Chapter 283: 295 Off-Plan

Borrowing the sliver of daylight from the top of the grotto, Hua Qian saw the young man's appearance. He looked to be about thirty years old, with regular features and a sturdy build. Sitting there in silence, he seemed like a very calm and composed person. Although the clothes he wore were not flashy, one could occasionally catch sight of dark woven patterns, clearly of a low-key yet luxurious material.

Is this Shi Chunqing?

Hua Qian naturally knew of Shi Chunqing. Although Wei Se had not stated it explicitly, as Hua Rong's primary assistant, he was very familiar with the intelligence of Zhuoyu Villa. At the very least, he knew the information circulating openly in the pugilistic world, and he also knew the information circulating in the shadows.

He knew the organization he had infiltrated was the Turtle Bandits, so he was not at all surprised by the constant "General" this and "High Minister" that. He also knew Shi Chunqing was a traitor to Zhuoyu Villa. Since he had already turned traitor, wasn't it normal to take this opportunity to come back and bite them?

The only thing was... Shi Chunqing was already a High Minister?

He had been promoted quite quickly.

Even if the Turtle Bandits were a laughable little government-in-exile that handed out titles and rewards indiscriminately, a High Minister was still a high position, right? He must have quite a few people under him, right? Shi Chunqing did not seem like any sort of outstanding talent; to be able to hold such a high position after only one betrayal of his sect, what kind of capital did he actually have?

Hua Qian lowered his eyes, calculating in his heart—how much was this target, who possessed the dual backing of a betrayal and an official rank, worth?

Just as he was thinking this, Shi Chunqing slowly stood up and said, "Only the four of you came? What are your names?"

His manner of speaking was extremely arrogant, entirely that of a superior. The few of them complied, reporting their names one by one; they were naturally all fake names, and Hua Qian also reported the name "Zhang Cheng Yi."

Shi Chunqing only asked once, clearly not caring what their names were, and said indifferently, "Good, return to your team. You are very lucky; you have arrived at the only team capable of achieving merit on this trip at the very last moment."

He spoke arrogantly, looking quite down upon the other groups. Except for Hua Qian, who did not care at all, the others were somewhat unconvinced, and it naturally showed on their faces.

Shi Chunqing swept a glance over them and said, "You don't believe me? They think their arrangements are seamless, but I know that most of those outer and inner routes are going to fail. They underestimate Zhuoyu Villa too much."

"Even you, who only know a smattering of the truth, are looking down on Zhuoyu Villa. You think it is a sect with only a few kittens, that it is full of useless bookworms, or people like the waste I used to be. But the trump card of Zhuoyu Villa has never been its disciples. It is its special status; it is the only Sword Casting sect in Yunzhou that can be utilized. This guarantees that it is actually an important chess piece for the Gaoyuan Marquis, not a discarded one."

He stood in the middle of the large stone, speaking eloquently as if he were standing on a commander's platform pointing out the landscape. Hua Qian realized that he was not as taciturn as his appearance suggested; on the contrary, he had a strong desire to express himself.

"But why does the central hub ignore it? Firstly, Zhuoyu Villa has never shown excessive collusion with the Imperial Court, not even holding a single nominal government post. How could it involve the power of the Hou Mansion with its own Sword Casting Assembly? Secondly, this is Yunzhou after all. Even if they know they must oppose the Hou Mansion, the power they can mobilize is limited, so they have to pretend not to know to seek peace of mind. Otherwise, why would they hire so many hired thugs at the Ghost Grinds the Mill?"

Hua Qian thought for a moment before he understood that "central hub" referred to the Turtle Bandits' little Imperial Court. Well, they were already calling people Pillars of State and High Ministers, so what was the harm in calling something a central hub?

"In the past, Zhuoyu Villa and the Gaoyuan Marquis were distant because Zhuoyu Villa took the initiative to distance itself. Manor Master Xue is a man who prides himself on being aloof. He knew clearly that he could rise by borrowing momentum if he just beckoned to the Gaoyuan Marquis, but not only did he not take the initiative, he actually repelled it. Many hermits have this flaw; it is as if using the power of the officials would stain them, especially his second disciple, Xu Zhongnan, whom he despised for becoming an official. The disciples he took in before were all like this, each one exceptionally arrogant, refusing to accept favors, and unwilling to seek outside help even if it existed, just for fear of losing face. They would even push away those who took the initiative to help. Only the youngest disciple he took in recent years is different."

When mentioning the youngest disciple, Shi Chunqing paused slightly.

"It is one thing that this kid is naturally clever, but he has one advantage: he is not a stranger to anyone. When he wants to help someone, he truly helps, and when he needs to ask for help, he can lower his face to ask; he does not shy away from human interactions. Moreover, his identity is special; he can naturally contact a major pillar under the Gaoyuan Marquis in Yunzhou: the Land Inspection Department. And he also has a status in the Land Inspection Department of Jichun City; Jichun City is his backyard. The Pillar of State using Jichun City as a fulcrum to lay out the plan is like throwing oneself into a net. Perhaps, silently, the stronghold has already been riddled with holes. Therefore, the route of impersonating guests will not work; perhaps they even have the list."

Hua Qian thought to himself: That's not bad; you have some substance.

"As for the route of climbing the mountain from the outside, that is even more ridiculous. Can you reach Zhuoyu Villa just by climbing over the Snow Mountain? Zhuoyu Villa is the landlord and occupies the geographical advantage; without ten times the force, attacking from the outside in is simply impossible. And again, how can the hired thugs recruited from the outside be trusted? I know the Young General will drive outsiders to act as the vanguard to fill the trenches and consume the power of Zhuoyu Villa, but as long as Zhuoyu Villa invites a few Sword Guests from the Land Inspection Department, what use are any number of pugilistic Knight-Errants?"

