"Was it really you?"
As a frail figure slowly stepped out from behind Ghost Child, Master Huang looked up and froze!
He had always thought Old Miao's guess was nonsense, but with the truth before his eyes, he had no choice but to concede. He could have racked his brains to pieces and never imagined that Chen Qing was the one who had released Ghost Child!
"Greetings, Teacher..." Chen Qing stepped forward, then bowed to Elder Miao as well. "Greetings, Senior..."
"Good, good, good!" Mister Miao clapped his hands and laughed heartily. "Young people these days really are each more formidable than the last..."
"How could you undo the Azure Dragon seal?" Master Huang stared fixedly at Chen Qing.
"A fortunate coincidence..."
"How could you make this Ghost Child obey you?"
"By treating others sincerely..."
"You..." Master Huang was so angry that even his whiskers bristled.
Chen Qing could only feel helpless. He was telling the truth. His ability to undo the Azure Dragon seal really had been a fortunate coincidence. Who could blame him for happening to know this part of the plot?
As for Ghost Child obeying him, that really was because he had treated him sincerely. Had he been insincere, he probably would have been slapped to death back in the cave...
"You hid yourself well, boy!" Master Huang sneered. "You spent three whole years at my side, and even I never saw through you."
"Weren't you the same, Teacher?" Chen Qing sighed. Had he not happened upon this incident, he probably would never have known that Master Huang was Painted Skin Mister!
"Lad, I have a few questions for you," Mister Miao said after drawing a breath to steady himself.
Chen Qing bowed respectfully again. "Please ask, Senior!"
"Since you can make Ghost Child obey you completely, why didn't you have him kill us in Liuzhou City?"
"We couldn't kill you..." Chen Qing shook his head. "By the time I reached Liuzhou City, Lord Yuchi Peng had already returned. Besides, I had no idea how many of you were in Liuzhou City, Senior. Naturally, I wouldn't let Nezha sink into unknown danger."
"Nezha?" Mister Miao paused.
"Hmph!" Ghost Child promptly planted his hands on his hips and stood smugly to one side. "I have a name now! It's Chen Nezha!!"
Mister Miao and Master Huang both froze for a moment. Mister Miao recovered first. Looking at Ghost Child, whose nose was practically pointing at the sky, he nodded slightly. "Treating others sincerely. So that was it..."
Then he turned back to Chen Qing. "But if you're here, why did our people in the city start fighting?"
"Do you mean the fake education commissioner you planted, Senior?"
At those words, Master Huang looked stunned, while Mister Miao narrowed his eyes. "How did you know he was a fake?"
"I guessed!" Chen Qing smiled. "Once you've seen the same method used once, it naturally becomes easier to guess the second time. If you could use a fake Yuchi Peng to deceive Wang Ye and me, you could naturally use a fake education commissioner to deceive General Yuchi Peng."
"I understand now..." Mister Miao looked gravely at Chen Qing. "It was you. You contacted someone close to Yuchi Peng, then used him to force Hei Wu to act!"
"You're perceptive, Senior..." Chen Qing nodded. "I only have Nezha on my side, so naturally, I couldn't let him take the risk. General Yuchi Peng's reputation precedes him. There was no one better to probe your strength."
"Just to probe us?"
"Of course not..." Chen Qing looked at Master Huang, smiling rather happily. "Once General Yuchi Peng activated his Heavenly Peng Bloodline, your connection to Liuzhou would be severed. With communication cut off and chaos breaking out over there, they naturally couldn't spare any attention for your side. That would be my best opportunity to strike!"
"So that was it..." Master Huang understood as well. "We were your targets from the very beginning?"
"No..." Chen Qing shook his head. "This senior in black was unexpected. Your student's target was always you alone, Teacher!"
"Why?" Master Huang asked in puzzlement. "There's no real enmity between us. You don't look as though you're doing this for the court, either. Surely it couldn't be to save this Wang Ye?"
"Saving Lord Wang is only right..." Chen Qing spoke solemnly. "At a critical moment, Lord Wang gave me the chance to live. He saved my life. If I have the chance, naturally, I must repay him."
"That's not all, is it?" Mister Miao sneered.
Chen Qing drew a breath and looked at Master Huang's chest. "Teacher, our time as master and student was a bond of fate. Your student doesn't truly wish to kill you. How about this? Let Wang Ye go and give me the mirror in your robes, and I'll let you leave."
At those words, neither Master Huang nor Mister Miao could maintain his composure. Their faces filled with shock. This fellow... actually knew about Mr. Mirror too!!
"I knew it... I knew it!!"
An annoyed voice came from Master Huang's chest. "You had your sights on me from the very beginning, didn't you, boy?"
A few days ago in the courtyard, it had already felt something was wrong. The instant that boy saw it, his eyes had gleamed green, just like a wolf catching sight of meat!
"Mr. Mirror... was something the King of Qin obtained by chance in an ancient realm!" Master Huang's expression truly changed this time. "Of those who knew about it back then, the only ones still alive were me and the Miao Household's ancestor. You... just who are you?"
"What kind of monster is this?"
