Chapter 47: A Spark
"Junior Brother, I mean you no harm. Ever since I was saved by Dongfang Bubai in the ancient tomb, I've come to an understanding. After surviving such danger, it must mean my life wasn't meant to end there, perhaps this was a sign from the Heavenly Dao."
Han Tian glanced calmly at Lu You, then took out a wooden plaque from his robe. Carved upon it were eight characters:
"The sun rises in the east; only I shall remain undefeated."
After giving the plaque a nostalgic look, Han Tian tossed it toward Lu You.
"Do you remember when you asked me to tell Daoist Zeng Yan not to enter the ancient tomb? By coincidence, I later noticed that the talismans your senior sister used looked very similar to the ones Dongfang Bubai used. On a whim, I compared them. The handwriting resembled these eight characters on the plaque."
"Of course, none of that really counts as proof. The most crucial point is that you tried to persuade us not to enter the tomb. If I hadn't met Dongfang Bubai, I might have thought you were simply timid. But after seeing Dongfang Bubai, it became clear that she could move freely in and out of the tomb, it's obvious that she knew its secrets."
"Your talismans, your information... Junior Brother, no matter how I look at it, you seem to have some connection with Dongfang Bubai."
Han Tian looked at Lu You seriously.
"Destroy this wooden plaque. Once it's gone, all evidence disappears. I owe Dongfang Bubai my life, and I will not betray a benefactor's friend."
"The reason the sect sent our Law Enforcement Hall to investigate this matter is actually to trace Dongfang Bubai's presence. Hu Ke was only at the Qi Refining realm, how could he possibly possess something capable of killing Foundation Establishment cultivators?"
"Elder Huo Chuan of the Deep Literary Pavilion examined the site of the incident. He's certain that Dongfang Bubai had been there."
Lu You recoiled in alarm and avoided touching the plaque, letting it fall to the ground.
"Senior Brother, stop trying to scare me. How could I possibly know someone like Dongfang Bubai? That big shot moves freely through the ancient tomb. If I really knew her, why would I spend three years farming spiritual fields in the Verdant Cloud Sect? Wouldn't it be better to learn a move or two from her?"
"As for the talismans I gave my senior sister, I bought them using my entire life's savings. If you say that makes someone Dongfang Bubai's friend, then the real friend must be the talisman seller down in the lower district."
Han Tian stared silently at Lu You for a long time.
After a while, he finally spoke.
"Perhaps I'm being overly suspicious. But what I said earlier was sincere."
"Do you know why the monkeys sitting high up in trees have such conspicuous red backsides? It's because when they sit on the ground, the earth hides that flaw. But once they climb too high, their shortcomings naturally become exposed."
"So what you mean, Senior Brother, is that the immortal world has always been like this, and I should learn to accept it?" Lu You asked, pretending to be confused.
Han Tian snorted.
"No. The world itself isn't wrong. The mistake lies with people like us who allow monkeys to climb that high."
After saying that, Han Tian suddenly swung his sword, shattering the wooden plaque into pieces. Then he turned and left Lu You's house.
In the courtyard, Evil Eye suddenly spoke.
"Boss, do you think he figured out that you're Dongfang Bubai?"
Lu You did not answer Evil Eye directly. Instead, he asked another question.
"Evil Eye, do you think what Han Tian said just now was true... or false?"
"Uh... I think it was half true and half false," Evil Eye pondered for a while before giving an ambiguous answer.
"The wooden plaque he threw to me just now was fake. I know my own handwriting, how could I not recognize it?" Lu You glanced at the shattered pieces of the plaque. "His desire to change the world is real. His intention to investigate Dongfang Bubai is also real. Perhaps only by earning merit can he climb step by step and eventually fulfill his ambitions."
The plaque Han Tian had thrown earlier was not the one Lu You had carved with his sword. Han Tian could never have imagined that the Qi Refining realm Lu You and Dongfang Bubai were actually the same person, which was why he used a fake piece of evidence.
If Han Tian had directly thrown out the original plaque that Lu You had carved back then, Lu You might really have revealed a flaw.
