Lu Yin knew that he could not stall for long. Gaining refuge on Qing Chen Mountain was only his first step, but what should be his second? The Perennial World had Progenitors, and it was impossible to know when Long Tian and the other Junior Progenitors would be rescued. Ideally, Lu Yin wanted to find out what had happened to the Lu family before Long Tian and the others were rescued and then head to the rendezvous point that Unseen Light had shared with him so that he could return to the Fifth Mainland.
Neither of Lu Yin’s two goals would be easily accomplished, and both of them were predicated on his ability to openly leave Qing Chen Mountain.
Over the next few days, Lu Yin gradually revealed certain secrets about who Guan Yun had groomed into traitors. Lu Yin had only ever arrested a few of the traitors, so most of them were still roaming around.
While Cai Shu was not fully satisfied by the gradual release of information, there were still some effects.
After ten days, Qing Chen himself visited Lu Yin. There was an indifferent expression on the old man’s face. “Long Qi, while the information you have provided us has all been valuable, you know what I hope to obtain. What did you see regarding the Guan brothers’ recruitment?”
Lu Yin felt embarrassed. “Senior, it’s not that this junior doesn’t want to tell you, but rather that what I saw was too vague, and it was completely useless.”
Cai Shu stepped out from behind Qing Chen to say, “That doesn’t matter. Just tell us. We’ll listen.”
“Actually, this junior has been thinking about the matter for many days, and I eventually remembered some things, but Guan Yun’s records did not list names, not even code names, of the people who recruited and trained him and his brothers.”
Qing Chen’s expression fell at this news. He had reached out to Xiao on Lu Yin’s behalf and had also negotiated with the White Dragon Clan. Although those matters had gone smoothly, Qing Chen himself was a Semi-Progenitor. He had also promised to allow the youth to stay on Qing Chen Mountain. No matter how Qing Chen viewed the matter, it made him upset. While he appreciated Long Qi, the old man did not like being used by a child, and at this moment, Qing Chen felt that he had been taken advantage of.
“However, their recruiter has a specific characteristic.” Lu Yin carefully observed Qing Chen before looking over at Cai Shu. Lu Yin swallowed. He could not worry too much about this anymore, so he just had to give them something. Besides, no one would be able to prove or disprove his information. With this thought, Lu Yin coughed and solemnly continued. “That is, they were not recruited by a person, but rather by a doll.”
Lu Yin’s face twitched as he spoke. He was describing Shaman God’s appearance. Shaman God was one of the Seven Skygods in the Fifth Mainland, and he was also on the side of those monsters. People would only ever be able to confirm the existence of such a person, as it was impossible to prove that no such person existed among the monsters.
Lu Yin had thought that Qing Chen might not believe him, or that the old man would express some doubts. The worst result would be if Qing Chen thought that Lu Yin was lying, but the Semi-Progenitor’s actual reaction completely shocked Lu Yin. Qing Chen’s expression completely changed.
“What did you say? A doll? What kind of doll?!” Qing Chen eagerly pressed as he stared straight into Lu Yin’s eyes.
Lu Yin was startled. What was with this reaction?
“Come on, what kind of doll was it? Where did you see it?” Qing Chen shouted.
Lu Yin blinked as he looked back at Qing Chen. “There were no specifics described. Guan Yun’s records only had four words as a description: ‘confuses the five senses.’”
Qing Chen’s expression changed once again as he looked away from Lu Yin and stared off into the distance.
Cai Shu had a solemn expression and he pressed Lu Yin further, “What else was there?”
Lu Yin had already prepared a bit of nonsense as he hoped to take a more prominent role with this matter. It would actually be best if he was sent out to investigate. However, Qing Chen’s reaction stopped Lu Yin dead in his tracks as the old man shook his head. “Anything further doesn’t matter.”
Cai Shu was somber as he looked at Qing Chen. “Master, that’s Shaman God.”
Lu Yin’s heart skipped a beat, though he did not dare to reveal anything. Still, his heart began to pound loudly.
