Chapter 40: The Fortieth Day as Cult Leader (Part 1)

This was Qin Ming’s first time traveling the jianghu alongside renowned heroes since transmigrating!

That was, of course, assuming a state of mutual confrontation and mutual wariness counted as traveling the jianghu together.

In short, since he had this rare chance to come into close contact with jianghu heroes, Qin Ming inevitably felt a little excited. While inwardly shouting that this was the transmigration life he had wanted, he secretly observed these heroes, studying them the way one might study celebrities, trying to find the differences between them and ordinary people.

It could be said that Qin Ming had a very strong filter toward jianghu heroes. Even though two of the heroes present had once fallen into his hands, that had only been because the System had opened a cheat for him, so it had never damaged the filter in his heart.

However, after traveling together this time and spending an entire day together from morning to night, it was not as exciting as Qin Ming had imagined.

After all, whether it was Yin Hongwen or Little Sword Immortal Yu Yu, if one did not mention their titles, they looked like ordinary swordsmen. When walking, they moved at about the same speed as everyone else, and when eating, their movements were rather bold and unrestrained. They did not have any of that graceful, transcendent heroic aura at all.

Qin Ming refused to give up and observed them for a long time, even feeling that the etiquette in their every move was less elegant than his own as a modern person.

So this was what renowned jianghu heroes were like?

Qin Ming could not quite describe the feeling in his heart. It was like seeing with his own eyes that his idols were just as slovenly as he was. For a moment, his feelings became rather complicated.

It was not until they finally reached You Rui’s village that Qin Ming at last noticed the difference between himself and jianghu heroes. You Rui, who had shown a weak, trembling, pitiful posture when she saw Qin Ming, actually turned rosy-faced and quickly stood up the instant she saw Yin Hongwen enter after him. She even had the presence of mind to tidy her messy hair, revealing the manner of a shy young girl.

And when Yu Yu, who lagged one step behind and was handsome and steady in appearance, made his entrance, You Rui, who had originally been too frightened to lead the way, immediately brightened. She walked faster than anyone else, her steps swift with impatient eagerness. “Let’s hurry, heroes. I’ll take you there right now!”

Qin Ming: ...A medical miracle?

Seeing You Rui cling close to Yu Yu and the others, unwilling to leave their side, Qin Ming curled his lip slightly in his heart and gave a cold snort.

The other Demonic Cult disciples, who had been completely ignored by You Rui, likewise cast looks full of envy and jealousy toward Yu Yu and the others. “Heh. Jianghu heroes!”

The sarcasm was extremely strong.

After You Rui joined the group this time, she began guiding them. Everyone walked in order, and it was not until the sun was about to set that they finally reached a mountainside.

“It’s around here.” You Rui recalled the scene when she had fled, and her cheeks began to turn pale again. She could not help hiding behind Yin Hongwen. “There is a wall nearby. The wall had fallen into disrepair over the years, and someone dug a hole in it. That was where I escaped from.”

“Here...” Yin Hongwen looked over the surrounding mountains, his expression somewhat ugly.

Although he had never been to this place before, it was indeed very close to the location of Yantian Sect, shaking his mind immensely.

Along the way, he had naturally maintained a principle of suspicion while probing You Rui with questions. But once he saw You Rui’s arm and listened to You Rui explain what she had experienced before, Yin Hongwen almost believed what this pitiful young woman said about the disappearance case. The words You Rui mentioned, such as pill refinement and the like, gave him an even worse premonition.

But he still insisted on believing in his sect and kept working hard to steady his emotions. Seeing everyone watching him with different expressions, he took a deep breath and forced out a smile. “There is no time to lose. Let us hurry on.”

“I suggest you cover your faces,” Chen Lue suddenly proposed at that moment. “If you encounter someone you know, it will be very easy for you to be deceived by him. You might as well cover your faces and pretend to be people from our cult. That will make it easier to investigate the truth.”

“This absolutely could not have been done by my Yantian Sect!” Yin Hongwen glared at him almost instinctively, his voice carrying anger. He had not a shred of goodwill toward this Demonic Cult disciple of mysterious identity.

Yet Chen Lue quietly revealed a faint smile and said leisurely, “But I never even said the three words Yantian Sect.”

“...” Yin Hongwen felt even more stifled.

However, his and Yu Yu’s fame was indeed rather high. If something truly happened, it would be hard to wrap things up. In the end, they still accepted Chen Lue’s suggestion and covered their faces.

And when everyone finally found a wall covered in greenery on the back mountain, they realized that the so-called hole dug in the wall was actually a dog hole!

“...” Everyone looked at one another. Staring at that dog hole, which could only be passed through by squatting down and crawling, their expressions all turned ugly for a moment.

Which person present was not a figure of status and reputation in the jianghu? How could they possibly endure the humiliation of crawling through a dog hole?

Qin Ming also stared at that dog hole with an indescribable expression and coughed softly. “Everyone, there is no need to worry. We can look for another...”

