Forty millenniums of cul.., p.400
Forty Millenniums of Cultivation, page 400
"He is a viper that has been nesting on Spider Den for decades. His hunting style is simplicity and sharpness. He always tries to shorten the time of his hunting and reduce the unnecessary procedures!
"For him, the simpler a hunting plan is, the better. One more procedure means one more thing that can possibly go wrong!
"Therefore, after the meeting today, I returned to my room and tried to walk in Fengyu Zhong's shoes.
"I discovered that, according to his style, he could definitely have launched the fatal strike in the Old Dragon Space Zone and blown the horn of the final battle there!
"It is true that the environment of the Old Dragon Space Zone was not favorable for his escape, but such a plan would've bought him at least one extra day for his getaway!
"One day was more than enough for him to flee!
"Why did he give up the easiest choice and change his habit by going through so much trouble to drive the Great Horn Exo Society to the Iron Plateau Space Zone?
"An old, cunning, experienced space pirate would never have done such a redundant thing.
"I can only speculate that it was not Fengyu Zhong's will, but the hint or command from someone above him, or to be more exact, someone from the Temple of Immortals.
"For some reason, the Temple of Immortals needed the final battle to break out in the Iron Plateau Space Zone!"
Xiong Wuji gasped. "That's just your speculation."
Li Yao sighed. "I hope it's just my speculation and I am being paranoid, too. But sadly, my instincts are hardly ever wrong. When I foresee danger, danger is very likely to occur.
"I thought that the game was concluded in the periphery of the Iron Plateau Space Zone and I was the winner.
"But now I realize that the game only began at that moment, and I don't even know who my opponent is or what he wants.
"In the hands of my real opponent, Fengyu Zhong is merely a chess piece on a board and a chip in a casino even though he is in the Core Formation Stage!"
Li Yao finished his speech, only to find that Xiong Wuji was not focused on him at all. The chief's eyes were hollow. There was no telling what was on his mind.
"Chief Xiong?"
Li Yao called him gently. Xiong Wuji was suddenly back to himself from the trance, and his eyes were focused again.
Li Yao asked, "Chief Xiong, is there something bothering you?"
Xiong Wuji coughed and said, "I'm alright. Just a bit tired."
"Please do take a good rest, Chief Xiong. I will calculate everything carefully when I return. Logically, the Temple of Immortals did not know of my existence in the beginning. So, I was definitely not the target of the scheme. I must rule out all the interfering factors resulting from my appearance and deduct the entire event from the starting point with the hypothesis that I don't exist. I'll see whether or not I can find why our enemy had to set the Iron Plateau Space Zone as the battlefield!
"I believe that, as long as I find their motivation, we will know what they are really up to!"
Li Yao rose up and bid farewell to Xiong Wuji, but Xiong Wuji seemed to be hesitating about something. It was not until Li Yao reached the door that he suddenly called out.
"Li Yao!"
Li Yao turned around, confused. He felt that Xiong Wuji was getting weirder and weirder.
Xiong Wuji clenched his fists so hard that his artificial arm was emitting cracking noises. He gnashed his teeth. "Believe me. Whatever I did, I did for Iron Plateau! You must believe me!"
Li Yao frowned "What do you mean, Chief Xiong?"
Xiong Wuji, however, seemed to regret saying what he'd said. He waved his hands lethargically and said, "Nothing. I'll see you tomorrow."
Then, he added, "If anything goes wrong in the future, please take care of Sha Yulan and Wu Mayan for me. Send them back to the space if possible."
Li Yao was dazed. He was planning to pursue further, but he found that Xiong Wuji had turned into a frozen statue again.
Li Yao returned to his own room in bafflement. The more he thought about it, the more uneasy he became. Pondering for a moment, he released Neltharion in stealth mode and hid it in the trunk of a giant tree in the yard.
It could see the door of Xiong Wuji's ward clearly from that angle.
Xiong Wuji was still in low spirits because of the heavy wounds, and therefore did not notice anything wrong.
Li Yao had no idea why he was spying on a friend, but when he looked at Xiong Wuji at the end of their conversation, he had felt that the chief's eyes were extremely strange, and some deeply buried secrets seemed to be hidden in them.
