Split Zone No.13

Volume 4

228 Brazen Talk

Cang Ming shrugged with impudence. "Fine, I guess I have underestimated you."

My face broke out in cold sweat. He was a strange man indeed.

"No matter what, I'll definitely have to try since so many have told me your second personality is able to save Bian Ying. So, how about it? Are you prepared to come with me?" Cang Ming smiled dangerously.

Gaoqin Jiuye stepped forward as if to shield me.

"Instead of believing in such rumors, how about you go and try separating Bian Ying's consciousness that's in Piercer right now?"

Cang Ming raised a brow. "Isn't that a more difficult task?"

I shook my head. "I'm not saying this because I'm afraid of what you might do to me. I'm saying this as someone who has been using Piercer for up to two years now. I'm sure that the soul within Piercer is not an absolutely cruel and merciless one. I believe she had her reasons for whatever she did in the past. Because of that, I just might be able to help you find Bian Ying's lost consciousness that had been devoured by her."

Cang Ming looked towards my waist. "Where's Piercer now?"

Recalling that Piercer was with Nie Zun at this moment, I suddenly felt joy out of nowhere.

I said, "Piercer is with someone else now. Not to worry though, he's right here. Do you want to go look for him together?"

Who knew that Gaoqin Jiuye would actually be angered by this.

He turned to look at me with cold eyes. "You just can't wait to return to him, can you? Even when he had just hurt you like that? You're still looking for an excuse to go back?"

I looked at him. "I… Running away doesn't solve anything…"

Gaoqin Jiuye looked pained. "Go back to him then. Don't say that you're leaving him and return to him the very next second because you miss him too much. Go ahead, Li Shen. Go back and experience all the pain that he'll bring to you."

I bit my lip. "How do you know that he'll definitely bring me pain?"

Gaoqin Jiuye smiled bitterly, but he remained silent.

Cang Ming responded. "You're saying that Piercer is now with that person whose face I healed?"

I nodded. "Yes, it's with Nie Zun."

"Where is he now?"

I pointed at the vat of water. "He should be there, in a place similar to this one."

Cang Ming squinted. "Another stone room. Is it the one with the demon cultivating tablet?"

I nodded profusely. "Yes, he's right there."

Cang Ming glanced at the stone platform that was in this space. "You guys escaped from there? Then why didn't he follow?"

Right, why didn't Nie Zun follow? Did he plan to stay there forever?

Cang Ming seemed to be able to read my mind. "Seems like you don't know much about this place, nor about him. I'll take you with me to look for him, but you'll have to bring Piercer and leave with me after that."

"This doesn't sound like a fair deal."

Cang Ming laughed out loud. "That's right, this isn't a fair transaction. But without my help, it would be close to impossible for you to find him in this complex demon cave."

I gave an indifferent smile. "There's no need for me to look for him, but if you insist on taking me and waking Piercer for you, I have but one request. It's a simple request. Care to hear it?"

"Go on."

I smirked. "I want to see Huai Du."

Gaoqin Jiuye and Cang Ming did not reveal their thoughts and emotions easily to others, but both of them simply stared at me when I said that.

Cang Ming scratched his ear. "Did my ears fool me? Even the soul splitters in the Gate of Ghost avoid him because they are respectfully afraid of him. You're telling me that you want to meet him? Do you know that you'll die?"

"Do you think I'm living now? You're wrong. I'm no different from a corpse right now. I'm doing all this firstly, for my friends, and also because I want to live."

Cang Ming laughed loudly. "What an interesting individual. It's no wonder both Nie Zun and Gaoqin Jiuye like you. I'm in a good mood today, so let me reveal a secret to you."

Another secret…

There really are many secrets here in the Split Zone indeed…

It's great that he's here to reveal one, and not to create another one.

"Go ahead." I looked at him.

