Chapter 573: Continuous Fishing (3)
After questioning Blood Rakshasha's plan yet again, Bloodmoon left the communication channel and crushed his voice transmission talisman. He then left. The other people in the channel sank into silence.
All of them were starting to get worried. Cooperating with the single character faction? Were they really uninterested in the ruin? These cultists were all worried that the single character faction would stab them in the back.
"Blood Rakshasha, your plan is very...shocking. Is the single character faction your trump card? If that's the case, we are better off working alongside the blood devourer and devileye. That would be much better than working with the single character faction."
The two Mountainseas in the channel started questioning the plan as well. Three Mountainseas had arrived from the cult.
Among them, Blood Rakshasha was the strongest. That was why they had been willing to follow his plan. But after learning that they had to work with the single character faction, they decided that they would rather work with the two myriad race members instead. At the very least, all of them were the enemies of Great Xia. They wouldn't need to worry about the other party working with Great Xia to stab them in the back.
Blood Rakshasha was somewhat speechless. Bloodmoon hadn't even given him the chance to finish his explanation. He was starting to regret opening the communication channel. He said, "Fellow Daoist Bloodmoon is worrying too much. The single character faction wouldn't dare to betray us. I'm no fool. Why would I agree to work with them without any assurance? I know some information that can ensure their cooperation. If I end up leaking that information, they will suffer a lot as well."
"What information do you have?"
"I won't be able to reveal that. Just trust me."
The other two stopped asking, but they were still worried. They even started thinking about contacting Bloodmoon and the devileye instead of working with Blood Rakshasha. With four Mountainseas working together, they would be able to protect themselves against Blood Rakshasha's betrayal.
While Bloodmoon was sowing chaos among the cultists, Su Yu was speaking with a solemn expression.
Looking at Zhan Fei, he said, "Brother Zhan, my condolences. The death of that senior is out of my expectation. Our enemies are too audacious. So far, two Mountainseas have appeared. I'm afraid the information regarding this trip has leaked."
He looked at the others and said, "After thinking about it, I've decided to stop putting all of you in danger. Let's cancel this mission and return to the academy. We already lost a dao protector before even reaching our destination."
The hearts of Xia Qing and the others skipped a beat upon hearing that. They had the urge to curse at someone. And who were they cursing?
Well, it was naturally the useless iron-winged bird. How could that bird be so weak that he was killed so easily? Su Yu seemed to have been frightened by that death and was thinking of giving up now. Damn it!
Wouldn’t this render all their hard work so far pointless? Xia Qing gazed at Zhan Fei, hinting at him that they couldn't give up right now. They had already gone this far. There was no guarantee that Su Yu would take them with him the next time he left for the ruin. This could very well be their sole chance.
Suppressing the indignation in his heart, Zhan Fei said, "Brother Su, I don't want to return! I wish to avenge my elder! The two attackers will not give up. They will definitely appear again..."
Looking at the other dao protectors, Zhan Fei spoke with a sorrowful tone, "Zhan Fei wishes to ask for a favor from the seniors here. Please avenge my elder for me. The iron-winged race will remember this favor."
He did not want to leave. Nor could he afford to leave. Sure, he might have lost an elder here, but Xia Qing and the others wouldn't spare him if he agreed to return now. Thus, he had to use revenge as an excuse and persuade Su Yu to keep going.
Su Yu's expression remained the same, but he was sneering inwardly. He knew this would be the result. It didn't matter if the elder was dead. Since Zhan Fei was a part of Xia Qing's group, he would not be allowed to leave. Those dao protectors would probably agree to his request any moment now.
And sure enough, the old man from the cloud tiger race said, "That is only natural. Those bastards actually dared to kill right in front of us. We won't spare them!"
The other dao protectors also voiced their support. It didn't matter if they were willing to help Zhan Fei or not. Since everything had happened under their watch, they had to agree to Zhan Fei's request.
After showing some hesitation, Su Yu clenched his teeth and said, "Fine! We'll keep going! Honestly, I also find returning at this time unacceptable after losing an elder to the mission. Seniors, please be careful after this. Do not separate from the group carelessly."
Inwardly, he was sneering again. More suffering would await these dao protectors. He would slowly wipe them out one after another.
He did not forget to maintain his act as he said, "Ji Xiaomeng, you guys should return. I'll have Senior Great Mountain escort you back. You're not their target. They won't do anything to you guys..."
The others exchanged gazes before shaking their heads.
Su Yu stopped persuading and asked Zhou Hao, "Are you leaving? I can get someone to send you back if you want."
Zhou Hao replied, "Since they're not leaving, I have nothing to fear. You're their target anyway, not me."
"..."
