Chapter 188
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 188
Chapter Title: Lustful Affection (3)
“Hmph!”
Four Thousand Four let out a scoff.
So that’s how it is. She’s here.
An image of Zhuge Soso formed in his mind. A flawless face without a single flaw came into view.
The scent of her body drifted on the wind.
She exuded a gentle fragrance, unlike any he’d ever smelled from another woman.
Something else stirred within him as well.
A sensation!
He couldn’t pinpoint it exactly, but the strong feeling that she was nearby welled up intensely.
It was the interaction between the seal and the Sealing Jade.
The Sealing Jade didn’t just detect the seal on its own. The seal reacted sensitively when the jade was close by. The sensation was so faint that ordinary people couldn’t perceive it... but Four Thousand Four sensed it as sharply as when he tempered his hearing with inner energy.
Zhuge Soso had leaped into the heart of the battle.
What was her role here? What had she come to do?
Red Moon and Reluctance intended to face Elder Jigong. He had no idea why Reluctance wanted to take on Elder Jigong... but Red Moon’s intentions were clear enough.
And now Zhuge Soso had joined them. Why?
I see. She figured it out.
She had discovered that this place was Elder Jigong’s tomb. He didn’t know how, but she had found it nonetheless.
The mechanisms alone couldn’t kill Elder Jigong. They needed bait to hold him in place until the traps activated. And that bait was him.
North Star must have decided that Four Thousand Four alone wasn’t enough bait. That’s why he’d sent Red Moon and Reluctance as well.
Zhuge Soso had come from the opposing side.
Four Thousand Four plucked a blade of grass and chewed it slowly between his teeth.
What should I do?
The best option would be to capture Zhuge Soso. He could track her down and seal her acupoints.
No. Forget it.
Four Thousand Four decided not to move.
North Star would know that the Southern Faction had intervened. The Southern Faction would be aware of North Star’s gaze as well.
This was a battle between the Southern Faction and North Star.
He would let them fight it out. If the Southern Faction won, Elder Jigong would live. If North Star won, everyone on this mountain would die—without exception.
Thud! Thunk! Tat-tat-thunk!
A strange sound echoed through the forest.
It resembled a woodpecker pecking at a tree or small pebbles tumbling down.
It was the Beggar Clan’s secret code.
The Beggar Clan experts were withdrawing. They were encircling the wild mountains to ensure not even an ant could escape. They were deploying the Dog-Beating Formation, the Beggar Clan’s ultimate siege array.
Four Thousand Four understood the Beggar Clan’s codes.
He had once learned the secret signals of nearly every sect in the Central Plains.
Those who mastered the Art of Evasion had to excel at escape as well. And when fleeing, the most crucial skill was deciphering the pursuers’ codes. Cracking them made evasion far easier.
Thus, successive masters of the Art had compiled the Central Plains’ secret signals.
What Four Thousand Four knew wasn’t gathered by one person. It was the collective work of countless predecessors over generations. By now, it encompassed signals from almost every sect.
There was one other vital rule.
Those who knew the secrets must never let on that they did.
Suppose an outsider revealed knowledge of the Beggar Clan’s codes. The clan would immediately change them, no matter the cost or chaos involved. It was mandatory.
Even if he understood them, he had to pretend ignorance.
The Beggar Clan’s deploying the Dog-Beating Formation... That means Elder Jigong has arrived. Much faster than expected.
Zhuge Soso had said something like that once. They’d meet far sooner than anticipated.
Four Thousand Four sat cross-legged.
He wasn’t circulating his energy. Like in the Nineteen Hells, he was opening his ears wide to the world.
He listened to the sounds.
To every sound rising from the world around him.
Swish! Shhh!
Two people were on the move.
One veered left, the other right, with Four Thousand Four at the center.
Reluctance and Red Moon.
They hadn’t coordinated their attack plan. Yet they knew exactly how to strike.
Red Moon and Reluctance had positioned themselves at the optimal distances and angles to unleash their martial arts to full effect. In other words, they had predicted where Elder Jigong would halt.
They’d gleaned that prediction from Four Thousand Four.
By factoring in his position, the anticipated attack point, and Elder Jigong’s likely reactions.
In the end, the three of them had prepared a flawless pincer attack without a word of discussion.
Red Moon and Reluctance knew the old monk was coming too.
Four Thousand Four showed no agitation. He sank into deep silence, feigning ignorance of their movements.
Here it is.
Zhuge Soso had found a ravine.
It was in a completely irrelevant spot, unrelated to Four Thousand Four’s position.
“Did you bring it?”
“Digging this up had me breaking a cold sweat.”
Zhuge Myeong cautiously pulled out a fire bomb.
His travel sack was stuffed full of the thunderclaps that Fox had buried.
“You know how to set them up, right?”
“No guarantee it’ll work.”
“No mistakes allowed. We only get one shot.”
“No pressure or anything.”
Despite his words, Zhuge Myeong calmly began installing the thunderclaps.
There was no need for Fox’s level of stealth. This hidden ravine drew no attention, so he could place them anywhere.
He laid the thunderclaps and connected the fuses.
This was the same method Fox had used, so it should be reliable. The one difference: here, he didn’t need to risk his life like Fox had. He could stretch the fuses long for safety.