"Both the inner and outer routes are dead ends. I am the only one who knows the only flaw of Zhuoyu Villa. Only I can lead you to achieve this great merit. I am even saving your lives, sparing you from plunging into a dead end."

Hua Qian's heart stirred, secretly hoping he would continue speaking and reveal his entire plan; then this mission could be completed tonight. He only needed to find a flaw during the night, give Shi Chunqing a strike to the throat, and then take the plan out—wouldn't that be over-completing the mission?

Who would have thought that Shi Chunqing would coldly sweep his gaze over these new reinforcements, "That is all for now. You only need to wait in peace, wait to hear my orders, and three days later, come up the mountain with me." Having said that, he sat back down. No one else in the grotto spoke.

Hua Qian had no choice but to go and settle down with the others. It was a pity not to be able to get the plan explained by the other party in person, and it delayed time, affecting the turnover of the mission. He secretly thought: Three days? Isn't that the eve of the start of the Sword Casting Conference? It takes three days to move, and how much time will it take to go up the mountain? Why did he make it sound like it would arrive in the blink of an eye?

These three days can only be wasted here. I wonder how things are going elsewhere?

"What is the situation now? Are we lost?" Black Widow opened her mouth, ate a mouthful of flying snow foam, and finally had to shut it. These two questions were also asked in a very low voice.

At this time, the group was already traveling through the mountain ranges of Jiugao Mountain, walking above the snow line the entire way.

This was already the third day.

Since setting out from the mountain pass of Jiugao Mountain, this group of fifty people had been moving north according to the planned route. At first, it was smooth; after all, they were martial arts experts, flying over eaves and walking on walls, light as swallows, with Internal Energy in their bodies and superior endurance. The distance others would walk in ten days, they only needed one day to cover.

However, once above the snow line, the road suddenly became difficult.

The temperature plummeted, the mountain terrain became steeply precipitous, and the snow-covered ground was difficult to traverse; even Martial Artists could not walk as if on flat ground. Not to mention the wind and snow that blew up from time to time.

The strong wind would make it difficult for people to move forward and would cause the body to cool down rapidly, and the flying snow blocked their vision severely. Although Internal Energy could resist the cold, Internal Energy was not inexhaustible; it dissipated rapidly in such extreme cold, and even the protective Qi seemed to be blown away by the wind. The group initially maintained their formation, but gradually people began to fall behind. And these people were not friends or relatives, so they rarely extended a helping hand to those who fell behind.

After walking on the snow line for a whole day, the team had already lost four or five people.

Even the group of strangers who were also in competition realized that they could not go on like this. So the copper-masked man who was leading took out a rope and asked everyone to hold onto it and move forward together. But some Loose Practitioners refused to be tied to the Knight-Errants who were struggling and looked like they could fall behind at any moment. In the end, they were divided into five teams according to their strength: the Loose Practitioners were divided into one team, the Knight-Errants were divided into three teams regardless of strength, and the copper-masked man's direct subordinates formed one team. Ten people in each team pulled a rope, sharing fortune and misfortune.

Because Black Widow was hiding her skills, she was assigned to one of the three Knight-Errant teams, and her protector Li Laosan naturally squeezed to her side.

Originally, everything was fine after the teams were divided. The Loose Practitioners did not specifically abandon the Knight-Errants, but instead, they and the copper-masked man's direct subordinates took the front and the back, sandwiching the three teams in the middle. The speed even increased slightly. But not long after, they encountered a blizzard.

That blizzard was truly a nightmare; the sound of the wind filled everyone's eardrums, and snowflakes filled everyone's field of vision. And because it was without warning and encountered suddenly while moving, everyone could only exert their Internal Energy to the fullest, walking step by step through the wind and snow, just to find a place to shelter from the wind.

At that time, Black Widow seemed to hear a strange cry, but at that moment, people's brains were numb, and their memories seemed to have gaps. She only remembered a team walking and walking, walking and walking, until they finally found a wind-sheltered recess and huddled together to keep warm and hide from the wind.

After more than an hour, when the wind and snow subsided slightly, this team discovered that they could no longer find the other teams at all.

It was exactly: no heaven above, no earth below, and no people in between.

Very dangerous!

Everyone became somewhat afraid. Even though they were all pugilistic people who licked blood from the edge of a knife and were not afraid of death, fighting with people and the natural power of the Great Nature were two completely different concepts. Those who had been taught a lesson by the Snow Mountain had to be in awe of nature.

At this time, someone said unhappily: "How is the leader leading the way? Why didn't we follow the team in front?"

The leader was a middle-aged Knight-Errant with rich experience, and his martial arts were also among the best in the team. He said: "Just now, the wind and snow blocked us; who could find the team? And..." He touched his forehead and muttered in his heart: Why did I feel like I was stupid at that time?

"And what? Were you stupid at the time? Or were you bewitched by a Snow Mountain monster?"

Black Widow hugged her shoulders and suddenly said: "Did you hear any sound in the wind and snow?"

The crowd fell silent, and someone whispered: "It seems there was..."

"Yes, I heard it too."

"I heard it, but I can't remember what sound it was. My mind was a blank."

"Ah, me too, I heard a strange sound, my brain went numb, and I only knew to walk forward in a daze."

"Is it really a monster? A Phantom?"

Sometimes, in some places, it is not appropriate to talk about these supernatural things, such as at night, in underground caves, or deep in the Snow Mountain.

Seeing that everyone was becoming more and more terrified and on the verge of collapse, Black Widow suppressed the panic in her heart and wanted to force herself to say something.

"Li—"

A sound came from above their heads.

Black Widow straightened up and shouted: "That's the sound! It's in the sky!"

Everyone looked up together and saw an elegant figure with distinct black and white colors.

"A celestial crane?!"