Chapter 58: Miscalculation

The next morning, as the sun rose, a group of people quietly waited in front of a dense hawthorn forest on the middle finger of the Five Claw Peak of Stone Man Peak.

At the front was Scholar Yanming, dressed in green robes and a green headband.

Behind him were three young men, one of whom was Lu Yueming, who had saved Zhang Xiaolong and others on the main road the previous day. At this moment, Lu Yueming showed no trace of his previous arrogance, standing quietly behind the group, his eyes fixed on Scholar Yanming, waiting patiently.

As the shadow of dawn swept across the hawthorn forest, Scholar Yanming, familiar with the terrain, leaped over it with ease and casually left marks on two hawthorn trees. However, he soon paused, puzzled. On those two hawthorn trees, apart from the two deep marks he had just made, there were no other marks. Where were the sword marks he had carved on the trees last month? Scholar Yanming was surprised. The sword marks, which had penetrated three inches into the trees, should not have healed in a month, and even if they had, there should still be traces. Could it be that these were not the same hawthorn trees?

Scholar Yanming's heart sank. He thought, "This is bad. If this is not the original entrance, entering the forest will be troublesome." As he thought, he carefully examined the nearby hawthorn trees but found nothing. It seemed as if he had never carved any marks on the trees in this hawthorn forest. At this moment, a young man in dark clothing, short and sturdy with a simple face, stepped forward and asked, "Uncle Yanming, is there something wrong?"

Scholar Yanming turned around and saw it was Tan Feng from the Tan family. He couldn't help but smile. The people from the Tan family were always short and sturdy, giving a sense of reliability. Truly, they were a family of one kind. He smiled and explained the situation to Tan Feng. Tan Feng said, "This is simple." He then turned to a young man in a white robe, who looked like a scholar, and said, "Brother Zhang, why don't you and I go this way and check the trees for any sword marks? Brother Lu, please go with Uncle Yanming to check the other side, okay?"

The scholar was Zhang Zhaoyang from the Ten Thousand Sword Peak, with a thin face and sharp eyes. He was not a man of many words and simply said, "Alright," before turning and walking in the other direction. Tan Feng followed him, carefully examining the hawthorn trees on the periphery. Lu Yueming, still smiling, looked at Scholar Yanming, waiting for his instructions. Scholar Yanming didn't say much, just gestured to him, and then turned to walk in the other direction. Lu Yueming quickly followed.

After a few steps, Scholar Yanming slowed down, muttering to himself. The sword marks from last time were nearby, and there was no need to check the entire periphery of the hawthorn forest. Lu Yueming, as if understanding his thoughts, said from behind, "Uncle Yanming, weren't the marks you carved last time here?"

Scholar Yanming stopped and turned around, saying, "Yes, I think there won't be any marks further ahead."

Lu Yueming continued, "Then, Uncle, why don't you check here thoroughly while I go and check the other side?"

Scholar Yanming smiled and said, "The Piaomiao Sect truly has a generation that surpasses the last. This Chief Oupeng is truly fortunate to have such excellent disciples. Alright, you go and check, be careful, and I'll stay here."

Lu Yueming nodded with a smile and continued forward, leaving Scholar Yanming behind.

While Scholar Yanming remained at the spot, pondering his next move, the other three checked the hawthorn forest from the beginning to the end and back again. As expected, they found nothing. Everyone fell silent, as the premise of their plan was to enter through the original entrance. Since the entrance was different, their plan was now invalid. What should they do?

The three stood quietly, thinking and waiting for Scholar Yanming's instructions.

This time, the three came to the Five Claw Peak using the same method as the four sects did previously, sending second-generation disciples. However, this time, the actions were more secretive. After the leaders of the four sects returned from Wutong Mountain, they frequently dispatched different disciples to different places to handle affairs, to avoid being spied on by other sects. The three were just one of these actions, and they were only informed of their mission and the necessary precautions at the last moment before departure. Many more disciples were sent out afterward, and even the core members of the sects did not know who was executing what task. Thus, the three managed to avoid the attention of other sects and arrived here smoothly.

