Page 46

For a moment, the air crackled with tension, but no one spoke.

The silence was finally broken by another familiar male voice. "Uh... did I come at a bad time?"

Xu Ye spun around, bristling with anger, and saw Zou Wu wearing an awkward grin.

"I came to get the Zhuohuo Sunflower."

He glanced around the cave, then cleared his throat. "I wonder if Junior Sister Ning Ning's Jinyu Furnace..."

"It's fine now."

Ning Ning managed a smile and picked up the palm-sized little furnace beside her. After hesitating for an instant, she led Zou Wu out of the cave.

No one noticed the smug glint that flashed in the man's dark eyes.

He wasn't a fool. To find out whether that furnace was real, he'd laid an ambush near the Zhuohuo Sunflower patch long ago. Sure enough, before long he'd spotted Ning Ning coming to pick the flowers.

That little girl was green behind the ears and really thought that kind of trick could fool him. He figured she was playing the long game, waiting for him to willingly offer up high-grade spirit plants before disappearing with both the plants and the treasure.

Well, he wasn't going to play along. He'd keep handing her Heaven Grade trinkets and enjoy the thrill of getting double the Heaven Grade spirit plants in return.

Little girl, you thought you could take him on?

Sure enough, when Ning Ning got another pile of Heaven Grade goods, her expression darkened. Still, she promised she'd repay him double before long.

The two soon said their goodbyes. Zou Wu was just about to leave when he suddenly heard footsteps behind him.

He whipped around. It was Xu Ye, the one who'd clashed with Ning Ning in the cave.

"Junior Brother Xu."

Zou Wu studied his gloomy expression, unable to guess why he'd suddenly followed him. "What is it?"

Xu Ye sneered coldly and looked down at him. "You still don't get it? They're scamming you."

Right. That bunch all thought he was a big fool who'd been taken for a ride.

Zou Wu raised an eyebrow and sent him a voice transmission. "So?"

The boy in front of him saw his unruffled expression and finally looked a little flustered. "Y-You knew all along?"

"How hard was that to figure out?"

He gave a smug snort. "You're the one who suddenly decided to tell me. I bet you're hoping to get something out of me, aren't you?"

"As expected of a senior brother from the Haoran Sect."

Xu Ye relaxed a little and unconsciously clenched his fist. "I want to work with you and get our hands on the Heaven Heart Grass."

Zou Wu looked surprised. "The Heaven Heart Grass?"

"I don't even know where Ning Ning put it. I've tried every way to wheedle it out of her, but nothing worked. If we want it, we'll have to use force."

He'd been poisoned, and his head felt a little foggy as he spoke, but the malice between his brows was still sharp as a blade. "The elders have forbidden us from ganging up on someone, but that's only under ordinary circumstances. If we have a legitimate reason to deal with her, it's another matter."

"A legitimate reason?"

"That furnace is just a trap. Her real plan is to run off as soon as you bring her rare spirit plants. Xiaochong Mountain is huge. You could search for her day and night and still not find her. But with me, everything changes."

Xu Ye's voice was cold. "I'll use a Communication Talisman to tell you where she is, and you can go with the others from the Haoran Sect to intercept her. Once Ning Ning is the one who tricked you out of your spirit plants, you'll be the victim... Wouldn't that give you a perfectly good reason to do anything you want?"

It was the most plausible plan Zou Wu had heard so far.

If he didn't work with Xu Ye, the most he could get was a pile of Heaven Grade spirit plants. Compared to the Heaven Heart Grass, they were just common trash.

"But..." He paused, his tone tinged with curiosity and amusement. "Why do you want to work with me?"

"Who doesn't want the Heaven Heart Grass? Ning Ning only has two leaves, and there's no way I'd get any on my own. If we work together, we can split it in half, and I'll get one leaf."

Xu Ye shrugged. "Besides, you saw it yourself. I've known those two for less than a day, and she argued with me over some Charm Cultivator of unknown origin. She's just a young girl, I suppose, with nothing much in her head."

After a brief silence, the young Sword Cultivator lowered his eyes, his expression softening. "Most importantly, if I can give it to Senior Sister... maybe she'll finally see me in a new light."

"Bullshit! See you in a new light, my foot!"

Outside the Mystic Mirror, a group of people were holding back a woman who was hopping mad. "If Su Qinghan finds out you pulled something like this, she'll beat you to death! How did I end up with a disciple like you? Ow, my poor back!"

When she finished, she looked at Tian Xianzi, who was leisurely sipping tea nearby. "Your disciple got played. Aren't you even a little angry?"

Tian Xianzi took a bite of White Jade Cake and grinned. "Let's keep watching. The good part's still to come."

Rong Ci woke from a dazed, muddled dream and vaguely made out two figures in the distance.

A man's blurry voice reached his ears. "Tonight, then? No problem. Anyway, who knows where Xu Ye went. If it's just the two of us, we can relax a little."

Then came Ning Ning's voice. "Xu Ye will be okay, won't he? I didn't think he'd get that angry... It'd be terrible if he ran into danger."

"Your luck really is something."

He Zhizhou laughed. "There's actually a map of the Tianhe Stone deposits hidden in this cave, and one of them is nearby. I heard that stone's great for forging swords. It's a once-in-a-thousand-years treasure—"

Perhaps they noticed him opening his eyes. The other person jumped, swallowing the rest of what he'd been about to say.

"You're awake!"

Ning Ning reacted far more normally than He Zhizhou. Rong Ci could tell she was genuinely happy. "Your wounds should hurt less now, right? You were asleep for quite a while."

Rong Ci curled his lips into a smile. "Sorry, did I interrupt you?"

An awkward silence settled over the cave.

"N-No!"

He Zhizhou gave a dry laugh. "We were discussing postnatal care for Spirit Beasts, right, Ning Ning?"