Chapter 156: Whereabouts

Yang Ze moved swiftly through the Yu Family Village, his toes lightly touching the ground with every step, propelling his body forward over great distances. Stepping out now, he found the village paths entirely deserted. Not a single villager was in sight, and their whereabouts were unknown.

Halting his movement, Yang Ze swept his gaze across the surroundings, his eyes gradually turning cold. Having endured numerous incursions by martial artists in the past, the villagers of the Yu Family Village had long since developed a strong sense of crisis. While Yang Ze was investigating the abandoned courtyard, all the villagers had gone into hiding.

After figuring this out, Yang Ze felt no rush to search for them; instead, he pondered where these people might possibly be hiding.

The Yu Family Village was only so large, so hiding inside houses was clearly out of the question. At the same time, uncultivated farmers possessing no martial prowess could certainly not have dug a subterranean tunnel capable of concealing so many villagers in such a short time.

Thus, only one possible hiding place remained.

Yang Ze raised his head to look at a small hill behind the Yu Family Village. Surveying the entire village, perhaps only that location could provide shelter for the villagers.

Changing his direction, Yang Ze dashed toward the small hill. Pushing his speed to the absolute limit, he covered the relatively short distance in no time at all and arrived at the foot of the hill.

The hill was not large, and a dense forest stood at its base. Passing through the forest, Yang Ze stood upon the mountain path and noticed signs of artificial carving all around.

Without stopping, Yang Ze pressed forward. Following the faint traces left along the mountain trail, he wandered around the hill until he finally heard the sound of people talking near a cave entrance on the back side of the mountain.

With light steps, Yang Ze reached the exterior of the cave. The moment he appeared, several shrieks rang out immediately, all shouting that the enemy had arrived.

Following the shouts, a squad of able-bodied young men rushed out of the cave, every single one of them armed with farm tools, and surrounded Yang Ze.

Yang Ze looked coldly at these young men of the Yu Family Village without uttering a single word. Although he stood motionless, a faint aura emanated from his body, intimidating the young men and causing their bodies to tremble uncontrollably.

Glancing at them briefly, the young men involuntarily took a few steps backward. Yang Ze could tell that they were terrified.

Yet Yang Ze had no intention of killing these people. In a cold voice, he spoke, "Call out someone who can make decisions."

His voice was not loud, but it carried clearly into the depths of the cave. Before long, an elderly man with white hair and a white beard, supported by two farmwomen, walked out.

"This old man is the village chief of the Yu Family Village. I wonder how the martial hero managed to find our hiding place?" As soon as the old man saw Yang Ze, he stated his identity and countered with a question.

"You are hiding in this back mountain. To an ordinary martial artist, finding you in these mountains would indeed be extremely difficult. But you underestimated me. With my eyesight, finding the carved marks you left along the mountain path was no difficult task. Following these traces naturally led me to your hiding place.

"By the way, let me issue a warning: I called you out here to question you, not for you to question me."

Yang Ze's tone grew a fraction colder, accompanied by a hint of killing intent radiating from his body. Everyone nearby—man, woman, old, and young—shivered involuntarily.

"Village Chief Yu, I am going to ask you a few questions, and you had better answer honestly. I have no intention of making things difficult for you; as long as you give me accurate answers, I will spare you. But if you dare to lie to me..." As the final word fell, an overwhelming aura burst forth from Yang Ze, instantly blowing all the young men surrounding him backward through the air.

The old man looked at Yang Ze in terror. He had not expected that someone who looked so young would turn out to be the strongest individual he had laid eyes on in this entire period. If Yang Ze had not intentionally spared him just now, his old bones would likely have been shattered.

"The young hero may ask whatever he wishes; this old man shall tell you everything he knows without reservation," the old man sighed inwardly, realizing that there was no room for maneuver today.

"Wise choice. Let me ask you: did that martial artist from the Yu Family Village who went missing decades ago return here recently?"

The moment Yang Ze asked this question, a subtle, imperceptible change flickered across the old man's eyes. Although he concealed it instantly, it did not escape Yang Ze's notice.

The old man initially wanted to lie, but remembering Yang Ze's extraordinary abilities, he had no choice but to reply, "Senior Yu Haibiao did indeed return once half a year ago.

"Senior Yu Haibiao is the martial arts expert our Yu Family Village produced a century ago. He went missing seventy years ago, and even I only laid eyes on Senior Haibiao once half a year ago."

Noticing Yang Ze's puzzled look, the old man offered an explanation, which finally made things clear to him.

Yang Ze continued his questioning, and the old man answered each query one by one. During this process, Yang Ze asked certain questions indirectly, repeatedly verifying their accuracy. Only after confirming that everything was correct did he allow these people to return, finally understanding the full story behind the Yu Family Village.

