Chapter 50: Why?

Looking at the man standing with his sword in his arms atop the pear blossom peak, Xu Jin's expression changed drastically, and the other disciples were also terrified.

Setting aside anything else, just this ability to stand atop a swaying pear blossom branch in the wind meant he was at least a Forge Star Realm expert.

He could be a Forge Star Realm expert, or perhaps even a Condense Star Realm powerhouse.

The previous Forge Star Realm Second Tier expert, Han Yue Chong, had been killed by the Three-Star tier emblem in Xu Jin's hand, but what about this one?

The spoils of war hadn't even been divided yet, and another one had arrived.

At that very moment, Xu Jin's heart stirred; he directly took out the Whirlwind Emblem he had been nourishing under the star lamp of the Fighting Star Platform and gripped it in his hand.

Counting from before the midnight hour yesterday, it had been nourishing for the better part of a day. He wondered how much its power had increased?

Twenty percent, thirty percent, or more?

If this Whirlwind Emblem couldn't kill him, then he would use the Dawn Emblem given to him by the man in green.

Although Xu Jin didn't know what tier the Dawn Emblem was, even if it were a Two-Star tier emblem, it would be far stronger than the basic star arts he could currently cast.

Just as the group was terrified, the man holding the sword suddenly leaped lightly from the height of over ten meters. He fell extremely fast, but upon landing, star light exploded slightly beneath his feet, allowing him to land gently.

The moment he landed, just as Xu Jin was hesitating whether to blast him with a Whirlwind Emblem first, the sword-holding man suddenly threw out a bloody head.

The group took one look and froze slightly.

This head looked somewhat familiar.

Upon closer inspection, wasn't it the Xiong Xiong Tiegun who had fled earlier?

He had been killed by this person before them.

Xu Jin glanced at this sword-holding man, then suddenly turned to look at Niu Gui behind him, only to see a look of joy on Niu Gui's face.

"Flag Leader Ji, why have you come?" Niu Gui had already discarded the long saber in his hand and strode forward, intending to give the man surnamed Ji a bear hug.

The man surnamed Ji glanced at Niu Gui and hurriedly resisted, "No, no, no! Look at you, covered in blood!"

"Hahahaha!" Niu Gui laughed loudly, stepping forward to give the man surnamed Ji a bear hug anyway, incidentally staining him with blood.

"Come, let me introduce him to everyone. This is one of the five Flag Leaders of the Profound Heaven Sect's Star Patrol Guard, Ji Ji Bochang. He has been away executing missions to hunt down demons, so you might not have met him before." Niu Gui laughed.

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone, including Xu Jin, breathed a sigh of relief.

So it turned out to be one of their own.

Just a moment ago, they had all been terrified.

"By the way, Old Ji, why have you come?" Niu Gui asked.

Hearing this, Ji Ji Bochang's expression turned solemn. "Several Flag Leaders from the Grand Void Gate who were executing missions with us ignored military orders and left the team privately. Two were killed on the spot, one was captured alive, and the other two escaped and are currently missing.

After contacting the Commandant, and communicating with Inspector Lu, we helped contain the manpower of the Grand Void Gate, allowing Old Cui and me to leave the team. We searched along the way without finding them, so we followed the Commandant's orders to first seek out your six teams and help you resolve the trouble.

After all, those two who left the team, Jin Chi and Lin Lang, were definitely coming for you."

"You old Ji, why didn't you come sooner? We were almost!" Niu Gui gave Ji Ji Bochang a punch.

Ji Ji Bochang replied with a bitter smile, "I also took a shortcut over the mountains and just arrived. I happened to run into that Xiong Xiong Tiegun, and after killing him with one sword strike, I went to the mountaintop and saw you all dividing the spoils, so I made a joke."

"That's good, that's good."

"By the way, is everyone here? No casualties or anyone falling behind halfway?" Ji Ji Bochang continued to ask, scanning the team as he spoke.

"No, everyone is here. If it weren't for Xu Jin, the possibility of us being wiped out would have been high."

Niu Gui laughed, pulling Xu Jin to the front, "Let me tell you, if it weren't for this little brother, you would be attending a funeral today—my funeral."

"Xu Jin, not bad, not bad."

Ji Ji Bochang looked at Xu Jin and nodded repeatedly. Suddenly, Ji Ji Bochang stared at Xu Jin's left hand and said, "You kid, why are you still clutching the Star Emblem? I'm not an enemy."

Xu Jin looked embarrassed, "Flag Leader Ji, I was a bit nervous just now and forgot for a moment."

"Put it away."

Ji Ji Bochang patted Xu Jin on the shoulder, "The Whirlwind Emblem made by Ning Yuchan has slightly greater power than an ordinary Three-Star tier emblem. It's quite effective against those below the late stage of the Refine Star Realm, but for those at or above the late stage of the Refine Star Realm, it's of little use. Use it cautiously, don't waste it; it's very precious."

Xu Jin nodded with a smile and put the Whirlwind Emblem away into his bosom, then turned to arrange for the other team members to continue dividing the spoils.

But the moment he turned around, Xu Jin's gaze became incomparably gloomy.

There was a problem!

This Ji Ji Bochang had a problem.

Xu Jin hadn't thought much of it before, as he was a Flag Leader of the Star Patrol Guard, and Niu Gui knew him and seemed to have a good relationship with him.

