After leaving.
Martial Man craned his neck to look at the map in Lin Heng's hand. The yellowed, grayish parchment depicted many mountain ranges and even marked several conspicuous mountain caves.
Some portions had been blacked out, presumably because they had already been explored during previous openings of the Immortal Wheel Secret Realm.
It was not hard to tell from the map that they were currently in the southeastern corner. Twenty li ahead lay a Dongting Lake Mouth; passing through it would lead to the far side of the lake barrier.
"Lord Lin, why would that woman be so kind as to hand us the map? Isn't she afraid we'll take it and turn our backs on her?"
Martial Man was no fool. He had lived for a thousand years—what sort of people had he not seen? It would be strange if he failed to spot the problem.
Lin Heng's conversation with her just now had seemed like mutual probing before an alliance, each side testing what cards the other held. The map provided by Waning Moon Divination was probably genuine!
But if she merely wanted Lin Heng to use his spirit pet to help explore caves, then she was placing far too much trust in them!
They represented Broad Communication Manor. Even if they truly discovered treasures while exploring the caves, those treasures could only belong to Broad Communication Manor. If Waning Moon Divination wanted a share, it would have to negotiate separately with the people in charge of Broad Communication Manor.
If things went badly, they might even become enemies over it.
As for Lin Heng, there was practically no risk involved. He had been hired by Broad Communication Manor in the first place.
After hearing him out, a trace of surprise appeared in Lin Heng's eyes. It