Twin Dimension Yin-Yang Mirror: Attaining immortality through the martial path
Chapter 284 - 251: Birds of a Feather Flock Together

Chapter 284: Chapter 251: Birds of a Feather Flock Together

As Zhong Ming’s sword swung towards his own neck,

Green Lady suddenly turned her head to look at Zhou Ping’an.

Lin Huaiyu’s lips were slightly pursed, a hint of amusement flickering in her eyes.

Both of them had naturally seen through it all.

The Red Lotus Divine Envoy was actually a clever person, to be precise, a person of great talent.

He had previously spoken righteously, saying he did not wish for his loyal and courageous soldiers to die in vain.

He had also pleaded with Zhou Ping’an, asking him not to implicate the innocent.

He claimed that most of those who followed them to Qingyang City were poor folk who could no longer survive.

In his words, he subtly hinted that he held great influence in both the city and the countryside, presenting himself as an extremely useful talent.

In the end, it was he who swung his sword to take his own life,

displaying the noble character of self-sacrifice for others.

Generally speaking, at this point,

If one valued talent,

Zhou Ping’an would have intervened.

With his ability to kill a Gang Qi Realm true disciple of Lishan Sect in a single move,

if he wished to save someone, he could prevent death in the blink of an eye.

But Zhong Ming never expected,

that as his sword cut through skin and flesh, severed blood vessels and tendons, until it broke the cervical spine,

the man in green before him remained indifferent, not even moving a finger,

let alone intervening to stop him.

"I..."

Zhong Ming split his own throat with his sword, blood spurting, and darkness clouding his vision.

Deep in his eyes, there was still a lingering trace of confusion.

He just couldn’t understand why the other party, who clearly saw his potential value and the many advantages, was completely indifferent?

He just watched him put on a show, and then, head towards his own doom.

"I know you don’t want to die,"

Zhou Ping’an said softly.

"If one can live well, who would choose death? However, I simply cannot make use of a talent like you."

Green Lady curiously looked over, "I thought you would stop him. In one aspect, Envoy Zhong is not wrong; he indeed is a very capable person, extremely good at rallying people.

When Fang Duozhu of the Guangyun Subruder took thirty thousand troops to cross the river, attacking East Mountain, Qingyang, and Yunhu counties, before even assaulting the cities, the first thing he did was to send Envoy Zhong with his close confidants to Qingyang.

On the surface, it was to let him earn merit and take charge independently. In reality, it was not so.

Apart from deploying Zhong Ming, Helm Master Fang also sent with him his own Deputy Rudder Master, Fierce Tiger Chang Yang, along with two Incense Masters to secretly monitor him."

Upon reaching this point, Green Lady looked at the corpse of Zhong Ming admiringly, then said, "According to the information I received, this Envoy Zhong, in just one month of arriving in Guangyun territory, managed to gain the high and low ranks of the Guangyun Honglian Army’s favor,

His prestige rose astonishingly fast, even quietly threatening Helm Master Fang. Isn’t that laughable?"

Zhou Ping’an shook his head, "Talents are actually the least valuable.

The world has many talents, within a hundred miles, one may find high officials and noble lords... standing at the forefront, even a pig can fly into the sky."

"The reason I did not accept his surrender is because he is not one of us,"

He pointed at Zhong Ming and a slight sneer flickered across the corners of his mouth, "He speaks of righteousness, but his heart is filled with selfish interests.

It’s not about what he says, you have to look at what he does."

Lin Huaiyu’s eyes brightened as she took up the conversation, "If he was really as he said, acting out of desperation for the sake of people who could not survive, then he wouldn’t have joined forces with the Chen Family.

Blood Shadow Cultists practice evil skills, and cultivate by consuming blood, and moreover, have caused the deaths of many children.

He plotted with such people, regardless of his purpose... his nature couldn’t be good, could it?"

"Right, birds of a feather flock together, things are grouped by likeness.

Previously, pursued to Wanhua Tower, with just one call from him, three evil sect experts simultaneously launched an attack.

This shows that in the eyes of people like Mad Corpse Elder and Hehuan Disciples, Zhong Ming is a trustworthy friend..."

Green Lady also came to understand what Zhou Ping’an was thinking.

Who would dare to employ a "gentleman" whose companions are all evil-doers, cruel, and ruthless?

"Correct, this man has a deep understanding of human nature, and likely calculated that I am currently isolated and in urgent need of assistance.

Therefore, he acted according to my wishes, yielding to advance, and sought to join me."

"But he naturally wasn’t sincere about his surrender, and if given the chance, he would likely bite back at any moment."

Zhou Ping’an searched through Envoy Zhong’s clothes and found that apart from a large amount of golden notes and silver notes, there was no secret manual or such texts.

"The Blazing Spear Technique is indeed impressive, it’s just a pity, he didn’t carry it with him."

