Grudge Breaker

Chapter 382 A Series of Lies
"Young lady, do you know me?"

Hua Zhezhan looked puzzled. The woman before him was beautiful and lively; if he had seen her before, he would never forget her. But... had he seen her before?
"No, I don't know you. Cough, but I saw you at the entrance to Goddess Peak."

In a moment of quick thinking, Song Weichen came up with an excuse. Although he was physically exhausted, he was still mentally alert.

She wasn't wearing the white robe at the moment—without the illusion concealed, Hua Zhezhan naturally wouldn't recognize her, much less know that the person in front of her was the white-robed Venerable who had filled the blind date pit for her at the Lord of the Realm the day before. Song Weichen also had no intention of revealing her true identity; in any case, the fewer people who knew she was the white-robed one, the safer she would be.

"You are the supervisor of this trial at the Lord's Mansion, Lord Hua. Thank you for saving me."

Hua Zhe nodded, acknowledging her identity.

"You're also a participating warlock?"

She helped Song Weichen up, her gaze filled with even deeper doubt.

"You have no magical powers, and there are countless ferocious beasts and strange beings in the mountains. How have you... managed to survive until now?"

"Lord Hua, you want to ask how I've managed to survive until now, right?"

Song Weichen gave a self-deprecating laugh.

Her puppet energy was completely exhausted; let alone her magical power, she should be grateful that she could still remain conscious.

"Actually, I also have some magic power, but I've used it all up. But I mainly rely on my brother for protection. I came with him, but we got separated because of that woman."

When Hua Zhezhan mentioned the woman in red wedding attire, his expression darkened. She possessed the power of at least several dozen Class C sorcerers, but it seemed she had already been in a fierce battle, which was why she fled after encountering him in order to preserve her strength—it couldn't have been a fight with this little girl who could barely stand, could it?

"So the woman in red was fighting with your brother just now? Then where is your brother? Why did he abandon you here?"

"Well..."

Song Weichen subconsciously rubbed his nose. Lying every day, wouldn't he turn into Pinocchio?

"That woman's methods are extremely evil. She dragged me into a strange ancestral hall and forced me to enter into a ghost marriage with a dead person. I barely managed to escape, but instead of seeing my brother, I ran into you."

"Lord Hua, could you take me to the Supervisory Office of Si Chen Manor? My brother and I made a promise that if we got separated, we would find a way to the Supervisory Office and he would look for me there."

Song Weichen's plan was clear: if Hua Zhezhan didn't help, she would at least have to wait until she left before she could summon the Ice Stone. If Hua Zhezhan was willing to help, that would be even better; she could contact Mo Tingfeng once she arrived at the supervision office. In short, she had to stay alive and keep her disguise intact.

Hua Zhezhan remained silent, his cold, emotionless eyes sweeping across Song Weichen's face, as if trying to discern the truthfulness of her words. Just when Song Weichen thought she was about to abandon her, Hua Zhezhan spoke.

"If you can't walk anymore, I'll carry you on my back."
.
They traveled in silence, with Hua Zhe carrying Song Weichen on his back, moving swiftly and silently through the forest.

No one knows what method she used, but after twirling her sword, she threw it into the dense forest. The weapon seemed to have eyes and cleared a path ahead—fierce beasts dared not approach, miasma dared not approach, and even the thorns and bushes along the way seemed to have developed a sense of fear and took the initiative to give way. In less than an hour, the two had already traveled nearly a hundred miles, which was simply a miracle on the Goddess Peak where it was difficult to move an inch.

“In three more hours, I will be able to take you to the supervisory office. Young lady, this place is more dangerous than other places. Once you get there, go down the mountain as soon as possible. You are still young. There will be plenty of opportunities to participate in the test later. Come back after you have gained enough experience.” Hua Zhe Zhan rarely spoke so much.

"Okay. But..."

Song Weichen stammered, "My only relative is still in these mountains, I can't abandon him."

In a sense, she wasn't lying. Mo Tingfeng was indeed her relative, and she knew full well how dangerous this trip was; she truly couldn't let him go.

Since leaving last night, Mo Tingfeng has not taken the initiative to look for her, and not even the other Vengeful Spirit Masters have been seen. Perhaps they are experiencing even greater dangers. This is also the reason why Song Weichen has repeatedly encountered danger, but never uses the Name Summoning Restriction unless absolutely necessary. She can be his weakness, but she does not want to become his obstacle.

