novelraw Chapter 354 - 329 Infiltration Part 1
Chapter 354 - 329 Infiltration Part 1
Inside Agarwood Palace.
The grayish-brown buildings stood one after another.
Everywhere, in the open halls, people came and went, with pilgrims and Daoists entering and exiting.
Cheng Hui, sneaking through the garden outside the corridor, swiftly flew across, quickly bypassing the patrol routes of the Daoists, entering the innermost living area of the Palace Master.
In the entire Daoist Palace, the area where Zhang Rongfang lived daily was a very small circular section, consisting of five small buildings.
These small buildings were combined together, encircled with walls, with a sign at the entrance reading "Immortal Crane Residence."
Cheng Hui first carefully listened by the wall, then, confirming no one was around, he flipped over the wall to the left of Immortal Crane Residence.
Each room in the courtyard was marked with plaques.
The study was the Academic Room.
The main hall and dining area were called the Five Flavors Pavilion.
The place for practicing martial arts was the Endless Courtyard.
There was also the place for alchemy and medicine storage, called the Qihuang Pavilion.
The last was the resting and sleeping area — Xin Cheng Residence.
Cheng Hui slowly stood steady against the wall, glancing at the two strong Daoists dozing outside Xin Cheng Residence.
Looking around, no one seemed to notice this side.
He tapped a foot, his body moving silently, like a phantom, crossing more than twenty meters in an instant, his hands precisely touching the back of the Daoists’ heads.
Two soft sounds, and the Daoists tilted their heads, falling into unconsciousness.
He didn’t kill them.
Sometimes, the subtle scent of blood from a dead body could trigger more flaws.
But if they were just unconscious, it looked more like napping or sleeping, at least the heartbeat and breathing were still there.
Less likely to be noticed.
Lightly supporting the two, letting them lean against the house wall.
Cheng Hui gently pushed the door, finding it locked inside.
He looked down at the keyhole, took out a metal rod-like object from his waist, inserted it into the keyhole, twisting here and there, and with a click, the copper lock was opened instantly.
The door slowly opened inward.
Cheng Hui took a deep breath, cautiously slowed his steps, and went inside.
His expression unchanged, he checked for any mechanisms or traps, confirming no issues, before rapidly using his body technique.
Immediately, he rushed under the bed, towards the wardrobe.
His hands shot out like lightning, continuously smashing the nightstand, wardrobe, and small table silently.
This silent hidden palm strike was another ultimate technique he practiced besides the Golden Roc Secret Record — Absolute Silent Palm.
This martial art was once treasured by the Eastern Sect, and very few could learn it. He later discovered it and studied it diligently, finally mastering it.
After the nightstand broke apart, many packages stored inside were exposed.
Cheng Hui reached out, using his gloved left hand, to pull out the packages and unravel them one by one.
Inside were script copies, identification documents, and even a handwritten copy of the Golden Toad Skill, along with some small black porcelain bottles containing pills.
"This is it." He repackaged everything, picked it up, and quickly exited the room.
"Who!!?" Suddenly, a loud shout came from the courtyard outside, "There’s a thief in Xin Cheng Residence!!"
Cheng Hui’s expression remained unchanged, he quickened his pace, leaping out of the room.
Boom!!
In an instant, outside in the courtyard, a burly figure struck down with a palm.
The newcomer wore Daoist robes, a white jade Ruyi crown on his head, and as his palm struck down, the momentum was immensely impressive.
Just approaching brought a strong gust of wind, stinging Cheng Hui’s face.
Cheng Hui raised a palm, fully exerting his Absolute Silent Palm, directly meeting the opponent’s hand.
Boom!!
The two exchanged blows.
The Daoist spewed blood from his mouth, flying away. In the blink of an eye, he was defeated, losing combat capability.
Merely a normal external medicine.
Cheng Hui estimated in his heart, he hadn’t fully exerted himself, only injuring the opponent, to reserve enough strength, making it easier to escape Agarwood Palace.
After repelling the Daoist, he tapped his toes on the wooden pillar behind him, his body shooting like an arrow towards the courtyard wall.
Just as he reached the wall, suddenly the hair on his right side stood up, and he immediately flipped.
Bam!
Three consecutive gunshots, preemptively hitting where he had just been standing.
Not only that, without time to catch his breath, the continuous gunshots kept resounding one after another.
