Chapter 147: Collaboration
Translator: Translation Nation Editor: Translation Nation
‘Who would’ve expected that I would not need to seek them out, as they’ve come for me. To be this close to the sect’s monastery would mean he’s planning to make a move. Since he’s here to kill me, I shall kill him first.’ Pei Zi Yun thought to himself.
Yu Yun Jun opened her mouth to speak, but decided against it and didn’t say anything.
"Many thanks for informing me of this piece of news." Pei Zi Yun exclaimed.
"I still have to warn and advise you. The main focus of a Daoist is to cultivate and walk along the Dao. All these killing places you on a thread between life and death. Be careful." Yu Yun Jun looked at Pei Zi Yun as she spoke.
"Master, I have a plan. It’s just that I truly wonder what is Shi Mu Zhong’s purpose for trying to kill me so many times. Should a thief attempt to steal for a thousand nights, I would have to defend myself for a thousand nights. It would be more convenient for me to just kill him off." Pei Zi Yun smiled lightly, as if he did not have a choice,
Yu Yun Jun forced a smile as well, "As for the matter regarding the Exponential Powers Cave, after the Patriarchs had ascended to True Sovereigns, all of Paradise were in awe. At this point, the Sect Elders can’t do much to help you. We just have to wait for this period of time to past, then I shall help you seek justice."
Pei Zi Yun’s heart sank. He had initially planned to acquire the Exponential Powers Cave to break through the gates of heaven. He would then ascend to the Honorary Disciple spot before leading a group of people to murder his enemies. He did not expect to find so many obstacles in his way. Additionally, there was the coincidental issue of the Patriarchs being in secluded meditation within Paradise, and even the Sect Elders were not allowed to rouse them. It seemed like there was nothing else left to be done about this matter.
"Many thanks to Master for your love and concern. I am aware of how much care you’ve showered on me." Pei Zi Yun spoke as he took his leave. He gazed into the distance at the mountains, before casting his glance downwards to see the lush greenery, before his heart finally calmed down. He had an idea in his mind, 'Most of the disciples within the sect, I’m not very familiar with, and would be hard to ask for their help. This was especially so since most of them only knew basic fighting techniques for self defense. As for someone who’s as capable as I am when it came to killing, there were only a handful, and even then, they were not obligated to help me.'
'Zhang Yun might be able to help me out, it’s just that ever since I joined the sect, I’ve not seen him at all. Senior Uncle Zhao monitored him extremely closely, and would not divulge much details about him. I have no idea where he is now, and cannot pin my hopes on him.' Pei Zi Yun continued with his thoughts.
'Right, there’s still Shen Zhen whom I rescued that I can ask. Although I do not have the Exponential Powers Cave, there are still mythical pills which could help!'
'This pill was called the Six Particles Pill, and might even be able to increase my pool of spiritual energy, and allow me to break through to the tenth level early. When I get my hands on the pilsl, I can get Shen Zhen to consume one so that his strength would increase, and we can kill Shi Mu Zhong together.'
'Shi Mu Zhong is doomed!'
Exponential Powers Cave
Song Zhi was up within the caves meditating. All of a sudden, he heard someone shouting from outside. It sounded like Hao Yong.
When Hao Yong saw Song Zhi approaching he spoke first, "Senior Brother. I’ve found out a juicy piece of news. Pei Zi Yun requested for the Sect Leader to investigate about this person, and it yielded results. Take a look."
Hearing Hao Yong’s words, Song Zhi then looked up at him and saw a greedy expression lingering in his eyes. He then took out a fifty tael ingot and handed it over to him, his heart was aching with loss, "All the silver that I’ve accumulated and saved up would be wiped clean by this person sooner or later."
Hao Yong contorted his face into a smile, "Thank you Senior Brother for the tips."
He then handed a piece of paper over.
"In future, you have to continue observing and monitoring him. I won’t short change you." Song Zhi took the paper and looked at Hao Yong.
"Senior Brother, don’t worry. As long as there’s a slight movement with Pei Zi Yun, I shall inform you right away." Hao Yong said hurriedly. He knew that Senior Brother Song was an entire well of silver, and he intended to draw from it regularly.
Song Zhi unfolded the piece of paper and read it. It contained details of Shi Mu Zhong and Qin Gao. there was even a portrait of this man, which looked exactly like the person he had met a few days ago.
