Nan Zhu and Mu Aotie nearly choked on his words. They both stared at Yu Qing with wide eyes, thinking they had heard wrong.
Nan Zhu swallowed and tried to confirm, “Kidnap Long Xingyun?”
Yu Qing nodded, indicating they had not heard wrong.
Nan Zhu and Mu Aotie were a bit dumbfounded, not knowing how his thinking had jumped to kidnapping Long Xingyun.
Of course, the words were not illogical. The other party had been haunting them relentlessly. Last time he ruined their business at Youjiao Port, causing the goods they had obtained from Xiaoyun to sell poorly, resulting in a pile of debts. Now he wanted to take their lives again. It was not excessive to retaliate, emotionally or logically.
But the two still felt that Old Fifteen’s words were too much of a leap. The reason was simple. Their identities, statuses, and strengths did not match. Right now they were so frightened that they were hiding and sneaking around, panicking just to save their lives, yet he still wanted to counterattack and kidnap the other party. Had he taken the wrong medicine?
“Ah, Old Fifteen, we can all understand that you want to vent your anger. But if you really want to kidnap him, that is really a bit too much thinking, no different from throwing an egg at a stone. A real man can bend and stretch. We must endure when we should. Right now, finding a way to escape is the best strategy…”
Before Nan Zhu’s sighing words were finished, Yu Qing, who had been observing with the Guan technique, suddenly raised a finger to his lips, signalling silence, and signalled to hide.
The three immediately went quiet, pressing their backs tightly against the slope wall together, not daring to breathe, not moving at all, and strictly preventing their aura from leaking out.
Before long, the figures of Yin Shanhe and Long Xingyun appeared not far up the slope, looking around in all directions.
Facing the dark reef area ahead, having previously received Qing Ya’s warning that this was the territory of the monster “Qianjun”, although Yin Shanhe was not afraid of the other party, he also had no intention of offending. Moreover, it was pitch black ahead with no movement, so the two ultimately did not intrude.
However, Long Xingyun still stared at the dark area ahead and asked, “Uncle Yin, could the commotion just now have been caused by that dog Proctor?”
Yin Shanhe said, “Perhaps.”
Long Xingyun asked, “What is he up to?”
Yin Shanhe snorted, “No matter what he is up to, as long as we grasp his root, he cannot escape.”
Long Xingyun looked at him in confusion, “How so?”
“As long as we keep watch on the boat they came in, that will suffice. Let’s go.” Yin Shanhe turned back and called out.
“That is right. Without the ferry to return, they will not dare to run around the Nether Sea, and can only sit here waiting to die.”
Long Xingyun’s eyes lit up. He exclaimed excitedly and immediately followed him away.
The three martial brothers hiding in the dark did not dare to make the slightest movement for a long time. Yu Qing used the Guan technique to confirm Long Xingyun had left, but still did not dare to relax easily. He said in a low voice, “They are gone.” He raised his hand to beckon his two senior brothers to come close to his ear, and whispered to the two for a while, informing them of the important reason why they must capture Long Xingyun.
After Nan Zhu and Mu Aotie pondered for a while, Nan Zhu quietly crawled up, poked his head out on the slope to look toward the lit area for a while, and after confirming there was no one nearby, he withdrew and asked in a low voice, “The idea is good, but is it not too risky? That Long Xingyun is not easy to deal with. Did you not say the one beside him is an expert?”
Yu Qing said, “That is why we must lure that expert away. As long as Long Xingyun is alone, without the protection of Chilan Pavilion’s power, he is nothing. Even if we fought one on one openly, I would not fear him.”
Mu Aotie interjected, “The problem is right here. It is not something we can lure away just by saying so.”
Nan Zhu nodded, “Old Ninth is right. When the two of us made a commotion earlier, the two of them ran to check together. We also heard just now that they were still together when they ran over here. They are practically inseparable. This clearly shows he is a close bodyguard. How could our limited strength possibly lure him away?”
Yu Qing said, “They seem inseparable, but that is exactly a huge flaw. If Long Xingyun did not want to kill us, we would find it very difficult to find an opportunity to act. As long as he still wants to kill us, the so-called inseparability is actually a loophole that is easy for us to exploit. As long as it is used properly, it seems dangerous, but it is actually not as dangerous as you think.”
When he said this, Nan Zhu and Mu Aotie both became somewhat interested. Nan Zhu asked, “How so?”
Yu Qing asked in return, “When you made a commotion earlier, did they not run together to check?”
Nan Zhu said, “Of course. Are you not asking while knowing the answer?”
Yu Qing asked again, “After they rushed over, did they not see your figures?”
Nan Zhu said, “Yes. Was that not what you instructed? For safety’s sake, you told us to make a commotion and immediately dive into the water and run. By the time they ran over, how could they still see our figures?”
“They heard the commotion and rushed over, but did not see anything. What was the reason? It was clearly the place where the commotion had just occurred…” Yu Qing said this, and began to gesture in the air with both hands, indicating the shape of Purple Wave Island. Then he pointed to the left side of the island, then to the right side, “If another commotion occurs here, and they rush over again but still do not see what is going on, then another commotion occurs there, and they rush over again, but still do not see what is going on.
If this situation repeats itself, and they are always one step behind, would it not be quite vexing? And they clearly have a faster way to get there. Let us put ourselves in their shoes and think. What do you guess they will do?”
Hearing this, Old Seventh and Old Ninth roughly understood something.
Mu Aotie blurted out, “Long Xingyun has become a burden.”
