Chapter Thirty: People You Shouldn't Mess With (Part 1)

  His right arm was severed, his left leg was crippled. Not only did he lose his reputation for the rest of his life, but all his martial arts skills were also completely destroyed. For a Jianghu person, such an ending is even more unbearable than being killed.

  However, the two Tangmen guards did not show any anger or curse, nor did they say anything threatening to take revenge. After an initial shock that was hard to accept, they instead let out a sigh of relief and relaxed their muscles, speaking in a calm tone that sent shivers down one's spine, "Thank you."

  No matter how vicious the curse was, it could never compare to the impact of this sentence of gratitude on Yang Zhao. For a moment he was stunned, and for half a while he was speechless. With great difficulty, he came back to his senses, and then incredulously pointed at his own nose, shouting: "You... you're thanking me?"

  "No, just thank you." Táng Dōng smiled faintly and said: "We two brothers, from the moment we were born, have been having nightmares all our lives. Although it's already too late now, but we can finally wake up from this long nightmare and be ourselves again. So, how can we not say a heartfelt thank you to you?"

  Yang Zhao furrowed his brow and asked: "You? Nightmare? What does this mean."

  "What do you mean? You see the ghostly appearance of us two brothers, don't you understand?" Tang Xi struggled to get up and sat with his back against the wall. Panting, he said: "When I was born from my mother's womb, I only had one hand and one foot. You know, for the sake of practicing that unparalleled blade, Mom... Dad..." Suddenly, Du's eyes became congested and red, and he couldn't say anything more.

  "I'm the same..." Tang Dong said with a wry smile: "In order to practice that set of dog, fart, and slanted blade, I haven't slept properly on a bed board since I was seven years old. His grandmother's, I usually stand crookedly, others think it's strange, do I feel comfortable myself?"

  Yang Zhao listened and couldn't help but ask, "Then... why do you have to make things difficult for yourselves? Couldn't you just not learn these two sets of martial arts in the first place?"

  "Haha, Old Slant, listen to this kid's tone, how relaxed and at ease he sounds." Tang Xidu burst into loud laughter: "Not learn? If we hadn't learned, my brother and I would have entered the Ghost Gate decades ago, and by now, probably not even our bones would be left. Kid, do you know that to qualify for learning these two sets of martial arts, we killed seven people, and ourselves suffered nine deaths and one life, barely succeeding after great difficulty? And just to give us this opportunity to compete, our parents... they..."

  "Enough, old solo." Tang Dong interrupted his brother's words and said in a low voice: "What's the point of talking about these things. We've dominated for a lifetime, do we still need to cry like a woman before we die, telling everyone how miserable we are?"

  Yang Zhao took a step back, furrowed his brow and said: "What's with the 'before I die'? You two get it straight, I didn't intend to kill you both. Although my martial arts skills have been crippled, for you two to live another ten or eight years shouldn't be that difficult, right?"

  Dong Xie and Xi Du burst out laughing at the same time, and it took them a good while to gradually stop. Tang Dong Xie laughed strangely and said: "Yang brothers, since you've helped my two brothers with a big favor, I'll give you some sincere advice. Kid, you shouldn't have messed with people you shouldn't have messed with. Hurry up and escape, the farther away from Shu you are, the better."

  Tang Xi coldly said: "The first of the Ten Iron Rules of the Tang Sect: Whoever disgraces the Tang Sect will be killed with a thousand knives and a myriad cuts, and will die a slow death. Although my brother and I are not accomplished, we are still Tang Sect disciples. When we go out, every move we make is related to the dignity and face of the Tang Sect. You not only beat Tang Shengwen into a dog eating shit, but also crippled our martial arts. For the Tang Sect, this is simply an unforgivable sin. If you can't escape, haha, the Tang Sect's Soul-Grabbing Palace will let you know what it means to be in human hell, and what it means to seek life but not get it, and seek death but not attain it."

  His two sentences were spoken in a gloomy tone, and even Yang Zhao, who was known for his bravery, couldn't help but take a cold breath, asking: "Duè Pò Gōng?"

  Tang Dong said coldly, "The beacons are lit, the snow is soul-stirring, and the green phosphorus covers the ground, taking away one's spirit. The Spirit-Taking Palace is actually the Tang Family's Punishment Hall. Once you enter the palace, it's like entering the underworld. The master of the palace, Tang Wencheng, is the King of the Underworld. Young man, pray to the gods and Buddha! This lifetime, never meet Tang Wencheng, otherwise, he will definitely make you regret being born."

  Yang Zhao let out a long sigh and muttered, "Tang Men... Tang Men... what kind of place is it really? Hearing you guys talk about it, I'm actually quite curious to go take a look."

  The two brothers looked at each other and burst out laughing again. In unison, they said: "Good kid, you've got guts! We'll keep our eyes wide open underground to see if you really have the skills or are just another big-mouthed fool." After a pause, Tang Dong turned his head and asked: "Lao Du, is it almost time?"

  "Alright, alright. Brother, you go first, I'll come down and join you right away."

  "Good, good! I can finally die. Haha, haha... If there's an afterlife, I'd rather be a pig or dog than be a member of the Tang family again." As soon as he finished speaking, he suddenly flung his body forward. The sharp blade of the black gold sickle knife cut into his throat and then out through the back of his neck. The wound was compressed by his body weight, causing it to expand continuously. Finally, with a strange "thud" sound, his entire head was severed from his body. Tang Xi Du didn't hesitate at all, using his remaining strength to gather his energy and slap his own skull with his palm, producing a cracking sound as his skull shattered and his brain split open. Tang Men Hu, Fa Dong Xie, and Tang Xi Du died by their own hands on the same day at the same time.

