Chapter 130: Thus, the Agreement is Reached

Yet another morning.

"Still no response from Boss Sun?" Ning Zhuo paced back and forth in his room, his face dark.

"If he doesn't change his secret mark today, it will already be the third day."

Sun Lingtong and Ning Zhuo had agreed upon numerous ways of communication.

Logically speaking, as long as everything was normal, this kind of secret mark should be changed once a day.

"Ever since that time he was publicly questioned by Zhu Xuanji, Zhu Xuanji hasn't shown up again."

"Could it be that he secretly made a move against Boss Sun?"

Through gathering information extensively, Ning Zhuo had snooped out a lot of intel regarding the black market: over the past two days, Sun Lingtong had been moving about normally and even handled some minor disputes within the black market.

"Boss Sun is acting against his will; he has fallen into some kind of perilous situation! His surface normalcy is just a facade!"

"Or perhaps, it's not even him at all!"

Ning Zhuo had guessed the truth.

Sun Lingtong was being impersonated by Han Ming, who was commanding Sun's subordinates and rapidly infiltrating the entire black market organization to turn it to their own use.

Some rumors were also circulating regarding Yuan Er.

"Someone is seeking revenge and wants to make a move against the Monkey Head Gang!"

"The leader is called Bao Chou. His boxing postures were all slain by Yuan Yi. After escaping by a stroke of luck, he kept his surname while changing his given name, diligently training while contacting those who harbored deep hatred against the Monkey Head Gang!"

"After the Fiery Persimmon Festival, the Monkey Head Gang plummeted to rock bottom. Bao Chou has raised his arms in a call to action, bringing years of accumulated power to the surface to exact revenge!"

Ning Zhuo was not surprised at all by this development.

Long ago, he had anticipated that such a thing would happen.

"If Bao Chou really makes a move, I can easily use him. I'll wait for them to strike, and then command Yuan Dasheng to protect Yuan Er."

"However, there is far too much gossip and noise surrounding Bao Chou!"

Ning Zhuo felt a trace of oddity.

For all these years, he had never stopped gathering intelligence.

Because of this, he had developed a keen sense of intuition.

Sometimes, based solely on this feeling, he could determine which pieces of intelligence were fake and which were real.

The intelligence concerning Bao Chou did not feel false to him, but rather gave him a subtle sense of strangeness.

Ning Zhuo thought carefully and considered a possibility.

"If I were Bao Chou, I would never make such a big fanfare when seeking revenge."

"Therefore, this was most likely orchestrated by the gang elders of the Monkey Head Gang."

"Bao Chou likely reached an agreement with one or even several elders within the gang, all to increase the probability of a successful revenge while lowering risks and losses!"

"Yet the faction of gang elders also had their own selfish motives."

"They needed to stir up propaganda first, letting the outside world know that Bao Chou was coming after the Monkey Head Gang and Yuan Er."

"And after Yuan Er was assassinated and killed, they could more smoothly take over the entire Monkey Head Gang. Because before that, they had already proven to the public that Bao Chou was the true culprit!"

Thinking of this, Ning Zhuo became even more certain that Bao Chou and his group would definitely be tempted to act.

Judging by these spreading rumors, the action would likely take place within these next few days.

"It seems I need to keep a closer eye on Yuan Er's side!"

Yuan Er could not die right now!

Ning Zhuo was still counting on him to deepen his control over Yuan Dasheng and do his utmost to eliminate the hidden dangers of the Spirit Movement Stage.

"Trouble has arisen on Boss Sun's side, but this isn't the first time!"

"At a time like this, patience and calmness are needed the most!"

In Ning Zhuo's memory, the first time Sun Lingtong was captured was when he was eight years old.

Walk often by the river, and how can you not wet your shoes?

Sun Lingtong always relied on theft to acquire resources for his daily cultivation, so trouble was bound to happen sooner or later.

This time, he had been thrown into a private dungeon by a local gang.

Sun Lingtong was beaten until his flesh and blood were a blur, huddled in the corner of the cell, unmoving.

Thud. Suddenly, two guards collapsed simultaneously, remaining motionless.

Startled by the sound, Sun Lingtong nervously came to the cell door and watched as Ning Zhuo's figure slowly materialized.

"Little Sun Brother, I've come to save you!"

Ning Zhuo's face was full of nervous tension, and he was very emotional upon seeing Sun Lingtong.

"Little Zhuo, why did you come alone?"

Sun Lingtong, however, was struck with terror, his face masked in frost.

"Did you forget what I taught you? If I get caught, you should report it to the officials! Let the City Guard come search and disrupt things to stir up trouble, creating an opportunity for me so I can escape in the chaos!"