After the deployment, Li Yao sat cross-legged and gradually increased his brain cell activity, while he ruminated on every detail from the moment he'd boarded the carrier of the Temple of Immortals.
Such deduction was even more exhausting than drafting structural designs for magical equipment. Li Yao felt dizzy and drowsy by the time he reached the 7th day of the event.
Suddenly, a black shadow blinked in his vision.
A man in a black cloak had snuck into the yard behind the hospital quietly.
Something is indeed wrong!
Li Yao was refreshed. He pretended that he was breathing in a fixed frequency. Also, he had turned off the lights when he started his meditation. Therefore, anyone passing by would only think that he was sound asleep.
White hair could vaguely be seen below the cloak. Under the moonlight, Li Yao could see a face as red and healthy as that of a baby.
It was Yan Zhengdong, chief of the Burning Sun Tribe!
What's he doing here? Li Yao was greatly confused.
Zigzagging forward secretly, Yan Zhengdong went to Xiong Wuji's ward and pushed open the door.
The door was not locked. Xiong Wuji seemed to have known that a visitor was coming.
After he went inside, the door was locked after a click.
Neltharion could not capture the sound inside the room. Li Yao was so curious that he was scratching his head hard. He felt that his brain was about to explode with interest.
The door of the room was not opened again until half an hour later, when Yan Zhengdong stormed out of the room in fury.
His cloak was awry, yet he was too anxious to sort it out. He was somewhat pissed and yelled at the room in a low voice, "Yes, I don't believe in you! Whoever brings up the motion is fine, except for you! Absolutely not you!"
Xiong Wuji's voice came over from the room intermittently. He was talking about something like 'swear to god' and 'punished by the heavens if not', but it was impossible to distinguish exactly what he was saying.
Yan Zhengdong, on the other hand, snorted and said, "Cut the crap. The qi-trainers believe not in the deities or the heavens but our weapons and fists. Your vows do not mean a damn thing!
"Anyways, in the interests of the six tribes, I will not reveal who you are, but you'd better stop concocting your evil plans. Just be the chief of the Furious Bears Tribe and behave!
"If you've made up your mind to talk to the space residents, you will have to wait until I die! I will not allow you to do that as long as I'm alive!"
Finishing his words, Yan Zhengdong waved his sleeve and strode away.
Li Yao felt his heart pulsating with curiosity. He wondered whether or not to let Neltharion follow, but he eventually gave up the idea after some hesitation.
The Burning Sun Tribe was stationed in an independent camp at the corner of Furious Bears City together with the Feathered Snakes Tribe and the Giant Axe Tribe. There were many experts inside the camps. If somebody discovered traces of the magical equipment, it would be hard for him to explain.
After Xiong Wuji shut the door of the room again, Li Yao had Neltharion return and fell into deep thought again.
This time, he was pondering the relationship between Xiong Wuji and Yan Zhengdong.
Xiong Wuji had a big secret, and Yan Zhengdong was not as unreasonable as he appeared to be in the meeting in the afternoon. He seemed to know Xiong Wuji's secret and had good reasons for his objection.
What a mess!
Li Yao pondered for a whole night, yet he failed to figure anything out. When dawn came, he finally couldn't help it any longer and took a nap on the bed.
But shortly after he fell asleep, he was woken up by hasty horns.
There were also vague drumming noises in the distance.
Battle drumming.
Incoming enemy?
Li Yao was greatly surprised because he could tell that it was the war horn of the highest level in Furious Bears City. Generally speaking, it was only blown when the apocalyptic beasts were attacking the city in full strength!
What's going on?
Li Yao hurried to put on the Sky Scorpion Armor that he had just repaired and rushed out of the hospital.
The streets were in chaos. There was not the slightest ceremonial ambience left. Everybody was hustling and bustling like headless flies. The qi-trainers were shouting, yelling, and running toward the east of the city.
"Uncle Sand Scorpion! Uncle Sand Scorpion!"
Wu Mayan appeared out of nowhere. One of his shoes had been knocked off in the crowd. He snatched Li Yao's arm, and his body curled like a shrimp because he was out of breath.
