Immortal Path to Heaven
chapter-99

Chapter 99 Three Generals Gather

Outside the dense forest, Fang Yihai and Chen Yifan looked gloomy. They had been waiting here for seven days.

After they gave the order that Ou Yangming must be brought back, dead or alive, the South Camp and the West Camp began their most intense military operation. Firstly, the scene was investigated, and a reliable conclusion was drawn by the professionals, who had carried out a detailed examination.

However, the conclusion made the generals angrier and more worried.

All of a sudden, the sound of a galloping horse was heard. When the generals turned to look, they noticed a big flag with the word “Deng” on it.

They knew right away that Commanding General Deng Zhicai from the Middle Camp had arrived.

Although the three of them were commanding generals in the military camp, the Middle Camp’s commanding general was generally acknowledged as the first commander.

Especially during military events, Fang Yihai and Chen Yifan dared not disrespect Deng Zhicai. Fang Yihai greeted the general, “General Deng, why have you come?”

Deng Zhicai waved his hand and sighed. “The two of you have been waiting here for seven days, and I heard that you’ll personally enter the forest. Ah, other than you both, everyone from the East Camp[1] is also searching for Ou Yangming. Tell me, can I still sit by idly?”.

Chen Yifan furrowed his eyebrows and commented, “The East Camp[2]? Why are they joining the action? Hmph, I still have a feeling that Tian Boguang is related to the attack this time!”

Deng Zhicai frowned and responded, “General Chen, General Tian would never do something so ruthless as killing a brother in the military.”

Fang Yihai remarked after some hesitation, “Brother Chen, General Deng is right. Though there’s conflict between you and Old Tian, I don’t believe that he’d order someone to kill a brother in the military.”

“I was just saying it out of anger, please don’t laugh at me.” Chen Yifan smiled embarrassedly.

The three generals were confused about the East Camp’s[3] initiative because they did not know that Ni Yunhong and his younger sister were furious about the matter. In order to soothe the siblings, Tian Boguang had put in his utmost effort as he dared not be negligent.

Deng Zhicai later glanced around and said, “What’s the outcome? Tell me about it.”

“Okay, a conclusion was drawn according to the investigation of the scene,” Fang Yihai replied to him with a nod, and had a grave expression on his face. “The person who attacked the soldiers is a powerful Yang Grade master, which is why he’s able to kill them all in a short span of time, and none of them managed to escape.”

“A Yang Grade powerhouse…” Deng Zhicai looked serious as he mumbled, “There are only a few Yang Grade powerhouses in our camp, have you looked into them?”

Fang Yihai nodded and answered, “I’ve looked into the Yang Grade powerhouses whom we’re familiar with, but we’ve ruled them out as suspects.”

“Oh? Could it be a passerby who’s a Yang Grade powerhouse?” Deng Zhicai asked. If that was the case, perhaps the incident would be unresolved. After all, there were numerous powerhouses in the world, and nobody knew which Yang Grade powerhouse suddenly had the idea to pass by this area.

If Ou Yangming and the others encountered the Yang Grade powerhouse by accident and enraged him, which was why the person attacked, the generals would not be able to find anything no matter how detailed they looked into the matter.

Nonetheless, Fang Yihai shook his head and said, “It wasn’t a chance encounter, the attacker intentionally ambushed them.”

Deng Zhicai raised his eyebrows. “Keep going.”

“We found out that the Yang Grade powerhouse didn’t cover his tracks, and he obstructed the soldiers on the main path. After Lin Chao and the rest noticed him, he attacked with force and killed them. Then… He either pursued or brought Master Ou into the dense forest.”

If Ou Yangming heard him at the moment, he would probably jump due to shock.

They actually deduced the basics by inspecting the scene. Their rich experience and accurate judgments were truly commendable.

Deng Zhicai pondered, then asked, “In your opinion, was the master captured or pursued?”

“Pursued,” Fang Yihai answered with a deep voice, “An ordinary Force Grade martial artist wouldn’t be able to escape from a Yang Grade martial artist, but I believe Master Ou is able to create miracles.”

His response was completely unreasonable. What did believing in miracles mean? If a miracle could happen so easily, could it still be considered a miracle?

That said, after hearing Fang Yihai’s reply, Deng Zhicai and Chen Yifan nodded subconsciously. They actually agreed with the unreliable statement.

Ou Yangming was indeed a genius who was good at creating miracles. Hence, it would not be surprising if he managed to use some tricks against a Yang Grade powerhouse.

If Ou Yangming knew how much the three generals trusted him, he would definitely curse the undependable fellows.

“General Deng, we also found a small situation from the inspection.” Chen Yifan suddenly cleared his throat. He and Fang Yihai looked at each other, and his voice eventually sounded deeper.

Deng Zhicai was stunned, and he asked, “What situation?”

Chen Yifan answered slowly, “It seems like a soldier from the Middle Camp traveled with Master Ou too.”

“What?” Deng Zhicai was surprised. “Aren’t the South Camp soldiers the ones who escorted the master?”

