Chapter 703 - Face Off
Chapter 703: Face Off
Translated by Jouissance of Exiled Rebels Scanlations
He had brought the QingZhi Snake with him to make his escape smoother. When they went through an area of forestry that was known to have many demon beasts, he pulled out the half dead QingZhi Snake and pushed its fangs into the back of his hand. By this point, his plan was pretty much a success.
QingZhi Snakes weren’t a very high level demon beast. At the very least, the level ten snakes were no threat to level eleven practitioners like them. However, it’s venom was rather special. The venom of a QingZhi Snake wouldn’t kill someone immediately, but it caused paralysis, and its effect was very obvious. Depending on one’s constitution, it might not even take fifteen minutes for the venom to spread across the entire body. Generally, if an antidote wasn’t administered within three days, the victim would die. So long as it was administered within three days, it wouldn’t be fatal.
That was what the man used to make Tao WenLiang believe him.
Tao WenLiang grabbing his hand to check the venom was within his expectations. QingZhi Snakes were infamous for their dexterity as speed type demon beasts. It wasn’t unreasonable that he would be bitten despite his cultivation base. Even Tao WenLiang with his intelligence and experience wouldn’t notice anything wrong.
The man dusted off the bits of grass on him, glancing at the direction Tao WenLiang and co left in with a mirthless smile. Then he turned and left, but the direction he was heading in wasn’t the Qilin Clan, but a different one. His figure shot through the forestry, even faster than he had moved before.
He had to hurry and inform that person before Tao WenLiang and them got there.
After a few minutes, the man landed on a large tree and made a sound of confusion, gazing out at the silent forest. He had come through this forest before. It was home to a great many demon beasts, and one could often hear the sounds of them roaring. However, he hadn’t heard a single one yet. Something wasn’t right!
The man was confused, but he was in an urgent situation right now, so he could only suppress his confusion. He poised to start running again. That was when a slash of light struck from the darkness, impacting the tree he was on and leaving a smooth, clean cut.
The man’s expression changed, quickly jumping out of the way onto the ground. The massive and ancient tree fell with a tremendous rumbling, leaving just the roots.
“Who’s there? Show yourself!” The man whipped out his dagger and fell into a battle stance. His gaze was directed at the direction the attack had come from, his gaze sharp but also alert and unsettled at the unknown danger. This was too strange.
As he spoke, a figure in white walked out from behind the tree, long dress swaying, a woman of incredible beauty. If one ignored the pressure from her aura, they might think she was a beautiful lady lost in the woods.
When the man identified her, his entire face went pale, eyes wide in disbelief as he stuttered, “Ho-holy Maiden?”
In the next moment, his dagger fell onto the ground. This was because a group of people walked out from behind Zu Ma, including the ones who had just left to ambush the Alliance’s people, Tao WenLiang and company.
Seeing this, it became clear to the man that he had fallen for a trick.
“As expected, you were the mole. I finally caught you. Looks like I didn’t plan this trap for you for nothing.” Zu Ma’s gaze was ice cold, fixed on the shocked man.
“Why?” The man forced himself to stay calm. “How did you find out?”
He wasn’t someone who participated in any of the meetings, but he was a subordinate of Dong ChengTian. Dong ChengTian was ill tempered and loved to drink. When he got drunk, his tongue would start wagging, and he wouldn’t remember anything he had said or done once he sobered up.
A while ago, he had used several casks of spirits, gifted by some underlings, to get a lot of useful information out of Dong ChengTian that he was planning on sneaking away to relay. He had thought he had covered his tracks well, never thinking he would be found out. He couldn’t for the life of him figure out where he had slipped up.
He had found it kind of strange when they were splitting up for the mission. He was under Dong ChengTian, yet the Holy Maiden had him go with Tao WenLiang. Thinking back now, it was probably because the Holy Maiden didn’t want Dong ChengTian ruining things with that temper of his.
“If I can’t kill you, then I don’t deserve to be called Dong ChengTian!” Dong ChengTian. who had realized that he had been used, glared venomously at the man like he wanted nothing more than to tear him asunder.
The man flinched. He knew how cruel Dong ChengTian’s methods were.
“I didn’t know that you were the mole,” Zu Ma spoke up coldly, “This entire operation was designed to draw you out. The Alliance is attacking the Qilin Clan, yes, but not now. It’s happening the day after tomorrow. I just set the time forwards and you rushed to go and report it.”
