"?"
Duan Lianshan caught sight of the writing, and the corner of his eye twitched. He immediately sat up and leaned closer to examine it.
He Lin's face turned ashen, and his knuckles creaked around the token.
"The other party must be from Yongzhou. He killed Leopard yesterday, then raced eight hundred li under urgent orders to trick Tiger out and kill him. What do we do now?"
It wasn't as though the Return to Origin Cult had never lost core members before. If a token was lost, they could promptly cut off contact, and the cult leader could provide a replacement. The impact was minimal.
And their opponents knew a stolen token was useless. At most, the two sides would trade a few insults before deleting each other.
But someone soothing them and asking to cooperate? That was a first since heaven and earth were created!
Duan Lianshan pondered for a moment.
"Neither Tiger nor Leopard had a chance to send a warning. This person's skills are formidable... Ask who he is and see if he wants to join us."
He Lin thought the message did sound a little like an offer to surrender and cooperate, so he replied:
"Who are you, sir?"
The other party was very sincere too, replying instantly:
"Ye Xingge of the Heaven-Observing Pavilion's Judicial Review Bureau. You should have heard my name."
Silence fell over the room once more.
Duan Lianshan and He Lin exchanged suspicious looks.
News traveled quickly through the Return to Origin Cult. When Yang Tuyan died a few days ago, the full story had already reached everyone's ears. They even knew Ye Xingge was from Qingxi County, was eighteen or nineteen years old, and went by the nickname Subduer of Qingxi.
But this man had suddenly come to Forgetful River Mouth, killed their disciple, and given his name while asking to cooperate...
He Lin thought for a moment, then turned to Duan Lianshan.
"Is it true?"
Duan Lianshan went straight to the heart of the matter.
"Never mind whether it's true. First ask what he wants."
He Lin agreed and continued questioning him.
The other party then sent a plan for their cooperation in several messages:
"You've lain in wait for months without success. The Gold-Chasing Gentleman must have figured out where you are."
"Tail Fire Tiger just died. Black Dragon Island doesn't know what happened, so he may come to you to investigate."
"Prepare an urgent letter from the capital saying Mantanghong was in Qingxi the day before yesterday and passed the Filth-Severing Whip on to me."
"I risked my life to kill Yang Tuyan so I could snatch the wristguard and conceal it."
"Leopard learned of it and tried to send word. I killed him and seized his jade talisman."
"To prevent the secret from leaking, I raced eight hundred li under urgent orders to silence him. The disciples in the capital couldn't send word by jade talisman, so they spurred their horses here to deliver the letter."
"Hide or burn the letter, then come to Green Snail Island to hunt me down."
"The Gold-Chasing Gentleman can't possibly guess that you and I are conspiring. Once he finds the clue, he'll come to secretly verify it."
"If the Gold-Chasing Gentleman comes, I have a way to make him show himself. After that, we'll each rely on our own abilities."
"If you fear a trap, forget I said anything. We'll meet again in the jianghu."
Duan Lianshan sat beside He Lin and read the whole plan carefully, his brow gradually furrowing.
"This plan... if he isn't fishing for us to lure us to our deaths, it does seem to make sense. But..."
Duan Lianshan took the token and wrote on it:
"No rabbit, no hawk. Without the Filth-Severing Whip, the Gold-Chasing Gentleman won't show himself."
The other party replied:
"I have the Heaven-Obscuring Arm. He can't be sure whether I have it or not."
"..."
When the two saw the words "Heaven-Obscuring Arm," their expressions changed at once!
The Gold-Chasing Gentleman wasn't called the Fate-Robbing Gentleman because the renowned weapon with which he had made his name was the Gold-Chasing Bell.
It could detect heavenly materials and earthly treasures from a great distance, allowing him to steal them or assess an enemy's situation.
The Heaven-Obscuring line of renowned weapons worked by making the guest usurp the host's place: they forced all means of detection to see only themselves, concealing everything behind them.
There were quite a few renowned weapons in the Heaven-Obscuring line, and they always occupied the primary slot. Under normal circumstances, someone who detected one would usually assume the target had no better protective gear to replace it with, or was hiding a killing weapon like the Ravine-Leaping Tiger, whose power diminished greatly once exposed.
And divine weapons were all in the hands of First Rank old devils. Only the Fate-Robbing Saber had found its way into the jianghu, so an ordinary person wouldn't think a divine weapon was being concealed.
But Ye Xingge was different!
The lad really did have the Heaven-Obscuring Arm, had opportunities to meet Mantanghong, and had a history of risking his life to kill Yang Tuyan. The Return to Origin Cult's "clue" would also corroborate it.
Under those circumstances, how could the Gold-Chasing Gentleman prove that Ye Xingge didn't have the Filth-Severing Whip?
And if he couldn't be sure, he could only "investigate the old-fashioned way"-by making a move and searching him.
They couldn't catch the Gold-Chasing Gentleman because he was covered in divine concealment artifacts, making him impossible to find.
But if the Gold-Chasing Gentleman came to take the bait himself, catching him would be easy.
He Lin thought it over for a long time and decided the other party's approach was outrageously bold and black-hearted.
Moreover, in the world today, Ye Xingge was the only person who could pull off this scheme.
