Chapter 337: Supernatural Perception of Two Hearts

"Gulp, gulp."

Zuo Shier was incredibly thirsty; he stood by the well, lifted the water ladle, and drank deeply.

Beside him, Zhou You leaned against the wooden railing, quietly waiting for him to finish before speaking.

A moment later, Zuo Shier finished off half a bucket of well water and wiped his lips. "I could have returned before sunset, but I ran into some things and was delayed. However, precisely because of that, I have something to show for it."

He began to recount his itinerary for the day in detail.

Zuo Shier had inquired about the residence of those two Qi and Blood martial artists and observed them secretly for a while; there was nothing wrong with their families—just ordinary old men, old women, wives, and young children.

Moreover, there were no strange people lurking around those two households.

Later, he went to observe the two Qi and Blood martial artists themselves and discovered that Qian Shimeng was hosting them at a restaurant, clearly trying to win them over.

Seeing this, Zuo Shier smiled slightly; no matter how hard they tried, they could not jump out of the framework Zhou You had set.

What truly carried weight was the War Order, as well as the owners who held the War Order, the powerful figures crowned with the title of "Order Master."

These Order Masters relied on noble families, controlled military force and wealth, and directly monopolized the various city walls and gates.

In the precarious Gongliang City, controlling the passages in and out of the city was power, a symbol of status and position.

Qian Shimeng was running around so busily, but in the end, he was still working for others, laboring for Zhou You.

This drinking session lasted from noon until sunset, a full few hours; Zuo Shier had originally intended to leave halfway through.

He really couldn't see anything; the three of them at the table were just flattering each other, swearing oaths to help one another and live and die together—it was all nonsense.

However, Zuo Shier kept an extra eye on things.

"Order Master Zhou, the Two Hearts Fist is a childhood technique I've practiced since I was small. After practicing this fist technique for a long time, I developed an ability that works sometimes and fails others."

This ability is the capacity to perceive whether someone has "two hearts," or one could call it a devious mind.

It is already equivalent to a special ability.

Zhou You was quite surprised to hear this. "Why don't I have it?"

He had also practiced the Two Hearts Fist and even mastered the secret "Outer Profound Heart" technique, so why couldn't he detect the devious minds of others?

Zuo Shier explained awkwardly, "My situation is very special; none of the other fellow disciples have it, and besides..."

This ability is like a chicken rib—tasteless to eat but a pity to discard; sometimes it's sensitive, sometimes it doesn't work, and it can't be put to great use.

"The last time it worked was when you, Order Master Zhou, were willing to accept me. I discovered that your heart was sincere and absolutely free of impurities, which is why I, Zuo Shier, made up my mind to defect to you."

So that was it; there was this layer of reason for Zuo Shier being so devoted to Zhou You.

Zhou You was also astonished; his understanding of fist techniques was still too superficial.

Fist techniques could not only enhance physical fitness and possess the ability to fight strong enemies, but they could actually trigger special abilities.

By the way, among Bao Tiefeng's disciples, there was also one who had mastered the art of "petty tricks," capable of disguising himself as a wild dog.

Hmm, I suppose such people are one in ten thousand, truly a rare species.

A flash of inspiration struck Zhou You's mind: could his own Tianfu Decipher Confusion also belong to one of these special abilities? "I was originally holding onto the idea of taking a gamble, waiting until they were dead drunk and looking like they were about to disperse."

"I didn't expect that one of the two Qi and Blood martial artists would suddenly reveal a flaw in his heart, which I discovered."

"These two indeed have devious minds; they are by no means truly defecting."

"After the party broke up, they gave a golden monkey to Qian Shimeng, asking him to intercede and send their families into the Order Master's residence."

Zhou You's home now housed several families, including those of Zuo Shier, Qian Shimeng, and several Qi and Blood martial artists; with more people, it was lively, and his parents liked it.

Logically speaking, newly joined personnel were still in the observation period and were not qualified to send their families into the Inner City.

"It's a bit rushed. It didn't look like much at first, but if they have devious minds, it looks like they are harboring evil intentions."

"You mean?" Zhou You also thought of this point; family members were hostages and also his soft underbelly. What if they were manipulated by others?

One must know that Zhou You's reputation for filial piety toward his parents was famous far and wide; his parents were his life.

"Hehe!"

Zhou You gave a dry laugh, masking the killing intent appearing at the corners of his mouth. No matter who it was, from the moment they had this thought, they were already dead.

He patted Zuo Shier on the shoulder. "Senior Brother Zuo, you did well. Do not let a third person know about this matter."

Zuo Shier was slightly startled, knowing that Zhou You must have arrangements, and bowed to acknowledge the order.

The next day, Qian Shimeng came to report, bringing along the two newly joined Qi and Blood martial artists.

"Hu Bandong, who practices the Force-Combining Fist; his hometown is right next to yours, Order Master. Speaking of which, there is a bit of hometown sentiment."

"This is Yuan Hang of the Eight-Passage Palm; he has killed two Beast Charms before, very formidable."

Yuan Hang and Hu Bandong were both very respectful in front of Zhou You; one was at the Qi and Blood 4th Stage, the other at the Qi and Blood 3rd Stage—their strength was quite good.

As soon as they met, they expressed their admiration, recounted their inner journeys, and their willingness to defect to Zhou You, etc.! Zhou You listened patiently, but in reality, his attention was entirely on the panel...

"This Trial Task has detected that the number of enemies is > 3, meeting the conditions to activate the Battlefield Perspective."

"Battlefield Perspective has been activated."

A 3D map appeared in Zhou You's vision, and the two nearest red dots were right in front of him.

Sure enough, Yuan Hang and Hu Bandong were enemies; to be precise, they were enemy spies.

Strange, why were there only two red dots?

Zhou You glanced at Qian Shimeng; he was actually in his own camp, not a red dot representing hostility.

He immediately found it amusing; it turned out he was being kept in the dark, thinking he had brought in two Qi and Blood experts to increase their strength.

Zhou You had originally made the worst-case plan that Qian Shimeng had been bought off and was inviting a wolf into the house, but now it seemed that was not the case.

Since that was so, little Qian was still a good comrade worth pulling back; one should learn from past mistakes to avoid future ones and cure the sickness to save the patient!

On the map, outside the city walls, a large expanse of red light made one's heart tremble with fear.

The number of the opposing camp was far more than thousands; countless red dots converged into an endless ocean.

Inside there were two spies, and outside were the rebel armies eyeing them like tigers; the pressure was immense!

"Order Master Zhou, these two would like to send their families into the Inner City and ask your parents to help look after them for a while."

Qian Shimeng is of precious character; he does what he is paid to do, and sure enough, he brought up this matter.

"This isn't appropriate, is it? Our family members only moved into the Inner City after some time, including you, Qian Shimeng. How is it that there is a special case when it comes to them?"

Zuo Shier jumped out to raise his objection.

Qian Shimeng smiled apologetically and pleaded with Zhou You, "Commander, the city is too chaotic right now, and the two brothers are worried about their families. I ask that you please..."

"No need to say more. It's a small matter; I approve."

Zhou You waved his hand generously, "Send them over tomorrow. My place is large; they can pick anywhere to stay."

Yuan Hang and Hu Bandong were overjoyed upon hearing this and showered him with endless praise, practically hailing Zhou You as wise, martial, and a celestial being descended to earth.

This section of the city wall gained two more Blood-Qi Warriors, making the manpower more abundant, and they soon rearranged the shifts for rotating patrols.

As expected, the two expressed that they wanted to familiarize themselves with the environment as soon as possible and wished to ascend the wall to participate in the Defense tomorrow.

(End of this chapter)