Haitin stared at Lini’s pale face as he spoke his words carefully.
“Brother Aksai, you have a chance to obtain a worthy reward from me, as long as you kill this woman. Mind you, killing her has serious consequences– even more severe than killing that useless fellow before.”
Killing Lian Hua was more severe than killing Bai Yu of Silver Moon Palace? Silver Moon Palace was already a lot stronger than his foundation in the Emerald Cove. How can the danger of killing someone like Bai be topped by the kill of someone else?
Unless…
‘The Big Five Sects!’
Aksai thought to himself and sucked in a cold breath. He had a bad feeling about what he was about to hear.
‘How can my luck be this shitty? Could it be that what that seer girl told me was true? Extreme misfortune followed by heaven-defying fortune?’
Aksai was quickly reminded of the chance meeting he had with a certain young girl. She had used her peculiar cultivation technique to see what kind of effect Aksai would have on the overall destiny of the Dadangar Subcontinent. At that time, she had told Aksai some pretty bizarre things.
Haitin wasn’t sure what Aksai was thinking. However, he didn’t care and continued.
‘Don’t worry brother, I won’t force you to kill her. You can choose not to be the ‘bad guy’ and still be able to keep your life and freedom intact.
But if you help me get rid of her, I will help you strengthen your foundation,” Haitin said confidently.
Aksai had a lot of questions to ask regarding Lini’s identity. However, he chose to ask the most important question first.
“What kind of benefits will I get?”
Haitin smiled at Aksai’s straightforwardness. He pondered a bit before speaking further.
“You are a drifting cultivator, aren’t you? No matter how much wealth you earn as a co-owner of your little island, there are some cultivation resources you can never lay your hands on unless you have a certain background.
In the first place, the wealth you can earn by your island is nothing but a pocket change for some of the core disciples of the major sects. Because you haven’t seen the might of the major demonic and righteous sects, your worldview is hugely restricted.
You can not even begin to imagine the kind of things I can offer you.
I can even allow you to use the resources of my Black Blood Demon Sect as long as you make this woman disappear.”
Although Haitin’s tone was casual, his words held a weight that couldn’t be ignored.
Killing a single woman would allow Aksai to use Black Blood Demon Sect’s resources?
How can this be?
Aksai, still recovering from the shock of recent events, glanced at Lini—or rather, Lian Hua, as he had known her up until now. The confusion that had been gnawing at him since the moment of her capture deepened.
Only Lin Mei was the oddball. Aksai had thought Lian Hua was a simple cultivator, but now, everything seemed different.
Haitin noticed the flicker of doubt in Aksai’s eyes and chuckled softly. “Actually,” he continued.
“Don’t feel discouraged. This was a mistake on my part as well. I had initially thought that only Siya Solaris was pretending to be Lin Mei. But who would’ve thought I’d get to capture Lini Lowanfield as well?” His eyes lingered on Lini’s now-revealed true form, as though he was savoring the moment.
Aksai’s confusion was palpable. Lini, or Lian Hua, as he had known her, didn’t make sense anymore. The Lian Hua he had traveled with, fought beside, seemed almost too different from the woman now standing before him. Her aura was different—sharper, more refined. He couldn’t reconcile the two in his mind.
‘I was wondering who this woman was? So she is Lian Hua? But… Why would two “cosplayers” be part of the same team? Something doesn’t add up here.’
Aksai had loads of questions in his head.
Haitin caught Aksai’s confusion and decided to clarify. “Brother Aksai,” he said, his voice tinged with amusement, “you must’ve already guessed that Lin Mei wasn’t really who she said she was, correct?”
Aksai nodded slowly. That much had been obvious, especially after everything that had unfolded. Siya Solaris’ disguise as Lin Mei had become more transparent in retrospect.
“But this girl here,” Haitin continued, his eyes shifting back to Lini, “isn’t so different from Siya Solaris in terms of her act as well as her background. She also took on a false identity to reach Duya Forest. The Lian Hua you thought you knew is, in fact, Lini Lowanfield, one of the direct disciples of Green Glory Palace’s Core Formation Lord.”
The core members of two out of Big Five Sects in the same team? And they were just casually going towards Duya Forest with changed identities?
Aksai’s eyes widened in shock, his usual calm demeanor slipping for a brief moment. Lini Lowanfield? That name carried weight—far more than “Lian Hua” ever had.
No wonder Haitin said that killing Lini had far greater potential consequences than killing Bai Yu. No wonder Haitin didn’t want to kill this woman himself. No wonder he was willing to give Aksai such a big reward as long as he took the fall.
A direct disciple of Green Glory Palace? It was one of the Big Five sects, one whose reputation reached far and wide across the subcontinent. This sect was the true overlord of the Ouz Kingdom. It was as strong as the Purple River Sect if not stronger.
Aksai hadn’t expected this at all.
His remaining teammates, equally shocked, turned their gazes toward Lini. Their expressions mirrored his own disbelief.
“How can there be such a coincidence?” Aksai murmured, more to himself than anyone else. Two powerful disciples from major sects, both pretending to be someone else and crossing paths in this mess—it seemed too convenient to be random.
“Indeed,” Haitin said, his smile fading into something more serious, his eyes narrowing slightly as though he was considering a much larger, more intricate puzzle.
“This is no coincidence. These two girls are being used as pawns by the Core Formation Lords behind them. And they don’t even know it.”