Completely calculated against.

When he heard Jian Chou’s final words, Xie Buchen already had a premonition, but the result was ten times worse than he had anticipated!

She truly was determined to scheme against him.

The matter of searching Huai Jie’s soul was done by Jian Chou.

Xie Buchen had not interfered, nor could he interfere, so Jian Chou knew many things he did not know. But during the confrontation with Mojia and others from the Holy Temple just now, she didn’t mention a single word, had no intention of turning the situation to her advantage using this information, and even wanted to fight them directly.

He was forced to come out and “save the situation.”

Jian Chou’s way of doing things had always been slightly different from his.

On the surface, she appeared gentle in temperament, magnanimous and tolerant in handling affairs, a person with a good temper who was not easily angered. She seemed quite similar to him, except he was more composed and colder.

But the truth was not so.

In Xie Buchen’s understanding of her, although she was thorough in considering the bigger picture, she favored taking risks. When there was an opportunity to gamble, she would often choose to gamble boldly on her nature.

But he would not.

Unless absolutely forced, he would never do anything without complete certainty.

So just now during the confrontation with Mojia and others, Jian Chou would choose to act directly without wasting words, while he chose to go along with the situation, using everything available to make his arrangements.

Jian Chou’s choice wouldn’t have major problems.

Even if it alerted the enemy, as long as she killed cleanly, no one could trace it back to the two of them. If investigations were needed later, they could simply change their appearance again.

As for his choice, it was more prudent, with relatively smaller risks.

However…

When he stepped forward, using his pre-designed speech to converse with Mojia, Jian Chou—who was actually the one who understood the situation best and knew the most about Huai Jie himself—didn’t say a single word from beginning to end.

She let him impersonate Huai Jie, let him spin lies!

Her silence was not a lack of scheming.

Rather, her silence itself was her scheme against him!

Especially when she clearly knew that “three to five monks in Zhaohua Temple were all on good terms with Huai Jie.”

If the other women selected as Ming Fei were currently at Zhaohua Temple, then Mojia’s group would immediately go to Zhaohua Temple after finishing with Sang Yang, and then bring everyone back to the Holy Temple together.

This also meant that if they went to Zhaohua Temple, Xie Buchen’s identity as “Huai Jie” would immediately be exposed!

Because he was impersonating Huai Jie using his own face!

It wasn’t that Xie Buchen hadn’t thought of this point before, but at that moment, he neither fully understood the Huai Jie who had already died at Jian Chou’s hands, nor was he allowed to reveal flaws on the spot.

If he had changed his appearance to look like Huai Jie, naturally he wouldn’t be suspected by Huai Jie’s old acquaintances.

But what about Sang Yang?

When entering the inn, this little girl had clearly witnessed him and Jian Chou entering together and obviously recognized them. If he truly transformed into Huai Jie’s appearance, how would he explain the suddenly disappeared “Xie Buchen”?

This flaw was much bigger than him personally stepping forward to impersonate Huai Jie.

If he wasn’t careful, he would likely be exposed on the spot, unable to even pass Mojia’s test, let alone remedy the situation.

So from beginning to end, Xie Buchen actually had no second choice.

But Jian Chou did.

At the very beginning, or during his conversation with Mojia—yet she chose silence, watching from the sidelines, until this critical moment when the arrow was on the string, then she revealed the facts she knew!

This patience, when Xie Buchen thought back on it, was actually admirable.

He just stared at Jian Chou like this, not restraining the emotions in his eyes for a moment.

Only after three breaths did he slowly step back like keeping a respectful distance, creating distance between them. After looking at her deeply, he actually walked directly toward a room around the corner.

He didn’t say another word to her.

The direction Xie Buchen went was precisely Sang Yang’s room. The little girl should be hurrying to pack her things at this moment, striving to set off early.

Jian Chou could see this, but she stood in place without moving, just watching.

Xie Buchen went in, and came out again after just a moment.

He passed by Jian Chou, his face completely composed as he went downstairs, returning to Mojia’s group. The fat monk immediately approached him to talk, seeming very eager to know what he had said to Jian Chou upstairs.

