Ultimate Path to Heaven

Chapter 28 Relying solely on the word "righteousness"

"Having lost sixty Iron Slaughter Guards, and then slaughtering an entire village without any regard for right or wrong, this Eighth Prince must have other plans!"

"If that is the case, we must not act rashly."

"..."

"Regardless of the outcome, we must not let the ignorance of a single village ruin everything!"

Previously, there was some debate based on Gou Erchui's suggestion, but in the blink of an eye, the consensus has shifted to abandoning Qingxi Village and ignoring it.

"You guys..." Gou Erchui, furious, said angrily.

"Don't be stupid, you idiot!" Seeing that Gou Erchui's emotions were getting agitated and gradually getting out of control, Qin Huang, who was sitting next to him, immediately stopped him.

Gou Erchui seemed very afraid of Qin Huang, this "tough woman," and his emotions immediately calmed down a lot, but he still looked at Lin Yan sitting on the seat with resentment.

At this moment, Lin Yan was staring at Xiao Jin, who seemed to be in a daze, and Gou Erchui followed suit.

Regardless of whether others save him or not, Xiao Jin must be saved... In a short while, his strength dropped by another point, and it's still decreasing...

"Without the canyon, how would we resettle the rescued villagers... No way!"

The moment Lin Yan looked at Xiao Jin, Xiao Jin, suddenly snapping out of his reverie, glared at Gou Erchui and, mimicking a chivalrous knight, clasped his hands in a fist salute, saying, "I, Xiao Jin, greatly admire Brother Gou's character. I hope Brother Gou will lend a hand in saving the villagers!"

Xiao Jin's intention was to use Gou Erchui to observe the reactions of the people in the hall, since some things couldn't be forced. He also wanted to see if Gou Erchui's attitude towards him had changed, as the forced mission from that dog was still in effect.

Xiao Jin believes that Qingxi Village escaped disaster thanks to the crucial role played by Scarface Li Mian and the secret guards. This suggests that the villagers of Qingxi Village are currently safe, and the secret guards must have known their location immediately.

Rescuing them is not a big problem, but settling them in... it seems that this canyon is the only option for now.

Upon seeing Xiao Jin's sudden reaction, Gou Erchui, already seething with anger, stood up without hesitation: "I'll do as you say..."

"Where did this brat come from, daring to interfere with the actions of my Juyi Hall!" Almost as Gou Erchui stood up, a middle-aged man in his forties shouted.

At this moment, Lin Yan's expression changed, but Gou Erchui had already spoken up: "It's one thing that your scout failed to gather timely information, but now you're making a scene!"

The man who was angrily shouted at by Gou Erchui was Zhang Shi'an, the leader of the scouts in the canyon.

Zhang Shi'an, in his forties, had a fair complexion, showing no signs of hardship. A few shallow lines at the corners of his long, narrow eyes hinted at a calculating and shrewd nature.

Under Gou Erchui's angry shout, Zhang Shi'an did not refute and directly admitted defeat.

"Is the reaction that strong?"

Xiao Jin had intended to test the waters, but he hadn't expected Gou Erchui to react so strongly. He was about to give up when he saw Zhang Shi'an looking at him with malicious eyes.

That energy is rising again...

"With your cowardly appearance, you dare to scout? I think you'd be more likely to be trampled by horses!" He glared at Zhang Shi'an provocatively.

"you......"

"What do you mean 'you'? Believe me or not, I'll smash your dog head in with one punch!"

"Jin'er! / Zhang Shi'an!"

Lin Yan and Xiao Muyu spoke at the same time.

"Holy crap! What's wrong with me?"

His intention was merely to test the waters, not to escalate the situation, but inexplicably he lost control of his emotions and confronted Zhang Shi'an, as if some force compelled him to do so.

That's really strange!

Puzzled, and ignoring the others' gazes as they looked at Zhang Shi'an again, a strange feeling arose that Zhang Shi'an harbored hostility towards them...

Just then.

[System notification: Agility +1...]

"What the hell is this?!"

Xiao Jin was not allowed to look at the system.

"Jin'er?"

Xiao Jin only came to his senses after being called by Xiao Muyu.

