Those Classmates who Suddenly Disappeared
Chapter 990: The Familiar Yet Unfamiliar Person

Chapter 990: Chapter 990: The Familiar Yet Unfamiliar Person

In the small cabin, Gu Fan was circulating his Qi and breathing rhythmically. After a long period of Mo Yun’s guidance, Gu Fan had improved significantly. He now felt that the Genuin-Qi within his body was surging like rivers, overwhelming with energy.

When Gu Fan opened his eyes, his spirit and vitality had transformed as if he was a different person altogether, exuding the aura of a master.

"Congratulations, your martial arts have improved again. However, in my opinion, you’re still no match for the Female Sword Immortal," Mo Yun started with a compliment but then followed with a ruthless blow, deflating Gu Fan’s momentum: ’Please master, stop undermining my confidence.’

That’s how Mo Yun explained herself: "I’m just afraid of you becoming arrogant. I’m worried you might underestimate your opponent."

"My martial arts are so poor, what’s there for me to be arrogant about?" Gu Fan shook his head and sighed as though there was little hope left.

Knowing she had misspoken before, Mo Yun changed tack to inspire him: "Don’t lose heart. With your poor martial arts, making it to the semifinals is an achievement unparalleled in history."

"How did we get back to talking about how poor my martial arts are again?" Gu Fan was almost choked up with exasperation, while Mo Yun hastily apologized: "I’m just trying to keep you grounded."

Gu Fan waved his hand, signaling Mo Yun to stop, fearing they might actually come to blows.

Mo Yun stopped joking around, and moved on to the matter at hand: "What to do, your next opponent is the Female Sword Immortal. If you don’t get a bit sneaky, an honest fight will definitely not end in your favor."

"Yeah, without figuring out a solution, there’s no way to get through this challenge." Then Gu Fan lowered his head to think for a while before he shook it: "Right now, my odds are one and a half to one, and the Female Sword Immortal’s odds are even, which means the World’s Number One Gambling House is guaranteed to make a profit. So the strategy from last time, leading people to bet on both sides, won’t work this time."

Mo Yun said simply: "But if you win, then the World’s Number One Gambling House will make a fortune, so they should let you win, right?"

Gu Fan shook his head, his expression far from optimistic: "First, since they are guaranteed to make a profit, I don’t think they’ll go out of their way to help me win. Second, I feel that the Female Sword Immortal is not in league with them. In previous rounds of the competition, I studied her fights; there were some which, after her victory, brought losses to the World’s Number One Gambling House. This shows the Female Sword Immortal isn’t in cahoots with the leader of Xuanjian Sect and the big time gamblers. Consequently, the Female Sword Immortal is not going to obediently lose to me on purpose."

"What does that mean, you’re bound to lose?" Mo Yun grew anxious. After coming this far, it’d be a shame to walk away; how could they explain this to Xue Wang and the others.

Gu Fan gave it some thought: "Currently, the leader of Xuanjian Sect’s odds are one and a half to one, and Jin Yi’s odds are also even. It looks like they’ve done their homework to prevent betting on both sides."

Mo Yun was getting frustrated: "Big brother, please, the fifth round of martial arts competition is about to start. If you don’t figure out a strategy soon, you’re going to lose."

"Even if I come up with a plan now, acting on it might put us in a worse situation," said Gu Fan gravely, making Mo Yun tense. Then she cautiously asked, "What do you mean exactly, Gu Fan? Don’t scare me."

Gu Fan sighed: "The reason they’ve arranged guards to ’protect’ us is, in fact, for surveillance. That is to say, they have suspected us of foul play for quite some time now. With the recent surge in people betting on both sides, their suspicions are only confirmed, believing it’s us who are covertly inspiring others to hedge their bets."

Mo Yun realized the gravity of the situation: "You’re worried that they’ve increased surveillance on us. If we make any moves, they will surely find out, and they won’t let us off lightly."

"Exactly, the World’s Number One Gambling House has been operating for years. They’ll definitely spot anything amiss. Neither the leader of Xuanjian Sect nor the big gamesters are pushovers. If they dared to set up such a grand scheme, they must be astute individuals and likely suspect us by now. So, the best course of action is to do nothing at all." Gu Fan’s words were sensible, yet Mo Yun shook her head and sighed: "Doing nothing, while safe, is just a slow path to defeat."

"Yes, just waiting won’t do. We need to think of something," said Gu Fan as he glanced outside the window at someone patrolling who occasionally looked their way.

After a moment of thought, Gu Fan expressed a concern: "What worries me is that, after the competition ends, the leader of Xuanjian Sect and the big gamesters will come to settle accounts with us."

"That can’t be. They haven’t done anything righteous themselves, what right do they have to hold us accountable?" Although Mo Yun said this, she lacked conviction because as a member of the Devil Cult, she was used to bending rules to their favor; some people just don’t argue with reason.

"If we can find evidence to expose the collusion between the leader of Xuanjian Sect and the World’s Number One Gambling House, then the entire martial arts world will turn against them, leaving them too preoccupied to deal with us," Gu Fan suggested. It was a good idea, but Mo Yun shook her head doubtfully: "You’ve said it yourself, to avoid raising suspicion, we better not do anything. Yet, by doing nothing, how do you plan to find evidence of the Xuanjian Sect and the World’s Number One Gambling House working together?"

"Did I say it was us who would go looking?" Gu Fan revealed a meaningful smile, and instantly, Mo Yun had an epiphany: "Okay, kid, you’ve really got a plan."

Just when Mo Yun thought there might be a glimmer of hope, she furrowed her brows: "Kid, you need to win the next match. Your opponent is then the leader of Xuanjian Sect. Don’t forget that."

"Thanks for the reminder?" Gu Fan stroked his chin in thought. Since there was nothing to be done now, all he could do was face the Female Sword Immortal in an honest duel on the stage.

Mo Yun came up with a mischievous suggestion: "Why not go have a good talk with the Female Sword Immortal, maybe flirt a little, and make her fall for you? That way, she might willingly lose to you in the ring."

"That idea, I can’t believe you came up with that," Gu Fan said, choosing to ignore it. For some reason, his heart raced at the thought of the Female Sword Immortal.

Gu Fan remembered an occasion during the competition where nobody believed Gu Fan could win, except for the Female Sword Immortal, who was confident in him—and indeed, Gu Fan ended up victorious.

"What’s the story behind this Female Sword Immortal?" Gu Fan’s curiosity was piqued about the face behind the mask. Just by her figure, he knew she must be a beauty, so he couldn’t help but let his thoughts wander.

Wait a minute, that height, that figure, that silhouette. Gu Fan slowly overlaid the image of the Female Sword Immortal with a familiar female he knew. Then he shook his head, feeling it was impossible.