Xie Buchen good-naturedly replied a few sentences, then glanced upstairs and said a few words to Mojia in a low voice.

Who knows what he actually said, but Mojia’s face showed some contemplation, then he nodded and casually pointed out the fat monk who had conversed much with Xie Buchen earlier.

“That’s right, indeed this would be more convenient. Let him go with you.”

So Jian Chou watched as Xie Buchen got up again, actually leaving the inn together with the fat monk.

Her spiritual consciousness quietly followed them out, and she discovered the two were heading toward the only temple in this small town, which was also the temple where Master Di Yi and Huai Jie had originally been—

Zhaohua Temple.

Quite capable indeed.

When withdrawing her spiritual consciousness, she couldn’t help but sneer coldly in her heart. Looking back at Sang Yang’s room, she knew what tricks Xie Buchen was playing and what he had said to Mojia just now.

On the surface, Sang Yang still appeared busy packing things in the room.

But with Jian Chou’s current cultivation level, as long as she concentrated slightly, she could easily discover that an illusion array had been set up in the room. The real Sang Yang had now been immobilized, maintaining the motion she was in when Xie Buchen entered the room, completely still.

She who should have been packing quickly, could no longer “hurry up.”

From being informed of the situation to thinking of a way to go to Sang Yang’s room, back and forth it was only the time it took to step back once…

Not only did Xie Buchen think of it, he was actually able to think so thoroughly!

This ability to adapt on the spot and this near-demonic cunning could be called terrifying.

First immobilize Sang Yang, then set up an illusion array to fake that Sang Yang was still busy; then go downstairs, using the excuse that Sang Yang was still packing, voluntarily requesting to go to Zhaohua Temple to bring the Ming Fei over, reasoning that meeting at the inn to depart together would save considerable trouble.

And this kind of courtesy offered by others, given Mojia’s previously displayed character, had an extremely small possibility of being refused.

Thus, Xie Buchen had the opportunity to leave the others behind and go to Zhaohua Temple to remedy the flaws in impersonating Huai Jie.

But the problem was…

Jian Chou recalled the fat monk who had left together with Xie Buchen just now, and couldn’t help but contemplate: was this additional companion within Xie Buchen’s plan, or outside his plan?

If outside the plan, then this would be quite interesting.

“Tap…”

Slender pale fingers lifted up and leisurely fell on the wooden armrest, tapping lightly once.

She cast her gaze far away, suddenly having some different expectations in her heart.

What she had said to Xie Buchen earlier about “three to five monks” didn’t mean “three to five monks,” but rather “three times five equals fifteen monks.”

She hoped that the strategizing Daoist Xie would be prepared.

Otherwise, one person against fifteen, plus a fat monk who may or may not be in the plan, this situation would be difficult enough to make one sigh in sympathy.

Jian Chou had already thought of eighteen different ways for Xie Buchen to die in her mind, just short of considering going to Zhaohua Temple to stir up trouble and add insult to injury.

Unfortunately, just as she hadn’t “disappointed” Xie Buchen earlier, Xie Buchen had disappointed her.

In less than two quarters of an hour, he returned.

Not only was he not dead, the fat monk who had gone out with him was still by his side. Besides that, there were more than ten young women with him. One could tell at a glance they were brought from Zhaohua Temple, those Ming Fei that Mojia had selected along the way.

To avoid the fat monk while also deceiving the monks of Zhaohua Temple…

Jian Chou couldn’t imagine how Xie Buchen had managed it, but when Xie Buchen returned to the inn and looked toward her, she clearly saw his face that had become somewhat paler and the extremely deep coldness hidden in his eyes!

So she laughed out loud.

Others naturally didn’t understand why she was laughing, but Jian Chou believed Xie Buchen understood.

It seemed that getting through this difficult challenge and deceiving everyone wasn’t as easy as he appeared on the surface—looking at those eyes, he probably suffered quite a few unexpected hardships, right?

