freenovelworld Chapter 112 Rescue Operation
Chapter 112 Rescue Operation
The letter clearly outlined what had happened in the Yang family, and also included Yue Wuque's plans after rescuing Yang Wanzhong, ensuring that Ma Jiepu wouldn't reveal anything when he returned to face Yang Wanshi.
In the original story, it was after Yang Wanzhong committed suicide by jumping into a well that Ma Jiepu saw the state of the Yang family and the fact that Yang Wanshi was still completely subservient to Madam Yin. He gave Yang Wanshi a strong dose of medicine, but it didn't have much effect. After all the trouble, Ma Jiepu lost hope in Yang Wanshi's cowardly nature and took Yang Wanzhong's child away from his misery and never appeared again.
If Yang Wanzhong had returned home immediately after being rescued, and neither Yin Shi nor Yang Wanzhong had died, the Yang family would have remained unchanged and continued their chaotic life. Ma Jiepu would not have realized just how utterly hopeless Yang Wanshi's character truly was.
Only if Yang Wanzhong "dies" in the Yang family, allowing Ma Jiepu to witness the Yang family's tragic state firsthand, can he understand that it is impossible to establish authority over the Yin family by targeting Yang Wanshi.
It's one thing to know from the letter that Yang Wanzhong is still alive, but it's another thing for Ma Jiepu to learn about the farce that happened in the Yang family. If Yue Wuque hadn't intervened, Yang Wanzhong would really be dead.
Ma Jiepu felt complicated after reading the letter, and his mood remained low until he returned and met up with Mo Xunzong. After all, he had only been out for a short while when one of his sworn brothers almost committed suicide by jumping into a well—no, he had already jumped into a well, but someone intervened and saved him from death.
"what happens?"
Mo Xunzong could clearly sense the change in Ma Jiepu's demeanor. He was perfectly normal when he left, but why did he become so depressed after going out for a while?
"nothing."
The Yang family's farce was, after all, an internal matter for the Yang family. Although the locals and neighbors already knew about the Yang family's situation and had witnessed the spectacle countless times, it was ultimately not appropriate to bring such a thing up casually.
The White Lotus Sect issued an order that any captured monsters, regardless of their life or nature, could be handed over for a reward. However, for some reason, most people seemed to feel that capturing them alive would better prove their strength, so most of the monsters they handed over were alive.
From the perspective of what the White Lotus Sect wants to do, it is indeed more useful to capture living people. Capturing more living people also meets the requirements of those above, and even meets the requirements of Wan Jie.
Because they are alive, they can better attract the friends and relatives of these little monsters, allowing the White Lotus Sect and illegal transmigrators to accumulate enough hatred among the monsters, making it easier to carry out the Wan Jie operation.
However, a monster that is dead and only has a corpse is completely different from a monster that is still alive, jumping around and struggling. They need to be dealt with separately.
There's no need to think about the dead. Just check the body for usable parts, dissect the necessary materials, and throw away the rest.
As for the living ones, they need to be temporarily imprisoned and a suppression formation needs to be set up. It's true that these little monsters don't have much magic power, but when they're all put together, no one can guarantee what kind of tricks they might pull.
For example, they can burrow and howl. If one that can use water and one that can use fire are placed next to each other, they will spit water and fire at the same time. In a short while, all that can be seen is evaporated water vapor, and nothing can be seen except for white mist. They are practically self-propelled smoke bombs.
There are many similar tricks that are effective at causing trouble but cannot be escaped. I don't know who taught them to do this. Anyway, when it comes to imprisonment and management, these little monsters mainly focus on causing as much trouble as possible. You've already captured us, why would we help you if we didn't cause you trouble?
The spirits, who have only recently gained sentience, are not yet fully mature. Their thinking is a combination of that of wild beasts and children. Since they are destined to die after being captured, they want to swindle their captors before they die.
"It's that fox again!"
The speaker was clutching something that looked slightly twisted. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a strange fox with an extremely thin waist and a body as soft as a rope. It was twisting itself up, trying to break free from the rope binding it.
But once it was discovered, the guards would never let it escape. No matter how much it struggled, even twisting its body into a pretzel, it couldn't escape the clutches of the evil spirits.
The fox, twisted in a ball, was thrown into a cage with a yellow talisman attached, along with its rope. As soon as the cage door was closed, the bright red incantations on the talisman glowed, and the fox, which had been in a contorted posture, suddenly became normal, its body resembling that of a normal fox. The rope around its waist was moved to its neck.
"When are the higher-ups coming? Just looking at this little beast is torturous enough."
