What is going on? Yu Qing and the others listened, half understanding.
They heard the old man say again, “You and I have dreamed and awakened for thousands of years. You should know that no matter who among them acts tyrannically, none can last long. Retribution will come sooner or later, and all living beings still have choices. You and I were once ordinary people from the outside world. You should know the pain of having no choice. Once you use what is inside to intervene, all living beings will never be able to rise again. Our duty is to prevent what is inside from spreading out. Otherwise, it will be a catastrophe for the mortal world. How could I let you act recklessly for your own selfish desires!”
Old Master Wu laughed heartily, even somewhat wryly, “What exactly are you thinking? The outside world is one where people devour people, fishing for profit, corrupt and greedy, with unlimited selfish desires, leading to countless starving corpses. The evil of human nature is so dark it blocks out the sun, and you actually think those sources of all evil deserve sympathy?”
The old man responded loudly, “Elder Brother, you are wrong. The reason it is dark enough to block out the sun is because of people like you who have ability. Having ability but not upholding goodness and supporting justice, you claim to understand human nature, but in reality you hold up a parasol, using borrowed power to indulge selfish desires, stirring the muddy waters even muddier, making the people of the world unable to distinguish black from white. Elder Brother, when in darkness, there must always be someone whose heart turns toward the light. If not for this, how could the human world have continued until today, and how could you and I have been born? If you rely on your abilities and want to act recklessly in the mortal world, I will not allow it!”
Old Master Wu let out a sinister chuckle, “Fine, fine, fine. You and I, brothers, have argued for thousands of years. Neither can convince the other. There is no need to argue the moment we wake up. Let us ask about the present reality instead. Your son and grandson are in my hands. Will you give me their lives, or will you give me the twin halberds in your hands?”
Yu Qing and the others, who had been listening quietly to the entire argument, all stared at the old man, not knowing what choice he would make.
Eldest Master Wu Dao suddenly leaned close to Old Master Wu, pointed at the golden halberd that Nan Zhu was carrying, then pointed at the one in the old man’s hand. Clearly, he was reminding him, how could there be two golden halberds?
The others also turned to look. Yu Qing was instantly speechless. He elbowed Nan Zhu and said in a low voice, “Are you sick? Why did you bring this thing in here?”
Being stared at by so many people, Nan Zhu also broke into a slight sweat, feeling rather embarrassed. He felt he might have left the others with the impression that he was greedy for money.
Thinking about it, he also felt he was sick. This was the Golden Ruins, with countless gold. He only hated that he had too few hands to carry things. Why did he still bring this thing in?
Without another word, he turned around and with a whoosh, threw the golden halberd into the void wave behind him. It disappeared, sent back outside.
Actually, he did not do it on purpose. He had already been holding the item in his hand earlier. He could not just casually throw it away, so he had kept holding it. His mind had not been on this golden halberd, so he accidentally brought it in.
Old Master Wu let out a hmph and replied, “That one is fake. The one in his hand is the real one.” He indicated the one in the old man’s hand.
The old man laughed heartily, “Still don’t understand? This ancestor of yours has never told you the truth. The yellow halberd hidden in the estate’s statue has always been a fake. He made a fake one and deliberately had you guard it all along.
“Only you three know where the item is. This is both to guard against outsiders and to guard against you. Once the item is lost, whether by an inside thief or an outside thief, it definitely cannot be separated from the three of you.
“You really think that when you encountered danger and revealed where the item was, it was because he was concerned for your safety? This was just one of his testing methods.
“Because he knows very well that the only people in the world today who have truly handled the halberd are him and me. Once the person who obtains the halberd cannot distinguish real from fake, then it definitely has nothing to do with me, and he has his own way to deal with it. If the person can distinguish real from fake, then it is related to me, and it is another set of methods.”
Having fought with his elder brother for thousands of years, he understood the other party too well. After learning the general situation from his son and Yu Qing, the moment Wu Dao on the scene revealed a clue, he knew what was going on.
He turned back and stared at Yu Qing, “You really think it was because you were exceptionally clever that you discovered the hiding place of the halberd? You are overthinking. He must have first noticed that something might be wrong with you. To guard against the possibility that you were sent by me, he deliberately revealed a suspicious point to you. Once he discovered the halberd was wrong, he would lure you into thinking about him. The purpose was to prevent me from becoming suspicious, so that I would appear and open the entrance.”
By now, even without explanation, Yu Qing knew he had been tricked. But he still had something he did not understand, “Was he not supposed to be in deep sleep? Why did he not only not sleep, but also wander around the village?”
The old man said, “The reason for the deep sleep is because the immortal bodies he and I obtained have defects. Once overexerted, the bodies will eventually collapse one day. So we must minimize activity. It does not mean we cannot be active. He has already found a low-consumption method, pretending to be an old man who often squats without moving.”
Taking advantage of the opportunity to turn his head while speaking, he kept winking at Yu Qing, leaving Yu Qing stunned. He did not know what was being implied. He suspected it was related to rescuing Wu Hei’s father and son. Apart from this, he estimated there would be nothing else to hint at. No wonder he was deliberately making conversation.
But the problem was, he was not familiar with this person. He could not yet understand things just by looking at eye signals. If he could not understand, how could he cooperate?
