The Great Bandit of Journey to the West

Chapter 55 The True Lord of the Mystic Altar is Not at Home

In the Ministry of Justice prison, Dugu Tuo drank his wine with a calm expression, as if he was just visiting and could leave at any time, showing no concern whatsoever.

At this moment, Shan Jun arrived at the prison gate with the clothes in his hand, ripped the gate open, and said, "Master, quickly put on these clothes and leave Jingzhao immediately!"

Dugu Tuo slowly took the clothes, scolding him as he did so: "When will you ever be able to behave yourself? What did my elder sister say? When am I supposed to go to the palace to defend myself?"

Shan Jun said anxiously, "No need. His Majesty knows you weren't involved in the Cat Ghost case. The Empress Dowager is ordering you to run away immediately. Jiang Feng wants to kill you!"

Dugu Tuo laughed arrogantly: "Haha, what a joke! My sister actually told me to avoid his sharp edge? It's clearly him who should be running for his life!"

"Pass on my order: mobilize all the wolves, snakes, foxes, and leopards to surround and kill Jiang Feng!"

The mountain king gave him a complicated look, conveyed the order, and then found a place to hide.

Since Dugu Tuo didn't order him to ambush Jiang Feng, he wouldn't get involved. After all, he only had five pills a month; why risk his life...?

Not long after, Dugu Tuo, who had just been released from prison, returned to his residence.

The four people, three men and one woman, were already waiting in the hall. When they saw Dugu Tuo return, they all stepped forward to pay their respects.

The woman said with a seductive smile, "Master, the entire capital is in a state of panic right now. It's clear that this mission is extremely dangerous. I need to get the money first before I can feel at ease."

Seeing that this was a time when manpower was needed, Dugu Tuo forcibly suppressed his displeasure and said, "Ah Hu, you really don't act until you see the benefit. Fine, then I'll give you this reward in advance."

Having said that, he summoned a cat demon and sent it to the Grand Casino.

A moment later, the cat ghost returned carrying a bundle in its mouth.

Dugu Tuo opened the bundle, looked at the pile of IOUs in front of him, and his smile immediately froze on his face.

"What the hell are you doing? I told you to go get the money, and you brought me back a bunch of IOUs?"

The cat-ghost rolled its eyes and spoke in human language: "These are the only IOUs in Datong Casino that belong to you. The rest belong to Jiang Feng, and I can't take them all."

"How...how could this be?"

Dugu Tuo looked at the steward beside him, filled with doubt.

The manager forced a smile and explained, "To prevent Xu Ani from stealing your property, Shan Jun has decided to temporarily transfer all the assets of Datong Casino to Jiang Feng's name..."

"Mountain Lord—"

Dugu Tuo roared in fury, but when he found that Shan Jun was not in the hall, he angrily threw his bundle on the ground.

"How dare he transfer my money to Jiang Feng! I'll kill that bastard Shan Jun and make wine from his bones!"

Ah Hu, who was standing nearby, overheard the gist of the conversation and knew that Dugu Tuo was now a penniless man burdened with debt. She narrowed her eyes and said, "Since Mr. Dugu is short of money, Ah Hu will take her leave now."

As he spoke, he stopped calling him "master" and ran out of Dugu Tuo's mansion in a streak of red light.

Dugu Tuo gritted his teeth in anger, looked at the remaining three, and promised, "Snake Lord, Leopard God, Poison Wolf, after this is accomplished, the pills you use for cultivation will be doubled!"

The three were very satisfied and nodded in agreement. The Snake King spoke first, asking, "Where is Jiang Feng now?"

Dugu Tuo frowned and said, "I don't know either, but since he wants to kill me, he will come to me sooner or later. How about this, I will pretend to leave the city to lure him out, and you will hide in the shadows and wait for the opportunity to assassinate him."

The group exchanged glances and immediately began to execute the plan.

At the same time, Jiang Feng, who was heading towards the city gate, was blocked by a group of people.

A man dressed in fine clothes with gray hair and beard stepped forward and bowed: "Chief Steward Jiang, I am Yang Su. I have come here on behalf of His Highness Prince Jin to persuade you."

