Chapter 1051 - 880: Messenger

Saying one thing and doing another, Li Hongjiu racked his brains and still couldn't figure out what exactly Shi Chun was going to do.

In fact, Yu Yifu didn't even need to threaten him; as long as he, Li Hongjiu, knew that Shi Chun was still outside, he himself would find an excuse to go out once.

Now that Yu Yifu had taken the initiative to speak, Li Hongjiu instead found it awkward to straightforwardly accept the order. He put on a show of hesitation and said, "I already went to talk to him before. He wouldn't budge at all. What use is it to go again?"

Yu Yifu stressed, "I said, this time you just need to find out whether the mount is on him or not."

They hadn't been able to force Shi Chun to submit when they were inside; now that the man had run off to a safe zone, he had even less hope that Shi Chun would back down.

The whole thing was also weighing on him. The cooked duck had already been delivered to his mouth, such good luck—yet a whole group ganged up on it and still let the cooked duck fly away. If things weren't handled properly in the end, he really didn't know how he was supposed to explain himself when he went back.

Li Hongjiu was just putting on a bit of an act. Seeing that the conversation had reached this point, he simply followed the momentum down the slope. After silently mulling it over for a bit, he sighed and said, "I'll go give it a try." He turned back toward the rift of rosy light and let out a puzzled "Huh," "Why does the exit look like it's gotten foggy?"

Yu Yifu followed his gaze and snorted, "That's no fog, that's smoke that bastard Shi Chun let out. No idea what trick he's playing."

In this place, if there was no external force disturbing it, the smoke and mist wouldn't easily disperse.

Li Hongjiu also wanted to know what trick Shi Chun was pulling. After taking out the 'Ice Sheep' and adjusting his breath, he flashed up and flew toward the rift up in the air.

Seeing him go in, Yu Yifu turned back to warn everyone, "Increase vigilance, everyone. Be careful in case that murderer has the guts to barge over here."

Outside at the exit, the forces stationed there showed a bit of movement as well. After all, a few more Lifebound Lanterns had gone out, which made Shi Chun, who was sitting cross-legged in meditation, unable to relax. He leaned over to the side of the grand formation where the Heavenly Court Guard General was, and a few soft hisses from the latter woke him. The guard crooked a finger, calling him over to ask, "Nanshan's people have had another three Lifebound Lanterns go out. Do you know what's going on?"

Shi Chun was slightly stunned. "Another three dead? I don't know. I'm here; how could I possibly know what's happening inside?"

He truly didn't know what was going on.

But the Heavenly Court Guard General genuinely suspected him, and reminded, "As soon as Nanshan's people went in, five Lifebound Lanterns went out. Right after that, you ran out looking like a dog that lost its home. Now Nanshan's people have three more dead, and the other sides haven't had anything happen at all. And you're hiding here, neither going in nor out—there must be a reason. Dare you say you've got no idea in your heart?"

What he said was well-grounded, but Shi Chun, wearing a face full of helpless amusement, was truly wronged. He spread his hands and said, "I really don't know."

The guard general said, "Who is hunting you down, dare you say you don't know?"

Shi Chun said, "It wasn't some single person hunting me. It was a whole group ganging up on me. But if I say I didn't get a clear look at a single face, would you believe me?"

The guard's face darkened. "You and I are both people of the Heavenly Court, and you hold the exalted rank of a regional Commander. Now that the Heavenly Court is asking about the situation, I'm warning you: if you know something and don't report it, you'll be held responsible."

Shi Chun said, "I really don't know what's going on inside. Once I find a way to figure out the situation, I'll definitely report it."

The guard snorted, flicked his sleeve, and turned to leave. However, after taking two steps, he still turned back and quietly informed him, "You all be more careful. During our search we found that all four factions brought a 'Void Escape Divine Arrow' in with them. You should know what a 'Void Escape Divine Arrow' is, right?"

The two of them were complete strangers. If not for being on the same side, he really could not be bothered to give this reminder.

