In other words, to some extent both sides had become people on the same path.
They had all come to get rich anyway. For the three brothers, this made things much easier. Even if they did not tell the others the secret of the Golden Ruins, it did not matter. As long as the entry and exit passage to the Golden Ruins was opened, they could haul out endless gold. Who would be foolish enough to want to monopolize the entire Golden Ruins? Each would take as much as they could. Everyone would only be happy. No one would have time to blame anyone. Perhaps they might even have to thank them.
Of course, matters having reached this point, partnering with this group also suited their intentions. Rift Valley Manor probably would not let the matter rest easily. They needed these people to contribute their strength in the confrontation.
Wu Xieshan, held captive at the side, had the appearance of a mute eating bitter medicine, unable to speak his suffering. Several times he looked as though he wanted to speak but stopped himself. Yet some words or some truths ultimately could not be spoken aloud.
After all this fuss, it turned out these beasts did not know the secret of this “halberd” at all, yet they had caused Rift Valley Manor to be thrown into such chaos. Was Rift Valley Manor not unjustly treated? It had made the three manor lords earlier face the situation as though a great enemy were approaching, thinking people of significant background had made their move.
In short, Wu Xieshan believed what Ning Chaoyi and the others said.
The logic was simple. If they knew the secret of the halberd, they could not possibly give the halberd to others so easily.
Actually, this was also the reason Yu Qing and the others believed what Ning Chaoyi and the others said.
Ning Chaoyi pointed at the halberd in Yu Qing’s hand.
Yu Qing hurriedly raised his hand to ask them to wait. Only then did he lift the golden halberd with both hands, turning it over to examine it, and began to inspect it properly. Nan Zhu and Mu Aotie immediately leaned in to admire it.
The halberd was a single-edged halberd, about six chi in length, as thick as a child’s arm, heavy and weighty in the hand. Under the firelight it appeared brilliantly golden, even somewhat dazzling. Apart from the blade area, all other parts were covered with archaic patterns resembling cloud motifs. Although it looked new, this object could make one feel that sense of great age.
After the three turned it over and over admiring it, Nan Zhu and Mu Aotie looked at Yu Qing together, wanting to know what he thought of this thing. After all, it was not obtained from the sleeper’s hand.
At this moment, Yu Qing suddenly remembered one thing. He had forgotten to ask the person in black what the halberd of Rift Valley Manor looked like, or rather, how to verify its authenticity.
Having this thought was purely a matter of circumstances changing with time. Previously he had thought the halberd would certainly look like the one on Rift Valley Manor’s clan emblem. The result was that it indeed looked like the one on the clan emblem, even more magnificent than the one on the emblem, but he did not know if it was real or fake.
If it had been snatched with life-and-death effort from the sleeper’s hand, then he would certainly believe it was real and would not think so much about it. He had originally thought they would need to rack their brains to obtain it from the sleeper’s hand, so at that time he had not thought to ask the person in black how to distinguish it.
Now things seemed wrong. It did not match what the person in black said about the halberd being in the sleeper’s hand.
Was the person in black lying? Or had that sleeper changed his mind, thinking it should be stored this way?
He suspected the person in black had lied. Although he did not know why the other party would tell such a meaningless lie, this suspicion carried little weight in his heart. Apart from the person in black’s act of repaying kindness, there was also the fact that this golden halberd had come too easily. Not that the process was easy. Without the counterattack using the mirage ants’ poisonous gas, it certainly would not have been so easy. Rather, the dignified Second Manor Lord of Rift Valley Manor had given in too easily.
Also, if the sleeper truly existed, what the person in black said should be right. The item should indeed be by the sleeper’s side. At least for the sleeper, that would be safer. How could such a supreme treasure be allowed outside his own control? Then what was this golden halberd about?
If the premise was that the halberd and the sleeper were together, then this golden halberd was worth reconsidering.
After much consideration and repeated examination, Yu Qing suddenly said, “This halberd might be fake.”
“Fake?”
The crowd was astonished. Second Manor Lord Wu Xieshan, however, let out a cry of shock. His reaction seemed even greater than that of the outsiders.
Lu Xingyun’s emotions also surged. “My mother gave her life to find this thing, and you say it is fake? Are you sure you looked carefully?”
Yu Qing turned the golden halberd in his hand. “I only said it might be.”
Ning Chaoyi raised his hand toward Lu Xingyun, signaling her to calm down. “Brother Lin, what makes you say so? Is it because you think it came too easily?”
Yu Qing looked at Wu Xieshan. “He answered every question, and told us immediately upon being asked. Is this normal?”
He could only use this reason. He could not speak of the person in black for the time being.
The crowd all looked at Wu Xieshan in unison. Actually, without Yu Qing’s reminder, they had all found it strange.
Who knew they would not even need to threaten him. Wu Xieshan himself let out a sigh instead. “Do you think I am too spineless? Yes, I myself think I am too spineless, but this cannot be blamed on me.” He looked toward the position of the smashed statue on the shrine. “This is the ancestral teaching passed down through generations. Descendants must strictly guard the secret of the halberd. If one day someone comes for the halberd, later descendants who know of it need not perish together with this halberd. If they cannot resist, they should hand over this halberd to avoid calamity, and they shall be forgiven without guilt. Only the three of us manor lords know of this halberd’s existence. Even if the other two fell into your hands, they would tell you the same as I did. If you do not believe me, you might as well use my life to threaten the First Manor Lord and Third Manor Lord. See if they would also tell you without hesitation.”
