Chapter 225: Variables

　　Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

　　Crow Ridge was suddenly thrown into chaos. Wen Leyang had no time to talk nonsense as he brought his two foolish uncles and ran out of the col. His vision blurred as Qin Zhui rushed in front of him covered in fresh blood.

　　Wen Leyang was startled. Qin Zhui wiped the blood from his face as he chuckled, “It’s someone else’s blood. It’s the demons of the World Sect! However, they are no ordinary enemies and have covered the whole mountain. Their cultivation bases were uneven and they had barged into the mountain from all directions!” When the commotion had just occurred, Qin Zhui was already outside and had done one round of killing. He could be considered as a rogue cultivator and he has some knowledge about the cultivation world’s matters. He was sure of his enemy’s background the moment he had engaged them.

　　Crow Ridge was similar to the Wen family. They were ordinary sects who did not trouble themselves with the secular world. However, the elites of the World Sect had not picked a fight with the Five Blessings but have come here to cause trouble instead. Wen Leyang took a deep breath as he shook his head and decided not to ponder upon all this. He then patted Qin Zhui’s shoulder, “Go and help Wen Make gather the Wen family disciples who are headed this way. If the people of the World Sect harms anyone…”

　　He has not finished speaking when Luo Wanggen led a bunch of ‘Centipedes’ and ran towards the col. He had not gone too far just now as he wanted to wait for Wen Leyang to come out and give an explanation about the letter tokens. He had not expected the mountain to be attacked and did not have the time to think too closely before he came to find Wen Leyang.

　　The Luo family would not be afraid even if the Jade Emperor had attacked, let alone cultivators. This wild streak has nothing to do with their abilities. The Luo family was like the Wen and the Miao, they were born fearless. However, with Wen Leyang here, Luo Wanggen naturally treated him as the mainstay. If an assault rifle was offered to someone, who would have discarded that in favor of their bow?

　　The two Luo family elders and Mumu had gone to the Nine Peaks Mountain earlier on. Now, Luo Wanggen was the one who called the shots on Crow Ridge. The younger ones have different personalities but they also had their own ideas. After they discussed briefly, they came up with a plan.

　　Qin Zhui was to find Wen Make and help him to fend off the enemy. At the same time, he would gather the Wen Bucao disciples who had been summoned here by the cannon signals. These ordinary disciples would be of no help if they were to face cultivators. They would be instructed to retreat immediately after they had gathered.

　　Luo Wanggen also gathered his disciples and activated their Prohibition Spells to defend the important spots on the mountain.

　　Wen Leyang would escort Luo Wanggen back to the village first. Then, they would go after the enemy chieftain and find out why the World Sect has come to Crow Ridge. The two foolish uncles naturally followed beside him, Wen Leyang dared not leave them in anyone else’s care.

　　Qin Zhui was the first to rush outside to meet up with Wen Make. Luo Wanggen took a few steps before stopping. He then took out his own letter token and passed it to Wen Leyang, “After we return to the village, you’ll be acting on your own. There are still some Luo family disciples on this mountain. It’ll be easier if you had this…”

　　He was halfway through his sentence when his eyes suddenly bulged and he shut his mouth. Wen Nine also has a bamboo letter token in his hand as he swayed it before the Luo family disciples with satisfaction…

　　Both letter tokens belonging to the two Luo family elders had been stolen. One of them was still hanging from the big tree inside the col while the other was in Wen Nine’s hand.

　　Wen Leyang quickly snatched the letter token from Wen Nine’s hands before secretly returning it to Luo Wanggen after they had gone some distance…

　　Not long after, Wen Leyang had escorted Luo Wanggen back to the village. He brought his two foolish uncles and went headlong into the mountain to hunt the enemy. However, they soon realized that the World Sect who had barged into the mountain had only set fires and had not killed anyone.