“But is this really the right spot?”
“Yes. Collapse this, and the Cataclysmic Avalanche Formation loses its power.”
“A guy like me couldn’t find it even in a hundred lifetimes.”
“You never studied this stuff.”
“Like studying makes it possible. Is this setup correct? I think so, but...”
Zhuge Myeong muttered uncertainly as he worked.
The plan was to bring down the ravine with thunderclaps. Timing the concentration and detonation was critical. A single error, and they’d barely scratch the surface.
Zhuge Myeong wasn’t an explosives expert.
Fox would have done it effortlessly, but he lacked confidence despite his deliberations.
“We’ll do the best we can.”
Even Zhuge Soso sounded unsure.
She was confident in mechanisms, but knew little about explosives.
“When do you think the Elder will arrive?”
“Tonight.”
“At night?”
“He’ll spend the evening at the mountain base and ascend tomorrow morning at a leisurely pace after sunrise.”
“Tomorrow morning, then. Better avoid the dew.”
Zhuge Myeong glanced at the installed thunderclaps.
The smell of gunpowder wafted through the air.
Ever since Fox had revealed what thunderclaps were, their scent had become unforgettable.
Was Fox on the move again? No. Amid the gunpowder stench came the nimble steps of someone else.
Zhuge Myeong...
Four Thousand Four guessed who it was.
Zhuge Soso was here, and so was Zhuge Myeong. They were tampering with the thunderclaps Fox had planted.
The Southern Faction, as expected.
Four Thousand Four chuckled again.
Zhuge Soso had struck at the core. The spot where she was planting the explosives was a key structural point in the Cataclysmic Avalanche Formation—not the most vital, but one that could have a major impact.
If the ravine collapsed, it would create a fatal gap in the formation.
Four Thousand Four envisioned the entire mountain crumbling in his mind.
One section falls, its debris triggers a second collapse, the third comes bigger still, and eventually, the cascading force brings the whole peak down.
It wasn’t human power doing the destruction. It was nature’s force unraveling nature itself.
That was exactly what he needed.
He had to hold Elder Jigong until the collapse reached him. Relentless attacks to prevent any escape.
Alone, it would be impossible.
North Star was right. Four Thousand Four couldn’t pin down Elder Jigong by himself. That’s why he’d sent Red Moon and Reluctance... With all three, they couldn’t win, but they could hold him.
However... If Zhuge Soso collapsed the ravine early, the destructive force would weaken.
What to do?
As he pondered, a chuckle escaped him.
North Star didn’t think he knew about the Cataclysmic Avalanche Formation. He’d assume it was just luck that Little Rat had picked one of his contingency formations.
In that case, Zhuge Soso’s countermeasure fell under North Star’s purview as well.
The right move was to feign ignorance and greet Elder Jigong as if oblivious. Any subsequent changes were none of his concern.
I have nothing to do.
Whether Elder Jigong died or not didn’t matter. So what if he died? So what if he didn’t? They were all assassins with their lives on the line for the wager anyway.
Just give it his all.
Slurp! Chirp chirp!
Mountain birds cried out.
Another Beggar Clan signal. The fight was about to begin—stay sharp and prepare.
Elder Jigong has arrived.
Tension automatically crept into his shoulders.
Four Thousand Four released it at once. He relaxed his shoulders, loosened the stiffening muscles in his face.
He fully relaxed his entire body. Released all tension. Leaving only his two ears wide open.
Whoooosh! Whiiish!
Cool winds stirred in spots across the wild mountains.
Someone was patrolling the slopes. Not one or two... six of them... the Shaolin Six Monks.
They didn’t venture deep into the mountains. From the base, they were scouting the various small paths.
Likely surveying the route for tomorrow’s ascent.
Was Elder Jigong wary of ambushes? No. The Six Monks’ movements were pure consideration for their master’s comfort. Nothing more.
The Dog-Beating Formation encircled the wild mountains.
Countless Beggar Clan disciples—some hidden, some in plain sight—were in position.
The Six Monks must have spotted them, yet their movements didn’t falter.
Ignoring the formation entirely, they focused solely on finding the smoothest path for their master.
Incredible... lightness skill.
Four Thousand Four’s sword brow twitched in a frown.
The Six Monks moved faster than lightning. A gust of wind would rise, and in an instant, they’d retreated ten zhang away.
Of course, his ears couldn’t catch every movement from the mountain base. He was human, after all. What reached his ears was inherently limited.
He tracked the Six Monks through sensation.
At first with his ears, then piecing it together by feel.
The Six Monks were strong enough to rival him. If even one joined the fray, North Star’s plan would collapse.
Red Moon, Reluctance, Shadowless... those three matched the Monks.
Or maybe not. He hadn’t seen Red Moon and Reluctance’s true martial arts yet, so it was premature to judge. He shouldn’t compare them to himself when their skills far surpassed his.
Even making allowances, facing Elder Jigong with the Six Monks present made attack difficult. The battle would end before the Cataclysmic Avalanche Formation could take effect.
Were they always this formidable...?
Four Thousand Four’s eyebrows trembled faintly. Despite his efforts to stay relaxed.