Chapter 150: Mutual Suspicion

This saber really had a fate with him; even throwing it casually could result in automatic correction. It was a pity, though, that he had thrown it away. Honestly, he really wanted to enter the dream world again.

Besides, when Lu Yao used the Ghost Eye Bow to shoot him earlier, the broken saber had even warned him.

It truly was a good saber.

He Lingchuan sighed secretly in his heart. As he ran, his fist brushed his waist, and he suddenly felt the scabbard was a bit off. He looked down—

The broken saber was still there, lying quietly in the scabbard.

"..."

He Lingchuan was overjoyed, touching the hilt several times before remembering that Sun Fuping's short pestle would also automatically fly back to its master's hand.

That is to say, this item was at least of the same grade as a treasure! Since the broken saber flew back automatically, it meant this treasure had recognized him as its master?

What a joy!

However, when did this recognition happen? He didn't seem to have performed any blood-recognition ritual at all.

The situation didn't allow him to think, because He Lingchuan suddenly discovered that the bandit army below had split into two groups, each heading in a different direction.

This wasn't infighting; Lu Yao and Pei Xinyu hadn't argued, just said a simple sentence and split up, more like a division of labor.

Among them, Pei Xinyu was taking the wrong path, and ahead was a triple-layered slope, like terraced fields—He Lingchuan didn't understand why he had to go there and why he was so confident. He didn't know this was the result of sound displacement caused by the fog array set up by the Mountain and Marsh. Pei Xinyu really thought stones were falling from there, and footsteps were also coming from there.

Lu Yao's direction, on the contrary, was correct.

The broken saber's rotating strike on the red falcon made Lu Yao think the knife came from that direction, naturally assuming the scout who attacked was also in that direction.

The fog distorted his perceived direction again. As a result, two wrongs made a right.

He led his subordinates, accelerating toward the mountain ridge.

Seeing this scene clearly, He Lingchuan couldn't help but say, "Lu Yao is chasing this way; what a good opportunity!"

Lian Deng smiled bitterly, "Brother Chuan, can you speak like a human? Lu Yao is chasing us, and that's a good opportunity?" A good opportunity to be killed? "Without the red falcon's guidance, it won't be long before he gets himself dizzy." He Lingchuan remained optimistic, "However, he has already split from Pei Xinyu, so we can go find Pei Xinyu."

"Find Pei Xinyu?" Lian Deng wasn't sure, "General Wu has already sent a message to him with a mechanical bird. Since he was walking with Lu Yao, these two have likely reconciled or formed an alliance. If we show up rashly, it's too dangerous."

"Who said we were going to show up?" He Lingchuan laughed, "Don't forget I can see them, but they can't see me."

"Careful!" Lian Deng suddenly grabbed him and pulled him back.

Only a "whoosh" was heard, and a flying axe grazed He Lingchuan's waist, snapping two small trees the thickness of a bowl before nailing itself into a blue stone.

He Lingchuan broke out in a cold sweat.

Damn it, if not for Lian Deng's quick hands, he would have been split in two! This axe was Lu Yao's. Had the Lu bandit already discovered him? He Lingchuan turned his head and sure enough saw Lu Yao standing ten zhang behind, cursing and swearing:

"That thief, let me find him, I'll definitely chop him into seventeen or eighteen pieces to go with my wine!"

He was in a bad mood and didn't bother pondering any cooking methods for humans.

He Lingchuan and Lian Deng looked at each other and let out a light sigh of relief.

Sure enough, Lu Yao waved his hand, and the axe nailed in the stone flew back automatically.

Fortunately, fortunately, this guy was just venting his anger by throwing the axe because his weapon would fly back automatically; he hadn't actually seen the two of them.

Indiscriminate attacks were the scariest.

He Lingchuan ran faster than a rabbit, moving far away from Lu Yao's army in the blink of an eye.

The sound of footsteps and falling stones were very close. Pei Xinyu judged that the enemy was less than five or six zhang away, so he turned his horse's head and chased after them.

He knew very well that the only way to catch the enemy here was to be fast.

To drag them out of hiding before they could escape.

The large army naturally followed him as he turned.

However, after running only ten zhang, the two riders on the far left suddenly screamed and fell down the mountain.

Cold sweat broke out on everyone else: that place clearly looked like a patch of low shrubs!

Just then, two arrows shot out from the thick fog, nailing themselves into the ground two zhang in front of Pei Xinyu's horse's hooves.

Pei Xinyu pulled the reins hard, the steed reared up, and stopped instantly.

"Who?"

He could see that these two arrows were meant as a warning, but there was no hostility.

"General Wu's left-wing vanguard, Lian Deng!" The voice came from the white fog, but this time, Pei Xinyu didn't dare to move arbitrarily.

Lian Deng continued, "If you go any further, it's a bottomless abyss!"

He Lingchuan, standing beside him, smiled silently: this kid was also a master of bluffing.

There was no abyss between them and Pei Xinyu; it was a flat road, not even a turn.

Of course, Lian Deng couldn't see it either; he was just following He Lingchuan's instructions to shoot arrows into the ground five zhang away.

This threat was like a curse, pinning Pei Xinyu's team to the spot, not daring to move at all.

Invisible threats were the most terrifying.

Lian Deng immediately added, "General Wu wants me to ask you, why are you in league with the Lu bandit, and why are you traveling with the murderer who killed the Holy Master?"

Two hidden thunderbolts in his words blasted Pei Xinyu until he was scorched, and he lost his voice, "What did you say?"

"General Wu is still alive?"