After all, the expected “three to five” had become “three times five equals fifteen.” Anyone would find it challenging.

Completely unaware of the turbulent undercurrents between these two people upstairs and downstairs, Mojia saw Xie Buchen and the fat monk bringing people over and completely dismissed the last bit of subconscious doubt about “Huai Jie,” nodding with a smile.

“Since everyone is gathered, once Sang Yang finishes packing, we’ll set off. We should arrive at the sacred mountain in about three days.”

Those women were mostly very young.

They couldn’t even be called maidens, only children.

After hearing Mojia say they could reach the sacred mountain in three days, almost all showed delighted expressions, but in front of so many people, they couldn’t express it too obviously, so they suppressed it slightly, turning it into “secret joy.”

The expression of each of them was identical to Sang Yang’s from before.

Jian Chou observed coldly, the chill in her heart growing deeper.

Soon, Sang Yang, who had been “busy” upstairs, finally finished packing and came downstairs with light steps. Looking at her expression, she was clearly unaware of what she had experienced before.

Now everyone was finally gathered.

Mojia led a group of twenty-four people, finally embarking on the return journey to the Holy Temple.

Including Xie Buchen, the fake monk “Huai Jie,” and Jian Chou, the fake Ming Fei “Qia Guo Su Ba,” there were a total of eight monks and fourteen Ming Fei.

Because the Ming Fei were all ordinary people who couldn’t fly or use magical artifacts, they all rode Mojia’s crossing boat.

It was an ordinary magical artifact, used only for flying and traveling.

Ordinary cultivators with their own flying abilities wouldn’t use such things. Obviously, precisely because the purpose of this journey was focused on the Ming Fei, Mojia had brought this item.

This way, everyone was spared the suffering of traveling on foot, and the speed was naturally not slow.

In just two days, they had already reached the core area of the snowy region.

Although they had the convenience of flying by crossing boat, Mojia’s cultivation was only at the late Golden Core stage after all. His own strength was limited, and he couldn’t control the crossing boat for extended periods.

So every few hours, he had to stop and find a place to rest.

The weather this day was not very good either.

After noon, the originally pure azure sky became filled with dense clouds, and cold winds howled. The direction the crossing boat was traveling happened to be against the wind. Even with Mojia’s forced perseverance, he only managed to hold on until near dusk.

Seeing that snow was about to fall, he finally frowned and chose a nearby mountain to land.

“It’s getting dark too. Let’s first find a place to avoid the snow and rest for the night. We’ll continue our journey tomorrow morning when the snow stops,” Mojia frowned, calculating the time. “After passing this mountain range, we’ll truly enter the core of the snowy region. We’ll definitely arrive before sunset tomorrow.”

Since he had made the decision, the others naturally had no reason not to comply.

The dozen or so young women were all ordinary people without any foundation or cultivation. Although they had the protection of the crossing boat while traveling in the afternoon, they were all shivering with cold. Now hearing they would rest, they all breathed a sigh of relief.

Jian Chou felt nothing in particular and said nothing as usual, just following the monks in front.

They found a reasonably spacious stone cave near the mountainside. It should have been a cave dwelling where cultivators once lived, as there were still some incomplete lines carved on the ground—probably array formations.

But with the passage of time, they had long since worn away beyond recognition and had no function anymore.

Further inside, there was a pile of dry grass. Jian Chou casually chose a spot against the cave wall and sat down.

Sang Yang wasn’t familiar with the others, but because she had been selected together with Jian Chou at the inn, she was somewhat closer to Jian Chou. Seeing Jian Chou sit down, she also picked a position not too far from her.

The little girl was particular about cleanliness and spread a clean embroidered handkerchief underneath.

After sitting down, she smiled at Jian Chou, but soon her gaze involuntarily drifted toward the cave entrance.

The monks were all positioned near the outer part of the stone cave.

But over these two days, Jian Chou could clearly see that Sang Yang was looking at Xie Buchen. Not only her, but the other girls selected as Ming Fei would also glance in his direction intentionally or unintentionally.

