Undying Life

Chapter 29: Do Not Provoke

Braving the heavy rain, Wang Gui walked with Zhong Di, holding an umbrella.

"Second Senior Brother, did something happen to Tang Xiaoyou?" Zhong Di asked, frowning.

"I don't know. Zhao Suoxiang has already returned, but he hasn't. I'm not sure how his preparations are going. Eldest Senior Brother is worried, so he asked us to come out and take a look," Wang Gui replied solemnly.

As the two walked along the main road, Tang Xiaoyou emerged from a shop with a wooden box in his left hand and an umbrella in his right, coincidentally spotting Wang Gui and Zhong Di.

"Second Senior Brother," Tang Xiaoyou suddenly called out.

"Huh?" Wang Gui was momentarily stunned, then quickly walked up.

"Let's go, find a quiet place," Wang Gui said.

"Okay," Tang Xiaoyou nodded.

Following Tang Xiaoyou's lead, they soon arrived at a courtyard belonging to the Tang family.

Inside, Wang Gui asked, "What happened?"

"Second Senior Brother, I messed up this time," Tang Xiaoyou immediately confessed with shame.

"What about the Spirit Orb?" Wang Gui furrowed his brow.

"The Spirit Orb didn't end up in Zhao Suoxiang's hands. Instead, it was taken by one of his friends," Tang Xiaoyou sighed.

"Oh?" Wang Gui's pupils contracted in surprise.

"Originally, according to our plan, I was going to find an appropriate opportunity to either lose or hand over the Spirit Orb to Zhao Suoxiang. Then, after we secretly took the demon wolf, Zhao Suoxiang wouldn't react too strongly. Even if he found out it was us who took it, without evidence, he wouldn't pursue it too vigorously. After all, he got a Spirit Orb without evidence. But just now, at the gambling den..." Tang Xiaoyou recounted the events.

"Zhong Shan?" Wang Gui narrowed his eyes.

Beside him, Zhong Di frowned deeply, glancing at Tang Xiaoyou, then shook his head with a sigh.

"Zhong Di, it seems like you're very familiar with Zhong Shan?" Wang Gui suddenly looked at Zhong Di.

"Senior Brother, did he check the dice before?" Zhong Tian looked at Tang Xiaoyou and asked.

"Yes, Jinzhuanlou is owned by my Tang family. The dice taken later should have been intact," Tang Xiaoyou said.

"Intact? Once the dice have passed through Yi and Zhong Shan's hands, they're no longer intact," Zhong Di said with a sigh.

Speaking of Zhong Shan, Zhong Di couldn't help but lament. Zhong Shan knew too much. Many things he taught to his disciples were only shared with each of them bit by bit, not universally. However, this technique of listening and distinguishing, Zhong Shan had taught him alone.

"Oh?" Tang Xiaoyou exclaimed in surprise.

"Listening and distinguishing. The edges of the dice have been tampered with..." Zhong Di said.

"Too audacious, he cheated?" Tang Xiaoyou exclaimed in anger.

"Weren't you cheating before?" Wang Gui snorted coldly.

"Second Senior Brother," Tang Xiaoyou frowned, unable to dispel his lingering anger.

"How's Zhong Shan's cultivation?" Wang Gui asked Zhong Di.

"A year and a half ago, he was still at the tenth level of the Houtian Realm. He should have entered the immortal gate," Zhong Di said, because he didn't know Zhong Shan's current cultivation level.

"One year? Hmph, no matter how good his aptitude, what can he do?" Tang Xiaoyou said immediately.

"No, Senior Brother, you must never underestimate him. And you mustn't provoke him," Zhong Di immediately interjected.

"Oh?" Wang Gui looked at Zhong Di, a hint of curiosity flashing in his eyes.

"I remember, back then, when he was at the seventh level of the Houtian Realm, there was a Primordial Realm expert who killed one of his disciples. When Zhong Shan learned of this news, he took only three days to retrieve the head of that Primordial expert and held a funeral for his disciple. And in the two days prior, he was still searching for that Primordial expert. In other words, within one day, he severed the head of a Primordial expert," Zhong Di said, taking a deep breath. At the same time, a hint of nervousness flickered in his eyes.

One day? Seventh level of the Houtian Realm, killing a Primordial expert?

Wang Gui and Tang Xiaoyou exchanged a glance, both displaying extreme incredulity in their eyes.

"It's impossible. Seventh level of the Houtian Realm, killing a Primordial expert?" Tang Xiaoyou exclaimed in disbelief. Everyone knew what this interval represented, having cultivated from the Houtian Realm themselves.

"How did he kill him?" Wang Gui asked.

"I'm not sure. I only saw him disappear for a day, and when he returned, he brought back the head of the Primordial expert. So, if we can avoid being enemies with him, let's not provoke him," Zhong Di recalled.

"Since you didn't see it, it's uncertain. Maybe he found some help, and that helper was the Primordial expert?" Wang Gui shook his head.

"Yeah, he could have hired someone. Just because you didn't see it doesn't mean it didn't happen. Finding a few Primordial experts isn't difficult," Tang Xiaoyou said.

Finding a few Primordial experts? Only a millennium-old family could speak like this. Zhong Di was well aware of Zhong Shan's situation at the time. If there were any Primordial experts, the incident in the Dragon Gate Valley wouldn't have happened. Zhong Di was about to say something more.

"Enough, there's no need to discuss things you didn't witness. Since he treasures his possessions so much, let's make him cough up some, and then find an opportunity to kill him," Wang Gui's eyes turned cold.

