Chapter 20: Cut Grass Must Remove Roots!

  The night was dark and the wind was strong, at midnight, the Heishui Prefecture was plunged into darkness, the entire city stood like a ferocious beast crouching on the ground.

  The Five Tigers Gang was indeed a force to be reckoned with, and at midnight, all the residents and business travelers around the Hongtu Inn where Sun Tao was staying were cleared out by the gang. When the Five Tigers Gang took action, there wasn't a single bystander in sight. The inn was packed with members of the gang, each one tall and burly, with a fierce glint in their eyes, and the large knives in their hands gleaming with a cold light.

  Quiet, quiet, the Hongtu Inn is eerily quiet, and you can hear the soft rustling of the wind. The Hongtu Inn is even more deserted, with not a single guest in sight, and even the shopkeeper and the boss have disappeared without a trace. It's as if death itself has descended upon the place, casting an oppressive silence that makes one feel suffocated.

  The tranquility of the Hongtu Inn was soon broken, a group of people stepped into the Hongtu Inn from the dark night sky, and in the quiet night, a burst of chaotic footsteps sounded, followed by a burst of "thud! thud!" going upstairs.

  All of a sudden, there was a loud "Boom!" and a burly man kicked the wooden door in front of him into smithereens, with splinters flying everywhere.

  "Chop, chop him up, and throw this little brat into the river to feed the fish. How dare he offend our Five Tigers Gang? He's so annoying!" The door was broken open, and a burly man with thick eyebrows, big eyes, and a face full of scars stepped in, his fierce face commanding the crowd of Five Tigers Gang members behind him.

  As soon as the order of Wang Heihu, the leader of the Five Tigers Gang, fell, a group of gang members behind him rushed in, raised their sharp blades and hacked towards the bed in the room. The sword light flashed, and the bed where Sun Tao was sleeping instantly turned into powder. Splinters flew everywhere.

  "Boss, no one." Sun Tuo's bed was destroyed, but there was no bloodshed as many had imagined. Suddenly, some of the Five Tigers' gang members spoke up.

  "These Five Tigers' scum, really deserve to die. That Wang Xiaobao should have killed them with one sword back then!"

  In the darkness of Wujin, Sun Tao cultivated the Yuanshen Treasure Record, and his spiritual awareness greatly increased. His consciousness had just withdrawn from the world of Journey to the West. Sun Tao felt that something was wrong. At this moment in the past, when he opened up his spiritual awareness, he could hear the snores of the guests in the next room. But now there was no sound, and the entire Hongtu Inn was as silent as death. Sun Tao's instincts told him that a sense of danger was approaching him, and then the sound of scattered footsteps came from downstairs. Their pace was steady and powerful, and just by listening to their footsteps, it was clear that they were skilled martial artists. The appearance of so many skilled martial artists at midnight was absolutely not a good thing. Sun Tao drew an invisibility talisman on himself, and his body hid in the darkness. All he could hear was a loud crash, followed by several burly men wielding knives and slashing wildly at the bed. Sun Tao knew that these scoundrels were after him, and he couldn't help but curse them angrily in his heart.

  Sun Tuo spared that Wang Xiaobao a dog's life, but the Five Tigers Gang actually wanted to kill him. The Five Tigers Gang was truly evil and deserved to be eliminated. Sun Tuo thought of this and knew that there would be a fierce battle tonight, so he took out a small flying sword from his storage bag, grasped it in his hand, and prepared to give the leader of the Five Tigers Gang a taste of his own medicine.

  "Damn it, you bunch of useless fools! Aren't you supposed to be keeping watch all day? You don't even know if there's anyone in this room or not. Why don't you just go die, what a waste of food it is to feed you guys!" Sun Tao's bed was chopped to pieces, but no one was found. Wang Hei Hu was furious, having worked hard for half the night, yet he hadn't even seen a shadow of his enemy. How could this be called revenge? Suddenly, curses and insults flew everywhere as he scolded his subordinates behind him.

  "Boss, could it be that some kid got wind of it and ran ahead of time?" The members of the Five Tigers Gang said.

  "Be careful, boss, there's someone in the house."

  At this moment, Sun Tiao took advantage of Wang Hei Hu's rage and didn't care that there were other people in the house. Sun Tiao swung his small flying sword, its sharp blade cutting through the air, a cold light flashing by, and one of the thin men following him noticed something was wrong in the house and rushed to warn Wang Hei Hu.