"I reported it! I reported it to the officials!"

Ning Zhuo quickly said, "But they were too slow. I was worried about you—you've been missing for three days already. I was worried, I was worried about you..."

Sun Lingtong waved a hand. "Alright, alright, say no more, hurry and open the door for me!"

"The situation is extremely perilous right now, don't waste any more time!"

"What are you saying, let's talk outside!"

"The key is on that big-bodied guard. Be careful when searching him!"

"Rest assured!"

Ning Zhuo ran over to the large guard and, using the technique Sun Lingtong had taught him, successfully found the cell keys.

The key was inserted into the lock.

Ning Zhuo channeled his magical power, struggling as he turned it.

A stream of light rapidly spread from the keyhole to the surroundings, flowing over the lock, the chain, and most of the cell bars, revealing numerous array inscriptions.

Ning Zhuo opened the door and helped Sun Lingtong out.

There were still patrolling cultivators outside the cell.

Using talismans and spells, the two of them made full use of shadows and blind spots, taking quite a while before finally escaping the local gang's stronghold.

Not long after they escaped, the gang stronghold exploded into chaos.

"Someone has escaped!"

"That little thief is gone!"

"Quickly pursue! The incident just happened, they won't have run far!"

Amidst the shouts, Sun Lingtong heard a familiar voice—it belonged to the two guards who had watched over him.

He looked at Ning Zhuo, staring fiercely at him. "Did you use the Dusk Cloud Fragrance I gave you? Why didn't they die?"

Ning Zhuo didn't quite dare to meet Sun Lingtong's gaze, weakly saying, "I was afraid of accidentally killing someone with the fragrance, so I specially wrapped it in some medicinal mud before lighting it."

A sharp glint flashed in Sun Lingtong's eyes. "We won't discuss this now, I'll discipline you when we get home!"

After a thrilling and harrowing pursuit, during which Sun Lingtong sustained several more wounds and was covered in blood, paying a heavy price, he finally managed to bring Ning Zhuo to a safe place.

"How are you? Are you hurt? Quickly check your whole body."

Sun Lingtong's divine sense was so weak he could barely project it.

Ning Zhuo checked himself over; he only had a few scrapes.

"That's good!"

Sun Lingtong let out a sigh of relief, then glared and gave Ning Zhuo a sharp flick on the forehead.

"You idiot!"

he cursed.

"Little Sun Brother, I saved you, why are you hitting me?"

Ning Zhuo clutched his head, wincing in pain and feeling aggrieved.

"Why didn't you kill those two?"

"If you had killed them, we would have had more time to make a leisurely retreat!"

"Instead of being hunted down and almost hacked to death by them!"

Ning Zhuo was scolded to the point of being speechless!

"Yes, it was my fault," Ning Zhuo took out pills and bandages from his storage bag.

"Little Sun Brother, calm your anger, your wound is still bleeding!"

A moment later, Sun Lingtong sat while Ning Zhuo bent over, wrapping him up until he looked almost like a white-bandaged rice dumpling.

"Little Sun Brother, for this period, you should hide and properly recover from your injuries!"

"It was my fault!"

"Actually, if we had followed our previous agreement and waited for the City Guard to cause a disruption, with Little Sun Brother's skills, you definitely would have seized the opportunity to escape on your own."

"Me coming to save you only brought you trouble instead!"

Sun Lingtong let out a breath of stale air, his anger subsiding slightly. "Your biggest mistake was showing soft-heartedness when it was time to kill."

"If you had to do it over again, would you still make that same mistake?"

Ning Zhuo revealed a hesitant expression. "This..."

Sun Lingtong let out a cold huff of frustration and said nothing more.

In the tunnel, the torchlight cast their intertwined shadows upon the ground.

Sun Lingtong looked at the shadows on the ground, cold light flickering in his eyes.

He suddenly realized: "I've protected Little Zhuo too well!"

"Come to think of it, when I was six or seven years old, my master was already taking me along to kill people!"

"Actually, I did it!"

"What does Little Zhuo know?"

"He's already nine years old now. If today's incident hadn't awakened me, I would have continued making this mistake!"

Sun Lingtong asked himself why he had erred so deeply.

What he thought of was his master.

When he was six or seven years old, his master had stroked his head, wearing a rare look of hesitation. "Sigh, Little Tong, Master doesn't want you to experience these things."

"But Master knows you have to experience them!"

"You might feel pain and discomfort for a while, but in the future, when you grow up, you will understand!"

Sun Lingtong reined in his thoughts, his gaze fixed on Ning Zhuo's shadow, murmuring inwardly to himself: "Master, I understand now!"