After all, Xie Buchen was truly the most handsome monk they had ever seen.

Yes, monk.

Who told him to impersonate Huai Jie?

Disguising as a monk had its price.

Although he had always read the books of sages and knew that “the body, hair, and skin are received from parents and must not be damaged,” Xie Buchen was truly willing to go to extremes, actually shaving off completely that head of hair that originally needed a jade hairpin to bind.

Jian Chou had known him for so many years but had never seen him like this. Looking at him, she always felt unaccustomed.

But actually, the tonsure did not affect his appearance.

On the contrary, without those three thousand threads of worry, his already outstanding features became even clearer, even more angular. At a glance, one would see his refined features.

When his thin lips were slightly pursed, there was even a heart-trembling sense of taboo.

At this moment, heavy snow was already falling outside, and the sky had long since completely darkened. A bonfire was lit inside the cave, and the flickering yellow firelight illuminated him, stretching his already tall figure even longer.

Xie Buchen stood at the cave entrance, talking with several other monks.

When Jian Chou followed Sang Yang’s gaze toward him, she happened to see him turn sideways, looking toward the snowy night sky.

One hand behind his back, one hand loosely holding an umbrella horizontally in front of him.

When he tilted his head up slightly, his long eyebrows furrowed somewhat, but that bit of annoyance at the snow did not reach his eyes, only appearing indifferent. The dancing firelight left traces of light and shadow on him, and together with the outside world that had quickly become a vast expanse of white snow, it outlined the distinct contours of his profile.

His entire being exuded a clear and restrained sense of coldness.

After all, he was someone she had once been infatuated with.

Jian Chou looked at him like this, her eyebrows slightly raised, but she didn’t continue looking. She slowly leaned her head back, also resting against the cave wall, and closed her eyes with perfect composure.

But the sounds of conversation from the cave entrance still reached her ears intermittently.

“How could this happen…”

“All dead.”

“Fifteen people, from Foundation Establishment to Golden Core stage, none survived. It was discovered the day we left. But no results have been found yet…”

…

Jian Chou’s eyes, which had just closed, suddenly opened again.

She blinked, still somewhat blank.

It wasn’t until a long while passed that she finally realized what those words she had just heard meant—all fifteen monks from Zhaohua Temple were dead.

In that instant, she felt a chill rush up her spine where it touched the cave wall, freezing her so much that she couldn’t help but shiver.

When she looked toward the cave entrance again, Xie Buchen was no longer there.

It was still because these “Ming Fei” were all ordinary people who needed to drink water and eat daily. The monks didn’t need to eat or drink, but they hadn’t brought these supplies with them. So during these two days of rest, they took turns going out to find water and food.

This time, it should be Xie Buchen and the fat monk’s turn.

They hadn’t been gone long, about two quarters of an hour before they returned.

The fat monk’s deep red robes were bundled with water pouches and a large pile of fruits in front. Coming in, he hurriedly put them down and called for everyone to take and eat them, then brushed off the white snow on his body.

In comparison, Xie Buchen looked much more relaxed.

Although it was snowing heavily outside, not a single snowflake remained on him. After coming in, he took a few fruits in one hand, and carried a water pouch in the other, walking toward Jian Chou who was sitting against the cave wall.

Everyone had gotten used to this over the past two days.

The monks knew they had a close relationship, so seeing Xie Buchen taking care of Jian Chou, going over to talk to her during each rest period, they didn’t think much of it and turned a blind eye.

The other girls were curious but, given their status, didn’t dare ask too much.

At this moment, seeing Xie Buchen walking toward Jian Chou again, except for the fat monk who was very interested in such matters and looked a few more times, the others paid no attention and didn’t take it to heart.

When passing by Sang Yang, Xie Buchen’s steps paused.

Then he bent down and placed a fruit in front of Sang Yang, smiled, and reminded her, “You should eat something.”

“Ah, ah, alright!”

Sang Yang stared in a daze, reacting slowly. When she came to her senses, her eyes were full of bashfulness, her cheeks flushed, but she didn’t dare look at Xie Buchen much and hurriedly lowered her head.