　　From the mountaintop, magnificent glows flashed by magic weapons could be seen everywhere. Waves of booms and yells of magic chants filled the entire big mountain and raised a hubbub. It was unknown how many World Sect cultivators had threatened to annihilate the Luo family. After they had entered the mountain, they scattered like a bunch of headless flies and made a scene wherever they went. They had no direction, they did not search for the enemy nor did they look for the village. They simply ran about wildly in the big mountain and continuously released their magic weapons to clear the way. They behaved atrociously as if they were maddened but their targets were rocks and trees. Some of them even seemed to be bored as they tossed their magic weapons upwards to hit the birds.

　　However, whenever the members of the World Sect encountered Wen Leyang, they immediately howled and rush forward for a fight. In Wen Leyang’s opinion, their cultivations bases were not worth mentioning but what was strange was that when these people saw him, they would immediately have a despaired expression as if they know that they would surely die but they did not retreat. When they were captured, they had countless ways to commit suicide. Wen Leyang labored for a whole night but he could not retain a living enemy.

　　When dawn came upon them, the Wen family disciples had already left Crow Ridge under Qin Zhui’s escort. Qin Zhui then rushed back and met up with Wen Leyang. His experience was even weirder. If he ignored the members of the World Sect, they would just go about their own business and risked their lives with rocks and trees. When Qin Zhui appeared, they turned around and ran. They killed themselves the moment they were captured. Other than their wails, they did not leave any other clues behind.

　　The World Sect had not come for a battle, they looked more like they had just gotten a dose of drugs and come here to act crazy.

　　Wen Leyang became angrier as he fought. He had rushed around for a whole night and at least a hundred World Sect members had died before his eyes. None of them were killed by him nor could he fish any information out from them. Qin Zhui was also extremely bored. In the end, he simply sat down and shook his head with contempt, “I’m not fighting anymore! They’re all f*cking lunatics!”

　　Wen Leyang also stopped on his two foolish uncles whose fighting spirits had soared. He calmed down and pondered carefully for a moment. His expression soured the more he thought about it. He then took out his cell phone and checked the reception. The infrastructure on Crow Ridge was much better than the Nine Peaks Mountain, his cell phone received full coverage even in the depths of the mountain.

　　Qin Zhui knew that Wen Leyang has thought of something and he quickly asked, “What’s the matter?”

　　Wen Leyang shook his head. He quickly dialed First Uncle’s number… But when it connected, it was First Aunt who picked up. Her tone was unfriendly from the onset but she passed the phone to First Uncle with a laugh when she heard that it was Wen Leyang.

　　First Uncle’s voice was dazed, it seems like he was not fully awake yet. Wen Leyang’s heart was much relieved.

　　First Uncle seemed to be aware of the Wen Leyang’s situation and did not wait for him to open his mouth when he said something. Wen Leyang’s expression was suddenly delighted and he ended the call with a giggle.

　　Qin Zhui was burning with anxiety. He immediately pulled Wen Leyang’s arm and barraged him with questions.

　　Wen Leyang looked happy as he asked Qin Zhui strangely, “Am I too kind?”

　　Guo Huan, who had stayed silent until now, suddenly laughed, “Foolish young lad, you’ve finally learned to use that brain of yours!”

　　Qin Zhui was filled with impatience and he asked angrily, “Enough of your riddles! What’s going on?!”

　　Wen Leyang pulled his two foolish uncles along and sat down on a rock he had found. He spoke as if he no longer cared about the World Sect cultivators who were making a mess around them. He chuckled and said to Qin Zhui, “These World Sect people had not killed anyone but had only chopped down trees. They’re not here to besiege Crow Ridge. This was indeed puzzling at first but when I thought about my two uncles, I finally understood why.” He then pointed at Wen Nine and Wen Thirteen.

　　Guo Huan chuckled and chimed in, “Someone wants to keep Wen Leyang here in Crow Ridge. Why would there be such a coincidence if it was otherwise? Wen Leyang had just arrived on Crow Ridge when the place was immediately attacked.”

　　Qin Zhui was completely puzzled. He pondered for a while before he asked, “You’re saying that someone… Instigated them both to lure you here to Crow Ridge? That person then arranged for these people from the World Sect to attack the mountain just to keep you here?”

