Beginning with the Ubume Bird
Chapter 672 - Chapter 672 Chapter 58 A Thousand Faces One Person

Chapter 672: Chapter 58: A Thousand Faces, One Person Chapter 672: Chapter 58: A Thousand Faces, One Person “How good is the stuff that Xue Wenhai left behind?”

Se Kong tilted his head, examining Wenle.

“You promised not to ask about it.”

“Of course, I don’t inquire. I’m just afraid that you might be colluding with the Yan Zhao Club.”

Wenle said with a straight face, “That’s no joking matter.”

Se Kong raised a hand towards Wenle, whose eyebrows twitched involuntarily before he realized that Se Kong was holding a cup of lemon tea.

“Sizzle~”

Muni took just a gentle sip, and the entire cup of lemon tea, plastic cup and all, caved in; he let out a contented belch, all innocent and straightforward.

“Heh, thanks.”

Wenle took it from him.

“In your eyes, Muni and I are outsiders, while that braided man is your true spiritual leader. Now that he’s fallen into the hands of the Yan Zhao Club, it’s uncertain if even his complete corpse remains. Old Bing was scared out of his wits by Zhao Jianzhong, and Eight Sufferings, through a twist of fate, ended up in my hands. You must be very unwilling to accept this, aren’t you?”

Se Kong asked with obvious interest.

Wenle inserted the straw into the plastic cup and glanced at Se Kong.

…

“Give me the knife, or his wounds could get even worse,” Yu Shiqie asked Li Yan.

Li Yan nodded and handed over the Cha Xiaodao he had on his back to Yu Shiqie.

Mo and Yang Zheng had also arrived on the scene. Hearing that Li Yan and Cha Xiaodao were attacked, with just one encounter, the assailants had disabled Cha Xiaodao and Li Yan lost an arm. Both of them felt a heavy pressure weighing down on them.

They agreed to meet under the pylon of an elevated bridge. True to his word, Jin Ye disappeared as if vanishing from the face of the earth, leaving even Yu Shiqie unable to find him.

“Ladies and gentlemen, I have an important matter to discuss. I just had a phone call with Feng Yi from Eight Sufferings, and to ensure that I’m not hiding anything, I’m going to play the recording of the call for all of you,” Li Yan said.

As he spoke, Li Yan pressed the play button, and Wenle’s voice came out:

“The number was given to me by that Pig Dragon creature under your command named Yang Zichu; it can’t be wrong.”

“If you plan to use it to threaten me, you might as well do it now.”

The others didn’t react to this information, except for Mo who glanced at Li Yan but said nothing.

…

In the decrepit building, Wu Yin Flourishing speculated that Wenle might be colluding with the Yan Zhao Club.

“Hmm… If it’s really a scheme to kill with a borrowed knife, you wouldn’t dream of leaving both Zhao Jianzhong and me badly wounded,” Se Kong said, adopting a thoughtful expression. “Then I’d have to find a way to clip my wings. For example, you could set a trap and involve the Yan Zhao Club. Muni, if you could get rid of him here and replace the position of the wounded with one of your own people, you could further restrain me, and it wouldn’t be impossible to even sideline me.”

Upon hearing this, Muni calmly looked towards Wenle.

Wenle’s expression darkened. Throwing the lemon tea out of the window, he remained silent for quite a while until his emotions were sufficiently stirred up:

“You are Wu Yin Flourishing, the Five Directions Elder, you are remarkable. But you haven’t dealt with the Yan Zhao Club; you are too full of yourself.”

Wenle lowered his voice, “Starting infighting at this time is asking for death!”

Perhaps Wenle’s tone influenced Se Kong, as Se Kong showed a thoughtful expression.

Wenle went on slowly, “When Sifan was destroyed, everyone else dusted off their behinds and hid in the Life Realm like a bunch of turtles. Only I, only I gathered intelligence right under the nose of the Yan Zhao Club. I spent six or seven winters alone, and any single mistake could have put me on Su Ling’s operating table, unable to seek death. The last time I ambushed Qin An, this time surrounding Zhao Jianzhong, in which wasn’t I in the lead? Of course, this is my job, and I’m not complaining. But now you’re suggesting that I colluded with the Yan Zhao Club to harm Muni?”

Wenle just shook his head at Se Kong, “You don’t respect me.”

…

“Among the two people who came with me, there’s one named Muni. I want him dead.”

Through the loudspeaker, Wenle’s voice didn’t fluctuate at all, as casual as if he was discussing lunch.

“You want to betray us?”

“No, different things should be addressed separately. I just want to kill Muni. After this job is done, we’ll settle our score separately.”

“Do you have a grudge against him?”

“I’m hardly ever in the Eight Sufferings Life Realm, so I’ve hardly seen him. It’s just that our positions are different, and that means he has to die.”

…

Se Kong’s expression wavered, “But you’re clearly hiding something from me. Moreover, you don’t acknowledge me as a leader; you can’t deceive me.”

“I can never be completely open with anyone.”

Muni said, “Over the years, I’ve played so many roles, had so many faces, to be honest, I can’t even keep track myself. I admit, sometimes even I’m not sure if I’m speaking the truth or lying. If you don’t trust me, you can purge the ranks. After all, even if you kill me now, the two old timers won’t turn against you for my sake. But our mutual hatred for Yan Zhao Club and loyalty to Sifan Master, you shouldn’t question that.”

…

Under the overpass, the people listened to the dialogue between Li Yan and Wenle through the loudspeaker.

“At this critical juncture, you’re starting an internal fight? Cooperate with us? I can’t help but be suspicious,” Li Yan probed.

“After completely wiping out the Yan Zhao Club, could I possibly eat an extra two bowls of rice per meal? Initially, when Sifan was at its peak, Yan Fu had less than a thousand followers and stepped on fewer than a hundred life fruits. Even so, Yan Fu overcame Sifan Master. Now, Yan Fu is nearing a hundred thousand followers, with Earth Endurance widespread across much of Yan Fu. Sifan and Yan Zhao Club are no longer on the same level; a few old timers are out of touch with reality. Still dreaming of a counterattack on Yan Fu? I’m not that naive.”

“Besides, I’m only explaining part of what I can say. The backgrounds of Se Kong and Muni are far beyond your imagination. Described in the terms of the Heavenly Jiazi-Nine era, Se Kong has not been in Yan Fu for more than three years, and he is now newly ranked among the Five Directions Elders. Muni has only been in Yan Fu for a year, and I no longer have full confidence in winning a solo fight against him. Letting the two of them grow further will also cause headaches for the Yan Zhao Club.”

After a pause, Wenle’s voice came through the loudspeaker, clear and distinct, “Both publicly and privately, you have no reason to reject me.”

From inside the dilapidated building, Wenle said with emotion, “Both publicly and privately, you have no reason to doubt me.”

…

The recording ended. Yu Shiqie pondered for a while before saying, “Sifan is not as simple as he describes, whether in the past or now, the Eight Sufferings are a thorn in the side of the Yan Zhao Club.”

Yu Shiqie looked at Li Yan, “I always thought you were unreliable and acted without discretion, but now I see I was wrong. I apologize to you. But I can’t be fully blamed, after all, your romantic involvement is too complicated.”

Li Yan didn’t even lift his eyelids, “It doesn’t matter, past complaints are like the flowing waters of a suspended river, I’ve never taken them to heart.”

Yu Yangzheng coughed, “Let’s talk business, how much of what he said can we trust?”

“We don’t need to believe a single word he says, and he’s right about one thing–we have no reason to refuse.”