Shaman God? The Perennial World also had a Shaman God? Was this just a coincidence, or could they possibly be the same person?
Lu Yin had only shared a very simple lie, and yet it had already dragged in Shaman God? How did these people know about Shaman God?
Qing Chen and Cai Shu left after that, so Lu Yin was not able to listen in on any of their subsequent conversation. He had really wanted to learn more.
***
After the two men left Lu Yin, Qing Chen recalled, “The Seven Skygods are humanity’s greatest enemy, and they have always been one of our greatest threats. They have been my Humility’s Gate’s eternal enemy from ancient times to now, though we have never been able to do anything against them.”
“The Seven Skygods are hiding among us, but no one knows who could be one of the Seven Skygods. As for their names, very few people know them. There’s no way Long Qi could possibly know of Shaman God, but since he mentioned ‘confuses the five senses,’ he clearly saw Guan Yun’s records,” Cai Shu said.
Qing Chen nodded. “Given the status that the Guan brothers held, it’s not unreasonable for them to have been recruited by one of the Seven Skygods. Huaiyuan has a unique location, and Guan Tong was one of the nine Gate Masters of the Middle Realm. Only one of the Seven Skygods would have the ability to turn such a person. But now, I’m worried about whether or not there are still Redbacks within the Thirteen Gates.”
Cai Shu replied, “It’s hard to uncover a Redback. If not for Long Qi, we would have been hard pressed to even consider the possibility of the Guan brothers being Redbacks. Master, just who is Long Qi’s source of intelligence that they were even able to uncover the Guan brothers?”
Qing Chen said, “I’ve secretly looked into it, but found nothing.”
“Could it be?” Cai Shu hesitated, but then he shook his head once more. “No, that’s not possible. There would have been no meaning in sacrificing the Guan brothers in order to groom Long Qi. Still, Long Xian left behind that map that led the Junior Progenitors to a trap, and if they were stuck there because of Long Qi, then losing the four Junior Progenitors would be well worth the price of sacrificing the Guan brothers. If all of this plays out, it’s not impossible for Long Qi to be a Redback.”
Qing Chen glanced over at Cai Shu. “You suspect Long Qi?”
Cai Shu replied, “Not even Master is able to find out who provided Long Qi with his information. Something that abnormal is suspicious.”
Qing Chen laughed. “He can’t be a Redback.”
Cai Shu grew curious. “Why?”
Qing Chen’s eyes flashed angrily. “Because Huaiyuan is just too important. That place is the site of the Cloud Shuttle, and it keeps a great deal of ugliness that the four ruling powers would prefer kept out of sight hidden. Shaman God clearly groomed and recruited the Guan brothers because of their position, and through them, it would be much easier to turn more traitors. Another reason is because of that ugliness.”
Cai Shu felt lost. “Ugliness?”
Qing Chen did not offer much of an explanation. “The Guan brothers were more important than what you know. Even if sacrificing them allowed all four Junior Progenitors to be dealt with, it still would not be worth it. This is something that I know for certain.”
Cai Shu did not respond. While he was privy to a great deal of information because of his position, and even though he knew about the Seven Skygods, his master had never said much regarding the four ruling powers other than to warn Cai Shu to stay away from them.
“What do you plan to do now, Master?” Cai Shu asked.
Qing Chen looked towards Huaiyuan. “Long Qi interacted with Guan Yun’s scarlet eye insignia.”
Cai Shu’s body went stiff. “Do you mean to…?”
…
One day later, Lu Yin was staring off into the distance. It was impossible to discern his thoughts.
Cai Shu approached with a smile.
Lu Yin was put on edge the moment he saw Cai Shu’s smile. He had a premonition that something bad was about to happen.
“Long Qi, is your stay at Qing Chen Mountain still comfortable after spending some time with us?” Cai Shu asked. He was still smiling and had a very kindly expression.
Lu Yin’s mind raced. What was this man implying? What was the right answer? This man’s smile was so creepy!
“Long Qi?” Cai Shu pressed.
Lu Yin coughed. “Well, it’s not bad.”