  The sharp flying sword in Sun Tuo's hand flashed and disappeared, sweeping towards Wang Hei Hu's throat. With a "hiss" sound, the bloody water splashed, and Wang Hei Hu instinctively retreated, dodging Sun Tuo's fatal blow.

  "Quickly, there are assassins! Protect the boss!" Wang Hei Hu was ambushed, and immediately someone loudly shouted, the people in the house were all on high alert, surrounding and protecting Wang Hei Hu.

  Wang Heihu was a top-notch expert in the Jianghu Wulin, and Sun Tao relied on his hidden symbol to avoid being killed with one blow. If he had been just a little bit closer, he would have cut Wang's throat. Although it wasn't a fatal blow, if the wound wasn't treated properly, he could still die from excessive blood loss.

  With a wave of his hand, Sun Tao's divine thought entered the world of Journey to the West. As soon as he uttered the true words, the collapsing general suddenly appeared in the house. Sun Tao lightly said "Kill!", and the ape with a through-the-back fist looked around, saw the Five Tigers' men holding sharp blades in the house, and launched a through-the-back punch at the Five Tigers' members inside the house.

  Bajie the Marshal of the Second Battalion led the monkeys of the Mountain of Flowers and Fruits, with thousands of monkey soldiers and generals under him. If he didn't have any tricks up his sleeve, how could he subdue his subordinates and let Sun Wukong seal him as the second-in-command? Ma Liangyi was known for his cleverness, while Bajie was renowned for his combat prowess. When Bajie unleashed his signature move, the "Back Fist", it was like a tiger entering a flock of sheep - the ordinary members of the Five Tigers Gang were sent flying with just a touch, and those who collided with him were injured. The sound of wailing and cursing filled the air as more gang members rushed up from downstairs.

  Wang Heihu, the leader of the Five Tigers Gang, was ambushed and severely injured by Sun Tiao. The guardian elder of the Five Tigers Gang was no match for the cunning and powerful Bao Zhan. The room was too small, making it impossible to fully utilize their skills. In just a few moves, they were knocked down and flew out of the room by Bao Zhan's overwhelming force, displaying an aura of "one man holding off a thousand".

  "What kind of monster is this, covered in long hair, how can it be so fierce."

  "This is a mischievous monkey, a macaque."

  "Hurry, hurry, archers ready, shoot with arrows!"

  "Damn it, archer, where's the archer? Fire the hidden weapon, fire the hidden weapon, quickly fire the hidden weapon, this ape is too formidable!"

  ……

  The moment Tong Bei Yuan's anger was triggered, the crowd of Five Tigers Sect members instantly became a mess. They launched a surprise attack on Sun Tao at night. In the eyes of the Five Tigers Sect members, this was an easy task. One had to hold onto their long knife and sword, but they couldn't get close to Tong Bei Yuan's voice. Those who were beaten cried out for their fathers and mothers, falling from the building above. Without a master to suppress them, all they could do was passively endure the beating. The floor below Hongtu Inn had become a mess.

  "Hahaha! Hahaha! Hahaha......"

  Downstairs was in chaos, the Five Tigers Gang members threatened to use hidden weapons to hurt people. How could Sun Tao, who was in a stealth state, fulfill their wishes? Just as some of the Five Tigers Gang members were about to shoot at the back of the ape, Sun Tao appeared like a ghost downstairs, his flying sword flashing continuously, making a loud "whooshing" sound, and bloody water gushed out like a spring. In an instant, several people fell into the pool of blood.

  "A ghost! There's a ghost!" No one was in sight, but the necks of the Five Tigers' gang members were spurting blood like fountains. The air was filled with a thick smell of blood. This eerie scene made the Five Tigers' gang members fall into chaos and their hair stand on end. Someone suddenly shouted "There's a ghost!" and the Five Tigers' gang members immediately scattered, screaming as they fled out of the Hongtu Inn.

  "Come back, you bastards! Come back, this isn't a ghost, it's a person! You quickly come back!" Huang Baihu, the Dog Head of the Five Tigers Gang, seeing his gang members fleeing in defeat, suddenly couldn't help but shout angrily. As he spoke, he was retreating with Wang Heihu and other high-ranking members of the Five Tigers Gang towards the outside of the Hongtu Inn.

