by Fang Xiang
There was only a pile of mud specks in front of Zuo Mo. Coincidentally, a gust of wind blew, and the powder was caught up. It dissipated into the air.
He did not have a smug expression. Zuo Mo cautiously inspected the surroundings, and without a word, started to sprint.
———
Moments later, two figures appeared at where Zuo Mo had been fighting.
"We underestimated him."
"Yes, never thought that even the Mud Golem Mo Guest would not be a match for him. The appearance of Qi Diao Yu has proven our speculation. Xiao Mo Ge is that person."
"Nanmen Xue has been exposed."
"His original use was to be exposed. He can help attract attention from us when we act."
"What do we do now?"
"Do not be impatient. One throws a rock to test the road. As the rock is thrown, there naturally are people that cannot bear the loneliness."
"En."
———
Zuo Mo sprinted back to the compound without any other trouble.
When he reached the compound and saw Shu Long and the others, he finally sighed in relief. Everyone saw Xiao Guo and Li Ying Feng who Zuo Mo was holding and perceptively did not ask.
When they returned to the inner compound, Zuo Mo's mind finally relaxed.
Xiao Guo asked timidly, "Shixiong … …"
Zuo Mo turned his head and smiled at Xiao Guo. "Were you frightened?"
"A little bit." Xiao Guo timidly nodded. She seemed to have returned to the time of Wu Kong Sword Sect, with that shixiong that kept supporting her having returned to her side. She felt as though she was dreaming. For some reason, the rims of her eyes reddened and her voice went deeper. "Shixiong is very strong … …"
Li Ying Feng's eyes were also red. The experiences she had were like a nightmare. However, she was trying to be strong and forced it back. She said, "Shixiong, if you have matters at hand, you can attend to them first."
She saw the people in the yard continuously bowing to Zuo Mo. Even though she was filled with surprise, she understood that Zuo Mo was the leader of this group. The ambush on the road just now had been unusual and Zuo Shixiong definitely had matters to take care off.
"You should prepare. We might leave this place immediately," Zuo Mo said gravely. Then he turned and walked towards the outside.
Shu Long saw Zuo Mo come out of the yard and moved towards him. "Daren!"
Zuo Mo asked directly, "Is everyone here?"
Shu Long stilled but then immediately understood. Something had happened. He said after a moment of thought, "A Wen, Nan Yue, Cang Ze, Ming Jue Zi, the black and orange yao are all at the Mo Skill Steles."
"Send someone immediately to call them back," Zuo Mo said gravely. "Have everyone else pack up. When they come back, we will leave here immediately."
"Yes!" Shu Long heard the urgency of the commands. Without another word, he turned and left.
Zuo Mo's face was dark. He had a feeling that a large whirlpool that he could not see was coming closer to him.
———
The black smoke yao devoutly studied the characters on the stele in front of him. He had an eidetic memory and did not forget what he saw. In these past days, he had visited almost every one of the mo skill steles.
But … .…
His gaze landed on A Wen and Big Orange. A Wen did not pay attention to anything in the environment. His hands subconsciously moved. Even the black smoke yao could feel the hint of profoundness in those normal movements. Big Orange was completely different. He paced in front of the stele like an ant on top of a fire, and then grabbed at his hair. Sometimes, he would talk to the sky. His orange hair now looked like a bird's nest. He could not just hold still. The lightning, hail, and flames that erupted around his body was frightening which caused the mo skill steles around him to be empty.
These two freaks!
The black smoke yao felt great admiration. These two had the best talent out of the group.
He did not know A Wen well, but he felt deep admiration for how Big Orange, someone with such an unusual mind, had great talent. While he admired it, he felt even happier for Big Orange. Truthfully, when he had first found those cultivation notes, he had discovered that Big Orange had much greater talent than he did. This was also why he had pulled Big Orange along on this journey.