It turned out that Yu Haibiao was born one hundred and twenty years ago. At the age of ten, he was appreciated by a high-ranking master and taken away from the Yu Family Village, not returning until he was thirty years old, by which time he had already become a martial artist of considerable strength.

Because of such a figure, Yu Haibiao's family experienced a dramatic rise in status within the village, which lasted until news of his disappearance reached the Yu Family Village seventy years ago, causing his lineage to decline thereafter.

Yu Haibiao's disappearance also brought a calamity to the Yu Family Village. Numerous martial artists seeking revenge came to the village repeatedly, plunging it into disasters that lasted for several full years before peace finally returned.

According to the old man's account, the Yu Family Village should have remained peaceful like that; however, half a year ago, Yu Haibiao, who had been missing for so long, had unexpectedly returned.

Very few people in the village knew of Yu Haibiao's return, and the old man himself had been given a fright when he saw him.

According to legends passed down through generations, although Yu Haibiao could not be considered strikingly handsome, he was certainly not an ugly man. Yet the Yu Haibiao the old man saw looked like a monster, bearing no resemblance whatsoever to the person Yang Ze described.

Fortunately, Yu Haibiao did not linger long in the Yu Family Village and departed quickly, so the old man did not spread the news. However, as martial artists gradually began to appear in the village later on, he realized that the matter could no longer be kept under wraps.

Yet, until he met Yang Ze, he had not revealed Yu Haibiao's whereabouts. It was only under Yang Ze's coercion that he finally disclosed the place where Yu Haibiao was currently hiding.

Yang Ze mounted a swift horse outside the village and galloped toward the northern part of the Yu Family Village. Sixty miles north of the village lay Eagle Beak Ravine, the hiding place of Yu Haibiao.

As the horse galloped onward, Yang Ze kept pondering the matter. Although he knew Yu Haibiao's hiding place, a constant sense of vigilance remained in his heart; this affair was not as simple as it seemed.

As a martial artist who practiced demonic arts, Yang Ze did not believe Yu Haibiao was a great philanthropist willing to entrust his whereabouts to the people of the Yu Family Village. After so many years, it was doubtful how much affection he still held for the village.

Exposing his own whereabouts was most likely part of some scheme.

Yet, at this point, Yang Ze certainly would not abandon his pursuit halfway. He was definitely going to Eagle Beak Ravine, and at the same time, his left hand kept a tight grip on a sound-transmission talisman.

This item had been given to them by Instructor Li when they left the martial academy, with one piece allocated to each person.

Utilizing this sound-transmission talisman, they could communicate with one another within a radius of five hundred miles. However, after the span of a single incense stick, the talisman would be completely exhausted and destroyed, rendering it a strictly single-use consumable.

Holding the talisman, Yang Ze was well-prepared. The moment he discovered that Yu Haibiao was indeed the culprit who murdered the three trial disciples of the martial academy, and should he find himself unable to match Yu Haibiao in combat, he would immediately activate the talisman to summon reinforcements.

Although Li He claimed his formation could detect the appearance of graded martial artists, Yang Ze refused to place his safety entirely in the hands of others.

...

The sixty-mile journey, urged on by Yang Ze's whip, took less than an hour to complete.

Without stopping, Yang Ze dismounted and walked straight into Eagle Beak Ravine. With his left hand clutching the sound-transmission talisman and his right hand gathering true essence in readiness, his gaze swept across the surroundings, constantly guarding against a sudden appearance by Yu Haibiao.

Yet, not until he penetrated deep into Eagle Beak Ravine did he realize he had overthought the situation. As soon as he entered, a particularly pungent and foul odor struck his nostrils—the exact same smell present in the basement of the abandoned courtyard.

Yang Ze marched forward continuously until he reached the very center of Eagle Beak Ravine, where he heard the sound of wind being torn apart from one side. Tapping his right foot on the ground, his body instantly flashed toward the opposite direction.

No sooner had he dodged than a pitch-black short arrow plunged into the ground precisely where he had been standing, scorching the yellowish-brown earth black.

Yang Ze raised his head to look in the direction from which the short arrow had flown. He spotted an opening carved into the steep cliff face, and inside that opening stood a monster.

At a single glance, Yang Ze's expression shifted, and a wave of nausea surged into his throat. That creature was simply too repulsive.

The greater part of its body was covered in pitch-black fur, and its face was withered beyond recognition. Scattered locks of hair blocked half of its visage, exposing only the other half, across which protruded a series of pitch-black, swollen blood vessels that looked as though they could rupture at any moment.

The clothes on its body could no longer provide any coverage, having been shredded by the dense fur. Its legs were crossed, obscuring their condition, but its hands were pressed against the bare stone wall. One hand was withered into skin and bones, while the other swelled with several fist-sized tumors, from which green, viscous pus dripped downward.