　　Wen Leyang nodded in silence. Qin Zhui continued, “That doesn’t make sense. They would be doing a much better job of keeping us here if they had attacked Luo family village directly…”

　　Wen Leyang was amused as he returned the topic to where it initially was. He pointed at his own nose and said, “I’m too kind! These men don’t wish to begrudge me, they only wanted to stall me hence they did not want to kill anyone unnecessarily. Other than me, they would run away when they see someone else. As for the World Sect members who risked their lives when they saw me…” As he said this, a tinge of helplessness flashed across his face, “The perpetrator knows that I’m soft-hearted and he wants to use human lives as retribution. If I ever want to investigate this matter, they had already thrown a hundred lives into my hands. What more can I say?”

　　If the World Sect had formed a group to attack the critical areas of the Luo family’s village, they would not be able to control the number of casualties. Currently, the Wen, Miao, and Luo families were of the same breath and branch. Once someone in any of the three families was killed, the grudge would be set. Wen Leyang had heard that the World Sect was a treacherous bunch but he had never thought that the other party would be willing to throw away these many lives to avoid a grudge against him. At least the Wen Bucao would never be this cruel to their own people.

　　Qin Zhui shook his head and suspicion was written all over his face, “Since the other party doesn’t dare to harm anyone, we can just move our butts and head off. Let’s leave them here in Crow Ridge!”

　　Wen Leyang smiled bitterly and shook his head, “Would I dare to do that? That’s why I said that I’m too kind…”

　　Guo Huan interrupted rigidly, “As if you could! The World Sect has disregarded their lives just because they were unwilling to cross you. However, once they discover that they can’t stall you, what would they do then? In the time it takes to burn a joss stick, they would form up properly and attack the Luo family! When it comes to that, you won’t have a chance to choose if you want to stay or not!”

　　Wen Leyang narrowed his eyes and nodded, the World Sect has stabbed him with a soft knife. As long as he was held back on Crow Ridge, there would still be an opportunity to meet in the future. If he disregarded everything now and forced his way back to the Nine Peaks Mountain, they would then fight to the death.

　　Qin Zhui finally caught up with Wen Leyang’s train of thought. He pondered as he said, “They don’t want you back home because they had something else planned for Nine Peaks Mountain…” He was halfway through his speech when he leaped up, “Nineteen is still at your home!” He made as if to run outside.

　　Wen Leyang stopped him as he smiled and nodded, “Home will be fine, relax! They would sacrifice their own people on Crow Ridge just so they would not cross me. Regardless of what they plan to do on Nine Peaks Mountain, so long as it’s not the last resort, they won’t fight to the death.”

　　Qin Zhui dared not place his wife’s life as a wager. He exerted his strength and broke free of Wen Leyang’s grasp. A layer of malevolence seethed out of his eyes, “Then what if it’s their last f*cking resort already?!”

　　Wen Leyang scoffed, “At most, only the fish will die but the net will not be torn! No matter how big the fish, it’s futile to wish that it can break our family’s net!” He then lowered his voice, “First Uncle had told me just now that Grand Master Chang Li has arrived at the Nine Peaks Mountain two days ago. Only the four elders and First Uncle know about this!”

　　Qin Zhui immediately felt delighted. He chuckled and nodded continuously, “Then the net can’t be torn, it won’t be torn!” The fierce name of Chang Li had pierced Qin Zhui’s ears like thunder.

　　Chang Li had made a promise to Wen Leyang back at the Miao stockade village that she would return to the Nine Peaks Mountain once she has recovered. She would then bring him to the Black and White Island and question Tian Yin about Grand Master Tuo Xie’s whereabouts. When Chang Li reached Nine Peaks Mountain two days ago, she was not one to trouble herself with rules and displays of courtesies. She had not sent her greetings in advance and instead, ascended the mountain and entered the village like a puff of smoke. Naturally, the Prohibition Spells on the mountain had not detected her.

