I Don't Agree to the Terms
Chapter 46: First Punish the Heart, Then Ruin the Reputation

Chapter 46: Chapter 46: First Punish the Heart, Then Ruin the Reputation

"Junior Brother, if we’re not headed to Fengtai Village, why come here to capture a petty thief? Moreover, this was Xiang Fang’s fault to begin with, yet they expect us to handle it," Zhuang Pei spoke with dissatisfaction in his voice.

After all, for him, going to Fengtai Village was the true path. Obtaining the position of the Mountain God—even if it didn’t fall into his own hands—would be far more beneficial to their Xuanwei Sect’s Elders than recovering "Knowing One’s Destiny" and capturing this small-time thief.

For one thing, "Knowing One’s Destiny" was just an introductory text. Most people wouldn’t delve too deeply into it, and over the years, many copies had been disseminated. Moreover, the so-called original was just what the Sect’s Ancestor had copied down; it wasn’t a treasure by any means.

"Elder Xiang has always treated Xiang Fang like his own son. The pain of losing a child cannot go unavenged. Moreover, Junior Master Xiang represents the face of our Xuanwei Sect. With him being treated like this, if we don’t seek vengeance, we’re tarnishing our Sect’s reputation."

"Didn’t you notice how much ridicule we received from our colleagues yesterday?"

"Besides, is Fengtai Village really lacking just the two of us? What really determines the outcome is who can refine the position of the Mountain God."

Xu Jin promptly analyzed the current situation for Zhuang Pei.

Essentially, their presence or absence made no difference; they might as well do something else.

Of course, this was just an excuse. The real situation was because Zhuang Pei was Elder Zhuang’s only son, and Elder Xiang had just lost his adopted son, Xiang Fang, in Fengtai Village. If Zhuang Pei were to die as well, that would certainly cause problems.

But it was not good to call him directly back to the sect, so capturing Gu Shanhai became the justification. Once they had him, they could bring him back to the sect, and thus they would have a legitimate reason to return.

From what Xiang Ting had told them, they also knew the opponent was a Loose Cultivator who had taken the Gatling gun, but without bullets, he was not to be feared.

The biggest difference between Loose Cultivators and them was poverty.

They could use their weapons freely, while Loose Cultivators had to be frugal.

There was also a huge gap in weaponry – one had flintlock guns while the other had all sorts of modern weapons. The comparison was impossible.

How Xiang Ting lost, they had an idea: in their prime, they certainly wouldn’t lack strength.

As for the opponent being agile, no matter how agile he was, he couldn’t be faster than the bullets in their hands.

"This should be the place. It’s just that the divination of the Heavens is becoming weaker; I don’t know what the situation is," Xu Jin expressed some doubt.

They had never encountered this problem before.

They were now in a forest. After all, the surroundings of Fengtai Village were deep mountain forests, and Gu Shanhai always burrowed into such places.

"Could it be a miscalculation?" Zhuang Pei asked.

They had missed several times before. The opponent was obviously fleeing, but this time he had not run, but rather stayed put. The two speculated he might be resting on the spot; after all, one could not run continuously, and the various vehicles were useless in the deep mountain forests.

"It’s unlikely. Elder Zhuang had mentioned before that this thief is adept at digging holes, possibly hiding underground to rest," Xu Jin sneered.

Zhuang Pei naturally understood what Xu Jin meant. Hiding underground was fine; they could simply throw a grenade into the hole and kill the other party.

When the time came, bringing the corpse back for an explanation would be just as good; the target didn’t need to be captured alive.

For them, as long as the mission was completed, there was no need for interrogation because the person who stole "Knowing One’s Destiny" was Xiang Fang; they had no intention of pursuing the matter further. Xiang Ting was an Elder, respected and venerated, and it was not good to offend, so they made Gu Shanhai the scapegoat.

Another reason was Xiang Ting’s kind deeds; from top to bottom in the Xuanwei Sect, who hadn’t been helped by him? Not just their Sect, but also the court officials, Loose Cultivators, all had benefited from Xiang Ting’s kindness, and they couldn’t allow the stain of this matter to fall on him.

So while Zhuang Pei was unhappy with Xiang Fang, he had great respect for Xiang Ting.

But before the two could start searching for the entrance to the hole, the grass at their feet suddenly grew rapidly, entwining around their bodies as if it were alive.

Not far away, a spectral figure riding a fierce tiger leaped towards them, attacking.

"Damn, an ambush!" Xu Jin reacted immediately, just to see the knight’s spectral figure bring a long shadow down upon him.

If it struck his neck, he would die.

But now his limbs and body were entwined by the plants, and for some reason, the strength was tremendous, making it impossible for them to break free.

He could only watch helplessly as the long shadow came sweeping over.

Fortunately, the shadow didn’t pierce through his neck but went through his limbs instead, causing excruciating pain. The gun in his hands dropped to the ground as he could no longer hold it.

On the other side, Zhuang Pei fared a bit better; Gu Shanhai, who rushed out from the shadows, had dislocated his limbs, rendering him unable to stand, and he collapsed to the ground.

"You’re shameless, attacking us by stealth!" Zhuang Pei’s face went red with anger, clearly unable to accept what had happened.

"Thank you for the compliment," Gu Shanhai responded with a smile.

So they were allowed to crush him with equipment, but he was not allowed to use tactics for a surprise attack.

"I suppose you were sent by that old bastard Xiang Ting to hunt me down, right? You’re really going out of your way for his bastard son. Guess who would have gotten the Mountain God position if I hadn’t killed Xiang Fang?" Gu Shanhai started with his agenda of sowing discord.

They were both taken aback; it really seemed to be the case. After Xiang Fang’s death, the position of the Mountain God was exposed.

As for Xiang Fang being Xiang Ting’s illegitimate son, they hadn’t believed it at first. But considering Xiang Fang’s incident in Fengtai Village and the subsequent struggle for power, it was now confirmed.

"Don’t worry, I won’t kill you. This is all a misunderstanding. Whether it’s Xiang Fang stealing the book or Xiang Ting coming after me, it was all calculation from the beginning, and even you are part of the scheme. Perhaps Xiang Ting appears to be good on a daily basis, but this could be a facade, and there is definitely profit to be made in this situation."

Seeing that the two seemed to be wavering, Gu Shanhai quickly struck while the iron was hot.

A bad person does one good thing, and everyone considers them a repentant good person, ignoring their past misdeeds. Yet a good person sometimes doesn’t even have to do a bad thing; just one slander by someone with an agenda, and they will be seen as bad, erasing all their good deeds.

Gu Shanhai had a simple idea: if Xiang Ting wanted his life, he would destroy his reputation and, incidentally, direct the fire onto him to divert attention.

The premise was that he needed to find out the location of their sect, which would fall onto these two individuals.

Their current situation was that he planned to inquire first—whether to kill one or let one go would be decided later. After all, they could still be used to misdirect, such as making them believe that his true goal was to seek revenge on Xiang Ting. Combined with rumors, maybe he could buy himself some time.