However, the black smoke yao also found that with every mo skill stele imprinted in his mind, he quickly noticed something that was overlooked by all the others. There were some descriptive phrases that would appear on some steles. These phrases were not long, and appeared normal. Some were related to philosophy and others that were hard to understand.
But the black smoke yao was an attentive person. When he found these phrases, he thought of the notes he had found.
Phrases like these had also appeared in the notes. The notes had said that Shi Zi Ming had always been searching for something. He had roamed the three realms of yao, mo and xiu in search of this thing. The followers did not know what Shi Zi Ming was searching for, but he had faithfully copied down what Shi Zi Ming had said.
Those words and the phrases that appeared on the steles were in the same style.
Was there a secret contained in these?
That was the first thought that flashed through the black smoke yao's mind. He felt very excited by this idea. His cultivation talent was not as great as the oranged haired yao but his intelligence was outstanding.
These phrases scattered on the steles, that did not attract much attention, were like an unknown secret that deeply attracted him.
He started to organize all the stone steles in his mind. His powerful memory was extremely useful. He quickly picked out those phrases that were unrelated to cultivation from all the stone steles.
Consequently, he quickly found that several of the phrases had appeared in the notes as well.
This result caused the black smoke yao to become even more excited. The time of the notes should have been the time that Shi Zi Ming had been roaming. Shi Zi Ming had said these words during that time he traveled, and Shi Zi Ming had only built Great Peace City many years later. He had engraved these exact words onto the Mo Skill Steles.
It was not a coincidence!
There definitely was a deeper meaning contained in these phrases that other people did not know!
Thinking about the Great Peace Treasure Pavilion that everyone was talking about, the black smoke yao's mind moved. Were these phrases related to the Great Peace Treasure Pavilion?
When he had first heard the rumors, he had researched the Great Peace Treasure Pavilion. It had existed at the beginning of Great Peace City, but Shi Zi Ming had eventually sealed it and it gradually faded from people's minds.
Why had Shi Zi Ming sealed the Great Peace Treasure Pavilion? What was really inside the Great Peace Treasure Pavilion?
This was a riddle that had never been solved.
When the black smoke yao carefully pondered the phrases he copied from the steles, he seemed to see an almost indiscernible line connecting the puzzle pieces.
Translator Ramblings: Rather than thinking about heat drying out the mud, I keep on thinking about the revolving part of the bracelet and imagining it like a blender … …
Chapter 613: Conspiracy
Looking at the enemy battalion crumbling in front of him, Gongsun Cha's expression was as calm as usual.
Beside him, a thread of fearful respect flashed through A Zha Ge's eyes. The battalion that was falling apart in front of them was the ninth battalion that they had defeated.
Lil' Miss Daren was really too powerful! He could not describe his respect and reverence of Lil' Miss Daren. A Zha Ge had been one of the three great battle generals of the Rahula Clan and held a high opinion of himself. But after he personally saw Lil' Miss Daren's terrifying control of the battlefield, he was left with deep respect. He never believed that a battle general could be so powerful!
Winning every battle with undefeatable attacks!
All nine battalions had crumbled in engagement round!
Vermillion Bird Camp was like a peerlessly sharp blade. Nothing could stop its advance.
As a battle general that was here due to surrendering, A Zha Ge knew that he needed to do more than other people in order to earn his place in this faction. Right now, he was full of confidence in this faction. He was full of confidence in its strength and vitality. Their battalion's performance would directly affect the well-being of his clansmen. A Zha Ge and his battalion worked very hard.
However, he quickly discovered that Lil' Miss Daren did not think of them as cannon fodder. Whenever they encountered a powerful battalion, Vermillion Bird Camp always charged at the very front.
A Zha Ge was left feeling of grateful.
In the mo realm where the strong ate the weak, surrendered battalions like theirs were usually used at the frontline and given the most dangerous positions. The rate of death was very high, and they received the worst supplies. No one cared about their life or death.