The Dugu family is His Highness Prince Jin's maternal family. Steward Jiang, please do not act impulsively and do something that will please your enemies and hurt your own people.

A frivolous young man stepped forward familiarly: "Brother Jiang, the Duke of Yue is right. I, Yuwen Huaji, have come to advise you on behalf of my father."

"You two don't have any deep-seated hatred for each other, like someone stealing your wife or someone killing your father. I've made the decision. I'll have Dugu Tuo host a banquet at Wangjiang Tower to apologize to you, and that'll be the end of it!"

Yang Su glared at him irritably and continued to persuade Jiang Feng: "The power dynamics in the court are complex and intertwined. In addition to strength, one must also consider interpersonal relationships and social skills."

"If we go too far, it won't be good for Steward Jiang's future career."

A kind-faced monk stepped forward: "This humble monk is Jñānagupta, greetings to Master Jiang Feng. We monks are compassionate, and we hope that Master will refrain from committing further acts of killing."

Jiang Feng looked at the group of people in front of him and knew that they had all been invited by Empress Dugu. He smiled and said, "You are right. In the end, we still have to talk about human relationships and social customs in this world."

It's rare to have so many people here today, so I'll put on a show to ease the tension. The show is called "Turn Around and Leave," and I think you'll all enjoy it.

Yuwen Huaji's eyes lit up: "Great! Whether others like it or not, I like it!"

"Then you'd better watch carefully!"

As Jiang Feng spoke, his head snapped off his neck, and the headless corpse turned and walked away.

After taking a few steps, his body suddenly collapsed to the ground, turning into a pile of scattered pieces of wood.

Yuwen Huaji was startled, his mouth agape, frozen in place: "Huh??!?!"

Everyone: "@#￥%￥#@……"

Yang Su was the first to come to his senses. Looking at the pile of wood on the ground, he sighed helplessly and said, "Send someone to report back to the Empress. We have done our best, but we really can't persuade Jiang Feng."

At this moment, Dugu Tuo had already arrived at the west gate.

Throughout the journey, he had not detected the presence of Snake King and his companions at all, which aroused his suspicion.

Are these people's techniques for concealing their presence so good that even he couldn't detect them?

Could something have happened?

A bad feeling rose in his heart, and he quickly ordered the coachman, "Go at full speed, let's get out of Daxing City first!"

The coachman abruptly pulled on the reins, stopping the carriage, and turned to report, "Master, there's a woman blocking the road ahead!"

Dugu Tuo lifted the carriage curtain and immediately saw Cui Ying blocking his way. His heart skipped a beat, and he jumped off the carriage with a grim expression.

"Cui Ying, leave now and I'll let you go. But if you persist in your ways, don't blame me for being ruthless!"

Cui Ying laughed and said, "That won't do. I promised Jiang Feng I would keep you at the city gate until he arrives."

"Then there's nothing more to say. Let me see what skills you've acquired in all these years at the Shangqing Sect!"

Dugu Tuo snorted coldly and threw out a yellow talisman with his right hand.

"The True One Mysterious Altar, the Divine Firmament Zhao Gong, commands thunder and lightning, vanishes without a trace!"

As the incantation rang out, a powerful pressure emanated from the yellow talisman, and in an instant, a gale arose, and dark clouds covered the sky.

Sensing the strange phenomena of heaven and earth, Dugu Tuo said confidently, "You only know that I can command cat demons, but you don't know that I worship the orthodox Taoist master, the Dragon-Tiger Mysterious Altar True Lord!"

"Today I'll show you my true power!"

As he spoke, he rapidly formed hand seals, continuously guiding the lightning.

After a long while, looking at the unchanged sky, the smile on his face slowly disappeared, and he could no longer smile.

Seeing that he had been gesturing wildly but still couldn't generate lightning, Cui Ying relaxed her guard slightly and asked with a strange expression, "Continue, why did you stop? Is it because the True Lord of the Mysterious Altar isn't home today?"

Dugu Tuo: "..."