Shi Chun's expression grew solemn as he gave a slight nod. He more than just knew what a 'Void Escape Divine Arrow' was—they themselves had one, too. They simply hadn't dared to bring it along for fear of being recognized. As for the 'Beidou Refusal Array', they dared to bring it through inspection because they were sure no outsiders had ever seen the Beidou Refusal Array's fully retracted form, not even the Phoenix Clan as it stood now.

So he was well aware of the power of the 'Void Escape Divine Arrow'. If they really clashed with it, it would be extraordinarily dangerous. Still, that thing was clearly not aimed at them—though that didn't rule out the possibility that they might get a taste of it later.

Just then, he and the guard general both turned their heads toward the rift of rosy light and saw a flickering figure.

The one who came out was none other than Li Hongjiu.

Li Hongjiu held his breath as he emerged, only relaxing it once he was outside. Even then, he still caught a whiff of a strange smell, which made him frown tightly. Then he saw a pile of messy wood and a dug-out pit, and naturally, he also saw Shi Chun whispering to the guard general beside the Protection Array.

Seeing him come out, Shi Chun secretly let out a breath of relief. Just as he'd expected, he knew that once the other side was informed, they would definitely come looking for him to get to the bottom of things.

The guard muttered, "That guy went in for not even a day before coming out. Is he going out to deliver some kind of message or what?"

It was hard not to suspect that, given that several Lifebound Lanterns had just gone out.

Shi Chun immediately used this as an excuse. "I know him well. I'll go ask and sound him out."

He turned and quickly walked toward the dug pit, gesturing for Li Hongjiu to come down into the pit as he went.

Li Hongjiu walked to the edge of the pit and looked down, but couldn't make out what was going on. Then he glanced at the messy surroundings and couldn't help asking, "What the hell are you up to?"

"Come." Shi Chun called out, then jumped down into the pit first.

Li Hongjiu looked around and saw that all the guards from every side were staring at him with eager eyes. He broke into a small cold sweat, realizing that it was a good thing Yu Yifu had forced him to come; otherwise, if he had openly colluded with Shi Chun in front of everyone, he really wouldn't have been able to explain it away.

He truly服了 this guy—digging holes and tossing trash right at the entrance of Yanfu Continent, and no one's saying a thing?

There was no use overthinking it. He jumped into the pit as well, turned into the bottom, and once he squeezed together with Shi Chun, he asked in a low voice, "What are you doing? Weren't you desperately charging out just now to go find reinforcements?"

Shi Chun said, "Something unexpected happened. Oh, right, you found Wu Jinliang and the others, didn't you?"

Li Hongjiu said, "Found them. I also told him about the situation, it's just that something unexpected happened during the process…" Lowering his voice, he recounted the whole incident in detail.

Only then did Shi Chun understand why three more Lifebound Lanterns had gone out, and only then did he realize how terrifyingly strong Huang Yingying really was. It was unexpected, yet made perfect sense.

Thinking of the Void Escape Divine Arrow in Nanshan's hands, Shi Chun figured even Huang Yingying might not be able to withstand it. He hurriedly asked, "Nanshan's men didn't chase after them, did they?"

Li Hongjiu said, "Wu Jinliang's way of scaring people still works. Plus, they want to know whether the mount is on you and confirm where to aim. They're all waiting not far from the inner exit, waiting on my message to decide what to do."

Only then did Shi Chun put his worries away. As for Wu Jinliang's reaction after receiving the message, it actually didn't surprise him. Even with the whole being tailed by the Demon Eye incident, the moment he heard Wu Jinliang's response, he knew exactly what that guy wanted to do—keep digging.

And that was why he stayed here waiting for news: he needed to judge, based on Wu Jinliang's side's reaction, whether Wu Jinliang might pull something completely out of his expectations.

As long as things stayed within expectations, he dared to keep going, and also dared to let Wu Jinliang keep going, even though the factions inside all had Void Escape Divine Arrows in hand.

Because a now-prepared Wu Jinliang had the Beidou Refusal Array, and the Beidou Refusal Array was a Protection Array that even the top experts in the current Cultivation World couldn't break. A Void Escape Divine Arrow facing the Beidou Refusal Array shouldn't be able to cross that boundary with its assassinating, crossing-void power.

