A Battle of Wits

"I don't know either."

Pang Jian shook his head, his face blank with confusion.

He only remembered that the Eye of Imprint had suddenly changed, and as it searched the crowd for the one who had sent the message, the Bronze Tablet his father had left him suddenly grew scorching hot.

That was all.

Naturally, he wouldn't tell anyone present about his secret, so he could only answer that he didn't know.

"You don't know? The Blood Moon's Eye of Imprint wouldn't choose someone like you for no reason." Shangguan Qin wouldn't let it go.

"That's enough!" Zhou Qingchen gave a light cough, cutting off Shangguan Qin's tirade. Then he said solemnly, "Pang Jian, did you see anything else after that?"

"Anything else?"

Pang Jian thought carefully before answering. "The vines killed the Blood Moon cultivators, quickly devoured their flesh and blood, then shrank back into the fissures. It should be the same now. The vines have eaten everyone from the Shangguan Family, so they should have returned underground."

Everyone's expression darkened.

"Anything else?" Zhou Qingchen pressed gravely.

"The next scene I saw was you arriving here first," Pang Jian replied.

That meant the loop was complete. All the scenes Pang Jian had seen through the Eye of Imprint afterward were things Zhou Qingchen himself had experienced.

The young master of the Zhou Family fell silent, recalling how Pang Jian had miraculously remained unaffected when the demonic sound erupted from the pile of rocks, and how the Eye of Imprint had shown him special favor.

He suspected that Pang Jian possessed some hidden mystery he couldn't see. Otherwise, there was no reasonable explanation.

"It should be safe over there now."

While everyone was still pondering, Pang Jian spoke again, addressing Shangguan Qin. "If you go back now, you should be able to safely collect the belongings left behind by the dead members of your family."

Her face, which had been as lovely as a flower, was now filled with panic and helplessness. She hadn't yet recovered from her terror, and she said coldly, "I won't believe a single word you say!"

She was deeply prejudiced against Pang Jian and was determined to find a way to capture him and pry the secret from his heart.

Pang Jian acted as if he couldn't see her hostility. "I'm willing to go back and retrieve the belongings left behind by your family's servants."

Hatred still filled Shangguan Qin's eyes. She gritted her teeth. "You'd be that kind?"

"You can come with me," Pang Jian suggested.

Shangguan Qin hesitated, uncertainty flashing in her eyes. But she soon said coldly, "I don't trust you."

"What about the rest of you? Anyone who doesn't trust me can come back and take a look." Pang Jian glanced at the others.

Zhou Qingchen was surprised. He had just been about to say he would go back with Pang Jian when Ning Yao spoke up, so he kept quiet.

"I'll go with you."

To everyone's surprise, Ning Yao, who had barely said a word until now, took the initiative to speak.

When everyone turned to look at her, Ning Yao calmly explained, "It's not that I don't trust Pang Jian. I just think there may still be danger over there, so it would be more prudent for me to go with him."

"Xiao Yao, the situation over there is still unclear. Isn't it unwise for you to go back now?" Ning Yuanshan said worriedly.

"It's fine. If Pang Jian dares to go, what do I have to be afraid of?"

Ning Yao rode her warhorse closer to Pang Jian's. She patted her horse on the forehead and whispered a few words into its ear.

Then she straightened up, her modestly rounded chest rising as she sat tall. "I'll ride with you."

Without waiting for Pang Jian's answer, she suddenly leaped up and landed gracefully behind him, sharing his horse.

The Bamboo Basket on Pang Jian's back sat between them, keeping them from pressing too close together.

She naturally rested both hands at Pang Jian's waist and urged him on. "Let's go."

Pang Jian's body and expression both stiffened noticeably.

When Ning Yao's hands settled at his waist, spiritual energy quietly surged in her palms. It was clear that this girl had no good intentions.

Sharing a horse with her didn't feel like a pleasure to Pang Jian. It felt like sitting on pins and needles.

"Why aren't you moving?" Ning Yao snapped impatiently.

