Although Old Song and General Zeng hadn't known Jiang Yue for long, they understood him well. They knew the kid wouldn't make claims without good reason.
There had been too many people around at the time, so naturally they couldn't ask him then. They'd played their parts and gone along with Jiang Yue's act, but in private, they naturally needed to get to the bottom of things.
Jiang Yue smiled without answering. Instead, he beckoned for He Jin, who had been waiting in the shadows, to come in.
He Jin and the others, including San Gou, quickly entered the room.
San Gou and Mao Doudou were both impatient by nature, and they had plenty of grievances to air. When they entered and saw big shots like General Zeng and Old Song there, they swallowed all their questions and complaints, unable to voice them. They could only keep them bottled up, looking thoroughly aggrieved.
"Old He, you explain."
He Jin was as calm as ever. In a deep voice, he said, "General Zeng, Old Song, not a word those six said just now can be trusted. They've already defected to the Bizarre Tree and become its puppet agents. The thing they supposedly captured was most likely a substitute, a trick of the eye. It may have looked very much like the Bizarre Tree, and perhaps that is what its true form looks like. But I can guarantee that it wasn't the real Bizarre Tree."
General Zeng and Old Song exchanged a glance. Though a hint of surprise passed through their eyes, they didn't overreact. Somehow, He Jin's explanation made everything seem to fall into place.
Just as He Jin had said, the Bizarre Tree might have looked convincing, but deep down, they still couldn't believe that those men had captured it