Midnight Bell 2

After Xie Mowen left, Xiao Congzhi sat cross-legged, closed his eyes and circulated his breath. He couldn't sleep well in the harsh environment, but meditation was an opportunity to regulate his breathing.

Around midnight, a noise came from the dungeon entrance. Xiao Congzhi frowned but did not open his eyes, waiting for the uninvited guest to make the first move.

"Young hero!"

It was a female voice, and it was quite straightforward.

Xiao Congzhi opened his eyes and looked at the newcomer expressionlessly. She was a very young girl wearing a black robe with dark patterns and red trim.

"What brings you here so late at night?"

"I can let you out."

Xiao Congzhi frowned, initially thinking the girl was sent by Xie Mowen, but then he realized it was too suspicious and remained silent, waiting for the woman to explain.

"May I ask which sect of the Central Plains martial arts world has entrusted you with this mission, young hero?"

Xiao Congzhi's expression darkened as he considered the girl's identity, and he asked in return, "Why do you ask that?"

"Young hero sneaked into the council hall at night without being discovered by the sect leader. At such a young age, your internal strength is even better than the sect leader's, yet this has never been heard of in the martial world. You must not have joined a sect."

Seeing that Xiao Congzhi did not respond, the girl continued, "Now that the Demonic Sect is about to relocate to the Central Plains, the martial arts world of the Central Plains is united. It is only natural for any sect to ask a master for help."

Xiao Congzhi raised a hand, indicating that the girl didn't need to continue, and said gently, "We've never even met once, there's no need to go into such details."

The girl shook her head abruptly: "Now is the time for the martial arts world of the Central Plains to unite. I know you don't trust me."

She took something out of her bosom and showed it to Xiao Congzhi, then continued, "I am the 72nd generation direct disciple of Emei, and this is my token."

Xiao Congzhi frowned again. The seventy-second generation direct descendant should be Liao Heyun's disciple.

"Six years ago, I was sent to infiltrate the Demonic Sect, but firstly, Youheng Mountain is located in a remote area and the Demonic Sect is heavily guarded, so I had almost no chance to send messages out. Secondly, the sect leader is very powerful, and it is almost impossible for me to investigate secret meetings without being discovered."

I had resigned myself to watching the Demonic Sect take over the Central Plains, but unexpectedly, I encountered you, young hero! Since you successfully laid an ambush in the council hall, you must have obtained crucial intelligence. I can risk escorting you out of the mountains to help you transmit this information back to the Central Plains.”

Xiao Congzhi felt uneasy. He hadn't expected the Emei disciple to be so honest. In just a few words, this 72nd generation direct disciple had revealed all his secrets.

Morally, Xiao Congzhi should stand on the side of the Central Plains martial arts world, after all, he was the emperor of the Central Plains. But emotionally, he had to admit that the appearance of this Emei disciple was truly wonderful; he could take advantage of this opportunity to help Xie Mowen remove the hidden agents he had planted.

"How will you help me leave?" Xiao Congzhi pressed his conscience aside and probed subtly.

"The Demonic Sect is severely understaffed these days, and there are several areas in Weiyang Palace that are poorly guarded. I can lead you through those routes."

Xiao Congzhi tapped his knee with his finger and made up a story: "Not to mention the sect leader Xie Mowen, the right protector is highly skilled in martial arts. I was seriously injured by him this time. Now I have serious internal injuries and my internal energy is extremely chaotic. If I am exposed on the way, I will die without regret, but if you are exposed, I may suffer more losses than gains."

"It's alright!" The naive Emei disciple didn't realize there was anything wrong with what he said and hurriedly replied, "There is also a Kunlun disciple here who is willing to lend a hand."

Xiao Congzhi: ...

Suppressing his conscience once again, Xiao Congzhi continued to spout nonsense: "Then I will risk my life to transmit the information to the Martial Alliance. However, if I leave, the Demonic Sect will be worried about the information being leaked and will change its plans."

The young Emei disciple was stunned, clearly having never considered this matter before.

Xiao Congzhi was quite helpless. If the Demonic Sect had been lax in its defenses these past few days, then this Emei disciple could have simply gone to Anling himself to deliver the intelligence, instead of sending him there in person. But he still said with a dark heart, "I have a plan, and I hope you two will cooperate."

"Oh no! Oh no! There's a fire!"

Xie Mowen was in a terrible mood when he was woken up. He casually threw on an outer robe, pushed open the door, grabbed a member of the cult, and asked, "What happened?"

"The dungeon is flooded!"

Xie Mowen knew that his expression must have been blank at that moment. After releasing the followers, he clenched his fist and cursed Xiao Congzhi in his heart for what he was doing again!

He certainly didn't think the fire was an accident; Mount Youheng wasn't dry, and there were no open flames near the dungeon...

"Enough," Xie Mowen said, pulling his outer robe tighter. Feeling exhausted, he walked towards the dungeon, only to discover halfway there that flames were shooting into the sky.