“Girl, there is no future if you live. Your brother would never want to see you die here.”

Hua Zhezhan wanted to persuade her again, but suddenly stopped in her tracks, her eyes narrowed as she looked into the depths of the dense forest. Then, she supported Song Weichen with one hand and stretched out the other—the flying sword that had cleared the way immediately returned to her hand.

"Who's there? Come out!"

The forest was dense and silent, and no one answered.

This silence was unsettling; it was too quiet. There didn't seem to be a single bird, let alone a ferocious beast.

Hua Zhezhan was noticeably more nervous than before; Song Weichen could feel the tension in her muscles even while lying on her back.

"Lord Hua, something's not right here. Put me down, so as not to affect your performance."

"pay close attention."

Although she only used one hand, she held Song Weichen even tighter.

Suddenly! The mountainside on the side rose and fell rapidly like ocean waves, sweeping towards the two of them! And the ground beneath their feet accelerated and crashed into the collapsing mountainside.

Anyone who has experienced an earthquake knows that due to the violent shaking and disruption of the inner ear's balance system, you can't run even if you want to, just like they are right now.

In addition, the whole process took only a breath, and the speed was so fast that even Hua Zhe Zhan could not react.

Just as the two were about to be buried by the mountain, strangely enough, the trees and thorns growing on the mountain suddenly seemed to come alive, growing rapidly, entwining and weaving, and resisting the downward crushing mountain. With this respite, Hua Zhezhan carried Song Weichen out of the crevice and escaped.

She flew at top speed for a while without regard for anything else, until she passed a barren rocky beach and stopped, exhausted, and sat down on the rocks. Flying with someone was extremely taxing, and even someone as skilled as Hua Zhechan was struggling. However, she was still careful not to fall on Song Weichen.

"You are hurt."

Hua Zhezhan kept protecting her arm, which was covered in wounds, but thankfully they were only superficial. Song Weichen looked apologetic and tore off a piece of her still-clean clothing to bandage it.

"It's alright. Are you alright?"

"It's nothing. What happened just now? Could it be that not only the animals on Goddess Peak have mutated, but the mountain itself has mutated too?"

Recalling the strange scene just now, Song Weichen belatedly began to feel scared. How could she encounter such strange things? Her luck was really quite good.

"It's not a change in the mountain's structure."

Hua Zhe's expression was solemn and strange.
"It's human."

"Just now, it seemed that an earth-type A-rank sorcerer was trying to kill us. At the critical moment, a wood-type sorcerer secretly came to our aid."

"This wood-type sorcerer is not as powerful as the earth-type sorcerer, probably only a near-A-rank. However, the five elements have the principle of 'wood overcomes earth,' and today is not the day of the Earth King, so wood has a suppressive effect on earth, which is why we had a chance to escape. But... why did he help us?"

Hua Zhezhan looked at Song Weichen again, scrutinizing him.

"Is it because of you?"

"How could that be! Lord Hua, your premise is too far-fetched; even a screenwriter wouldn't dare write something like this." Song Weichen waved his hands repeatedly.
"Why would a big shot like me kill or help me? Besides, I don't understand what you're saying, Master Hua. What earth element and wood element? I've only ever heard of civil engineering."

Song Weichen lied again.

Of course she understood, and understood it very clearly. If Hua Zhezhan's judgment was correct, the earth-type A-level sorcerer they had just encountered was the black-clad man who had escaped from the Pingyang Forest—the one who had chased down Magpie, seriously injured Ding Heran and Ye Wujiu, been trapped by Mo Tingfeng's array, and then rescued by 'Torchbearer', and was also one of the instigators of the sinkhole in Wuyin Village.

As for that wood-type sorcerer, he's not just a near-rank A, he should be a rank A sorcerer—Old Tree.

They may not be after her, but it's highly likely they're connected to the necromancer and the person behind him—back in Wuyin Village, the black-clad man and the necromancer and Huozhe fought a fierce battle that caused the sky to collapse and the earth to cave in. Now, all three of them have come to Shennv Peak, which is no coincidence. I'm afraid... their target is the Sichen Mansion!

But Song Weichen couldn't tell Hua Zhezhan these things, and she had to find out where she had met them as soon as possible and notify Mo Tingfeng!
Song Weichen feigned fear and looked around.
How far are we from here? Will they chase after us?

Hua Zhezhan shook his head. "I don't know."

