Chapter 138: Suspecting the Spirit Cult

He thought to himself that this was a case of reaping what one sows.

“That said, Senior Uncle has been gone for so long; he won’t be in any trouble, will he?” Lian Li added, “When that flute player started playing, I was almost controlled. His methods are quite eerie.”

“Nothing will happen,” Yun Huizhou said, brushing the dust off his clothes. “I remember this flute player was once defeated by Master. That means he is even less likely to be a match for Senior Uncle. However, the fact that he could find this place so accurately suggests he should have known Senior Uncle was here. Why would he strike so recklessly? If Master could wound him back then, he might very well lose his life against Senior Uncle.”

“Oh,” Lian Li uttered coldly. “Then let him lose his life quickly. Coming here in the middle of the night to play the flute and control people—he’s clearly up to no good and disturbing the peace.”

Yun Huizhou didn’t know how to respond to that for a moment. Just as he was thinking, he heard Lian Li continue: “Right, and Junior Uncle? Where is Junior Uncle? Let Junior Uncle go over there too. If they make it two-on-one, that person definitely won’t be able to escape. Maybe they can even capture him alive. This flute player looks like a high-ranking figure in the Demonic Sect, much higher caliber than Double-Bladed Steel. We might get more useful information out of him.”

As he spoke, he patted Yun Huizhou’s shoulder. “If we use internal energy sound transmission now to call Junior Uncle over for a two-on-one, will he settle the score with us afterward?”

“He won’t.” Yun Huizhou glanced at his hand. Before Lian Li could ask why, he continued, “Because this afternoon, I saw Junior Uncle go out.”

After saying this, a look of sudden realization dawned on Yun Huizhou’s face. “This person likely only knew Senior Aunt was here but didn’t know Junior Uncle was here as well. He probably mistook Junior Uncle, who went out this afternoon, for Senior Aunt. He thought we didn’t have a Transcendent Master guarding us right now. No wonder he came tonight after Junior Uncle left this afternoon.”

Hearing him say this, Lian Li also felt that things were a bit strange. “Come to think of it, does anyone else know that Senior Uncle came to the Southern Border to fetch us? Even we didn’t know he was coming until he actually appeared. And Junior Uncle—we only found out he had come after we arrived here.”

“Hmm?” Yun Huizhou looked at him. “What do you mean?”

Lian Li started biting his nails, only for Yun Huizhou to swat his hand away. “Don’t bite your nails.”

Lian Li knew biting his nails was a bad habit, so he didn’t mind Yun Huizhou’s action and continued his analysis. “Both Junior Uncle and Senior Uncle are Transcendent Masters. Unless they reveal themselves voluntarily, it’s usually very difficult to track their movements.”

“It is known that we have a Transcendent Master here, so even if another Transcendent Master wanted to secretly monitor this place, they wouldn’t dare get too close, or they’d be easily discovered. Since Junior Uncle was wearing women’s clothing and moves fast, if they saw him from a distance without a clear look, it’s very possible they mistook him for Senior Uncle.”

“After all, Transcendent Masters are so rare. Who would expect two Transcendent Masters to be holed up in a small villa in the suburbs?”

“Aside from us, only the people from the Spirit Cult know that Senior Uncle is here. As for Junior Uncle, who never went to the Spirit Cult, only we know about him. Therefore, from the Spirit Cult’s perspective, we only have one Transcendent Master here. Seeing a Transcendent Master dressed as a woman leave, they would definitely assume it was Senior Uncle.”

“Once Senior Uncle left—with my martial arts being too low and you being injured and afflicted by a Gu that forbids the use of internal energy—the only ones left here who count as combat power are Senior Brother Zhao and Senior Sister Qu. Striking at us would be as easy as turning over a hand.”

“So, I suspect this flute player got his information from the Spirit Cult.”

Hearing this analysis, Yun Huizhou also felt the Spirit Cult was extremely suspicious.

“By the way, where exactly did Junior Uncle go?” Lian Li asked Yun Huizhou.

Yun Huizhou shook his head and said, “I’m not sure. He only said he had some business, but the direction he left in looked a bit like the direction of the Spirit Cult.”

“Uh…” Lian Li let out an awkward sound. “Then my analysis might be completely wrong. If Junior Uncle went to the Spirit Cult, then the people there should know the person who left wasn’t Senior Uncle. In that case, it wouldn’t make sense for this person to come and cause trouble. You also said he’s completely outmatched by Senior Uncle.”

“No, I think you are exactly right,” Yun Huizhou affirmed. “Don’t forget, Junior Uncle left in the afternoon. Even if he flew the whole way, he would probably only just be entering the Spirit Cult’s woods by now. Even if he has already come face-to-face with the Spirit Cult people and they know he’s here, it’s impossible for them to notify the flute player instantly.”

“Oh, right.” Lian Li suddenly remembered that this wasn’t the modern world; news couldn’t be delivered with a single phone call.

Even if the West Island Lord was already fighting the Spirit Cult Leader and the others, the news would reach here tomorrow morning at the earliest.

“So, the Spirit Cult is still very suspicious.” Lian Li nodded with certainty. “This is a key point. We need to take note of it and tell Senior Uncle, Master, and the Uncles later. Oh, and mention it to Senior Brother Zhao as well. Since this is just our speculation without substantive evidence, it’s not good to tell the Martial Arts Alliance directly. Let Senior Brother Zhao tell Alliance Leader Zhao so he can be on guard.”

In many novels, the “Demonic Sect” is only called that because their methods are too unrestrained or too avant-garde to be accepted by the social environment of the time. In reality, they aren’t necessarily that evil—at most, they are morally ambiguous.

Lian Li didn’t know much about the Demonic Sect here; he had only heard of its existence from Zhao Honglan a short while ago.

But based on what Yun Huizhou said earlier—that they would wantonly slaughter the residents of an entire village just to collect human leg bones to make furniture—this Demonic Sect was completely different from the “free and unconstrained” types in novels.

Just hearing that one example from Yun Huizhou made Lian Li’s skin crawl.

“So, you really need to practice martial arts diligently for the coming period,” Yun Huizhou said suddenly. “The Demonic Sect is acting so openly; they must feel they have nothing to fear. The Jianghu will become much more dangerous. Even if the two of us stay together twenty-four hours a day, it will only be a tiny bit safer.”

Yun Huizhou held up his fingers to indicate a “tiny bit.”

Hearing him say this, Lian Li thought to himself: Who wants to stay with you twenty-four hours a day? That’s just torturing myself.

After returning to Drunken Dream Island, I won’t come out until I’ve mastered my martial arts. By then, I’ll be able to take care of myself and won’t have to cling to you like a pendant. It’s better than seeing you and remaining unable to let go, despite knowing there is no future for us.