Chapter 83: Half of the Evil-Repelling Sword Manual

Lin Pingzhi clasped his hands. “Master, your instructions, please!”

“Tell him, if he wishes to obtain the Zixia Divine Skill manual, let him come to see me at midnight tonight.”

After Yun Zhonghe finished speaking, Lin Pingzhi’s face was filled with shock. Yet he dared not think too much, nor did he dare to ask further. He simply answered in the affirmative, and Yun Zhonghe dismissed him.

Watching Lin Pingzhi’s figure recede into the distance, Yun Zhonghe murmured softly, “I prefer dealing with clever people, but even more so with clever people who don’t imagine themselves to be too clever.”

Xie Xun, unable to understand, inquired, “You wish to meet Lao Denuo to use the Zixia Divine Skill as bait, to win him over and thus undermine Huashan?”

In his opinion, the Zixia Divine Skill was the Huashan Sect’s most treasured technique, an irresistible temptation for any Huashan disciple. After all, only the sect leader was permitted to study this internal energy manual.

Yun Zhonghe smiled at his words. “I only wish to use him to deliver a message to someone. Since he knows, that someone will know as well.”

A gleam flashed in Xie Xun’s eyes. “You mean Lao Denuo is a spy planted in Huashan by another faction?”

Despite his burly appearance, he was keenly perceptive. Yun Zhonghe’s words led him to this realization at once.

“It seems that among the Seven Great Sects, things are not as peaceful as they appear on the surface!”

Yun Zhonghe, however, was unconcerned. In this world, there are no eternal enemies, nor eternal friends. In the end, it all comes down to a single word: interest.

“Where there are people, there is the martial world. Strife can never be avoided.” With these words, Yun Zhonghe’s figure, cast long by the setting sun, grew ever more distant, his shadow stretching farther with each step.

Night fell, and a silver moon hung high in the sky.

The cool evening breeze drove away the heat of the day.

Yun Zhonghe stood in a pavilion, his hands behind his back.

Xie Xun, his physique as solid as an iron barrel, stood three feet behind Yun Zhonghe. Within this distance, he could block any attack from any direction instantly.

As midnight approached, a shadow flashed by and, in the next moment, knelt on one knee before Yun Zhonghe.

Bathed in moonlight, the face once hidden in darkness was revealed—it was Lin Pingzhi.

“Master, I have delivered your message to Lao Denuo, but he did not seem to show any reaction,” he reported truthfully.

Yun Zhonghe nodded indifferently.

Behind him, Xie Xun’s eyes flashed with surprise, glancing repeatedly between Yun Zhonghe and Lin Pingzhi.

Although he had guessed as much during the day, witnessing it himself still left him amazed.

He had not expected Lin Pingzhi to be Yun Zhonghe’s planted spy within Huashan. In other words, Yun Zhonghe’s every move had been carefully orchestrated in advance.

This realization made Xie Xun regard Yun Zhonghe with even greater awe.

Yun Zhonghe paid no heed to Xie Xun’s wandering thoughts. Raising his head, he gazed at the bright moon overhead.

He did not know how much time had passed when, suddenly, a gentle breeze swept by.

Yun Zhonghe’s expression shifted slightly. “Since you’re here, you may as well show yourself,” he said.

At his words, a figure darted swiftly from the distance, arriving just outside the pavilion within a few breaths.

The newcomer’s eyes brimmed with wariness as he looked at Yun Zhonghe’s back, dread etched on his face.

He had only just approached, yet Yun Zhonghe had detected him at once.

His thoughts raced. Yun Zhonghe’s martial arts were far beyond his own; he could never hope to match him.

As he pondered this, Yun Zhonghe, still with his back turned, turned to face him.

The newcomer had a square face and mature features, his narrow eyes occasionally flickering with a sinister gleam—a face that hinted at a less than noble character.

He was none other than Lao Denuo, second disciple of the Huashan Sect.

“No need to be so tense. I summoned you here only to convey a message,” Yun Zhonghe said, taking a seat in the pavilion and adopting a casual tone.

Still, Lao Denuo’s wariness was not dispelled; his nerves remained taut as bowstrings.

“I don’t understand—what do you mean?” Lao Denuo said grimly, turning as if to leave.

“How has Master Zuo been of late?” Yun Zhonghe asked softly.

With that simple sentence, terror overwhelmed Lao Denuo; every hair on his body stood on end. Fear seized him; his first thought was that his cover had been blown and he had been lured out tonight to be silenced.

His mind raced, but he forcibly suppressed the urge to flee. He knew that with his skills, he could never escape Yun Zhonghe’s grasp.

He turned back, forcing a smile more wretched than a weeping face. “Did you really summon me out here just to say that?”

No matter what Yun Zhonghe said, he would never admit a thing. Lao Denuo was certain Yun Zhonghe had no proof—if he did, he would have killed him long ago and not waited until now.

Seeing Lao Denuo remain calm and analyze the situation so accurately even in such circumstances, Yun Zhonghe found him to be a talent worth cultivating.

“Work with me. When it’s done, the Zixia Divine Skill will be yours, and I can even help you become the leader of Huashan.”

“That’s certainly better than toiling for Zuo Lengchan.”

Yun Zhonghe’s voice was laced with temptation.

Though Lao Denuo suspected he might be being deceived, he could not help but be swayed.

“If you decide, bring a message to Zuo Lengchan: tell him I wish to cooperate.”

With that, he took something from his robe and tossed it to Lao Denuo.

Lin Pingzhi, standing aside, grew somber at the sight of the object, his head bowing slightly to mask his emotions.

He knew it all too well—it was the sheepskin scroll containing the Evil-Resisting Sword Manual, which he had found after searching the ancestral shrine from top to bottom.

He had always remembered Yun Zhonghe’s instructions: after retrieving it, he had hidden it again, only handing it over tonight.

As for what was written in the manual…

While Lin Pingzhi’s thoughts churned, Lao Denuo was already examining the sheepskin scroll.

The more he read, the wider his eyes became, his face alight with joy. “It’s the Evil-Resisting Sword Manual!”

He was utterly captivated, as if a new world of martial arts had opened before him.

Yun Zhonghe was in no hurry and simply waited for Lao Denuo to finish.

But when Lao Denuo reached the most crucial part, he found the latter half missing.

He looked up at Yun Zhonghe.

Yun Zhonghe kindly explained, “This is my gift to your master. If he agrees to work with me, the other half will be delivered immediately.”

Reluctantly, Lao Denuo put the manual away, cupped his hands in farewell, and said, “I will report tonight’s events to my master in full detail.”

With that, he leapt away, vanishing into the vastness of the night.

Once Lao Denuo had gone far, Yun Zhonghe turned his gaze to Lin Pingzhi, who stood beside him, head bowed in silence.

He spoke a sentence that chilled Lin Pingzhi to the bone.