Chapter 125: Emerging from the Cave

Lin Hongbin decided to turn back and call for reinforcements after seeing Zhang Pu. Just as he was about to disappear into the Bottomless Cave, Zheng Lan and the others arrived.

At the moment he was vanishing, Lin Hongbin caught sight of Zheng Lan, and his heart surged with a wild delight. Was this not a case of searching everywhere in vain, only to find what he wanted without the slightest effort?

He had always wanted to abduct Zheng Lan, but he had never found the opportunity.

Today, seeing the huge crowd outside, it seemed he still had no chance.

But then he suddenly remembered that this was his senior fellow disciple Lin Zhifa’s territory.

With a senior brother as formidable as Lin Zhifa, there was every possibility that he could wipe out the entire group that had come to the Goldenwood Forest that night.

With that thought in mind, Lin Hongbin slipped into the Bottomless Cave.

When he reached Lin Zhifa’s quarters, Lin Zhifa was still seated in his animal-hide grand chair. It was almost as though he had taken a nap there after Lin Hongbin left, trusting that his junior brother could deal with the trouble outside and waiting here in peace for good news.

Seeing how relaxed Lin Zhifa looked, Lin Hongbin sneered inwardly.

Senior Brother, you are in for quite a battle this time! It will also save you from that smug speech yesterday about defeating me as easily as blowing away dust. Even that student who possesses endless spells like you does not speak with such vicious arrogance!

“Hongbin, how did it go?”

From Lin Hongbin’s somewhat bedraggled appearance, Lin Zhifa had already guessed the general situation at a glance, but he asked anyway.

That only made Lin Hongbin feel even more mocked. His senior brother had always been this cutting, and Lin Hongbin had long since grown accustomed to it. Even so, he was still irritated.

Lin Hongbin rolled his eyes, as though trying to steady his emotions, then said, “The people who came are tough. You have been lonely at the summit for too long. What do you think? Aren’t you excited to hear the news?”

By the end of his words, his eyes and brows had taken on an almost mocking smile.

Lin Zhifa seemed somewhat surprised at first. He genuinely wondered whether Lin Hongbin was joking. After all, without even putting up a fight, he had already returned.

Lin Hongbin could naturally see that Lin Zhifa did not believe him.

He shrugged indifferently. “Believe it or not. Before long, they will have uprooted the entire Goldenwood Forest…”

In truth, Lin Zhifa had already employed his own supernatural abilities, much like those of Zhang Pu, and could sense the uproar above the Bottomless Cave.

“How many people are there?” he finally asked, seemingly without much thought.

“Several dozen, at least. Perhaps nearly a hundred,” Lin Hongbin replied with studied casualness.

He sounded almost as though he had handed the entire matter over to his senior brother and had nothing more to do with it.

“Let’s go,” said Lin Zhifa.

No matter how deeply he could enter a state of meditative stillness, he could not tolerate others causing trouble on the territory he currently occupied.

Go!

Lin Hongbin made up his mind. Once chaos broke out and his senior brother fought Zhang Pu and the others until heaven and earth were overturned, he would take advantage of the confusion to abduct Zheng Lan.

Lin Zhifa walked with perfect composure, like a grandmaster of some ancient school.

Given his current strength, he was indeed worthy of such a title.

Lin Zhifa had chosen to live in seclusion within the Bottomless Cave. Otherwise, if he went outside and challenged martial arts grandmasters, he was confident he could defeat many of them.

After following Lin Zhifa out of the Bottomless Cave, Lin Hongbin made a final decision. He would stay at the rear, conceal himself behind something, and not reveal his presence for the time being. Zhang Pu and Zheng Lan both knew him, and he understood that if he truly wished to fish in troubled waters, the best course was to avoid exposing himself.

When Lin Zhifa emerged, it was not merely because Lin Hongbin had told him that the intruders were formidable. Earlier, some of his subordinates from the Bottomless Cave had already gone out and employed the usual methods of driving away villagers and tourists, but none of them had worked. So this time, he had come in person. He would dispense with those tricks and rely on his own strength to subdue these outsiders.

Lin Zhifa was also somewhat puzzled as he left the cave. He did not know what day it was or why so many people had suddenly arrived. They clearly meant no good, and they had even come at night.

It had been an extremely long time since anything like this had happened. No—it had never happened before. In the past, one or two people had occasionally come at night, but never had there been such an imposing group, one grand enough to leave even his junior brother Lin Hongbin at a loss.

Lin Zhifa finally concluded that these people had come specifically for the Goldenwood. They were not merely tourists seeking an unusual sight. They might even intend, as his junior brother had suggested, to uproot the entire Goldenwood Forest he had worked so hard to claim and take it for themselves.

If that was truly their intention, he absolutely could not tolerate it.

In the past, when people came sightseeing, he had done his best not to take their lives, even when they trespassed at night and violated what he considered a taboo. This was because of an agreement he had reached with a certain powerful figure. At most, he would send some of his subordinates to play at ghosts and spirits until the visitors were frightened away.

During the day, he kept the forest as open as possible, and the nearby villagers would explain the situation to tourists.

But at night, the Goldenwood Forest was often where he practiced his arts.

He had intended to come out and cultivate at midnight that night. He had never expected the place to become so lively before midnight had even arrived.

When Lin Zhifa emerged from the Bottomless Cave, Zhang Pu’s group and Zheng Lan’s group were each examining the Goldenwood trees from opposite sides of the forest.

In truth, Zhang Pu was the only one among them who understood the true value of the Goldenwood. Zheng Lan did not understand it either. She had merely heard about it from her family, and even they had yet to reach a definite conclusion. The samples still had to be taken back and tested by specialists.

As for the old man in blue, Liu Yingde, and the others, none of them understood the matter at all.

Zheng Lan’s female attendant, Xiao Huan, and Luo Binghui, the leading young heir of the Goldenwood region, had also arrived by then.

The moment Luo Binghui arrived, one of his subordinates told him that another group had come to the Goldenwood Forest that night, including a master whom Zheng Lan deeply respected.

He immediately became interested and even wanted to make the master’s acquaintance. As the son of one of the leading figures in the Goldenwood region, he believed he had enough standing in his own territory to show such courtesy without it being considered deliberate flattery.

Although Zheng Lan had arrived in his territory with an attitude as proud as the heavens, she had ultimately still allowed him to accompany her to the Goldenwood Forest.

To be honest, Luo Binghui was more astonished than anything else. He knew there were very few people capable of winning Zheng Lan’s regard. Even her father—despite relying on the immense wealth and influence of the Zheng family overseas—could not be certain that Zheng Lan would give him any face.

Because the trees obstructed his view, Luo Binghui had heard about the master but had not yet managed to see him.