Chapter 82: Chapter 82: Trust the Wolf

Unlike Zhao Xuhe and Lu Yuanchun, Luo Wuya was not a man driven by lust. He had only been observing the scene in secret with his spiritual perception from the very beginning.

Even so, when he saw the woman who had been as cold and pure as a snow lotus at the banquet now with her robes in disarray, collapsed on the bed like a ravaged flower, with tear stains still tracing her delicate face, the stark contrast stirred a strange feeling within him.

“Junior Sister Yu…”

Luo Wuya took a deep breath. With a wave of his hand, a splendid light enveloped Yu Suzhen, easing the awkward atmosphere between them.

Luo Wuya clearly saw a flicker of relief and gratitude on Yu Suzhen’s face.

But soon, her expression shifted to one of helplessness and self-deprecation. “I never thought I’d make such a fool of myself in front of you, Senior Brother… Please, I beg you not to speak of this to anyone.”

“Junior Sister Yu, you’re overthinking it.”

Luo Wuya sighed. He had been watching from the sidelines the entire time. Although he didn’t know the details, he was almost certain that Yu Suzhen had been coerced by Lu Yuanchun.

“I will keep this matter a secret for you.”

“Thank you, Senior Brother…”

At his words, Yu Suzhen’s lovely face grew even more bitter. Her beautiful eyes reddened, and tears streamed down her cheeks. Her gaze seemed to brew with a thousand sorrows and a million grievances.

Soon, Luo Wuya had learned the whole story from her.

’So that’s what happened… Junior Sister Yu and Junior Brother Zhao were originally in love. But after Junior Brother Zhao was accepted as a disciple by the Master of Heaven Mending Peak, Junior Brother Lu began to make things difficult. You went to confront him for Junior Brother Zhao’s sake, but he plotted against you, took your innocence, and gained leverage over you. That’s how you ended up in this state…’

Luo Wuya looked at Yu Suzhen and sighed.

As the second senior brother of the Sanhe Association, he knew perfectly well that Zhao Xuhe was now the designated son-in-law of the Master of Heaven Mending Peak. ’How could he possibly form a Dao Companion bond with another disciple?’

’Without a doubt, Yu Suzhen’s feelings had been cruelly toyed with.’

At that moment, Yu Suzhen forced herself to sit up and said in a low voice, “Senior Brother, it is late now, and I must rest… Please do not take offense.”

“I understand.”

Luo Wuya nodded. He could naturally see Yu Suzhen’s distress. He had a mind to help but didn’t want to get dragged into these messy affairs. He could only sigh.

“I shall take my leave.”

With that, he turned and departed.

Only after he had gone did Yu Suzhen slowly rise. She sealed her Cave Mansion, and the look of grief and sorrow on her face rapidly receded, replaced by a mask of cold indifference.

’…That should do it.’

Zhao Xuhe, Lu Yuanchun, and Luo Wuya—these were the three “big fish” Yu Suzhen had targeted recently. For them, she had devised three distinct schemes.

A different approach for each man.

For example, with Zhao Xuhe, Yu Suzhen had identified him as a deeply passionate man. Thus, she deliberately pretended to have fallen in love, willingly becoming his secret mistress.

As for Lu Yuanchun, after probing him several times, Yu Suzhen discerned that he was secretly jealous of the favor Zhao Xuhe received from their master, the Master of Heaven Mending Peak. So, she approached him under the guise of being Zhao Xuhe’s Dao Companion. With one party eager to strike and the other willing to be struck, they naturally fell into bed together.

For Luo Wuya, Yu Suzhen’s approach was different still.

After all, Luo Wuya was different from the first two. He was at the Final-phase of Qi Refining and set his sights on Foundation Establishment. In his eyes, feminine beauty was little more than perishable flesh.

This kind of man pursued emotional fulfillment.

To put it bluntly, it was the fantasy of saving a fallen woman. If Luo Wuya truly became invested in this, he would take the bait, and Yu Suzhen naturally had her ways of getting him under her thumb.

If he wasn’t invested and truly intended to stay out of it, that was fine too. He was just a backup plan, after all. Yu Suzhen wouldn’t pester him; her pond was large, and she wasn’t short on big fish. She would simply consider their interactions as forging a positive connection that might prove unexpectedly useful in the future.

And she also kept plenty of smaller fish who were utterly devoted to her.

If not for this, how could her cultivation have been progressing by leaps and bounds?

“Incredible, truly incredible.”

Within the Skull Mountains, even Lü Yang couldn’t help but marvel at Yu Suzhen’s extraordinary talent for finding an unconventional path. ’If this keeps up,’ he mused, ’she might actually end up seducing every disciple in the sect.’

“It’s a shame, though. Her movements are too conspicuous.”

