Pulling Him In

Everyone wore complicated expressions, unable to help feeling the sorrow of a rabbit dying while its fellow beasts watched.

Hong Jingcheng had suddenly burst into a killing spree, no doubt weighing heavily on everyone else present.

"Brother Shen, do you think Zhou Xuan was really killed by Yuan Wenxuan?"

Sun Jing and Shen Mu were walking back together just then, and Sun Jing couldn't help asking.

"Brother Sun, what do you mean?"

Shen Mu pretended not to understand.

He knew the cause of Zhou Xuan's death, of course, but Hong Jingcheng clearly needed someone to take the blame, and Yuan Wenxuan had become the scapegoat.

But he and Sun Jing were merely acquaintances. He knew better than to bare his heart to someone he barely knew.

The things said today might become a blade someone wielded against him in the future.

"Sigh, I just think Yuan Wenxuan might have been wronged."

Sun Jing's gaze flickered. He glanced around, then sighed. "I think they couldn't find the real killer, so they deliberately found someone to take the blame..."

"Oh?"

Shen Mu raised an eyebrow, puzzled. "Then why didn't Brother Hong pick someone else? Why Yuan Wenxuan in particular?"

"Brother Shen, there's something you don't know."

Sun Jing gave a bitter smile. "A year ago, Yuan Wenxuan and Zhou Xuan were both infatuated with Han Yan, a girl at the Fragrant Shadow Pavilion. The two happened to run into each other there once and got into a confrontation. If Ji Shixian, a few others, and I hadn't held them back, they probably would've come to blows."

Sun Jing's words stirred something in Shen Mu's heart.

So Zhou Xuan and Yuan Wenxuan had been kindred spirits.

It seemed someone had told Hong Jingcheng about the confrontation between Yuan Wenxuan and Zhou Xuan.

At the gathering, when Hong Jingcheng couldn't trick the real killer into revealing himself, had he convicted Yuan Wenxuan on the strength of this suspicion alone?

Clearly, this wasn't about giving the Firewood Gang's higher-ups an explanation.

Zhou Xuan had only been an ordinary gang member. He wasn't important enough for the higher-ups to care about the matter.

Besides, Zhou Xuan had only gone missing. His body hadn't been found, so the Firewood Gang was even less likely to investigate.

As Shen Mu saw it, Hong Jingcheng had probably done this to give Zhou Xuan's parents an answer.

After all, Zhou Xuan had vanished without a trace, and his parents were bound to demand justice.

That was why Hong Jingcheng had been forced to pick a scapegoat from among them...

Shen Mu asked, "Brother Sun, who else was there at the Fragrant Shadow Pavilion that time, besides Yuan Wenxuan and Zhou Xuan?"

At Shen Mu's question, a chill suddenly crept into Sun Jing's heart.

Only a handful of people knew about that confrontation, yet Hong Jingcheng seemed to know about it too, and had even used it as the motive for Yuan Wenxuan killing Zhou Xuan.

If Sun Jing hadn't told Hong Jingcheng, then who had informed on them?

Sun Jing pondered for a moment, then said, "Besides me, there were Ji Shixian and Wei Bo."

Shen Mu's gaze flickered, and he immediately understood.

Since Sun Jing had told him about this, the person who had informed Hong Jingcheng must have been either Ji Shixian or Wei Bo.

Especially since Hong Jingcheng had just ordered Wei Bo and Ji Shixian to carry the body. That was enough to show that they were both close confidants of his.

Sun Jing had told him all this because he was probably trying to draw him into his circle.

Shen Mu had only just arrived, and in the eyes of outsiders, he had always been someone devoted to martial training. That was why Sun Jing had developed the urge to befriend him.

Hong Jingcheng had killed Yuan Wenxuan today. Would he turn his butcher's knife on them in the future?

It was better to befriend a few more people. At least they could face whatever came together.

What Sun Jing hadn't realized was that Shen Mu only wanted to improve his cultivation as quickly as possible, not grow stronger through a network of connections.

Shen Mu knew that all fear came from a lack of strength.

So what if he became friends with Sun Jing?

If something happened and they faced a life-or-death crisis, Sun Jing would sell him out without hesitation, just like Yuan Wenxuan tonight.

If he were strong enough, who would dare bully him?

"Brother Shen, I have a few jars of good wine back at my place. After what we just went through, why not come over for a drink to calm your nerves?"

When they were near his Bamboo Shed, Sun Jing stopped and asked.

Shen Mu shook his head and politely declined. "I appreciate the offer, Brother Sun, but after a whole day of body-tempering, all I want is to go back and get some rest."

"Brother Shen really is a hard worker."

Sun Jing gave Shen Mu a long look and smiled awkwardly. "All right, then. I won't insist."

Shen Mu said goodbye and continued down the path toward his Bamboo Shed.

Watching Shen Mu walk away, the smile slowly faded from Sun Jing's lips, and his expression darkened.

Yuan Wenxuan had been a friend of his too, yet today he had suddenly met a gruesome death at Hong Jingcheng's hands.

This sudden turn of events had caught Sun Jing completely off guard.

That was precisely why he had made a deliberate effort to befriend Shen Mu, hoping to find someone to take Yuan Wenxuan's place.

The other Guardians had more or less found friends who shared their inclinations. Shen Mu, being new, was undoubtedly the best candidate.

Unfortunately, he seemed uninterested and still intended to go it alone.

"Hmph. What a fool. Hong Jingcheng killed Yuan Wenxuan without warning today. What makes you think he won't suddenly kill you tomorrow?"

"If we don't band together, won't we be at his mercy from now on?"

Having been brushed off by Shen Mu, Sun Jing had been left with egg on his face. He sneered and turned away.

Shen Mu returned to his Bamboo Shed, poured himself a jug of his homemade Origin Mulberry Wine, then lay atop the shed and gazed up at the tranquil night sky.

"I'm still not strong enough."

Shen Mu couldn't help sighing.

Although the matter of Zhou Xuan would be completely settled once Hong Jingcheng had killed Yuan Wenxuan, Shen Mu still felt weighed down.

An innocent man like Yuan Wenxuan had become Zhou Xuan's funeral companion simply because Zhou Xuan had grown infatuated with him...

In the eyes of those with higher cultivation, a person's life was no different from that of a barnyard chicken or a stray dog.

And judging by what Sun Jing had said earlier, the Guardians under Hong Jingcheng probably weren't as amiable as Shen Mu had imagined.

That was precisely why he had deliberately kept his distance when Sun Jing showed a desire to befriend him.

The secret of the Martial Dao Tree within him absolutely could not be revealed to anyone.

If he got too close to someone, the rapid breakthroughs in his cultivation thanks to the Martial Dao Tree would inevitably arouse their suspicions.

Even if their friendship kept them from doing anything, who could guarantee they wouldn't mention it to someone else?

By then, wouldn't he suffer the same baseless misfortune as Yuan Wenxuan had tonight?

"Wei Bo. Ji Shixian."

Shen Mu took a drink of wine, his gaze growing deep.

If his suspicions were right, one of those two had informed Hong Jingcheng, and that had been the main reason Yuan Wenxuan had died tonight.

It showed that when their interests clashed, friendship between friends was nothing but a thing they could toss aside at will.

"It looks like I'll have to be careful if I cross paths with either of them from now on, or I might be sold out while still counting the money for them."

Shen Mu's gaze flickered.

Even if one of them had informed Hong Jingcheng while the other knew nothing about it, Shen Mu had already decided to have as little to do with either of them as possible.