  "You think you can just run away with your tails between your legs? You bunch of scum, Five Tigers Gang! You've offended me, and now you think it's all settled?! The members of the Five Tigers Gang retreated in disarray. This was all within Sun Tao's expectations. He had long forgotten about the Five Tigers Gang, but because of that Wang Xiaobao incident, they actually launched a surprise attack on him, intent on killing him. If he hadn't been extremely vigilant and sensed the danger beforehand, and if he didn't have the hidden symbol on his body, he would've been cut down by their chaotic blades. This grudge must be avenged! With a sudden burst of anger, he shouted and charged towards the Five Tigers Gang's headquarters with Bao Zhang, one of the two generals."

  The headquarters of the Five Tigers Gang is located on South Main Street in Heishui County, which is the gang's stronghold. The headquarters can be described as a dragon's lair and tiger's den, where even officials dare not easily set foot on this street.

  The remnants of the Five Tigers Gang retreated to their headquarters, with Sun Tao pursuing and killing them from behind. Due to his slow speed, Sun Tao had a Divine Speed Symbol on his body, which increased his speed by more than double. His small flying sword was wielded continuously, causing the Five Tigers Gang members to fall one after another in pools of blood under the pursuit of Sun Tao and Pang Bang's two generals. What made the Five Tigers Gang members feel desperate was that except for the ape-like figure chasing them, there were no other enemies behind, yet one by one, the Five Tigers Gang members mysteriously fell into the bloody puddles without any signs of the enemy, each killed with a single strike, extremely mysterious.

  It was a dark and windy night, the perfect time for murder and arson. Sun Tuo slaughtered with abandon, no one stopping him, as he reveled in the carnage. One by one, members of the Five Tigers Gang fell to the ground, their bodies bathed in blood. Sun Tuo's footsteps didn't falter, his relentless pursuit taking him through several streets. The remaining four or five members of the gang were all high-ranking officials, each with the skills of a top-notch martial artist. Even without using his talismans, Sun Tuo found it difficult to take them down, and they fled in desperation. But the second-in-command of the Blazing Blade Squad, Bao Gang, was hot on their heels, refusing to let them escape.

  "Come on! Quick, stop the incoming enemy for me!" One rushed into the Five Tigers' headquarters, and Huang Baitu, the Dog Head Military Advisor, immediately ordered the night watchmen.

  "The Five Tigers Gang, this is the Five Tigers Gang's headquarters. It's over, there's no need for the Five Tigers Gang to continue existing anymore. Kill, kill them all mercilessly, leave none alive." As soon as they charged into the Five Tigers Gang's headquarters, the gang members swarmed out like fish, rushing towards that ape-like figure with swords and spears in hand. Sun Tao let out a cold laugh, swinging his small flying sword, freely slaughtering the Five Tigers Gang members who were surging out from all directions.

  "Release the arrow, quickly draw your sword, shoot this ape to death." The killing power of Tong Bei's ape was extremely astonishing. In the crowd, it was like entering a state of no man's land. With one charge, Tong Bei's fist was unleashed, and his fist strength shot out in all directions. The members of Wu Hu Bang were blown away, wailing continuously. Inside Wu Hu Bang, the lanterns were shining brightly, the torches crackling loudly, and everyone's face was printed with a deep red color. Suddenly, the high-ranking officials hidden among the crowd couldn't help but speak out to remind them.

  "Someone in the dark, shoot, archers quickly shoot for me." The archers were the greatest threat to Sun Tuo and that group of apes, and Sun Tuo was harvesting the lives of the Five Tigers' disciples with abandon. Naturally, his focus was on the archers. On the walls and under the eaves, one by one, the archers suddenly died unnatural deaths. Suddenly, someone sensed something was amiss, and there were cries of alarm as they wildly slashed at the air with their sharp blades.

  "Deputy leader, the incoming person is extremely powerful and can't be defended at all!" The Monkey King was unstoppable, with a momentum that could hold off thousands of people. Sun Tao's movements were mysterious and unpredictable, like a hidden poisonous snake. Every time he struck, several members of the Five Tigers Gang would die, and in just a short span of half a cup of tea, dozens of gang members would fall to their deaths. The empty martial arts hall was littered with corpses, blood staining the ground, and the air was thick with the smell of blood.