Chapter 199: Surrounded on All Sides

Chapter 199: Besieged on All Sides

Where there is a sunrise, there is naturally a sunset.

As night gradually unfurled, a colossal, peerless golden carp impatiently soared into the heavens, its fins swaying, swimming in unbridled joy.

Beneath it lay countless festive lanterns drifting amidst the dazzling, chaotic glow of electronic signboards.

Beside many a shopfront stood a pole bearing a banner to attract customers, screens scrolling the establishment's specialties. From the middle of the pole extended numerous fine cable bundles, free for passersby to plug in and experience.

Amidst the shoulder-to-shoulder crowds were old-school Ming folk in round-collared robes, trendy youths in bizarre attire, intermingled with Western merchants in suits and leather shoes, and border criminals clad in kimonos.

The bustling, fiery atmosphere of the marketplace and the cold, desolate steel technology fused into one here, a hundred flowers blooming, a magnificent spectacle.

The crowds flowed through light and shadow, ambiguous colors teasing the desires in their eyes.

In the golden position at the center of this long street stood not a skyscraper piercing the clouds, but a stilt house wrapped in red silk.

Between floors, neon blazed resplendent, fresh flowers clustered in splendor.

Whenever a night breeze blew, the sea of flowers swayed, a spectacular scene of fragrance drifting for ten miles.

This was the most famous pleasure quarter in all of Chongqing Prefecture, the Red Tower.

Leaning against the window railing, Li Jun gazed out from amidst the flower sea, yet he was not looking down at the bizarre, dazzling street below, but gazing into the distance at Hongya Mountain, which resembled a celestial palace.

His eyes were dark and inscrutable, unknown what he was pondering.

"Fine steeds and carved carriages perfume the road, fish and dragons dance all night. This Red Tower is the very essence of the entire Fish-Dragon Street; the beauties have already arrived, what troubles cannot be set aside for now?"

Zou Sijiu's laughter suddenly rang out from behind, and Li Jun turned his head.

Inside the private room, Zou Sijiu held a cup of wine, raising it to him from afar. Beside him, He Zangjia had an arm around Zhou You's shoulder, pointing at the row of courtesans standing before them, imparting experience.

On the stage in the middle of the room, the Horse King, wrapped in a black robe, shook his body to the music, singing at the top of his lungs.

"I want to walk from south to north, I also want to walk from white to black. I want people to see me, but not know who I am."

A mechanical finger extended from his sleeve, pointing straight at Li Jun.

"Grandpa Horse didn't guess wrong, you've definitely been sold too. You want to live properly, but there's too much impropriety in this world. Learned to go with the flow, learned to sneer, because there's too much 'Yellow Millet Disease' here."

Li Jun raised an eyebrow, casting aside the heavy, unknown emotions in his heart, and laughed loudly: "I'm a fucking man like an eagle, why would I fear this Yellow Millet Disease?"

"Tch!"

Everyone burst into laughter.

"Three days ago, the Qixia Group held the birthday celebration of Patriarch Liu Zuchang and a new product launch at headquarters. As the ceremony was about to end, the venue was suddenly attacked by villains."

"Group owner, the Divine Xia Daoist Wang Wenqin, died on the spot; hundreds of innocent believers were killed or injured."

"Upon verification, the attackers are suspected to be from the Honghu Organization; the Chongqing Prefecture yamen is currently hunting the culprits with all its might."

"Recently, the martial arm of the Daoist giant Longhu Mountain Group, the 'Dou Department,' declared to the outside world that they would soon dispatch elite Celestial Masters to Chongqing Prefecture to investigate this matter."

Inside the private room, the wine was rich, the songs sung, the courtesans had already dispersed.

Zhou You had already been taken to other rooms for life growth under He Zangjia's arrangement.

The Horse King lay drunk in a corner, unconscious.

Li Jun, He Zangjia, and Zou Sijiu sat around a low table, looking at the official gazette issued by the Chongqing Prefecture Magistrate's Office placed upon it.