Xie Buchen didn’t seem to pay much attention either.

He stood up and walked toward Jian Chou as if nothing had happened.

In Jian Chou’s gaze toward him, that undisguised mockery surfaced again.

Over the past two days from the small town, he had not only “taken care of” her considerably but also treated Sang Yang somewhat differently from others.

But he knew, and she knew too—

All of this was not because he truly had any feelings for Sang Yang. He was merely ensuring that Sang Yang had no time to think about the only flaw they had left.

When they had entered the inn initially, it was actually Jian Chou who had made the decision. As long as she calmed down and carefully considered the situation then, she would know that the relationship between the two of them was definitely not what they were currently displaying.

This wasn’t really a significant oversight.

It only became an error because of what happened later, because they decided to go along with the situation and infiltrate the Holy Temple.

But even so, with Xie Buchen’s perfectionist mindset that demanded flawless execution, he wouldn’t allow being exposed halfway through. So even though the possibility of someone as simple-minded as Sang Yang thinking of this was extremely low, he still had to completely eliminate any chance of this happening.

Jian Chou understood him all too well.

“Pa da.”

Xie Buchen had already walked over.

He half-crouched in front of her, first placing the water pouch to one side, then took out two small bowls from his storage ring and placed them in front of her, then put all the remaining fruits into the left bowl.

They were sand fruits unique to the snowy region, small and red.

Jian Chou could tell at a glance that these should have been picked from a very distant place, as given the altitude and cold of the nearby mountains, these fruits simply couldn’t grow there.

But she didn’t need to eat.

Xie Buchen bringing things over wasn’t to make her eat, but to find an appropriate opportunity to talk and exchange information he had gathered from conversations with others.

Remembering the words she had heard earlier while her eyes were closed, Jian Chou’s gaze couldn’t help but fall on his expressionless face. After studying him for a long while, she said, “Those three to five monks from Zhaohua Temple all died on the day we left.”

Xie Buchen showed no particular reaction.

After placing the fruits, he picked up the water pouch and opened it unhurriedly, then replied matter-of-factly, “Is that so?”

As if he had just learned of this matter.

Jian Chou immediately sneered, “In terms of ruthless cruelty, I’m no match for you.”

“Glug glug glug…”

The water pouch tilted, and the spring water they had just fetched flowed out, slowly filling the bowl.

Xie Buchen poured water neither quickly nor slowly, neither agreeing nor disagreeing with Jian Chou’s assessment, only saying, “Three times five equals fifteen. Staying alive is not easy, killing is also not easy.”

Killing is not easy?

Thinking back, two days ago when Xie Buchen left the inn to go to Zhaohua Temple and bring people back, it took no more than two quarters of an hour in total! He, a Golden Core peak cultivator, had actually slaughtered fifteen people in such a short time!

Among them, there were probably quite a few monks of the same realm as him.

This speed was no different from cutting melons and chopping vegetables.

She didn’t know how Xie Buchen had managed it, so regarding his words, Jian Chou really couldn’t agree. It wasn’t that she had much pity for the monks of Zhaohua Temple, but her understanding of Xie Buchen had suddenly and truly deepened by a layer.

“Killing is not easy, and killing someone of your level of strength would be even harder. Speaking of which, does Daoist Xie have any preferred way to die?”

The hand gripping the water pouch paused. The bowl was already seven-tenths full.

He didn’t continue pouring.

Jian Chou added jokingly, “I’m just thinking that Daoist Xie should consider it carefully. Who knows, if you encounter something someday, there might be a chance to fulfill your wish.”

Asking him to think about his preferred way to die, so she could fulfill it for him someday?

Xie Buchen was silent for only a moment, as if he had considered it carefully, but his hand still firmly sealed the water pouch. Thus, a bowl seven-tenths full of water sat perfectly in front of Jian Chou.

He raised his eyes, looking at Jian Chou with a calm expression, “This question, Daoist Jian Chou might also consider carefully.”