The disciples chosen for this mission were the best among their peers, aware of the importance of the secret location. The four sects would not be careless this time. Moreover, these three had taken secret pills from their sects, making their martial arts skills formidable. For example, Lu Yueming alone could easily handle the seven people from West Cui Mountain the previous day, which would have been much more difficult for Wen Wenhai and Xue Qing a month ago.

Although the mission had encountered a setback, the three remained calm. Even Tan Feng, who appeared rough, was now focused and silent, waiting for Scholar Yanming's instructions.

After much thought, Scholar Yanming said, "Since the entrance is different, it may not be unsafe, but we can't enter using the same method as last time. Perhaps there is a new password. You all have your respective skins, and your masters have already told you how to use them. Let's see if the passwords match."

Everyone followed his instructions, taking out their skins and cutting their fingers to smear blood on them. However, to everyone's shock, including Scholar Yanming, the place where the password should have appeared was now blank.

The others were not particularly affected, but Scholar Yanming broke out in a cold sweat. Even with his improved martial arts skills, he instinctively became alert, looking around cautiously. This was too bizarre.

Originally, Scholar Yanming was determined to enter and gain more, but now he was unwilling to take the risk. In his years of wandering the martial world, he had never heard of words written on skin disappearing. This was beyond his comprehension. Being cautious, he immediately judged that this was a dangerous situation, and the best course of action was to wait until the next Lantern Festival to try again.

However, Scholar Yanming did not show his fear. He said calmly, "Since the password is not there, there must be two reasons. One, it's the same as last time, and two, the time is not right, and the password has not appeared yet." Even as he said this, he didn't fully believe his own explanations. If it were the same as last time, the password should have appeared as before. And if the time was not right, could there really be words that only appeared at a certain time? It was too unbelievable.

Regardless of the reason, Scholar Yanming said, "We don't have the password, and we can't be sure if the one from last time will work. Given this situation, I don't recommend entering the forest. What do you think?"

The three in front of Scholar Yanming, though not as skilled or senior as him, represented their respective sects. Scholar Yanming patiently looked at them, waiting for their responses.

Lu Yueming's eyes flickered, but he didn't speak. Before they came, Oupeng had already given instructions. While the secret location was important, the current strength of the Piaomiao Sect was sufficient, and expanding territory was the priority. Entering the secret location to obtain valuable herbs would be great, but if they couldn't enter, they should keep the secret and try again next year. Lu Yueming had already made up his mind, and seeing that Scholar Yanming's thoughts aligned with his, he didn't say much.

Tan Feng frowned, remembering the instructions from the family head. Safety and secrecy were paramount, and not entering the secret location was not a problem. However, he was very curious about what the place that could grow century-old herbs looked like. After much consideration, he said, "The family head has already said that everything here is up to Uncle Yanming. I have no objections."

Scholar Yanming nodded and looked at Lu Yueming, who naturally agreed. Finally, he looked at Zhang Zhaoyang from the Ten Thousand Sword Peak.

Zhang Zhaoyang did not frown like Tan Feng. He was calm, his eyes gazing at the hawthorn forest as if it were a childhood playground. He seemed to have made up his mind long ago, just waiting for others to decide. Seeing that Scholar Yanming was seeking his opinion, he smiled faintly and said, "Uncle Yanming, our sword master has already instructed us to bring back the herbs, regardless of the dangers. I must explore this hawthorn forest."

Zhang Zhaoyang's words were unexpected. Scholar Yanming thought he would follow his instructions. His decision to enter posed a dilemma for Scholar Yanming. However, recalling the meeting at Wutong Mountain, it was clear that Wan Chengjiu was the most eager to re-enter, so his order was understandable.

But if the others didn't want to enter, should Zhang Zhaoyang go alone? Scholar Yanming pondered for a while, unsure how to respond.

Zhang Zhaoyang, seeing that Scholar Yanming didn't answer directly, understood his thoughts. He bowed to Scholar Yanming and the others and said, "Uncle Yanming, fellow disciples, I am prepared to enter the forest and should not encounter any danger. If you do not wish to go, I will enter alone to scout the area. What do you think?"

He directed his last words to Scholar Yanming.

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