But the sentence Ji Ji Bochang had just spoken made Xu Jin become incomparably vigilant in an instant!

The Whirlwind Emblem made by Ning Yuchan?

Ji Ji Bochang said he had just arrived and only came to the mountaintop after killing Xiong Xiong Tiegun, who had fled into the rocky hills.

Yet, before Xiong Xiong Tiegun had fled, Xu Jin had already used the Whirlwind Emblem to kill Han Yue Chong.

Right now, this Three-Star tier Whirlwind Emblem was still gripped tightly in Xu Jin's hand, never having been exposed.

If one could sense the aura to distinguish the tier and type of the emblem, why hadn't this Ji Ji Bochang sensed the Dawn Emblem in his bosom?

Xu Jin felt that even if one could really sense it, at most one could sense the tier of an emblem, but to sense the specific star art inscribed within the emblem from a distance was impossible. And he even said it was made by Ning Ning Yuchan.

All of this only pointed to one possibility—this Ji Ji Bochang had arrived a long time ago.

He had been there since they encountered Han Yue Chong's group, watching the whole show clearly.

So what was he doing by showing himself now?

Suddenly, Xu Jin's heart skipped a beat; he seemed to have thought of something!

At this very moment, Ji Ji Bochang suddenly spoke again, "Old Niu, since you are safe, I must hurry to rescue the other teams. Give me two of your one-star warhorses; I must rush."

"No problem."

"Xu Jin, go find two warhorses for Flag Leader Ji. The rest of us will squeeze in." Niu Gui said.

Xu Jin responded and nimbly ran to a warhorse furthest away, suddenly shouting, "Niu Brother, come take a look at this warhorse. Why does it look injured to me?"

"Injured? Let me see." Niu Gui hurriedly ran over, leaning under the horse's neck with Xu Jin. He was puzzled—there was no injury—when suddenly, Xu Jin's extremely low voice reached Niu Gui's ears.

"Niu Brother, how did he know the emblem I used earlier was a Whirlwind Emblem made by Instructor Ning?"

Xu Jin's single sentence struck Niu Gui like a lightning bolt!

That's right, how did Ji Ji Bochang know?

Niu Gui knew far more common sense about emblems than Xu Jin.

The aura of an emblem was extremely obscure; without activation, even face-to-face, one couldn't discover it, let alone identify the star art inscribed within.

Even if it were in one's hand, without inputting divine soul power, one couldn't identify what kind of star art was inscribed.

So how did Ji Ji Bochang know?

There was only one answer—he saw it!

Seeing it meant Ji Ji Bochang had been there for a long time.

He had even witnessed their entire battle.

Ji Ji Bochang was lying!

Then, why would Ji Ji Bochang lie?

Niu Gui was a veteran.

A veteran who had fought his way out of a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood following Commandant Tian Zhang, his mental fortitude was far beyond that of ordinary people.

In an instant, he thought of a certain possibility.

A trace of pain appeared in his eyes.

Brothers for so many years, how could it be...

"Get ready. I also have one last Star Explosion Emblem in my hand. He is a Refine Star Realm Seventh Tier expert."

After whispering this, Niu Gui turned and walked out from behind the horse, his expression already restored to normal, "This warhorse is indeed injured. I'll pick two more for you."

As he spoke, Niu Gui led two warhorses over and handed them to Ji Ji Bochang.

"Brother, hurry if you want to rescue them. Not every team has a Three-Star tier emblem. If you're late, they might all be wiped out." Niu Gui urged, with a hint of struggle deep in his eyes.

"Indeed."

Taking the warhorses, Ji Ji Bochang glanced at the group and said, "By the way, the confessions. Give them to me to take away. Although it's unlikely anyone will intercept you again, it's safer if I carry them."

"Here!"

Niu Gui handed them over very readily, taking a confession wrapped in oil paper from his bosom and handing it to Ji Ji Bochang, "It's safer if you carry them. With you carrying them, this mission will definitely be completed, and we won't fail the Commandant's trust."

Xu Jin could tell that Niu Gui's words had a hidden meaning, but Ji Ji Bochang didn't notice it.

Ji Ji Bochang's attention was not on this at all.

Taking this confession, Ji Ji Bochang frowned, "One copy? Old Niu, you wouldn't make such a big mistake, would you? Normally, shouldn't you make two or three copies to be safe?"

"How could that be? There are three copies in total." Niu Gui smiled forcedly, but Xu Jin could see that Niu Gui's smile was uglier than crying.

"Oh, who is keeping the other two copies?"

After asking, Ji Ji Bochang might have realized it was inappropriate and added an explanation, "I'm just confirming."

Niu Gui smiled and pointed at the captives on the horses, "One is on the captives, and one is sewn under the horse's belly."

"Sewn under the horse's belly?" Ji Ji Bochang was stunned, "You really have a way, to think of such a trick."

"Old horses know the way! These one-star warhorses, even if we die in battle, they will find their way back to Hu Jinshan County City on their own." Niu Gui said.

"Indeed!"

"Which warhorse is it? Let me see."

Hearing this, Ji Ji Bochang subconsciously leaned down to look at the horse's belly, searching for which warhorse had the confession sewn under its belly.

Seeing this, tears rolled down Niu Gui's eyes.

"Old Ji, why?

Answer me, why?"

The first sentence was asked by Niu Gui in a calm voice, suppressing his anger and grief; the second sentence was already a thunderous roar!

(End of chapter)