After several rounds of negotiations between the Seven Mysteries Sect and the Wild Wolf Gang, a border location called Falling Sand Slope was mutually agreed upon as the meeting ground.
As for the personnel participating in the talks, the Wild Wolf Gang took a hard line, insisting that a leader from each side must be present to demonstrate genuine sincerity. Otherwise, there was no point in holding the negotiation at all.
This condition didn't cause any uproar on the Seven Mysteries Sect's side, as it was a perfectly normal diplomatic requirement.
Naturally, the true top leaders would never put themselves in danger. The Seven Mysteries Sect would at most send a Vice Sect Master, and the other side would send a comparable Deputy Gang Leader to save face. So this condition was no problem at all.
The two sides set a specific date for the negotiations, and each would send a team of over a hundred people to the meeting.
Fearing that the other side might lay an ambush during the talks, the Sect made extremely thorough arrangements for both the negotiating personnel and contingents.
Not only was the team led by Vice Sect Master Wu, the Sect's second-strongest fighter, but the nearly one hundred members were all top-tier experts from within the Sect. Most were core personnel such as Protectors and Offerers, with a few Elders and Hall Masters along for support. It was a truly impressive lineup.
A team composed of so many experts — even if the Wild Wolf Gang committed every last one of their elite fighters, they surely wouldn't be able to stop them. The entire Seven Mysteries Sect was brimming with confidence.
This way, if anything went wrong, the negotiators could rely on their formidable martial arts to fight their way out of the encirclement and return to their own territory. There, several squads of elite Blood Blade Hall disciples would be waiting to cover their retreat, ensuring a safe withdrawal.
Li Feiyu also volunteered to join. For a man whose days were numbered, the more dangerous a place was, the more he yearned to go there.
And so, this team — comprising nearly half of the Seven Mysteries Sect's top fighters — finally set out from the mountain as the negotiation date approached. The round trip would take at least half a month. That really was a long time!
Han Li, however, wasn't particularly concerned. To him, whether the peace talks succeeded or fell through made no difference at all. He was about to leave this place and venture out into the wider world. The rise and fall of the Seven Mysteries Sect had very little to do with him!
As long as it didn't personally involve him, he couldn't be bothered to care about such matters.
So in the days following the negotiation team's departure, he continued unhurriedly cultivating the herbs he needed and began collecting seeds of rare medicinal plants for future use.
Han Li had already decided that once the negotiation team returned to the mountain, he would formally take his leave from the Sect Masters. If the higher-ups failed to recognize what was good for them and refused to let him go, he wouldn't mind showing them a glimpse of his true strength, just to make them give up for good.
In truth, slipping away unnoticed would have been the easiest option. But Han Li worried that if they couldn't find him, they might go after his family. So openly requesting to leave and demonstrating enough force to intimidate them was necessary.
As for his excuse for leaving, Han Li had long since thought it through — he would say he missed Doctor Mo and was going to search for his master. Whether they believed it or not, Han Li simply didn't care. With absolute strength as his backing, did he really need to fear what they might think?
Every time he thought of this, a cold smirk would crease the corners of his lips. Right now, if he wanted to take the lives of those Sect Masters, it would be as easy as turning over his hand.
Of course, he only thought about it — he wouldn't actually do it.
But what Han Li never expected was that on the fourth night after the negotiation team departed, a ragged, dust-covered figure with disheveled hair suddenly burst into his room. The man stared at him with bloodshot eyes and, through cracked lips covered in white peeling skin, rasped out a single sentence:
"The negotiation team is finished. Sect Master Wu is dead. The Protectors, the Offerers — dead. Several Elders are dead too. Almost everyone is gone."
Han Li was stunned by these words and hadn't yet managed to ask a question when—
"Phew—"
A sharp warning whistle suddenly pierced the air from somewhere on the mountain.
"Bang, bang—"
Immediately after, a series of muffled wooden alarm clappers began to sound.
"Dong, dong—"
"Clang, clang—"
"Bang, bang—"
…………
Every manner of alarm signal rang out in unison, and then countless battle cries erupted, rising and falling across the mountain. The faint clash of weapons could be heard amid the chaos. In that instant, the entire Cai Xia Mountain had been transformed into a massive killing field.
Han Li's expression changed. He didn't bother listening to anything more from the man before him. His figure flickered and he was already outside the house. He glanced around, spotted the tallest building nearby, lightly tapped his foot against the ground, and was on its rooftop in an instant, gazing out beyond the valley.
His expression was grim, darkened with foreboding. Not far from where he stood, flames soared into the sky. Shadows flickered everywhere, the glint of blades and swords flashed constantly, and the air was filled with a chaotic cacophony of fighting, alarm cries, and furious shouting.
He heard the wind stir behind him and, without turning his head, asked: "Li Feiyu — is it the Wild Wolf Gang?"
"It is. I never expected them to plan this so meticulously. They wiped out almost our entire negotiation team, and then immediately followed the survivors right up the mountain to attack." The messenger was none other than Li Feiyu, who had left four days ago. His voice was thick with fury and bitter unwillingness.
(End of chapter)