Mutual Suspicions

This saber truly shared an affinity with him—it could automatically correct its course even when hurled casually. A pity he had thrown it away. To be honest, he really wanted to enter the dream world once more. Not to mention, when Lu Yao shot at him earlier with the Ghost Eye Bow, the broken saber had even warned him. It truly was a good saber. He Lingchuan gave a silent sigh. As he ran, his fist brushed past his hip, and he suddenly felt something was amiss with the scabbard. Looking down— The broken saber was still right there, resting quietly in its sheath. "..." Overjoyed, He Lingchuan fondled the hilt several times before recalling that Sun Fuping's ritual staff would also automatically fly back to its master's hand. In other words, the two were treasures of at least the same grade! Since the broken saber had flown back on its own, did that mean this treasure recognized him as its master? A cause for boundless celebration! Still, when had this recognition occurred? He didn't recall performing any blood-binding ritual at all. Circumstances gave him no time to ponder, for He Lingchuan suddenly noticed that the bandit army below had split into two columns, each heading in a different direction. This wasn't internal strife. Lu Yao and Pei Xinyong hadn't argued; they had parted after exchanging a brief sentence, looking more like a division of labor. Pei Xinyong took the wrong path. Ahead was another three-tiered terraced slope—He Lingchuan could not fathom why this fellow insisted on going that way, and with such confidence to boot. He did not realize this was the result of sound displacement caused by the mist formation laid by the mountain spirit. Pei Xinyong genuinely believed pebbles were falling from there and footsteps were sounding from that direction. Lu Yao's direction, on the other hand, happened to be right. The broken saber whirling through the air to slay the kestrel had led Lu Yao to believe the blade came from that direction, naturally assuming the scout was there as well. The dense fog had twisted his perception of direction too. In the end, two wrongs made a right. Leading his men, he accelerated his charge toward the ridgeline. Seeing this clearly, He Lingchuan couldn't help saying, "Lu Yao is pursuing us over here. Great opportunity!" Lian Deng smiled wryly. "Brother Chuan, could you talk some sense? Lu Yao coming after us is a great opportunity?" *A great opportunity to get killed?* "Without the kestrel to guide him, it won't be long before he runs himself dizzy in circles," He Lingchuan maintained his optimism. "Besides, now that he's split from Pei Xinyong, we can go look for Pei Xinyong." "Look for Pei Xinyong?" Lian Deng was uncertain. "General Wu already sent him a message via mechanical bird. Since he was riding with Lu Yao, the two have likely made peace or formed an alliance. Showing our faces rashly is too dangerous." "Who said we need to show our faces?" He Lingchuan chuckled. "Don't forget, I can see them, but they can't see me." "Look out!" Lian Deng suddenly grabbed him and yanked him backward. With a sharp whoosh, a thrown axe grazed past He Lingchuan's waist, snapping two bowl-thick saplings before embedding itself into a slab of bluestone. Cold sweat broke out across He Lingchuan. Damn it all, if Lian Deng hadn't been quick on his eyes and hands, he would have been chopped in two! This axe belonged to Lu Yao. Had that scoundrel Lu spotted him? He Lingchuan turned his head and indeed saw Lu Yao standing thirty paces behind, cursing up a storm: "Damned rogue! Just let me catch him, and I'll hack him into seventeen or eighteen pieces to go with my wine!" In his foul mood, he couldn't even be bothered to ponder novel ways to cook a person. He Lingchuan and Lian Deng exchanged a look and breathed a soft sigh of relief. Sure enough, Lu Yao waved a hand, and the axe wedged between the rocks flew back to him automatically. Thank goodness. The fellow had only hurled the axe to vent his frustration, relying on the weapon's ability to return on its own; he hadn't actually seen them. Indiscriminate attacks really were the most terrifying. He Lingchuan bolted faster than a rabbit, putting distance between himself and Lu Yao's troops in the blink of an eye. ... The sounds of footsteps and falling pebbles sounded very near. Pei Xinyong judged the enemy was less than twenty paces away, so he wheeled his horse around and gave chase. He knew very well that the only way to catch the enemy here was speed. Force him into the open before he could escape far into the distance. The bulk of his troops naturally turned with him. Yet they had charged barely thirty paces when the two riders on the far left suddenly shrieked and plunged down the mountainside. Cold sweat instantly drenched the bystanders—to their eyes, that spot was clearly a patch of low shrubs! Right at that moment, two arrows shot out from the thick fog, thudding into the ground six paces in front of Pei Xinyong's horse's hooves. Pei Xinyong yanked hard on the reins. The steed neighed loudly and reared on its hind legs, grinding to an immediate halt. "Who is it?" He could tell these two arrows carried a strong warning, yet held no malice. "Lian Deng, Left Flank Vanguard under General Wu Shaoyi!" The voice called out from the white fog, but this time, Pei Xinyong dared not make another move on his own. Lian Deng continued, "One more step forward, and you plunge into a bottomless abyss!" Standing beside him, He Lingchuan grinned silently. *This kid is quite the bluffer himself.