"The Holy Master was really killed by Lu Yao?"

The tone of these two questions rose higher and higher.

He Lingchuan heard his surging emotions and nodded to Lian Deng.

Wu Shaoyi sent Lian Deng because he was eloquent and could explain things clearly in a few words. At this moment, he displayed his talent: "General Wu sent a message with a mechanical bird; did General Pei not receive it?"

"Mechanical bird?" Pei Xinyu was confused, "I only received a mechanical bird sent by Lu Yao. Wasn't Wu Shaoyi bitten to death by the Crocodile God? You say he is still alive?"

"General Wu is alive and well, and is riding the Crocodile God along the waterway to catch up!" Lian Deng said, "General Wu sent me first to ask you: are you with us, or with the Lu bandit?"

The Crocodile God didn't eat Wu Shaoyi, but instead became his mount? This was too exaggerated; Pei Xinyu didn't dare believe it. "Lu Yao murdered the Holy Master; do you have evidence in your hands?"

"The Holy Master's Ghost Eye Bow is in Lu Yao's hands, witnessed by many; Lu Yao used the Black Dragon essence blood treasured by the Holy Master as bait to lure the Crocodile God into County Magistrate Lake, waiting for an opportunity to ambush you and General Wu, intending to seize power when the three armies rendezvoused!" Lian Deng sneered, "When Wuling Pass was broken, there were rumors that Lu Yao murdered the Holy Master. How could there be smoke without fire? Now that you hear this, if you say the Holy Master's death has nothing to do with him, do you believe it?"

Pei Xinyu's eyes flickered. He had always been uneasy about the Crocodile God entering County Magistrate Lake with Lu Yao and had also seen that Lu Yao hadn't told the truth at all.

Black Dragon essence blood—was this the truth?

"You are hiding in the fog; how can I confirm that you are really Lian Deng?" He said in a deep voice, "Also, why can you move freely in the thick fog? Is this Wu Shaoyi's method?"

If Wu Shaoyi had set up the thick fog, it wouldn't be strange for his subordinates to move through it with ease; if the fog was released by the government troops, and this person was truly Lian Deng, then the implications behind this were very profound.

Could it be?

"Of course it's General Wu's method." Lian Deng walked out of the fog with the purple sable squatting on his shoulder.

He stopped, but the purple sable jumped lightly to the ground, swaggered toward Pei Xinyu, jumped lightly onto the horse's head, and stood there wagging its tail at him.

The purple sable was Wu Shaoyi's spiritual pet, and Pei Xinyu had teased it many times; he was very familiar with the small tuft of mixed-colored fur on its forehead, so of course, he could recognize it at a glance.

Most importantly, people lie, but spiritual pets don't easily betray their masters.

Pei Xinyu asked the purple sable, "Is he really Lian Deng?"

The purple sable nodded.

"Is everything he said the truth?"

The purple sable twitched its whiskers, "Yes!"

"Then, where is Wu Shaoyi?"

"On the way here." The purple sable said, "My master said: 'He can harm me, he can harm you.' Before our troops arrive, be careful of sudden attacks and pincer movements!"

"By the way, use a blue flag in battle, just like before!"

At this moment, the thick fog to Pei Xinyu's left suddenly swirled, and a group of people rushed over.

It was Lu Yao, who had gone out to search and found no one, returning to rendezvous with Pei Xinyu. In the thick fog, once the cloth strip was cut, one would likely be separated from their teammates.

In this unstable environment, numbers were strength, and unity meant safety.

As soon as the purple sable spoke, Lian Deng retreated into the fog.

As soon as Lu Yao appeared, the purple sable jumped off the big horse and flew onto a nearby tree branch.

With Pei Xinyu and the others blocking, Lu Yao couldn't see clearly, but as soon as the purple sable landed on the branch, it stopped, stared at him twice, bared its teeth, and then darted into the fog and disappeared.

With this pause, Lu Yao saw it clearly, and his heart skipped a beat: wasn't that Wu Shaoyi's spiritual pet?

The purple sable was here; could it be that Wu Shaoyi had also arrived? Thinking of Wu Shaoyi, his scalp went numb. The man who couldn't be killed by the Crocodile God and instead made it his mount—how did this Wu fellow suddenly become so evil? No, they didn't have horses; it was impossible for them to be this fast!

Lu Yao asked with full trepidation, "What's the situation?"

"Two of my men fell down!" Pei Xinyu pointed to the thick fog not far away, "What about you? Did you catch the scout?"

Lu Yao shook his head, his expression solemn; he had also returned empty-handed.

Pei Xinyu let out a breath, looking very irritable.

Lu Yao saw him not mentioning the purple sable at all, and his suspicion grew even deeper, asking, "What was that..."

Before the word "thing" could come out, he suddenly shivered: can't ask! There were bandits everywhere behind him, and Wu Shaoyi's former subordinates made up the majority. If he asked now, and Pei Xinyu answered truthfully, what would these new subordinates think? Would they continue to follow him, or return to their old master?

Human hearts couldn't withstand testing; he couldn't let them make a choice!

Pei Xinyu was bewildered, "What did you say?"

"No, nothing." Lu Yao still swallowed the question hard. The more he looked at Pei Xinyu, the more he felt this man's eyes were shifting; he must have said something to the purple sable just now. In other words, Pei Xinyu likely knew Wu Shaoyi was still alive, and the two sides had already made contact! Were they planning how to ambush him? Trapped in this thick fog that was both a fairyland and a desperate situation, Lu Yao felt a layer of cold sweat soaking his entire back.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 151 =====