Chapter 152: Doubt

It appeared that the saber truly did have a special bond and fate with him. Even after having thrown it practically blindly, it had still curved on its own to strike the enemy.

Unfortunately, he had just thrown it away, and he would not be able to retrieve it anytime soon. Truth be told, he longed to slip back into those dreams that the saber gave him once more.

Besides, had the broken saber not even provided him with valuable warnings, such as when Lu Yao shot at him with the Ghost-Eye Bow?

It really is a great saber.

He Lingchuan sighed inwardly as he ran, hand brushing his waist. Something felt odd about the scabbard. Glancing down, he was surprised to find that the broken saber was sitting right there, lying quietly inside its scabbard.

“...”

A surge of joy burst in his chest. He ran his hand over the hilt several times, then recalled Sun Fuping’s pestle, which had always somehow flown back to its master.

That should mean that the saber is a treasure of at least the same grade as Old Snake Sun’s treasure!

If the broken saber returned to him of its own accord, then it also meant that it had recognized him as its master.

Holy hell! How fucking lucky can I get?!

But when did it even recognize me as its master? I don’t recall ever doing anything like that blood-dripping ritual I’ve read about in those stories.

This was not the time to be pondering on such things, however, and he immediately noticed that the brigands below had split into two groups, each heading in different directions.

From what he could see, this was not a result of infighting. He had not seen any quarrel take place between Lu Yao and Pei Xinyong. They had simply spoken a few words and parted ways. Hence, he came to the conclusion that they were splitting up in order to cover more ground and have a better shot at finding him.

Pei Xinyong marched confidently down the wrong path, toward a triple descent like terraced steps. As for why he chose this path, He Lingchuan had no idea.

He did not know that it was the guardian spirit’s fog array[1], warping sound. To Pei Xinyong, falling stones and footsteps had seemed to come from that direction.

Lu Yao, meanwhile, was heading the right way.

The saber’s curving strike on the falcon made Lu Yao believe that the weapon had come from the specific direction he was heading. Naturally, he assumed the hidden scout must be there as well. Although the fog warped his judgment, he had somehow managed to set out on the right path.

He and his men surged toward the ridgeline.

Seeing this clearly, He Lingchuan could not help but mutter, “Lu Yao’s moving this way. Perfect! This is a good opportunity!”

Lian Deng grimaced. “Brother Chuan, could you phrase that differently? Is it really a good thing that he’s moving right toward us?”

Are you trying to say that it’s a good opportunity to have ourselves killed?

“Without the falcon to guide him, he’ll soon lose himself in circles,” He Lingchuan said cheerfully. “And since he’s split up from Pei Xinyong, we can go to Pei Xinyong and have a chat with him.”

“Go to Pei Xinyong?” Lian Deng was hesitant. “General Wu already sent him a message by mechanical bird. Since he and Lu Yao are walking together, the two must have reconciled or even allied. If we show ourselves before him now, it’s far too dangerous.”

“Who said we’ll show ourselves?” He Lingchuan grinned. “Don’t forget, I can see them, but they can’t see me.”

“Watch out!” Lian Deng suddenly yanked him backward.

Whoosh!

A thrown axe sliced past his waist, shearing through two trees as thick as a bowl before burying itself in a slab of rock.

Cold sweat broke over He Lingchuan’s back. If not for Lian Deng’s quick reflexes, he would have been split clean in two!

That axe is Lu Yao’s. Did he manage to spot us?

Turning his head, he indeed saw Lu Yao ten paces away, cursing and snarling, “That bastard! Fuck! If I ever catch him, I’ll chop him into seventeen, eighteen pieces to wash down with wine!”

In his foul mood, he did not even bother inventing some new method of cooking human flesh.

He Lingchuan and Lian Deng exchanged glances, exhaling softly.

Sure enough, Lu Yao made a gesture, and the axe immediately flew right back into his hand.

Phew! So he only flung his axe in a fit of anger, knowing that he could just summon it back. He hadn’t actually seen us.

Indiscriminate attacks like that were the most terrifying.

He Lingchuan bolted like a rabbit, and in the blink of an eye, he had left Lu Yao’s army far behind.

* * *

The sound of footsteps and tumbling stones seemed so close that Pei Xinyong judged the enemy to be no more than fifteen meters away. He spurred his horse onward in chase.

He knew the only way to seize an enemy here was speed. They had to drag the other party into the open before he slipped away.

His army followed him into the turn.

But after scarcely ten paces, two riders on the far left screamed and toppled into the abyss.

Cold sweat poured from the rest. That stretch of ground had looked like nothing more than a patch of low brush!

Just then, two arrows hissed from the fog and struck the ground barely seven meters before Pei Xinyong’s horse.

He yanked the reins hard. The steed reared with a shrill whinny and stopped in place.

“Who’s there?”

He could see that the arrows were meant as a warning, not to kill.

“General Wu’s left-wing vanguard, Lian Deng!” The voice came from the white fog. This time, Pei Xinyong did not dare take another step.

Lian Deng then continued, “A few more strides and you’ll plunge into a bottomless ravine!”

Beside him, He Lingchuan grinned silently.

This guy is a natural bluffer.

In truth, there was no ravine at all. Before Pei Xinyong’s army, there was nothing but a level road without even a bend.

However, Lian Deng himself could not see that. He was simply shooting arrows where He Lingchuan pointed.

Yet the bluff worked magnificently. The threat of the unseen froze Pei Xinyong’s army on the spot, and none of them dared to move.

What cannot be seen is and always will be most terrifying.

Then, Lian Deng spoke again, “General Wu told me to come ask you why you consort with Lu Yao, the very murderer of the Divine Master?”