"What happened?" asked Li Yao solemnly.
"The thousands of qi-trainers of the Burning Sun Tribe are rioting! War! They are declaring war against us!" Wu Mayan shrieked.
That's impossible!
Li Yao was greatly shocked. He asked in disbelief, "For what?"
Although there were conflicts among the six tribes of Iron Plateau, they were not severe enough for a war. Opinions had differed in the meeting yesterday, and there had been quarrels, but all the chiefs were smart and rational people. The chiefs of the Giant Axe Tribe and the Feathered Snakes Tribe, for example, had both agreed to get in touch with the space residents despite their hatred against the deserters.
Even when the secret conversation between Yan Zhengdong and Xiong Wuji ended on bad terms last night, Yan Zhengdong had mentioned that he would keep the interests of the six tribes in mind.
How come a war was breaking out?
"Yan Zhengdong, chief of the Burning Sun Tribe, has been killed!"
Wu Mayan was almost crying. He panicked and exclaimed, "The Burning Sun Tribe seems to have proof that Father Xiong killed him to keep his mouth shut. They are trying to avenge their chief!"
Chapter 594: Shocking News! |
When Li Yao and Wu Mayan reached the camps of the Burning Sun Tribe and the other two tribes, the sky in the east of the city seemed to be burning.
The thousands of qi-trainers of the Burning Sun Tribe were all fully armed. Many of them still had bandages on their heads, and yet they'd all unsheathed their weapons and summoned their spiritual gas, suggesting that they were ready for a total war.
Yan Xibei was floating here and there on his True Qi wheelchair, screaming and shouting, trying to soothe the simmering atmosphere.
The Giant Axe Tribe and the Feathered Snakes Tribe received the news of Yan Zhengdong's murder, too. They were greatly surprised, and, not knowing what the situation was, prepared themselves for battle, too.
The Giant Axe Tribe turned into a black swamp again. The brightly shining axes formed a forest of steel so dense that one would be chilled to the bones just looking at them.
The Feathered Snakes Tribe, in the meantime, had become an ocean of animals. The animals were apparently much more disobedient than people. All the shrieks and squeaks made the area even messier than before.
The qi-trainers of Furious Bears City were crowding to the area, but they did not dare take any action now that the situation was unclear.
The Heaven Wolves Tribe and the Silver Moon Tribe, although having been in a good relationship with the Furious Bears Tribe, found themselves unable to pick a stance when they heard such a horrible accident that the chief of the Burning Sun Tribe had been murdered.
"Xiong Wuji, you killed my father. The Burning Sun Tribe will not stop fighting until all of us die! War! Total war!" Yan Chihuo, Yan Zhengdong's youngest son, was standing on a heavy tank and screaming in outrage, with a white cloth tied to his forehead.
Yan Chifeng, the eldest son of Yan Zhengdong and the best expert in the younger generation of the Burning Sun Tribe, was wearing a white cloth on his head, too. However, he remained silent in the heavy tank.
Inside the heavy tank was a long desk covered by a white sheet in the shape of a human. Brown stains of blood were left on the white sheet.
Xiong Wuji was standing on another heavy tank. He bellowed first to silence everybody, before he opened his mouth again solemnly. "Brother Yan Chihuo, we will definitely investigate your father's misfortune in Furious Bears City until the truth is found out. But I don't have either the motivation or the capability to kill Chief Yan. Please don't act recklessly and do things that satisfy your foe and hurt your friends!"
"Xiong Wuji, stop being pretentious here. Everybody thought that you were a big hero, the best warrior of the six tribes of Iron Plateau!
"Screw you!
"I didn't know you were so cunning and sordid until today!"
Tears in his eyes, Yan Chihuo pointed at Xiong Wuji and shouted, "You and my father had a big fight in the meeting yesterday. Late last night, my father went to visit you to discuss things, only to come back furious! My father was up all night. He'd been sighing and saying that he knew a big secret about you. The six tribes would be divided if the secret was told, but he would feel guilty if he kept it a secret!
"As it turned out, my father died miserably on the bed this morning. Who else could've done this except you? Who else?
