Chapter 38 Heedless of Consequences

The moment I grabbed the hilt, the gatekeeper leaned half her body out of mine, seized my hand on the hilt, and thrust the blade forward with all her might.

Later, Cang Tianji told me that she saw the gatekeeper emerge from my body as if she had grown out of me, half of her figure protruding from my stomach. She had wanted to stop the gatekeeper, but it was too late.

The gatekeeper's sneer was cut short as her expression suddenly changed—she realized she couldn't move my arm.

My left hand, which had been hanging by my side, gently lifted and choked the other's neck, tearing her away from me like a plaster and holding her in the air: "Just who are you?"

The gatekeeper chuckled coldly, "No matter who I am, dare you kill me?"

"Jiang Junci is in my hands. No matter what you do to me, Jiang Junci will suffer the same. Touch me if you dare!"

Butcher Wang said anxiously, "She should be a witch from the Miao region. Don't be impulsive."

I sneered, "Don't worry, Jiang Junci can hold on."

As soon as I spoke, the tip of the knife in my right hand pierced the gatekeeper's eye socket, but the other's desperate scream came from behind me.

When Butcher Wang and the others turned back, they only saw a person rolling out of the pile of heads—she was the gatekeeper's real body.

The gatekeeper shrieked, "You came to the Miao region to save Jiang Junci, yet you dare to hurt me?"

I said in a deep voice, "I, Li Po, am never threatened. Even if you captured Ye Yang instead of Jiang Junci, I wouldn't stop."

"If Jiang Junci dies, I will kill all his enemies' families to the ninth degree to avenge him, and that will be my explanation to him."

The gatekeeper struggled in my hand and shouted, "Wang Xiaohuan, he doesn't care about Jiang Junci's life or death, don't you care either?"

Wang Xiaohuan clenched his fists tightly: "If Jiang Junci dies, I'll send you all down to be buried with him."

The gatekeeper was stunned. She hadn't expected Wang Xiaohuan to give him such an answer.

In fact, before leaving, I had found Wang Xiaohuan with Butcher Wang.

At that time, I only asked Wang Xiaohuan one question: "If someone threatens you with Jiang Junci, what would you do?"

Wang Xiaohuan didn't speak for a long time. I told her, "If you want Jiang Junci to live, you must first prepare for him to die."

"Badger, think about it. Throughout history, how many heroes have fallen because they couldn't bear to part with their wives, children, and siblings, and sacrificed their lives in vain?"

"Those who believe the enemy's promises and surrender will die with their loved ones nine times out of ten. Even if they are lucky enough to survive, they can only be prisoners with their loved ones for the rest of their lives."

Seeing that Wang Xiaohuan didn't speak, I continued, "Our enemies will definitely use Jiang Junci to threaten us, but the possibility of them killing Jiang Junci is very small."

"They may not be afraid of retaliation from Liangjie Tang, but they will be afraid of Xie Ban Gui taking revenge."

"Once someone threatens us, the person who will have the hardest time holding on is you."

"When that time comes, you must persevere. Do you understand?"

Wang Xiaohuan hesitated for a long time before nodding.

The first test came as expected, and fortunately Wang Xiaohuan didn't let me down.

I twisted the hilt in the gatekeeper's eye socket, and the other screamed in pain, but couldn't even faint.

I spoke again, "I'll ask you one more time, who are you, and why are you blocking me here?"

The gatekeeper shouted, "Don't kill me, I'll talk. I am a witch from Yunjiang Village. Zhu Zining told me to block you here. It would be best... if I could trick you into entering the Misty Rain Pavilion through the middle gate."

I said coldly, "Do you know the consequences of lying to me?"

"I didn't lie to you!" the gatekeeper shouted, "Zhu Zining told me to trick you into taking the middle gate. It's just that I... I was greedy for merit."

Seeing that I didn't speak, the gatekeeper said again, "Almost all the witches and Gu masters of the Nine Mountains and Eighteen Villages of our Miao region have turned to Zhu Zining."

"Zhu Zining brought A Yao Duo and Jiang Junci into the Misty Rain Pavilion."

"Before she left, she told us to split into three groups."

"One group to block the Feng family, one group to ambush at the wedding venue, and one group to follow him into the Misty Rain Pavilion."

"She said that you would arrive soon, and told us to find a way to stall you. It would be best if we could stall you until tomorrow. After dawn, we'll let you enter the Misty Rain Pavilion."

"If we really can't hold you back, then let you take the middle gate."

"I am responsible for blocking you outside the Misty Rain Pavilion. After you enter the stone gate of the Misty Rain Pavilion, there will be someone else blocking you."

The gatekeeper's explanation made some sense.

I said in a deep voice, "Why does Zhu Zining want me to take the middle gate?"

The gatekeeper quickly replied, "Legend has it that only the Misty Rain Pavilion Master can take the middle gate. If you take the side doors, you may still have a chance to survive, but those who enter the Misty Rain Pavilion through the middle gate will definitely die, no matter who they are."

"Zhu Zining wants to kill you here in the Misty Rain Pavilion!"

I said in a deep voice, "How much do you know about the Misty Rain Pavilion?"

The gatekeeper said with a sad face, "There are too many legends about the Misty Rain Pavilion. I've heard several of them. Who dares to say which one is true?"

I stared at her, "Tell me the most widely spread one first, and then tell me the most unlikely legend."