The spiritual energy in her fair hands surged more fiercely, like a venomous snake lying in wait, ready to slither out.

A chill ran through Pang Jian. He said nothing, tightened his grip on the reins, and urged the horse toward the Heavenly Phoenix Remains.

"Miss Ning, a friendly reminder: Pang Jian is a guide familiar with the Cenji Mountains, and I like him very much. I hope you'll take good care of him," Zhou Qingchen called out. "If you don't take good care of him, I'm afraid we won't be able to take good care of Uncle Yuanshan either."

Ning Yuanshan's expression changed abruptly.

He had never expected Zhou Qingchen to threaten his life for Pang Jian at a time like this, all to keep Ning Yao from killing him.

"He's a guide hired by my Ning Family. I know how important he is, so there's no need for Young Master Zhou to remind me," Ning Yao snorted.

Zhou Qingchen smiled. "Good."

"Clip-clop!"

Amid the dense thunder of hooves, Pang Jian rode away on the chestnut warhorse, gradually disappearing from everyone's sight.

"Worthy Nephew Zhou, Pang Jian is only a hunter from the mountains. Is it really necessary to make such a fuss over him?"

Only after Ning Yao and Pang Jian had left did Ning Yuanshan speak, his face troubled and awkward. "Wasn't it a bit much to threaten Xiao Yao with me?"

The others were puzzled too. They pricked up their ears, eager to hear Zhou Qingchen's answer.

Even Han Duping and the Zhou Family's servants found Zhou Qingchen's special regard for Pang Jian unbelievable.

"That 'hunter' you mentioned just saved all our lives!" Zhou Qingchen dropped the courtesies, his expression stern. "Returning a favor is such a simple principle. Do I really have to teach it to you? Without Pang Jian's timely warning, do you really think our Zhou Family, you, and Ning Yao would have made it out alive?"

Ning Yuanshan was left speechless. When he examined his own conscience, he realized Zhou Qingchen was probably right.

They were simply used to looking down from on high. They never paid any attention to people of lesser status, so they had taken everything for granted.

Liu Qi was one example, as were the others who had followed them and died in the pile of rocks.

In his eyes, Pang Jian wasn't even as important as Liu Qi. That was why he couldn't accept Zhou Qingchen threatening his niece for his sake.

"The one who really made a difference wasn't that little hunter. It was the Blood Moon's Eye of Imprint!" Shangguan Qin shrieked angrily.

"If he hadn't been there, the Eye of Imprint would have chosen me. Once I received the crucial message, I would have warned everyone to flee at once. And if I'd received the message, Luo Meng wouldn't have died, and neither would the rest of my family!"

In her heart, Pang Jian had received the Eye of Imprint's recognition, so she blamed him for everything.

"Senior Shangguan."

Zhou Qingchen's expression turned cold. He no longer called her "Aunt Qin," and rebuked her bluntly. "What makes you think the Eye of Imprint should have chosen you? You may have cultivated the Blood Wheel Technique, the Blood Moon's entry-level technique, but you never passed the Blood Moon's test. You aren't even considered a Blood Moon cultivator!"

"You can cultivate the Blood Wheel Technique only because the elders of your Shangguan Family secretly gave you the cultivation method."

Zhou Qingchen sat astride a black warhorse, his frame upright. He gave a snort and sneered again. "Even I don't think the world should revolve around me. What makes you think the Eye of Imprint would favor you?"

"And you dare call it 'our Blood Moon'? Senior Shangguan, only when your name is truly entered into the Blood Moon's register in the Upper Realm, as mine is, will you have the right to say 'our'!"

Shangguan Qin's face flushed red and white beneath his rebuke.

She suddenly realized that although the young master of the Zhou Family had always been polite and respectfully called her "Aunt Qin," there was still a clear gap between her Shangguan Family and the Zhou Family.

Besides, the Blood Moon had never recognized her, nor accepted her as one of its own. She truly had no right to use "our" when speaking of it.

Zhou Qingchen was one of the foremost talents in the Fourth Realm. The Red Mountain had recruited him shortly after his birth, and his name had been entered into its register long ago.

