Prologue

It was also noted that the person had an object wrapped in a black cloth concealed at their waist, and judging by the size of that object, it was highly likely to be the ebony lotus statue of Guanyin holding a sutra.

Wang Hongju, seeing this, shouted angrily without a second thought, and with a flurry of movements, launched three palm strikes and a kick towards the round-faced man. The round-faced man waved his hands in quick succession, blocking the three strikes with a series of sharp sounds, and simultaneously kicked out, producing a loud thud.

Upon landing, the round-faced individual swiftly drew out a poisoned needle, rapidly sealing the acupoints to prevent the spread of the toxin

He was aware that a large fire had broken out nearby, and many people had gone to extinguish it. However, he could not reassign the personnel near the Zhi Gui Pavilion to fight the fire, as he understood that this was a tactic employed by the mysterious thief to steal the ebony lotus statue of Guanyin. If he were to easily relocate the guards from their posts, it would fall into the trap of the enemy's diversionary strategy. Therefore, he must not reassign the personnel stationed here.

With the arrival of the hour of the snake, three corners of Hai Zhuang simultaneously erupted with three thunderous explosions, and in an instant, fierce flames blazed up from the three explosion sites, billowing thick smoke.

The suspicious soldier's feet suddenly caused the bluestone slab beneath to shatter.

At this moment, Wang Hongju finally saw the appearance of the suspicious soldier

Wang Hongju balanced on one foot, pushed off and jumped, and with a swish, the leg of the round-faced person swept past from below

This is because yesterday, the owner of Ruohai Manor, Hu Nanxiong, received a mysterious letter, which stated that at the hour of Si tomorrow, a valuable ebony statue of Guanyin holding a sutra would be stolen.

In a secluded corner to the southwest of Ruohai Manor, there stands a small building, consisting of two stories. The building has its doors and windows tightly shut on all sides. Above the main entrance hangs a plaque with a black background and golden characters, inscribed in clerical script with the three characters "Zhi Gui Ge." The strokes are heavy and powerful, and the font exudes an ancient and weathered charm, clearly the work of a master calligrapher.

At this moment, the round-faced person had not yet had the chance to feel happy, huff!

Struck twice from behind, the round-faced individual, unable to muster his energy in time to defend himself, immediately spat out blood and was sent flying.

Qianzhong Road, Dongshi County

After being knocked back, the round-faced individual forcefully suppressed the surging blood energy and immediately propelled himself towards the roof ahead. With a thud, as soon as his feet touched the ground, he leaped towards the opposite roof. The roof on the other side was close to the wall, and as long as he could get over the wall, there would be hope of escaping the pursuit from Ruohai Manor

A two-zhang high mud fountain erupted from the ground, and Wang Hongju stopped, shielding his eyes with his hand

Then, they simultaneously leaped over the wall.

Wang Hongju had just intended to pursue when he suddenly saw the round-faced man deliver a powerful punch to the ground, bang

The person in mid-air with a round face had no choice but to twist his waist, and his entire body immediately flipped over. Two projectiles flew past him, but one still struck his left arm

At the moment when the two people clapped their palms together, a sound like muffled thunder immediately erupted, crackling loudly!

Kicked against Wang Hongju.

For some reason, the wind is particularly strong today, and it is blowing from the southwest direction

However, upon closer inspection, one will find that hidden sentinels are concealed everywhere: on the roof, between the beams of the corridor, in the bamboo grove by the roadside, and among the flowers by the pond.

Ruohai Manor is located in the southwest of Dongshi County, covering an area of 100 acres and exuding a grand atmosphere

Wang Hongju angrily said: "Are you the thief who threatened to steal the Guanyin statue?"

Leaped up onto the wall

At that moment, the soldiers around reacted immediately and rushed forward. The round-faced man laughed heartily as he charged ahead. When the soldiers saw him coming with a *picture* book, they hurriedly thrust their spears at him. With a whoosh, the round-faced man flashed like a ghost and appeared right in front of them. Then, they only felt a blur before being sent flying.

At this moment, Wang Hongju, although fully aware that it is a trap, has no choice but to jump in, for if he waits until the fire reaches him before sending someone to rescue, it will be too late. Now, he can only hope to quickly control the flames so that those soldiers can return to their posts as soon as possible

The round-faced person immediately seized the opportunity to turn around and plan to escape from here

Wang Hongju observed that the fire was continuously spreading towards this direction, getting closer and closer

The two were evenly matched. Wang Hongju aimed to tempt Big Pancake Face with his true skills. Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! He delivered three consecutive kicks, but Big Pancake Face did not back down and retaliated with three kicks of his own. The sound of impact echoed as both managed to block each other's three kicks.

It shot out from the pavilion like a green arrow, with a whoosh, straight towards the suspicious soldier, letting out a loud shout, "Hoo!"

Bang

At this moment, Wang Hongju was wearing a dark blue silk embroidered robe, with a golden belt made of python skin tied around his waist, and was seated in an octagonal pavilion in front of the Zhi Gui Pavilion, sipping tea.

He shouted, "Stop right there!"

He staggered back two steps before finally regaining his balance

Wang Hongju discovered that this person had no trace of a smile on their face when laughing, and their complexion was so strange that it seemed they were wearing a mask

If one were to scale the wall, leaving Ruohai Manor would be quite easy

Wang Hongju is a capable assistant of Hu Nanxiong, approximately forty years old, slightly overweight with a protruding abdomen, a round face, a square nose, thick eyebrows, and small eyes

At once, the guards of Ruohai Manor surged out, and the entire county began the pursuit of the pancake-faced thief who had stolen the ebony Guanyin statue holding a sutra.