If anyone else claimed to have the Filth-Severing Whip, even with a Heaven-Obscuring renowned weapon, the Gold-Chasing Gentleman wouldn't believe a single word.
"This move really does have an eighty percent chance of luring the Gold-Chasing Gentleman out. But if the other party isn't Ye Xingge and is deliberately luring us to our deaths..."
Duan Lianshan paid that possibility no mind at all.
After all, if they suspected a deadly trap, they certainly wouldn't risk going.
Then nothing would happen. The other party would kill Tiger, dust off his backside, and leave, and they wouldn't even know who he was.
Wasn't that the empty-city stratagem?
The Return to Origin Cult was, after all, a leading underworld force whose name struck terror into people. The two of them were Third Rank experts. Even if they knew it was a trap, they still had to go and see for themselves. What would it look like if a few words scared them off?
"Green Snail Island has open terrain. As long as we get there first and set an ambush, we'll have a chance to catch the Gold-Chasing Gentleman. As for a trap, anyone in his right mind who can lure the Gold-Chasing Gentleman over wouldn't kill the two of us. Even if he wanted to, he'd first lure the snake out of its hole, then kill the donkey once the grinding was done.
"We'll scout Green Snail Island first and leave if things look wrong. If it really is Ye Xingge and there's no formidable expert with him, we'll decide what to do when the time comes."
He Lin thought that made sense. Recalling the plan, he added:
"Mantanghong did visit Qingxi a few days ago, and Ye Xingge really did risk his life to seize the Heaven-Obscuring Arm. Could he actually have the Filth-Severing Whip?"
"Uh..."
Duan Lianshan had his own suspicions.
But the other party had laid his cards on the table, and even he half believed it. How could the Gold-Chasing Gentleman not believe it?
"This is the River-Spanning Pavilion's territory. Even if the Cloud and Rain Tower came in person, they'd have to weigh the risks. And if this lad had the Filth-Severing Whip in hand, he'd first run into the enemy camp and provoke thousands of people into hunting him down, then call on our Return to Origin Cult for help and use a real divine weapon as bait to lie in wait for a Gold-Chasing Gentleman nobody can catch. And what he'd be after is the Fate-Robbing Saber, which would cut ten years of training down to half a year if he got it!"
At this point, Duan Lianshan sighed.
"I figure anyone who could come up with this plan can't be that sick in the head."
"Oh..."
He Lin thought about it and agreed. He said no more, rose, and said:
"Once news of Li Yi's death spreads, the Gold-Chasing Gentleman could come to investigate at any time. Let's prepare the clue immediately and set out as soon as possible to see what's really going on..."
Elsewhere, on Green Snail Island.
The island was named for its resemblance to a river snail. Snakes and insects ran rampant there, and the climate was humid. It was normally used to punish disciples who had committed offenses. At night, the island was a dark mass, with no sign of human life.
By now, Forgetful River Mouth had turned into a pot of boiling water. Torches stretched along the riverbank like a long dragon, and boats were searching the lake for traces of the "bandits."
Under cover of darkness, Ye Xingge made his way through the rugged, pathless woodland.
Hongyu also kept a careful watch on the area around Green Snail Island, lest they be spotted and ambushed. At last, they slowly made their way to the island's high ground and found a thicket backed against a rock.
The spot commanded the land below and offered an exceptionally broad view. Though she couldn't look in every direction at once, half the island was within sight, and it would be difficult to sneak up behind her.
As long as Ye Xingge stayed below, she was absolutely certain she could detect anyone approaching in advance.
Hongyu wasted no time. She first drew the Divine Arm Crossbow, then lay down amid the bushes, her voluptuous figure pressed low.
Rustle, rustle~
Ye Xingge took a brief look and thought that Great Beauty's figure was so good it was a problem too. He pulled up some weeds and vines to cover her ample peaches, waist, and back, then warned her:
"There are snakes here. Don't start screaming if you see one."
Hongyu surveyed the island and lake below, looking utterly speechless.
"I can hear exactly how many mosquitoes are around me, and you think I'd be afraid of snakes? Just look after yourself. Don't give the game away."
Ye Xingge had no idea how long they would have to guard the stump and wait for a rabbit, so he also placed the dry rations and waterskin from his waist in front of the little foodie.
Then he walked down the slope alone, came to a relatively concealed spot behind a rock, turned the Filth-Severing Whip into a leather whip, coiled it and hung it at his waist, and began to wait.
With her left eye, Hongyu watched the island and lake, while her right peered through a spyglass, carefully observing the area around Ye Xingge.
Although the Gold-Chasing Gentleman couldn't come before the Return to Origin Cult arrived, they couldn't rule out the possibility that his movement technique was extraordinary enough for him to set out later and arrive first.
And the "Gold-Chasing Gentleman" had evaded capture for so many years precisely because he had the Dust-Returning Robe!
Its divine effect was Shadow Vanishes with the Form. When moving, the wearer was only a hazy shimmer of light and shadow; when still, the wearer was completely invisible. The slightest lapse, and Ye Xingge really would be done for.
Hongyu was intensely focused, hardly blinking at all.
As the two settled into position, the deserted island fell quiet.
All that remained was the flickering firelight on the distant lakeshore and the faint sound of waves:
Splash, splash...