Sun Lingtong devised a scheme.

He lied, claiming he wanted to exact revenge, and acted together with Ning Zhuo to ambush members of the local gang.

During this process, he put on an act, feigning that he was no match for them, getting captured, and appearing as though he was about to be killed.

Ning Zhuo fell for the ruse.

In his anxiety and desperation, he slew a formidable enemy.

After a period of bewilderment and dullness, Ning Zhuo looked at the enemy lying dead on the ground. His face turned pale, and he suddenly leaned over and vomited.

Sun Lingtong accompanied him by his side.

Watching Ning Zhuo vomit continuously, retching until nothing was left in his stomach except acidic bile.

Sun Lingtong teased him from the side: "You, Little Zhuo, are far worse than I was back then, hahaha!"

Vomiting until he was completely drained, Ning Zhuo sat on the ground, staring blankly at his blood-stained hands.

Sun Lingtong cleared the battlefield and led him to the side of a small river!

"Come, I'll wash your hands for you!"

Acting like a wooden puppet, Ning Zhuo obediently complied, letting himself be handled.

Halfway through the washing, he snapped out of it. "Little Sun Brother, you were acting, weren't you? In fact, during that final moment, my opening was huge, and that enemy could easily have dodged!"

"Yet at the time, his movements were rigid, as if he were being manipulated by a puppet master's strings!"

Sun Lingtong's movements paused, and he openly confessed, "Yes, I was the one controlling him."

"I really must thank you for letting me read the mechanical treasure canon your mother left you, though!"

"You..."

Ning Zhuo was incensed.

Sun Lingtong giggled. "Are you going to scold me, or hit me?"

Unable to speak, Ning Zhuo gritted his teeth and pulled back his hands, saying petulantly, "I'll wash them myself!"

Yet Sun Lingtong showed rare stubbornness, pulling his hands back and continuing to wash them. "Don't move."

"For the first time, I will wash them for you!"

"My master did the same for me!"

Hearing Sun Lingtong mention his master, Ning Zhuo was slightly startled and stopped resisting.

Under the moonlight, two youths washed their hands by the small river within the immortal city.

Oddly enough, the younger one was taking care of the older one.

The bloodied water flowed rapidly down the small river, quickly becoming diluted. By the time it passed the stone bridge forty paces away, almost no trace of it could be seen anymore.

Sun Lingtong spoke abruptly: "We are cultivators, and cultivators must contend for fate!"

"Struggling between man and man, struggling between man and heaven—in this gambling game, our fundamental stake is our very life!"

"He was killed by you simply because he lost the gamble; his soul will reappear in this heaven and earth in another form of life!"

"As for us, we must continue gambling until the very moment we lose our stake."

Sun Lingtong looked at Ning Zhuo's pure white, clean hands, his expression extremely solemn and earnest.

Ning Zhuo took a deep breath. "Little Sun Brother, I know you're doing this for my own good. I've remembered it all!"

Sun Lingtong shook his head. "Remembered it?"

"Not enough!"

"Every time I go out to steal, before taking action, I tell myself that this time I might very well not come back, that I might very well lose my life!"

"If this is the result of life's gambling game for me, I accept it!"

"I am always prepared to accept my own death, even if it happens in the next second!"

"This is my resolve!"

"What about your resolve?"

Ning Zhuo's heart was shaken to its core, and he stood speechless in a daze!

Never before had there been a moment when he felt such a towering presence emanate from Sun Lingtong's small stature.

Sun Lingtong continued, "If one day I die, don't grieve for me, Little Zhuo!"

"If one day I fall into a predicament more desperate than the one shortly before, with absolutely no hope of rescue, do not try to save me, Little Zhuo!"

"It's not worth risking a second life, do you understand?"

Ning Zhuo opened his mouth, wanting to speak.

The next moment, however, Sun Lingtong interrupted him. "If you fall into a desperate situation, I won't save you either."

"Because I need to keep my life to continue playing this game!"

"Of course, if the opportunity arises, I will avenge you!"

"Right now, regarding this matter, I make a pact with you!"

Sun Lingtong raised his palm.

Under the pressure of his gaze, Ning Zhuo had no choice but to raise his palm as well.

Silvery moonlight spilled over the river surface, creating rippling glimmers like countless shattered diamonds dancing upon the water.

The leaves on both banks gently undulated under the brush of the night breeze.

Slap!

The palms of the two children standing by the small river lightly pressed together.

Ning Zhuo lowered his head, his lips tightly pressed.

Sun Lingtong's upturned face reflected the clear radiance of the moonlit night.

Only then did he crack a smile, revealing his white teeth.

End of Chapter ........................