Chapter 131
Chapter 131
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 131
Chapter Title: Aani (I Love?) [I Love You] (1)
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Whoosh! Shwoosh!
The mist parted.
The Shadowless Phantom scatters no light. Therefore, there is no flash. The Shadowless Phantom makes no sound. Therefore, there is no rush of air. It can only be sensed.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The rower took a massive blow and tumbled away.
At the bow, two figures stood shoulder to shoulder. One was finding their bearings amid the mist, while the other stood leisurely with arms crossed, staring straight ahead.
They tumbled away as well.
Splash! Splash! Splash!
They plunged into what might have been a river or a lake, crimson blood spreading wide.
"Who...?"
Vanguard jolted in shock, trying to leap to his feet. But before he could, someone landed lightly on the gunwale.
"Four Thousand Four!"
Hanbi cried out in startled astonishment.
Hanbi wasn't the only shocked one. Jaja and Fox were so stunned that their mouths hung open, words failing them.
"H-how did you get here?"
"Fo-Four Thousand Four! Is that really you? It is you, right?"
Vanguard was shocked, and Fox's eyes welled with tears as he greeted Four Thousand Four joyfully.
Four Thousand Four remained silent.
By the measure of joy alone, a tight embrace would hardly suffice. But there was business to attend to first.
"You're useful."
The words tumbled out of nowhere.
"If the Penalty Squad needs to make sacrifices of you... heh! Keeping you from that should really get under their skin."
Vanguard furrowed his brow.
Four Thousand Four was saying strange things. His face was blank, showing no emotion... but his eyes darted ceaselessly in all directions. He was speaking to the Penalty Squad warriors lurking somewhere.
'This bastard!'
Vanguard finally grasped Four Thousand Four's intent.
"I don't know how you got here, but who begged you to save our worthless hides!"
Vanguard bellowed.
A faint smile spread across Four Thousand Four's face. But the others stared at Vanguard in utter confusion.
Vanguard's face filled with fury as he declared,
"No rowers? We'll paddle ourselves! Our paths diverge—now get lost!"
"Can't do that. I have to keep you alive so those guys lose their minds."
"What!"
"Still don't get it? I'm not the old Four Thousand Four anymore. Not the obedient killer who listened quietly. From this moment, you're my prisoners."
"Hahaha! Cheeky bastard!"
"Cheeky? Even with Regretful Slayer here?"
Vanguard fell silent at those words.
They had experience fighting Regretful Slayer. Even the whole team charging in couldn't touch him. And that gap in martial prowess still existed.
At that moment, as if to prove Four Thousand Four's words, another boat approached with a creaking sound.
"Already done?"
The one who approached, speaking leisurely, was Regretful Slayer.
"Hey, what the...?"
Fox started to say something. He still couldn't make sense of Four Thousand Four's words and actions. It was something anyone could figure out with a moment's thought, but that pressure—the dread of being dragged into the Penalty Squad—had blinded him to it.
Vanguard yanked Fox's sleeve and shot him a sharp glance.
'Don't say a word!'
Vanguard's glance reached Hanbi and Jaja as well. And only then did they catch on to Four Thousand Four's scheme.
The four, Vanguard included, were being taken to the Penalty Squad. They weren't resisting. Yet suddenly, Four Thousand Four and Regretful Slayer appeared and were forcibly abducting them.
It was a message for the Penalty Squad.
To send such a message, there needed to be witnesses. Listening ears and watching eyes.
The witnesses lurked within the mist.
"How about sealing their acupoints? Even if they're acquaintances, they're people the Heavenly Annihilation Division has dirt on... They might bolt anytime. Folks who've thrown away their lives over their weaknesses."
"Was planning to anyway."
"But hey, Four Thousand Four, your speech ticks me off. How long you gonna keep up the formal talk? We're about the same age."
"I'm fine with it. It's habit."
"Habit doesn't work for me. Let's drop it."
"Got it."
"Ha! This guy."
Four Thousand Four, apparently uncomfortable talking more, began pacing the gunwale and sealing acupoints.
"Just suppressing the demonic acupoints. No harm to your bodies, so relax."
Of course, Four Thousand Four merely moved his hands—he never actually touched any acupoints.
"Clever one, eh?"
"Yes."
Chahu answered.
They had eavesdropped on the conversation between Four Thousand Four and Vanguard from within the mist.
Four Thousand Four had assumed some Penalty Squad warrior was watching. In truth, it wasn't just any warrior—the top decision-makers were observing.
"What about the eighth?"
"What about her? What to do?"
"Huh?"
Chahu looked at Penalty Lord with a puzzled expression instead.
The only one in the Penalty Squad who could touch the antidotes was the Eighth Foe's Saintess, who managed all the squad's affairs.
The mole inside the Penalty Squad was the Foe's Saintess.
One lingering question... Why would she, Penalty Lord's direct disciple, stoop to being a lackey for the Zhuge Clan?
No matter how much he pondered, no answer emerged.
They had found the mole, so she needed dealing with... but what was Penalty Lord's unexpected counter-question?
"What exactly did the eighth do?"
"..."
Chahu fell silent.
Penalty Lord could have captured Regretful Slayer. Even though Four Thousand Four had newly interpreted the Shadowless Phantom, he still could have taken him.
The Penalty Squad's mechanisms and traps were still endlessly varied.
In the Thunder Prison, in the labyrinth—so far revealed was less than a tenth of the whole.
Yet there was a reason for letting them go so easily.
The plan was to send Four Thousand Four to the main Heavenly Annihilation Division.
Four Thousand Four had grown strong enough to match Penalty Lord himself. He hadn't been that level when first imprisoned in the Thunder Prison, but he'd advanced astonishingly during captivity.
