Star Gate

Chapter 324: Clouds Shift On All Sides (III)

“Surely you jest, Brother He!”

He Yong laughed happily, ignoring Hong Yitang’s response. However, he transmitted, “Do you... sense something off about this, ole brother?”

“What do you mean?” Hong Yitang likewise transmitted back.

“I somehow feel that... our Silver Moon may have gained another formidable martial master. Or perhaps Old Demon Yuan never left in the first place!” “What? Surely not!” Hong Yitang remarked with surprise. “What makes you say that?”

“Forget it, you’re a fake martial master. There’s no point in saying so much to you!”

“......” Hong Yitang smiled ruefully, but didn’t respond. He Yong left with large strides to look at another area. The leader of the Sword Sect breathed out slowly when he was alone again. He Yong might have felt something, but would never think that the formidable martial master he spoke of was most likely Li Hao.

Hong Yitang saw another group of people arrive—those from the provincial government and others from the army. Representatives from the four main institutions of White Moon City were all present. It was time for him to go; he departed a few moments later. This was not something he could be involved in.

Hong Yitang wasn’t interested in these affairs; he didn’t care who was dead, so long as it wasn’t himself. As for whether or not it was truly Red Moon members who’d died... did that matter?

As numerous as Red Moon’s powerhouses were, they’d already lost a large group at Rift Canyon—particularly several Solars. Did they still have more Solars to send to Silver Moon at this stage?

There even seemed to be a peak Solar among the dead. Was that Violet Moon?

That would be the greatest joke of all. She wouldn’t take this kind of risk.

It was difficult to determine who the two Solars were, but sooner or later, word would spread. What Hong Yitang cared more about was if Li Hao had killed people, was there anything he should do? He’d thought it was only a matter of time before Yuan Shuo returned. Given Yuan Shuo and Hou Xiaochen’s relationship, perhaps he could lean toward Yuan Shuo and the Night Watchers. But now... he felt that Yuan Shuo had gone completely missing. Who knew when he’d be back?

And Li Hao? The kid had hidden himself deep! But since he’d taken action today, he wouldn’t be able to keep himself hidden for too long. Paper could not envelop fire!

It wasn’t intuitive to draw a connection to Li Hao after Hao Lianchuan burned everything, but it was only a matter of time before the young man was exposed if any further aberrations cropped up in his behavior.

And here I gave him the Earthturner Sword... but it looks like the sword is no more. Hong Yitang left while turning over these thoughts.

A frowning He Yong reappeared after he departed the area. Had Hong Yitang discovered something? He’d clearly seen the fellow pick up something, but the latter hid it when he came near! There were secrets being kept here!

He took another look at the wrecked alley; there was nothing there apart from flickering flames. Destroying the scene of the ambush? Was it because the assailants possessed a surprising identity, or was there another reason?

He Yong didn’t linger on the premises. White Moon City was growing ever more dangerous. All manner of riffraff was beginning to pop out of the cracks.

......

Inside the alley.

Hao Lianchuan made a report to the inspector general and concluded, “Director Hou was just here and didn’t stay when he heard that the enemy had been eliminated. His wounds are not fully healed yet, so he left the matter wholly in my hands!

“Red Moon was so bold as to attack the Night Watchers inside the city! I mean to commence an encirclement of the organization! Director Hou is in seclusion and too injured to take the field. The Night Watchers aren’t strong enough, so we urgently wish for central headquarters to reinforce us!” He looked at Hu Qingfeng. “Sir Hu, Red Moon thinks nothing of the Night Watchers! There happens to be special agents within the city now. Our duty as Night Watchers is to clear out all evil supernaturals!

“Whether it is out of consideration for Night Watcher dignity or to suppress crime and uphold justice, Red Moon’s sins are unforgivable. Their crimes are too numerous to be recounted! Please help us, Sir Hu!”

Hu Qingfeng cursed inwardly, but he could not refuse. As a special agent of the agency, Night Watcher prestige would be used to wipe the floor if he refused. No matter what other thoughts he had at the moment, he had to consider the consequences of such an action. Theirs wasn’t the only clique at central headquarters. It was a complicated situation back home; he represented only a portion, not all.

Trouble would come looking for him if he did not perform competently at White Moon and safeguard the Night Watcher reputation.

“Don’t worry, I will not idly sit by when evil is so brazen!” he intoned. “I’ll send people to investigate traces of the organization. If their members are found, we will show them no mercy!”