The crowd looked at each other. Clearly they had the same question. Was this really true?
Yu Qing said, “Nonsense. If this halberd is fake, asking those two, they would naturally also tell us easily. Losing it would cost them nothing.”
Ning Chaoyi asked, “Second Manor Lord, then you should at least know what secret this halberd holds, right?”
Wu Xieshan said, “Do you think Rift Valley Manor could possibly know? If we truly knew, this halberd having been at Rift Valley Manor for so many years, would it still be outsiders’ turn to come seeking treasure and fortune? We ourselves would have long been enjoying the fruits.”
Although Ning Chaoyi and the others felt these words were somewhat reasonable, they were unmoved. This was because it was an answer given to go along with their words. What they had previously told Yu Qing and the others about seeking treasure and getting rich, they themselves knew clearly what that was about.
Yu Qing also showed no reaction. According to what the person in black said, although Rift Valley Manor held the key, without the person in black’s help, the people of Rift Valley Manor could not open the Golden Ruins either.
In other words, Rift Valley Manor had constantly been throwing dirty water on the person in black. This showed they were not unaware of the secret, but deliberately concealing it. Therefore this Second Manor Lord’s words were nonsense.
Having this thought, he immediately spoke to bluff, “Second Manor Lord, we truly do not wish to make things difficult for you. Speak. As long as you tell us where the real halberd is, we guarantee we will not harm you. Otherwise, we can only be impolite.”
Wu Xieshan sighed, “It is clearly real, yet you insist it is fake. If you must act this way, even killing me is useless.”
Lu Xingyun, at the side, suddenly walked to the weapon rack nearby, and with a swish drew her sword. She then walked toward Wu Xieshan, pressing the sword against his chest. “Speak or not?”
Wu Xieshan said with a helpless expression, “There is already a sword at my neck. Even if you add another, I cannot fabricate anything either. Mm…” Before his voice fell, he could not help letting out a stifled groan. He lowered his head to look at his chest, saw blood, and his eyes were instantly filled with disbelief.
Lu Xingyun did not waste words with him at all. She directly pierced through Wu Xieshan’s chest with one sword thrust.
The Rift Valley Manor personnel she had killed before were all underlings. None of the main figures she truly resented had been among them. Now it was good. A mouthful of resentment was finally vented.
Yu Qing was dumbfounded. He was only trying to scare him, alright? At worst they could torture him for a confession. Was this woman crazy? She actually directly killed him?
It could not be this unreliable, right? He somewhat suspected he had seen wrong.
Not just him, everyone was dumbfounded. Even Shen Qingcheng was stunned. Everyone knew Wu Xieshan still had his uses. How could he be directly killed like this?
Everyone had thought Lu Xingyun drew her sword to intimidate Wu Xieshan, so no one stopped her. Who knew she would play for real?
At this moment, everyone felt this woman might be somewhat mentally unstable.
Nie Pinlan also subconsciously released the sword pressed against Wu Xieshan’s neck, hurriedly retreated two steps, and could not help cursing, “Lu Xingyun, are you crazy? With him in our hands, the people outside would hold back for fear of harming him. Do you know you have killed the hostage in our hands?”
“As long as we do not speak, they will not know he is dead.”
Lu Xingyun gave her own reasoning. With a swish she pulled out her sword, then thrust again to simply finish off the Second Manor Lord before her eyes.
Wu Xieshan, who seemed on the verge of collapse, finally could not remain calm. His eyes were panicked. He discovered the other party simply did not play by the rules. It was rather frightening.
He would no longer accept this second sword. Suddenly his hand moved like a phantom. He waved it to deflect, and with a clang opened the thrusting sword. The wound on his body also suddenly erupted with massive smoke.
Red and black intertwined. It was clearly sinister energy. This sinister energy was so dense it could be seen without opening the dharma eye, instantly filling the entire temple hall.
“Di di di.”
Big Head in Yu Qing’s braid chirped again.
Actually this time they did not need its warning. Everyone had already seen it.
The crowd’s shock at this moment was indescribable. While most were urgently casting spells to resist the sinister energy, Nie Pinlan also urgently thrust her sword at Wu Xieshan. Yet she was ultimately a step too late.
Even though the sinister energy was dense, the crowd could still detect the movements and changes before them. They had already detected Wu Xieshan’s figure flashing repeatedly, and while everyone was distracted he swiftly darted out of the temple hall. Ning Chaoyi and the others immediately gave chase.
Qiao Qie’er, who was circulating her energy and casting spells to separate the sinister energy, was wondering whether she should give chase, when she suddenly detected another abnormality. The sinister energy filling her vision suddenly began to swirl, and then a miraculous scene of seas calm and rivers clear appeared.
The pervasive sinister energy suddenly rolled back like a tornado, funneling into one place.
Once her vision cleared, she also saw the target point where the sinister energy was funneling. It was actually drilling into Yu Qing’s body.
The sinister energy whooshed like a tornado, rolling back into Yu Qing’s chest area.
There were still two people on the scene, Nan Zhu and Mu Aotie. Both were also startled by this scene.
Not to mention them, Yu Qing himself was also panicked and at a loss. Yet there was nothing to be done. The pervasive sinister energy simply came running to him on its own.
Soon, like smoke and clouds dispersing, the sinister energy in the temple hall was swept completely clean.
“Old Fifteen, you… are you alright?” Nan Zhu tried asking.
Yu Qing, holding the golden halberd in one hand, shook his head in a daze. His other hand touched his chest, and felt the necklace pendant hanging before his chest.