While Xiao Jin was distracted, Gou Erchui, who had been harboring resentment towards him, actually cast an admiring glance at him, as if Xiao Jin's confrontation with Zhang Shi'an was more satisfying than it was for Gou Erchui himself.

Lin Yan, who had remained silent until now, looked at Xiao Jin at this awkward moment: "Brother Xiao's strength is beyond doubt, but I wonder how Brother Xiao plans to rescue them, and how he will settle the villagers afterward?"

『......』

Lin Yan's questions were all things Xiao Jin had just thought about, but they were suddenly asked out of the blue. Xiao Jin inexplicably felt that Lin Yan must be up to something.

After a moment's thought, Xiao Jin replied solemnly, "I don't know how to save him, nor how to settle him." He pointed to the plaque above Lin Yan's head, his voice filled with righteous indignation, "Just for the sake of that word 'righteousness,' he must be saved no matter what!"

Whatever your intentions, let's put you on the fire first.

Lin Yan raised an eyebrow, his expression one of surprise, clearly not expecting Xiao Jin's response. Yet, the look in his eyes seemed to suggest that he was pleased to see Xiao Jin like this. It was impossible to know what he was thinking.

Almost everyone in the hall followed Xiao Jin's finger and looked at the plaque above Lin Yan's head—Gathering of Righteousness Hall!

Below the plaque, behind Lin Yan, are many wooden inscriptions. Everyone in the canyon knows this.

Opening chapter: Acting on behalf of Heaven

It signifies that the court is incompetent and the world is cruel, thus leading to a righteous uprising to "act on behalf of Heaven."

Next comes the theme of brotherhood, sharing life and death... as well as keeping promises and following the rules...

With this, Lin Yan brought together those desperate outlaws and disillusioned heroes into a group with common goals, rules, and interests—the Hall of Righteousness in the Canyon!

Based solely on the concept of righteousness?

Regardless of what others might think, Gou Erchui, standing with his eyes fixed on the plaque, trembled slightly. His eyes flashed with a sharp light, burning brightly, and his chest heaved violently, as if a surge of emotion was rising within him.

"Jin'er." After meeting Xiao Jin's gaze, Xiao Muyu's eyes were firm. "Are you determined to do this?"

Since their thorough conversation last night, Xiao Muyu, who hadn't slept a wink, had thought a lot and finally accepted her son, who seemed like a completely different person. She also underwent a significant change in her attitude towards Xiao Jin.

"They insist on doing so!"

Xiao Jin knew what his mother meant, but the system didn't allow him to have any other thoughts, so he had no choice but to respond in this way.

After Xiao Jin firmly recovered, Xiao Muyu turned to look at Ye Bufan standing beside her and nodded at him meaningfully.

The latter immediately understood and left with a fist and palm salute.

At this moment, Lin Yan noticed Ye Bufan. Before he could speak, Xiao Muyu calmly said, "This person is the commander of my Xiao family's secret guards. I'm sure Valley Master Lin has already made up his mind."

Lin Yan knew all too well what the Xiao family's secret guards were, and that was one of the reasons he invited Xiao Muyu into the valley.

Lin Yan closed his paper fan and lightly tapped it on the table before turning to Gou Erchui, who had been watching him intently: "Second Brother, Wang Hu, Chen Ping, listen to my command!"

Upon seeing this, Gou Erchui immediately clasped his hands in a fist salute, his excitement evident.

Wang Hu and Chen Ping stood up abruptly.

"The three of you will each lead one hundred elite troops, divided into three groups, to lure out the Iron Slaughter Guards, not to kill them!"

"Once the eagles cry out, evacuate immediately!"

"Gou Yaowu accepts the order!"

"Wang Hu obeys!"

"Chen Ping obeys!"

Wang Hu and Chen Ping left immediately upon receiving the order, while Gou Erchui, who was the most impatient, was the last to leave.

It turned out this fellow was acting on behalf of Xiao Jin. At this moment, he clasped his hands in a respectful but sincere manner towards Xiao Jin, saying, "Brother Xiao, I'll take my leave first!"

After saying that, the fellow turned and left in a hurry.

Xiao Jin hadn't reacted yet...

[System notification: Forced task completed, Agility +5...]