Her Shangguan Family couldn't compare to the Zhou Family, and she couldn't compare to Zhou Qingchen. Even the strength she commanded now was no match for his.

So she could only force down her anger and fall silent, helpless.

Elsewhere.

Pang Jian's entire body was stiff. He felt that if the spiritual energy in Ning Yao's hands at his waist suddenly burst out of control, it would shatter all his internal organs.

A fine sheen of sweat covered his forehead the whole way. He remained tense throughout.

"Pang Jian, remember this: you took money from my Ning Family, not from Zhou Qingchen."

Only after they were far from the others did Pang Jian hear Ning Yao sneer into his ear from behind.

"When danger suddenly appeared, you should have told me right away and had us leave with you! You took money from my Ning Family and rode our warhorse, yet the first person you warned was Zhou Qingchen!"

Ning Yao's hands tightened slightly, pinching the flesh on either side of Pang Jian's waist.

Pang Jian sucked in a sharp breath.

He was in so much pain that his face twisted, but he feared Ning Yao might release spiritual energy from her fingers and kill him on the spot.

Fortunately, she was only pinching him hard. Although the pain was unbearable, he knew she was trying to teach him a lesson this time, not actually take his life.

"The Gray Ape is my friend. After I made that clear, Zhou Qingchen did his best to save it. You and your uncle didn't say a word," Pang Jian said in a low voice.

"It's your friend, not mine. What's that got to do with me?" Ning Yao sneered.

Pang Jian said no more.

Soon, the horse returned to the grim scene.

The pungent stench of blood filled the space ahead. As soon as Pang Jian stopped, he saw the tallest skeleton there.

The blood-soaked skeleton belonged to Luo Meng. Its innards and flesh were gone, blood still stained its bones, and the vines had taken its eyeballs, leaving hollow sockets filled with despair.

The vines had devoured only flesh and blood. They hadn't taken Luo Meng's or the other members of the Shangguan Family's customary belongings, nor the gold and silver ornaments they had worn. Everything lay scattered beside the skeletons.

Ning Yao covered her nose and gave Pang Jian a push, saying with disgust, "Go collect the belongings for Shangguan Qin."

She had always been fastidious. The thought of touching things stained with blood disgusted her, and with Pang Jian there, she wasn't about to do it herself.

"All right."

Pang Jian had been prepared for this. He dismounted, ignored the bloodstains on the objects, gathered them up, and tied them together with hemp rope.

Ning Yao never dismounted. She kept an eye on him while also watching the skeletons and the Indeterminate Ferry.

She couldn't shake the feeling that Pang Jian had come back for a reason. He definitely hadn't returned out of kindness to help Shangguan Qin.

"I'm going to take a look inside the Indeterminate Ferry," Pang Jian said suddenly.

Ning Yao's thoughts stirred. Just as she'd expected. Still, she feigned surprise and asked, "The Indeterminate Ferry? Everyone who went to explore it earlier is dead. Are you sure you want to go?"

Pang Jian nodded. "Those people died because the Eye of Imprint needed blood. It was a bloody sacrifice. Now that the Eye of Imprint has been destroyed, the inside of the boat should be safe."

With that, he moved as if to go over.

"I'll take a look!"

Ning Yao suddenly dismounted. She skimmed over the long, narrow fissures in the ground and quickly headed for the Blood Moon's Indeterminate Ferry.

In an unquestionable tone, she ordered, "You stay here. If anything happens outside, you must tell me immediately!"

"All right." Pang Jian frowned.

Ning Yao turned to see the dejected look on Pang Jian's face. She became even more convinced that some rare treasure left behind by the Blood Moon was inside the Indeterminate Ferry, and that Pang Jian had learned of it through the Eye of Imprint. That was why he had insisted on coming back.

"He may be young, but he's full of schemes."

Ning Yao muttered to herself, thinking that this taciturn young man probably spent so much time in the Cenji Mountains, matching wits with older hunters, that he'd become anything but guileless.