Nan Zhu, Ning Chaoyi, and the others beside him also saw that meaning, but none of them understood it either.
Immediately after, the old man turned back to look at the three masters, “To conceal his identity, he cannot keep using this old man’s appearance. In your village, generation after generation, there has probably been such an old turtle-like man who does not move much.
“Also, do you really think he is your so-called ancestor? Let me tell you, his body mutated and he long ago lost the ability to reproduce. Your ancestors were all children he brought from various places. Not only do you serve as his cover, but you are also all livestock he raises in captivity. He needs to regularly dig out your hearts and eat fresh hearts to maintain his body from decaying through evil arts.
“Of course, you three are the leading sheep he created with his own hands to maintain order. Generation after generation, he has created such leading sheep. Unless he truly cannot find any more blood food, he will not dig out your hearts for the time being. But who can say for sure about the future? Perhaps one day you will become his food.”
The three masters were made to feel alarmed and uncertain by his words, somewhat terrified.
Old Master Wu let out a cold hmph, “Younger Brother, you really have a glib tongue. There is no need to drive a wedge between our relationship. I brought them in. Following me, they can obtain true immortality. And you are the one preventing them from obtaining immortality.” He turned back and glanced at the three, “Is it still important whether I am your ancestor or not?”
The three masters exchanged glances, then suddenly bowed together in salute to him. Wu Dao represented them, saying, “Honored by the grace of the ancestor’s nurturing and teaching, you are still our ancestor!”
Old Master Wu immediately laughed heartily, provocatively lifting his chin at the old man, as if showing him what was meant by the people turning their backs, while disdainfully saying, “You are becoming more childish the longer you live. When did you become such a chatterbox? I ask you one more time, will you give me the lives of your son and grandson, or will you give me the twin halberds!”
“That depends on what you choose!”
With a furious roar, the old man twisted his body and swung his arms. The twin halberds instantly shot toward the sky like thunder, separating at a certain angle, each flying in a different direction.
Old Master Wu was startled. He had not expected the other party to suddenly do this. However, his reaction was also quick. He abruptly pushed the two hostages in his hands, sending them flying far away.
He did not kill the hostages, nor did he hand them to the three masters, because he knew the three masters might not be able to protect them under the other party’s level of strength, nor could they threaten the other party with them, unless they were determined to perish together with the hostages at any moment.
Pushing the two hostages flying away was, to some extent, also to preserve the lives of the three masters, because he could not spare the time to stay and protect the three masters. He had already flashed away, chasing after the flying halberds.
The old man gave Old Master Wu the opportunity to seize the twin halberds.
Old Master Wu also gave the old man the opportunity to rescue his son and grandson.
The two halberds flew out at an angle, separating.
The two people also flew out at an angle, separating.
However, the old man did not care about the life or death of his son and grandson at all. Almost at the same time as Old Master Wu, he flew out, chasing and fighting for those two halberds.
The three masters were stunned for a moment, then understood the ancestor’s intention. They immediately wanted to move to pursue the two hostages.
But someone reacted faster than them.
Whoosh! Yu Qing was the first to draw his sword. He suddenly flashed to block in front of the three masters, while shouting, “Save them!”
He had not understood what the old man wanted him to do with those winks earlier. Until the old man made his move, he immediately reacted. He did not need to cooperate in any special way. He just needed to seize the opportunity to save people.
The people here had all seen the old man’s eye signals. Moreover, with Yu Qing’s reminder, Nan Zhu and Mu Aotie cooperated with tacit understanding. They immediately flew out at full speed, respectively chasing after Wu Hei and his son.
Qiao Qie’er, Ning Chaoyi, and the others also immediately spread out in a row, blocking in front of the three masters.
Seeing the three ready to make a move, Yu Qing said with killing intent in the corner of his eyes, “If you are not afraid of death, try moving!”
Facing the seven people opposite them, the three masters exchanged glances out of the corners of their eyes, slightly apprehensive. They also knew the opportunity was fleeting. It was already too late to seize the hostages again.
In the air, Old Master Wu let out a long, regretful howl toward the sky.
He had only caught one ice-blue halberd in his hand. Because of the distance created by the flying angles of the two halberds, he only had time to catch one. He was powerless to attend to the other one in the distance. He could only watch helplessly as the golden halberd fell into the old man’s hands.
Then he became enraged. His gaze locked onto Nan Zhu and Mu Aotie, who had respectively seized Wu Hei and his father. With a whoosh, he broke through the air, shooting diagonally toward the ground.
But the old man on the other side was not just for show either. He similarly dove in pursuit, intercepting the person mid-air. They began to slaughter each other in the air with booming sounds. The repeated powerful collisions of the twin halberds in the air were like thunderclaps. The fierce astral winds generated by the aftereffects of the battle swept across the earth, making great trees sway and grass and leaves fly chaotically.
The people on the ground watched, their hearts trembling with fear.
Nan Zhu and Mu Aotie had already brought the people back to Yu Qing and the others’ side. The restriction on Wu Hei’s body had already been lifted.
The strength of the two fighting in the air was clearly equal. Neither could do anything to the other. After fighting for a while, Old Master Wu’s furious voice came, “Three useless fools, are you waiting for someone to invite you to drink? Hurry up and leave, go east!”