Translator: Cinder Translations
Just as he was about to be captured, Song Wen stepped back half a step, narrowly avoiding the grab from the black-clothed person.
Seeing the surprise attack fail, the three black-clothed individuals no longer held back, moving extremely fast, with one blocking in front of Song Wen, another behind him, and the closest one directly pouncing towards Song Wen.
With little experience in combat, Song Wen instinctively activated his spiritual power and threw a punch towards the person pouncing at him.
The person didn't regard Song Wen's attack seriously.
They had already investigated the guards outside Ji Yin's courtyard in secret. Just a few days ago, Song Wen had only just succeeded in drawing qi into his body. Even if the methods of cultivating immortality were miraculous, it was impossible to gain significant power within such a short period.
The person did not dodge and continued to pounce towards Song Wen.
The punch landed solidly on the chest of the black-clothed person.
The crisp sound of bones breaking echoed.
The person was sent flying several zhang away by the punch, crashing heavily to the ground. A mouthful of blood sprayed from his mouth, instantly soaking the black cloth covering his face.
The other two black-clothed individuals exclaimed in panic.
"Capture him, don't let him escape."
Knocked down by Song Wen's punch was Tang Liang, the acting leader of the Tian Sha Gang.
He struggled to get up, but Song Wen's punch had shattered several of his ribs, with some bone fragments piercing his lungs, making it difficult for him to move.
Before coming, he had already investigated Song Wen and considered himself a second-rate martial artist. With two subordinates of mediocre strength, they thought it would be easy to capture Song Wen, who had only been cultivating for ten days.
A second-rate martial artist would also be well-known in the martial arts world.
However, underestimating Song Wen, he had failed to withstand Song Wen's punch.
Tang Liang had also considered seeking help from the top experts in the gang, but there were only a few top experts in the Tian Sha Gang, and their relationships were not close. There was a risk of leaking information.
The other two black-clothed individuals, seeing that Song Wen was not easy to deal with, each reached for their waists and drew gleaming short swords, then attacked Song Wen.
Knowing he wasn't a match for the two, Song Wen rolled on the spot, rolled past Tang Liang, and pulled out a dagger from his boot, pressing it against Tang Liang's throat.
"Back off, or I'll kill him!"
Song Wen shouted sharply.
The two black-clothed individuals froze in place, unsure of what to do.
"Songzi, stop. We just want the method of immortality, we don't want to be enemies with you," one of the black-clothed individuals said in a low voice.
The incident here had already attracted the attention of passersby. In the chaos, the habit of avoiding danger had already taken root in everyone, and they all stayed far away.
The black-clothed individuals spoke directly about their intentions, unafraid of being overheard.
Song Wen sneered, "If you want the method, go find Ji Yin. Why come kidnap me? If you can't deal with Ji Yin, you're picking on me, a soft target."
Lying on the ground, Tang Liang finally recovered his breath and shouted, "I am the acting leader of the Tian Sha Gang. Dare to touch me, and you won't escape. Hand over the method of immortality obediently, and we'll guarantee your safety."
Just now, one of the black-clothed individuals had already revealed his identity, so there was no need for him to conceal it any longer. He openly admitted his identity.
Song Wen wasn't about to believe his nonsense. If Tang Liang, as the acting leader of the Tian Sha Gang, couldn't obtain the method of immortality, it only meant that Ji Yin valued the method as a treasure and wasn't willing to easily impart it to others.
If he revealed the method himself, and Ji Yin found out, he probably wouldn't care about the loyalty he owed to his slave, and would kill him to vent his anger.
"Even if I die, I'll die with you. You can try me."
Song Wen's expression was fierce. He tore off the black cloth covering Tang Liang's face, memorized Tang Liang's appearance, and slapped Tang Liang's face hard.
Another mouthful of blood spurted out of Tang Liang's mouth, along with two teeth.
Song Wen shouted loudly.
The two black-clothed individuals looked at each other and slowly backed away.
Quickly, the two of them retreated several zhang away.
"Keep going, faster. Back off fifty zhang."
Song Wen shouted loudly.
When the two black-clothed individuals retreated forty-something zhang away, Song Wen suddenly ran without warning, sprinting towards the Tian Sha Gang.
As for Tang Liang, Song Wen didn't kill him.
If he really killed Tang Liang, Song Wen worried that the leader of the Tian Sha Gang would go crazy, and Ji Yin wouldn't be able to protect him in the future.
The two black-clothed individuals wanted to chase after Song Wen, but they were too far away. They wanted to do so but lacked the strength to, and could only leave with Tang Liang.
Song Wen ran all the way, stopping only when he reached Ji Yin's courtyard.
Gasping for breath, he slowly walked towards the small building.
