Chapter 4015: The Wild Peak Convinces Itself

Several disciples looked at Zhenyu with open admiration, which Lin Mu noticed and silently approved.

’Excellent.’

The investigation then returned to the matter of Little Bull.

High Elder Palm Saber frowned. "Senior, what should we do next?"

Another elder spoke immediately. "Should we send people to the Mad Demon Depths?"

"Little Bull was sent there. Perhaps he is still alive."

"Or perhaps he escaped."

The elders began discussing possibilities, when one of them looked toward Lin Mu. "Senior Zhenyu, you came from the Mad Demon Depths."

The others slowly turned toward him.

The elder continued. "You were trapped there for a very long time. If Little Bull was sent there, perhaps you encountered him."

Lin Mu’s expression became thoughtful, as this was precisely the moment he had been waiting for.

He stroked his beard. "There is something else I must tell you."

The entire group quieted and Lin Mu’s expression became solemn. The elders immediately focused their attention on him.

Internally, however, Lin Mu felt a trace of uncertainty. ’Will this excuse work?’

He had several options. He could tell them that he had sensed Little Bull. He could claim that Little Bull had escaped. He could say that the Mad Demon Depths had strange spatial distortions that prevented him from determining his location.

All of those explanations were possible, yet they could also create problems later. He needed something that would explain why he knew about Little Bull without revealing the truth. He needed something that could potentially connect himself to Little Bull.

And most importantly, he needed to give Wild Peak hope that their disciple was still alive. Lin Mu finally made his decision and he simply threw caution aside. That was what a Wild Peak cultivator would do.

He looked at the gathered elders. "My escape from the Mad Demon Depths was not solely my effort."

The room went silent and several elders looked surprised.

"There was actually another person involved." The silence became heavier.

High Elder Palm Saber immediately asked, "Who?"

Lin Mu slowly shook his head. "At first, I did not know." He paused. "The man was caught in something far beyond his understanding. I could sense that much. His interference seemed to affect the array that was trapping me."

The elders listened carefully as Lin Mu continued. "That interference weakened the array enough for me to free myself."

Several elders exchanged glances and their expressions were already becoming complicated.

Lin Mu continued before they could interrupt. "I never learned who the man was." He lowered his voice. "But after hearing everything you have told me and comparing it with what I experienced inside the Mad Demon Depths, I have reached a conclusion."

Everyone leaned forward as Lin Mu looked directly at them. "That man was none other than Little Bull."

There was complete silence as the elders and the disciples stared at him, as if his face contained the profundities of the heavens and nobody spoke. For several seconds, it seemed as though the entire vault had forgotten how to breathe.

Their expressions were almost identical. There was confusion, spinning within shock, that was suspended upon disbelief. Their minds appeared to have stopped functioning and it was as though the gears inside their heads had suddenly become ancient and rusty. 𝑓𝑟ℯℴ𝓂

Palm Saber finally opened his mouth, then closed it. He looked at the other elders while they looked back, as nobody knew what to say. Lin Mu maintained a perfectly serious expression. Internally, he was wondering whether he had perhaps gone too far.

’This might actually be too ridiculous.’ Yet the elders were already beginning to think.

One elder’s expression slowly changed. "Little Bull weakened the array?"

Another elder murmured, "But he was just a new disciple."

A third whispered, "Perhaps he possesses some special ability we don’t know about."

The first elder’s eyes widened. "His body cultivation is extraordinary for his age."

Someone else added, "And he was able to survive in the Mad Demon Depths."

The elders began filling in the gaps themselves while Lin Mu remained silent. He had thrown a stone into a pond, so now he simply needed to watch the ripples.

High Elder Palm Saber looked at him again. "Senior, are you saying Little Bull helped you escape?"

Lin Mu slowly nodded. "That is what I believe."

The elder’s expression became complicated.

If this was true, then everything changed. Little Bull had survived, he had somehow interfered with the ancient array, then he had indirectly helped a long-lost Junior Elder escape from the Mad Demon Depths.

And perhaps, most importantly, he might still be somewhere inside.

The Wild Peak elders looked at one another. Their previous anger remained, yet now another emotion had appeared: Hope.

Lin Mu watched their reactions carefully as he had no idea how far their interpretation would go. He only knew one thing. His absurd explanation had somehow given them a possibility they desperately wanted to believe.

Little Bull might still be alive, and if he was alive, Wild Peak had a reason to enter the Mad Demon Depths.

Lin Mu stroked his beard and looked toward the dark passage leading deeper into the vault.

His expression became solemn. "Which means there may still be time."

The elders immediately looked at him and Lin Mu’s eyes sharpened. "If Little Bull truly interfered with the array that trapped me, then he possesses some connection to the deeper mechanisms of that place."

He paused. "And if he is still inside the Mad Demon Depths, we need to find him before someone else does."

The elders’ expressions hardened while High Elder Palm Saber clenched his fist. "Then we will find him."

Lin Mu smiled faintly. "Of course."

Inside, however, Lin Mu could not help feeling amused. The entire situation had become far more complicated than he had originally planned. Yet somehow, every complication was making his disguise stronger.

The Wild Peak elders now believed their ancient Junior Elder had returned with secrets from the Mad Demon Depths. They believed he knew hidden formations of the sect. They believed he had discovered evidence against Taegong.

And now they believed Little Bull had somehow helped him escape.

Lin Mu quietly thought to himself. ’This is getting out of hand.’

Then his smile widened. ’Fortunately, Wild Peak has always liked getting out of hand.’