To avoid stirring the grass and startling the snake, Huyan Dao did not return directly to the encampment. Instead, he brought Chao Zhilin down into a valley nearby, then used a Mother-Child Talisman to summon his four junior brothers.
Once they met and his junior brothers finished exchanging pleasantries with Chao Zhilin, Huyan Dao asked them, "Junior Brother Jin told you all about Wang Sheng coming here tonight, didn't he?"
Jin Zaogong said, "I told them everything."
The other three junior brothers-Mao Zhong, Zhu Ze, and Xun Lingyin-all nodded to show that they knew.
They kept stealing glances at Chao Zhilin. In truth, although Jin Zaogong had conveyed Senior Brother Huyan's wishes, they felt deeply aggrieved.
They were still young, after all. First place had been delivered into their hands, yet they did not even dare accept it. It left a bitter taste in their mouths, and all they could do was silently resolve to prove themselves someday.
Huyan Dao said, "Brother Chao, this must be dealt with in secret. We can't alert outsiders, so the only people I can readily deploy are my junior brothers and myself. We're a little short-handed, but we should still have enough if we handle them separately. What do you think about taking care of the three from Wandering Rosy Clouds Mountain first?"
Chao Zhilin said, "That's fine, but keep a close eye on those five from the Jade Tide Sect you mentioned. Don't let them get away."
Huyan Dao said, "No need to worry about that. Deal with Wang Sheng and his two companions first. Wang Sheng carries a Mother-Child Talisman for contacting the Jade Tide Sect. Once you have it, you can use it to lure those five over. I'll cooperate from my end. If using the talisman proves inconvenient, I'll find