　　As she entered the village, she had bumped into the two shabby Nine Peaks Mountain Number One elites who were stealing phones from every room in the dark of night. Chang Li had followed the two of them around the mountain for one whole night. She witnessed them writing the letters, stamping the seal, stealing the cannon signals and tossing the cellphones into the well. In the end, she looked on with a giggle as they left the mountain. Only after that did she go to look for Grand Elder Wen.

　　Chang Li was a peerless demon immortal. Every strand of her hair was a scheme. Although she does not know the details of the situation, she understood that the two foolish uncles could never have planned their trick so meticulously.

　　The World Sect had been causing trouble everywhere. They emerged from their low-key status for the past thousand years and directly attacked the Jilong Sect, one of the Five Blessings. The two rabbit demons had returned to Mount Emei and Wen Leyang was not home To them, the Nine Peaks Mountain would be at its weakest now.

　　Chang Li had thought another step ahead. She felt that the World Sect has suddenly made their move to divert the two rabbit demons. Someone had then persuaded the two foolish uncles to stall Wen Leyang from returning home. They have made such a huge ruckus outside that the World Sect must have had something big planned for the Nine Peaks Mountain. No matter how one puts it, all this was most probably because of that person who knows about the ‘big flat cake, broken gong, and the dog’ in the Red Leaves Forest.

　　Everyone was weighed down with worry but Chang Li was overjoyed. She then lay in wait silently on the Nine Peaks Mountain. She counted the seconds to when World Sect’s members would make their move. This was why only the elders had known about her return to the Wen family village.

　　The four Wen elders and Wen Tunhai made five old foxes together. When the two foolish uncles had escaped, they could instantly tell that someone had incited them and plotted against the Wen family. If their trump card Chang Li had not shown up, they would never have been this calm about the situation and would have been in a flustered mess.

　　Nine Peaks Mountain has deployed its big net silently, all that was left was for the enemy to show up.

　　Wen Leyang had initially thought that it was the Taoist monk Ji Fei who had instigated his two foolish uncles. When Crow Ridge was under attack, he realized that the enemy’s scheme was behind this. After he had called his First Uncle on the phone, he could then roughly guess the process of the incident.

　　Guo Huan listened to Wen Leyang’s analysis as he laughed and exclaimed. “Interesting, interesting. It’s a shame that I’m… Heh!”

　　Wen Leyang understood the old demon’s sadness so he quickly diverted the topic, “The one who had instigated the two uncles should be on Nine Peaks Mountain. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have known about Heaven Telling Sect’s Master and it seems like this person has a close relationship with the uncles…”

　　Qin Zhu was too lazy to guess who it was so he turned and directly asked Wen Nine and Wen Thirteen, “Who was the one who had taught you guys the plan to steal the cell phones…”

　　He had not finished speaking when the two foolish uncles pouted and showed their stubbornness in unison, “We had thought of it ourselves!”

　　Wen Leyang laughed and he shook his head at Qin Zhui, “The opponent has his ways of not letting us know his face!” As he said this, he sat in between the two foolish uncles affectionately. He made a serious face, “I’m… I was Nine Peaks Mountain’s Number One elite. I had kept it a secret so how did you guys manage to find this out?”

　　Wen Nine did not answer the question but asked with a frown in return, “Why had you kept it a secret?”

　　Wen Leyang was dumbstruck. He stammered before he continued, “Number Ones always keep it a secret. It’s a resort to fight their enemies.”

　　Wen Nine and Wen Thirteen looked at each other. They nodded and said, “If that’s the case!”

　　Wen Nine reminded his brother, “Then the both of us will also keep it a secret!”

　　Wen Thirteen agreed forthrightly before he quietly asked Wen Leyang’s ear, “What’s keeping a secret?”

　　Wen Leyang was very patient. He ignored the battle cries of the World Sect outside and did not look at Qin Zhui’s face which was full of anxiety. He explained to his uncle Thirteen slowly then lowered his voice greatly, “How did you guys know about this?”

