He Xiuyuan looked rather aggrieved.
"Come on, Ying! Why didn't you bring me along for such an exciting mission?"
Ying Huaixu was speechless.
How was I supposed to bring you along?
I didn't actually investigate anything.
Even the inside information he knew now came from having played the game hundreds upon hundreds of times.
Still, Ying Huaixu was now somewhat unsure whether the real world differed from the game.
Before long, Ye Ningshuang came downstairs as well, entered the private dining room, and naturally sat down beside Ying Huaixu.
He Xiuyuan had long since grown used to this.
In his mind, he had already paired the two of them up. Barring any surprises, they would very likely become cultivation partners someday.
After all, they were both monstrous talents, and they made a good match.
Only once everyone had arrived did Ying Huaixu speak.
"I wandered around the streets yesterday and found a few suspicious places. I even saw people from the Thousand Mechanisms Sect sneaking around!"
He Xiuyuan frowned. "The Thousand Mechanisms Sect again?"
Ying Huaixu nodded.
"That's not all. I secretly followed them yesterday, and I think I heard them mentioning some plan and the Blood Sacrifice Array!"
He Xiuyuan's expression instantly turned serious. "You're not joking?"
Setting everything else aside, the Blood Sacrifice Array alone already exceeded the intended difficulty of this mission.
Likewise, if the Thousand Mechanisms Sect really was setting up a Blood Sacrifice Array in Falling Radiance City, this was a serious problem.
If the information proved true, they would have earned considerable merit.
Ying Huaixu nodded.
"I did hear them mention it, but I'm still not certain. We need to investigate properly tonight!"
He Xiuyuan suddenly asked, "Just the three of us? If necessary, we could ask the city lord for some men. Given that we're from the Divine Firmament Sword Sect, I'm sure he'd cooperate!"
Ying Huaixu rolled his eyes.
"He, have you considered something?"
He Xiuyuan was baffled. "Huh?"
Ying Huaixu sighed. "The Thousand Mechanisms Sect is this active in Falling Radiance City, and there's even a Blood Sacrifice Array involved. Do you think the city lord wouldn't know? Or do you think he doesn't know what a Blood Sacrifice Array is?"
He Xiuyuan understood immediately.
"You mean the city lord already knows about all this? That he might even have tacitly approved the Blood Sacrifice Array?"
Ying Huaixu shook his head. "I don't know. I just don't think the city lord is that stupid. If he knows about the Blood Sacrifice Array, yet only reports some unusual activity to the Divine Firmament Sword Sect, even mentioning that lots of people have disappeared from the nearby villages while saying nothing about the formation..."
"Then I think something fishy must be going on!"
He Xiuyuan wholeheartedly agreed.
At the same time, he began looking at Ying Huaixu differently.
"How does that brain of yours work? Your intelligence is downright monstrous!"
Ying Huaixu felt helpless.
It's not that I'm monstrously intelligent. The city lord himself is the boss, and he's also the vessel for that emissary's arrival.
The city lord is simply plotting with the Thousand Mechanisms Sect to devour a few more disciples of the Divine Firmament Sword Sect.
After all, the flesh and blood of Divine Firmament Sword Sect disciples are far more powerful than those of these wandering cultivators.
I just happen to know all this in advance.
He Xiuyuan could barely contain himself.
"So what's the plan? Should we go confirm it now?"
Ying Huaixu shook his head. "We'll go tonight!"
He Xiuyuan had no objections. Mainly, Ying Huaixu's performance had given him complete faith in his judgment.
"What about during the day?"
Ying Huaixu thought for a moment. "Just have some fun!"
Despite saying that, Ying Huaixu planned to personally check during the day whether the current situation matched what he had experienced in the game.
If he brought these two along without thinking it through, some things would be difficult to explain.
The Thousand Mechanisms Sect's hideouts were simply too well concealed. Heading straight for them would be hard to explain.
After breakfast, Ying Huaixu first bought up all the Blood-Coagulating Pills and Qi-Recovery Pills that had refreshed in the game shop, then automatically equipped them in his medicine slots.
Then he wandered around Falling Radiance City, seemingly without a destination.
He Xiuyuan had originally intended to take Ying Huaixu's advice and enjoy himself in Falling Radiance City.
But then inspiration struck, and he decided to follow Ying Huaixu secretly.
"Hmph, you won't let me join the fun? You think I can't force you to bring me along?"
Ye Ningshuang was unwilling at first.
But He Xiuyuan said, "How dangerous is it for him to go alone? We'll follow him secretly, and if Ying gets into trouble, we'll swoop in like reinforcements from heaven!"
Ye Ningshuang thought it over and immediately agreed!
Ying Huaixu was speechless.
Had they considered the possibility that I have a feature called a map?
And that their portraits on that map have never strayed very far from me?
Resigned, Ying Huaixu turned around and walked straight up to He Xiuyuan and Ye Ningshuang.
He Xiuyuan looked up at the sky and whistled.
Ye Ningshuang lowered her head and fiddled with her fingers.
"Stop pretending. Fine, we'll go together!"
He Xiuyuan immediately grinned.
"Let's go, let's go! Don't worry. Whatever you tell me to do, I'll do it!"
Ye Ningshuang nodded as well.
Then the three of them cheerfully went off to find one of the Thousand Mechanisms Sect's hidden bases.
Once Ying Huaixu arrived at the hideout, both sides were rather dumbfounded.
He Xiuyuan and Ye Ningshuang found the whole thing surreal.
They clearly hadn't seen Ying Huaixu do anything, yet he had led them straight to the hideout.
The Thousand Mechanisms Sect disciples were equally bewildered.
"Wait, how did you find this place?"
Ying Huaixu couldn't be bothered to waste words.
"Begin the investigation!"
With that, Ying Huaixu drew his sword.
When he saw the exclamation marks rise above the Thousand Mechanisms Sect disciples' heads, he immediately smiled.
Whoosh!
He unleashed his perfected Frost Step and Heavenly Frost Sword at full power. Countless white sword shadows repeatedly pierced through the Thousand Mechanisms Sect disciples.
Ying Huaixu's stats were so high now that killing these people was effortless.
What delighted Ying Huaixu even more was that killing them actually gave him experience.
A total of 1,000 experience!
Whoa, killing people connected to a quest gives experience too?
If that's the case...
Ying Huaixu couldn't help the corners of his mouth curling upward.
This discovery was an enormous, delightful surprise for Ying Huaixu.
Many of the later story quests, side quests, and Adventure Quests involved killing monsters.
If killing monsters during quests also gave him experience, his path to greatness would be incredibly smooth.
Most importantly, he wouldn't even need to do any work on the later quests.
He could just lie down and sleep, leaving everything else to Ye Ningshuang.
What Ying Huaixu didn't know was that Ye Ningshuang had seen his smile, and her heart began pounding wildly.
I knew it, I knew it! Senior Brother and I really are the same kind of person. There's a demon in his heart too. We really are a perfect match!
He Xiuyuan, however, felt his scalp prickle.
Having just killed a bunch of people, Ying Huaixu stood amid their corpses, sword in hand, grinning excitedly while blood still dripped from the blade. It was more than a little unnerving!
"Ying, stop smiling. You're giving me the creeps!"
Ying Huaixu: "..."
Before you continue