"Today, the chiefs and elders of all the tribes are here. Please reveal the true face of the ambitious schemer for justice!"
Gu Lei, chief of the Giant Axe Tribe, leapt to the heavy tank Yan Chihuo was in. He apologized to Yan Chifeng first and asked the son of the deceased to lift the white sheet so that he could observe Yan Zhengdong's fatal wound. He then raised his voice and shouted, "Yan Chihuo, it is truly an unprecedented event in the thousands of years of history of Iron Plateau for a chief to die abruptly during the meeting of six tribes!
"However, there are still many points about the matter that call for our attention. We must not jump to any conclusions.
"The conflict between Chief Yan and Chief Xiong took place in front of many people, which is undeniable. The two of them discussing secretly late at night and ending on bad terms might also be true. You said that Chief Yan had to his knowledge Chief Xiong's top secret. I believe you, too!
"However, are such reasons enough for Chief Xiong to act toughly in his own territory and kill the confidant? It does not seem very plausible."
The chief of the Feathered Snakes Tribe, in the meantime, had stepped on the heavy tank, too, with two pythons as stairs. She also checked the cause of Yan Zhengdong's death.
Then she shrieked, "The Feathered Snakes Tribe has always been a good friend to the Burning Sun Tribe. The Furious Bears Tribe is definitely responsible for the neglection of safety measures, which caused Chief Yan to be assassinated in Furious Bears City.
"However, if Chief Xiong really wanted to keep Chief Yan's mouth forever shut, he wouldn't have chosen such crude methods, would he?
"Everybody saw how intense his relationship with Chief Yan was yesterday. If Chief Yan was killed, he would definitely be at the top of the list of suspects!
"If the investigation proves Chief Xiong to be the murderer, the Feathered Snakes Tribe will surely stand with the Burning Sun Tribe and seek justice for you even at the cost of total war!
"However, groundless speculation does not seem enough for us to start fighting each other!
"Try to calm down for a moment. We'll look into the case carefully. The true murderer, whoever they are, must not be let go of!"
"Indeed!"
Xiong Wuji declared, "It's true that Chief Yan and I didn't see eye to eye. But why on earth would I kill him just like that in my main city? Besides, I was heavily wounded in the battle of apocalypse and just put on an artificial arm. How was I capable of killing Chief Yan without alarming anyone else?"
Yan Chihuo gnashed his teeth. "Because of my father's old age and the wounds he suffered when he was young, he was far less vigorous than he appeared to be. However, to preserve his face, he always bulged his flesh by expanding his spiritual gas when he was out to pretend that he was still healthy. In fact, his capability plummeted long ago. Also, he suffered internal injuries in the battle of the apocalypse!
"Even if you don't act in person, there are at least a handful of experts in the Furious Bears Tribe who can kill my father quietly in an ambush!
"As for the reason you killed my father with such crude methods, that's because the secret my father knew about you is too shocking, and if it was revealed, you would be discredited and doomed forever. Therefore, you had to kill him immediately, however risky it was!"
Xiong Wuji bellowed, "He who has a mind to beat his dog will easily find a stick!"
The chief of the Giant Axe Tribe and the chief of the Feathered Snakes Tribe frowned at the same time. "Yan Chihuo, do you have any solid proof?"
Yan Chihuo's eyes glanced over the faces of the two chiefs like magma. He suddenly burst into strange laughter that was even nastier than wailing. He roared to the sky, "Xiong Wuji, you are truly a distinguished schemer, considering how you've been fooling everyone! It's too bad that the wheels of justice grind slowly but surely. A sleazy man such as yourself won't get your way for long! Proof? Alright. Let me ask you. Why on earth have you been insisting on getting in touch with the space residents?"
Xiong Wuji replied immediately, "For the future of Iron Plateau, of course!"
Yan Chihuo's face had been fully twisted, as he yelled, "More like you've been spellbound by the witch Sha Yulan!"
Everybody was whispering to each other when they heard Yan Chihuo's words.
The qi-trainers of the Furious Bears Tribe, having been berated by Yan Chihuo for a long time, were more than angry. They all took the chance to curse back.