Fox spirits are adept at transformation, and this is well demonstrated in this fox, but not in its ability to transform into a human, but rather in its fox form.
Since the fox was captured, it has tried all sorts of ways to escape from the cage. Sometimes it stretches its body out to be exceptionally long and thin, like a snake, and sometimes it flattens itself out like a piece of paper, and then slips out sideways.
If it gets discovered along the way, it can simply lie down on the ground, stretch out its body, close its eyes, and hey, where did this fox fur come from!
In short, this fox spirit was not highly skilled, but its body was like dough, easily kneaded and deformed. If it weren't for the rope around its neck serving as a restraint, and the talismans used to suppress demons being pasted on the cage, this dough fox would probably have escaped countless times.
Even so, just keeping an eye on it was extremely exhausting. The guards were all wondering which colleague was so capable of catching this fox.
"We're running around chasing him every day, this little bastard just won't stop. Why can't we just kill him?"
There was no requirement from above to hand over the bodies. There are so many monsters locked up here, killing a few won't hurt. They're all low-level monsters with ordinary backgrounds, and they don't have much of a useful stuff on them.
"The boss said that among all these fox spirits, it is the most special. It cannot die if any other fox dies."
They were responsible for guarding the monsters captured by others, waiting for the higher-ups to come and take them away. Having seen so many small monsters, this was the first time they had seen a fox that could only twist itself into a pretzel. It was very likely a monster with special bloodlines, and its value was several times that of the other wild monsters.
No matter which monster dies, this fox cannot die. No matter how often this creature tries to escape, they can only catch it; they cannot lay a hand on the fox out of anger.
"Add a few more talismans, so he can't stand up, then he shouldn't run away."
Upon hearing this, his companion thought it made some sense, so he added a few more talismans to the cage. Sure enough, the fox inside stopped moving and curled up in a corner of the cage, no longer making a sound.
This talisman was made by a legitimate Taoist priest and has extremely strong power to suppress evil spirits, making it far more professional and effective than those who practice evil arts in the White Lotus Sect.
Why would they have talismans produced by orthodox Taoist priests? There's something to understand: just because someone has an orthodox identity doesn't mean their mind is as pure and upright as their background. There are only a few powerful members in the White Lotus Sect, but when it comes to accumulating wealth, they don't need very powerful magic; a few illusions are enough.
In terms of strength, the White Lotus Sect cannot defeat orthodox practitioners with formal training, but in terms of wealth, they are much richer than those who always wander alone. Under coercion and enticement, there will always be people tempted by material things and wavering between the White Lotus Sect and their own sect.
Moreover, what they want are talismans to suppress monsters, not to harm people. Dealing with monsters is not a problem if it is just mentioned, it's just that the order in which humans and monsters provoked each other is different.
"I heard that a young man in yellow clothes recently came to the city, carrying an exaggeratedly long sword. He's been asking about us. Tell those who bring monsters to be careful, lest they get caught."
In fact, some people have already been arrested, not because their monster-catching operation was discovered, but because they tried to buy human-turned-animals to "pass themselves off as humans."
"That guy's behavior is strange; he's probably someone with cultivation. We should try to stay away from him."
"Just one person, is that more troublesome than that fox?"
In terms of effort and dedication, the fox that can change its body at will like dough has already topped the list in everyone's mind.
Since the young man had a sword, he was more likely a swordsman from the martial arts world. In terms of close combat, they certainly couldn't beat him, but in terms of magic, the White Lotus Sect had plenty of spells that could bewitch people, making them kill themselves without any problem.
"If we inquire about the White Lotus Sect, they might just be seeking revenge against the swordsmen, and they might not be after us."
Everyone is officially referred to as the White Lotus Sect, but there are many different sub-sects behind the scenes. Many people go around asking around with just a general term, only to end up with nothing.
Besides, the martial arts heroes only possess brute strength. To avoid being discovered by the government, they have already set up a maze around the area that can confuse people. Even if ordinary people know the exact location, they will not be able to see through the maze and end up in a place they don't even recognize.
"It's best to be careful. That kid named Mo Xunzong... we can't find any record of him entering the city."
This is the most concerning part. Mo Xunzong has been in the city for several days. Because of his distinctive appearance, his behavior is seen as very high-profile by others. People both inside and outside the city have seen him.
Strangely, so many people have seen him, and this man didn't hide from them. He even ran around inside and outside the city several times a day. But the most absurd thing is that no one has ever seen him walk through the city gate.