　　Wen Thirteen secretively fished out a crumpled and almost torn piece of paper, passing it to Wen Leyang.

　　Wen Leyang looked at it and shook his head with a bitter smile, “I said so, didn’t I? We won’t get anything out of my uncles!” As he said this, he passed the piece of paper to Qin Zhui.

　　Qin Zhui could already guess the contents without having to see it. What was written was that Wen Leyang was Nine Peaks Mountain’s Number One and that the brothers could only establish themselves after they have defeated him. It also mentioned that Wen Leyang’s Number One identity was a secret so they could not make the challenge a public affair and they could only fight outside the mountain. The last part was a densely written set of instructions regarding the methods to descend the mountain in secret. It was written in great detail and even specified which well they should throw the cell phones into.

　　However, the letter had left one thing out. It was not too detailed on the matters of the letter tokens and the seal stamps on secret orders. This was why the two foolish uncles had given it their all and used all the letter tokens and seal stamps of the Wen family.

　　What was worth mentioning were the rows of beautifully elegant brush strokes which filled the paper, it was prettier than embroidery.

　　Wen Leyang looked at Qin Zhui and asked, “Nineteens handwriting?”

　　Qin Zhui shook his head, “I’ve only ever seen her hit someone, I’ve never seen her write…” He then shook his head and was obviously unwilling to discuss too much on this topic. He stood up with a frown and pointed in the direction of the loud noises, “What should we do then? Should we just stay put here on Crow Ridge and be stalled by them? The great show is on Nine Peaks Mountain… Nineteen is also on Nine Peaks Mountain!”

　　Guo Huan was indifferent, “As long as Wen Leyang stays, the World Sect will have a tacit agreement with you guys. They’ll make their mess and you guys can mind your own businesses. If you want to kill somebody, they’ll die in your face. If you want to sleep, then cover your ears. As long as the people of Crow Ridge don’t die, everybody will be safe until we hear from the Nine Peaks Mountain. However,” Guo Huan’s voice hardened, “If a Wen family or a Luo family disciple was to die on Crow Ridge, the World Sect would surely go all out and kill you guys! Everyone under the sky is the same; nobody wants a grudge but nobody wants to be the target of revenge as well!”

　　Wen Leyang was still smiling but his smile was not very sincere now, “I don’t have any tacit agreement with them!”

　　Qin Zhui was also roused and he gave a rotten suggestion from the side, “Let the Luo family pull their troops out. Once someone dies, we’ll fight iron with iron! With the two of us here, victory will be assured.”

　　Wen Leyang was angered to the point of amusement. Crow Ridge was the home of his in-laws. The current person in charge was his brother-in-law. In the future, the young men here will only have two identities, that of the big brother-in-law and the little brother-in-law. He picked up a branch and drew on the ground in a flurry, “Our opponents have come prepared. Once we leave or if anyone from the Luo family dies, they will immediately change formation without needing further orders from above. Still, there should be a variable here which none of them could’ve predicted… And it’s only if it was out of their expectations that they would go and ask for their leader’s opinion about the next course of action. With this variable and the both of us, it shouldn’t be too difficult to follow the messenger to find the leader.”

　　Guo Huan seems to know what Wen Leyang was thinking about as he smiled and chimed in, “We can only break this stalemate without bloodshed if we find the World Sect’s leader!” When he finished speaking, he praised loudly, “You’ve truly become more intelligent!”

　　When he saw Wen Leyang’s smiling face, Qin Zhui was so anxious that he would have picked up a rock to smash his face. He balled his fists until they made cracking sounds and said angrily, “Stop keeping me guessing, you weren’t like this before!”

　　“Wasn’t I stupid before?!” A satisfaction without shrewdness that could not be concealed appeared on Wen Leyang’s face. His smile had Wen Buzuo’s shadow, “This variable is… My death!” He pointed a steady finger at his own nose as he said this.