"However, this is a rocky beach where both earth and wood are weak. They won't gain any advantage here. Unless they have to kill us, the chances of them chasing us are not high."

"We may have accidentally stumbled into a trap they were setting, which is why we were attacked."

Hua Zhezhan stood up, used his magic to determine the direction, and reached out his hand towards Song Weichen.

"Let's go, I'll take you to the supervision office."

"It's a pity we went the wrong way. It will take five hours to get there now. I hope your brother won't be too impatient."

……

it's getting dark.

As agreed, Song Weichen should have arrived at the cave where she had arranged to meet Mo Tingfeng. If she followed Hua Zhe for another five hours, it would not only delay their business, but Mo Tingfeng, who was found along the way, might also misunderstand.

Although Xiao Biezhi took the blame for the matter of the ghost husband, Li Kan was, after all, a man, and indirectly tied to him. It was not certain that Bing Tuozi wouldn't be jealous, not to mention that Hua Zhezhan, whom he had always cared about, was traveling with him.

Song Weichen knew very well that although Hua Zhezhan meant well, she now had to find a way to get out of this mess.

She didn't take Hua Zhe's outstretched hand, but instead leaned back and said, "Lord Hua, you can go now, don't worry about me."

“You mean well, but I think those two powerful sorcerers are most likely after you. It’s more dangerous for me to follow you. I don’t want to die, so I’ve decided to stay here and wait for my brother. We’re siblings, and I believe he will find me soon.”

Song Weichen acted like a complete ingrate, betting that she would be disappointed in her performance and put away her kindness after just meeting her.

Sure enough, Hua Zhezhan's face darkened as if the sky had turned completely black.

"Girl, you..."

Hua Zhezhan sheathed his sword, crossed his arms, and exuded an aloof air.

"You don't panic when you have no magic power, you don't panic when you encounter a top-tier sorcerer, and you don't panic when you're about to spend the night on Goddess Peak."

"Chong-"

Hua Zhe drew his sword again, but this time the blade was pointed at Song Weichen.

"You're hiding something from me, aren't you? You're clearly trying to get me away on purpose. Your so-called brother is probably just an excuse. Who exactly are you?"

Hua Zhe squatted down, the cold killing intent emanating from the blade sending shivers down Song Weichen's spine.

"If you tell even half a lie, I will regret it—regret saving you, and you will regret meeting me."

"Lord Flower! No, no, no, let's talk this out."

Completely unexpectedly, Song Weichen tried to back away, but the stone slab behind her held her firmly in place.

"Oh no, my disguise is about to be exposed. I should have told Xiaohua the truth from the beginning. Now I've really messed up."

Song Weichen gave a wry smile, "Lord Hua, please don't do it, actually I am—"

"call out!"

"Clang!"

A light blue ice crystal, imbued with powerful magic, struck Hua Zhe's wrist, causing the sword to fall to the ground.

Before Song Weichen could even react, a white shadow had already snatched him away at lightning speed.

"Honey, are you alright? I've been looking everywhere for you."

As dusk fell, a tall and imposing figure, carrying Song Weichen, floated above the rocky beach. The figure wore a mica bird beak mask and had silver hair as white as moonlight reflected in water.

"Cang Yue!"

When Song Weichen saw who it was, her heart warmed and her eyes instantly reddened.

Gu Cangyue gave Song Weichen a reassuring smile, but when she turned to look at Hua Zhezhan, her eyes were filled with murderous intent.

In an instant, ten more ice crystals shot towards Hua Zhezhan. He tried his best to dodge, but still took two or three hits.

"Boom!"

Hua Zhezhan knelt down, supporting himself with his sword, clearly injured by Gu Cangyue.

"No! Cang Yue, what are you doing! Don't hurt General Hua! She saved her life!"

Song Weichen struggled in Gu Cangyue's arms, wanting to get down and check on Hua Zhezhan's injuries, but Gu Cangyue held her firmly, giving her no chance whatsoever.

"General Hua, who gave you the audacity?"

Hua Zhezhan finally saw who it was. She clutched her chest and ribs, sheathed her sword, and performed a martial salute towards the air.

"This humble general, Hua Zhezhan, greets the Divine Lord Cangyue!"

He then forced himself to lift his head, looking at the two figures suspended in mid-air, his face full of confusion.

"Young lady, could your brother be... the Divine Lord Cangyue?"