  I did not kill Bo Ren, but Bo Ren died because of me. These two brothers from Dong Xi Duo may indeed be no good things either. However, Yang Zhao and they had no grievances in the past and no enmity recently. Although he struck fiercely just now, at most, he only wanted to disable their martial arts, so that they could not recklessly take lives again. As for himself, he never thought of killing anyone. Now they both took their own lives, even if it looked like they died very happily and comfortably, with a look of relief, but Yang Zhao still felt like there was something stuck in his chest.

  Suddenly, a gleam of insight flashed in his mind. Yang Zhao didn't need to look back to clearly sense the presence of the person from the quiet chamber. Immediately afterwards, the deliberately heavy footsteps sounded as expected. Yang Zhao let out a sigh, turned around and asked: "Where is Master Mingyue?"

  "These messy and bloody things, how can they be let to be seen by Mingyue?" Fang Qing said calmly: "I have already sent her back to the Mengzhu courtyard where she is staying."

  Yang Zhao nodded, and suddenly smiled: "Miss Mingyue is like the Goddess of Cold Beauty, elegant and refined, not stained by worldly dust. But Miss Fan, you are also like a heavenly maiden descended to earth, why aren't you afraid of being tainted by these dirty things? Why bother coming to this muddy place yourself?"

  Fan Qinghui sneered and said: "I won't go to hell, who will? Jingzhai has been passed down for hundreds of years, but it's not something that a kid like you who only talks about the Tao on the surface but is muddled in your heart can see through." He paused, then changed the subject without further explanation: "What Dong Xidu said earlier was right. If you want to return safely to Daxing City and be a prince, then hurry up and escape now. If unfortunately, you're caught by the assassins sent by the Tangmen, even if your master Mohaye is here, I'm afraid he won't be able to protect you."

  Yang Zhao furrowed his brow and said: "My master, isn't even Father enough? The Tang Sect... is it really that terrifying?"

  "Four hundred years ago, the leader of the Shendao Alliance dominated the martial arts world. Later, the Xiedao Alliance rose and fell, and then it was the turn of the four major families of Dongfang, Nangong, Xicheng, and Beiming, as well as the Tiandi Alliance, to take control of the black and white paths. Twenty years ago, it was the Tianzong, Yuecheng, and Yaomeng who divided the world into three parts. However, despite the changes in the martial arts world over the centuries, the Tangmen has always stood firm in Shu, unshakeable. Just this ability to endure is already enough to inspire awe and fear. Especially the four gatekeepers of the Tangmen - 'Kill, Sword, Dark, Poison' - any one of which would surpass your master Moheye's Six Gods Seal in power."

  Yang Zhao was taken aback, but immediately laughed and said: "Heh heh, if it's really that powerful, the Tang Sect should have already dominated Jianghu. Why are they still hiding in Shu for hundreds of years? Moreover, martial arts are dead, people are alive. The Tang Sect has its four gate-keeping artifacts, but who knows if they can even master them, let alone defeat my master... Furthermore..." Suddenly, he came to his senses and stopped talking.

  Fang Qing heard that he seemed to be hinting at something and couldn't help but ask: "What's more?"

  Yang Zhao smiled and said, "Nothing. Anyway, I think the Tang Sect is nothing special, that's all. Shouldn't have provoked someone you shouldn't have? Heh heh, this sentence isn't wrong. It's just that who exactly is the person you shouldn't provoke, it's probably still too early to say."

  Her eyes seemed to dim, and her long eyelashes fell down to cover her gaze. She said softly: "Since that's the case, then everything will be left to fate. You..." Suddenly she stopped talking, shook her head and said: "Now you can't even leave if you want to. Someone is coming."

  Yang Zhao said with a proud smile: "Since I've come, I'll just come. Don't mention that I'm the Duke of Henan... even if I don't use that identity, let's just say I'm Yang Yu. These two people committed suicide, and I was just defending myself in return. Even if we take this to the Taiji Temple to file a lawsuit, I won't be afraid." With that, he took the lead and walked out of the building.

  Yang Zhao seemed so confident, but it wasn't just a show. In fact, he had been quietly observing earlier, and that rough and uncouth Tang Suen, who was half a point more powerful than himself in terms of internal strength alone. And that last thing he did, "Ten Days Return to Heart, Gathering Yang as One", looked quite intimidating too. If the small ones were already like this, what about the bigger and older ones?

  Although Yang Zhao used to watch martial arts before crossing over, at least 7 or 8 out of the 10 books would mention Tangmen. However, in my impression, they all seemed to be just minor characters. The only time that was not so minor was probably in Wen Jue's "Divine State Hero". But "Divine State Hero" is set against the background of the Song Dynasty (whether it's Northern or Southern Song is not even mentioned, I reckon the author himself is also confused), and has nothing to do with the story of Shenbing, Tianzi, and Datang.

  Moreover, even if the Tangmen in this world were really that powerful and could defeat his master, Mohaiye still had two more forms of the Tathagata Palm technique to progress with. And he would eventually be able to cultivate the fourth form of the divine palm, becoming someone closest to the Buddha's "Transcendent Void" realm. Under the vast heavenly might of the Tathagata Palm, what are the Tangmen's four gate-keeping artifacts worth? Moreover, even without Mohaiye backing him up, Yang Zhaodong, the great king of Henan in the Sui Dynasty, had received recognition from the Heavenly Sword as a supreme being with a Nine-Five destiny, so why should he fear you bunch of Jianghu vagrants?

  At this thought, Yang Zhao's mouth involuntarily curled up slightly, revealing a few threads of meaningful and profound smile.

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