Chapter 327: No Benefit, Who Avenges the Opponent?

"Steward Qi, we turned over the ground three feet around us and still didn't find a single silhouette!"

Wen Ping's expression grew solemn as he stared at the Paper Person a short distance away; for some reason, although he saw no expression on the Paper Person's face, he vaguely sensed that the Paper Person's face was full of mockery, and said:

"Should we leave here to search for this person's true-body hiding place, or first deal with this Paper Person and then go after the true-body hiding place?"

Just now.

They trailed behind Qi Liang, awaiting Wang Ping'an's appearance, moving cautiously, daring not to show any flaw for fear Wang Ping'an would see and disappear, until a Flying Sword surged toward Qi Liang.

They also let out a sigh of relief!

Yet they dared not speak to warn Qi Liang, to make him guard, fearing that a single word would alert Wang Ping'an to an ambush, leaving them to watch helplessly as the Flying Sword struck Qi Liang.

What they were grateful for was that the magical artifact Qi Liang wore had astonishing defensive power; otherwise that sudden Flying Sword could have taken Qi Liang's life before he even noticed it.

When Wang Ping'an appeared—more precisely, the Paper Person controlled by Wang Ping'an appeared.

They hesitated, unsure whether they should appear.

Coincidentally.

At that moment Qi Liang sent them a message, telling them not to rush out, but to carefully scour the surroundings while Wang Ping'an was inattentive, and to locate Wang Ping'an's true form before he noticed.

If they could capture him, capture him; if not, slay Wang Ping'an on the spot.

But...

They followed the usual distance Evil Cultivators keep when controlling a Paper Person, and to be extra cautious expanded it two or three times farther—turning over the ground three feet, searching every nook and cranny, let alone Wang Ping'an's hiding place.

They didn't even find a single human!

"Before he noticed, you didn't locate this person's hiding place; now he's likely on guard, and you stand virtually no chance—perhaps not even one in ten thousand—to find his hiding place again!"

Qi Liang let out a dissatisfied hum; he set an example, nearly losing his life to draw Wang Ping'an out, yet Wen Ping and his enforcement squad still failed to locate Wang Ping'an's hiding place.

How could he not be angry?

It meant that his recent, life‑risking actions had yielded nothing.

Qi Liang forced down the fury in his heart; although his rank in the organization was higher than Wen Ping's, Wen Ping belonged to the enforcement squad, one of the leader's trusted members.

With people like that, currying favor brings little benefit, but crossing them guarantees no good fruit.

Qi Liang changed the subject: "Brother Daoist, I wonder what grudge you hold against Fan Hongwei—do you have a personal vendetta, or is it because he belongs to our organization that you contemplate killing him?"

He would risk his life, follow Ni Qiu here, step into Wang Ping'an's trap; besides avenging Fan Hongwei, he also seeks to clarify why Wang Ping'an killed Fan Hongwei.

Although.

Understanding why Wang Ping'an killed Fan Hongwei isn't a crucial matter, but since they cannot yet avenge Fan Hongwei, figuring this out will at least give them an explanation when they return.

Wang Ping'an asked curiously, "Organization? You keep mentioning 'organization' over and over—what organization are you part of?"

As the saying goes: "Things gather by kind, people by group!"

An organization that can accommodate a scoundrel like Fan Hongwei and even promote and raise his salary clearly isn't a good one; nine out of ten of its members are major villains.

He can slay Fan Hongwei to earn Merit, and likewise slay these organization members to earn money Merit.

The only question is whether Qi Liang is willing to reveal their organization's location, whether their organization is far from here, and whether his controlled Paper Person can get there.

Once he learns the address of their organization, his controlled Paper Person can rush there; even if many cultivators could easily deal with his Paper Person, at worst he would launch a suicide attack on the organization. Even if it costs one—no, ten Paper Persons—to slay a single organization member and earn a thousand points of Merit, it's blood‑earned profit for him.

Paper Person.

It's not a valuable treasure; he can craft it himself, consuming only some spirit paper, and he even has the skill to create spirit paper on his own.

The biggest expense is some spirit wood.

Of course.

When a Paper Person is destroyed, it affects him to some degree; he uses divine attachment technique, splitting off a strand of Spirit Power to control the Paper Person.

If the Paper Person is destroyed, the split Spirit Power is also shattered, but against his ever‑growing Spirit Power, the loss of a single strand is nothing serious.

"Our organization..."

Qi Liang's face was full of arrogance, about to introduce their organization's prowess to Wang Ping'an, when he heard Wen Ping's cough, instantly reconsidered, swallowed the words at his mouth, and changed to say:

"First tell me why you killed Fan Hongwei, and then I'll tell you about our organization!"

Wang Ping'an was instantly speechless, unsure whether Qi Liang was treating him like a three‑year‑old—though he was currently less than a year old, a baby, he wasn't foolish, so he could certainly detect the evasiveness in Qi Liang's words.

This novel you to

Wang Ping'an ignored Qi Liang's question and asked again, "You just said you and Fan Hongwei are rivals for profit; then how did you—or your organization—think of having you avenge him?"

"Naturally..."

Qi Liang was about to answer when another transmission echoed in his mind, not Wang Ping'an's voice but Wen Ping's beside him.

"Steward Qi, that scum who lured you here wants to run—shall I kill him first?"

"Captain Wen, you're confused—his escape is a good thing!"

Qi Liang's expression remained normal, multitasking, simultaneously clarifying to Wang Ping'an and transmitting a response to Wen Ping, exclaiming excitedly:

"If he runs, he might lead us to the Evil Cultivator's hiding place; why don't you quickly send someone to stealthily follow him and let him bring us to that Evil Cultivator?"

"Exactly!"

Wen Ping's eyes lit up instantly; taking advantage of Wang Ping'an's inattention, he gestured.

A figure concealed by other enforcement squad members vanished immediately.

"So you mean you will avenge your rival Fan Hongwei on behalf of your organization, and after you do, the organization will let you take over his benefits?"

Wang Ping'an said in surprise.

"Of course; otherwise there's no benefit. I'd love for Fan Hongwei to die—how could I possibly avenge him then..."

Qi Liang let out a cold snort, his words unfinished, then suddenly sprang up, striking the enforcement squad members.

With Ni Qiu fleeing, it could likely lead them to Wang Ping'an's true-body hiding place; the Paper Person currently controlled by the Evil Cultivator is now worthless.

There's no need to see whether this Paper Person can be used to locate Wang Ping'an's true-body hiding place.

Currently.

The most important thing is to deal with this Paper Person quickly, so he has no time to spread the news, locate Wang Ping'an's true hiding place, and make Wang Ping'an a turtle in a jar.

(End of chapter)