Meanwhile, outside the Hu family's mine, Jiang Chen fought the Pig-Mask.
In the heat of battle, the Pig-Mask crushed a bone whistle and swallowed it whole.
Far away, in a side hall of the underground palace.
"Pig-Mask! Pig-Mask?"
The woman wearing the Rabbit-Mask called out several times, but received no response.
"This is bad."
She rushed out in a panic.
It wasn't that she lacked urgency. It was simply that all arts and spells were forbidden in this underground palace — and even running at full speed was already pushing her limits.
When she reached another side hall, Zhang Yuan — wearing his white bone mask — was playing chess with someone.
Across from him sat Lu Yan, the former Second Elder of the White Bone Dao and now its only remaining Elder, born with the Nether Eye.
The White Bone Dao had accumulated power for centuries, its strength swelling for a time, but now its ranks had withered.
The vast underground palace stood empty and desolate.
Once, its followers numbered in the hundreds of thousands, intent on establishing a terrestrial kingdom of the White Bone.
Now, only a handful of key figures remained.
On the chessboard, the pieces were not black and white — but one black and one red.
On the board, Lu Yan's black pieces held a slight advantage.
Though all arts were forbidden, such a short distance would not have left the Rabbit-Mask breathless. The urgency in her voice was entirely because of the Pig-Mask. But how much of that was genuine — that was impossible to say.
"Elder. Lord Messenger."
She bowed to each in turn, then reported: "The Pig-Mask released his full state in the State of Yang and has lost contact!"
Though he held the advantage on the board, Lu Yan showed no sign of relaxing. He picked up a piece and sank into deep contemplation, seemingly oblivious to the Rabbit-Mask's words.
It was Zhang Yuan who turned his head, looking at the Rabbit-Mask through his mask. "How did his task go?"
The Rabbit-Mask paused for a moment. "The branding is complete. The seed has been planted. This loss of contact happened because he decided to kill someone from the State of Zhuang along the way."
Zhang Yuan turned back to the board and said flatly, "As long as the task is done, that's all that matters. Everything else — let him do as he pleases."
By then, Lu Yan had already placed his piece.
Zhang Yuan responded with a red piece, then suddenly asked: "Who from the State of Zhuang?"
"I don't know. He didn't specify clearly. He only said there was a little bug from the State of Zhuang, and he wanted to fill his stomach along the way." The Rabbit-Mask glanced cautiously at Zhang Yuan. "That little bug seems to be from Maple City. That's why the Pig-Mask couldn't contain himself."
The failure at Maple City had nearly destroyed centuries of the White Bone Dao's efforts.
"Maple City..." Zhang Yuan smiled with vague meaning. "It reminds me of Ye Ling. I heard he ignited the True Solar Fire in Unredeemable City, achieved the Inner Palace realm, killed four of my Masks in succession, and held off the martial artist Kui Shan. I wonder how bright the Extinguishing Spear shines now!"
At his musings, the Rabbit-Mask spoke neither word nor moved from her place.
Zhang Yuan didn't look at her, merely asking: "Anything else?"
"The Pig-Mask went wrong while practicing the Twelve Bone Masks' secret arts. Releasing his full state causes him to lose his mind. A small place like Jiacheng — I can't imagine who could push him that far. I worry he's... in danger."
Zhang Yuan placed a piece casually. "Do you know why, when the Elder and I play chess, the pieces are black and red?"
He said: "Before the Age of the White Bone arrived, we — some of us were condemned to never see the light of day, others could never wash away the stain of blood."
"I... understand." The Rabbit-Mask said no more, bowed, and withdrew.
In the vast side hall, only Zhang Yuan and Lu Yan remained, facing each other across the board.
The black and red pieces waged their endless war.
Time passed — impossible to tell how long. The lamp pillars in the hall gave no indication of time's passage.
Lu Yan suddenly spoke: "The Pig-Mask is dead."
His tone was flat.
He possessed the Nether Eye, which saw through the boundaries of Yin and Yang. That he could sense the death of a fellow White Bone Dao member from thousands of miles away was no surprise.
Zhang Yuan showed not the slightest ripple of emotion. "Someone needs to keep watch over Jiacheng. I'll send the Snake-Mask."
"I'm curious — which survivor from Maple City has combat power above the Ascending Dragon realm, enough to kill the Pig-Mask? You spent so long in Maple City. Can't you think of who it might be?"
"The Pig-Mask's paper strength was formidable. But because his spirit was dominated by rage, his true combat power could never be fully unleashed. He ranked among the top of the Twelve Bone Masks in raw strength, yet was easier to kill than any of them." Zhang Yuan shook his head. "Dead is dead. Not worth dwelling on."