Lü Yang formed a finger technique with one hand. A halo of light spun behind him, reflecting countless potential events, all of which pointed to the same outcome—

“What are you doing?”

The sudden voice sent a jolt through Yu Suzhen, and she whipped her head around. Even Lü Yang, who had been prepared for this, couldn’t help but swallow hard.

A young man with crane-white hair yet a youthful face, clad in a black-and-white Daoist Robe and exuding an immortal aura, had appeared without any warning inside Yu Suzhen’s Cave Mansion. He wore an amiable smile, but his eyes were ice-cold, staring straight at Yu Suzhen as if they could see into her very heart.

In that instant, the expression on Yu Suzhen’s lovely face froze in place.

Not only that, but her thoughts, her intentions, and even her fear were frozen solid, as if she had been instantly transformed into a cold, hard statue.

And this was merely the aftershock.

Because at this moment, the person the Master of Heaven Mending Peak was truly looking at was not her. The Divine Sense infused in his gaze was locked onto the one behind her: Lü Yang!

“Which Fellow Daoist dares to plot against my disciples?”

“And where did you acquire the Bond of Devouring Fate?”

Faced with the questions from the Master of Heaven Mending Peak, Lü Yang remained perfectly calm. He was not surprised by the man’s appearance; after all, Zhao Xuhe and Lu Yuanchun were both his disciples.

Moreover, he himself had obtained the Bond of Devouring Fate from Zhao Xuhe in his past life.

But where had Zhao Xuhe acquired such a divinely mysterious Secret Technique? Considering the technique’s unique characteristics, the answer was self-evident.

It was created by the Master of Heaven Mending Peak himself!

Therefore, from the moment he began to mold Yu Suzhen into a “Daughter of Destiny,” Lü Yang had been prepared for the Master of Heaven Mending Peak to discover his scheme and trace the karma links to find him.

Of course, he had no intention of meeting the Master of Heaven Mending Peak in person.

That was why he had to let Yu Suzhen suffer a little, using her as bait to lure out the Peak Master. Then, he would use her as a vessel to meet with the man himself.

“…My humble tricks must seem laughable to you, Senior.”

With a mere thought, Lü Yang activated the Bond of Devouring Fate and took direct control of Yu Suzhen’s body. He chuckled lightly. “I only wish to propose a trade, Senior.”

“…It’s you?”

Before Lü Yang could finish, the Master of Heaven Mending Peak raised an eyebrow. “So on that day, it wasn’t Fortune… it was you who secretly seized the karmic inheritance from Perfected Panlong?”

Following that, the Master of Heaven Mending Peak showed no anger. Instead, he smiled. “Interesting.”

“And on what grounds do you believe you can make a trade with me?”

“On the grounds of your son.”

Lü Yang said calmly, “I saved Senior Brother Chen. He now has a sliver of hope for rebirth. Surely, Senior, you would not wish to see your son’s soul utterly scattered, would you?”

“Xin’an!?”

At these words, the expression of the Master of Heaven Mending Peak changed instantly.

He immediately began to divine the karmic links, and soon, he located Liu Xin, who was no longer under the protection of the Divine Talisman.

However, no matter how he divined the Celestial Secret, he was unable to obtain any further information, much less ascertain Chen Xin’an’s current condition.

This made the Master of Heaven Mending Peak all the more curious. ’To be able to block my Celestial Secret Divination means that either there is another Foundation-Stage Cultivator behind this person, or they possess a karma veil…’ In either case, for this person to dare threaten him, they were audacious beyond measure.

’Truly worthy of a disciple of our Stain Sect!’

“…Speak.”

After a moment, the Master of Heaven Mending Peak finally spoke. “What will it take for you to return Xin’an? A Foundation Establishment helper? Or a Legendary Technique…?”

“Neither.”

Lü Yang shook his head. “I intend to have Yu Suzhen use the Bond of Devouring Fate to control Xiao Shiye, but I need a senior to conceal the resulting karmic links for her.”

“…Oh?”

At this, the expression of the Master of Heaven Mending Peak finally showed a clear change. He looked at Lü Yang with great interest. “You want to scheme against Fortune?”

Lü Yang smiled. “Precisely!”

Xiao Shiye was The Perfected Fortune’s bait. If Yu Suzhen rashly took control of him, she would certainly be discovered, and Lü Yang on his own was incapable of concealing the karma links.

Therefore, the only way was to cooperate with a Foundation-Stage Cultivator. The Master of Heaven Mending Peak was undoubtedly the most suitable candidate—on one hand, because Lü Yang held Chen Xin’an hostage, and on the other, because the Peak Master’s relationship with the Perfected Fortune was clearly poor.

Of course, Lü Yang was also well aware of the risks of cooperating with the Master of Heaven Mending Peak.

One wrong move, and their cooperation could devolve into a treacherous double-cross.

This was a bargain with a tiger for its own hide!

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep