"Mm... so that's how it is. Then I'm rather relieved. It seems I won't have to fight so desperately—at least even if we're no match, we won't die." Lan Ling let out a breath. There was one more thing she didn't say, though: even if the Right Elder captured her, she would be with Yan, and as long as she was with Yan, she would be happy.

"Mm, it's best that you can think that way." Yang Shuoxuan breathed a little easier too. He had feared Lan Ling would fight the Right Elder to the death, and if he had to watch a tragedy unfold before his eyes, Yang Ce wouldn't even know what to do.

"I've already sneaked in near the Strange Miao Stockade's prison cells. There are very few guards here, and I'm hidden behind the cells already," Lan Ling said.

The Strange Miao Stockade's prison cells all stood at the edge of the stockade, built of solid reinforced concrete, so there was no worry at all that anyone could escape; it was normal that there were no guards here, and that only made it easier for Lan Ling to slip in and hide without the slightest hindrance.

"The Right Elder is on his way over. In a moment I'll make my move to ambush him. If the ambush succeeds, come over quickly and be ready to help at any time—and my people will keep attacking him while I strike! If it fails, though, don't come out for the time being. Wait for your chance. We'll only get one shot at a sneak attack; once the Right Elder is on his guard, he won't be so easy to take!" In a few sentences Yang Ce had settled the division of labor.

"Exactly. The evil gu the Right Elder is cultivating now is an incomplete version of the Vajra Gu—it hasn't reached the stage where he's impervious to blade and spear at all times. But as long as he's on his guard and summons the evil gu, he'll be in an invincible state, impervious to any weapon, for that period of time. Nothing but the Great Strength Divine Gu can break it!" Lan Ling said gravely as well.

"I know. I'll seize that chance." As for what Lan Ling had said about the Right Elder, Yang Shuoxuan had heard something of it before; Lan Ling bringing it up now was presumably a reminder to him not to act rashly.

If it came to a prolonged fight with the Right Elder, Yang Ce could not afford it—especially with the evil gu on the Right Elder's person. How could he fight then? So the only way was a quick, decisive battle; there was no other method.

At that moment, the Right Elder, the Ku Stockade Chief, and Wan Ge had already reached the door of the cell. Yang Ce hastily lowered his voice: "No more talk—get ready!"

"All right!" Lan Ling hung up.

On Yang Cen's side, meanwhile, he bit his finger without the slightest hesitation and fed his blood into the mouth of every team member. Just then, from outside the cell door came the sound of the door being opened!

"Click—creak..." The lock on the cell's main door was opened.

The Right Elder was about to push the door open and step inside, but one of the subordinates he had brought stepped forward first: "Right Elder, let me go in and take a look first. This Yang Ce is a cunning one—if he's planning a sneak attack, that would be bad. You may not necessarily fear him, Right Elder, but still, let me do it in your stead!"

"Very well." The Right Elder nodded, thinking to himself that that brat Yang Cen was indeed hard to predict—what if he launched a sneak attack on him?

The Ku Stockade Chief at his side was startled as well. He thought to himself: will Yang Yongjin play the fake faint again? Yang Ce had pulled that trick once before, pretending to faint and fooling him, and it still left him uneasy. Now he wondered: would Yang Ce try it again?

Was Yang Yongjin after the Right Elder? Thinking back to how Yang Ce had interrogated him about the Right Elder's whereabouts, the Ku Stockade Chief felt his guess had some basis. All Yang Ce had to do was pretend to faint, then come with him to the Strange Miao Stockade, and wait here for the Right Elder to come looking for him—wouldn't that let him see the Right Elder?

The more he thought about it, the more likely it seemed to the Ku Stockade Chief. If not for that, why would Yang Ce have unsealed all his acupoints? How could such a coincidence happen? With Yang Cen's cunning, how could he have made such a careless mistake?

Cold sweat broke out on the Ku Stockade Chief's forehead. But then he reconsidered: on what grounds could Yang Ce be so certain the Right Elder would come looking for him? And how could he be so certain that he, the Ku Stockade Chief, wouldn't just kill Yang Ce and the others outright?

How could he know that Yang Puqi had been listening in on his call with the Right Elder the whole time? If the Right Elder hadn't come, and the Ku Stockade Chief had meant to kill Yang Ce, then Yang Ce would have opened the cell lock first and led his people charging out—and finished off the Ku Stockade Chief before anything else!

Solid as this lock was, it was no difficulty for Heng to open; it was no problem at all.

The Ku Stockade Chief wanted to remind the Right Elder of something, but seeing the Right Elder's subordinate volunteer so eagerly, he shut his mouth again. What was the point of saying anything? He had already captured Yang Ce and brought him here, and here he had formally handed him over to the Right Elder. If anything went wrong after this, it wasn't his fault—it was the Right Elder's own problem. What did it have to do with him?

The Right Elder's subordinate opened the cell's main door. Inside, no one leapt out to ambush them as they had imagined—only silence!

Yang Ce had long since seen that the one opening the door was the Right Elder's subordinate, not the Right Elder himself, so he had no thought of rising to attack at all. Like all his team members, he sat on the ground, lifting his head listlessly to look toward the cell door.

"Oh? So it really is Yang Ce!" Seeing Yang Ce sitting on the ground inside the cell, the Right Elder finally nodded in confirmation—this man really was Yang Ce!

"Right Elder?" Yang Ce glanced at him and asked listlessly.

"Haha, Yang Ce, we meet at last. But I never expected it would be under circumstances like these!" The Right Elder laughed aloud and walked into the cell. Seeing Yang Ce reduced to a prisoner, he felt an indescribable sense of satisfaction.

"Haah..." Yang Ce yawned and said weakly, "Yeah, we meet again. What do you want?"

"Come back with me. I won't kill you. It just so happens I need some people to test gu poison on—you few will do nicely!" the Right Elder said mildly. "Bind them and take them back!"

"Yes!" The subordinate nodded.

"I'll help!" The Ku Stockade Chief and Wan Ge said in unison.

The Right Elder turned to leave the cell—but at that very instant, the previously listless Yang Ce suddenly moved!

Yang Puqi sprang to his feet, shedding all his earlier lethargy in an instant, like a fierce tiger about to seize its prey, and lunged ferociously at the Right Elder's back! And in that brief instant, a blade had appeared in Yang Juehuan's hand as well—left hand a fist, right hand gripping a dagger. Yang Ce had prepared two options, afraid that a single blow might not kill the Right Elder, intending to strike from several angles and put him to death!

"Right Elder, look out!" the Ku Stockade Chief and the Right Elder's subordinate cried out in alarm at the same time—but their warning came too late, far too slow to match Yang Juehuan's speed!!