"We are not members of the Yu family; we should be able to leave here, right?"
The eldest disciple, Zhu Fang, didn't look at Yu Zhentian's current expression. Instead, he looked up at Scum Three on the roof.
Scum Three suddenly burst into laughter, squinting his eyes. "Naturally, there's no problem. However, you now only have two breaths of time left."
"That's enough."
Zhu Fang let out a heavy sigh of relief. With that, he turned and rushed swiftly towards the courtyard exit. The two junior disciples beside him followed immediately without any hesitation.
"You... a bunch of ungrateful disciples!!" Yu Zhentian was furious. He leaped up and lunged towards the three of them. Others might be excusable, but these three disciples had been raised by him since childhood, meticulously taught and nurtured. Over the years, he had poured countless efforts into them. Therefore, he absolutely could not accept their betrayal.
"Everyone, run! If you don't run now, it will be too late!" Zhu Fang roared. He and the other two disciples unleashed their full power, exchanging several blows with Yu Zhentian. Amidst a series of violent bursts of qi, Zhu Fang and his two junior disciples were sent flying by Yu Zhentian, crashing onto the nearby rockery, cracking even the hard stones.
Zhu Fang and the other two suffered internal injuries, spitting out mouthfuls of fresh blood as they rolled to the ground, barely able to stand up again. It was during this brief window that the other martial arts school disciples and apprentices no longer hesitated. They immediately seized the opportunity to scatter and flee. Even their senior brother was fleeing for his life; if they didn't flee now, staying would only mean certain death.
At this moment, Yu Zhentian's white hair was disheveled, and his body trembled.
"Why?" He ignored the others, gritting his teeth as he questioned Zhu Fang, his gaze filled with both anger and deep disappointment.
"Time's up!" Scum Three raised his hand and slashed his saber, sending a blade qi through the air that split a willow tree in the courtyard in half. "From now on, whoever dares to move will end up like this tree!"
Seeing this, those who hadn't yet escaped were instantly scared out of their wits. Their hurried steps immediately halted, not daring to move an inch further.
"It's over!" Zhang Dazhuang swallowed hard, his face ashen as he looked at the severed tree, as thick as a thigh.
Li Musheng shook his head, saying nothing. Zhang Dazhuang turned and asked tremblingly, "Ah Sheng, why aren't you running?"
"That's a question I should be asking you, isn't it?" Li Musheng tilted his head.
Zhang Dazhuang tightly gripped the staff in his hand, a bitter expression on his brawny face as he sighed, "To be honest, I'm also afraid of death. But if Old Master Yu hadn't taken me in back then, I would have frozen to death many winters ago. So I can't leave, even though I know staying won't do much good."
At this point, there weren't many people left in the courtyard. Li Musheng sat down on the stone steps nearby and slowly nodded. "Fair enough. Even though Old Man Yu is selfish, stingy, and snobbish, a debt of gratitude must still be repaid."
Meanwhile, facing Yu Zhentian's questioning, Zhu Fang wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and suddenly laughed. "Master, you ask me why? Then let me ask you, where are Young Master, Second Young Lady, and the rest of the Yu family now?"
Hearing this, Yu Zhentian suddenly froze, his surging anger momentarily stalled.
Zhu Fang continued, "Master, in truth, you already knew the Zhahe Seven Thieves would come today, so you secretly arranged to send Young Master and the others away, leaving us disciples to die in place of your Yu family, didn't you?"
Yu Zhentian remained silent. Zhu Fang's face gradually twisted. "You always said you treated us like your own sons, but in the end, we're just cannon fodder for your Yu Zhentian to die in your stead?"
"If I hadn't accidentally discovered it, we wouldn't even know how we died today, and we'd still be foolishly sacrificing our lives for your Yu family until the very end."
At these words, the martial arts school disciples and apprentices in the courtyard were all shocked. Only now did they belatedly realize that on this important day of the Old Master's "golden basin washing hands" ceremony and retirement, Young Master and Second Young Lady had been conspicuously absent.
At once, everyone turned their gazes towards Yu Zhentian, who stood in the courtyard.
Zhang Dazhuang did the same, but as he saw Yu Zhentian's aged and weary face, his expression slowly darkened. He murmured, "Sigh, I can understand Old Master."
He paused, then added, "But, Ah Sheng, you always cursed Old Master for being stingy, why did you stay in the end?"
Li Musheng spread his hands and said, "Old Man Yu said he'd give everyone five taels of silver after his retirement ceremony. I haven't gotten the money yet, have I?"
Hearing this, Zhang Dazhuang looked up and gazed deeply at Li Musheng. "Losing your life for five taels of silver isn't worth it. Actually... you don't have to be like me, throwing away your life for the sake of gratitude."
Li Musheng smiled, waving his hand. "After I get the silver, I'm definitely not staying at this Yu family martial arts school."
"We don't have time for your master-disciple drama." Scum Two's hoarse voice came from the rooftop. He waved his hand.
A masked man in black, holding a long rope, lifted two coarse sacks from behind and below him, tossing them directly in front of Yu Zhentian. Two pained groans emerged from within, and the sacks were ripped open by powerful qi, revealing the two figures inside.
"Xian'er, Second Sister!" Yu Zhentian's face immediately changed drastically. The two people before him were indeed his eldest son and second daughter, whom he had secretly sent away.
"Trying to pull strings right under our noses? You underestimate us, the Zhahe Seven Thieves, too much." Scum Three sneered, looking down at Yu Zhentian, his eyes slightly narrowed. "Hand over the item, and I can be merciful enough to grant your family a complete burial."
Yu Zhentian's body stiffened, but he didn't reply. Instead, he rushed to check on the condition of his son and daughter. However, he discovered with shock and fury that his son's limbs were broken, and his four-hundred-pound second daughter was covered in wounds, bleeding profusely, with white fat oozing from her injuries.
"You're courting death!" Yu Zhentian immediately flew into a rage, his internal energy surging, creating a gust of wind. Roaring, he lifted the long sword in his hand and leaped onto the roof, charging towards Scum Three and the others.
Soon, sword qi crisscrossed and tiles flew as Yu Zhentian engaged five of the Zhahe Seven Thieves, excluding Scum Two. What astonished everyone was that Yu Zhentian, fighting one against five, showed no signs of being at a disadvantage.
"Old fossil, still hiding your strength even at death's door." Scum Three's gaze was grim, his saber flashes like lightning, each strike a deadly killing move. Originally, he had planned to hold back, intending to capture Yu Zhentian alive for questioning, but now, without going all out, he simply couldn't suppress his opponent.
Zhu Fang and the others watched this scene, all stunned in place. They truly hadn't expected that their master was so deeply skilled, his martial arts far more powerful than what they had seen daily.
"You ungrateful disciples, quickly take Xian'er and Second Sister and leave! I'll hold them off!" Yu Zhentian's thunderous voice echoed in everyone's ears. Before Zhu Fang and the others could react, Zhang Dazhuang immediately rushed to Yu Xian's side, intending to help him escape out of the courtyard.
However, when he saw the heavily injured Yu Second Sister on the other side, he visibly hesitated for a moment, then cast an anxious, pleading glance at Li Musheng.
"Zhang Ge, leaving this four-hundred-pounder for me is a bit much!" Li Musheng frowned, his displeasure clearly written on his face.