Cheng Hui shifted left five times, narrowly avoiding five musket assassinations.
The sixth time, he tapped his foot, using the wall for leverage, leapt into the air, drawing a diagonal line, flipping over the wall, and falling outward.
Bam bam bam!!
Just then, outside, dense gunfire exploded simultaneously.
A storm of bullets formed, covering Cheng Hui’s mid-air body like raindrops.
In a flash, he flicked his right hand, unfurling a thick black leather cloth from under his forearm.
The leather cloth, with tremendous rotational force, instantly fanned out, covering most of his body.
Thud thud thud.
Amidst the concentrated gunfire, Cheng Hui landed heavily.
Hiss!!
Just as he landed.
Suddenly, a sharp, dangerous sensation exploded in his chest.
Without time to think, Cheng Hui rolled right on the spot.
Zip zip zip!!!
Three specially crafted crossbow arrows precisely hit the spot where he landed.
One of the crossbow arrows was unavoidable, scraping past Cheng Hui’s waist, leaving a trail of blood.
He grunted, continuing to sprint away frantically.
The body technique from the Golden Roc Secret Record unfolded. With his current speed and body technique, along with the complex environment of the Daoist Palace, remarkably no one could stop him.
With a few leaps, Cheng Hui disappeared amongst the Daoist palace walls.
Inside Immortal Crane Residence.
Zhang Zhenhai, holding a powerful crossbow, entered rapidly with a team to inspect.
"What’s missing?!" she asked sternly.
"The Palace Master’s documents and daily pills are gone!" Several maids responsible for checking, their faces pale, bowed and answered.
They had rushed in to inspect and check the missing items as soon as Cheng Hui left.
What a pity...
"You damn thief!" Zhang Zhenhai tore off the mask’s edge, recalling the speed of Cheng Hui’s body technique just now.
She had teamed up with over ten sharpshooters to assassinate him, yet the opponent managed to escape.
The last shot she fired was their painstakingly designed and researched, sure-kill move.
Surprisingly, the opponent dodged it once more, only suffering minor injuries.
"Where’s Mr. Chen!?" Zhang Zhenhai asked in a deep voice.
"I’m here." Chen Han quickly stepped forward, hand gripping the sword hilt.
He had been patrolling elsewhere, and upon hearing the commotion, he rushed over promptly.
Unfortunately, he was still a step too late.
Chen Han swiftly understood the current situation and was immediately alarmed.
"The Daoist’s identity documents and consumed pills were stolen!?" He had been with Zhang Rongfang for a long time and had actually noticed that Zhang Rongfang had quite a few secrets.
Often, he just turned a blind eye to them, and in daily life, he would deliberately let things slide to avoid taboos.
But who would have thought... This time, evading suspicion would lead to trouble.
"The Daoist painstakingly went out to search for the main medicine; now, after much effort, the pills have been stolen...!?" Chen Han’s face was grave.
"No worries!" Zhang Zhenhai said solemnly. "The stolen documents of the Palace Master are just fakes; the real identity papers are personally hidden by me. Other than myself, no one knows where they are."
"Additionally, I have a backup copy of the newly refined pills," she stated simply.
Chen Han was momentarily surprised.
All this time, he had been observing Zhang Zhenhai and the Daoist growing closer, and he didn’t expect it had reached such a level.
But because of this, he was somewhat relieved.
"It’s best this way, or when the Daoist returns, we won’t know how to explain things," he said.
"The Palace Master foresaw this and placed fake documents and other things in her room beforehand, as a precaution against theft and search," Zhang Zhenhai said earnestly.
She glanced at Chen Han.
"But even though nothing happened, we can’t be complacent. This time, it was just the opponent’s bad luck, not noticing the issues with the items.
But what about next time? We can’t rely on others’ carelessness."
"Miss Zhenhai speaks wisely!" Chen Han nodded. "Second and Third Team members, follow me to search for the thief around the perimeter!"
He immediately led the search around the area.
Zhang Zhenhai stayed in place, recalling the body’s technique of the person earlier; the more she thought about it, the more familiar she felt.
Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck her mind.
"Golden Wing Pavilion!?"
It was the Golden Roc Secret Record!
The body technique from the Golden Roc Secret Record was highly distinctive, resembling a large bird’s movement: swooping and soaring.