But here, Lil' Miss Daren did not have any negative opinions about them. He frequently took care of them and taught them. They did not need to worry that they would be used as cannon fodder and no one would hate them because they were mo.
Everyone held an account of favours and grievances in their heart.
A Zha He held one, and so did his soldiers. What they could do in reponse was fight as hard as they could.
Even though Vermillion Bird Camp took the lead in the majority of battles, A Zha Ge Battalion also experienced several hard battles. As the state of affairs in the mo world continued to escalate, the skill level of battalions in each area continuously rose. The leader of every faction understood that without a powerful battalion, they would not be able to survive in such chaotic times.
Every battle they experienced was not easy. Compared to Vermillion Bird Camp that was unstoppable, A Zha Ge Battalion had a much harder time. Almost a sixth of the battalion had died.
But the overall strength of the battalion skyrocketed.
Every elite force was forged in countless difficult battles. This was not a lie. After several battles, A Zha Ge Battalion had gained the morale of an elite force. Everyone had steadier presences, and their teamwork rose. The fatality rate decreased drastically. In the battle just now, only nine people had died.
Even though they had only just gone a quarter of the journey, everyone was filled with confidence.
"Rest for the night. We will advance in the morning."
As the sun set, Lil' Miss' orders echoed in the silent battlefield.
———
"What did you say?" yelled the Sound Fall Jie master, he could be heard from far away.
"Daren! This is true! The East Lu Battalion of East Lu Jie only managed to resist for one hour!" The subordinate's voice trembled. "This subordinate saw it, it is true!"
"One hour?" The jie master's expression almost froze on his face.
A moment later, he murmured in disbelief, "How is it possible? The strength of East Lu Battalion … …"
He knew very well that East Lu Battalion was on par with the strongest battalion under his command. This battalion that came out of nowhere was this strong? One hour!
"Daren!" the subordinate hurriedly said, "this battalion of unknown origins did not occupy East Lu Jie!"
"Did not occupy it East Lu Jie?" the jie master focused and was very curious. "Why didn't they take over East Lu Jie?"
"This subordinate also did not understand. According to what this subordinate heard, they did not take over any of the jie that they passed. This subordinate speculates that they are travelling! This subordinate caught some of the survivors from East Lu Battalion and discovered after interrogating them that this battalion had requested for East Lu Battalion to let them pass. They were refused by East Lu Battalion and then they attacked East Lu Battalion!"
"Are they only just passing through?" The jie master felt that this was a joke.
"This subordinate thinks so."
"I don't believe … …"
"Daren! This battalion has defeated nine battalions along their way! They are so strong they can rank within the top fifty battalion of Hundred Savage Realm! If they want to attack Sound Fall Jie, this subordinate fears … …" The subordinate did not continue but the words did not have to be spoken.
The jie master hesitated for a while before gritting his teeth and saying, "Allow them to pass, and prepare our forces in case you are wrong. But do not attack first!"
———
Zuo Mo's expression was terrible.
A Wen and the others had suddenly disappeared. The people of Guard Camp searched through all of the stele forest and did not find a shadow of A Wen and the others. Having just experienced the ambush, Zuo Mo's first conclusion and reaction was: was someone conspiring against them?
But he quickly shook his head. A Wen's group was six people. If they were attacked, there wasn't any way that it would have gone completely unnoticed. Guard Camp who had gone to search for them had asked the other people in the stele forest. Those people had all nodded and said the group had been there just a while ago. The orange haired yao was too eye-catching to forget.
But no one knew how they had disappeared.
If someone wanted to steal away these six people without any disturbance, it was only possible if the kidnappers were all experts, attacked before they could react, and had attacked with equal numbers was it then possible.
There was no trace of Nan Yue and the others in the Ten Finger Prison.
"Someone is targeting you," Pu Yao said coldly.
"Starting with Nanmen Xue, this string of events is not quite right," Wei followed.