Wasn't that bizarre?
If some master had transferred inner power to him, that might explain it. But nothing like that happened in the Thunder Prison. Nor was there any environment for consuming spirit elixirs.
There were zero factors for such rapid martial growth.
That very point had made Penalty Lord rethink things. Without it, Four Thousand Four wouldn't have escaped death in the Penalty Squad—even with Regretful Slayer's help.
Four Thousand Four's martial arts would likely continue growing. By the time he reached the main division, he'd be far stronger than now. At least much stronger than Regretful Slayer.
The Heavenly Annihilation Division was facing a major foe.
Penalty Lord wanted Four Thousand Four to meet Greenscorpion. In other words, he wanted Greenscorpion. He wanted the killing art Greenscorpion possessed. Not Four Thousand Four's version—the original from Greenscorpion.
Greenscorpion never came, in the end.
The main Heavenly Annihilation Division hadn't given Penalty Lord's dignity a second thought. Had they pressured forcefully from the main base, even Greenscorpion couldn't have refused.
The main branch had thoroughly disregarded the Penalty Squad.
The main Heavenly Annihilation Division had long had a habit of looking down on the Penalty Squad. Though the Penalty Squad handled the sacrifices, nearly all the victims had offered up their own lives. There were exceptions, but most entrusted their lives due to clan missives.
The Penalty Squad had perfectly handled even those who resisted despite such missives. But that merit went unrecognized. The main branch routinely undervalued it as merely killing those who meekly accepted death.
Greenscorpion's refusal this time was an extension of that mindset. An incident that plainly showed how the main branch viewed the Penalty Squad. They knew full well how badly Penalty Lord wanted Greenscorpion—and hadn't cared a whit.
Very well... If Greenscorpion wouldn't come to meet Four Thousand Four... send Four Thousand Four to meet Greenscorpion.
Time would tell, but ultimately, the one to kill Four Thousand Four would be Penalty Lord.
Penalty Lord had already prepared measures to kill Four Thousand Four. Or to dismantle his martial arts.
A hunting dog you can catch anytime inspires no fear. Better to release it into the mountains and fields to roam free. Only then does it bring back even a single pheasant.
Penalty Lord was using Four Thousand Four as a hunting dog.
When that dog turned the main Heavenly Annihilation Division into chaos, Penalty Lord would eliminate him.
This yielded far greater returns than handling it in the Penalty Squad.
First, it would deliver the coveted killing art from Greenscorpion.
Second, it would completely alter the main branch's perspective. They'd learn just how formidable the Penalty Squad truly was.
Third, it could lure out the Zhuge Clan.
To reach the main Heavenly Annihilation Division, Four Thousand Four needed someone's help. And right now, that aid was unmistakably flowing from the Zhuge Clan.
Digging into that connection might uncover the shadowy organizations behind it.
The jianghu was traversed by two great rivers.
One was formed by the Nine Great Sects led by Shaolin Temple.
The other was the alliance of clans centered on the Zhuge Clan, Hebei Peng Clan, and the rest of the jianghu's Seven Great Families. Their power was in no way inferior to the Nine Great Sects.
This much was common knowledge... but few knew that the jianghu's Three Demonic Families were nestled within that alliance of the Seven Great Families. Actually, people were aware of the Three Demonic Families' existence but knew nothing of who they were.
This could be the chance to draw out the Three Demonic Families.
Thus, Penalty Lord's single move of releasing Four Thousand Four concealed three ulterior motives.
Chahu understood up to this point.
But he couldn't agree with the directive to leave the internal mole alone.
Penalty Lord patted Chahu's shoulder and said,
"Do you... really think some piddling Zhuge Clan could plant a spy in the Penalty Squad?"
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"If you don't get it, I'll ask again. What terms would it take to sway you?"
"There's nothing the Zhuge Clan could offer."
Chahu stated firmly.
"Then let me follow up. Among your fellow disciples, who looks like they'd cozy up to the Zhuge Clan for scraps?"
Chahu fell silent.
His fellow disciples were ambitious. They'd come to the Penalty Squad seeking great martial achievements. For such people, there were no scraps worth eating from the likes of the Zhuge Clan.
The Zhuge Clan couldn't sway his fellow disciples.
That was why—even though the eighth was clearly acting as their spy—no one could fathom why. There was simply nothing to gain from the Zhuge Clan.
As Chahu stayed silent, Penalty Lord spoke again.
"How about this? What if the main branch asked you to play spy... Wouldn't that pique your interest?"
"That's absurd..."
Chahu denied it outright. But it wasn't true. If the main Heavenly Annihilation Division made such an offer, it would give him serious pause. If someone with greater power than Penalty Lord dangled the right bait...
"As long as you're Chahu, never forget one person."
"Who is it?"
"North Fate Bloodletter."
"Bloodletter... so the eighth... But why side with Zhuge Xiaoxiao...?"
This was just as baffling.
"Just this once, I'll tell you. Huashi—that child must have joined hands with Bloodletter. It's a guess, but North Fate Bloodletter likely struck some deal with Zhuge Xiaoxiao."
"Mm!"
Chahu groaned.
Huashi was the pet name of the Foe's Saintess.
Among his eight disciples, Penalty Lord alone still called the eighth by her childhood name. That's how deep his affection ran for her. And yet Huashi had stabbed him in the back.
Penalty Lord said,
"What you need to puzzle out from now on... is how Four Thousand Four thrashing the main Heavenly Annihilation Division benefits North Fate. You should be able to grasp that much, Chahu. Heh!"
'I've already guessed. North Fate is gunning for the Heavenly Annihilation Division's core leadership, isn't he?'
Chahu kept his thoughts hidden. His face remained full of feigned confusion.