"Tian Sha Gang, Tang Liang, wait for me!"
In Song Wen's resentful thoughts,
At the same time, he decided in his heart that he couldn't easily leave this courtyard anymore.
At least within this courtyard, he was temporarily safe.
As Song Wen walked under the small building, Ji Yin's figure suddenly appeared in the corridor on the second floor.
"Song Wen, what's wrong with you? You're gasping for breath."
"Uh... Master, nothing's wrong. Just went for a run, stretching my legs."
Song Wen hesitated for a moment but ultimately chose not to reveal the truth.
Tang Liang had come for the method of cultivation. If Song Wen informed Ji Yin about this, it would keep Ji Yin focused on Tang Liang. But whether Tang Liang, as the acting leader, would be killed was uncertain. After all, Ji Yin still had uses for the Tian Sha Gang.
Tang Liang might not die, but Ji Yin would surely suspect whether Song Wen had leaked the method.
At that time, forget about freely entering and leaving the courtyard; he might not even be able to leave this small building and could face severe torture from Ji Yin.
Ji Yin didn't suspect anything and turned back into his room.
Time flew by quickly, and in the blink of an eye, Song Wen had taken the antidote four times.
It meant that the batch of young people who had arrived had been here for a month.
During this time, Song Wen noticed that Ji Yin's temper became increasingly irritable because none of the new arrivals had successfully drawn qi into their bodies. This made Ji Yin impatient after investing so much time.
"Song Wen, here's an antidote pill. I'm going to seclude myself for a while. Take good care of the medicine garden."
Ji Yin spared Song Wen's life this time and stopped using him as a guinea pig for testing medicines. Song Wen managed the medicine garden quite well, saving Ji Yin a lot of time.
Now, all the students had failed to draw qi into their bodies, causing Ji Yin to gradually lose patience.
He was preparing to restart the furnace for refining pills. As for Song Wen's fate, he could only leave it to fate.
If Song Wen died from testing medicines, then it could only be blamed on his bad luck.
Watching Ji Yin's figure gradually disappear behind the stone door of the refining room, Song Wen muttered to himself.
"It looks like I'll have to kill a few people and consume some qi and blood."
Song Wen couldn't help but feel excited. This would be the best opportunity to break free from Ji Yin's control.
The essence blood he absorbed from killing Little Beggar and Biao Ge had gradually been absorbed by his body. He wasn't sure where this essence blood had gone, but he was certain that his physical body had been significantly strengthened.
Since the ambush by Tang Liang last time, Song Wen had not stepped out of the courtyard again. Today, he once again stepped out through the gate of the Tian Sha Gang.
In the bustling streets, after half an hour of walking and finding no one following him, he headed towards No. 15 of Tong Luo Lane.
Tong Luo Lane was obviously a lane where common people lived, with most houses being relatively old and low.
Entering the alley, Song Wen noticed there were no house numbers.
He had to stop a passing old lady to ask for directions.
"Madam, could you please tell me how to get to No. 15 Tong Luo Lane?"
The old lady glanced at Song Wen with some disdain.
Seeing her expression, Song Wen knew that she definitely knew where No. 15 Tong Luo Lane was and who Guo Hang lived there. She just had some resentment towards Guo Hang and, incidentally, extended that resentment to anyone who inquired about Guo Hang's residence, hence her unwillingness to provide directions.
"Madam, I'm not a bad person. I just have some business with Guo Hang."
The old lady looked disdainful. "Look at you, all clean and spotless. You don't look like a good person from a good family. What good young man looks so clean like you?"
Song Wen's mouth twitched. He didn't consider himself particularly clean. It was just that this old lady lived at the bottom of society and knew only the impoverished who were exposed to the sun and rain. She thought Song Wen looked clean, mistaking him for someone engaged in certain special activities.
The old lady was obstinate, so Song Wen had to resort to a special tactic.
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a silver coin, handing it to the old lady.
"Tell me where No. 15 is, and this silver coin is yours."
The old lady's eyes lit up, swiftly took the silver coin, inspected it carefully to make sure it was genuine, and then a warm smile appeared on her face.
"Young man, with such clear eyebrows and eyes, you must be a good person."
She pointed to a nearby house. "That's No. 15."
Then, she lowered her voice and said, "That scoundrel isn't living here anymore."
Song Wen frowned slightly. "Scoundrel, are you talking about Guo Hang? When did he move out?"
Mentioning Guo Hang, the old lady's face showed disgust. "Who else but him? A despicable creature. He moved out more than ten days ago."
"Do you know where he moved to?"
The old lady shook her head. "I have no idea."
She hurriedly tucked the silver coin into her pocket, afraid that Song Wen might want it back.