Chapter 572: 525 Burning Groove

Tang Zhao picked up the white fox's communication record, his brows slightly furrowed, a look of surprise flashing and vanishing.

Everyone looked at him; although they were curious, they did not ask. Tang Zhao was the leader, and many pieces of information were exclusively held by him; if he did not volunteer the information, no one was qualified to ask.

Tang Zhao pondered for a moment, then lowered his head and wrote two sentences on the Jade Belt as a response to the other side, saying: "News has come from Sunset Manor; they are indeed going to change the competition format."

Everyone let out an "Oh."

If they were merely people from Changfa Manor, purely wanting to fight Sunset Manor to advance in rank, hearing that Sunset Manor was going back on its word like this, they would likely be furious, feeling the other side was bullying them too much, and would be itching to change the literary duel to a martial one and charge straight in. But in the end, they were not; the Sword Fighting was only part of the plan, and with Tang Zhao's analysis, everyone was mentally prepared. Although they also felt that the old man Wu Shayu was annoying, they paid more attention to the message behind this.

Jin Wu asked: "Changed to what?"

Tang Zhao smiled and said: "A melee! The Sword Guest match is changed to an eight-person melee."

Jiang Shenyi gritted his teeth and smiled: "Oh, it really is him!"

Everyone knew who this "he" referred to.

Previously, Sunset Manor had arranged a bloody arena battle with countless deaths, a method to weaken both sides and leave them both injured. While Sunset Manor was indeed full of malice, it was also a "kill one thousand enemies and lose eight hundred of your own" desperate stance. But once Tang Zhao forced Xing Cang to enter the arena himself and serve as the vanguard with the highest mortality rate, Sunset Manor immediately changed the rules to a melee where everyone had room to maneuver. Who this change was for, did it even need to be said?

Old guy, you can't hold it together anymore, can you!

Jiang Shenyi smiled: "A melee, this is very easy to manipulate. Is this old guy trying to stay safe and coast, or is he going to defect and act as a mole, asking us to seven-against-nine?"

At this time, Wei Se, who had been silent all along, said: "What is his basis? To command Sunset Manor to change its orders every morning and evening, casually causing Wu Shayu to suffer the ridicule of breaking his word—he is simply not an ally, but rather looks like the leader. How is he qualified to do this?"

Everyone had this kind of doubt, and this was also the reason why Tang Zhao had been unable to confirm that Xing Cang and Sunset Manor were colluding—this matter was illogical.

A nominal "General Manager" of a Third-tier Manor, not even the Manor Master, how could he form an alliance with the old Manor Master of a veteran Second-tier Manor? There was no reason to even act as an inside agent, let alone turn around and command the Manor Master.

Jiang Shenyi clicked his tongue twice and said: "Could it be..."

Tang Zhao interrupted his speculation and said hurriedly: "Let's stop here for today. Senior Feng and Aqin, go investigate the news I mentioned. Brother, please continue to liberate all the Sword Slaves that can be liberated; I have copied the structure of that terminal, and I will leave it to you to decipher first. Aqin, assist Senior Feng, and the two from the Jing'an Division as well. All matters regarding external personnel and social interactions are left to Wei Se; Sixteen and the other one will assist you. Changle, consolidate your realm first, I will find you later. Your Highness—"

He signaled toward Jin Wu, and everyone immediately knew they had words to speak in private that they did not want others to know, so they bid farewell and dispersed one after another.

Although they dispersed, everyone felt uneasy: Tang Zhao asking to discuss with Jin Wu alone, unless it was core major news from Yunzhou, could only mean they were about to use force. When it came to getting things done, Jin Wu was not even as capable as those two children from the Yama Shop; if it wasn't to ask him to take action against an enemy, what could it be?

However, Tang Zhao had just looked at the message from Sunset Manor before becoming urgent, right?

Could it be that some change had occurred at Sunset Manor that actually required Jin Wu to take action?

"Your Highness, to make a long story short. Miss Ling met an old acquaintance at Sunset Manor, and she wants to try to take a risk to go out and meet them. If it succeeds, it will be a very significant breakthrough. She asked me if it was feasible. I agreed." Once everyone had left, Tang Zhao came before Jin Wu and went straight to the point without delay.

"She is currently in the core of Wangliang Mountain, surrounded by enemies, so it must be foolproof. If she can connect with that person, naturally it will be all for the best. If she cannot, and the other party is not who she imagined, she will be exposed, and she must strike first to eliminate future trouble. If she sees that it is not feasible, she will use the prepared teleportation array to send you and me over, you first, then me. After you go over, follow her guidance, identify the enemy, and cut the Gordian knot quickly; there is no need to hold back."

Jin Wu was surprised but excited, saying: "Good. There's such a thing? That sounds quite interesting."

The second layer of Wangliang Mountain.

He came out of Sunset Manor, carrying his Pipa as if it were a long spear, humming as he went: "This old guy is very annoying."

The Pipa played a few resonant notes and said: "You know that now? He is unabashedly arrogant toward both you and me, clearly looking down on a newly promoted Abyss Envoy, relying on his seniority to bully others. I thought you would refuse his fickleness; I didn't expect you to agree."

He said: "But the melee method he proposed is very interesting. Eight... sixteen Sword Guests fighting together, how lively!"

The Pipa sighed: "Even if it's interesting, you shouldn't have agreed. For him to be so fickle to your face is a contempt for your patronage of the manor, and thus a contempt for you. Even if the Luorizhuangyuanzhuren cannot be dealt with at will, you should have immediately given him a taste of your power."

