Chapter 303 - 165: The Strangeness of the Taiyan Cultivator 3

Chapter 303: Chapter 165: The Strangeness of the Taiyan Cultivator 3

The night was deep, the sea breeze thick with a salty, damp chill. Four figures moved quickly along a rugged mountain path. In the distance, an extremely faint light shone from a relatively large stone house. Outside, two figures in precinct uniforms stood guard in the shadows. When one saw Yang Wenqing’s group approach, he jogged over, stood at attention, and saluted.

"Bureau Chief, you’re here. Chief Du is inside."

Yang Wenqing nodded and led Yang Wenyuan inside, leaving their two team members to reinforce the perimeter.

The interior of the stone house had been cursorily cleaned. A rough wooden table stood in the center, on which sea charts and several display terminals for the monitoring arrays were spread out. Du Hong and three other captains were gathered around the table. When they saw Yang Wenqing enter, Du Hong immediately stepped forward to greet him while the other three stood at attention and saluted.

"Bureau Chief!" Du Hong’s finger swept across several flashing red dots on the holographic sea chart. "The monitoring arrays we secretly deployed have detected at least six distinct Qi Cultivator auras. We expect them to make landfall in an hour."

He looked up, his face a mixture of nervousness and irrepressible determination. "Bureau Chief, I plan to personally lead a team to set up an ambush in the reef area on the east side of the shallows. The terrain is complex, which makes it easy to stay hidden and is ideal for splitting them up and surrounding them. We’ll try to capture a few of them alive after they make landfall."

He walked to the stone house’s only window, a dilapidated frame crudely covered with a black cloth. Lifting a corner, he pointed downward. Through the gap, they could see the shallows shimmering under the moonlight, and farther away, the scattered lights of a fishing village nestled at the foot of the cliff.

"Bureau Chief, you see? The view from here is excellent. You can stay here and command the operation. I’ll take my men down. If we can capture the Qi Cultivators from the Jade Whale Sect and get their memories, that should count as a second-class merit, right? That way, we might be able to write something better in Zhou Dachuan’s file."

Du Hong’s tone was sincere, filled with an urgent desire to atone for his old subordinate. His gaze was open and honest, showing no sign of deceit.

Yang Wenqing’s gaze swept over Du Hong and the three captains behind him, who looked just as eager for action. He glanced back at the calm, moonlit shallows outside the window, mused for a moment, and said:

"Like I said, I’m just here to observe. Carry on with your duties."

A flash of joy and gratitude appeared in Du Hong’s eyes. He immediately turned and commanded his three subordinates, "Check your equipment! Prepare to move out! We’re proceeding according to plan!"

"Yes, sir!"

The three captains answered in unison and quickly began checking their sidearms and communicators.

Du Hong saluted Yang Wenqing once more, then led his three men briskly out of the stone house. Their figures soon vanished into the night.

The stone house immediately grew quiet, with only the occasional pulse of Spiritual Light from the monitoring terminals and the faint sounds of wind and waves from outside. Yang Wenyuan moved vigilantly to a concealed position to keep watch.

Yang Wenqing, for his part, walked to the window and looked down silently. The moonlight was bright, and combined with his ’Sharp Eye Art,’ he could vaguely make out the scene below.

The minutes ticked by.

Some twenty minutes later, just as Yang Wenqing was focused intently on the shallows, the stone house door was suddenly given a faint push.

Yang Wenyuan instantly raised his handgun, its muzzle aimed at the door. He growled, "Who’s there?!"

Yang Wenqing spun around as well, his gaze darting to the door like a bolt of lightning. Just then, a figure slipped inside without a sound.

The man was dressed in gray, coarse-spun clothes. He was of average build with a face so plain he would vanish in any crowd. He looked to be in his forties. Standing in the shadows of the doorway with his head slightly bowed, his posture was timid, like a commoner who had accidentally wandered into the wrong place.

But both Yang Wenqing’s and Yang Wenyuan’s hearts sank.

’How could an ordinary person, a mortal who hadn’t even begun to cultivate, possibly evade the two guards outside and sneak soundlessly to the door of this temporary command post?’