Date- 4 April 2321
Time- 00:06
Location- Sun Blossom City, Circle Headquarters, Fine Gold carrier floaters
Despite his doubts about Ji Feng’s motives for his actions, Mike could not bring himself to think that the Yin-Yang harmony sect guided them because if the word gets out about Ji Feng’s action today, then the Yin-Yang Harmony sect would turn all its allies into enemies overnight. The Yin-Yang harmony sect was set to lose a lot, it did not matter whether they were not behind Ji Feng’s actions, this fact did not change even if Ji Feng publicly announced that he did this independently out of his own discretion. So it would be bizarre and foolish of the Yin-yang sect to attempt something like this. But Ji Feng’s words haunted him to consider otherwise,
‘The circumstances will make you think that but anything I say will not change your mind, you will believe what you want to. So why bother with this Q&A session?’
‘No matter who wins today I will die here, it is because I, Ji Feng, have betrayed the Yin-yang harmony sect.’
Ji Feng’s lonely solitude kept flashing in Mike’s mind whenever he tried to affirm himself that the Yin-Yang harmony sect had nothing to do with this incident. Shaking himself awake from his thoughts, Mike found a reason to doubt Ji Feng, what was his relationship with the High schooler? Why did he decide to act out now of all the times? Was the southern royal family somehow involved in this other than helping the HighSchooler? Thinking of this Ji Feng felt that there was a story here that would lead him closer to the truth.
“Hey, that is not the directions to the treasury is it now?” Hearing Mike question the relationship between me and Ji Feng, I reminded him to hold up his end of the bargain.
“The treasury is next to the 7 ground floor of the main tower,” Mike said staring at Ji Feng waiting for an answer to his question.
“And the instructions to get past the traps covering it?” I asked.
“That will cost you extra,” Mike eyed Ji Feng making it clear that he would exchange the instruction only if Ji Feng were to answer him.
“That was not the original deal,” I reminded Mike that that was not what we had agreed on.
“These are the new terms take it or leave it,” Mike did not budge but rather made his stance clear.
“Great, then let our fist do the talking-” Just as I was getting prepared to fight Mike, Ji Feng interrupted me following my instructions, “Wyatt, let me. It doesn’t matter if a dead man knows too much.”
Then glancing Mike in the Eye, Ji Feng said, “Before tonight I had never met Wyatt. But I have you thank for introducing us. It was you who lead me to him. Without you, I would have missed out on a golden opportunity to achieve my agenda.
He wants vengeance, I have my agenda, when I contacted him, we got to talking and it did not take long for us to understand that we had the same goal and might as well help each other. As of now Wyatt and I are in a temporary partnership and your end marks the end of our partnership.”
“Honestly, I thought it was going to be a hassle to deal with the desolate punisher array. But thanks to you I made a friend in an unexpected place. Now be a dear and give me the instruction to deactivate the traps covering the treasury,” This was a story I came up with to legitimize Ji Feng’s collusion with me knowing that Mike or any other well-learned card apprentice would ask this seeing the play Ji Feng put up.
“Haha, so all this time I believed you were trying to make a major breakthrough in your realm, you have been monitoring my actions silently waiting for an opportunity. One thing I don’t understand is what the Yin-Yang harmony sect gains from doing this,” Hearing Ji Feng and my well-coordinated story of how we met, Mike let out a laugh ignoring my demand to hand over the instruction to deactivate the traps covering the treasury and instead tried to get more info out of Ji Feng.
“Mike, I already answered you Yin-yang harmony sect has nothing to do with this, I betrayed them for my agenda, please handover the instruction to deactivate the traps covering the treasury to my friend here,” Ji Feng continued to claim that he had acted independently and the yin-yang harmony sect had not to do with this.
Hearing Ji Feng repeat the same words again like a parrot, Mike got to thinking,
‘No matter who wins today I will die here,’ This sentence that Ji Feng spoke earlier came to Mike’s mind. Making him wonder why would Ji Feng betray the Yin-yang sect at the risk of his life. Who does that? Did he have a grudge against the Yin-yang harmony sect? No, if he did have a grudge against them then he would not claim that they were not influencing his actions in any way instead would try to frame and implicate them. There has got to be something he was missing but all this no longer made sense to Mike yet he tried hard to do his best because this incident will influence Circle’s future course a lot. And Mike did not want to be the sinner who led the Circle astray.
Mike remembered something that he learned about the Yin-yang harmony sect when they first installed the desolate punisher array covering their branch’s complex, all the Yin-yang harmony sect disciples who left the sect to help the sect’s allies manage the desolate punisher array were under a prohibition that banned them from revealing the secrets of the desolate punisher array. Thinking of this Mike suddenly thought of the possibility that the prohibition that Yin-yang harmony sects had placed on its disciple may have more to it than just restricting them from revealing the mysteries of the desolate punisher array.