Those Classmates who Suddenly Disappeared
Chapter 954 Trust and Suspicion

Chapter 954: Chapter 954 Trust and Suspicion

Curiosity, intense curiosity, about what the bandits could have encountered, that caused them to cease their pillaging partway and retreat in such a hurry.

Lord Xiong was at a loss, so he asked a resident where the bandit’s lair was located.

As night turned to day, Gu Fan awoke to find that Lord Xiong hadn’t returned all night, so he became quite worried, "Everyone, have you seen Lord Xiong?"

"Don’t worry, Lord Xiong must have had something to take care of for a while, but he will surely come back," Xue Wang had just finished speaking when they saw the door pushed open and then Lord Xiong walked in.

Gu Fan immediately went to greet him, "Lord Xiong, you went out alone late at night without saying a word, we were all very worried about you."

"What’s there to worry about? Nothing that can hurt me even exists," Lord Xiong said with great confidence and dominance, which made Gu Fan feel awkward and unable to ask any further.

In this group, Xue Wang was the only one who had the standing to sit as an equal with Lord Xiong, and he too wanted to know where Lord Xiong had been the previous night, so he asked, "Lord Xiong, you left without any notice last night, which really worried people."

"Sorry, it was my fault for not saying goodbye; I’ll reflect on that," said Lord Xiong. Then, he glanced at Gu Fan and continued, "You want to know what I did last night? Well, I’ll tell you. Those bandits suddenly retreated last night. I found it strange, so I inquired about where this group of bandits lived."

Upon hearing this, Gu Fan quickly asked, "Really, Lord Xiong? Why would you look for the bandits’ lair? Are you trying to rid the people of this menace?"

"I did want to rid the people of menace, but the bandits didn’t give me the chance. When I arrived at their stronghold, there was not a single person left. Not only did those bandits retreat from the city, but once they got back to their stronghold, they took everything they could carry, leaving me with nothing," Lord Xiong said, seemingly annoyed by this turn of events.

Gu Fan offered this conjecture, "Perhaps these bandits knew that after causing such a commotion tonight, they would surely be hunted down by the official forces, so they took the best course of action and abandoned their stronghold."

"You’re right, Gu Fan, that is a possibility," Lord Xiong said, appearing to agree, but his eyes held a deep meaning that made Gu Fan feel uncomfortable. Why, after finally getting Xue Wang to lower his guard, had he now drawn the attention of this old fox?

Xue Wang was getting impatient, "Alright, since you’re back, let’s rest up. We also need to plan how we’re going to head to the next small city."

Gu Fan immediately suggested, "Lord Xiong, how far is the bandits’ place, how big is it, and can it provide shelter from the sun?"

"The place is a moderate distance away and is very suitable for us to rest. If you, Xue Wang, have no objections, we can set off tomorrow evening," Lord Xiong’s proposals often received Xue Wang’s support, and no one else had any objections, so the decision was made.

Suddenly, Gu Fan raised an objection, "Even though that stronghold is currently unoccupied, if we move in and those bandits return halfway through the day, how will we fight them off?"

"Kid, you’re right to remind us, we need to find a place that won’t be disturbed," Xue Wang glanced at Lord Xiong with a hint of reproach in his eyes, suggesting that Lord Xiong’s proposal was too risky and not as thoughtful as Gu Fan’s.

Lord Xiong’s attention, however, was on Gu Fan, silently admiring him, "Kid, intentionally steering the topic towards the stronghold gave me inspiration to suggest it as a temporary shelter for Xue Wang and the others, and it also gave you the chance to overturn my plan. Of course, you certainly had to carry the banner of the Xue Clan’s best interests in doing so, making Xue Wang trust you even more, didn’t you?"

Indeed, that was what Gu Fan thought, but he was unaware that Lord Xiong had already seen through his little ruse.

At that moment, Gu Fan volunteered, "If possible, I’ll go scout ahead to find a suitable resting place and then come back to report."

"Go ahead," to everyone’s surprise, Xue Wang agreed so readily. It seemed that after last night’s events, Xue Wang was not as wary of Gu Fan as before and was even willing to give him another chance to prove himself.

Lord Xiong, of course, also saw through Xue Wang’s thoughts and secretly admired Gu Fan; just a few days ago, he was a pawn that could be sacrificed, and now he had become a pawn entrusted with hope, quite a rapid transformation.

"Thank you, Xue Wang, thank you, Lord Xiong. I won’t let you down," said Gu Fan as he took his leave. However, before he left, he caught a glimpse of the unusual look in Lord Xiong’s eyes, which made Gu Fan’s heart skip a beat.

The skepticism in Lord Xiong’s gaze, which Xue Wang had also shown before, was something Gu Fan could recognize, and it puzzled him why, after he finally gained Xue Wang’s trust, Lord Xiong started to doubt his motives again.

"You guys really are hard to serve," Gu Fan thought to himself, deciding that as long as he did his job well and convinced Xue Wang he was on their side, while also secretly making meticulous plans to capture them all in one fell swoop, that would suffice.

After Gu Fan left, Xue Yu started to worry, "Xue Wang, aren’t you worried that this kid might bring back a whole bunch of people to deal with us?"

To this, Xue Wang shook his head, "If this kid really wanted to harm our Xue Clan, he wouldn’t have gone through all the trouble last night. Besides, there’s also..." he said, turning to look at Mo Yun.

Now that Gu Fan had left, Mo Yun was the hostage. The Xue Clan didn’t believe Gu Fan would ignore Mo Yun’s life and death, thus they were convinced that Gu Fan wouldn’t betray the Xue Clan.

The Xue Clan members felt reassured by Xue Wang’s reasoning and were thus content to let Gu Fan go. Only Lord Xiong furrowed his brows slightly; he still sensed something was off. Not for any other reason, but because Gu Fan’s transformation was too sudden, and the Xue Clan’s trust in the boy came too quickly.

First step, reveal a desire for immortality, to maintain an alignment of interests with the Xue Clan.

Second step, help the Xue Clan hide their movements, showing Gu Fan’s capability and loyalty to the Clan.

Third step, actively work for the Xue Clan, and every time he left, he would leave a hostage with them, assuring the Xue Clan of his safety.

If steps one through three were followed, it was like a well-designed plan coming together. The more Lord Xiong thought about it, the chillier his heart felt.

To confirm his suspicions, Lord Xiong called Mo Yun to the side and thoroughly inquired about how Gu Fan joined the Devil Cult, what Gu Fan had done there, and moreover, how only he and Mo Yun had managed to escape when the Devil Cult was annihilated.

Mo Yun certainly wasn’t going to tell everything, she couldn’t tell Lord Xiong and Xue Wang the truth—that the Devil Cult had actually had a fallout with their Xue Clan. So Mo Yun recounted the story she and Gu Fan had prepared ahead of time, hoping to get by.