After the Taoist priests actually chased after the old woman, Lanqin lay prone in the grass, too afraid to move, but she was thinking: Why did these Quanzhen Taoist priests want to capture me? Is it because they are related to Fourth Master and the others? Have they already been captured by these Taoist priests?
Once the footsteps of the two Taoist priests had faded into the distance, Lanqin emerged from the bushes. But she was unsure where to go. She dared not return to Master Zhou's house, yet she didn't know where to go next.
After thinking it over, Lanqin decided to go back to Master Zhou's clinic, because she was really worried about Su Peisheng and the others. So, she followed the route she had taken with that woman back home.
Now, after the three of them came out of the cave, they retraced their steps. They had no idea that the Taoist priests already knew they had been there and had sent men to capture them.
As soon as they stepped out of the cave, a group of Taoist priests came to greet them.
When Fourth Master saw so many Taoist priests arrive, he asked, "Master Zhou, it seems that your Quanzhen Sect is indeed related to this cave. They arrived quite quickly."
Zhou Tianhao asked, "Fifth Junior Brother, what are you doing?"
The Taoist priest leading the group was clearly the fifth junior brother Zhou Tianhao had referred to. He smiled and said, "Second senior brother, it's been a long time since you went back to see the headmaster or your second senior uncle. Why don't you come up the mountain with me?"
"So, you've come to invite me up the mountain?" Zhou Tianhao asked.
"Master Uncle in charge said that Second Senior Brother and everyone else are invited to go up the mountain together!" Fifth Junior Brother said with wide eyes.
Fourth Master coldly looked at these Taoist priests and said, "There's no need for you all to go to such lengths to invite me. I was just about to pay my respects to your sect leader."
Fifth Brother was clearly surprised that Fourth Master would say such a thing, and quickly said, "That's perfect, why don't you come up the mountain with us, sir!"
Fourth Master snorted coldly, "Sorry, I don't like your kind of invitation. I'll decide for myself when to go."
The fifth junior brother said, "Then don't blame me for being rude. Your wife has already been invited up the mountain by my third and fourth senior brothers."
Upon hearing this, Fourth Master immediately flew into a rage. He wasn't worried about anything except that the woman might have an accident, which was why he hadn't brought her along. But now, these people had actually taken her up the mountain.
"Ling Feng, do you have that thing of mine on you?" Fourth Master asked Ling Feng in a low voice.
“I brought it with me,” Ling Feng said.
"When the opportunity arises, we'll slip away and go to the nearest prefecture or county to mobilize troops. These Taoist priests seem to be plotting to become mountain bandits; let them suppress them," said the Fourth Prince. Now that Lanqin has been taken away by these people, the Fourth Prince absolutely cannot ignore the need to mobilize troops. If necessary, he must reveal his identity. Surely Wudang Mountain wouldn't dare to lay a hand on a prince!
He and Ling Feng spoke in hushed tones, which they could not hear. They could only see them whispering to each other. The fifth junior brother then said impatiently, "Everyone, please!"
“What if we don’t comply?” Zhou Tianhao asked.
"Second Senior Brother, you are a member of Wudang. What, are you now going to collude with outsiders to deal with your own people?" Fifth Junior Brother said with a stern face.
“When did we attack Wudang? A child was poisoned here, and we're just here to find the antidote. How does that count as attacking Wudang?” Zhou Tianhao said.
"You should save those words for your senior master," the fifth junior brother suddenly raised a hand, signaling the Taoist priests behind him to surround the fourth master and the others.
"It seems that this Dumenpo, that cave, and the mechanisms inside are all related to Wudang Mountain. What secrets are hidden here?" Fourth Master said.
"Go! Arrest them!" The fifth junior brother stopped talking to the fourth master and issued the order directly.
Immediately, the Taoists swarmed forward, and Zhou Tianhao personally engaged his fifth junior brother in combat. Fourth Master drew a soft sword from his waist and gave Ling Feng a wink. Ling Feng knew that with the concubine in their hands, his master wouldn't fight them to the death, so he quickly found an opening, jumped into the nearby bushes, and went down the mountain.
The Taoist priests' attention was entirely focused on Fourth Master, and they didn't even notice that Ling Feng had left. Fourth Master and Master Zhou were ultimately outnumbered and captured.
"Second Senior Brother, I have long advised you that now that you have colluded with outsiders to deal with Wudang, your Second Senior Uncle will no longer protect you," said the Fifth Junior Brother.
“We didn’t do anything. You keep saying we’re dealing with Wudang, but how exactly did we do it?” Zhou Tianhao said.
"Hmph, go back and explain to the sect leader!" said the fifth junior brother.
Meanwhile, Su Peisheng, Si Hua, and Shui Ling were captured by the Taoist priests. Gesang, concerned for them, was eventually captured by his third and fourth senior brothers. However, both of them were injured by Gesang.
"Take them up the mountain!" The third junior brother's leg had been kicked by Gesang, and he was now walking unsteadily, limping as he spoke.
"But we didn't catch that woman. How are we going to explain this to our eldest master?" the fourth junior brother asked. The two Taoist priests who went to chase after Lanqin returned and said they hadn't caught her.
"He's utterly useless; he can't even catch a woman," said the third junior brother.
"Let's take these people back to report now!" said the fourth junior brother.
At this moment, Lanqin was wandering aimlessly in the deep mountains. She had intended to return to Master Zhou's house, but she had gotten lost. Little did she know that, apart from her and Ling Feng, everyone else had already been taken to Wudang Mountain by the Taoist priest.
After wandering through the mountains for most of the day, Lanqin felt very tired. She saw a house ahead, walked up to it, and called out to the house inside, "Excuse me, is anyone home?"
After calling three times, the door to the inner room was finally opened, and an old woman came out. Seeing Lanqin standing alone outside the gate, she asked, "Young lady, where are you from? What are you doing here?"
"Auntie, I'm lost and separated from my family. Could you let me in for a drink of water?" Lanqin thought for a moment and decided not to tell the truth.
"Alright, come in quickly." The old woman came out and opened the wooden gate.
Lanqin followed her inside and saw some herbs drying in the yard, and chickens searching for insects to eat.
"Young lady, this place is surrounded by dense forests. How did you get separated from your family?" the old woman asked.
“We originally intended to visit the Taoist priests at Wudang Mountain, but we got lost on the way,” Lanqin said.
"How pitiful. Here, have some water." The old woman poured a glass of water for Lanqin from the table. When Lanqin entered the room, she casually glanced at the furnishings and saw many animal skulls, which looked rather eerie.
"Auntie, are you hunters from these mountains?" Lanqin asked.
"Yes, my son is a hunter in these mountains. He went out hunting today," the old woman said.
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