Inside Liuzhou City, Hei Wu moved through the surrounding darkness, staring in shock at the slaughtered bodies of Mother and Child Ghosts strewn across the ground!
Once his spell was activated, outsiders within its range completely lost their sight, hearing, and smell. Without his granting them their senses, anyone who entered became a useless wretch stripped of all five senses.
Combined with the Mother and Child Ghosts, whose single bite could paralyze every nerve in the body, he had never lost to a martial warrior since perfecting this spell. How deeply did martial traditions run in the barbarian nations of the north? Who among them did not fear the name Hei Wu?
Yet his ever-victorious spell could do absolutely nothing to the monster before him...
As Hei Wu looked at the bodies strewn across the ground, he grew increasingly anxious.
Because almost all the Mother and Child Ghosts were dead...
This fellow was simply a wild beast. He clearly could neither see nor hear anything, and had even lost his sense of smell, yet every time a Mother and Child Ghost approached, he sensed it beforehand and killed it with a single slash. This way of fighting on instinct alone simply defied all reason!
Yet he did not dare withdraw the spell and flee.
His spell was incomparably overbearing, stripping anyone who entered its range of all five senses, but its weaknesses were equally obvious. First, once its range was established, it could not be moved. Moreover, the moment he left its range, the spell would automatically dissolve. In other words, if he wanted to run, once he went beyond a certain distance, the spell that could still restrain this monster for now would collapse.
Under ordinary circumstances, that would have been fine, but he just had to run into someone from the Yuchi Household!
Given his opponent's explosive speed, Hei Wu was certain that the moment he dared withdraw the spell, he would not survive three seconds!
What should I do?
At that moment, Hei Wu bitterly regretted not listening to Mister Miao's advice. Now he was riding a tiger with no way to dismount!
Perhaps... hostages?
Hei Wu turned toward the other personal guards, who had already collapsed from exhaustion where they stood. These were all real people who had not been replaced by Painted Skin Mister. Taking them hostage might offer a sliver of hope.
After considering it and sensing his spiritual power on the verge of exhaustion, Hei Wu hesitated no longer and hurried toward the exhausted guards.
But just as he was about to seize them, Wei Gongcheng, who had already stopped breathing, suddenly opened his eyes. Like a tiger awakening, he lunged over, seized Hei Wu, and instantly drove the short blade in his hand through his chest!
"You!!"
Agonizing pain wrung Hei Wu's chest, and the surrounding spell instantly collapsed!
He had never imagined that this fellow, who had clearly stopped breathing, could actually come back to life!
"Just as I thought..." Wei Gongcheng panted, chuckling. "With this spell of yours, you can let someone see whenever you want. How convenient... You thought I was dead, but forgot to block my five senses..."
"You bastard..." Hei Wu's entire body twitched. He still tried to activate his spell, but he no longer had the chance.
Those one or two seconds might have been too little for an ordinary person to accomplish anything, but for a top martial warrior like Yuchi Peng, they were enough to kill a hundred Hei Wus!
A snow-bright blade flashed. Never mind casting a spell-Hei Wu did not even have any flesh left. His entire body turned to ash beneath that utterly overbearing slash!
"Gongcheng?" His eyes bloodshot, Yuchi Peng caught the exhausted Wei Gongcheng in his arms.
The Wei Household's Wind Serpent Bloodline possessed the Feign Death Technique, but its burden was immense. Once it was used, a martial warrior's future was essentially ruined!
At that thought, he wished he could drag back that sorcerer who had appeared from who knew where and hack him a thousand times over!
"My lord... there isn't much time. Listen to me..." Wei Gongcheng panted, forcing himself not to pass out. He knew exactly how heavy the burden of his Feign Death Technique was. If he fainted now, he probably would not wake for a day or two!
"All right... speak!" Yuchi Peng did not act willfully this time. After so many years together, he knew perfectly well how reliable Wei Gongcheng was.
"We fell into a trap. Most of our brothers have been replaced with puppets by a kind of monster, including Lu Jiaming..."
"What? How is that possible!" Yuchi Peng's powerful frame shuddered, and he nearly roared.
"General..." Wei Gongcheng looked helpless.
"All right, all right. Go on..."
"I've made a list of the brothers who are still normal. It's in my robes. Keep it safe in a moment, General. You must protect the remaining brothers."
"All right!"
"Lord Wang Ye is in mortal danger. He recommended a young man named Chen Qing, a newly appointed successful candidate in this year's imperial examination. This man is the key to resolving the Thousand-Faced Fox incident in the capital. You must ensure he reaches the capital safely!"
"Chen Qing? Where is he?" Yuchi Peng hurriedly asked.
"He's..." Wei Gongcheng froze, suddenly realizing something. What had that sorcerer said just now? Someone who could control Ghost Child?
That scholar named Chen Qing... couldn't be trusted completely!!
"G-General... you... you must be careful..."
Wei Gongcheng opened his mouth, wanting to warn his general, but he no longer had the strength to make the slightest sound...
Damn it!
Wei Gongcheng had no strength left. His eyelids drooped, and a bitter smile appeared at the corners of his mouth.
Hopefully, his general... would be safe...