The entirety of his thigh and his left arm had been severed. Even though Bai Qi had sealed the vital points beforehand, the blood continued to pour out relentlessly.

Bai Qi’s face went ash-white, his eyes dimmed.

“Quickly, quickly, help me stop the bleeding, quick!” Bai Qi managed to speak, his voice weak.

Tian Dan, who was nearby, panicked. He immediately knelt down and furiously tore Bai Qi’s already ripped outer garment into strips, swiftly using them to tightly bind the stumps of the severed limbs. After all, for a limb to be directly cut off, sealing the acupoints only slowed the rate of blood loss marginally; bleeding like this could easily lead to death from exsanguination.

They stopped the bleeding from the right leg and the left arm wounds.

Bai Qi’s lips were deathly pale, his complexion drained of all color, his eyes vacant, and the man seemed to be losing consciousness.

“Quickly, carry Commander Bai up the mountain,” Teng Qingshan barked at the guards nearby. “And you two—you, you—hurry and ride to Huafeng City, find the best doctor in Huafeng City! Go!”

“Yes, my lord.”

Those guards were equally stunned; their commander was the leader of this entire battalion of the Black Armored Army. Immediately, two guards sprinted towards where the warhorses were tethered, while the others rushed to help carry Bai Qi up the mountain.

Teng Qingshan and Tian Dan lagged far behind.

Tian Dan’s face was still etched with horror. He turned to look at Teng Qingshan: “Brother Qingshan, we’ve stirred up quite the hornet’s nest this time!”

“Indeed, we have!” Teng Qingshan nodded.

If Teng Qingshan and Tian Dan had shown themselves earlier and scared off those few individuals, none of this would have happened. Actually, Teng Qingshan and Tian Dan had initially just wanted to see Bai Qi humiliated, and they were already annoyed when Bai Qi seemed to have the upper hand. Who would have thought that in the next moment, Bai Qi would take such a hit?

“It’s not our fault! We didn't intend to harm him. Who knew that young brat had such vicious hidden weapons! Blame it on Bai Qi’s bad luck!” Tian Dan immediately sneered.

In this world, no one who survived was a coward.

“Brother Qingshan, we should remain hidden, keep quiet about this. Though it’s not a major incident, if it’s investigated, it will be endless trouble,” Tian Dan advised.

Teng Qingshan nodded and smiled faintly, “Don’t worry, I won’t go looking for trouble unnecessarily.”

With a commander of the Black Armored Army reduced to this state, the Guiyuan Sect would never let the matter rest easily.

“If neither of us speaks of it, no one will ever know,” Tian Dan chuckled lowly. “Honestly, seeing Bai Qi brought low fills my heart with glee! Hahaha! Watching him throw his weight around, he never imagined this day would come! Heh heh, he brought it upon himself. He can blame no one else.”

Teng Qingshan looked up the mountain path at the carried figure of Bai Qi. He had never held any affection for Bai Qi.

“His life is ruined!” Teng Qingshan stated flatly.

“One leg gone, he can’t even stand, and an arm lost too. He’s crippled! He’s finished,” Tian Dan glanced at the bag of purple gold Teng Qingshan held, sneering, “But who can he blame? This Bai Qi clearly coveted this bag of purple gold, which is why he secretly tried to take it all for himself. It’s a case of trying to steal a chicken but losing the rice—he’s crippled, and he has only himself to blame!”

Teng Qingshan looked at the bag of purple gold in his hand.

“Wealth moves the heart,” Teng Qingshan understood the power of money well. In his previous world’s dark underworld, why did assassins kill? Was it not for the money they received from their assignments?

Money and power—from ancient times to the present—have held infinite sway.

…

When the guards carried the crippled and unconscious Bai Qi up the mountain, the entire mining area erupted; all the soldiers of the Black Armored Army were shocked.

Hu Tong, Captain of the Huafeng City Guard, watched from a distance as the Black Armored Army soldiers carried Bai Qi away. His face looked terrible: “I knew it! It was bound to be bad news when Bai Qi followed along. As expected, that Dong Yan’s methods are truly ruthless; even Bai Qi fell into his hands!”

“This is trouble, huge trouble!”

Hu Tong stood in the mining area, sweat beading on his forehead, his mind in chaos.

“Bai Qi lost a leg and an arm! He’s done for, and the Guiyuan Sect definitely won't let this go! When they investigate… Bai Qi was with Dong Yan’s subordinate when he came down the mountain. He also saw me search that man. He must know I was bribed!” Hu Tong was extremely tense.

The mining area was a place the Guiyuan Sect valued deeply.

Daring to accept bribes, if discovered, was a capital offense!

“No, Bai Qi might not have noticed that I was the one who searched the man. Maybe, I won't be dragged into trouble,” Hu Tong muttered, oblivious to the sweat dripping from his brow.

At this moment, a deep unwillingness burned within him—unwillingness to be utterly ruined. He still held a sliver of hope.

Gritting his teeth!

“Losing my official post doesn't matter; my life is the most important thing. Forget it, I’ll start preparing now! I’ll return to Huafeng City first, and act according to the prevailing mood!” Hu Tong made up his mind.

** In the mining area, outside Bai Qi’s quarters, five Centurions had gathered.

“Commander Bai has fallen to this state. What do we do now?” The short Liu He was growing anxious. “The commander in charge of guarding the mining area has been crippled. If blame descends from above!”