How did this person get here? Where did he come from? When did he enter the city? Such a high-profile person, yet no one has ever seen him. Did he walk through the wall to get in?!
Because they had no legal identity in this world and couldn't produce the celestial transfer slips used by local Taoist priests, the sockpuppet accounts that were skilled in various circumvention techniques thought: "Don't worry about how I got in, I've entered the city and haven't caused any trouble."
Imprisoning a large number of small monsters, these little creatures cannot speak, but they can still make noise. In order not to arouse suspicion, the White Lotus Sect has filled the area around its stronghold with a maze to conceal it. Not only can mortals not see the surroundings clearly, but they will also involuntarily avoid it when they approach.
Ordinary people, upon learning the exact location, would only find themselves lost and unable to find their way, going around in circles. But Ma Jiepu and Mo Xunzong were no ordinary people; these formations, instead, became a form of guidance for them.
"There are traces of an array, it seems to be nearby."
Mo Xunzong and Ma Jiepu arrived near the city outskirts based on the information they had received. Being a member of the White Lotus Sect was a very sensitive identity. Normally, it was fine to blend in with the crowd, but in order to capture monsters, many people had to remove their usual identities and could not swagger around the streets with the little monsters they had captured.
Therefore, the final location of the stronghold on the outskirts of the city was very reasonable and suitable for concealment. The two chose to come at night, so as not to endanger passers-by and to make the enemy lower their guard.
Ma Jiepu is not human, and Mo Xunzong is a primordial being. Staying up all night won't affect them much, but the White Lotus Sect is different. Even if they have a bunch of evil spells, their physique is still that of ordinary people, and nighttime is a good time to sneak in.
They weren't the only ones who came; a fox and a gray rat also arrived. They already knew where the captured monster was, and it just so happened that it wasn't in the city. Bringing them along wouldn't be a bad idea, since their companions were all imprisoned at the stronghold.
"There is indeed some abnormal flow of spiritual energy."
Mo Xunzong looked around. The place seemed empty, but in reality, it concealed many things, just a few illusionary formations. He could simply destroy them.
"It's just a few tricks, I'll handle it..."
"Wait a minute!"
Mo Xunzong decisively drew his sword and mobilized his inner energy, but Ma Jiepu decisively stopped him, holding down his hand that was trying to violently break the formation.
Ma Jiepu had lost count of how many times this had happened. He felt that Mo Xunzong always carried an aura of wanting to eradicate the White Lotus Sect. This person had some kind of grudge against the White Lotus Sect... no, it should be said that he had some kind of grudge against the evil cult.
"Master Mo, you really dislike cults?"
"Who doesn't hate this kind of thing? Especially those who use some nonsensical divine name to pretend to be gods and harm the people. These guys dare to deceive the people today, and they'll dare to leave traces of human blood tomorrow. They should be eliminated as soon as possible."
Mo Xunzong felt that the other party's question was inexplicable. Does anyone actually like cults?
Ma Jiepu: It's hard to say. At least in the eyes of the rebels, the White Lotus Sect was quite useful for gathering people to start an uprising.
However, Mo Xunzong's words gave him a sense of hidden meaning, indicating that he really had a grudge against a certain cult.
"If the formation is destroyed, the person who set it up will notice, and then it will be difficult to deal with if we alert them."
There's something Ma Jiepu didn't say: Mo Xunzong's sword moves have a very wide range. For example, the "One Moment of Pleasure" move last time. The reason it's called an illusion is because the real thing is hidden under the illusion. If Mo Xunzong really cuts down everything around him with one sword, he might very well hit something inside the formation.
As for what exactly he might cut, Ma Jiepu wasn't sure. They couldn't see what was under the illusion. Given the destructive power Mo Xunzong had previously displayed, he might have accidentally cut the entrance to the enemy stronghold, the walls of a building, the guards at the stronghold, or even the captured monsters.
Ma Jiepu: For the sake of the safety of both sides, you should not make a move yet.
"Breaking this formation doesn't require too much effort."
Since Mo Xunzong didn't make a move, the task of breaking the formation naturally fell to Ma Jiepu. He made a hand seal, and the surrounding air currents changed. A strange crack appeared in front of him, revealing a short section of a somewhat dilapidated wall standing there, like a mirage.
But in reality, the empty surroundings are a mirage, and this dilapidated wall is just a glimpse of the true nature of this place.
"Since it's an infiltration, it's better to be more discreet."
Ma Jiepu stepped one foot into the gap ahead, and after making sure it was safe, he turned to signal to those behind him to follow.
The operation to rescue the spirits from the White Lotus Sect has only just begun.