"Dare to act but not admit it? You had Fifth stall me in a fight, then sent someone to kidnap my Tongtong. What a fine scheme you had, Wei Wufang."
Yan Zimo gritted his teeth. "If you want war, then I'll fight you to the bitter end—until neither of us can fight anymore. I'd like to see what qualifications you, Wei Wufang, have to become Thief Zhi."
"I never told Fifth to lay a hand on your son. If you want to fight, don't go looking for excuses. Who knows whether you staged this all yourself?"
Wei Wufang sneered, not believing Yan Zimo in the slightest.
What was Fifth's relationship with him? For the past several hundred years, Fifth had obeyed his every word. He could never have done such a thing.
In his view, this was nothing more than Yan Zimo's ploy to injure himself for sympathy, meant to give him a perfectly legitimate excuse to start a war.
"Just wait."
Yan Zimo pointed at Wei Wufang, then turned and left with his men.
Wei Wufang turned and went back as well.
The next time they met, life and death would be decided.
"Uncle Bamboo, my desire to remain Thief Zhi for another hundred years isn't out of selfishness. It's for the good of the Thief Sect as well. Second and Seventh have fallen out like this—if either one becomes Thief Zhi, would the other truly accept it? The Thief Sect would only be torn apart, wouldn't it?"
Chu Jie stood before Bamboo Elder, his tone sincere.
Less than an hour after Yan Zimo left, he had come to see Bamboo Elder, the most influential of all the elders.
Of the twelve elders, five led by Bamboo Elder belonged to the neutral faction.
Of the remaining seven elders, four