Eyes and Ears

"Bait? What do you mean?"

Qingqiu frowned tightly.

"After attending the first gathering, I started thinking about a question."

"What question?"

"If I were someone possessed of immense divine powers and wanted to choose a group of people to do certain things for me, what sort of people would I choose?"

The education Su Che had received in his previous life had taught him a principle: when considering matters, one had to put oneself in another's shoes. Sometimes, by changing one's perspective and train of thought, many difficult problems and doubts would be solved as easily as splitting bamboo.

"First, I would choose people with no one to rely on. Only when I was their sole support could I possess their absolute loyalty. Loyalty would be my foremost consideration."

How could anyone guard Caliban without loyalty?

Among the Mount Zhong Association's members, Gushe clearly had ties to the upper echelons of the imperial court. Yuqiang likely came from the north and had some faction behind him as well. Qingqiu claimed to come from the Eastern Sea fox clan, while the Duling Su Clan Su Che came from, though a eunuch faction, was still an Aristocratic Clan of some standing in Great Liang.

Of the six people who had met, four had their own interests.

To put it bluntly, if conflict ever arose between the Mount Zhong Association and the Duling Su Clan, which side did Zhongyuan expect Su Che to stand on?

What about Gushe? Yuqiang? Qingqiu? Even Wu Zhiqi and Plain Maiden, who currently seemed to have no other backing—when blades truly met and blood was drawn, could they be relied upon?

"Second, if I were choosing people, I would choose only two kinds. One would be unknown nobodies, because no one watched them; they could quietly build their strength and await their rise. The other would be already-famous experts, seasoned people who understood how to hide themselves."

"Only then could I ensure that my organization remained firmly established in the shadows, undiscovered by others."

Do a trade, love a trade. Since one had thrown oneself into running this sort of dark organization hidden behind the scenes, the most important thing was to remain behind the curtain and escape notice. Choosing people was therefore of utmost importance.

The Mount Zhong Association was clearly not like that. Leaving aside how those burdened by bitter feuds were generally watched by their enemies, based on its current members alone, Su Che truly could not understand how an organization with someone like Wu Zhiqi could ensure it went unnoticed.

With cultivation below Fifth Grade, he would stir up a huge commotion in the Censorate archives at the drop of a hat, provoking three Fifth Grade experts into hunting him down.

A fierce man that flashy would be better off changing careers and becoming a great hero—pulling off cross-rank challenges or snatching treasures from a tiger's jaws when he had nothing better to do—instead of joining some evil organization working behind the scenes.

"Lastly, their way of doing things must be cautious upon cautious, avoiding every occasion where they might be exposed."

Eat as much rice as one's bowl could hold; do only what one could accomplish, and never cause trouble. That was how a mastermind behind the curtain ought to operate.

In the heartland of Mystic Mountain, there were the mortal remains of an ancient Third Grade Buddha. How much attention would such an enormous disturbance draw?

Yet a dark organization bent on enduring in silence while plotting great undertakings, under its wise leader's command, had dispatched an elite team with an average strength below Fifth Grade into the heartland of Mystic Mountain, hoping to seize the greatest benefits.

What kind of genius could have devised such a strategy?

"As for me, when I left Jiankang, I was a cripple with no cultivation at all, every sinew and meridian severed."

"After arriving in Shanyin County, Mo inexplicably gained the exquisite cultivation of the Mirage Shadow Primordial Sword, my swordsmanship so refined it was as though I had labored over it for decades. What would people think if they learned of something like that?"

Su Che did not mention the Azure Emperor Wine Cup he had acquired, nor did he mention the four large characters on the tower of Withered Forest Chan Temple.

The former would naturally draw the covetous eyes of demons and ghosts across the world, while the latter would practically direct all attention onto him.

A gravely wounded man carrying a rare treasure was like a child carrying gold through a marketplace.

Amid the Mount Zhong Association's various arrangements and schemes, Su Che had developed a sense of insecurity toward the organization.