It was just talk, he wasn’t inclined to actually do so.

Hao Lianchuan didn’t care if his counterpart was sincere or not. He nodded and spat, “Red Moon grows bolder by the day. It was one thing to attack Silver City, but now they dare invade even White Moon! They infiltrated us with two Solars, so I recommend that the city be placed under strict military control starting today! The Inspectorate, Night Watchers, and army will take over the reins until the Red Moon remnants are fully flushed out!”

No one said a word. Someone looked at the representatives from the provincial government. It wasn’t Director General Zhao who’d come, but his number one. The second-in-command at the provincial government was also an old man with white hair. He seemed quite cultured and polite.

“As you wish,” he sighed without protest. “We’ll be in charge of cleaning up. I’ll have people take inventory of the losses and see if any innocent citizens were harmed or suffered losses. Can’t supernaturals avoid the crowds when they fight?”

He turned to Hao Lianchuan. “Deputy Director Hao, Silver Moon has been stable for many years and the people live in peace. The Night Watchers must be careful. We would hope that you control the fallout if more supernaturals attack and try to avoid crowded areas as much as possible.”

Finally, he looked at Hu Qingfeng. “Special Agent Hu, those of you from Skystar City are formidable. Please spend some time and effort on this matter. It would be a great accomplishment if we can eliminate Red Moon from the province. The provincial government will request commendations for you!”

“We will.” Hu Qingfeng inclined his head with a smile. “Be at ease, Deputy Zhou!”

The old man quickly left without another word. This wasn’t their field of expertise. Since the most pressing situation had been resolved, then the provincial government would not be further involved.

A thought occurred to someone in the Inspectorate and they whispered to the burly man. The latter nodded, his approval a cue for an inspector to swiftly depart.

The surveillance cameras!

There was a surveillance camera at the head of the alley; it was destroyed at the moment. However, they might be able to discover something if they could pull the tapes or confirm the identities of the attackers. Even now, no one knew how many had died here. The only known piece of information was that there’d been two Solars present.

Hao Lianchuan’s only answer was that he’d fully unleashed the Flaming Phoenix Spear in his fury. It’d erupted with maximum destruction and all of the attackers were dead by the time he landed! Other than purposefully directing the flames to go around Li Hao, the rest were instantly incinerated. He hadn’t had a chance to see how many there were or who they’d been.

The crowd dispersed upon seeing that nothing had been left behind. Hu Qingfeng left as well, walking away with ill-concealed wrath and confusion. Was Red Moon crazy? Or was someone posing as them?

There were indeed dead Solars as the messy disarray of mysterious power was very dense. There had to be one wood and one metal Solar. The metal Solar looked to have been quite powerful, most likely on par with Huang Jie. The wood Solar could map to Yu Xiao.

Those from the central region had reached an agreement with Red Moon, so why had the organization done this?! As important as the bloodline of the eight families was, the organization could do anything they wished after Hou Xiaochen was out of the picture. He didn’t understand!

He soon returned to the hotel. The other two members of his team hadn’t struck out on their own. They’d remained waiting in the suite. In a bad mood, Hu Qingfeng swept a glance over them.

“Where’s Huang Jie and Yu Xiao?” He frowned. Where were those two bastards off to when something so major had taken place??

...wait. That’s... right. How would these two run off when something so critical had occurred? He left them to keep watch at the hotel.

Metal... wood...

An ominous premonition prickled. Hu Qingfeng’s expression shifted and he looked at the man and woman left. “Did you guys see Huang Jie and Yu Xiao when you came back?’

“No...” answered the woman.

“Did you call their communicators?” Hu Qingfeng’s face grew dark. “Have you been in contact with them?”

“...no...”

“Well?! Do it!” he barked, making the other two jump. Unease began to set in for the latter. What was going on and why was their superior looking more and more alarmed?

Surely not! Huang Jie and Yu Xiao weren’t fools. Why would they play robber for no reason at all? Did the bloodline of the eight families have anything to do with them?

No!

There really was no one apart from Red Moon who would create trouble for Li Hao. No one else understood the situation. But... there was a mid wood Solar and a peak metal Solar dead... That was too much of a coincidence! Those two would absolutely show themselves when they sensed the happenings inside the city. So where were they?!

The more Hu Qingfeng dwelled on it, the more uneasy, furious, and solemn he grew. What if it was Huang Jie and Yu Xiao that were dead? He’d be in grave trouble!