening. "Do you feel guilty?"
Yongzheng remained emotionless. "I found my peace. There is nothing to be guilty of."
The Chief Leader of Seventy-Two Island sneered. "Then why do you return to the martial arts world?"
Yongzheng sighed. "Under certain circumstances, it cannot be helped. You're so good at hiding. When you attacked us back then, I didn't realize you were the one who fought with me. You are so good, why did you hold back that day?"
The Chief Leader of Seventy-Two Island admitted, "You hid yourself better than me. If it weren't for your Lightning Sword technique, I wouldn't have been able to guess that you were Number One."
Rao Zhengsheng asked, confused, "Yongzheng, do you know him?"
Yongzheng looked directly at the Chief Leader of the Seventy-Two Islands and stated clearly, "He is Number Two, the second-best assassin of the Men of a Thousand Faces organization."
The Chief Leader of Seventy-Two Island smiled coldly at Yongzheng. "Number One, you know the outcome for those who betrayed the organization." He looked at Yongzheng; his eyes filled with a lethal coldness.
There was no emotion on Yongzheng's face, only a blank acceptance. "I know very well. I am the one who made those rules."