Su Yu laughed. Sure. Things were already dangerous enough with a Cloudbreach dead. At this point, it was already clear that these people were all here for their own motives. He wasn't stupid enough to believe their stupid excuse that they had joined this mission to temper themselves.
Whatever. He had done his part by advising them to leave repeatedly. Since they insisted on staying, there was no need for him to do anything else. Even if they ended up dead, he wouldn't pity them.
Anyone still here was most definitely here for their reasons. In that case, they would need to take responsibility for their choice. He would not care if they ended up dying after this.
Meanwhile, Su Yu noticed the expressions of several myriad race students changing. He guessed that these students probably wanted to leave, but they were clearly too embarrassed to say so.
For example, that sky horse youth was no longer as relaxed as before. He had a look of hesitation on his face. And the girl from the mountain antelope race...Su Yu personally found it awkward to call her a girl due to the antlers on her head, but she also had a look of hesitation. Anyone with such an expression was unlikely to be a part of Xia Qing's group.
Su Yu couldn't be bothered to say more. Since these people had ultimately decided to stay, he wouldn't bat an eye even if they ended up dying.
"Sure. We'll proceed. Senior Great Mountain, continue hiding near us. Don't let our enemies detect you. Keep hiding and serve as the deterrent for any potential attackers."
"Sure."
Instantly, Great Mountain vanished into thin air.
Su Yu looked at the old man from the cloud tiger race and said with an apologetic tone, "This must be the senior from the cloud tiger race. Senior, the cloud tigers are known for their speed. Could I trouble you to scout ahead of us to prevent further ambushes?"
The old man was naturally unwilling to part from the main group, but their flight specialist, the iron-winged bird expert, was dead. He was indeed the fastest dao protector left.
After thinking about it, he said nothing and vanished into thin air as well. Now that he was on alert against any potential attackers, he wouldn't be killed by a sneak attack like the iron-winged bird.
It might not necessarily be a bad thing for him to part from the main group. This would make it easier for him to contact some people and demand some answers. Those bastards had promised him a smooth trip. Why had two Mountainseas still appeared to kill one of them?
The cloud tiger expert was actually quite furious about that. That fellow from the iron-winged bird might not be too strong, but they were still working together. Thus, the cloud tiger expert couldn't help but worry if the single character faction had decided to turn on them as well.
***
Not long after.
Tianshui City.
This city was not too far away from Su Yu's group. Within a large building, Zhou Pingsheng was frowning deeply after checking a message he had just received through his talisman.
He explained, "That's a misunderstanding. Those Mountainseas came from outside Great Xia. We were not in touch with them previously. I'll deal with them."
Zhou Pingsheng couldn't help but curse. Garbage. They had lost a Cloudbreach due to their own carelessness. How dare they demand answers from him?
He went deeper into the building and softly spoke in front of a door, "Elder Li, they are near Tianshui, but the cult is getting somewhat troublesome..."
"Don't tell me anything." Elder Li's indifferent voice rang out from beyond the door, "I don't know any cultists. Pingsheng, deal with this yourself."
"..."
Zhou Pingsheng was furious. Damn that Elder Li! Even now, that Elder Li was still trying to keep himself clean. At this point, did he still believe that he could avoid responsibility if they ended up caught?
But after thinking about it, Zhou Pingsheng couldn't help but agree that Elder Li might really be able to escape full responsibility in the event of exposure. If they were caught for attempting to murder Su Yu, they would probably be exiled. But if they were caught consorting with the cult, they would definitely die regardless of whether they were successful at killing Su Yu or not.
Zhou Pingsheng was infuriated. Even now, these people were still thinking only for themselves. It was no wonder that the single character faction would suffer loss after loss. These people were too selfish.
They had already decided to do something as drastic as committing murder, but the elders were still unwilling to expose themselves. Instead, Zhou Pingsheng was the one forced to maintain contact with the cult.
Zhou Pingsheng was unwilling to accept this. Sure, he wasn't strong, but he had a high status as he was Zhou Mingren's student. Since the cult was blackmailing him with the knowledge that he was working with the cult, they were not afraid that the single character faction would betray them during this operation.
If something bad happened, Zhou Pingsheng would not survive. And even Zhou Mingren might end up implicated. Meanwhile, people like Yu Hong and Elder Li might still be able to escape being accused of consorting with the cult. They could always find a way to deny everything unless they were caught red-handed working with the cult.
All those selfish assholes can forget about escaping scot-free if anything happens to me.
Despite his fury, Zhou Pingsheng still answered obedienly, "I understand, Elder. I'll work on it."
"Go."
Zhou Pingsheng turned around and left while still simmering with rage. This was all Su Yu's fault. He wouldn't have been forced to become the intermediary for their connection with the cult if it wasn't for Su Yu.