The vigilance here is evidently much stricter than in other places, and this is because this attic is not an ordinary attic. The exquisite attic is a collection of treasures by Hu Nanxiong, housing his most cherished rare artifacts, among which is the ebony and lotus-holding Guanyin seated statue

A palm strike was delivered to his back from mid-air

The two individuals' palms separated, and Wang Hongju performed a somersault before landing, with a loud clap!

The wind fueled the flames, causing the fire to leap several zhang high. Anyone who approached was scorched and felt a stinging pain all over their body. Although over a hundred people were engaged in firefighting efforts, the blaze continued to grow larger, gradually spreading towards the Zhi Gui Pavilion.

A powerful surge of energy shot out from the two individuals, immediately knocking down the soldiers nearby who had not yet reacted to the force.

Issue orders to strengthen the defenses of Ruohai Manor

The round-faced person chuckled and said, "Hahaha, that's right, I am the one who wanted to borrow your Guanyin statue, but unfortunately, I almost succeeded."

At this time, almost all personnel had rushed to extinguish the fire, with the exception of those near the Zhi Gui Pavilion who did not participate in the firefighting efforts and continued to patrol. This was because their supervisor, Wang Hongju, had not issued any orders, and they could not leave this area without authorization

Wang Hongju fixed his gaze on the round-faced man and said, "If you leave the Guanyin statue, I will let you off the hook today"

It seems that the round-faced person could never have anticipated such a fortunate occurrence

Three fires broke out simultaneously in the manor, causing panic among all the people present. The servants hurriedly searched for water to extinguish the flames, transforming the once heavily guarded Ruohai Manor into a scene of chaos.

Simultaneously exerting force with both feet, bang

Boom

At that moment, Wang Hongju saw the round-faced man flying towards the roof on the other side and realized his intentions. He immediately waved his right hand towards the round-faced man in mid-air, and with a whoosh, three flying needles transformed into three strands of green silk, shooting towards the round-faced man.

Wang Hongju, seeing this, shouted loudly: "Everyone, go chase after him! That person has been struck by our unique poison, Ghost Hand Chrysanthemum Poison, and has also sustained internal injuries. He cannot escape far! All of you, go chase after him!"

Boom

The suspicious soldier heard the sound, quickly turned around, steadied his stance, shouted loudly, and met the challenge with a palm strike!

Bang

The round-faced man saw Wang Hongju chasing after him, and immediately grabbed two soldiers, hurling them forward with great force. The angle of the throw was tricky and the speed was fast, leaving Wang Hongju with no time to evade, forcing him to catch the two soldiers.

Reluctantly, Wang Hongju had no choice but to issue an order to dispatch two teams to extinguish the fire. The two team leaders who received the command immediately prepared their respective teams to go and fight the fire

A series of actions were executed in one go, leaving Wang Hongju no opportunity to strike again

At this moment, no one noticed the bundles of gunpowder placed in the three corners of Ruohai Manor. The fuses of those gunpowder bundles were entwined around an incense stick, which burned with a faint flickering red glow. As time passed gradually, the shadows on the ground became shorter due to the rising sun, while the incense stick also gradually diminished in length, the red glow continuously approaching the fuse.

Around this attic, there are six or seven patrol teams moving back and forth nearby, appearing no different from other areas of the estate

Boom

Therefore, although it is broad daylight, as the hour of the snake approaches, the vigilance of Hai Zhuang becomes increasingly stringent

The soldier had an unusually waxy yellow round face, a flat nose, and a wide mouth

At this moment, Wang Hongju looked towards the two twenty-person teams preparing to extinguish the fire. Upon closer inspection, he noticed something amiss. He observed that the other soldiers were all wearing coarse cloth shoes, while one soldier was surprisingly wearing black leather short boots. Moreover, the soldier's running steps were exceptionally light and agile, clearly indicating that he had practiced internal martial arts. These soldiers usually trained in ordinary external martial arts; how could one of them have practiced internal martial arts? Suddenly, a thought struck Wang Hongju, and he straightened his body.

Boom

Having been delayed like this, the round-faced person has already reached the edge of the wall, whew

The round-faced person patted the object at their waist and said, "It's right here, come and take it."

Ashes filled the sky and fell like a blanket, covering the rooftops and windows of buildings, the clothes and hair of people, and the flowerbeds along the roadside, leaving everywhere dotted with black specks of ash

The round-faced man displayed a common stance that revealed no particular skill. Therefore, Wang Hongju immediately executed a swift spinning kick, whooshing as it aimed at the round-faced man's head. The round-faced man ducked to avoid it and simultaneously swept a low kick towards Wang Hongju's feet

Suddenly, I heard a sound of something slicing through the air from behind. The old strength had been exhausted, and the new strength had not yet emerged. It was too late to evade.

These ordinary soldiers were no match for the round-faced man. As he extended his hands, he grasped their shoulders, and with a surge of internal energy, the soldiers felt their bodies go numb and were rendered powerless. Subsequently, the round-faced man easily threw them out.

A loud bang!

Bang

Although it is broad daylight now, the guards at Ruohai Manor are stationed every five steps and on watch every three steps, making the vigilance even more stringent than at night

It turned out that just now, two coaches happened to hear the commotion from this side and rushed over from the other side. They coincidentally saw the round-faced individual jump onto the wall, and thus, the two of them launched a surprise attack from behind the round-faced individual

Although the author of this letter is unknown, Hu Nanxiong prefers to be cautious and believes it to be credible

However, the suspicious soldier did not retreat, yet his entire body was pushed back by more than one foot