"I'll go find Nanmen Xue!" Zuo Mo thought and then said.
"There is no use." Pu Yao shook his head. "Nanmen Xue is clearly a pawn thrown out as a distraction. He probably acted because of a transaction he made. He probably doesn't know anything at all."
"What solutions do you have?" Zuo Mo suppressed the murderousness inside his chest and asked Pu Yao.
Pu Yao said, "The best way is to remain calm and not do anything."
Wei explained, "If they were really kidnapped, the culprit's true target is you. No matter what aims the other have, they will come find you. You need to wait and be calm."
Zuo Mo thought and then felt the two of them were right. He forced himself to calm down.
He suddenly felt he was very stupid. In terms of scheming, there wasn't anyone more skilled than these two old bandits. What was he doing thinking by himself?
"You say that they are targeting me? Why?" Zuo Mo decided to throw the problem to the two old bandits.
A bloody light danced in Pu Yao's bloody pupil. He felt slightly excited. It had been too long since such an exciting event. His mind worked quickly as he said, "First, it definitely isn't a grudge. The ambusher today did not try and assassinate you, they wanted to capture you alive."
Zuo Mo thought back and immediately found it reasonable. "Yes, after you mention this, I have also noticed it. He did not use a killing move."
"He wanted to capture you but not kill you so the possibility that this was motivated by a grudge is not high. Then it must be that you have something that they want, or they want you to do something."
As expected from old bandits. After a few sentences, Zuo Mo immediately felt his thoughts clear up.
"What do I have? What can I do?"
"You have many things. Like shen power, the Sun Crystal Seed, these are all objects that people would want," Wei said slowly. "There are even more things you can do. For example, seduce Princess Xia!"
"Haha!" Pu Yao heartlessly roared with laughter.
Zuo Mo was slightly angry. "You are in the mood to make a joke at this time?"
"Relax." Wei said with a smile, "The more normal you appear now, the less the other will be able to keep calm."
"You do you mean?" Zuo Mo wasn't able to react.
"Do what you had planned to do before,
like the two invitations the princesses sent you. Why don't you go? It is good if you listen to what they say!" Wei urged. "You are not the local snakehead, you do not have any spies. If you want to lure others out, you will have to act as bait. The more people you come into contact with, the more panicked the other will be because they cannot guess what you will think of doing next, and what you plan."
A cold smile rose at the corner of Pu Yao's lip. "What a schemer is most afraid of is not knowing."
———
With the two old bandits supporting him, Zuo Mo felt reassured.
He did not make any ruckus over the disappearances but he quickly received a letter from Lan Tian Long. The letter said that they were thinking of ways to help him search for his missing subordinates and told him to be careful of his own safety.
Moved, Zuo Mo immediately realized that the entire city probably knew that A Wen and the others had disappeared.
This was not strange. Guard Camp had not concealed themselves when they were searching and had asked many other people. The news would not be able to be concealed.
Princess Xia also quickly sent someone with a letter. The contents were generally the same. It said that she would help ask around for him and tell him if she had news.
Princess Xia's letter caused Pu Yao and Wei to become excited again.
The two said that Princess Xia was purusing Zuo Mo and urged Zuo Mo to worker harder to get this pretty flower.
Inside, Zuo Mo thought that the two old bandits wanted to retaliate against Princess Xia. Also, in his mind, Princess Xia was his friend to whom he also owed her a favor. How could he harm her? He completely disregarded the suggestions from the two fogies.
The letters from all the families quickly followed. Right now, Xiao Mo Ge was a personage and had a limitless future. There were many that wanted to establish relationships with him.
But there was no information about A Wen and the others at all in these letters. There was also no news from the Ten Finger Prison.
The guard around Zuo Mo's yard became even heavier.
Patiently waiting for news, Zuo Mo cultivated like usual. Suddenly, he felt a strange ripple come from his ring.
En, what was this?
