A moment later, at the City Lord's Mansion in Luoshan City, Pei Ling had just finished washing up when the steward informed him that he was wanted. His heart uneasy, he made his way to the main hall.
As soon as he entered, he saw City Lord Duanmu seated in the hall, his robes neat and his bearing elegant. In his hand, he was holding a Soul Summoning Banner.
"Little Friend Pei." The moment City Lord Duanmu saw Pei Ling, grief filled his expression. He gently set the Soul Summoning Banner on a long table beside him and sighed. "I'm truly sorry. The Human-Faced Spider was vicious. Alas, I arrived too late, and your Senior Brother Chen Huan had already fallen to the beast. After many twists and turns and a desperate struggle, I managed to retrieve his belongings."
"!!!" This is wonderful!!
The Human-Faced Spider really was a good demon beast!
Pei Ling was overjoyed. He forced himself to calm down, managing to suppress the corners of his mouth before stepping forward and offering insincere consolation. "City Lord, please don't say that. This wasn't something you wanted to happen. The dead are gone; please accept my condolences."
Even after saying that, he still wasn't reassured. He ventured to ask, "By the way, City Lord, apart from Senior Brother Chen, what about the other senior brothers and sisters...?"
"Alas, when I arrived, I saw Little Friend Chen being killed by the Human-Faced Spider." City Lord Duanmu looked distraught. "Afterward, I searched carefully, but unfortunately, I found nothing. I can only hope they'll return safely."
Pei Ling's heart sank as he listened. He silently prayed that those people had all died at the hands of the Human-Faced Spider.
Otherwise, even if they had no proof that he'd set them up and couldn't use the Sect Rules against him, they'd certainly find some other way to get revenge.
That kind of loose end was too much trouble. Should he go lie in wait outside the city and strike first?
As he pondered, he heard City Lord Duanmu sigh wistfully. "In any case, you were all on the same team. Now that you're the only one left, you should keep Little Friend Chen's belongings. This Soul Summoning Banner is a high-grade Talisman Tool, and one of the finest among the several high-grade Talisman Tools recorded in the Sacred Sect's Outer Sect Hall of Many Laws. Take it with you. It can protect you on your path, and serve as a keepsake."
As he spoke, he held out the Soul Summoning Banner with one hand.
This generous?
Pei Ling was stunned. He could barely keep the smile from his face as he instinctively reached to take it. But just as a polite refusal was about to leave his lips, he looked up, saw City Lord Duanmu's spotless outer robe, and jolted to his senses!
"City Lord!!!" Pei Ling abruptly pushed the Soul Summoning Banner back and declared righteously, "What kind of person do you take me for?! We're a group of juniors who came to carry out a mission in your territory. All we did was bring you a letter from home. It was a small favor, yet you treated us with such generosity. Not only did you confide in us about the Human-Faced Spider, you even gave us spirit wine that aids cultivation."
"Such kindness was no different from treating us like your own children and nephews."
"We have no way to repay you. What's more, Senior Brother Chen and the others provoked the Human-Faced Spider, bringing so much trouble upon you and Luoshan City."
"You haven't held any of that against us, and now you've gone to great lengths to retrieve this Soul Summoning Banner. If I, Pei Ling, still accepted it, wouldn't I be a shameless scoundrel?!"
He shoved the Soul Summoning Banner into City Lord Duanmu's hand and said solemnly, "Please, City Lord, you must keep this Soul Summoning Banner. Let it serve as a small token of our apology!"
"That wouldn't be quite right, would it?" City Lord Duanmu sighed, his gaze sorrowful. "This Soul Summoning Banner is somewhat famous even in the Sacred Sect's Outer Sect. Little Friend Chen and his group had been preparing it since they first joined the sect, working hard for all these years..."
"That's exactly why you must keep it." By now, Pei Ling's clothes were soaked through with sweat. Damn it, the Underworld Sect really was an underworldly place. He'd prided himself on having spent years devoted to the art of keeping a low profile, but it seemed he was still too dull to grasp more than the barest scraps of it. He'd failed to see this old bastard's vicious nature.
He'd wondered why the City Lord had carefully questioned him about the location earlier. He'd thought the man genuinely meant to rescue them. Turns out he'd been eager to kill them and take their treasure.