He said "Ah?" with wide eyes and said: "Then should I go back now?"

The Pipa was truly helpless and said: "Forget it, you've already come out; going back now would just be another joke..."

Suddenly, a pleasant sound of a flute was heard.

The flute sound was clear and elegant, the melody melodious; it was a rare wonderful sound to be heard in Wangliang Mountain.

That He had never heard such a melody and tilted his ear to listen, but after hearing two notes, the sound vanished without a trace.

No matter how much that He stretched his ears, he could no longer hear such music, and he could not help but feel great regret, saying: "Who is playing music? It's so pleasant. I remember the Second-tier Pinghe Manor has a band; when that Manor Master comes out, she even brings people to play music, how majestic! Is she the one playing?"

The Pipa remained silent and did not answer. That He felt slightly strange and spun in circles on the spot, seemingly trying to find the direction of the music.

Suddenly, He's ears twitched, followed by his nose twitching.

"Eh? They are looking for me."

The Pipa finally spoke and said: "Who?"

He said: "My patronage manor, of course. Called that... eh, I don't want to go. I still want to find the music."

The Pipa said earnestly: "You should go. This is the first time you have accepted a patronage manor, and the first time you have been prayed to; you should go at least once." Seeing that He still had resistance, it said: "Those Panying, Fuying, and Lueying all actively respond to the manors that pray to them, and they even have several patronage manors each that they can manage. If you feel your energy is not as good as theirs..."

That He immediately said: "Alright, let's go..."

The Pipa said: "You go. They are calling you, not calling us. How can there be a reason for one incense to summon two Abyss Envoys? That would be too cheap for them. It just so happens I am tired, so I am going back to rest."

That He said "Oh" and asked: "You can go back, right?"

The Pipa said: "Naturally. I am an Abyss Envoy, not your accessory; do you think I can't even move without you?"

That He nodded and said: "Alright, I'm going." With a light movement, his figure had already disappeared.

Once He disappeared, the Pipa suddenly played several intense notes, with a hidden intent of slaughter; the sound turned sharp, and it shouted: "This noisy music, it should stop now?!"

Yes, the music that stopped after He heard two notes in his ear, it could still hear. That sound was like demonic music entering the brain, lingering around and making it inexplicably irritable.

Although it was indeed an extremely beautiful piece of music, it made it feel depressed and lost in its heart.

Following its sharp shout, the shadow in front of it moved, and a white figure appeared.

It was a white fox.

The Pipa paused slightly, its two lidless eyes fixed on the white fox, and it said slowly: "Who are you? Which newly promoted Abyss Envoy? You look unfamiliar; did you just crawl out of Yingze?"

The white fox opened its mouth and, like the Pipa and other Abyss Envoys, said: "Mange, do you still remember me?"

The Pipa stopped again, as if thinking about something, and then said: "I am not called Mange. I am Manying. What kind of Ying are you?"

The white fox said: "I am not a Ying. I am A Yu. Do you remember me?" Its emerald-like eyes stared tightly at the Pipa, as if wanting to see some familiar appearance and smile from the Pipa.

The Pipa had no facial expressions; no one could see any extra emotions on its hard wooden body, and it only said: "You are not an Abyss Envoy? Impossible, I feel a familiar aura on you."

The white fox seemed to be excited for a moment, but then calmed down and said: "Which aspect are you referring to as familiar? Is it that our essence is the same? Our essence is both Sword Image. I am the Sword Image of the Suisui Sword, and you are the Sword Image of the Shao Cao Sword. That He from just now, I don't know what Sword Image he is; you are named Abyss Envoys, but your essence is all Sword Image. I don't know where Wangliang gathered the Abyss Envoys from, but the essence will not change."

Back then on Yinglang Bridge, when He first saw the white fox, he was interested precisely because their essences were similar. Not only were they both Sword Images, but they were both Sword Images related to the mind; it was truly too similar, and they felt familiar at first sight. And He's brain didn't turn, so he took this familiarity as intimacy, and naturally had a good impression.

As for the fact that the essence of an Abyss Envoy is a Sword Image, the Abyss Envoys themselves might not know, and Tang Zhao could not confirm it either, but the white fox, being a Sword Image, could see through the essence at a glance.

It was just that the essence of an Abyss Envoy is a Sword Image, but not a Sword Image of Wangliang, yet it was clearly integrated into the Wangliang Mountain system, obeying Wangliang's jurisdiction; the reason for this change was something the white fox could not see through.

"Then if it is for other reasons that you feel a sense of familiarity, perhaps it is because—we know each other? We were once so familiar, possessing a common origin, a common home, common friends, common memories..."

"That piece of music just now, you are familiar with it, right? You don't need to deny it, because only those who are familiar with the melody and wonder, 'Could this be a piece I have heard before?' will keep hearing this music. Those who haven't heard it, like that civet cat, stop hearing it after just two lines. Since you can keep hearing it, you must still remember it, right?"

"Do you still remember us sitting together on the clouds, watching the Yunhai together, watching the sunset glow? You could play the pipa, you could play the flute; there wasn't an instrument in the world you couldn't play. You could also compose music, had a singing voice like an oriole, and you would sing the songs you wrote for us to hear. When you played the zither, wild geese and swans would all fly around you. You were our favorite older sister, the number one talented woman of our Baiyujing."

As the white fox said this, two lines of tears could not help but stream from his eyes, and he shouted loudly: "You still remember, right? Second Sister!"