Secrets

"You're telling me!" Lu Bai said from horseback, nodding as the pieces fell into place.

That explained a few things.

The Luo family's Third Young Master was named Luo Chuan.

Some time ago, while fooling around outdoors with his maid in a rather adventurous game, Luo Chuan had accidentally overheard people from Lianwu Mountain and the Hundred Flower Grave talking.

In the near future, everyone from Lianwu Mountain would throw in their lot with the Hundred Flower Grave and raise the banner of resistance against the Outer Realm Demon.

Though the matter was secret, knowing about it shouldn't cause any trouble.

Given the current climate of opinion in the Martial Forest, even bandits could clean up their act and become respectable, so long as they raised the banner of resistance against the Demon.

But Lianwu Mountain's history was far too dark.

Like the Holy Land, it was a force propped up by Tianwu.

If the Tianwu Holy Land obtained modules through breeding, then Lianwu Mountain harvested them in the most brazen way possible.

That was why they dared to boast, "When the Group of Fiends descends, even the gods will flee."

Lianwu Mountain had a long list of misdeeds, so naturally, it wouldn't be easy for them to wash away their past.

Even the Hundred Flower Grave had reservations about them.

It seemed that the price of accepting Lianwu Mountain was for them to keep doing the dirty work.

Luo Chuan had been shocked to hear all this, but he hadn't let anything slip. Once home, he'd told only his father.

Unfortunately, the maid who'd been playing that adventurous game with him had let something slip—whether on purpose or not—and Lianwu Mountain had tracked them down.

The Hundred Flower Grave's intention was to use this opportunity to tie the Luo family to its cause as well.

According to Lu Bai, Lianwu Mountain and the Hundred Flower Grave would next put pressure on the Luo family, one playing the villain and the other the good cop.

The Luo family had a grudge against Lianwu Mountain. And as a family of martial artists, it was different from a sect.

They'd wanted to remain neutral in this conflict and stay out of it.

Now this had happened, putting Luo Chuan in an awkward position.

Especially since Lianwu Mountain had threatened to silence him, as the person who'd overheard their plans.

What truly gave the Luo family pause was that they didn't know where the Hundred Flower Grave stood.

In a way, this matter could be considered part of the Hundred Flower Grave's own dark history.

For now, they could just about hold their position. But if they sided with the Hundred Flower Grave, they'd inevitably have to face the Holy Land later.

The Hundred Flower Grave might discard them once they'd served their purpose. After all, if Lianwu Mountain really betrayed the Holy Land and did the Hundred Flower Grave's dirty work, its ties to the Hundred Flower Grave would surely be closer than the Luo family's.

That was why the Luo family had held firm under pressure.

Luo Chuan had wanted to capture Lu Bai because he hoped to offer him as a gift and ease tensions with the Hundred Flower Grave.

The people from Lianwu Mountain hadn't come to kill Luo Chuan, either. Killing him might only push the Luo family further away.

So this time, their goal was simply to capture him. Uncle Zhong had seen that clearly.

Luo Chuan's father was the main opponent of siding with the Hundred Flower Grave. If Luo Chuan were captured, the Luo family might lose its ability to resist.

Uncle Zhong understood it all, down to the last detail.

And then there was Lu Bai, a wanted criminal of the Hundred Flower Grave. The moment he displayed his formidable strength, Uncle Zhong saw an opportunity.

A wanted criminal who was at odds with the Hundred Flower Grave and possessed great strength—if the Luo family knew about him, he could help prevent them from siding with the Hundred Flower Grave.

Of course, Uncle Zhong's ultimate aim was still Lianwu Mountain. If its dark past were exposed on this scale, the Hundred Flower Grave might abandon it.

At the heart of it all was still Resentment.

Of course, this plan had too many uncertainties: Lu Bai's own attitude, whether Luo Chuan would cooperate, and so on.

In the end, it was still a gamble. That was why Uncle Zhong was so full of resentment.

He resented his own weakness.

It was precisely because he was so weak that he had to stake everything, even his own life, on an uncertain future.

Luo Chuan was beginning to understand, too. But to some extent, this situation worked in his favor.

His position as Third Young Master had already been awkward enough. Having overheard the dark secrets of two powerful factions only made it worse.

Even if Lianwu Mountain hadn't come to kill him, but to capture him, his capture would seal the Luo family's decision to side with the Hundred Flower Grave.

Then his position would become even more awkward. He wouldn't belong anywhere—not east, south, west, or north.

And after seeing Lu Bai fight, Luo Chuan had developed a strange confidence in him.

He felt that with Lu Bai's abilities, now that he knew this much, he could surely ruin the alliance between Lianwu Mountain and the Hundred Flower Grave.

But Lu Bai shook his head. The news was useful, certainly, but it was also useless.

The Martial Forest could never escape fame and profit.

Fame and profit were inseparable. A good reputation could bring enormous benefits, while wealth could also help build a good reputation.

So, for most people, it all came down to the size of the benefits.

As long as the benefits were great enough, someone could make even a man with a reputation as foul as a cesspit smell as sweet as a flower, then parade him before the public.

Was Lianwu Mountain's reputation bad?

Very.

Would exposing the fact that it had worked for the Holy Land, secretly harvesting modules from people the Holy Land didn't want to pressure directly, hurt its reputation?

It certainly would.

But as long as they muddied the waters, none of it would matter.

If the Hundred Flower Grave were clever, it would simply steer public opinion a little. It could portray Lianwu Mountain as a victim persecuted by the Holy Land, now reformed and turned to the right path.

Or it could smear the Luo family and blacken Luo Chuan's name, then accuse the family of lacking evidence and relying on just one witness—Luo Chuan—which was a disgraceful slander.

There were plenty of ways to muddy the waters. Once benefits were exchanged, most people would turn a blind eye.

Resisting the Holy Land's oppression was the prevailing tide. Lianwu Mountain might even earn a fine reputation for abandoning darkness and embracing the light.

The Luo family's refusal to side with the Hundred Flower Grave was also a matter of profit. As long as its interests were protected, a great family wouldn't let old grudges interfere with what it did next.

Of course, that didn't mean there was no solution.

Public opinion wasn't so easy to control. The Hundred Flower Grave had succeeded because it held the advantage of the moment.

Lu Bai rocked gently in the saddle, thinking about how to use this information.

Then his gaze fell on the [Resentment] token, and it gave him an idea.

It was true that most people in the Martial Forest couldn't escape fame and profit, and based their actions on them.

But there were also people who weren't like that.

They were driven by grudges—or by honor!