The other factions also wouldn't use a Divine Arrow on Wu Jinliang's people the moment they met; after all, Nanshan still had Li Hongjiu as an inside man.

Of course, this didn't change a fact: there was still risk. They were taking a desperate gamble for profit.

So after thinking it through over and over, he spoke softly, "Brother Jiu, you still have to go and report to Wu Jinliang, tell him about my current situation—especially that I've been stacking wood and making fires here…" He pointed at the charcoal ashes at his feet. "Just say I've been chopping wood and making fires outside the exit. Make sure you tell him that."

Li Hongjiu rubbed the burnt ashes with his foot, saw nothing special, and asked curiously, "What do you mean? Why are you chopping wood and making fires here?"

Shi Chun said, "Brother Jiu, you don't want to implicate Yanbao Sect and always leave yourself some room. I don't blame you. Let me leave some room too, so I can keep maintaining that room you left. If I spell everything out, I'll have no way out—I'll just have to bind you and me tightly together."

Li Hongjiu fell silent for a moment, didn't continue this topic, but couldn't help cursing, "What do you people take me for? I'm running back and forth like this, basically your Messenger now?"

Shi Chun wanted to laugh—at this point, what choice did Li Hongjiu have? On the surface though, he pleaded sincerely, "Brother Jiu, we can only count on you now. Once Wu Jinliang and the others end up in Nanshan's hands—there were so many people who saw you colluding with Wu Jinliang—are you sure every single one of them can endure torture and interrogation?"

Li Hongjiu immediately glared and snapped, "What do you mean, are you threatening me?"

Shi Chun immediately grabbed his arm. "No, no, don't overthink it, I'm just stating the facts. Brother Jiu, once this is over, that fine wine from Chao Yue Hall—drink as much as you want!"

Li Hongjiu rolled his eyes. This brat actually had the nerve to bring up fine wine.

Fine wine was good stuff, but the key was that he'd already begun restraining himself. He was no longer that drunkard carrying a wine gourd around all day; now he only had a small drink for pleasure.

The turning point was that trip to Chao Yue Hall—he'd been lured down the mountain by fine wine, and ended up in huge trouble, almost losing his life.

Originally he'd felt he was underappreciated in Yanbao Sect, that no one understood him, so he drowned his sorrows in drink. Later, after going through some things, he realized there was really no need. Just staying like this in Yanbao Sect was pretty good; he'd simply been too fixated.

Once he figured it out, even the beatings became fewer, his master calmed down, and his days grew more and more comfortable.

Of course, you don't refuse good things for free. Whatever he couldn't finish drinking could be used to curry favor with the sect's higher-ups anyway. Besides, he couldn't refuse this task now, so why suffer for nothing?

After that, the two of them whispered and schemed for quite a while longer before Li Hongjiu finally left.

By the time he slipped into the crack of rosy light, it was already almost dark. He looked back, cursed, and realized for the first time that the entrance to Yanfu Continent was actually a two-way passage. No one had ever mentioned this to him before, and he'd never seen it in any related records of the Sect.

According to sect rules, once he got back he'd have to add this detail into the relevant sect records as a supplement.

When he went back inside and saw Yu Yifu, who had been waiting for a long time, he sighed and said, "Useless. That guy's sharp as a needle. The moment I opened my mouth he knew I was a spy sent by you lot. As for the mount, he refused to let slip even half a word."

Yu Yifu stared hard at him for a while, then turned his head and said, "Old You, you take half the men and guard this place. As soon as he shows himself, you must capture him. The rest of you come with me to find his subordinates. I want to see what kind of mysterious person can fight four at once."

Li Hongjiu said at once, "No need for me to go, right? My cultivation is too low; I'd just be a burden to you all."

As someone who'd been directly involved when it all went down, they needed him to identify people. There was no way they'd leave him here on guard duty. The moment he opened his mouth it would draw attention. In the end, things didn't go as he wished, and Yu Yifu forcibly dragged him along.