Chapter Twenty-Six: Rising Hook

After the length of a single incense stick,

A young man, his face dark and brooding, walked into the sunset, his mind racing. “I never expected this matter to be exposed so swiftly.”

Just moments ago, during a conversation, Su Bai had learned that Su Kun and Huang Yang had already been captured. Moreover, nearly forty percent of the inner sect disciples had been dispatched, combing the surrounding hundreds of miles in a thorough search. Now, it was the third day, and still, not a single clue had surfaced.

Thus, the elder had ordered more manpower; the two before him were among those sent to search. Although they had revealed quite a bit of inside information, whenever the topic touched upon how the treasure might be found, they became evasive, clearly not fully trusting him. Su Bai chose not to press further, lest he arouse suspicion and invite unnecessary trouble.

“It’s getting late. I’d better find an inn for the night. Since this plan has failed, I must think of something else.” Su Bai rubbed his aching temples with resignation. “Plans never keep up with change. I should have prepared a backup plan from the start.”

Thankfully, he had some silver on him, pilfered from Xiao Huixin earlier, though the price of those two jars of wine had made him secretly grimace. Still, the information gained was worth the expense.

“Tomorrow morning, I must return immediately, in case that old fox tries a sneak attack.” After several recent encounters, Su Bai had clearly sensed Xi Menghe’s growing distrust. At this juncture, any defiance or unauthorized departure would surely cross Xi Menghe’s boundaries. His wrath was not something Su Bai could withstand at this stage.

Before dawn the next day, a slender figure slipped out of the inn.

He weaved through alleys and streets before seeking a narrow path toward the wooden cabin. Though he was unsure whether anyone followed, caution was the only prudent course, especially since he was alone.

He did not pause for a single moment on the way back. Fortunately, unlike before, he was no longer defenseless, barely managing to return to the cabin before dusk.

Yet, Su Bai did not enter immediately. He first inspected the courtyard carefully. After confirming that no one had visited, he drew from his sleeve a length of white silk, stringing it across the perimeter in a crisscross web.

Dusting off his hands, Su Bai felt some measure of relief. “That should suffice.” Only then did he enter the house.

Sitting atop the kang, he was momentarily at a loss where to begin. The plans he had made were now disrupted, and the difficulty had changed entirely.

“With such a major incident, Xi Menghe surely won’t visit me again anytime soon. Conservatively, it should be as before, once every half month. That means I have thirteen days left.” At this thought, Su Bai’s brows knitted in worry.

But even with ample time, what could he do? Not only was the area crawling with investigators, making discovery imminent, even if he handed the treasure to the sect, he would not accomplish his goal. Moreover, if he alone brought the treasure to the elders, suspicion would inevitably arise.

And let’s not forget the old fox Xi Menghe lurking behind. He had expressly forbidden Su Bai from leaving, and defying him would be a direct slap in the face.

He had to find a way both to gain fame within the sect, attracting the attention of the higher-ups, and to have a plausible reason to win Xi Menghe’s trust.

“My original plan was to trade with Huang Yang and his companion, letting them handle my departure. Now, I must rely solely on myself. Xi Menghe’s refusal to let me enter the sect surely carries his own intentions. Since that’s the case, I must make myself known to more people; then, should he want to act against me, he will hesitate. After all, a promising young talent able to cultivate to this level will surely be coveted by all the elders as a successor.” Su Bai had observed from those two inner disciples that both were already over twenty, yet only at the early stage of Marrow Refinement.

Even if the pair were the weakest in the inner sect, it gave Su Bai enough basis to estimate his own ranking.

As the moonlight gradually spilled into the room, Su Bai stroked his chin with a sly smile. “Since so many disciples have been sent to search, that’s my opportunity. If I can’t send Xiao Huixin’s treasure away by normal means, I’ll have to force others to help me return it.”

The moon was hazy, but his mind had never been so clear. He had already decided how to handle what came next.

Three days later

A dozen blue-robed youths, compasses in hand, seemed to be seeking something.

One among them, unable to bear the monotony, addressed the others. “Fellow brothers, if we keep searching like this, it’ll be twice the effort for half the results. Why not split up? If the compass changes, we’ll immediately notify the rest. What do you think?”

“While the idea is good, it…” Clearly, some disagreed.

“Brother Lin, I know you want to find the target quickly, but the deep mountains are rife with wild beasts. Even if you’re now at the early Bone Tempering stage, encountering a large beast could still mean certain death. Besides, most of us are newly entered outer disciples, lingering around the early and mid Copper Skin stage. If we act alone, we’ll surely become prey for wolves and tigers.”

“Indeed, brother. Our strength is low—splitting up would definitely lead to accidents,” others chimed in, frustrating Lin Sheng.

“Enough! Stop arguing! One more word and I’ll feed you to the wolves myself.” Lin Sheng grew increasingly irked by these hindering “dead weights.”

Since core disciples were not involved in such low-level tasks, only inner disciples could be dispatched. But many were otherwise occupied, so around half were unable to take part. Thus, outer disciples had to be included.

Yet their strength was so weak that accidents were likely. So, the higher-ups decided that each inner disciple should lead several outer disciples to search, reducing risk.

But Lin Sheng’s situation—one inner disciple to fifteen outers—was unique in the inner sect, and he could only grit his teeth and endure it.

The group plunged back into endless searching until, at last, one person’s compass changed.

“There’s a signal!” Lin Sheng’s hands trembled, about to shout, then quickly stifled himself.

He thought, “Rather than share credit with these hangers-on, I’ll find a chance to ditch them.”

With his plan in mind, Lin Sheng suddenly clutched his stomach and cried out, “Ah! My stomach!”