He smiled casually. "What I want to tell you is that you might think that your plan is seamless now, including brainy Li Qing. But sadly, Huai Du will be aware of all that you guys are doing. Does Li Qing really think she can hide from Huai Du with that tiny trick? Huai Du knows everything that goes on in this demon cave, and even when you've used Li Qing's method to hide from him, he can use another method to control you. You won't even be able to guess how he did it."

I frowned. "What do you mean?"

What did he mean by this?

Does it mean that even though we can hide from Huai Du using Li Qing's method, it's no use in the end? According to Cang Ming, Huai Du will know all that goes on here because he controls everything in here.

Instead of speaking my mind, I decided to challenge Cang Ming. "How can I be sure that you're telling the truth? Even if you were, would that matter? He isn't doing anything to us now, is he?"

Cang Ming smirked. "Why don't you understand, woman? Have you even thought about why I would appear here? Is this really a coincidence? And your lover, that person whose face I healed, how can you be so sure that his behavior isn't caused by Huai Du?"

Gaoqin Jiuye furrowed his brows at this. "Seems like there are many things I'm still unaware of. I guess it's not a coincidence that you're here at all. You might also have expected for me to come looking for you, and it might all have been part of your plan, including the part where we came over from where Nie Zun was."

He said this with a vile expression.

Gaoqin Jiuye doesn't back down even after getting beaten up, and I was sure he wouldn't retreat just because of what Cang Ming had just said.

Looking at him like this, I felt that he and Cang Ming were compatible in many ways. Both of them were soul splitters with extraordinary abilities and both were extremely audacious.

Cang Ming's chest ended up slightly exposed with a wave of his blood-red robe. "You're mistaken. This isn't part of my plan, it is part of Huai Du's plan."

No matter how dumb I was, Cang Ming had made it very clear now.

The secret that he revealed was that everything was going according to Huai Du's plan, and all this happened not because we had blindsided Huai Du. Though this sounded unbelievable, I actually believed it the moment I heard it.

I looked at Cang Ming as I said, "Seems like Li Qing wasn't able to grasp the situation fully. It's too bad she let the bad guy win."

I wanted to see how Cang Ming would react to me chiding Huai Du like this.

Cang Ming's upturned eyes seemed to waver for a moment, but there was no other obvious change in him. He spoke casually like before. "Li Qing shouldn't have come to the Gate of Ghost. You're quite something, seeing that there are so many who're willing to risk themselves for you. Even taking risks that they shouldn't be taking."

Huh. I should really thoroughly analyze what he just said.

Risk themselves for me? Did Li Qing really do everything for me?

In the past, I would definitely believe her. But now, it was different.

Trust is so fragile and easily broken.

I believed in what my instincts told me. I felt that even though Li Qing had her reasons for doing what she did, she definitely would have had some goal in mind. Because of that goal, Li Qing had turned into someone else.

Unwilling to waste any more time, I folded my arms before me, trying to look casual. "Since you've already told us all this, how about you come clean about why Huai Du sent you here?"

Cang Ming smiled. "Yes, why did he send me here?"

"…"

Even though I was strange myself, I still found it really difficult to converse with this strange individual.

Cang Ming turned serious suddenly. "Huai Du thinks like you, he thinks that I'd be on his side as the second king of the Gate of Ghost. Unfortunately, things aren't this simple."

Second king in the Gate of Ghost? Huh. Did he enthrone himself?

Gaoqin Jiuye regained that insolence he always had as he asked, "So you're here because Huai Du sent you, but you have your own thoughts about what to do?"

Cang Ming's eyes flashed. "Gaoqin Jiuye, this is why I let you live even when you saved that weapon-smithing couple from here. I appreciate your intelligence."

Gaoqin Jiuye smirked. "I'm grateful for that appreciation, but please don't say things like you let me live. Whether you really appreciate me or not, I don't think you have the right or the ability to choose to 'let me live'."

These two… they really are shameless…

I was rendered speechless at their exchange…

Why am I being forced to listen to these presumptuous individuals…