He Zangjia raised a hand to slap his face, trying to slap away the horror in his eyes, muttering a curse: "Damn it, this is Longhu Mountain! Do they have to meddle in such trivial chicken-feather-and-garlic-skin matters?"

"Not only that. I've received word that the Great Showa of the Western Regions and the Shaolin of Henan Prefecture will both dispatch Walking Monks to Chongqing Prefecture to investigate the Arhat Temple matter."

Zou Sijiu tapped his fingers on the table, "However, aside from Longhu Mountain's reaction being somewhat unexpected, the other matters were all within expectations."

"I have a piece of news too."

He Zangjia slumped onto the sofa, speaking listlessly: "The Embroidered Uniform Guard raided the 'Right General's' household; the whole family, young and old, were thrown into the Imperial Prison, but the mastermind Qi Huai wasn't caught. Word is, the Qixia Group incident was Qi Huai secretly assisting the Honghu people."

"This is a new variable, can be factored into the calculation."

Zou Sijiu pinched his fingers, turning his gaze to the expressionless Li Jun beside him, "The situation now is wolves ahead, tigers behind. What do you plan to do?"

He Zangjia shouted in alarm: "What else can we do? Of course, run for it when the wind gets tight!"

It was no wonder he reacted so strongly. Whether it was the Celestial Masters of Longhu Mountain's Dou Department, or the Walking Monks dispatched by the two Buddhist sects of Han and Fan, none were existences a mere Sequence Eight like him could contend with.

Although the Three Generals of the Card System had agreed to step forward and handle the Buddhist investigation, now a Longhu Mountain with even heavier killing intent had been added!

Daoist Sequencers who could be called 'Celestial Masters' were at least Sequence Six level.

Though fleeing like this would mean the foundation He Zangjia had painstakingly built in Chongqing Prefecture over ten-plus years would go up in smoke, at least there would be a chance to save his life.

He Zangjia urged: "As long as the green mountains remain, there's no fear of lacking firewood, Jun-ge."

Li Jun ignored He Zangjia, instead looking at Zou Sijiu with inquiring eyes.

The latter replied softly: "The Great Case Deduction Art's results are not ideal; my opinion is also to take a step back for a broader horizon."

He Zangjia chimed in from the side: "Brother Zou is right, Jun-ge. A true man can bend and stretch; momentary honor or disgrace is not worth mentioning!"

"If I can't even stay in Chongqing Prefecture, where else can I go?"

Li Jun, silent for a long time, finally spoke, "And if I run with my tail between my legs without even seeing the other party's face, I might as well quit the Martial Dao Sequence."

"The taste of a stray dog, is not pleasant."

Hearing Li Jun say this, not only did Zou Sijiu's face reveal not a shred of surprise.

Even He Zangjia, who had been persuading Li Jun to leave, wore an expression of 'as expected.'

He Zangjia looked up, wiped his face, and once again exuded that roguish, lazy air.

"Anyway, I've made up my mind to hug your thigh, Jun-ge. When the sky falls, tall people hold it up; when the Card System's Three Generals can't hold, we can still run then."

Zou Sijiu picked up a jade goblet of translucent green, drained the grape wine in one gulp, and said slowly: "I'm leaving for a few days."

Before the furious He Zangjia beside him could question him, Zou Sijiu continued: "I'm taking Xiaoqiang to a safe place, to settle this karmic debt."

Xiaoqiang was the boy who had saved Zou Sijiu's life at Qixia Square that day.

Li Jun asked with a smile: "Avoiding misfortune and seeking fortune, that's not the style of you Yin-Yang Occultists, is it?"

Zou Sijiu toyed with the luminous cup in his hand, silent for a moment before whispering: "The taste of a stray dog, I've tasted it too."

In the corner, the Horse King suddenly sprang up from the ground with a *shua*, a panicked voice issuing from his red eyes: "Damn, what rotten luck. I had a nightmare, actually dreamed of the yamen raiding the room!"

At that very moment, the private room door was suddenly pushed open, and Wang Xie, his face gloomy, strode in.