Dang Yihai shook his head bitterly. “I did order them to take good care of Master Ou, but they can’t disallow another brother in the military from joining halfway.”

Deng Zhicai reacted to the situation very quickly. “Are you suspecting that a soldier from the Middle Camp colluded with an outsider?”

“We never thought so. The soldier is a staunch and upright person, so it’s impossible that he colluded with an enemy from the outside.” Chen Yifan shook his head, then continued after a pause. “According to our deduction, the soldier is probably a powerhouse in archery. After many failed attempts to stop the enemy, he actually held an explosive arrow and charged at the enemy. How can a righteous soldier like him be a traitor?”

Deng Zhicai’s face changed, and he suddenly asked, “Are you talking about Jiang Chengwei?”

“Yes, it’s Squad Leader Jiang,” Chen Yifan said seriously.

Deng Zhicai’s face took on a ghastly expression. He knew that Ou Yangming was attacked, but the two generals had already come to take charge of the situation. Thus, Deng Zhicai had to consider the generals’ reputation although he wanted to follow the matter closely, or he would give an impression of having little trust in his partners. As such, Deng Zhicai even ordered his men not to inquire about the situation.

Only when the two camps, no, the three camps’ efforts were to no avail after seven days, did Deng Zhicai get involved in the matter openly.

He did not expect to receive bad news.

According to Deng Zhicai’s status, he would not attach importance to an ordinary squad leader. However, Jiang Chengwei was not only the squad leader of the Guards under his command, but was also the only squad leader who was an archer. Additionally, Jiang Chengwei had rendered praiseworthy services during the half-spirit beast’s slaughter in the dense forest, so Deng Zhicai remembered him very well.

The fact that someone Deng Zhicai thought highly of had died an unexplainable death made him hate the attacker even more.

Deng Zhicai asked coldly after some thought, “You’ve investigated this matter for some time, did you manage to find out the Yang Grade master’s identity?”

The other two generals looked at each other in embarrassment.

“General, this happened because of me, so I’ve asked someone from my clan to come.” Fang Yihai could barely give a response. He added after pausing for a while, “Elder Xiaoxiao Sheng from my clan has come, and has entered the dense forest to track them. I believe that there’ll be a result soon.”

Deng Zhicai was moved. “Xiaoxiao Sheng? Could it be the Xiaoxiao Sheng who hunted and killed the Thirteen Thieves in the immense forest on his own?”

Fang Yihai responded proudly, “Who else is worthy of the name if not my clan’s elder?”

“If he’s assisting on this matter, I’m at ease,” Deng Zhicai remarked.

Xiaoxiao Sheng from the Fang family had been famous for a long time. Nobody knew his real name as they only knew he was known as Xiaoxiao Sheng

The elder had an odd character, but was a top-notch Yang Grade powerhouse, and was said to have the ability to advance to Extreme Grade soon. The proudest battle in his life was when he pursued and killed the well-known Thirteen Thieves in the immense forest on his own; he killed every single one of them.

It was worth noting that there were five Yang Grade powerhouses among the Thirteen Thieves.

Therefore, Xiaoxiao Sheng was considered to be the Fang family’s pillar, and would not easily make a move.

Since Xiaoxiao Sheng had come, it was obvious how sincere the Fang family was in wanting to help.

Chen Yifan cleared his throat and said, “General Deng, Xiaoxiao Sheng was actually the one who found Squad Leader Jiang Chengwei’s head, and was the one who drew a conclusion from the inspection.”

“Okay, if it’s possible, please ask him to find out who that damn Yang Grade master is.” Deng Zhicai nodded slowly, then said with a dark face, “No matter who he is, he must explain himself after killing warriors from our military camp!”

“Yes, a tooth for a tooth, and blood must be paid for with blood,” Fang Yihai uttered without hesitation.

Unquestionably, Fang Yihai was the one among the three generals who hated the murderer the most.

The South Camp’s Guards had lost the most men, Ou Yangming’s status was still unknown, and his smithing plan was left stranded. Hence, he had immense hatred for the killer, but had no way to vent it.

Just as the three generals tried to guess the murderer’s identity, a cheer was suddenly heard coming from afar.

Following that, a horse galloped swiftly in their direction, and the rider shouted even before he stopped, “Generals, we found him!”

The generals trembled for a moment. They knew he obviously meant that Ou Yangming was found.

Fang Yihai yelled, “Where is he? Is he alive or dead?”

The matter of life or death was the most important question at the moment. “General, he’s still alive, and he killed…” The rider quickly replied to him.

Deng Zhicai and the other generals looked at each other and thought, ‘What does that mean?’

When the rider caught his breath and finally calmed down, he said, “General, Master Ou is out, and he came out with the murderer’s head!”

“What?”

Deng Zhicai and the two generals were puzzled. ‘Isn’t that murderer a Yang Grade master? Did we deduce everything wrongly?’

Yes.

[1] Author initially wrote the West Camp here, but it’s clear from the next paragraph that it should be the East Camp because that’s the camp under Tian Boguang’s command. We’ve corrected it for the context

[2] Same mistake as above

[3] Again, author confusion L()/