Li Ban decided to press on in Lady Kui's place to check the situation.
He walked another few dozen meters before his view suddenly opened up.
Even the surrounding mist had thinned, allowing him to see the scenery ahead.
Upon seeing what lay before him, however, he stopped and raised an eyebrow in surprise.
Another patch of swamp vines had appeared right in front of him.
Dark green vines writhed in the brownish-black swamp, as agile as water snakes.
They were far more active than the vines outside, showing clear signs of elementalization.
The swamp vines near the River of Helplessness aren't the only ones. These vines deep inside have obviously survived longer and are far more active.
The patch outside is likely just a smokescreen Xiao Suo set up to confuse people. If I kept staring at those outer vines, even disguised as someone else, Xiao Suo would inevitably grow suspicious.
Otherwise, given his paranoid nature, he might have just relocated this patch of swamp vines altogether.
Li Ban carefully circled the swamp vines.
There was no trace of Xiao Suo's aura nearby, but he still had to guard against the possibility of Xiao Suo sending someone else to keep watch.
Luckily, this was already deep within the Nihility State. Ordinary people couldn't reach this place, and even priests couldn't stay here for long.
Xiao Suo is much more likely to have someone watching the outer swamp vines.
Good thing I came in to take a look for Lady Kui today. Otherwise, Xiao Suo would have discovered me sooner or later, and I would have lost the trail pointing to this clone. Finding traces of him again wouldn't be easy.
Just as Li Ban was preparing to retreat to avoid beating the grass to startle the snake, he suddenly heard a cry.
It sounded like the exhausted, hoarse wail of a child.
However, it only rang out once before the surroundings quickly sank back into silence.
Could that be Miaomiao's cry? Lady Kui wants to save Miaomiao, so who is the treant over by the Eternal Trading Association's storehouse?
Initially, Li Ban thought that treant was a grown-up Miaomiao, but now he had just heard Miaomiao's voice deep within the swamp.
Miaomiao might have been modified by Xiao Suo.
Li Ban pondered on the spot for a moment, deciding against venturing any deeper.
This place had to be where Xiao Suo's true secrets lay.
However, Li Ban wasn't adept at stealthy investigations, nor was his current identity suited for such a task.
He would just leave it to Priest Qian Que.
"I seem to have pushed a lot of things onto Priest Qian Que," Li Ban chuckled.
He slowly backed away, leaving the mysterious swamp vines behind.
Upon returning to Qiao Zhen'er's side, he could see her deeply conflicted expression. She seemed to be weighing whether she should have taken the opportunity to flee while he was away.
Many factors held her back, but the most important one was simply poverty.
If he really can exempt me from the silver tribute, then running away now means I can't save that money. I'd also be losing a massive sum. Without the backing of the Weiyun Martial Arts Hall, scraping together enough silver in a short time is a complete pipe dream. The Shenji Battalion definitely won't hold that identity open for me for very long.
Hugging her knees as she crouched in a crevice between the rocks, Qiao Zhen'er felt utterly lost and helpless, her fate no longer in her own hands.
"Let's go," Li Ban said, startling Qiao Zhen'er out of her deep thoughts.
Li Ban deliberately frowned. "This is still the Nihility State. Where did your vigilance go?"
It's all because you showed up and ruined all my plans, Qiao Zhen'er thought to herself.
When one's life and future were entirely out of their own control, of course they would just let things rot.
However, she didn't dare speak like that to Li Ban, whose true identity was unknown and whose strength was overwhelming. She hurriedly scrambled out of the rock crevice.
"I'm just a little unaccustomed to all this. I'll be fine in a moment."
Li Ban glanced at her, suddenly shifting his demeanor and tone.
"Master, what should we do next?"
Qiao Zhen'er took a deep breath. If she hadn't already known his true identity, his expression and tone would have fooled her completely—he was identical to her junior apprentice.
Good grief, he's actually putting on an act for me.
Nevertheless, that tone and expression genuinely helped Qiao Zhen'er recover some of her former bearing.
Taking a deep breath, she said, "It's three quarters past noon. We don't have much time left. We need to find a place to cross the river again immediately."
They quickly found a concealed spot and crossed the river once more using Qiao Zhen'er's Flying Dart.
Afterward, the two kept themselves hidden along the way until they arrived at the Imperial Dynasty's Shenji Battalion stationed in Yingzhou.
Inside a side room at the camp, Qiao Zhen'er immediately located her previous contact.
Initially, the contact frowned deeply upon hearing about Qiao Zhen'er's ordeal. After learning that she had lost more than half of her silver, his words carried the distinct implication that he was going to reject her enlistment.
However, not long after, someone entered the room and whispered something into his ear. The contact instantly dropped his cold demeanor and enthusiastically made arrangements for Qiao Zhen'er.
Over the course of a single evening, Qiao Zhen'er not only met with the commander of the Shenji Battalion but also smoothly joined their ranks.
She only had to wait for the official transfer orders to be issued before she would obtain her new identity within the Shenji Battalion.
Furthermore, it wasn't the Level 4 identity they had originally discussed, but a Level 5 identity.
Even as she lay in the temporarily arranged guest room that night, Qiao Zhen'er still couldn't quite believe it.
The faction transfer and identity promotion that had plagued her for so long had actually been completed smoothly in just one afternoon?
She realized she might have underestimated the fake Zhao De's weight within the Shenji Battalion. The man was perhaps some high-ranking official of the Imperial Dynasty.
Unaware of the existence of the priests, this was the only conclusion Qiao Zhen'er could draw.
Naturally, Li Ban—disguised as Zhao De—temporarily stuck by Qiao Zhen'er's side. The Shenji Battalion had allowed him to join as well, though they hadn't assigned him an identity yet.
Qiao Zhen'er figured they were waiting for the real Zhao De to return before sorting out his identity.
Regardless, the man hadn't lied to her.
Qiao Zhen'er finally set her heart at ease.
By late night, the Weiyun Martial Arts Hall presumably realized something was wrong, and Qiao Zhen'er's identity was directly stripped away.
But instead of worrying, she breathed a sigh of relief, fully understanding that she had made the right move.
Otherwise, left without an identity, she would have inevitably been hindered and controlled at every turn by the Hall Master and the rest.
Meanwhile, Li Ban had already left the Shenji Battalion and returned to Priest Hunyou's courtyard at the summit of the mountain.
So much time had passed that Priest Hunyou and the others had completely forgotten about killing Xiao Suo, once again believing he had escaped at the critical moment.
When Li Ban returned to the courtyard, Zhao De, who hadn't been able to sleep, hurriedly came over to greet him. Upon learning of Lu Jiu's betrayal but hearing that Qiao Zhen'er was safe and sound, he felt both sorrowful and relieved.
The sorrow was rather feigned; the relief was genuine.
It seemed Zhao De truly had no brotherly affection for his fellow apprentice Lu Jiu, though he did harbor some genuine feelings for Qiao Zhen'er.
After a grateful Zhao De took his leave, Li Ban returned to his own room.
The moment he closed the door and turned around, he saw Priest Qian Que—along with Little Cat, who had suddenly appeared here.
"Little Cat, how did you get here?" Li Ban asked in mild surprise.
"I brought her over," Priest Qian Que said.
Cat Girl trotted over to Li Ban's side and openly linked her arm through his.
"Priest Qian Que said the Cyan Silk Algae I fused with is somewhat similar to that strange dandelion, so I followed him here."