Xie Mowen thought to himself, wondering how much oil had been spilled.

When Xie Mo heard the news, Xi Haojun was already standing there, dressed neatly. Upon seeing the person arrive, he respectfully greeted, "Master."

"Um."

"What... should we do?" Xi Haojun was really at a loss.

"Go and see who's missing from the church."

"You mean!" Xi Haojun looked surprised.

“He has no acquaintances in the sect, and his forces outside the sect are all stationed in Anling. They can’t possibly get here in a few hours, nor is there any need for them to come. The fact that he used this fire to escape means that someone has probably approached him.”

Xi Haojun's expression immediately turned serious. After Xie Mowen took over the Demonic Sect, the entire sect was thoroughly investigated several times, and it was discovered that there were still spies among them, which was truly terrifying.

"Don't worry too much. If there's more than one person, he'll take them all with him."

"This is a dereliction of duty by the subordinate."

"It's difficult to eliminate undercover agents, so there's no need to worry too much." Xie Mowen waved his hand. "That's all."

"Young hero, it's all thanks to you for coming up with this idea." At the foot of Youheng Mountain, the familiar Emei disciples had changed out of their demonic sect attire and were now praising Xiao Congzhi around the campfire.

Sitting next to her was the Kunlun disciple, who looked to be an even younger boy. He asked anxiously, "Is this really okay?"

The Emei disciple waved his hand and said, "Of course, no problem. Young hero, you are very thoughtful; you have prepared three corpses."

Xiao Congzhi's lips twitched. He had expected the Emei disciples who led the charge to look like this, and the Kunlun disciples who hadn't even come were probably even worse... Their skill as undercover agents was simply astonishing. But thinking about it carefully, perhaps these two were able to evade screening time and time again thanks to this.

"May I ask your name, young hero? Oh, my name is Xiaohua, and his name is Dongjing."

Xiaohua… Why does that name sound so familiar? Isn’t she the attendant Elder Qingfeng wanted to recommend to Xie Mowen?

Fortunately, it was a hidden agent. Xiao Cong thought with lingering fear that he was not at ease with Xie Mowen having such an accomplice.

“Xiao, Xiao Congzhi.”

"Hero Xiao, it's a pleasure to meet you." Then, despite the heavy night, Xiao Hua praised Xiao Congzhi again.

Xiao Congzhi felt guilty and embarrassed by the praise. He had simply asked the two men to find three corpses, place them in the dungeon, and then set a fire, saying that the corpses would be charred and their identities would be indistinguishable, thus making them look real. The two spies could also explain that they had failed to put out the fire and ended up getting themselves killed instead.

Unexpectedly, these two were so trusting that they did as instructed without the slightest hesitation, and even poured out an extra amount of kerosene, fearing that something was amiss.

Xiao Congzhi let out a long sigh as he faced the night.

The journey from Youheng Mountain to Anling can take a day if you travel quickly, or three to five days if you travel slowly. According to Xiao Congzhi and the others, they should have traveled day and night. On the first night, they did only rest for an hour or two before Xiaohua urged them to leave the Youheng Mountain area.

Fortunately, the sweltering heat has passed, and the weather is still acceptable.

"Master Xiao, please let me know if you feel unwell, but it would be best to leave Youheng Mountain as soon as possible."

Xiao Congzhi nodded. According to his own account, he was currently suffering from severe internal injuries, and it seemed that Xiaohua was keeping it in mind.

After walking for half a day, it was Kunlun disciple Dong Jing who was the first to tire. He was still young and had a weak foundation in internal strength. Xiao Congzhi was curious and asked, "How old were you when you joined the Demonic Sect?"

Dong Jing, panting, said, "When I was seven years old."

Xiaohua chimed in, "Don't underestimate him just because he's young. He's been in the Demonic Sect longer than I have, for a full seven years."

She's only fourteen now. Xiao Congzhi calculated Xiaohua's age. She was probably nine or ten when she joined the Demonic Sect. For someone so young to have to shoulder the responsibility and pressure of being a spy, Emei and Kunlun are really willing to do it.

Xiao Congzhi, who thought this way, said it.

Dong Jing bit her lip and didn't respond. Xiao Hua explained, "Since the Demonic Sect has been living in seclusion on Mount Heng, it has been strictly guarded both inside and outside. For many years, the Central Plains sects have been unable to plant spies, resulting in a gap in intelligence and causing them to worry. Therefore, in those years, all the major sects were thinking of new methods, such as using young people to avoid suspicion."

"But you mentioned before that not much information has been leaked out."

“Yes.” Xiaohua said dejectedly, “It was not easy to hide my identity in the early years. Later, when the new leader was scheming for the throne, he purged everyone from top to bottom. In the past two years, I have not dared to send any messages out, and I have not been able to place anyone outside.”

"The new leader..." Xiao Congzhi slowed his pace, trying to hide the curiosity on his face, and asked seriously, "When did Xie Mowen become the leader?"

