It was either a part of the novel’s plot that hadn’t been depicted directly, or a part that would only be revealed at the very end.
And often, these parts were even more perilous than the overt plot.
After the group had distanced themselves from the horse bandits’ corpses, Lian Li spoke up. “The demonic cults in the Central Plains only know that the supreme treasure is in a place where Dragon Qi gathers. We only deduced it was in the desert based on the keywords Martial Uncle Bei calculated. How did these horse bandits and that group of assassins find out? If you say they just thought the transparent lotus was valuable and wanted to steal it, they definitely wouldn’t have all come running into the desert.”
Yun Huizhou replied, “I’m not sure how the person behind those assassins found out, but these horse bandits have been here for generations. In particular, the major bandit groups have existed for no less time than the famous righteous sects. If there are rumors that have been passed down among them for a long time, it’s not impossible.”
Lian Li nodded; Yun Huizhou’s explanation made sense.
After all, different places always have unique rumors that outsiders aren’t privy to.
Furthermore, even the locals might not all know about them, let alone the horse bandits. If the bandits knew of a rumor, they would certainly keep it a closely guarded secret. It was possible that aside from a few bandit chiefs, the low-level lackeys knew nothing at all.
Now that the horse bandits’ involvement made sense, the group of assassins seemed even more suspicious.
Fortunately, aside from that last encounter, they hadn’t clashed with the assassin force again. They were also lucky that he and Yun Huizhou had killed all twenty-plus assassins back then, preventing their exposure for the time being.
But as late May drew closer, the assassins would sooner or later discover that there were still the three of them searching for the supreme treasure.
When that time came, they would have to face them head-on.
This assassin force was far more dangerous than those horse bandits.
In the evening, they found a suitable place to rest. The six camels surrounded the three of them in the center.
At a time like this, they didn’t care about the formalities of master and disciple; all three of them had to lie down in a neat row.
Since Lian Li had the weakest martial arts and needed the most warmth, he lay in the very middle.
To be honest, after putting on thick clothes and adding his own internal energy, he didn’t feel that cold anymore.
However, the two of them insisted he sleep in the middle, and he couldn’t win the argument.
After all, if the two of them insisted on pinning him in the middle, he couldn’t exactly resist.
At first, he had naturally protested, but the protest failed. After lying down and realizing that the two people on his left and right were like two furnaces, making him feel warm and cozy in the middle, he quickly changed his mind and found it quite pleasant.
However, although the three were side-by-side and he was in the middle, he still tried his best to squeeze toward Yun Huizhou’s side.
It wasn’t because he was clingy, but because he discovered that as soon as he accidentally touched Island Master Nan, the socially anxious man would grow tense all over.
Moreover, he wasn’t a very still sleeper; he was afraid that after falling asleep, he would cling to Island Master Nan like an octopus.
While Island Master Nan wouldn’t throw him out, if he fell asleep and hugged the wrong side—hugging his master instead of his lover—it would be beyond embarrassing.
He would be embarrassed, Island Master Nan would be embarrassed, and Yun Huizhou would be embarrassed too.
Therefore, he could only squeeze toward Yun Huizhou with all his might.
When he touched Yun Huizhou, Yun Huizhou wouldn’t get tense; instead, he would turn over to face him and reach out to pull him into an embrace.
Although it was a bit awkward for him and Yun Huizhou to be hugging while the three of them lay together, Island Master Nan was a quiet sleeper. He basically stayed flat on his back without moving and wouldn’t look their way, so it was slightly better.
Most importantly, once Yun Huizhou held him, he wouldn’t roll around after falling asleep and end up on top of Island Master Nan.
Heaven knows how terrified he was when they slept like this on the first day, only for him to wake up and find his arms and legs draped all over Island Master Nan.
Especially since Yun Huizhou and Island Master Nan were already awake—one lying flat and motionless, looking at him indifferently, and the other sitting nearby, also looking at him indifferently.
Although neither of them said anything or showed any expression at the time, in that moment, Lian Li wished he were a rabbit so he could dig a hole and bury himself underground.
He had practically scrambled out of the bedding, ending up with his body and face covered in sand.
After that, he only dared to squeeze frantically toward Yun Huizhou’s side.
This time, just as the three of them lay down, Lian Li curled up toward Yun Huizhou. He had just closed his eyes and hadn’t even felt sleepy yet when he suddenly snapped them open.
Beside him, Yun Huizhou instantly rose and drew his blade. Island Master Nan also sat up, but after a short while, he lay back down.
As he lay back down, Yun Huizhou stood for a moment before sheathing his blade and lying back down as well.
Lian Li also felt that group of people retreating at that moment, but he still wasn’t entirely at ease. After Yun Huizhou lay back down, he asked in a low voice, “It should be people from the assassin force, right? They came and then left?”
That group coming over was definitely targeting them; it couldn’t have been a coincidence. Leaving just like that made Lian Li feel like they were planning something big.
Yun Huizhou nodded. “They probably saw that Master is here, so they retreated.”
Lian Li’s expression turned serious. “Could they know about… that thing?”
He pointed to the transparent lotus he carried with him.
Yun Huizhou said, “They might have suspicions. It’s only natural for them to be suspicious since we are also entering the desert at this time.”
Lian Li understood in his heart that from now on, they were being watched by that assassin force.
He turned to look at Island Master Nan, who had already closed his eyes and was breathing steadily, but he didn’t feel the slightest bit relaxed.
He only hoped that late May would either never come or hurry up and arrive.
He felt as if every day was a year. What he originally thought would be a simple desert treasure hunt had become complicated because of those assassins.
The appearance of the assassins was like a hallucination. For the next few days, aside from occasionally seeing the corpses of horse bandits and assassins, they saw almost no living people.
Why “almost”?
Because they also happened to encounter horse bandits fighting each other, and horse bandits fighting assassins.
The three of them didn’t want to cause unnecessary trouble and ignored the infighting between bandits, but whenever they saw assassins and bandits fighting, they didn’t hesitate to strike at the assassins.
The three of them tacitly agreed that this assassin force was the biggest trouble of their desert journey.
However, despite their obvious targeting, they surprisingly hadn’t provoked any retaliation from these assassins.
Even the horse bandits had sent people to try and recruit them, yet the assassins hadn’t approached them again.
Was the power of a Transcendental Master like Island Master Nan really that great? Did that mean this great treasure was already in the bag?
Although Lian Li thought this, he knew it was impossible.
Furthermore, he firmly believed that the group of assassins was planning something big.