“Brother, are you all right?” a nearby junior asked anxiously. After all, their strongest fighter falling would dramatically reduce their safety.

Lin Sheng waved it off, reassuring them, “Nothing serious. Just a bit of stomach pain—let me take care of it somewhere private.”

“Fine, we’ll rest here then,” said Wang Zheng, the most vocal among the outer disciples.

Though Lin Sheng disliked the showy fellow, the prospect of taking all the credit himself made him forget such annoyances. “Alright, you just wait here, I’ll be back soon.”

Having finally escaped the bothersome group, Lin Sheng felt liberated. Following the compass, he soon pinpointed the target beneath a giant tree, just twenty meters ahead.

Seeing the treasure so close, Lin Sheng’s lips curled into a sneer. “Heh, those fools are still waiting for me to help them search. Wishful thinking! Luckily, our inner sect compasses are far more sensitive—otherwise, I couldn’t have concealed this from them.”

But just as he stepped forward, a figure dropped from the tree. The newcomer was small and slender, their face veiled and impossible to discern.

Upon landing, they immediately found the treasure hidden under the grass and, to Lin Sheng’s astonishment, strode away with it.

Lin Sheng felt as though ten thousand wild horses were charging through his mind: “???”

The shock was brief; anger quickly took its place. Seeing the prize snatched from under his nose, anyone would be incensed.

Especially as Lin Sheng realized this person’s cultivation was no greater than his own, strengthening his resolve to recover the treasure.

“With so many disciples searching, the sect will surely reward us handsomely. I can’t let this brat get away!” Watching the gray-clad youth disappear, Lin Sheng ground his teeth.

Since entering the Dayan Sect, he had always been at the bottom. At last, he had the chance to shine before the elders; he had to seize it. If an elder was pleased enough to take him as a disciple, a few pointers could lead to endless benefit.

The more he thought, the faster his pursuit became. The gray-robed youth also noticed and suddenly darted into a thicket, vanishing.

“Huh? Where did he go?” Seeing the youth disappear, Lin Sheng grew anxious. He’d been so close to catching up—he couldn’t afford to lose now.

Suddenly, he noticed the compass at his chest shifting. Slapping his forehead, he cursed himself, “How could I forget the compass?”

He retrieved it from his robes and continued following its direction.

The veiled figure ran only a short distance before stopping. After scanning the surroundings, he drew a wooden box from his waist. Opening it, several sticks of incense lay inside.

The incense was covered in a thin layer of pink powder—without careful examination, it was indistinguishable from ordinary incense.

Su Bai took three sticks, then hesitated and took two more, lighting them all. He found several nearby trees and inserted the incense into crevices.

Feeling a slight weakness in his step, he promptly produced a deep red pill from his robe and swallowed it.

After completing these preparations, he noticed Lin Sheng’s delay and muttered, “Where is he? Did he lose track of me? How incompetent!”

“Ha!” Just then, as Su Bai was distracted, a steel sword flashed from behind, aimed straight at his neck.

Sensing the killing intent, Su Bai rolled swiftly to the left, barely avoiding a fatal strike—but his veil was sliced open, revealing a grotesque face to Lin Sheng.

At first glance, Lin Sheng nearly jumped in fright, but his nerves were strong. He quickly returned to the matter at hand, demanding, “Who are you! Why steal the Dayan Sect’s secret treasure? If you know what’s good for you, hand it over now. Otherwise, I’ll show no mercy!”

Before Su Bai could reply, the sword came at him again.

Lin Sheng had been an inner disciple for four or five years, cultivating the sect’s inner techniques. Su Bai, meanwhile, had only learned the most basic, common methods. With no formal martial skills and facing someone of equal cultivation, he had no chance.

In such a predicament, Su Bai had only one option: flee.

He kept darting away, intentionally leading Lin Sheng to linger within the incense smoke. When the timing was just right, he began to run toward the Dayan Sect.

Watching Su Bai flee in that direction, Lin Sheng was puzzled: “Doesn’t he know I’m a Dayan Sect disciple? Why run toward the sect while I’m chasing him?”

He found it odd, but there was no time to ponder. With his prize at stake, he pressed on, determined not to let Su Bai escape.

The two alternated between light step and endurance, racing toward the Dayan Sect.

At first, Lin Sheng thought Su Bai couldn’t even manage the most basic movement techniques and would soon be caught. But to his surprise, the youth seemed to have endless internal energy. Though Lin Sheng could gain some ground with his Floating Cotton Step, once its effect ended, Su Bai would pull ahead again.

Though reluctant to admit it, Lin Sheng realized Su Bai’s inner strength was deeper than most.

Watching Su Bai flee ahead, Lin Sheng assessed, “Conservatively, this guy must be a top-quality mid-stage Bone Tempering disciple, though he hasn’t learned even the simplest martial techniques—quite baffling. Still, it’s just as well; otherwise, I couldn’t beat him.”

Meanwhile, Su Bai was nearing exhaustion.

“Luckily, I made him inhale several rounds of the simplified soft bone incense, and I broke through to mid-stage a few days ago. Otherwise, I’d never have made it this far.” Seeing the Dayan Sect so close, Su Bai finally relaxed.

Just then, a sharp shout interrupted their chase: “Who goes there!”

Lin Sheng’s face lit up—this Sister Chen had always been his pursuit. Now was the perfect moment to impress her.

He steeled himself and lunged at Su Bai full speed.

Hearing Chen Wanru’s voice, Su Bai shouted, “Sister, help me! I am Elder Xi Menghe’s disciple. This brother has been chasing me all day, trying to steal the treasure the elder seeks!”

“What?” Lin Sheng hadn’t expected Su Bai to accuse him first, reversing the truth in front of Sister Chen.