Nan Zhu nodded repeatedly, “If he leaves Long Xingyun behind, that expert can go to see what is happening at the fastest speed. Even if he does not see anything, he can be at ease. Otherwise, it would indeed be very vexing. At that time, let alone that expert, I am afraid Long Xingyun himself would find it vexing, and might actively ask that expert to hurry up and go take a look.”
Yu Qing continued to gesture in the air, “You must create commotions on both sides of the island. If they rush back and forth, they will inevitably have to pass through the island. In this way, once that expert wants Long Xingyun to be alone temporarily, Long Xingyun will very likely end up alone on the island.
I estimate that if that expert really wants Long Xingyun to be alone, he will probably still be a bit worried about Long Xingyun’s safety. Most likely he will ask Long Xingyun to find a concealed place to temporarily hide. I estimate they will very likely choose the same hiding spot as before. You create commotions to lure the expert away, and I will lie in ambush there to attack Long Xingyun.”
Nan Zhu shook his head in disapproval. “This island is neither big nor small. There are too many places to hide. How can you be sure Long Xingyun will definitely hide in the original place?”
Yu Qing said, “I am not certain, but I believe the possibility of hiding in the original place is the greatest. The reason is also simple. The commotions that could sound at any moment do not allow them to slowly find a suitable hiding place. In the moment, anyone would feel that a familiar place is safer. Even if he hides elsewhere, I can find a way to deal with him.”
Hearing these words, Nan Zhu and Mu Aotie could not help but look at each other. There was some surprise in each other’s eyes. They had not expected that this Old Fifteen fellow had actually calculated even this in such a short time.
Little did they know that although their youngest martial brother might not be good at other skills, the processing speed of his brain in certain aspects of logic was quite fast.
Anyway, whether it would work or not was unknown, but the two had to admit that what Old Fifteen said made quite a lot of sense.
But Nan Zhu still reminded him, “Do not forget, Qing Ya and the others are still over there. If we keep making commotions like this, once Qing Ya and the others get involved, no matter how well we plan, it will just be our own wishful thinking.”
Yu Qing waved his hand, “I heard Qing Ya and the others’ conversation earlier. Qing Ya’s attitude is very clear. He will watch from the sidelines and not get involved in anything further. Even if he does get involved, once we discover anything abnormal, we can withdraw at any time. It will not delay us from making a move.”
Nan Zhu said, “Even if everything goes as you predict, the problem is, are you sure you can be Long Xingyun’s match? Old Fifteen, I admit you have some skills, but you cannot underestimate heroes of the world. The Young Pavilion Master of Chilan Pavilion should not be made of paper, right? Your cultivation has not yet reached the peak of Initial Xuan. Given his family background, he is definitely already at the peak.”
Yu Qing said, “Am I stupid? It depends on the situation. If I am not confident, I can choose not to act.”
Nan Zhu spread both hands, “Even if you succeed, what about afterwards? This feud is growing bigger and bigger. Can his side let us go?”
Yu Qing said, “If we do not mess with him, can he let us go? It is already like this. The blade is already at our foreheads. Moreover, it is obvious someone is setting up a scheme against us right now. Do you think we can escape by avoiding it?
Right now, Long Xingyun is the key to breaking this situation. Only by kidnapping him is there a possibility to resolve the current crisis.
Right now it is also easy to act. They do not know that we know they have come, nor do they know we dare to kidnap him. With premeditation against the unprepared, it is very easy to succeed. The enemy is in the light, we are in the dark. This is an absolutely perfect opportunity to act. How can we miss it?”
Nan Zhu and Mu Aotie fell silent. Thinking about it, even if they did not mess with Long Xingyun, that fellow would still mess with them. Forbearance was useless. He had already pursued them here.
“Ah, how nice it would have been to cultivate peacefully in the temple. Now look, we have stirred up a whole mess that cannot be washed clean.”
Nan Zhu suddenly sighed with emotion. Especially thinking about the strange illness contracted within his body, and then thinking about the peaceful days at Linglong Temple in the past, he truly felt some regret. He regretted coming out to wander. Now it seemed somewhat impossible to turn back.
Yu Qing scoffed upon hearing this, “If you had not come out, could your cultivation in this lifetime possibly enter the Xuan realm? Before this trip out of the mountain, had you ever carried more than ten thousand taels of banknotes on you? When you were shouting about splitting money, why did you not have this awareness?”
Nan Zhu immediately raised his hand to stop him, “Fine. Since it has been said to this point, we will do it. Even if we did not want to, we could not stop you…” He paused, but still showed a face full of puzzlement, and could not help asking, “Do you think we are normal right now? What kind of people are we provoking at every turn?”
The three martial brothers all fell silent. They realised it was indeed not normal. Logically speaking, any one of them could be someone who would make their legs go soft. Why did they now want to make a move against people of this level at every turn?
It merely passed through their minds. Yu Qing could not be bothered to think about this useless matter. He pulled his two senior brothers and began to discuss the details of the operation.
Yin Shanhe and Long Xingyun rushed about on the sea for a while and found the boat their targets had arrived in.
After confirming it was correct, Long Xingyun immediately asked the boatman to bring the boat and follow them. The merman boatman sitting at the bow, flicking his tail in the water, refused, saying he wanted to wait for Yu Qing and the others to return.
Long Xingyun snorted, “How much fare did they give you? I will double it.”
The merman boatman shook his head, “This is not about money.”
Long Xingyun said, “Those three poor scholars surely cannot give you much money. Come with me, I will give you one million taels.”
“…”
The merman boatman was instantly struck dumb, his face choking and speechless. Subconsciously, he thought of someone’s so-called three hundred seventy-five taels.