Chapter 279: 271 Forming a Team

"Laofeng?"

Yun Xiyan glanced at the little girl, feeling strange in her heart: such a pretty little girl, isn't it awkward to call her Laofeng?

And... how did she get in?

One must know that Yun Xiyan had closed the tent flap at the beginning, isolating the inside from the outside, and now the entrance was still not open; how could that girl suddenly appear inside the tent?

Did she walk through the wall?

The girl crossed her arms, tilted her head to look at the two young people, and said, "Eh, are there outsiders?"

Xing Ji laughed, "These are all our own people. Honestly, I looked at the list, and with hundreds of people here now, these few of us might just be the people Azhao trusts the most." He introduced Yun Xiyan and Wang Fei, did not mention Wang Fei's status, and added, "This is Laofeng, a free-roaming person without an occupation like me, brought here by Azhao and Jiang to be a guest and do some work."

Wang Fei raised an eyebrow and said, "This person is a Spirit Official?" He was knowledgeable after all; seeing the strange nature of Laofeng, he realized it after a careful thought. Such a name reversal could be explained; it was indeed the style of a Spirit Official.

However, being explainable made it even more worthy of vigilance.

Once a Spirit Official was mentioned, it inevitably made one think of the Turtle Bandits. And his enemies, the enemies of Zhuoyu Villa, were precisely the Turtle Bandits, the lair of the Spirit Officials.

Xing Ji said, "That's right, Laofeng is a Spirit Official. He is our Spirit Official, very reliable. I guarantee it."

Laofeng raised an eyebrow and said, "It was Brother Jiang and Tang who invited me here; their guarantee is the real one. If it were only your guarantee, who would believe it?"

Xing Ji said, "Since you're already here, why say such things to a child? Among everyone on the mountain now, only we few count as our own people. Regardless of where we come from, or differences in status, whether we hit it off immediately or have clashing temperaments, at least we all hope the Sword Casting Conference succeeds, right?"

Yun Xiyan was the first to nod. Wang Fei also nodded; both of them were good friends of Tang Zhao. Young people making friends didn't involve too many complications, and the friendship was very pure. Even if Wang Fei had his own mission, he absolutely wanted Tang Zhao's Sword Casting Conference to go smoothly.

Since they all nodded, it showed their goals were aligned, and these five people had become acquainted through a fight; this place could also be considered a secret location, so one might say they had formed a small group united against a common enemy. And among these five, with the old, the young, the disabled, and the dead, naturally Xing Ji, the only whole person, counted as the leader who could speak for everyone. This was also his first time becoming a small leader again since being laid off from the Land Inspection Division.

"Actually, although we hope for success, normally speaking, we only need to hope. The affairs of Zhuoyu Villa are handled by them; us standing by to cheer is enough. If we intervene without being invited, it is actually somewhat impolite."

Yun Xiyan sighed; she agreed rationally but disagreed emotionally. Seeing the troublemakers, she really wanted to take them down one sword strike at a time.

"But who told Azhao to write me a letter personally?" Xing Ji sighed and said, "At that time, I was hiding in my quilt silently licking my wounds. He had people pull me out of the covers and said, 'Chief Xing, you wouldn't want the business you invested in to go bankrupt, would you?' I had no choice but to be dragged over by him to help. If I hadn't come, that would be one thing, but since I'm here, I can't just stand by and watch. So I can be considered one of the legitimate managers. Then the helpers I choose, which is the proper official force, should also have the qualifications to do some things."

Wang Fei immediately understood his meaning and said, "Are you going to invite us on behalf of Zhuoyu Villa? Excellent, if there is any place you can use me, I will naturally not shirk."

Yun Xiyan also realized it instantly and said, "Me too."

She saw that Zhuoyu Villa had gathered quite a few monsters and demons, and was filled with worry, but didn't know what to do. If someone had the same stance as her and was smarter than her, seeing through the situation and making decisions for her, while she only needed to exert effort, then she would be very happy.

Xing Ji originally only needed to seek the opinions of those two; Xue Laiyi was already a person of the villa, one of the Xue Clan, and Feng Zhilie didn't need to be asked, as he came to help, so he officially formed his own team and obtained command of this group.

"The proper work has already been done by them. Although I didn't see the whole process, I can be sure that the general plan of Azhao and the others is fine and stable enough. At the very least, they have done their best in preventing internal traitors from launching sneak attacks and collusion between inside and outside. Moreover, they have already found people to handle the enemies outside. There isn't much for us to do inside."

Xing Ji said, "The first thing: on the day of the celebration, enemies will surely jump out themselves. At that time, it will be a head-on clash, and there is nothing to say. You and I have swords, what enemies are there to fear? No need to think much about this. Another thing is to take precautions. The few days before the sword is successfully cast are the best time to sabotage the casting. The enemies outside haven't come in, but there are quite a few enemies inside. They will inevitably be sneaky, looking around everywhere..."

Yun Xiyan clapped her hands and said, "Exactly, great minds think alike. I also think those sneaky, wandering people are the most suspicious."

