In an instant, a gale swept through the hall like a crashing wave, and every trace of True Qi within the entire room condensed together in that moment before crushing down toward the Falling God Peak group.
Every table and chair in the hall, and the landscape screen standing nearby, were reduced to powder in an instant, and the entire Hundred Fragrance Pavilion shuddered from the force.
An elderly man at Zheng Zi's side let his eyes grow sharp, and immediately drove a punch forward, a burst of violet fist light pressing out a curved arc of True Qi that blocked every inch of the incoming attack.
But at that very moment, Zheng Zi, whose expression had remained calm throughout, suddenly said in a low voice, "They are trying to escape. Stop them."
At the same time, the hemp-robed elderly man, having sent his palm out, had already seized the little girl beside him and vaulted through the window, disappearing from the Hundred Fragrance Pavilion in a flash.
The elderly man who had thrown the punch saw this and answered at once, then without hesitation immediately gave chase in the direction the hemp-robed elderly man had fled.
But the moment he took his first step, the large men lying on the floor where the hemp-robed elderly man had sent them flying were quietly stirred by a thread of True Qi energy.
In an instant, a dense crackling of collapsing bone rang through the air, and the bodies of the large men suddenly imploded inward like air leaving a deflated bladder, and then erupted with a thunderous blast.
Their shattered bones became razor-edged projectiles, and the blood leaving their bodies vaporized in an instant into a blood mist, which under the drive of powerful True Qi wove itself into a crimson web of lethal force that engulfed the entire space where Zheng Zi and the others stood.
The remaining elderly man barked a warning and moved to intercept this sudden attack.
But because the hemp-robed elderly man's technique had been so concealed and so abrupt, and because the elderly man had been forced to react in haste, he was unable to fully hold back the crimson web's power.
As a result, the shockwaves that leaked through sent both Zheng Zi and Yuwen Feng flying before they could mount any resistance, and they crashed heavily into the wooden wall behind them.
"Cough, cough..."
Very shortly, Zheng Zi came bursting out of the shattered wooden planks, coughing violently. He wiped the blood seeping from the corner of his mouth and then roared with a ferocious expression, "After them!"
Yuwen Feng, injured as well, charged out in fury and said to the elderly man who had been at his side, "That old scoundrel has formidable strength. Elder Shen, you go as well. I want him brought back."
Hearing this, Elder Shen beside Yuwen Feng was clearly somewhat hesitant, saying, "If I leave, the safety of the young masters..."
Zheng Zi waved a hand and looked at the middle-aged man nearby, saying, "He is enough."
He then swept a glance over the scarred man and Li Musheng in the hall, saying, "And could these two possibly pose any threat to us?"
Then he said in a cold voice, "Pass my order. Send a signal immediately to lock down Hundred Refinements City. That old scoundrel must not be allowed to escape."
At those words, the two elderly men exchanged a glance, said no more, answered at once, and both went giving chase in the direction the hemp-robed elderly man had fled.
In an instant, the wreckage-strewn hall held only Zheng Zi's group, Li Musheng, the scarred man, and the courtesans of the Hundred Fragrance Pavilion.
The courtesans had all retreated to the corners of the hall, their faces full of terror, clearly shaken by the hemp-robed elderly man's display of power.
The scarred man had not moved from where he stood throughout the whole exchange, not daring even to twitch.
He was trembling all over, and looked with great difficulty toward Li Musheng sitting calmly in the armchair beside him, his lips quivering as he managed to say, "That old man just escaped and left us on our own. Now there are only the two of us."
"Before I die, there is only one thing I want to know. Why did you insist on dragging me here to die with you? If you do not tell me, I will not be able to die in peace..."
Hearing this, Li Musheng glanced at him but could not be bothered to respond, and turned instead to look at Zheng Zi and his group in the hall.
At that point Zheng Zi was walking toward Li Musheng and the scarred man, his expression dark, saying, "From the look of things, you two do not seem to be part of the same group. Now that the old man has run off, you have no one to rely on."
"Tell me. Who gave you the nerve to cause trouble on my territory?"
Faced with Zheng Zi's question, the scarred man opened his mouth and was about to speak, but Li Musheng looked at Zheng Zi with an entirely composed expression and asked, "I just thought of something. If I were to get word back to Hundred Refinements Peak that you had been killed here, would your father the Peak Master come to the Hundred Fragrance Pavilion in person to avenge you?"
The moment those words fell, the hall went suddenly quiet.
Zheng Zi's expression turned extremely ugly at once. Killing intent poured off him as he fixed his gaze on Li Musheng, and then said to the middle-aged man beside him, "Commissioner Miao, can you or can you not locate that person?"
Hearing this, the middle-aged man's brow furrowed deeply, but he did not reply, because he had not detected anyone's aura in the surroundings at all.
In the next instant his eyes grew hard, and he said, "It seems the only option is to force them out."
With that, he suddenly moved, raising his hand and reaching for Li Musheng where he sat in the armchair.