Chapter Seventy-Five: The Temple of the Mountain God
Kong County!
Pan Hao walked slowly on the street, suddenly furrowed his brow, then smiled and changed direction, walking slowly towards the city gate.
"Third Brother, we've finally got the chance!" A slender man with small eyes looked at Pan Hao's back and excitedly said to a stout man with an ordinary face standing beside him.
"Follow me, I'll go inform the boss!" The robust man's eyes flashed with a cold light as he patted the slender man's shoulder.
"Ah ah, look, he's going out!" The thin man responded with a sentence and hurriedly followed. While the sturdy man quickly turned around and left to inform the boss.
In an inn, two men were clinking cups and drinking non-stop on a table, occasionally telling off-color jokes and bursting into loud laughter. The crowd in the inn couldn't help but frown secretly, wanting to advise them to restrain themselves a bit. However, seeing that one of them had a long knife with a cold glint exposed outside its scabbard by his side, the words on their lips were involuntarily swallowed back down.
One of the burly men with a scar on his face couldn't help but curse, "Damn it, is that guy not going to come out? We've been waiting for so many days and haven't seen any sign of him."
"Don't worry, big brother, Lao San and Lao Si are watching!" Another man with a pale face, thin body, and a shabby scholar's attire had eyes that carried a chill.
"Big brother, second brother, he's out!" A sturdy man rushed in excitedly. The two men at the wine table suddenly stood up.
"Haha, that kid is in big trouble now! Let me go and give him a good scolding!" The burly man with a scar on his face slapped the long knife. "Old Three, lead the way!"
After finishing speaking, the three of them hastily left the inn's gate.
……
"This kid is really strange, why does he keep going further and further away?" The slender old fourth's eyes kept flickering, always feeling that something was off.
"What can you do, a spoiled rich boy? After this is done, I'll take you all to Hongyi Building to have some fun!" Hu Da said with disdain, ending up with an obscene smile.
"It's been a long time since I went there, the last time that little Cui was quite good!" Lao San chimed in, rubbing his hands together with an impatient look.
"Good for nothing!" Hu Da glared with wide eyes and slapped Lao San's head. Everyone couldn't help but burst out laughing again.
"Hey, you little kid in front, stop right there!" The four of them walked out from behind Pan Hao.
"Hmm?" Pan Hao slowly turned around, looking at the four people with a suspicious expression.
"Up!" Hu Da didn't say much, and immediately waved his hand. The three people behind him rushed up, with Lao San being the first to arrive in front of Pan Hao, his hands curled into eagle claws, letting out a loud shout, as his massive claw struck towards Pan Hao like lightning.
Pan Hao's internal energy shook, his right hand turned into a residual shadow, grasping Old Three's hand and shaking it. A crisp cracking sound of bone fracture rang out. Old Three's eyes widened in shock, a piercing pain transmitted, and his face instantly turned pale. Pan Hao raised an eyebrow, kicked his right foot, and Old Three flew out, colliding with Old Two and Old Four who were rushing over.
"Bang! Ah!" The second and fourth elders were caught off guard by a black shadow that suddenly rushed over, and they hastily crossed their arms to try and block it. However, the ferocious and powerful force instead sent the two of them flying backward for more than ten feet, and all three of them fell to the ground wailing in agony.
"What? You know martial arts?" Hu was shocked and lost his color, wasn't Song Yu a pampered young master who spent all day indulging in luxuries and pleasures? How could he be proficient in martial arts?
Pan Hao smiled and looked at Hu Da with a puzzled expression. "Now can you tell me, what's the matter that made you stop me?"
"No, nothing's wrong. You can go slowly!" Hu Da's face suddenly turned bright red as he said this respectfully.
"Speak up! Who told you to do this?" Pan Hao's eyes gleamed with a cold light, like a sharp blade, staring at Hu Da.
"We've been living tight lately, so we just want to make a quick buck!"
"Refuse to admit it, huh!" Pan Hao's expression turned cold, and with a swift kick, a stone the size of a pigeon egg shot out and smashed into Hu Da's left hand that was holding the knife.
Ka-chak! Hu Da's arm made a crisp cracking sound as it broke on the spot. Clang, the long knife in his left hand fell to the ground. Hu Da's face immediately turned deathly pale and he clutched at his arm, letting out a blood-curdling scream.
"I'm telling you, it's Zhang Yu's young master! He's giving us a thousand taels of silver to tie up the ticket!" Hu Da looked at Pan Hao step by step getting closer, his whole body suddenly covered in cold sweat, and he hastily spoke out.
"Oh?" Pan Hao stopped in his tracks, observing Hu Da's eyes, making sure he wasn't lying. Who was Zhang Yu? Pan Hao quickly rummaged through the memories stored in this body.
"It was him!" Pan Hao's mind suddenly cleared up. This Zhang Yu was Song Yu's cousin, and he had always appeared in front of everyone as a refined and elegant young master with a warm and gentle demeanor, and was also the most frequent visitor to Song Yu's family. Who would have thought that he would actually lay hands on Song Yu? But the real Song Yu had long since drowned and died, and the one standing here now was just Pan Hao's split soul.
Dusk, the sun's afterglow is slowly fading away, and night falls.
On a desolate mountain slope, an abandoned mountain temple stands, its signboard covered in dust, with weeds growing wildly in front of it. On a dead tree in front of the temple, an old crow is incessantly cawing.
Inside the temple, a ferocious-looking, gold-plated deity stood in the center, with cobweb-covered walls all around. At this time, a bonfire was burning fiercely on the ground, surrounded by five people sitting around it.
Suddenly everyone looked outside and saw a young man in brocade clothes accompanied by a young servant appearing at the gate.
The young master in brocade led the way into the room and scanned the five people present. This young master in brocade was none other than Zhang Yu, Song Yu's elder cousin.
"Hu Da, indeed lives up to his reputation! Hmm? What's with this?" Zhang Yu said loudly with a smile. However, upon seeing that two of them had bandages on their hands, he couldn't help but feel puzzled.
"It's nothing, just a slight unexpected event. Zhang Gongzi, I wonder what our reward is?" Hu Da asked with a flickering gaze, pretending to be calm.
"Xiao San." Zhang Yu turned his head and shouted at his attendant behind him.
"Yes, young master. Everyone, here are 500 taels, and another 500 taels will be given tomorrow!" The young servant in green clothes behind him took out a few silver notes and said to Hu Da and the others.
"Brother-in-law, didn't expect it to be me, did you?" Zhang Yu turned his head and looked at Pan Hao who was tied up with a rope, smiling.
"Big brother? Why?" At this time, Pan Hao's face was shocked and angrily asked.
Zhang Yu patted his sleeve, the smile on his face retracted, and he said coldly: "Originally, I was going to make a move later, but I heard that you suddenly changed your temper, so I couldn't help but make a move earlier. As long as you die, I will naturally gain Grandfather's trust and inherit the Song family's property."
"It was because they wanted to seize our family's property that they laid hands on me!" Pan Hao muttered in a low voice.
Zhang Yu suddenly let out a sly laugh and leaned in, saying: "After gaining your trust, if you were to suddenly drop dead, do you think I would be able to get my hands on the property sooner?"
"Hu Da, let's kill him! After that, the other 500 taels will be yours." Zhang Yu stood up and turned to face Hu Da and his three companions, who had strange expressions on their faces.
"What's wrong?" Zhang Yu asked with a slightly furrowed brow, somewhat uneasily.