'So it seems like this person wasn’t lying to me. He is indeed enemies with Pei Zi Yun!'
'I can deliver a secret message to him, so that he shall be prepared for Pei Zi Yun. When the time comes, he will kill Pei Zi Yun off for me. When that happens, nobody will compete with me for the Honorary Disciple position.' Just thinking about it for a second imprinted the thought into his head.
When Hao yong was far away, Song Zhi then retrieved the Enchanted Communication Talisman which had been given to him by Shi Mu Zhong. Song Zhi seemed to be struggling with himself, deciding whether to betray his own fellow brother from the same sect or not. A few seconds later, he made up his mind and the talisman lit up.
The shadow of Shi Mu Zhong appeared within the talisman as he smiled, "Young Master Song, since you’ve used the talisman, it means that you’re willing to collaborate with us?"
"Hm" Song Zhi cleared his throat and did not answer. He then said coldly, "You are too careless and have ruined your own affairs. The sect had already discovered your location and informed Pei Zi Yun. Who knows, he might even go over tonight to kill you. I advise you to prepare yourselves."
Hearing this piece of news, Shi Mu Zhong was alarmed as well. These few days he had taken time to investigate and dig up details about Free Cloud Sect and realized that none of the Sect Elders had attacked him for it. He thus developed a certain complacency. He did not expect the sect to gather information about him without him noticing.
Shi Mu Zhong mumbled to himself before saying, "I understand. Let’s meet tomorrow."
When Song Zhi heard this he wanted to refuse. It was one thing to secretly give reports, and another to actually meet him in person. Before meeting him, he could reject all the advances by Shi Mu Zhong. Now that he had met him in person once and even contacted him, he was already guilty of aiding the enemy. With this thought in mind, he confidently replied, "Fine."
Song Zhi then placed a finger to the centre of the talisman and the shadow disappeared from view, and the talisman regained its normal inactivated state. At this point, he was somewhat regretful of his decision. He had initially thought to reject the offer, but subconsciously accepted it. His heart was filled with anxiety, "How could I have agreed to something as grave as this?"
Song Zhi trembled slightly before looking around at his surroundings. The trees and plants were quiet and still.
Song Zhi then mumbled to himself, "Why did it feel like someone was observing me?"
He then took several steps in that direction to get a better look at his surroundings but could not find anything. He then laughed before entering the cave.
Some distance away, a shadow was hiding crouched beneath the tall grass. He had a hand to his own mouth, in a bid to stifle his own breathing. This man was Hao Yong.
Hao Yong broke out in cold sweat before heaving a sigh of relief. When he noticed that nobody was around, he sped down the mountain.
Hao Yong had initially departed the mountain when he recalled that he had another piece of news to tell Song Zhi, which might fetch him even more money. He thus decided to turn around to speak with Song Zhi once more.
'I didn’t expect to hear such a highly secretive piece of news!' When Hao Yong had reached the foot of the mountain, he then exhaled in relief. His face was full of disbelief, 'How could it be possible that Senior Brother Song Zhi would actually collaborate and collude with outsiders to betray a fellow brother from within the sect?'
Competition between fellow brothers for important placements within the sect were a common occurrence. Any sect would have some rivalry between its members. But collaborating with our enemies to harm our own people, no sect would tolerate such a matter.
'This is a big issue. Should I inform my Master?' Hao Yong thought to himself, 'No, if Song Zhi decides to tell everyone that I sold information to him, I would be in trouble myself as well.'
"What should I do?" Hao Yong then walked slowly back to his room with a heavy heart. Along the way, many fellow brothers greeted him, and yet he paid them no heed.
When he reached his room, Hao Yong closed the door and asked himself once more, "What should I do?"
Although this person was greedy, he grew up within the sect. He willingly sold information to Song Zhi was mainly for the money so that he could live more comfortably. It was also because Song Zhi was at the full circle foundation. As soon as he broke through the gates of heaven, he would definitely be pushed up by the Sect Leader to become an Honorary Disciple. Passing him information was like showing his support for the soon to be winner.
He didn’t expect Song Zhi to be so daring and rebellious to collaborate with outsiders. This was definitely a taboo subject. As long as this information leaks out, even the Sect Leader would not be able to protect Song Zhi, and Hao Yong would be implicated as well.
