Chapter 33: The Traitor

The night grew deeper, approaching the third watch. Chu Yang sat as firm as a rock, his thoughts wandering far, his sleeves fluttering gently in the night breeze, but he remained motionless.

The fourth watch arrived.

The world suddenly plunged into the deepest darkness.

Chu Yang was about to get up and return to his room when he suddenly sensed something amiss. His eyes became sharp as he looked towards the left mountain path.

To the left was a small road leading to the Tianwailou, branching off from another mountain range, very hidden.

Under Chu Yang's gaze, several black shadows suddenly appeared at the bottom of the cliff, moving as swiftly as the wind, disappearing like ghosts in the pitch-black night, heading towards the interior of the Tianwailou.

Chu Yang's eyes narrowed. The fourth watch was the best time for night travelers to move! And this darkest time lasted for less than half an hour. These people had clearly been hiding here, waiting for this moment to act.

They definitely had no good intentions!

Thinking of Meng Chaoran's words about protecting the Tianwailou, Chu Yang's eyes focused, and he suddenly stood up, his body shooting down the cliff like a meteor. He used the cliff face for leverage several times and reached the bottom. Then, using the rocks and trees for cover, he quickly followed the direction where the three people had disappeared.

Although he was only a First Rank Warrior, he was not the least bit afraid! Even if he couldn't defeat them, he was confident he could escape. If these people really had ulterior motives, Chu Yang felt he could do some damage and still be quite effective.

He chased them for several miles, the wind whistling past him.

Chu Yang's movements were light and swift, seemingly slow but actually fast. If a skilled expert were watching, they would be greatly surprised. Each of his steps was in a blind spot, and as he moved, he constantly used objects to shield himself.

It seemed he was only temporarily seeking cover, but each time it was perfectly seamless! He could see the cover several yards ahead and had a perfect plan in place!

Chu Yang continued forward, chasing for about five or six miles, and could already see the mountain gate of the Tianwailou in the distance. He suddenly sensed something and immediately stopped, his body blending into the shadows.

Then he lay flat on the rocks, moving forward slowly but silently...

Three black shadows were quietly waiting in a mountain hollow around the corner.

Not far from them was the mountain gate of the Tianwailou. There, disciples were on duty day and night, and there were quite a few of them. Each of the nine peaks sent one person, who supervised and restrained each other, as well as kept each other company.

Apart from the Purple Bamboo Garden, the other nine peaks were all within this mountain gate.

These people clearly did not dare to force their way in. Although they were not afraid of the gatekeepers, it would alert the others.

It seemed they were waiting, or perhaps meeting someone here? Chu Yang thought, moving his body extremely carefully, slowly advancing another ten yards. Now he was less than thirty yards away from the three people.

All three were masked, hiding carefully behind a large rock. Chu Yang looked at their hiding place and couldn't help but admire it. These three were clearly experienced. Their hiding spot had three blind sides, and the only open side had two escape routes, one of which was quite hidden. This meant that even if something went wrong, they could quickly escape without being cornered by the enemy.

Chu Yang held his breath, his body seeming to meld with the rock, waiting quietly. His patience was unmatched by anyone in the world!

Time slowly passed. One of the three, who was slightly thinner, seemed impatient and slightly adjusted his posture, whispering, "What's going on? Wasn't it agreed for this time? Why hasn't that damn guy come yet?"

"Be patient," another black-clothed person warned, looking around cautiously. Then he looked up and around suspiciously, "I feel like there's something moving."

Hearing this, the other two also became cautious, perking up their ears and looking around.

Chu Yang kept his breathing steady, treating their words as if they were nonsense. He remained completely still.

This was a kind of intuition, like when someone is walking at night and feels someone following them, even if they don't turn around. Even ordinary people have this ability.

But if they turn around and see nothing, they usually assume it was just their imagination.

Sure enough, after checking around, the three relaxed. The one who had mentioned the movement laughed self-deprecatingly, "I must be imagining things."

"Better to be cautious," the other two whispered.

At this moment, a commotion came from the mountain gate, and a voice shouted, "Who's there?"

A steady, deep voice replied, "It's me!"

"Oh, it's Second Master. I apologize for not recognizing you."

"Hmm."

"Is Second Master going to practice?"

"Yes, it's best to practice at this time. You should remember, diligence can make up for lack of talent. The morning is when the earth's qi is most abundant, making it the best time to practice."

"Yes, I will follow Second Master's teachings."

A black figure slowly approached. Behind him, the gatekeeper continued to praise, "Second Master is truly a great figure in our sect. He is highly skilled yet approachable, and extremely diligent. He always comes out to practice at this time every day. His perseverance is truly remarkable. I couldn't do it."

Another voice added, "That's right. Second Master is a great person, how can you compare to him?"

Chu Yang's heart skipped a beat. This person was actually Second Master Li Jinsong! Li Jianyin's father, the master of Suoyun Peak, the second-in-command of Tianwailou!

Li Jinsong was dressed in martial attire, carrying a long sword, looking like he was going to practice. He calmly left the mountain gate, leaped gracefully, and a wave of flattery followed...

Li Jinsong flew a few times and arrived at the corner, then turned and walked familiarly behind the large rock.

It seemed they had met more than once. Chu Yang thought, and the gatekeeper's words, "He always comes out to practice at this time every day," clearly indicated that Li Jinsong had been doing many things in secret.

"Why are you so late? Do you have any new information?" The thin one among the three asked impatiently in a low voice.

"Late?" Li Jinsong snorted, clearly displeased with the question, "Do you have the goods?"

"The goods can wait," another person quickly mediated, "Brother Li, tell us what's new."

Li Jinsong snorted, lowering his voice, "The situation is quite strange. I want to know, besides you, is anyone else targeting the Tianwailou?"

The three black-clothed people were taken aback, looking at each other, "We're not sure. But the Tianwailou is in turmoil, and many people have their eyes on it."

Li Jinsong said, "Oh. Not long ago, the Ninth Elder of Wuyunliang, Bao Kuanglei, took two outstanding disciples and his daughter to Tieyun Kingdom."

"Tieyun Kingdom?" The three asked simultaneously.

"Yes, and... their journey was very secretive, but according to my information, they encountered several ambushes on the way! Clearly, someone didn't want them to go. And those people have very good intelligence," Li Jinsong said with a serious face.

Chu Yang's heart skipped a beat. It seemed the traitor was not just Li Jinsong!

"What's the purpose of going to Tieyun Kingdom?" The three clearly didn't care about Bao Kuanglei's safety, only wanting to know the reason.

"I don't know," Li Jinsong frowned, then said, "But no matter what, their going to Tieyun has achieved half of our goal."

"Right, the Tianwailou is in our Great Zhao territory, and Wuyunliang dares to send people to collude with Tieyun! What a bold move!" A black-clothed, masked person said with a sinister tone.

"Is this the only news? Was it worth us coming all the way here? Brother Li, you're not being very fair," another black-clothed person, though masked, could be heard to have a sarcastic smile in his voice.

"Of course not, but you should also fulfill your part of the deal," Li Jinsong suppressed his anger, "You are from the military, and you wouldn't go back on your word, right? Besides, we have been pressuring Wuyunliang to turn to Tieyun, and although the final decision hasn't been made, it's almost as good as done..."

Chu Yang, hidden in the shadows, was shocked. Military people? The Tianwailou was just a sect, what did it have to do with the military?

And this "military" clearly referred to the Great Zhao military!

Chu Yang vaguely felt that a massive conspiracy was unfolding. The destruction of the Tianwailou in his previous life was likely closely related to this!

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End of Chapter 33