It was two bombshells in one sentence. Pei Xinyong reeled, blurting out, “What did you say? Wu Shaoyi is still alive? And the Divine Master was truly slain by Lu Yao?”

Each question rang out louder than the last.

He Lingchuan could hear the storm in his chest. He gave Lian Deng a nod of approval.

Wu Shaoyi had sent Lian Deng here precisely because of his tongue—quick, sharp, persuasive. And now he displayed his skill in full.

“General Wu already sent you word by mechanical bird. Did you not receive it?”

“Mechanical bird?” Pei Xinyong was baffled. “I only received one sent by Lu Yao. Wasn’t Wu Shaoyi eaten alive by the Crocodile God? How could he still be alive?”

“General Wu is alive and well, and what’s more, he is riding the Crocodile God over water to this very place!” Lian Deng declared. “He sent me ahead to ask whether you will march with us, or with Lu Yao?”

The Crocodile God hadn’t eaten Wu Shaoyi, and is even serving as his mount? That’s just far too outrageous to believe.

Pei Xinyong demanded, “Do you have proof that Lu Yao murdered the Divine Master?”

“The Divine Master’s Ghost-Eye Bow is in Lu Yao’s hands, and that fact has been witnessed by countless eyes. Furthermore, Lu Yao used the Divine Master’s precious black dragon blood essence as a bribe to have the Crocodile God go to Immortal Spirit Lake and lie in ambush for you and General Wu. He hoped to seize power when the three armies gathered!” Lian Deng’s voice turned cold. “When Woling Pass fell, there were already rumors that Lu Yao had slain the Divine Master. Do you think such rumors spring from nothing? Now that you’ve heard this, can you still believe he is innocent?”

Pei Xinyong’s gaze flickered. He had never trusted Lu Yao’s story about bringing the Crocodile God to Immortal Spirit Lake, and it had gnawed at him all along.

Black dragon blood essence? Is that the truth?

“You’re hiding in the fog, and I can’t see you. How am I supposed to know for sure that you’re Lian Deng?” Pei Xinyong’s voice was low and hard. “And how can you move so freely in this fog? Is this fog Wu Shaoyi’s doing?”

If the fog had been laid by Wu Shaoyi, then his men passing unhindered made sense. But if it was the officials’ work, and this really was Lian Deng, then the implications ran deep.

Could it be...?

“Of course it’s General Wu’s doing.” Lian Deng stepped out of the fog, the sable perched right on his shoulder.

He halted, but the sable leaped down with effortless grace, padding straight toward Pei Xinyong. It sprang lightly onto his horse’s head, flicked its tail at him in greeting.

Pei Xinyong had played with Wu Shaoyi’s spirit pet often, and he recognized the little tuft of fur on its brow.

Most important of all: men could lie, but a spirit pet did not easily betray its master.

Pei Xinyong asked the sable, “Is he truly Lian Deng?”

The sable nodded.

“And is he telling the truth?”

Its whiskers twitched. “Yes.”

“Then where is Wu Shaoyi?”

“On the way,” the sable replied. “My master said that the one who sought his life may well seek yours. Before his troops arrive, beware of a sudden strike, of being caught between hammer and anvil! Oh, and in battle, raise the blue banner, as before.”

Just then, the fog on Pei Xinyong’s left churned, and another group of men and horses burst forth.

It was Lu Yao, returning empty-handed after failing to catch his target. In this disorienting fog, the moment a tether snapped, comrades could be cut off in an instant. In such treacherous ground, numbers meant safety, unity meant survival.

As soon as the sable spoke, Lian Deng slipped back into the fog.

When Lu Yao appeared, the sable bounded down from the horse and darted up a nearby tree.

At first, Lu Yao could not see clearly and thus had not noticed the sable. However, the sable paused on a branch, bared its teeth at him in a mocking grin, then vanished into the fog.

That brief pause was enough. Lu Yao had seen it then.

That was Wu Shaoyi’s spirit pet.

His heart jolted.

If the sable’s here, is Wu Shaoyi nearby?

The thought made his scalp prickle. A man the Crocodile God could not kill, who had instead made the beast his mount.

Just how in the world did Wu Shaoyi become so damned uncanny?

No, it’s impossible. They have no horses. They couldn’t have arrived this fast.

Still, unease gnawed at him. Lu Yao forced out a question, “What happened here?”

“I lost two men,” Pei Xinyong pointed toward the dense fog ahead. “And you? Did you catch the scout?”

Lu Yao shook his head, grim-faced. He, too, had come up empty.

Pei Xinyong exhaled sharply, his expression clouded with frustration.

Lu Yao studied him closely. The man said nothing about the sable. That silence only deepened his suspicion. “Just now, what was that—?”

But before he could finish the word “thing,” a shock ran through him. He must not ask that question!

Too many of the men at his back were Wu Shaoyi’s former followers. If he raised the question, and Pei Xinyong answered truthfully, what would those men choose?

Would they stay with him, or would they turn back to their old master?

Human hearts could not bear such tests. He could not let them choose.

Pei Xinyong only looked blank. “What are you talking about?”

Lu Yao forced the words back down and replied, “No, nothing.”

However, the doubt gnawed at him. The longer he looked at Pei Xinyong, the more he saw that shifty gaze. The man had surely spoken with the sable and surely knew that Wu Shaoyi was still alive. He thus came to the conclusion that they must have already reached some secret understanding.

Are they plotting how to strike me down?

Within this fog that was at once paradise and a death trap, cold sweat slicked Lu Yao’s back.

1. This should be the same as the bewildering array. Bewildering (迷魂) and fog (迷雾) are quite similar in terms of writing, actually. ☜