Before he could finish the last word, Yin Hongwen took a deep breath and raised a hand, cutting him off. “No! So long as we can rescue those innocent abducted commoners, so long as we can clear Yantian Sect of suspicion, then even if I must climb a mountain of blades or descend into a sea of flames, I would gladly do it. What is a mere dog hole worth?”

“I’ll crawl!”

Under his decisive words, even the leaders of the righteous path could not help being deeply moved, and they began admiring his noble integrity.

“As expected of Brother Yin. Well said! We are willing to follow Brother Yin! We will definitely return justice to Yantian Sect!”

“That’s right. It is only a dog hole. Compared to the safety of the common people, what does it count for? Count me in. I’ll crawl too!”

“We all support you!”

“Many thanks, everyone!” Amid the cheers, Yin Hongwen’s expression eased slightly. Having made up his mind, he resolutely lifted the hem of his robe and crouched down. Looking at that narrow dog hole, a look of grim resolve flashed through his eyes, and his palm pressed against the ground—

“Ahem. Actually, what I wanted to say was...”

Then Qin Ming’s hesitant voice sounded beside his ear.

“This wall is not all that high. Forget You Rui, since she does not know lightness skill, but for those of us who know martial arts, why not use lightness skill to fly over?”

Qin Ming pointed at the wall, which could even be climbed over, and reminded him.

“...”

Yin Hongwen instantly froze.

He raised his head and looked at the height of the wall, which was nothing at all to someone who knew lightness skill. Then he stiffly turned his head and met Qin Ming’s strange eyes. His face instantly flushed red.

At this moment, the way Qin Ming looked at him was as if he were looking at a little idiot. He had perfectly good lightness skill but insisted on crawling through some dog hole, and had even made it sound so righteous and noble. So this was a renowned jianghu hero?

Had he traded his intelligence for looks?

Under Qin Ming’s gaze, Yin Hongwen was so ashamed that he nearly covered his face and fled. He almost wanted to bury himself in the dirt. “The Cult Leader is right... Let us h-hurry and go.”

The other jianghu heroes also blushed one after another. Under the contemptuous gazes of the Demonic Cult disciples, each of them lowered their head and pretended to be a quail, unwilling to raise their heads even if it killed them.

After they used lightness skill to enter the wall, they truly arrived at a dangerous place. Everyone hid behind trees, faintly able to see some figures wandering through the back mountain. They came and went in a hurry, and no one knew what they were doing.

Yin Hongwen, who had just made a joke of himself, took the initiative to suggest in order to regain face. “It would be best not to alert the enemy. We should conceal our auras and quietly sneak in!”

“You’re right.” Qin Ming nodded in agreement with his idea, then asked before Yin Hongwen could breathe a sigh of relief, “But added together, there are more than twenty of us. How exactly are we supposed to sneak in quietly?”

“This...” Yin Hongwen frowned, somewhat conflicted. Yu Yu, however, took the initiative to suggest, “Wouldn’t there be no problem if we only selected a few people to go in?”

Qin Ming gave him a speechless look. If he were only going to let a few people enter, why had he brought so many Demonic Cult disciples back and forth with him? Was he messing with people for fun?

Sure enough, the Demonic Cult disciples were all dissatisfied with this strategy. Fang Zheng even gave a cold laugh and picked up a bottle of poison. “What is there to be conflicted about? As long as I scatter one bottle of poison, they will instantly fall into a deep sleep, and we can walk straight in. What need is there to hide?”

“How can that be allowed?” Yin Hongwen subconsciously retorted. “How can you use such a despicable method as poisoning?”

Fang Zheng was no longer looking at him as though he were looking at a fool, but as though he were looking at some kind of nonhuman creature. “You sneaking into someone else’s territory doesn’t count as a despicable method?”

“T-That...” Yin Hongwen was instantly blocked into speechlessness.

“We are merely using some tricks to make them fall asleep so they do not obstruct our movements. It is not as if we are taking their lives,” Chen Lue said faintly. “This is not a sinister move, but winning through intelligence. Otherwise, once we are discovered, at that time it will not be as simple as merely falling asleep...”

“People must learn to adapt.”

When Yin Hongwen heard this, he also felt it made sense. If they were truly discovered, a battle would definitely break out. Corpses strewn everywhere and rivers of blood would certainly be worse than merely using knockout powder.

“...You are right,” Yin Hongwen replied in a low voice. But beneath the sarcastic gazes of the Demonic Cult disciples, he still lifted his head high and firmly upheld his own view. “But I still feel that things like poison are sinister methods that should not exist in the jianghu. No matter the matter, if one is to do it, one should do it openly and uprightly. We jianghu people absolutely will not do anything shameful!”

“Well said!” The jianghu heroes nodded one after another, praising Yin Hongwen’s integrity. The Demonic Cult disciples, however, each showed disdain and were too lazy to pay them any attention.

“Hmph. Pedantic.”

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