41 41- High At Stake

Wu Huan walked to the prison's door. He had scanned the outside before slipping out to the cool night. He didn't know the accurate location of Shi Lihua but according to Luo Yang and Wan Qiang, Yin Fan must have taken him to his personal prison under his chamber. To be there, he had to get past the main prison's gate and slipped through the back courtyard before making it to the central courtyard where the room lied.

There were two guards closest to the gate with their backs to him and three more inside their posts secretly asleep. He swiftly sneaked into each of the posts and snapped their heads silently in the dead of the night. The last one made a small bewildered noise despite having his hand clamped in an iron grip down to his mouth. Wu Huan hid in the darkness as the two guards pestered each other to go for a look. Who could have made such a creepy noise at this time of the day?

Then blood was spattered. Peizhi ruthlessly dug into the two bodies stuck together like two pieces of meat on a skewer. The end of the sword glinted under the moonlight, drops of blood painted the ground. Wu Huan removed it calmly before leaving to the back courtyard stepping over the bodies. He also sliced the throats of the two guards by that courtyard before they had the idea to yell for help.

The bloody night didn't end there. Yin Fan has made at least a dozen disciples guarded his place walking around with paper lanterns and half-distracted faces. He had consumed too much time killing them off one by one and hiding their bodies carefully in the bushes or behind the walls. By the time he even remotely came close to the room itself, there was the first sign of dawn.

[Five disciples to go. How did no one even notice yet? Should I sneak attack?]

[No. This will easily alert Yin Fan.]

Wu Huan decided to wait in the bush not so far off. By dawn, the dead bodies would be discovered and Yin Fan would come out to investigate. The big array would be completed and a battle would start. And, the chance secretly to slip inside would come.

At the alarm from a rooster, someone had shouted 'dead bodies' as predicted. He watched one of the guards rushing to Yin Fan's room and took him away. He barely dodged a suspicious glance as the Master passed him in a hurry. He seemed to want to turn back but loud yelps of surprise caught the bastard's attention. They rushed to the prison with their swords drawn.

The five guards that remained had a hard time protecting their lives when a cloaked shadow appeared before the doors. They couldn't get into their formation properly before one of them was blown away by the man's explosion of energy. Their fighting became all scattered and it didn't take long before they fell to their deaths.

Wu Huan kicked down the door. His intention to keep a low profile vanished with these disciples. The room wasn't anything special. Yin Fan wasn't a fool to keep all his secrets in the most obvious places. The scrolls on his table contained only questionable poems. Wu Huan had begun to look for the secret passage.

In his mind, he had approximately five minutes before enforcement or Yin Fan himself arrived. He hoped Luo Yang and Wan Qiang kept him occupied long enough to bring Shi Lihua out.

Scanning through the wall, he prepped his ears to the bricks. On the right side of his bed, there was a barely noticeable hollow sound. He stayed rigid in the spot for another ten seconds before he heard another small noise.

He decided to forcefully destroy the wall, but it was protected with a spiritual barrier. He formed a ball of his own energy but it bounced into back to him after making contact with the other form.

[Why didn't it work? I'm sure I have conjured enough to break it down. How did it only repel?]

"Unless," he turned around in surprise.

[The guards outside.]

Wu Huan crouched to search the body the closest. They held nothing of what he was looking for. A foreboding feeling filled his chest. He checked the others too to make sure that he was right.

After that, he ran to the prison. Swords were clanking against each other. Their enforcement group was already fighting. However, footsteps suddenly drummed from behind.

That was quick.

[Have the front unit lost already? Or have figured out our plan?]

"Xiao Li," Wu Huan growled in anger. With Peizhi in his hand, he fought his way inside the prison. The wall trembled as soon as he stepped in and if it wasn't for his quick instinct to form a shield, he would have suffered a full blow of spiritual energy.

Someone flew into the wall. It was Luo Yang. His chin was covered in blood over his thick makeup. Wan Qiang was fighting Yin Fan and she didn't seem to be able to bear it any longer either. He found Cia Jie crammed in a corner.

She had stopped breathing.

"She-"

"What are you doing?" Luo Yang yanked him around his collars despite the pain. "Where is Hua'er? Have you found him?"

Wu Huan came alone. He had one job for him.

"I don't have time to explain!" he turned to the battle of Yin Fan and Wan Qiang. Scanning anxiously around the man's body, he nearly sighed in relief when he found an orange tablet handing off his waist belt. "Wan Qiang, grab the tablet for me!"

Yin Fan had momentarily distracted by the appearance of Wu Huan so Wan Qiang had the chance to charge up from her fall at him. When Yin Fan raised his arms to block Peizhi, he kicked the woman square in her chest back without even turning. "I was wondering when you would come. Thought it was becoming boring."

"Shut the fuck up," Wu Huan swiped at his legs but he jumped with a grin before blocking Peizhi again.

"'Xiao Li must have told you, hasn't he? Don't worry. He wasn't lying. He only did it without my permission." Wu Huan flew back to dodge his palm. But, Yin Fan kept charging forward, "Summoning array, huh. Great idea indeed. But, we already expected you. Did you honestly expect to walk out of the tiger's den alive?"

A heavy strike blew him into the wall just as he landed a swipe of his sword on the other's chest simultaneously. It was his turn to cough up blood. He saw Wan Qiang taking the chance to attack. Yin Fan raised his sword to halt her track but little did he know, she was never a coward. She flunked herself into the long blade and stuck one on his right stomach.

They all froze, two from shock and two from scorching pain. Yin Fan angrily struck her away.

"Wan Qiang! No!" In a fury, Luo Yang had mastered all his strength. He ran and caught her in time as she crunched at her left side gaping with wide eyes. "What..." his lips trembled.

Wu Huan had stood in front of them. His head whirled in dangerous thoughts. He watched Wan Qiang raised something she had clutched in her hand up. It was the tablet he had requested her to snatch.

"Hurry," she murmured throwing it to him. "I won't die as long as you don't take long."

"You bitch. I won't let you three get out alive today." Growling like he hadn't just stomached a sword, Yin Fan intended to scorch them with his fiery energy.

Wu Huan got ready to defend but he was suddenly pushed back. Luo Yang conjured up one of his famous shields. He was obviously going to lose soon anyway but he wasn't going to give up. Not when Wan Qiang just sacrificed herself like that. "Get Hua'er. I'll handle him! What are you waiting for!"

At that moment that he had retreated, a tear rolled down. They either got to live or die; it all depended on his hands and he knew.

He knew.