"Two years ago." It was Dong Jing who answered Xiao Congzhi. His breathing was still unsteady and his voice was very soft. "He was a madman."

Xiao Congzhi was stunned.

Fortunately, Xiaohua picked up the thread: "A young man from Shaolin also joined the Demonic Sect around the same time as Dongjing. He was captured during the purge shortly after Xie Mowen took over, and his fate is now unknown."

Xiao Congzhi felt something was strange. Although Xie Mowen was not a kind person and had a bloodthirsty and ruthless side, he was only eighteen two years ago and his internal energy cultivation had just become proficient. Why would he have to go to such lengths?

and….

Why did he purge the entire Demonic Sect after ascending to the throne? Was there some problem before?

“Well… how should I put it, it’s because his succession wasn’t exactly a normal one.” Xiaohua stopped and suggested, “Why don’t we rest here for a while? Master Xiao must be tired too.”

"yes."

"Two years ago, the leader of the Demonic Sect was named Xie Chong. He was a very kind person... although I don't want to admit it, he was very kind. The current leader and the left and right protectors were all abandoned children he picked up. There was another one with him, who was slightly older. To be honest, I didn't notice anything wrong with him for those few years. I always thought he was a refined and elegant man. But that winter, he conspired with seven elders to murder the leader and attempted to usurp the throne."

Xiao Congzhi tried his best but could not suppress the shock in his eyes. Fortunately, the two people opposite him were not the type to notice anything unusual.

"I later heard a little about the reason for their usurpation. The old leader was mild-mannered and had not put the matter of taking over the Central Plains on the agenda for many years. The elders were impatient, while the child who was picked up was violent by nature and could not tolerate the peaceful demonic sect. So they hit it off. At that time, the demonic sect had more than a thousand followers, and a third of them supported them."

But the current leader, Xie Mowen, whose surname is Xie, should tell you how close he is to the old leader. After the incident, he stormed into the council hall and killed seven elders single-handedly. With the timely help of the current left and right protectors, he killed his enemies. Then, for a whole day and night, the three of them killed all the members of the sect who had clearly expressed their stance.

We were initially worried that they might have gone mad from their cultivation, and we were quite uneasy. After all, they were young, and their martial arts skills couldn't possibly be that high. But after a day, things calmed down, and then the Right Protector led his men to investigate one by one. It was during that time that Dong Jing's friends were found to have problems.

Xiao Congzhi let out a breath. No wonder Xie Mowen never doubted Yun Shaocheng and Xi Haojun, and even emphasized that his position in the Demonic Sect was unshakeable…

Upon further reflection, Xiao Congzhi sensed something amiss. Regardless of the usurper's martial arts skills, the strength of the seven elders should not be underestimated. Although he was restrained that night, it would be a pipe dream for him to kill all seven elders single-handedly. How did Xie Mowen manage to do it?

Xiao Hua was completely unaware that Xiao Congzhi was getting carried away with his thoughts and said to herself, "A year after Xie Mowen ascended the throne, he proposed to take control of the Central Plains, sent the Left Protector to the Central Plains martial arts world, and closed the Weiyang Palace, no longer accepting new followers. Alas, life is getting harder and harder."

Xiao Congzhi was preoccupied with Xie Mowen, so he merely patted Xiaohua's arm insincerely and offered a few words of comfort.

Because Xiao Congzhi had internal injuries and Dong Jing was physically exhausted, it took the three of them more than half a day to reach Anling.

Seeing the city gate in front of her with the words "Anling" engraved on it, Xiaohua breathed a sigh of relief and exclaimed, "We've finally arrived!"

After speaking, Xiaohua turned around and bowed to Xiao Congzhi, saying solemnly, "We are grateful that you have traveled day and night despite your serious injuries. Emei has a branch in Anling. We will go there now, and once we see the person, we will be completely safe."

Xiao Congzhi did not accept the greeting, but smiled slightly at Xiaohua. When Xiaohua looked up in confusion, Xiao Congzhi quickly raised his hand and struck.

The silk flower softly fell to the ground.

Dong Jing's eyes widened immediately, and she looked at Xiao Congzhi in astonishment, as if she had never known the person in front of her before.

Xiao Congzhi gave Dong Jing no time to react, delivering a swift and decisive blow that sent Dong Jing sprawling to the ground.

Several people emerged from the shadows, with Shen Yan leading the way.

"Find a secluded place to settle them properly."

"yes."

Xiao Congzhi looked up at the approaching dusk, closed his eyes briefly. Xiao Hua and Dong Jing knew Yun Shaocheng's identity and Xie Mowen's appearance; he knew he could never allow these two to come into contact with the Central Plains martial arts world. He could only wait until Xie Mowen finished his business before releasing the two.

Meanwhile, Xie Mowen finished dealing with the affairs of the Demonic Sect and set off from Youheng Mountain.

There were still half a month until the Mid-Autumn Festival.