Chapter 29: Brothers' Lonely Courage in the Face of Adversity

  Lu Da Hai glanced at the two white lanterns hanging high on the gate, then slightly lowered his body, gathering strength to jump. Lu Xiao Tian saw it in his eyes, and with a gentle pat on Lu Da Hai's shoulder, he whispered: "No need for brother to exert himself, let me do it."

  After finishing speaking, Lu Xiao Tian glanced at the two sides of the gate, kicked against the wall corner, and lightly sat on the gate tower. He took down the two lanterns and then quietly fell down, his qing gong (lightness skill) was so wonderful that the flames in the lanterns didn't even flicker.

  Lu Xiao Tian revealed such a light kung fu move, Lu Da Hai watched it with satisfaction and excitement. He took the white lantern from Lu Xiao Tian's hand, smiled slightly at him, and then turned around. Without knocking on the door, he twisted the two copper-rusted door rings to the right for three turns.

  Only a few "ding" sounds were heard, and then there was a loud "clang" sound of the door bolt jumping up.

  Lu Dahai pushed open the two large gates slightly, hung the white lantern in front of him, and walked in.

  Those black-clad men hiding on the roof and under the eaves had just heard the creaking of the door hinges, and they had already cocked their hidden weapons in their hands. Cold arrows were mounted on the strings, pointing towards the direction where the gate opened. They only waited for the person to come in, and if they felt anything was off, they would shoot wildly and kill them. At this moment, those black-clad men took a look, and first came in through the door was a white lantern, so they relaxed their vigilance a bit. However, the arrows in their hands were still aimed at the person behind the lantern.

  Lu Dahai walked into the courtyard with a lantern, and upon looking around, it was indeed a deserted mansion. The courtyard was overgrown with weeds, desolate everywhere. The front hall directly opposite the gate had torn window paper, only one door looked relatively dust-free, but it was also tightly closed, inside dark and empty, clearly uninhabited, without even a spark of fire.

  Lu Dahai looked at these and said to the general, "You must remember that inside are a group of cunning and ruthless people. If you want to get in, you have to understand the rules... if you're not careful, you'll arouse suspicion and lose your life... Remember to extinguish the white lantern when walking ten steps ahead, because their nature is dark and they can't stand too much light."

  Lu Da Hai stopped in his tracks ten steps away from the stairs, and Lu Xiao Tian also halted. They exchanged a glance before simultaneously blowing out the white lanterns.

  Just as the lanterns went out, more than 20 black-clad masked men suddenly fell from the eaves. They stood scattered on the steps, their bodies sturdy and strong, with black tight-fitting clothes outlining their muscular curves. Just by looking at how they landed silently just now, it can be guessed that these people's skills are not ordinary.

  At the same time, Lu Dahai was weighing these men in black, they also took a clear look at Lu Dahai's attire and understood that he was a trusted aide of Director Meng. So, they slightly bowed and said politely: "Your subordinate pays respects to General Jia, please come inside, sir."

  Lu Dahai put his hands behind his back and stood up straight, saying, "No need for formalities."

  Those men in black stood up and retreated to both sides, with the one standing at the front half-bowing his waist, accompanying Lu Da Hai as he walked forward, slowly pushing open the two wooden doors.

  At this moment, a faint and dim white candlelight suddenly lit up in the room. In an instant, Lu Da Hai looked around the hall and was shocked to see many corpses hanging from the eaves of the house, some with blood all over their faces, some with pale and rotten flesh, and even some with green faces and sharp teeth. Lu Da Hai let out a loud cry and his feet involuntarily stumbled, one foot tripping on the threshold, but fortunately, he was caught by Lu Xiao Tian behind him, preventing him from making a big fool of himself.

  Lu Dahai grasped the brim of his hat, took a deep breath, and focused his attention under the dim light of the white candle. At this moment, the door was completely open. Inside the hall, dozens of black-clad men with ghostly masks hung upside down from the main beam. As soon as they saw him enter, they fell to the ground in unison, their movements eerily uniform. The black-clad figures danced and fluttered about, like ghosts. No matter how frightening they were just now, all these things were now prostrate on the ground.

  Lu Dahai took a step forward and said calmly: "Get up, all of you."

  Those goblin-like people nodded, and dispersed to both sides of the hall, gradually revealing a dwarf who was the most inconspicuous in this formation. The dwarf's height was about the same as that of a 15 or 16-year-old child, but his body was sturdy, with a square and upright head that looked like a wooden stake under the light, and on his face hung a black Zhong Kui mask.

  Lu Daihai's eyes were sharp and with a single glance he roughly figured out that this person was the Kuai Er mentioned by General Zong.

  Nai Gui Er stepped forward and said respectfully, "Master Jia, please take a seat." He then led Lu Da Hai to the first position in the hall. The walls of this hall were peeling off with patches of paint, but these tables and chairs were spotlessly clean.

  Lu Da Hai and Lu Xiao Tian sat down one after another, then Gui Er ordered someone to serve tea and said: "Master Jia visits so late at night, isn't there something important you want to entrust to me?"

  Lu Da Hai didn't know what Director Meng had ordered them to do, although he wanted to probe for some information, but he also didn't dare to speak rashly, so he awkwardly cleared his throat and said: "The task that Director Meng entrusted to you, how is your preparation going?"

  Although Kuai Er didn't often interact with Commander Jia, he seemed different from his usual self when he spoke. When he asked about the handover of duties to Director Meng last night, which wasn't something he should be concerned with, Kuai Er's instincts kicked in and he became cautious. His sharp eyes glanced at Lu Da Hai, who was sitting upright at the head of the table, holding his cup and saucer, his face obscured by the brim of his hat in the dim light.

  But Kui'er looked down and saw the brass plaque hanging from his waist, engraved with the four large characters "Huazhou General". This must be genuine. He thought to himself that Jia Daoquan was a big shot in front of Director Meng due to his connections, so he couldn't afford to offend him. His doubts dissipated by three-tenths as he tentatively asked: "Master Jia's voice today..."

  Lu Dahai knew it would raise suspicions, so he deliberately lowered his voice earlier. Now he had an excuse: "Don't mention it, or I'll be driven to death by anger. Do you know what Lord Meng entrusted Lu Dahai with today?"

  Kui Er didn't know what he meant by saying this, but sometimes the things that happen in the pugilistic world are more complicated than those in the Jianghu. If one word is said not to someone's liking, it may provoke unexpected trouble. So at this moment, Kui Er was very careful and replied: "I don't quite understand."

  Lu Da Hai continued in a low voice, "Then Lu Da Hai was ordered to go to Shi Family Village and secretly assassinate the village guard, provoking the master of the house to come out and then behead him according to plan. He came back to report that he had shot and killed Shi Jin. But..."

  Kui Er actually knew about this matter, and it was closely related to his own mission, which concerned success or failure. When he heard a "but" from him, half of his heart hung up involuntarily, and he asked extremely anxiously: "Could it be... Has the situation changed?!"