Xing Ji said, "But there is another type of suspicious person: they have received a mission to deliver the final blow at a critical moment, so they simply stay behind closed doors and don't even participate in the recreational activities everyone is interested in. Aren't they suspicious?"

Yun Xiyan nodded and said, "True, those who stay behind closed doors are also suspicious."

Xing Ji said, "There are also some people who are deep in thought, focusing on hiding themselves, following the main group, doing whatever others do, without a single extra movement. Then that is too deliberate, because spies must not stand out."

Yun Xiyan said, "True, people who don't stand out are... wait! According to you, people who act alone are suspicious, people who follow the main group are suspicious, and people who stay in their rooms are also suspicious. Doesn't that mean everyone is suspicious? Then who is not suspicious?"

Wang Fei suddenly wanted to laugh. At this moment, he had basically seen through Xing Ji's temperament—he was quite bored, quite malicious, and liked to play with people for no reason at all.

But for some reason, he felt that Xing Ji had no ill will toward Yun Xiyan; on the contrary, he seemed to quite like her.

Xing Ji laughed loudly, "That's why I say I'm stupid. I'm not exactly sharp-eyed, so how can I distinguish who is truly suspicious? Because I feel suspicious in my heart, everything looks suspicious. So looking at people with a suspicious eye, they probably look more suspicious the more you look."

Yun Xiyan sighed, "Sigh, that's the logic. I've only been up here for a day, and I feel there are too many suspicious characters on the mountain. Like those big Sword Casting forces, those sect envoys, the old lady with an unknown background..."

Xing Ji said in astonishment, "An old lady?"

Yun Xiyan said, "Yes, that old lady is the most suspicious."

Xing Ji asked with interest, "Why is she the most suspicious?"

Yun Xiyan said, "She looks kind and graceful, not suspicious at all. But behind people's backs, she is sometimes sneaky, sometimes laughing wildly, looking like a villain. She is inconsistent, the most suspicious."

Xing Ji was thoughtful, suddenly laughed out loud, and said, "That's true, then count her as one of the suspicious people. Besides her, are there many others?"

Yun Xiyan touched her chin and said, "Plenty."

Xing Ji said, "So there's no need to just keep suspecting, or we'll lose our footing. It's called judging by actions, not by intent. It doesn't matter who wants to do bad things; just strike those who take action first. Take down those who stick their necks out, and let the rest who have the heart but not the guts be. Do we really need to kill them and condemn their hearts?"

Wang Fei nodded, feeling that this sentence was correct.

Yun Xiyan said, "Then what counts as an action? Should we still catch those who are spying?"

Xing Ji shook his head and said, "If not necessary, do not create trouble."

Xue Laiyi couldn't help but glance sideways.

Xing Ji pointed at Feng Zhilie and said, "Just now, Laofeng went around the surroundings. With his Spirit Image perspective and mobility, he didn't find any flaws. So the location of the Sword Furnace is secret enough and cannot be found by anyone. Even a Spirit Official can't. This is the main premise."

Laofeng nodded and said, "Yes, I went up to the sky and down into the water, floating around in all directions. I have searched everywhere people can go, and there are truly no flaws. Others shouldn't think about finding the Sword Furnace through aimless searching."

Wang Fei thought: Good fellow, so you were openly turning the mountains and seas upside down to find the Sword Furnace; who is the most suspicious after all?

Xing Ji said, "Laofeng is a Spirit Image, and a very outstanding one at that. The Spirit Images of the Turtle Bandits won't do better than him. So the Turtle Bandits cannot find the Sword Hut without anyone knowing just by relying on the advantage of a Spirit Image. This is good news. Then we just need to wait for the rabbit. Guard the nodes; if anyone comes to spy on the nodes, we will take them down. If no one finds those vital points, it means the Sword Furnace is not under threat. We can enjoy the ease."

Wang Fei nodded and said, "You know where the Sword Furnace is? Are we guarding the only path to the Sword Furnace?"

Xing Ji said, "I don't know."

Wang Fei frowned and said, "Then how do you know where the vital points are?"

Xing Ji laughed, "It's simple, just treat this valley as a battlefield. There are always a few locations that are must-contested spots for military strategists."

He reached out, took a map from his sleeve, and unfolded it to show the others.

Wang Fei had also studied the Art of War and saw at a glance that the locations Xing Ji set were not the location of the Sword Furnace, but high ground and checkpoints set according to the terrain. As long as these few vital points were guarded, the entire valley could be controlled.

Rather than not letting outsiders find the Sword Furnace, it was better to say he was not letting them leave the valley.

That's right, Zhuoyu Villa said guests should not leave the valley at will; if you insist on leaving without permission, what are you if not harboring evil intentions?

If the Sword Furnace was outside the valley, then not letting outsiders leave the valley would naturally mean there was no worry about them finding the Sword Furnace; this is called drawing the firewood from under the cauldron.

"Lao Xuetou will not move. The old guy is sitting in the Reception Hall in the middle, so no need to worry about that. Four people will guard one direction each, and the checkpoints will be set at these four vital points. No problem, right?"

The few nodded, and Yun Xiyan suddenly looked up and said, "Is it just waiting for the rabbit? Can't we add some fishing or something?"