"What’s the best course of action, what’s the best thing to do?" Hao Yong paced around in his room anxiously. It had never occurred to him to ever betray his sect and collaborate with outsiders.
"Senior Brother, you’ve done me in!" Hao Yong stood up and looked at the ceiling as he mumbled incessantly to himself.
A secret room
Shi Mu Zhong’s expression was heavy as he placed the Enchanted Talisman down. He was clearly deep in thought.
Qin Gao stood beside his, his face was ashen as well, "Pei Zi Yun has really pit himself fully against us. He even asked his Sect to investigate on us. Although Master is not afraid of Free Cloud Sect, we are in their turf. That could be dangerous for us. Mister Shi, let’s scatter first and wait for the danger to pass before we make a move on Pei Zi Yun."
Qin Gao was extremely anxious, his hands ran along the blade of his sword.
Shi Mu Zhong glared at Qin Gao and did not speak. He then picked up the Enchanted Talisman before pacing up the room, as if trying to think things through.
'Recently our insider from Free Cloud Sect revealed a piece of news. The Patriarchs of Free Cloud Sect received their title and are still in secluded meditation within Paradise. They are now trying to ascend to the spiritual level of True Sovereign.'
'Several Sect Elders had been recalled and might not come out just for us. Our safety is guaranteed temporarily.'
Shi Mu Zhong took several steps before saying, 'It’s just that Pei Zi Yun is crafty and smart. He’s decisive in his actions and in battle as well. Many times in the face of death, he managed to conjure a life line and survived. According to the reports, he likes to win from a stronger position and would not take risks. Hence, he will not come to us so soon. He will most likely find someone to help him out, and this would take some time.'
"Mister Shi, think of a plan soon. I’m feeling extremely anxious under the watchful eyes of Free Cloud Sect." Qin Gao looked at Shi Mu Zhong’s indifferent expression and hurriedly spoke out.
"Qin Gao, I am trying to think of whether I should kill him now, or whether a better chance would present itself in the future." Shi Mu Zhong seemed irritated that his thoughts had been interrupted and retorted coldly.
"Mister Shi, what do you mean?" Qin Gao’s asked, his eyes exuding a look of wariness and suspicion.
Qin Gao had admired Mister Shi and respected him deeply previously. However, having failed in his few attempts to kill off Pei Zi Yun, and even caused Pei Zi Yun to exact his revenge, causing the main person in Ying Prefecture to be murdered. Soon after, they had been tracked by Free Cloud Sect. A sort of anxiousness welled up within his heart. Naturally, he did not have as much confidence in Shi mu Zhong as he once did.
Shi Mu Zhong didn’t reply him immediately and was still deep in thought. After some time he then replied, "At this point our tracks have been discovered, and yet we are not in great danger. Although it was us who spread the rumors that he was quickly reaching the gates of heavens and that he was vying for the Honorary Disciple spot, that might not be so far off from the truth. In fact, the possibility of that happening is actually quite high."
"If we’re to back off now, we would be safe. But this time that we’ve lost could mean that Pei Zi Yun could break through the gates of heaven and become a Yin Master. Then he would become the Honorary Disciple of Free Cloud Sect."
"When that happens, unless we get our Young Master to use the full force of Black Altar Sect to attack, we would not have a chance anymore. This Pei Zi Yun would have developed rapidly and became a legendary dragon."
"Hence, we must not retreat. We have to muster our strength and kill him off here."
"Mister Shi, you are right. It’s just that our own men are not proficient in fighting, and might not be of use to us." Qin Gao said in fear.
Shi Mu Zhong laughed coldly, "You and I are both good enough fighters. Although the chances of getting assistance is not high, there’s still a chance."
"Mister Shi’s meaning is? We’re looking for outside help? It’s just that we’re in Ying Prefecture, where should we find help?" Qin Gao was clearly surprised, "Even if our Young Master has someone, it would be hard to get him to come all the way here in time."
"Don’t we still have Song Zhi under our thumbs? That talisman harness certain powers belonging to my sect. Today, I communicated with him via the talisman and noticed that it’s starting to take effect on his state of mind." Shi Mu Zhong laughed once more, "Once he has been affected a little more, he would eventually be possessed and do all the wrong things, things that would be in our favor."