Chapter 97: Moonlight Beauty

Tonight's moonlight was exceptionally crisp and bright. The bright moon, high above, seemed oblivious to the bloodshed on the earth.

Nearly a hundred people surrounded two heavily wounded individuals, with streaks of sandalwood-gold flame energy glowing like demonic eyes.

"We are all from Shengzhou. Instead of uniting against outsiders, you're fighting among yourselves. What sense does that make?"

"We've already given you the Worm Core Crystals, why won't you let us go?"

The encircled man and woman roared almost hysterically, their faces etched with the desperate grief and defiance of those pushed to their limits.

Among those surrounding the pair, the leader, Bai Shuchuan, also roared, "Bian Weiying, attack! I told you to attack, didn't you hear me?"

In the crowd, Bian Weiying wore a blank expression, as if she hadn't heard. Not only did she not obey, but she also exchanged a glance with Gan Tangyu and Xiang Lan'er beside her, then turned and led the two out of the encirclement.

Such public defiance, under the gaze of everyone, made Bai Shuchuan feel utterly humiliated. His face, illuminated by the sandalwood-gold flame energy, appeared somewhat twisted and ferocious. He turned back, waved his hand, and yelled, "Everyone, attack!"

He himself charged forward, leading nearly a hundred people who swarmed around them.

After a brief commotion of cries and fighting, the encircled man and woman fell to the ground, blood pooling around their decapitated bodies, their eyes still wide open in death.

Bai Shuchuan, emerging from the crowd, angrily led several people away, directly pursuing Bian Weiying and her companions.

Bai Shuchuan blocked Bian Weiying's path and angrily rebuked her: "We all agreed that I would give the unified command, so why did your Wukang Mountain renege and disobey orders?"

Bian Weiying calmly retorted: "They were our own people from Shengzhou. If you wanted to rob them, I wouldn't stop you; if you wanted to kill them, I wouldn't stop you. But my Wukang Mountain disciples cannot bring themselves to kill our own people. Bai Shuchuan, is it really necessary to kill them after taking their possessions?"

That she didn't want to kill their own people from Shengzhou was one thing; secondly, she also realized Bai Shuchuan's malicious intent, suspecting he wanted to drag Wukang Mountain into deeper trouble. Furthermore, at the beginning of every robbery, he would call upon Wukang Mountain to be the first to use their immobilizing talismans.

The pretense was to reduce everyone's casualties.

Xiang Lan'er had long ago warned her that if this continued, they would be unable to protect themselves.

Initially, she didn't heed the warning. The feeling of being praised by various factions made her envision her glorious return. Desire, however, always leads to a loss of reason.

It was only when she realized her supply of talismans was severely depleted and she had to restrict their use, and the attitudes of the surrounding factions immediately changed, that she truly sobered up. Once they lost their usefulness and became a burden, the various factions might not even acknowledge Wukang Mountain's contributions after the conference.

When clear-headed, she still possessed this understanding.

Bai Shuchuan was so enraged he almost laughed, his face practically pressed against hers. He gritted his teeth and whispered, "Not kill them? Do you want them to go back and report that we robbed them? What kind of place is this? Some things are better left unsaid, why do you have to expose them? Don't pretend to be a soft-hearted woman with me!"

He didn't want to kill people from Shengzhou either, but he truly had no choice. More than a month of the three-month Heavenfall Meteorite Conference had already passed, and most of the Worm Core Crystals he had collected were stolen.

This meant that, if they were to search honestly, a hundred or so people, on average, couldn't even find one crystal a day.

Jiyun Mountain was Shengzhou's foremost sect. While Jiyun Mountain might not achieve first place in Shenzhou, and Shengzhou might not achieve first place overall, his Jiyun Mountain absolutely could not fail to be first in Shengzhou. Otherwise, as the leader, he would be held entirely responsible, unable to account for himself to the sect upon his return, and his future would be ruined.

In fact, it wasn't just him; almost all the top-ranked sects from various continents were experiencing psychological pressure, as the difficulty of searching for Worm Core Crystals far exceeded their imagination.

By now, Bai Shuchuan was already desperate and red-eyed. He no longer cared whether people were "their own" or not; as long as there were Worm Core Crystals, he would seize them!

Bian Weiying didn't bother arguing with him about killing their own people. Instead, she countered, "Throughout this journey, Brother Bai, do you perhaps feel that my Wukang Mountain hasn't contributed enough?"

She didn't know what the future held, but at this moment, she was certainly qualified to say this.

After all, she was someone who had governed a city, and her single sentence stopped Bai Shuchuan, leaving him speechless.

Zhao Shanqi, the leader of the Shenguang Sect beside him, and a close associate of Bai Shuchuan, acted as a peacemaker, forcibly pulling Bai Shuchuan away.

Once they were in a secluded spot, Zhao Shanqi released him and quietly advised, "Turning against her now won't benefit us at all." Bai Shuchuan retorted, "No, it's too infuriating. If her Wukang Mountain stays clean, everyone else will be on tenterhooks after the conference ends."

Zhao Shanqi said, "Her talismans are still useful to us now, and they will run out eventually. Then you can do whatever you want. I know you fancy that woman named Xiang. With everyone watching, you can't make a move easily. But if their family truly remains 'clean' in the end, and you were to act against the woman named Xiang, I think everyone would pretend not to see it."