The man’s expression twisted, turning and fleeing. He didn’t bother with finding out the truth anymore. He just knew that if he fell into their hands, then it was over for him.
Zu Ma sneered at his retreating figure.
Before she gave the order, Dong ChengTian gave pursuit in a rage. With his sacred level strength, it would be easy to for him to catch a level eleven expert. Thus, none of the others moved. After around five minutes, a corpse fell from the sky, landing heavily in front of Zu Ma.
Though the man’s corpse was still whole, he was completely disfigured. His skin was gorged open across his body, revealing the flesh underneath. His face was unrecognizable, eye sockets empty. His limbs flopped, bones shattered.
The people there were all cruel, merciless and cold. This wasn’t enough to scare them. They merely glanced at the corpse emotionlessly. A dead person was beneath their notice.
Zu Ma looked on in satisfaction. Very good. She had finally cleared away this stain.
Since Lin ShaoYi was undergoing secluded cultivation, Black Spider fell to her to take care of. She wouldn’t allow any accidents to happen while Black Spider was under her control, otherwise she wouldn’t have the face to show herself in front of ShaoYi.
Everyone thought that they had dealt with the mole. They didn’t know that the real mole was standing in a corner quietly watching, his young face unmoving.
No one noticed at all!
The ‘day after tomorrow’ Zu Ma had talked about arrived very quickly. With the mole gone, they no longer had to worry when acting. That day, apart from the clansmen of the Qilin Clan, she also sent out ninety percent of the Black Spider’s people. Knowing Lin Ming’s people and pathing, she concentrated their firepower on the two paths apart from the one Lin Ming had chosen.
So long as they got rid of the others first, the remaining Lin Ming and company would no longer be a threat after ShaoYi came back from secluded cultivation. Even if ShaoYi didn’t make it in time, she could defeat Lin Ming through an advantage in numbers. Zu Ma had planned meticulously, but didn’t realize that she had fallen into Lin Ming’s trap. So when Lin Ming appeared outside of the Qilin Clan with the Alliance’s powerhouses, her face was one of complete disbelief.
“What? You weren’t expecting us?” Lin Ming calmly gazed at Zu Ma and the Qilin Clan’s clansmen behind her, including a very familiar face. However, this face couldn’t affect him anymore. People who choose different paths wouldn’t be able to come together, that was all he could tell himself.
Zu Ma was very intelligent. When she saw a rather panicked and surprised face in the crowd, she figured out the crux of the matter.
Lin Ming had known that one of her people was in the Alliance, but didn’t know who it was, so he did this on purpose to lure her into a trap. In reality, he hadn’t acted according to his own plans, but changed them last minute, so her people couldn’t make it in time to warn her.
Now with most of Black Spider’s manpower elsewhere and needing to wait two to four hours before they returned, she could only rely on the Qilin Clan’s experts for now. However, against Lin Ming, it would be a bit of a struggle.
The gears in Zu Ma’s mind began to turn furiously, but she couldn’t come up with a solution. She could only hope that Lin ShaoYi would come out of secluded cultivation as soon as possible, or for Tao WenLiang and the others to realize it was a trap and immediately head back.
“Lin Ming, are you really set on going against the Qilin Clan?” That was when an elderly voice rang out. Though it was an inquiry, the voice held a hint of awe inspiring authority. It was clear from the voice that the owner was someone serious and strict.
But this sounded like an accusation.
Before Lin Ming could reply, Lin Gu, standing beside him, voiced his displeasure, “Lin Tian, what right do you have to say that?” Lin Gu disliked Lin Tian immensely. He had respected the other solely because the other was Lin Ming’s father, but now that respect had vanished completely. This man didn’t even believe his own son, instead going to support his son’s enemy. He really didn’t know what Lin Tian was thinking, he had probably gotten brain damage from being struck by lightning or something.
“If I remember correctly, Lin Ming isn’t a member of the Qilin Clan anymore. You were the ones to chase him out. Instead of believing your own son, you go and support someone who murdered his own clansmen, and wants to murder your very own grandchild. Lin Tian, you’re the one with the least right to accuse Lin Ming of anything!”
Lin Tian’s gaze grew colder and colder, landing on Lin Gu. A powerful killing intent erupted from him, directed at Lin Gu, “What do you think you are to accuse me!”