　　“The people from the World Sect knows about my abilities. They had fallen over each other to fight all out with me because they knew that I couldn’t be killed so easily. If I died now, everyone would be dumbstruck. What should they do next? They’ll naturally go and ask their leader if they should seal the mountain and kill everyone or if they should furl all their banners and retreat with silenced drums.” After Wen Leyang finished, he giggled and hugged his two foolish uncles.

　　Qin Zhui was astonished, “Who has the ability to kill you?”

　　Wen Leyang minded his own business and went over the details in a soft voice with his two foolish uncles. He then pointed at Qin Zhui…

　　A dozen World Sect cultivators brandished their magic weapons as they howled and sprinted along a small, deserted hill. Suddenly, a figure who looked like a nightingale dropped down from the sky and firmly pinned one of them down. The other cultivators were astonished at first but when they saw that the person who had appeared was Wen Leyang, they immediately cried sharply, bared their fangs and pounced. Wen Leyang ignored them as he picked up his prisoner and made to leave. He did not expect the World Sect prisoner in his custody to suddenly laugh as he leaped up. The prisoner had cast an unknown spell which then caused his body to explode loudly, spraying fresh blood into the sky!

　　At the same time, a lightning-like figure jumped out from the nearby forest without warning. He was enveloped in a wild force as he flew towards Wen Leyang!

　　Wen Leyang’s face was full of shock as Qin Zhui hit him continuously in mid-air, taking advantage of Wen Leyang’s unprepared state. Finally, he let out an extremely reluctant growl as his body fell to the ground limply like a torn gunny-bag. A dark, grey liquid flowed out from beneath him and spread out in the area of over a dozen meters in the blink of an eye. The two World Sect cultivators had not paid any attention to their feet. They did not even have the chance to wail when they were poisoned to death.

　　The World Sect had been running around the mountain for a whole night so they know that other than Wen Leyang, there was another young, ugly elite who was with him. Nobody expected that the both of them would fight each other. It was enough as long as the World Sect knows he had died.

　　Wen Leyang, Qin Zhui, and even the two foolish uncles’ cultivation bases were much more profound than these ordinary World Sect members. A rabbit which was passing by would not be able to distinguish whether the two black bears which were hugged into a ball were hooking up or fighting with their lives.

　　From the World Sect’s perspective, Qin Zhui’s every punch was filled with his full strength. It was as if he had suddenly turned into the master of the world and channeled the strength of an entire mountain to beat Wen Leyang up wildly.

　　After Qin Zhui had beaten the water out of Wen Leyang, he quickly turned and stared at the World Sect. At this time, two angry howls rose towards the sky. Wen Nine and Wen Thirteen did not talk nonsense and their eyes were so bloodshot that they seemed to spurt out blood. They rushed towards Qin Zhui like phantoms from his left and his right. A handful of World Sect members who had no intention of blocking their way had no time to evade them and were knocked around until their bones were crushed!

　　Qin Zhui’s expression was malicious and evil as he counter-attacked Wen Nine and Wen Thirteen with the same savage moves. However, unbeknown to him, a layer of greenish-grey fine hairs had started to silently grow on his face.

　　The World Sect’s members were truly dumbfounded. Even after Qin Zhui had spat out dark-bluish blood and escaped from the two foolish uncles in retreat, they still do not understand what had just taken place.

　　Wen Leyang lay on the ground and did not move. The greyish-black poison liquid flowed lifelessly and left a sickening stuffiness wherever it went.

　　There was something which wriggled continuously in the blood which Qin Zhui had just spat out…

　　The remaining World Sect members did not huddle over to confirm if Wen Leyang was dead or not. However, logically thinking, when the Art of Poison was exhausted, that person would be done for. They discussed the matter together in a low voice.

　　Wen Leyang who was playing dead was dumbfounded. Qin Zhui, who had stealthily doubled back was also dumbstruck… Instead of using their legs to go find their leader, the World Sect cultivators took out cell phones from their pockets instead.

　　The World Sect was obviously more digitally adept than the Mountain Sect. Guo Huan grunted softly as he observed from within the jade knife, “This is also a f*cking variable!”