“Hmph, the Commanders aren't foolish enough to that extent,” the tall and thin Wan Fanxiang narrowed his eyes and sneered. “We know how the incident unfolded. This is entirely due to Bai Qi’s own greed for wealth. Who can we blame? Forget crippled, even if he died! He’d just have to accept it!”

Wan Fanxiang currently held no regard for Bai Qi.

The respect Bai Qi commanded before stemmed solely from his title of ‘Commander.’ Now that he was incapacitated, could he still expect to hold that position? Naturally, some people no longer cared about Bai Qi.

“Talking about this is useless. What good does it do?” Tian Dan snapped. “We have three things to do now. First, find a doctor to treat Commander Bai Qi. Second, investigate exactly how ten catties of purple gold were smuggled out. Third, immediately send word to Jiangning Prefecture City to let the Commanders and the Sect Master decide the course of action!”

Du Hong and Teng Qingshan both agreed with Tian Dan.

“The doctor has been sent for!” Du Hong boomed. “Then, I will personally make a trip, take some men, and rush back to Jiangning Prefecture City to inform the Commanders and the others of this news.”

“Good, then we'll trouble Old Du,” Tian Dan nodded.

Immediately, Teng Qingshan and the others divided the tasks. Du Hong personally led a dozen elites from the Black Armored Army and sped towards Jiangning Prefecture City without rest. Meanwhile, the four Centurions, including Teng Qingshan, began a serious investigation into how the purple gold was stolen and taken out!

Investigate, investigate thoroughly!

…

Teng Qingshan, Tian Dan, and the other two Centurions were gathered.

“Have your men found any useful intelligence?” Teng Qingshan looked at the other three. “I’ve found nothing so far!”

“Nothing!” Tian Dan shook his head.

“Not a single clue has turned up,” Wan Fanxiang and Liu He also shook their heads. Wan Fanxiang cursed under his breath, “Those sons of bitches, they really have methods! The security around this purple gold mine is so tight, yet they managed to get ten catties of purple gold out. How did they get it out!”

Tian Dan stated, “We only have this much information now—that dead man was called Li Lao San. He was from the Southern Second Mining Area. He worked in the Gold Mining Area; how could he get purple gold?”

Teng Qingshan also frowned.

The laborers in the purple gold mining area were strictly forbidden from interacting with miners from the other four areas; even their living quarters were kept far apart, making contact impossible.

“There are two possibilities,” Teng Qingshan frowned. “First, there is an insider among the hundred Black Armored Army soldiers under my command who secretly secured the purple gold and somehow passed it to that Li Lao San! However, the soldiers guarding the purple gold mine are strictly forbidden from leaving their designated zone—the management here is the strictest. The possibility of an insider is slim!”

Among the five mining areas, guarding the purple gold mine was the worst assignment.

Teng Qingshan now understood the gravity of the situation. With five Centurions present, he was under the most pressure!

Because in this case of Bai Qi’s crippling, the most serious aspect was not Bai Qi’s disability, but the ten catties of purple gold that were taken!

Ten catties of purple gold—that equated to one million taels of silver! This was an astronomical fortune!

For the Guiyuan Sect, one Bai Qi was insignificant; they had plenty of Houtian experts. Bai Qi’s life was not worth a million taels of silver!

“If they managed to steal ten catties this time, they can steal another ten next time!” Teng Qingshan said solemnly. “The Guiyuan Sect absolutely will not allow this kind of thing to happen! Bai Qi being crippled is a small matter; the theft of this purple gold is a major event. This method of smuggling must be found out. If it isn’t found out… there will be no peace in the future.”

The other three Centurions nodded in agreement.

This Tielian Mountain Gold Mine was a treasure belonging to the Guiyuan Sect. Even other factions like Qinghu Island coveted it; the Guiyuan Sect protected this treasure with their lives.

Now that someone dared to steal purple gold, how could the Guiyuan Sect tolerate it?

“Brother Qingshan, you mentioned two possibilities for the smuggling. One was an insider among the Black Armored Army soldiers. What was the other?” Tian Dan asked.

Teng Qingshan gazed toward the distant mine shaft. “The mine tunnels are deep, and the miners dig desperately year after year to extract the purple gold! There are countless tunnels inside. I wonder… could it be that the purple gold mining area and the gold mining area have been connected somewhere underground? Allowing the laborers from the purple gold area to meet those from the gold area?”

Tian Dan and Wan Fanxiang were startled.

But Liu He shook his head. “Brother Qingshan, don't the guarding soldiers conduct regular patrols? The guards and Black Armored Army soldiers in the gold mining area also go down to inspect. If the two sides connected, shouldn't it have been discovered?”

“They connected, and then they sealed it again,” Teng Qingshan argued. “That’s not impossible.”

Teng Qingshan inwardly did not believe that an insider existed among his own troops, because in this regard, the Guiyuan Sect enforced strict military discipline; the consequences of being discovered were unthinkable.

“We must investigate thoroughly,” Tian Dan asserted.

“We’ll do our best. If we can’t find out, there’s nothing we can do,” Liu He chuckled lightly.

“My lord, my lord! Commander Bai is awake!” Suddenly, a Black Armored Army soldier tending to Bai Qi ran over breathlessly.

“Awake?” The four Centurions, including Teng Qingshan, all stood up.

“Ask Bai Qi. He must know something,” Tian Dan said. “Otherwise, why would he chase after that Li Lao San?”

The four Centurions immediately ran towards Bai Qi’s quarters.