Lian Li grew increasingly suspicious that the secret Monk Suixin was harboring might be related to a struggle over something in the desert.
Last time, regarding the female lead’s background, he had jokingly told Yun Huizhou a story that turned out to be more than half right, which was already quite outrageous.
However, he could excuse it by claiming he often wrote web novels; after all, similar plots had indeed appeared in the stories he wrote.
Furthermore, although he had previously told Yun Huizhou that he suspected Monk Suixin might have learned what the Blind Diviner had calculated—a sentiment Yun Huizhou agreed with—that could simply be attributed to Monk Suixin acting too abnormally.
But if he were to guess out of thin air exactly what news Monk Suixin was hiding and what their final destination was, that would be far too ridiculous.
Most importantly, he could talk nonsense with Yun Huizhou, but he couldn’t just spout nonsense in front of the South Island Master.
Just as Lian Li was feeling extremely anxious, another eagle descended. The South Island Master reached out to catch it and skillfully retrieved a slip of paper.
That’s it! Uncle Bei calculated two keywords. Can’t I just use Uncle Bei as a shield?
The desert lacked water, hence the thirst! As for the “great surge,” since it was something martial artists were fighting over, it could only be interpreted as a “great surge in martial power.”
Lian Li felt he had grasped the truth.
He immediately turned to Yun Huizhou and spoke excitedly, “I think I’ve figured out what Uncle Bei calculated!”
The South Island Master and Yun Huizhou both looked over at the same time.
The South Island Master was fine, simply watching and waiting for Lian Li to continue.
Yun Huizhou, however, knew that this younger brother of his was a bit uncanny.
When discussing Qu Tingquan’s background, the boy claimed he had made it up as a story and that his novels had similar plots. Yun Huizhou felt he should believe Lian Li’s explanation.
Yet, in his heart, he felt a hint of uncertainty. Had this boy really made it all up?
“Look,” Lian Li said, “Monk Suixin and his group have been heading west. As far as I know, there’s a desert in this direction. Deserts are places where people easily die of thirst. Then there’s the ‘great surge’—my first reaction was a great surge in martial power. Perhaps what Uncle Bei calculated was that there’s something in the desert that causes martial power to surge, which is why Monk Suixin is running this way.”
“And how did Monk Suixin find out? Let’s make a bold assumption: he killed the Blind Diviner because he knew what the Blind Diviner had calculated. He didn’t want the news to leak, so he killed him. Perhaps the Blind Diviner also calculated that a great treasure capable of surging one’s martial power was about to appear.”
Yun Huizhou looked at Lian Li, thought for a moment, and then said, “If only Monk Suixin knows, he could just go and take the treasure for himself. Why would he send news to others? Could it be that the news he’s sending actually has nothing to do with the treasure?”
Lian Li continued, “Think about it. If that treasure is in the desert, wouldn’t it be too dangerous for Monk Suixin, someone who spends all his time in the Central Plains, to enter the desert recklessly? Even if he brings enough food and water, if he loses his way, he’ll run out eventually. Therefore, he must know how to find food and water in the desert.”
“Perhaps he considered this and decided to cooperate with someone familiar with the desert? He likely told them he knows a great treasure has appeared in the desert, then used the specific location as leverage to demand they take him with them to find it.”
“As long as he keeps his mouth shut, the other party won’t move against him before finding the treasure. And since he’s so insidious, he might slowly plot the death of the other party’s leader during the search and then take control of the rest.”
Lian Li’s words were actually quite illogical; they were mostly baseless guesses he had fabricated.
However, having experienced the time Lian Li “made up” Qu Tingquan’s background, Yun Huizhou felt that the boy might have guessed seventy or eighty percent of the truth again.
Thus, he didn’t offer an opinion but instead looked at the South Island Master.
What mattered now was whether the South Island Master found Lian Li’s explanation reliable.
However, the South Island Master had known the North Island Master for many years, and the North Island Master had calculated things far more outrageous than this.
Every time, they would rack their brains and still fail to understand the meaning, often only realizing the truth in hindsight—Bei Heng was never wrong.
And if they could understand what Bei Heng had calculated even once, it was essentially the same as knowing the future in advance.
So, the South Island Master looked at Lian Li and said, “I think that makes quite a bit of sense.”
Yun Huizhou: “…”
While there was some logic to it, he really couldn’t see how it “made sense.”
Nevertheless, a feeling gradually grew in his heart that it was likely exactly as Lian Li said.
Seeing that neither of them refuted him or called his guess too far-fetched, Lian Li felt an indescribable joy. At the same time, he felt a lot of pressure, fearing what would happen if he had applied the wrong plot.
The South Island Master took out the slip of paper he had just received and said, “Zhao Honglan used a ruse to lead away the Blind Diviner’s disciple. He opened the Blind Diviner’s coffin and discovered that the Blind Diviner died from the Buddhist Golden Sun Palm.”
As soon as these words were spoken, the group was almost certain that the Blind Diviner had died at the hands of Monk Suixin.
Lian Li’s heart pounded. He hadn’t applied the wrong plot this time.
At that moment, Yun Huizhou suddenly became alert. Lian Li also felt a sudden chill down his spine and looked in the same direction as Yun Huizhou.
Four figures were approaching from the distance—it was Monk Suixin’s group. However, their numbers were no longer four; they had surged to nine.
The South Island Master remained calm. He slowly tucked the note back into his robes. After releasing the messenger eagle and the gyrfalcon that had been following them, he looked toward an empty space ahead.
Yun Huizhou glanced in that direction. Although he saw nothing, there was an invisible pressure.
Lian Li also felt as if he were being enveloped by something, and his body became a bit sluggish.
Yun Huizhou whispered to Lian Li, “It’s a Transcendent expert.”
Noticing Lian Li’s tension, he added in a low voice, “Our opponents are those nine.”
Lian Li: “…”
Two against nine… that doesn’t seem much better, does it?
Well, actually, compared to facing a Transcendent expert directly, this two-against-nine scenario seemed pretty good.
At least among those nine people, several had martial arts similar to his, and several others, while stronger than him, couldn’t kill him instantly and weren’t as strong as Yun Huizhou.
Averaging it out like that, the combat power of both sides was roughly equal.
Once Monk Suixin and the others drew near, the Transcendent expert, whose location remained unknown, spoke.
“Hmph! South Island Master, I didn’t expect you to engage in such sneaky behavior as stalking juniors.”
The South Island Master replied, “What haven’t I done?”
The unknown Transcendent expert seemed choked by the South Island Master’s words and didn’t respond immediately.
However, Lian Li felt as if he were being stared at by something truly terrifying.