The linear speed was incredibly fast, and when executed, it required the cooperation of both arms.
She pondered for a moment and similarly led a team of skilled individuals to start patrolling the vicinity.
Her foster father and Thousand Stone Sect experts went on an offshore operation, leaving only a few experts to maintain this place.
The Dao Palace was empty, so now she must take responsibility and protect the backline for the Crown Prince!
*
*
*
"The Agarwood Palace was attacked?!" Onboard, Zhang Rongfang frowned at the intelligence obtained through carrier pigeons from the Dao Palace subordinates.
"What exactly happened?" he asked in a deep voice.
The Dao Palace stored the Golden Toad Skill pills he worked hard to refine.
He was merely waiting for the attributes to accumulate more before consumption, preventing too much deduction in life value, below two hundred.
Who would have thought that despite the assembly of significant power at sea by the Western Sect, they could still manage to raid the Agarwood Palace?
"It should be the Western Sect’s backup plan: a ploy to lure the tiger away from the mountain, likely pre-designed," Zuo Han said serenely from the side.
He had just absorbed all the Spirit Lines of Sea Dragon King Kongwu, and now his skin seemed to possess a youthful glow.
Evidently, the substantial infusion of Spirit Lines was beneficial to him.
"Sea Dragon King Kongwu was abandoned alone; where would the Western Sect’s subsequent forces find the courage to lure the tiger away, split their forces, and attack?" Zhang Rongfang slightly shook his head.
"So the Crown Prince’s meaning is...?" Zuo Han looked at him.
"Either other forces are taking advantage of the emptiness, or... it’s some people’s private actions," Zhang Rongfang replied.
He looked up to gaze at the distant sea surface.
The seawater was continuously being cut open by the bow of the ship, sending out tiny white splashes.
"Regardless of the origin, we’ll settle this when we return."
"Now that the Western Sect is confirmed, the whole Citong is still in our realm."
Zuo Han stood silently nodding from the side.
Indeed, killing even a Western Sect Grandmaster proved that there’s no one left in Citong who could oppose the Crown Prince’s dominance!
All turbulent upheavals, demons, and spirits—upon their return, they can be utterly suppressed!
The sea vessel kept moving without pause, and with everyone rowing at full speed to accelerate.
They managed to shorten the original two-day sea journey into one day.
As evening approached, they finally reached Cituogang Port.
They alighted from the largest eastern dock.
People from Agarwood Palace were already waiting along the roadside to welcome them.
Zhang Rongfang stepped off the ship and swiftly boarded the welcoming carriage.
The Thousand Stone Sect members likewise disembarked from the second ladder of the vessel, pretending to be ordinary passengers, mutually unfamiliar.
"What’s the situation exactly?" Zhang Rongfang looked at Zhang Zhenhai inside the carriage, asking solemnly.
"It’s the Golden Wing Pavilion’s people! And the body technique is highly adept, from the Golden Roc Secret Record, surpassing a Spirit Envoy!" Zhang Zhenhai knelt down before him and answered with her head bowed.
"It’s Zhenhai’s dereliction of duty, failing to detect the opponent’s movements in advance! Please punish me, Crown Prince!" Her expression was earnest, awaiting the subsequent penalty.
Letting the thieves infiltrate the Immortal Crane Residence, such a private place, undoubtedly fell under their patrol team’s negligence.
"No matter." Zhang Rongfang’s expression remained unchanged as he gently rubbed the top of her head. "A super grade level Golden Roc Secret Record expert, their body technique isn’t something you can stop.
Regarding the later patrol, with their movement skill mastery, it’s likely they are already miles away now. Unable to track them is expected."
"Crown Prince..." Zhang Zhenhai replied in a stern voice, "This matter is Zhenhai’s dereliction of duty; regardless, without rules, there will be no order. Please be sure to impose punishment! Otherwise, in the future, should similar incidents occur, it will be unable to convince the masses!"
Zhang Rongfang wanted to say something more, but seeing Zhang Zhenhai’s still serious complexion, he understood her meaning.
"Alright then. How do you think I should punish you?"
Swish!
Zhang Zhenhai suddenly drew a dagger and stabbed it into her abdomen.
The blade cut through flesh, pierced the cavity, and blood flowed.
She pulled out the dagger, her expression unchanged. One hand covered the wound while she offered the dagger handle to Zhang Rongfang.