In fact, martial artists who carried martial arts manuals on their person were truly one in a thousand.

Unless the secret manual was just acquired and not yet thoroughly studied, and being a lone martial artist without a fixed abode, ready to flee at any moment...

Generally, keeping martial arts manuals on one’s person is simply superfluous.

"It’s not just a hindrance, it essentially means that when one is dead, they’re giving treasures to the enemy."

Not only did Zhong Ming have nothing precious on him, but neither did Yin Wushang, the true disciple of the Lishan Sect. This includes disciples of the Hehuan Sect, the Hundred Poisons Swordsman, and others...

Apart from gold and silver, Zhou Ping’an couldn’t even be bothered to give them a second glance.

And those bottles and jars, who knows what kind of devilish things they could be?

"The Lishan Sect’s secret manual of the Cycle of Life and Death doesn’t even include some insights for constant reflection, which as a true disciple, is somewhat underqualified," he declared.

Zhou Ping’an had thought he wouldn’t care.

Yet, he couldn’t help feeling a bit out of control, a bit disappointed.

Realizing his mood, he couldn’t help but laugh at himself, "The Red Lotus Sect and the Chen Family have been almost entirely wiped out, and with the heart and soul of the Red Lotus Sect followers within the city gone, it won’t be difficult to defeat them..."

"However, what I’ve never understood is why the Red Lotus Divine Envoy would collaborate with the Chen Family?

They gathered for feasts at night without guard against each other, which clearly shows a mutual trust."

"There’s only one reason that could explain this.

Zhong, the Divine Envoy, and the Chen Family, or to say, with Cui Guangling, the Governor of Guangyun Prefecture, must have some kind of common interest."

Zhou Ping’an spoke up to this point.

Then he couldn’t continue his speculation.

The reason seemed absurd.

One was the chief official of Guangyun County, the actual controller.

That included Qingyang City, Dongshan City, and Yunhu City; all these lands were under Cui Guangling’s jurisdiction.

As for the Red Lotus Sect, not only did they plan to attack Guangyun County City, but they also had designs on every county within the prefecture.

They were naturally mortal enemies.

It’s either your death or mine.

Why would these two sides join forces and become so intimately undivided?

Lin Huaiyu was also furrowing her brows, somewhat perplexed.

If one were to say that the rebellion of the Red Lotus Divine Envoy was a sham and his true allegiance was to the Cui Family... it wouldn’t match up with his usual behavior of inciting people everywhere, seeking to overthrow a whole county.

Upon hearing this, Green Lady arched her brows and her mouth curled into two dimples with a smile, saying hastily, "Why don’t you ask me? Why not?

Actually, there’s a profound secret hidden within all this.

You’ve both been focused on cultivation and haven’t sent out people to gather information everywhere, naturally, you’d be confused."

Green Lady felt a bit sour when it came to "focusing on cultivation."

During the brief battle they had just experienced.

She realized that not only could she not comprehend Zhou Ping’an’s strength, but the power he revealed was like an iceberg hidden beneath the sea.

With just a tip exposed, it already appeared insurmountably high.

Utterly unfathomable.

Even Third Miss Lin of the Lin Family, whom she secretly wished to compete with,

possessed cultivation that was even above her own.

Initially, they were both at the Completion of the Five Viscera.

How did she manage to cultivate so rapidly?

Cultivation aside, one could always catch up later with more time spent and diligent practice.

However, that formidable Canghai Sword Qi left her feeling inferior.

The Thousand-Handed Guanyin Technique and the Oblivion Melody were meant to be of high concepts.

When executed, they also offered a myriad of methods and strong combat power.

But comparatively, next to the Unity of Hardness and Softness in his Canghai Sword Qi, it seemed somewhat inadequate.

More than a dozen skilled martial artists of the Blood Shadow Sect were swept away with a single slash by Lin Huaiyu. Disciples of the Hehuan Sect, those adept in True Qi accumulated over many years, also couldn’t withstand a single strike from her in their hurried escape.

No extravagant frills were necessary.

Just with a sword in hand, one felt an overwhelming inability to contend.

Aside from being slightly less powerful than Zhou Ping’an, she was practically a carbon copy.

Upon glancing at Zhou Ping’an and then Lin Huaiyu, Green Lady couldn’t help but question...

Was she really unsuited for martial cultivation?

In terms of talent, she might not just be a little worse off compared to these two.

What exactly was their secret to cultivation?

Fortunately, she had her own strengths.

"Cui Guangling rose rapidly and has a considerable reputation in Guangyun County. To say he governs well would be no exaggeration.

But a decade ago, he was in quite a sorry state..."

Green Lady spouted off all the information she had gathered in one breath.

She believed there was only one possibility that could explain why the Red Lotus Divine Envoy, Zhong Ming, would cooperate with Cui Guangling.

...