* What abyss was there between them and Pei Xinyong? It was flat, even ground, without so much as a single bend. Of course, Lian Deng couldn't see either; he had simply followed He Lingchuan's instructions and shot arrows at the ground fifteen paces away. This threat acted like an incantation, pinning Pei Xinyong's men in place, not daring to stir a single inch. An unseen threat was always the most terrifying. Immediately afterward, Lian Deng called out again, "General Wu ordered me to ask you: Why have you joined hands with the scoundrel Lu? Why ride alongside the very murderer who killed the Holy Master?" These two hidden bombshells blasted Pei Xinyong dumbfounded. He lost his composure and blurted, "What did you say?" "Wu Shaoyi is still alive?" "Did Lu Yao truly murder the Holy Master?" His voice rose higher with each question. He Lingchuan sensed the turmoil surging inside him and gave Lian Deng a nod. Wu Shaoyi had sent Lian Deng precisely because he was sharp-tongued and articulate, capable of explaining things in few words. Now he put his talent to work: "General Wu sent a message via mechanical bird. Did General Pei not receive it?" "Mechanical bird?" Pei Xinyong was baffled. "I only received the mechanical bird dispatched by Lu Yao. Wasn't Wu Shaoyi mauled to death by the Crocodile God? You're saying he's still alive?" "General Wu is alive and well! In fact, he is riding the Crocodile God along the waterway even now!" Lian Deng said. "General Wu sent me ahead to ask you: Will you stand with us, or will you stand with that dog Lu?" The Crocodile God hadn't eaten Wu Shaoyi, but instead become his mount? That sounded far too exaggerated. Pei Xinyong dared not believe it. "Lu Yao killed the Holy Master—do you have proof?" "The Holy Master's Ghost Eye Bow is in Lu Yao's possession, witnessed by countless people! Lu Yao used the black dragon essence blood treasured by the Holy Master as bait to lure the Crocodile God into Xianling Lake, waiting for an opportunity to ambush you and General Wu so he could seize power when the three armies converged!" Lian Deng sneered. "When Woling Pass fell, rumors already spread that Lu Yao had murdered the Holy Master. Could wind come from an empty cave without reason? Hearing all this now, if someone told you the Holy Master's death had nothing to do with him, would you believe it?" Pei Xinyong's eyes flickered. The matter of the Crocodile God accompanying Lu Yao into Xianling Lake had always weighed heavily on his mind, and he had already seen that Lu Yao hadn't spoken a shred of truth. Black dragon essence blood—was that the truth? "You're hiding in the fog. How can I confirm you truly are Lian Deng?" he said in a deep voice. "And why can you move freely through this dense mist? Could this be Wu Shaoyi's doing?" If Wu Shaoyi had laid this mist, it would not be strange for his subordinate to move freely through it. But if the mist was conjured by the government troops, and the man before him truly was Lian Deng, the implications behind that ran very deep indeed. Could it be...? "Of course it's General Wu's doing." Lian Deng stepped out of the mist, the purple sable perched upon his shoulder. He halted, but the purple sable leaped down lightly, swaggered over to Pei Xinyong, and with an agile hop landed squarely on the horse's head, wagging its tail at him. The purple sable was Wu Shaoyi's spirit pet. Pei Xinyong had played with it many times and was familiar with even the tiny tuft of stray fur on its forehead; naturally, he recognized it at a glance. Most importantly, humans could lie, but spirit pets rarely betrayed their masters. Pei Xinyong asked the purple sable, "Is he truly Lian Deng?" The purple sable nodded. "Is everything he said true?" The purple sable twitched its whiskers. "Yes!" "Then where is Wu Shaoyi?" "On his way," the purple sable said. "My master said: 'If he could harm me, he can harm you.' Before our forces arrive, beware of him launching a sudden attack or pincering you from front and rear!" "Also, raise blue flags in battle, just like before!" Just then, the thick fog to Pei Xinyong's left churned violently as a troop of men and horses rushed over. It was Lu Yao. Unable to find anyone out there, he had hurried back to regroup with Pei Xinyong. In this dense fog, if the cloth strip was cut, one risked being cut off from one's comrades. In such an unsettled environment, numbers were strength, and unity meant safety. The moment the purple sable spoke, Lian Deng had already retreated into the mist. As soon as Lu Yao appeared, the purple sable leaped off the steed and swiftly darted up a nearby tree branch. Shielded by Pei Xinyong and his men, Lu Yao wouldn't have seen clearly at first. But the purple sable stopped right after reaching the branch, glared at him twice, bared its teeth, and only then darted into the mist and vanished. That momentary pause gave Lu Yao a clear look, and his heart gave a violent jolt: Wasn't that Wu Shaoyi's spirit pet? If the purple sable was here, could Wu Shaoyi have arrived too? At the thought of Wu Shaoyi, his scalp went numb. A man even the Crocodile God couldn't kill, but instead became his mount—how had this Wu fellow suddenly become so uncanny? No, they had no horses; they couldn't possibly be this fast! Harboring a heart full of anxiety, Lu Yao asked, "What's the situation?" "Two of my men fell down the mountain!" Pei Xinyong pointed toward the thick fog nearby. "What about you? Catch the scout?" Lu Yao shook his head, his face grim. He too had returned empty-handed. Pei Xinyong let out a breath, looking irritable. Seeing that he made no mention of the purple sable, Lu Yao grew even more suspicious. He asked, "What was that just now—" Before the word "thing" could leave his mouth, a sudden shudder ran through him: *I can't ask!* Bandits crowded behind him, the majority of whom were Wu Shaoyi's former subordinates. If he asked now and Pei Xinyong answered truthfully, what would these new subordinates think? Would they continue following him, or return to their old master? The human heart cannot withstand testing; he could not force them to make that choice! Pei Xinyong looked puzzled. "What did you say?" "No, nothing." Lu Yao swallowed his question down forcefully. The more he looked at Pei Xinyong, the more he felt the man's gaze was shifting evasively; he had definitely spoken with the purple sable just now. In other words, Pei Xinyong most likely knew Wu Shaoyi wasn't dead, and the two had already made contact! Were they planning how to plot against him? Trapped in this thick fog that was as much a wonderland as a death trap, cold sweat soaked across Lu Yao's entire back.