Hearing this, Zhong Di was about to offer more advice, but when he heard Wang Gui's last sentence, he fell silent. From the moment he saw Zhong Shan, Zhong Di knew that he would never have peace of mind in the future. Zhong Shan was like his inner demon. If he died, everything would become simpler.

"Yes," Tang Xiaoyou and Zhong Di immediately responded.

Darkness fell, and the rain poured outside. In the courtyard where the demonic wolf was held, a door suddenly opened, and a man in loose white robes, wielding a white sword, stepped out.

"Brother Zhao, it's raining tonight. You wanted to see my 'Rain Covering Sword Technique,' right? Then follow me," the man in white said.

With that, he leaped onto the roof and shot off into the distance, effortlessly traversing the rain as if it couldn't touch him.

Following suit, Zhao stepped out, gripping his spear, his eyes flashing with a fierce determination. With a leap, he followed the man onto the roof, chasing after him.

In the shadows nearby, hidden watchers revealed looks of admiration.

In the courtyard where Zhong Shan resided:

Zhong Shan and Tian Ling'er shared a dwelling, with Zhong Shan sleeping outside and Tian Ling'er inside.

"Zhong Shan, did you hear that?" Tian Ling'er asked from inside.

"Mhm," Zhong Shan nodded.

Though the rain poured, Zhong Shan, being a cultivator at the Third Heavenly Layer, could hear everything clearly, especially the challenge between Zhao and another person.

"Should we go take a look?" Tian Ling'er suggested.

"No, you're not allowed," Zhong Shan frowned.

"Why not?" Tian Ling'er asked immediately.

"It's unusual," Zhong Shan's frown deepened. Although he didn't know what was happening, he sensed something subtly abnormal.

"What's unusual?" Tian Ling'er pressed on.

"Just sleep. We'll leave here tomorrow," Zhong Shan retorted, shutting down the conversation.

"But if you don't say anything—" Tian Ling'er started, her voice tinged with frustration.

"Fine, go back to sleep," Zhong Shan said.

Though he urged Tian Ling'er to sleep, Zhong Shan couldn't shake off his feeling of unease. Watching the outside, he found it hard to rest. By midnight, the rain had stopped.

Zhong Shan couldn't sleep. By the time the fourth watch arrived, he heard voices from outside.

"Brother Zhao's spear technique is extraordinary. I admire it," someone said.

"Brother Liu's swordsmanship is also superb. Brother Zhao has gained a lot," Zhao responded.

After that, silence fell. Clearly, they had each gone back to rest. Zhong Shan decided to try to rest as well.

The next morning, Zhong Shan woke up and roused Tian Ling'er, preparing to leave immediately. His sense of unease had grown stronger.

"Why did you wake me up so early?" Tian Ling'er complained, rubbing her still-sleepy eyes.

"Oh no, something's wrong. The demonic wolf has mutated, it's mutated!" A distant voice suddenly cried out.

Hearing this, Zhong Shan knew something bad had happened. Tian Ling'er immediately perked up, her curiosity piqued.

"A mutated demonic wolf? What's that?"

Quickly, Tian Ling'er tidied up her clothes, washed her face with the basin brought by the maid, and then pulled Zhong Shan to run outside.

Before long, they arrived at the courtyard where the demonic wolf was confined.

At this moment, everyone was standing in the courtyard. Zhao Suoxiang, Zhong Di, Wang Gui, Tang Xiaoyou, a man in white robes, and a highly respectful servant.

They all looked towards the outside of the glass cover, where a white fox lay on the ground. Had the white wolf turned into a white fox?

"The white wolf turned into a white fox?" Tian Ling'er looked incredulously at the white fox lying before her.

"No way, a wolf is a wolf. It must have been swapped," Zhao Suoxiang said sharply.

"Swapped? How could that happen? Tang Si, explain yourself," Tang Xiaoyou demanded, addressing the servant.

All eyes turned to him. Tang Si trembled in fear and immediately knelt down.

"Young Master, I came to feed the white wolf with rice soup this morning as usual, but when I carried it out, it turned into this, mutated. It turned into a fox," Tang Si said, visibly terrified.

"Did it change the last time you fed it rice soup?" Zhao Suoxiang's voice turned cold.

"No, yesterday it rained heavily, and after the rain at night, I fed it once. It was still a white wolf then. That's what the guards saw. It was still a wolf at that time," Tang Si said fearfully.

"So you're saying the wolf was swapped after the rain? When Brother Liu and I came back from our competition at the fourth watch, it wouldn't have been possible for someone to swap it. That means it was after the rain, during the hour from midnight to 2 a.m., that the white wolf was stolen?" Zhao Suoxiang said coldly.

"It must have been you. It must have been you!" Tang Xiaoyou suddenly pointed at Zhong Shan.

Hearing Tang Xiaoyou's accusation, Zhong Shan narrowed his eyes.

"Why should it be us? Where did you see that?" Tian Ling'er immediately became anxious.

"You, you said that if you encountered the demonic wolf, you would let it go. It must have been you who released the demonic wolf," Tang Xiaoyou pointed at Tian Ling'er.

"Hmph, which ear did you hear that with?" Zhong Shan sneered.

At Zhong Shan's words, Tian Ling'er immediately remembered that Tang Xiaoyou wasn't even present when she said those words.

"Yeah, how did you hear that?" Tian Ling'er immediately exclaimed.

"Second Brother and Zhong Di said it. You can't deny it," Tang Xiaoyou immediately retorted. Obviously, he was also quick-witted.