Chapter 296: Stop There Criminal Scum!

  After the death of the two clones, several dozens of cultivators instantly moved at once. Every single one of them moved toward Punishment Hall. Spreading out like a fan to further reduce the chances of the voyeur escaping their pursuit. Each clone held different weapons that one could use to suspect them of being part of Heaven's Angels. Strangely shaped swords, spiked gauntlets that only covered their knuckles, multiple staff-like weapons, and one seemed to be even carrying a cooking pot in his hand with a maniacal grin on her face!

"Looks like we're cooking up a rat today!" The supposed chef from the inner court cried out.

"Don't forget we still need to get information from her... So, please try not to kill her." A spear-wielding disciple under a Pillar Elder politely asked with a veil masking his face.

"She also ate like two pills. So, her body won't be in a good condition when we catch her." A young handsome Minor Elder added.

"I'll be able to prevent her from dying for a time, I suppose." The Major Elder spoke up, one hand behind his hunched over back. He stroked his long white beard in contemplation of how horrible her injuries would be.

"I guess it's good that Jing let us borrow Zhi's medical book. Catching and interrogating spies is way easier when you know how to keep them from dying." A child from the outer court grinned while carrying a hooked halberd behind him.

  The mysterious woman wasn't dumb enough to believe the two guards gave up that easily after revealing such important information. Instead of heading straight to her master's residence, she immediately slapped a talisman on herself and teleported outside the sect. Arriving at the entrance of the sect, two of the guards at the entrance noticed her sudden arrival. Upon noticing that outside the sect apparently meant, in front of the gate, she tried to flee as fast as she could when one of the two guards dashed at her.

'It must be one of his duplicates! They've already infiltrated so deep!? First, it was two guards from the Punishment Hall and now one of the guards defending the entrance?' She cursed at how unlucky she was to land here.

"I'll apprehend this suspicious criminal! You call for support!" The duplicate shouted to his partner, pulling out his staff with sharp spikes at the end of it.

"G-Got it!" The other guard quickly ran inside the sect.

  The two dashed down the mountain that the Golden Serpent Sect was built upon. Wen could see blood leaking from multiple places on the woman's body and knew she couldn't hold on for much longer. Taking those two pills in succession had to internally damage her something terrible. It looks like his job in capturing her won't be as difficult as he thought.

  Wen's spiked staff smashed into the mountain cliffside, just narrowly missing the all-black clothed voyeur. Rock fragments exploded from his missed attack and pelted the woman who barely managed to dodge. The rocks slashed through her cloth and body, exposing her milky white soft skin. She threw multiple knives at his figure after his missed attack, forcing him to carefully block with his staff, allowing her to gain some distance from him.

'I can't be caught. I can't fail. I can't fail this mission before passing on my knowledge somehow!' Yanhui bit her lip in desperation.

  As they got closer to the base of the mountain, Yanhui's eyes glowed with hope. She could see a familiar group of women just below her! Yanhui didn't understand why they were down there or how they knew she was in trouble but at this moment she couldn't care less! Pulling out the last dregs of her energy, she sped towards them with everything she had left.

"That's not good at all..." Wen muttered as he reared his staff behind his head.

  With a merciless crack of his staff, Wen smashed his spiked staff into Yanhui's back, launching her toward the group of women seemingly waiting below for him or her. The spikes of his staff stabbed deeply into the woman's back before being violently ripped out, showering his guard robes in a spray of blood. Yanhui cried out in pain as her body was sent flying toward her allies. All of the women looked on in horror and worry as they went to catch Yanhui's body.

"Junior Sister!" Some of them cried out in shrill voices.

'Hmm.' Wen did not ignore this information as he softly landed in front of the group of women.

  Five to his one. Each one was close to his own cultivation stage or higher. Brute forcing his way through this isn't going to pan out well. Even if he tried to take them all out by giving everything this duplicate had, the aftermath of such a thing wouldn't end well. Looks like it's time to handle things as a pacifist should. Wen smiled as he politely cuffed his fist into his hand, greeting the women.

"Greetings. I am Shen Lao, Gate Guardian of the Golden Serpent Sect. I was just in the middle of apprehending this suspicious figure for questioning. May I know your names and purpose for standing at the base of the Golden Serpent Sect?" Wen didn't act submissive nor arrogant.