"Boss, it seems their strategy is to startle the grass to scare the snake and lure the snake out of its hole. If you had destroyed the plaque just now, it would mean you had some connection to Dongfang Bubai. Even if you didn't, once word spread that Han Tian possessed evidence related to Dongfang Bubai, Dongfang Bubai might come kill him to silence him. If you weren't the real Dongfang Bubai, that would be a vicious trap."
Inside Lu You's mind, Evil Eye shuddered. After being sealed for thousands of years, humans had become far too cunning.
"Boss, we'd better keep a low profile from now on. If they uncover the truth, the Verdant Cloud Sect has Nascent Soul and even Divine Transformation cultivators—we wouldn't stand a chance. Maybe we should run now. Wait— no, that won't work either. If we run at this moment, we'd fall right into their trap of luring the snake out. Anyone who runs now would immediately be suspected of being Dongfang Bubai's associate, and the Verdant Cloud Sect would chase that lead to the death."
"Boss, we should just use a Teleportation Talisman to escape randomly and hide somewhere as wilderness hermits. This place is too dangerous, being a hermit sounds much safer."
Evil Eye thought for a long time before concluding that his original suggestion was the most practical.
"Give it a rest," Lu You said with a curl of his lip.
"At a time like this, whoever keeps a low profile is precisely the one suspected of being Dongfang Bubai's person. The outer-sect disciples are probably being screened as well. If I'm not mistaken, Han Tian will most likely take advantage of the situation and tell the outer disciples something like: anyone who has committed wrongdoing should step forward now and confess, leniency will be given. But if he discovers it himself, the punishment will be severe."
"That way, if there really were someone connected to Dongfang Bubai, they would confess voluntarily just to avoid investigation. After all, those who confess won't be scrutinized further, while those who refuse to confess will be thoroughly investigated."
"What does that have to do with us?" Evil Eye asked, completely confused. Han Tian seemed suspicious of everyone, how could that possibly be a good thing?
"Of course it has something to do with us. The ones who step forward voluntarily will be the ones strictly investigated. But since none of them are actually Dongfang Bubai's people, sooner or later the sect's attention will return to disciples like us."
"During that time, we must be exceptionally outstanding and high-profile. Only by doing the opposite can we avoid suspicion. Anyone who truly serves Dongfang Bubai—after narrowly escaping this round—will only become even more low-key."
Evil Eye was greatly shocked when he heard this.
"Boss, I get it now. We can use illusions, find a scapegoat, and then act a bit more high-profile ourselves to shake off suspicion. After all, Dongfang Bubai's people wouldn't possibly dare to court death at a moment like this. And no matter how hard the sect racks its brains, they would never imagine that Dongfang Bubai himself is right here, with only sixth level Qi Refining cultivation..."
Meanwhile, Han Tian left Lu You's courtyard and arrived at the main hall of the Deep Literary Pavilion.
Wu Tong hurried out anxiously.
"Well? Did you find anything? As long as there's anyone even slightly suspicious, tell me immediately. There's no need for interrogation, I'll have my master perform a soul search on them directly."
Han Tian glanced calmly at Wu Tong.
"Senior Brother Wu, I'm afraid I'll disappoint you. After thinking it over again and again, I cannot find any reason for Dongfang Bubai to kill Fang Ziming and the other two. It's very likely that this incident truly stemmed from a conflict between them. It just so happened that Fang Ziming and the others provoked one of Dongfang Bubai's planted pawns."
"Impossible! This Dongfang Bubai is clearly targeting us—"
Wu Tong was furious, but he swallowed the rest of his words.
"Senior Brother Wu, regardless of Dongfang Bubai's intentions, after this round of investigation, anyone connected to Dongfang Bubai will certainly hide themselves even more carefully. I still need to return to the Law Enforcement Hall. If you require any help, you may contact me with a communication talisman."
Han Tian handed a communication talisman to Wu Tong. His eyes flickered with an unreadable expression.
Unfortunately, Wu Tong did not notice. Instead, he was still pondering Han Tian's analysis. Suddenly, a rare flash of inspiration appeared in his mind.
"The ones hiding the deepest must be Dongfang Bubai's people... Yes, Han Tian is right. All I need to do is dig out the most low-profile and secretive individuals within the Deep Literary Pavilion."
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