"That person possesses formidable methods and has seen all the world's affairs. If all of the above were merely his unintentional oversights, that truly makes no sense."

Su Che looked at Qingqiu and clearly noticed the suspicion in her eyes.

Foxes were suspicious by nature.

"What you say is indeed possible."

Qingqiu merely had a sharp tongue. Her talent was beyond doubt, and her mind was mature as well. In only a few sentences, she understood the misgivings in Su Che's heart.

Perhaps the Mount Zhong Association really did have a problem. A thought took deep root in Qingqiu's heart.

"Miss Qing, that is why I said we should help each other."

"That person's divine powers are vast. Even if all of us were exposed, it would not be an unacceptable loss to him. But you and I are different from him, Miss Qing. If we were truly exposed, how would we survive?"

"What do you mean?"

"There is a saying: a hundred years of cultivation earn the chance to cross a river in the same boat. Miss Qing, we are now people in the same boat."

Su Che looked at Qingqiu. "United, we both benefit; divided, we both suffer. A great change in Mystic Mountain is imminent. We are within the game and cannot jump out of it. Moreover, there is still one unresolved matter, one that concerns everyone's life and death."

Qingqiu fell silent for a moment.

Approaching Su Che and investigating his secrets had originally been the task Zhongyuan assigned her.

Of course, guiding Su Che into joining the Mount Zhong Association had also been one part of the entire task.

Thus, Qingqiu regarded her failed attempt and subsequent capture as part of the overall plan.

As a prisoner, Qingqiu did not think highly of Su Che's strength either.

Though she was a spirit fox from the Cloud-Deep Unknown Place branch of the Eastern Sea, born with great intelligence, she possessed a kind of logic common among the Demon Race.

That was, recognition of strength.

Su Che, who had only just entered cultivation, possessed merely above-average talent in Qingqiu's eyes, which had seen so many gifted talents of the Eastern Sea. She had believed there was no possibility of cooperation between them.

But Su Che's words had just changed her mind.

What this human said was not entirely without reason.

"You said there is something that concerns everyone's life and death. What are you referring to?"

Qingqiu knitted her brows.

"There is someone who must be killed. Otherwise, all of us may be exposed."

"Who?"

Qingqiu looked at Su Che. His shocking words left the fox demon somewhat unable to react.

"The 'bookboy' who took office with me."

"Why?"

"Because he may already pose the most immediate threat to us." Su Che looked at Qingqiu, his eyes brimming with killing intent.

"At first, I merely felt that something was wrong. But after meeting you, I finally understood where the problem lay."

"You all say I possess the fate of the Six Harmonies Azure Dragon, and because of that, I became a thorn in White Deer Grotto's eye, a splinter in their flesh."

"Since White Deer Grotto wants to get rid of me as quickly as possible, could they really have let me leave Jiankang so easily?" Su Che looked at Qingqiu. "Even if they could not kill me for various reasons, surveillance would at least be unavoidable."

"You suspect that bookboy was sent by White Deer Grotto to watch you?"

"Correct."

"Can you be certain?"

Qingqiu looked at Su Che. She had also encountered that bookboy, yet even with a spirit fox's keen senses, she had noticed nothing amiss. How had Su Che, with his meager cultivation, judged that there was something wrong with him?

"I cannot."

"You cannot be certain, yet you still want to kill him? How much confidence do you have in this uncertainty of yours?"

"Not kill him—test him. Even if there is only the slightest possibility, it must be tested. Besides, I am thirty percent certain that he was sent by White Deer Grotto. In a matter like this, thirty percent and one hundred percent are no different."

"You want me to kill him?"

"No. I will kill him."

Su Che looked at Qingqiu. "Please cover me."

Qingqiu hesitated for a moment.

"Fine. But since he may come from White Deer Grotto, I believe the things on your body would have rather limited effect on him."

"That is also one of the reasons I believe there is something wrong with him."