  His spiked staff wasn't holstered, meaning that if need be, they would be apprehended as well if they didn't give a sound reason for being at the base of the mountain and catching the criminal. All of the women glared at him with enough hatred to last him multiple lifetimes. This junior sister of theirs must be very loved. Wen could see that they were barely able to control themselves from attacking him as they looked at the wounds all over their junior sister's body. One of the women tried to feed the unconscious bloody girl a pill but Wen stopped it with a flick of qi.

"Aiding a criminal will only make yourselves into criminals. Please identify yourselves and your reasons for being here before I have to resort to force." Wen knew exactly who these four girls were.

"I had enough of this guy, Eldest Sister! He nearly killed our Junior Sister and doesn't even put us in his eyes!" The shortest of the group erupted with qi.

"I'm with Wenya for once." A tall beauty pulled out a sword from its sheath.

"If you dare stop me again, I'll break you limb from limb." The weakest-looking girl who tried healing the voyeur threatened. Surprisingly enough, it did send a small chill down his spine.

"Girls." The one who caught the voyeur spoke, silencing the others.

"I apologize, Mr. Shen. This is all just a major misunderstanding." The most unimpressive of the group smiled kindly at him.

  Wen nearly tensed up in preparation for an attack at the killing intent hidden behind that smile. This wasn't your average cultivator... She alone would be more than enough to handle him at his full power. He's heard the rumors of this girl but the rumors really don't do her justice. She's a little bit out of his league to deal with. But it wasn't like he was planning to use force in this exchange anyway.

"A misunderstanding?" Wen smirked as if she was a fool. "Look at her clothing and tell me that she isn't suspicious."

"Don't tell me that the Gate Guardian for the Golden Serpent Sect is on guard against someone simply for the clothes they wear?" She continued to smile.

"I am. It's my duty to be suspicious of everyone, regardless of their clothes. However, when someone is dressed like that suddenly teleporting in front of the gate of the Golden Serpent Sect and then immediately fleeing on being questioned, you can see why matters have come this far, yes?" Wen wanted to see exactly how she would defend such suspicious behavior.

"No, I cannot see any reason for things to have come this far." She poked Yanhui's body in multiple places before feeding her a pill. "If it was simply questioning her, then what is the reason for these grievous wounds you've inflicted on her. It looks more like an attempt on her life if you ask me. Without my help, she would've died in mere moments."

"I gave her several warnings to stop running and give up. She can only blame herself for things to have come this far." Wen lied without a problem. He didn't say a word as he tried to injure her as horribly as he could in an attempt to capture her.

"Is a Gate Guardian only this much? Has to rely on-" A beam of qi passed next to her face in the middle of her response. A small red line appeared on her cheek, leaking a small amount of blood down her face.

"I will not repeat myself again. Identify yourselves and your reasons for aiding a criminal under investigation." Wen projected his qi outward, posturing heavily. He had the advantage to do anything he wanted since they still haven't clearly identified themselves.

"I know it's been a while since I've returned to the sect but have Gate Guardians really grown this bold and ignorant?" She questioned while touching the cut on her face as the atmosphere grew chillingly cold.

  Even the other girls started to back away at the sight of this. Wen momentarily wondered if he may have gone too far in his bluffing but still felt that he was in the right. While this girl was strong, it was strong in the sense that he wouldn't be able to kill her without risking death himself. Not strong enough to prevent him from running away at full speed if he felt his life in danger.

"Shen Lao, was it? I will remember that name..." She muttered to herself. "I am Ai Ju. Head Elder Ru's First Disciple. All of us are Head Elder Ru's disciples and we are returning from a task given to us by our master." Ai Ju explained.

"Is she included in that?" Wen asked for clarification's sake.

"Yes. Now if you'll excuse us, we'll be going now." The four began to walk.

"I apologize for the misunderstanding." Wen cuffed his hands in a polite but non-apologetic tone. "If you encounter the other guards, give them this and tell them it was all just a misunderstanding." He tossed a golden token with the shape of a serpent imprinted on its front and back.

  Ai Ju caught the token and it nearly shattered to pieces from her grip as she stared at Wen. Said token wasn't made out of any regular metal either but spirit metal...

"I hope to see you again soon Shen Lao." Ai Ju and the others left with those words.

  Shen Lao felt tempted to kill himself then and there but there was no need as he locked eyes with another duplicate hiding in the distance. The duplicate offed itself as Shen Lao slowly made his way back up the mountain. It looks like they had an assassination mission in the very near future. Hopefully, that woman will be unconscious long enough for them to prepare to sneak into a Head Elder's residence.