If Pei Ling hadn't been observant and noticed that the claim he'd "retrieved the belongings after many twists and turns and a desperate struggle" didn't match the man's clothes, then if he'd accepted the Soul Summoning Banner just now, he might have followed in Chen Huan's footsteps and been devoured by the Human-Faced Spider.
Now that Pei Ling looked at the Soul Summoning Banner again, he saw it for what it was. A high-grade Talisman Tool, my foot. This thing was a death warrant!
He pressed down hard on City Lord Duanmu's hand and pleaded, "If you refuse to accept it, you're looking down on us juniors at the Qi Refining Stage. You think our cultivation is weak and the Talisman Tool we refined is too shoddy to be worthy of you!"
"This..." City Lord Duanmu hesitated.
Seeing this, Pei Ling pressed on. He swept his robe aside and dropped to his knees, grief-stricken. "City Lord! We're all members of the Sacred Sect. If you refuse to accept it, you'll break the hearts of us Qi Refining cultivators!"
"As you said, Senior Brother Chen poured countless years of effort into this Soul Summoning Banner. Even in death, he would surely hope it would find a worthy master."
"How could a junior like me, with so little experience, possibly deserve it?"
"Only in the City Lord's hands would this high-grade Talisman Tool avoid being disgraced."
"Even if Senior Brother Chen knew of this from beyond the grave, he would definitely approve!"
"Alas, Little Friend Pei, what are you doing? Get up! Quickly, get up!" At last, City Lord Duanmu's expression softened. He picked up the Soul Summoning Banner with one hand and reached out to help Pei Ling with the other. "Fine, I'll keep it, all right? As you said, we're all members of the Sacred Sect. There's no need for you to bow so deeply."
Pei Ling's heart relaxed, and he rose to his feet.
Now that they'd gone through the motions and the old bastard had the Soul Summoning Banner, he should be safer, right?
Wait!
He suddenly remembered something. The Aversion to Life Saber on his back seemed rather extraordinary too! Otherwise, why would Li Siguan and those other two have taken an interest in it the moment they met him?
Pei Ling broke into a cold sweat!
After killing Li Siguan and the others, he'd wrapped the Aversion to Life Saber up tight to avoid attracting trouble again. But the man in front of him was a Foundation Establishment cultivator! Who knew if he had some way to see through the disguise and identify the saber's quality?
What should he do?
Hand it over?
But even if he did, would the old bastard still kill him to silence him?
And after handing it over, what would he use?
Pei Ling's thoughts raced. In the end, he gritted his teeth and decided to wait and see.
Maybe City Lord Duanmu hadn't noticed the Aversion to Life Saber at all. Why invite trouble?
In fact, Duanmu Yan really hadn't noticed Pei Ling's weapon. After all, he was only a little cultivator at Qi Refining Layer 4 who'd just joined the sect, and he didn't come from a prominent clan. What good things could he possibly have?
"Little Friend Pei, after what's happened..." City Lord Duanmu was very pleased with Pei Ling's good sense. Stroking his short beard, he spoke even more gently. "When do you plan to return to the sect?"
Return to the sect?
Pei Ling's heart, which had only just settled, leapt back into his throat.
Returning to the sect was out of the question. He had no idea how to earn spirit stones, and for now, it seemed the only way to stay alive was to keep a low profile out in the world.
Come to think of it, if he hadn't been in such a hurry to escape the sect back then, Chen Huan and the others wouldn't have been able to set him up.
Now, Luoshan City was far from the sect, and the families of Li Siguan and the other two wouldn't be able to reach him anytime soon. Chen Huan and the others were dead or scattered, and the Soul Summoning Banner had become the City Lord's spoils. He'd made it through one hurdle after another and even gotten along wonderfully with Duanmu Yan. Although Duanmu Yan was underworldly too, he was still a capable man, and he spoke so pleasantly. This place was practically more comfortable than the so-called home at Pei Manor in Luquan City.
He didn't want to leave at all!
With that thought, Pei Ling looked troubled. "Well... City Lord, we came out here to carry out a mission. Although my senior brothers and sisters have all... I still want to try completing it alone. That way, I can at least console Senior Sister Chen and the others' spirits in the afterlife. So I'm afraid I'll have to trouble you for a little longer."
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