If he knew the person was Jiang Chen — if he knew Jiang Chen had engaged in a straightforward assault, meeting strength with strength — he likely wouldn't have said that.
Lu Yan changed the subject: "Since Maple City, the Snake-Mask has grown close to the Holy Maiden. If you send her to where the Pig-Mask died, and she dies too, you'd best be careful of the Holy Maiden's thoughts."
"A Holy Maiden who is strangers with the Holy Sovereign — is she still a Holy Maiden?" Zhang Yuan said. "I only need to be careful of the Holy Sovereign's thoughts."
Lu Yan glanced at Zhang Yuan with those eyes that showed nothing but white. "And the Holy Sovereign... seems to have no thoughts at all."
"Then I have nothing to worry about."
Zhang Yuan picked up a piece. "Speaking of the Holy Sovereign — any changes?"
Lu Yan shook his head. "Still sitting there."
"Ha." Zhang Yuan laughed. "In this underground palace, the Holy Sovereign, the Elder, and the Messenger are all here at this moment. I'd like to see who from the State of Zhuang could find their way here."
He pressed the red piece down. "Slaying the Great Dragon!"
---
The Hu family courtyard burned in raging flames.
Its vast fortune was claimed by the Chongxuan clan. Two corpses were reduced to ash alongside the flames.
Hu Shaomeng's death would naturally have significant repercussions. But he had schemed against the Chongxuan family, and his many atrocities were backed by irrefutable evidence.
Jiang Chen had no need to show his face. If the State of Yang or the Sea-Fishing Pavilion had questions, the Chongxuan clan would handle the negotiations.
In truth, if the Xi family of Jiacheng turned a blind eye, the upper echelons of the State of Yang were more than happy to do the same.
Jiang Chen severed Hu Shaomeng's head and brought it back to the mine.
Zhu Biqiong was waiting outside the mine gate.
Neither spoke. Jiang Chen handed her the head directly, along with it the small embroidered pouch bearing the character "Su."
Zhu Biqiong glanced at Hu Shaomeng's head once, then tossed it aside.
The head rolled several times across the ground before stopping — its face turned toward the gate.
She clutched the small pouch, tracing its surface gently.
"My sister embroidered this," she murmured. "I have one too."
"Found it on Hu Shaomeng. There were only Dao Origin Stones inside — I took them."
Zhu Biqiong made a soft sound of acknowledgment.
That Hu Shaomeng had kept a relic of Zhu Suyao — what she felt about that was difficult to decipher.
At that moment, three dogs kept at the mine suddenly darted out.
Two black and one yellow, the yellow one in the lead.
Perhaps catching the scent of blood, they circled Hu Shaomeng's head, sniffing low.
Jiang Chen moved, stepping between them and the head, driving them back with his sword sheath.
The yellow dog bolted in a flash, but the two black dogs were not afraid. Instead, they stared at him, growling low in warning.
"The old folks in Phoenix Creek Town used to say that dogs who eat human flesh go mad. So no matter how much you hate someone, never let dogs eat them," Jiang Chen explained.
"Phoenix Creek Town?" Zhu Suyao muttered, then said, "I'm afraid it's too late. They've already eaten some."
She looked at Jiang Chen. "The fingers you cut off. And that fat man's remains..."
Just then, Xiao Xiao emerged.
Jiang Chen frowned at her. "I told you to handle the aftermath. You didn't even dispose of the bodies?"
"Don't blame her. I told her not to bury them. I don't think they deserve to be laid to rest — letting the dogs eat them is exactly right." Zhu Suyao cut in quickly.
Xiao Xiao lowered her head, tongue-tied.
A flash of cold light — and the two black dogs that were still growling lay dead on the ground.
Jiang Chen killed the two black dogs, then called out to Xiang Qian, who was further inside the mine: "Kill that yellow one too."
The yellow dog had already run into the mine and was romping around the people.
Without a word, Xiang Qian slapped it dead.
Before today, he might have hesitated at Jiang Chen's orders. But after everything — especially after Jiang Chen had given his word and immediately returned with the severed head — if Jiang Chen told him to go east, he would not go west.
Old Hu Root, watching from afar, couldn't help but wail: "Raised it so long — it was a guard dog, Master!"
Jiang Chen paid no attention.
It was Zhu Biqiong who spoke: "You believe in these things."
"Those that eat human flesh deserve to die."
Jiang Chen said: "Whether they're human or dog."