Cai Shu smiled. “That’s good—not bad. By the way, I remember that you don’t want to return to Dragon Mountain.”
Lu Yin’s eyes flashed. All of a sudden, he actually did want to go to Dragon Mountain, and it was because Cai Shu’s behavior was making him very uncomfortable. Still, in the end, Lu Yin replied, “I don’t want to go there for the moment, but didn’t Senior promise that I could stay here until the Junior Progenitor returns? Do I need to go to Dragon Mountain?”
Cai Shu nodded. “I did say that, but even if the Junior Progenitor returns, there’s no need for you to return to Dragon Mountain. Princess Long Xi is missing, so your life there will be very difficult. That’s why Master found another way out for you. This is a reward for your meritorious service. You probably already know that the information you gave us was very important. Not only did you complete the mission that you were given by the Fourteenth Gate, but you also provided us with a very valuable clue.”
Lu Yin blinked. The first thought that entered his head was his previous reward of an opportunity to observe the Sword Monument. That had been both a mission and a reward, so Lu Yin quickly refused Cai Shu’s offer. “Thank you, senior, but this junior has no desire to receive any rewards. Humility’s Gate has already helped me enough, and this junior merely wishes to serve mankind. The task in and of itself is enough.”
Cai Shu smiled and said, “It’s not good to not reward efforts. If you aren’t given proper rewards for your efforts, then it will demoralize many other people.”
“No, that definitely won’t happen since this junior is the one refusing the reward,” Lu Yin quickly protested.
Cai Shu patted a hand onto Lu Yin’s shoulder before emotionally stating, “If everyone had a mindset like yours, how would there still be any traitors or Redbacks? It’s a pity, but Master once swore that he would never become a Progenitor as long as any traitors or Redbacks still exist. Long Qi, you must have the same ambition as Master.”
Lu Yin pursed his lips and wanted to puke. Swore not to become a Progenitor? More like he couldn’t.
Who would not want to achieve such power? Besides, by becoming a Progenitor, it would be even easier to fight against those monsters. Lu Yin had never expected Qing Chen to have made such a bold statement. It was no wonder why he had become Humility’s Gate’s Middle Realm Supervisor.
“Alright, there’s no need to refuse. Master’s reward is for you to take over the position of acting Gate Master of Humility’s Gate’s Huaiyuan Gate. Long Qi, you’re like a carp leaping over the dragon’s gate! You’re going to leap from being a nobody in the Fourteenth Gate to being the acting Gate Master of the Huaiyuan Gate! This is the first time that anyone below the realm of an Envoy has been given the position of a Gate Master!”
Lu Yin felt like his brain was about to explode! Acting Gate Master of one of the nine gates in the Middle Realm? This- this was too high of a leap!
Lu Yin had been a member of Humility’s Gate for a while, and he had gained a clear understanding of the organization. One of the most basic requirements to become a Gate Master was to be an Envoy. However, Lu Yin was only a Hunter. This was too inadequate! He was too far below the level needed to become a Gate Master.
Even though Lu Yin was only being given the position of an acting Gate Master, the effective authority was the same. The only key difference was that Lu Yin could be removed from the position at any moment.
Cai Shu was still offering his congratulations, but Lu Yin could not hear a thing. Huaiyuan Gate, acting Gate Master. Lu Yin had been stunned by this sudden news, and he felt certain that he was being used as bait for a trap.
Just why would Qing Chen give Lu Yin such a position?
Despite spending some time thinking about the matter, Lu Yin could not understand Qing Chen’s purpose. Still, Lu Yin did know one thing: Huaiyuan Gate would be incredibly upset with him. After all, Lu Yin was the reason why the rest of Humility’s Gate looked down upon Huaiyuan Gate. They had been led by a Redback and had become a joke.
Lu Yin’s scalp went numb just by thinking about what would happen if he traveled to Huaiyuan Gate.
“Senior Cai Shu, this junior is too young! How could I possibly be given the position of Huaiyuan’s acting Gate Master? Not to mention leading the gate, but how could I even qualify to be a captain at the gate?” Lu Yin immediately refused.