Bai Shuchuan raised an eyebrow, a faint gleam of secret delight in his eyes, as if his thoughts had wandered quite far.

Zhao Shanqi continued, "Personally, I find Bian Weiying more appealing; I like her spirit. Brother Bai, don't you dare try to claim her before me."

"Ah, haha, easily done, easily done." Bai Shuchuan clapped him on the shoulder, laughing heartily, and instantly, they were birds of a feather.

After their laughter, he put on a thoughtful expression. "The problem now is that Worm Core Crystals are too hard to find. The entire Western Continent is too vast; it's even hard to find people to rob. If we scatter all hundred or so of us, it's still hard to spot anyone; someone nearby might have missed us without even knowing. I'm wondering if we should try our luck in the 'Moon Sea.' They say it's where Worm Core Crystals like to gather most. If we're lucky, we might encounter a 'meteor shower' and strike it rich."

Zhao Shanqi frowned in thought. "The Moon Sea? That's marked as a dangerous forbidden zone on the map..."

On the other side, Xiang Lan'er also invited Bian Weiying and Gan Tangyu to a secluded spot to talk.

"Weiying, if this continues, they might turn against us. We could be in danger. We should find an opportunity to escape."

Xiang Lan'er didn't beat around the bush, directly stating her intention.

Hearing this, Gan Tangyu also looked at Bian Weiying.

Bian Weiying, however, fell silent. After a long while, she slowly shook her head and said: "It's too late. We should either not have joined at all, or not retreat halfway. If Bai Shuchuan and his group fail in the competition, everyone will collectively push the blame onto us, and our sect cannot bear that responsibility. Alas, looking back now, Shi Chun's initial advice to me was probably right. I was stubborn, and now there's no turning back."

Xiang Lan'er fell silent. As the situation grew increasingly problematic, she had also considered this possibility: whether those two, Shi Chun, had sensed danger from the beginning and advised Bian Weiying not to partner with them. Bian Weiying hadn't listened, and then the two had disappeared after getting their talismans. This was no longer a coincidence, but a sequence of events.

Some matters couldn't withstand retrospective thought. Upon reflection, she grew increasingly suspicious that the disappearance of those two wasn't an accident, but that they had slipped away beforehand.

If that were true, then those two's ability to perceive danger was indeed extraordinary.

The problem was that Sun Shigang was also still out of contact. With both sides simultaneously losing contact and remaining so, she now found it hard not to connect the two disappearances.

After a moment of silence, she said softly, "Weiying, they genuinely pose a threat to us now. If you don't leave, then I'll have to go alone. After I leave, I'll find a place to hide until the conference ends."

She truly dared not stay any longer. Sun Shigang's disappearance meant she couldn't contact the twelve groups of people, losing the support at her disposal. Should anything change, to protect herself, she would have to act personally, and her identity would surely be exposed in plain sight.

She had expected a lengthy persuasion for this farewell, but to her surprise, Bian Weiying nodded in agreement after a moment's thought. "Very well, take care of yourself." As she spoke, she pulled out two Grade 3 Immobilizing Talismans and handed them to her. "I don't have many left. Take them; it's better to have them than not."

She also saw that Bai Shuchuan coveted her sister-in-law. Emotionally and logically, she didn't want this nominal sister-in-law to be harmed.

Xiang Lan'er, who had received the talismans, still tried to persuade her one last time, "Let's go, Weiying, let's leave together."

Bian Weiying shook her head: "You don't understand. The Shengzhou Domain Lord has deep prejudices against Wukang Mountain. If he is given an excuse, our entire sect cannot bear the consequences. Even if something happens to me later, it will only be my personal matter and won't implicate the sect."

She then turned and asked Gan Tangyu, "Do you want to leave with us? If you want to go, we can leave together."

Gan Tangyu calmly shook his head.

Knowing he wouldn't leave, Bian Weiying could only sigh and say to Xiang Lan'er, "We will cover your escape."

Seeing this, Xiang Lan'er said no more.

While Bian Weiying and Gan Tangyu's cover seemed successful, they had actually been watched.

Seeing Xiang Lan'er leave alone, three men did not intervene.

Inside the camp of several dozen people, scattered points of flame dotted the night, looking quite beautiful under the night sky.

On a small hill within the camp, Mulan Qingqing, dressed in snow-white robes, stood with her hands clasped behind her back, gazing up at the starry sky. A sword hung diagonally from her waist, gently impeding the light breeze that stirred her flowing gauze robes. Her ethereal beauty was enough to enchant a city. Under the moonlight, even her icy, seemingly aloof face revealed a hint of tenderness.

Below the hill, several figures flashed by. Four male disciples, clad in white robes, flew up one after another to greet her, "Senior Sister."

The four, in order of age, were named Yan Ji, Guan Wen, Guan Yingjie, and Chao Zhilin. It was unclear whether Sukyuan Sect simply had good disciples or if they had intentionally sent handsome ones, but each one was quite handsome.

In the eyes of all four as they looked at their Senior Sister, there was a mix of admiration and affection. Such a beautiful Senior Sister, hailed as the most beautiful among Sukyuan Sect's contemporary disciples, and the strongest among her peers, combined with her self-discipline and the fact that she currently had no beloved – with all these good qualities, who among her junior brothers wouldn't like her, unless they were blind or mentally deficient?