Chapter Ninety-Six: Catching Cicadas

Opposite Guihai Rong'an stood a woman of cool and austere beauty, a blue sword in her hand. Her eyes were as cold as frost as she fixed him with a withering stare. “Is the Guihai family only capable of using such disgusting methods to control people? Even if you defeat the Yihua Sect by means like this, you will never amount to anything truly remarkable.”

Guihai Rong'an gave a bitter smile. “I’m afraid I don’t understand what Miss Xiao is referring to.”

The newcomer was Xiao Xue of the Yihua Sect. She said indifferently, “You kidnapped Mo Bai’s friend simply to threaten him, then use him against the Yihua Sect, didn’t you? Don’t think your schemes are flawless just because you think you’ve hidden your tail well.”

Xiao Xue also saw the confusion on Guihai Rong'an’s face and said coldly, “Not everyone will sit and wait for death, and not everyone has only the people beside them as friends.” As she spoke of friends, even she found it somewhat strange, and suddenly her thoughts drifted back to what had happened the night before.

Last night, Mo Bai had used an unfathomable movement art to shake off Guihai Rong'an’s surveillance, but he did not go searching for the whereabouts of Wuluohua and Ganyu. He knew the two of them would certainly be locked away in some secret place, and that he and Nalan Xiner would surely be kept under strict watch. So he needed an assistant, one the other side would never expect.

And so Mo Bai finally came to the doorway of that room, silently sending in a trace of cold energy. Unexpectedly, the person inside responded at once. Mo Bai flashed away, and a white figure immediately chased after his fading afterimage.

Beneath the moonlit sky, the moon shone with exquisite brilliance. Mo Bai looked up at the moonlight and said slowly, “The first time I heard your voice was also on a night this enchanting.”

Xiao Xue did not know why she had followed him out, but when she saw that the person before her was Mo Bai, it all felt so natural, as if she had simply come because she ought to have.

“Only I don’t know how much longer I will be able to enjoy nights like this,” Xiao Xue replied.

“You’re not the sort of woman who is given to sentimentality,” Mo Bai said, puzzled.

“Perhaps not. What is it you called me out here for?” Xiao Xue asked, going straight to the point.

Mo Bai suddenly bowed to her, leaving Xiao Xue momentarily stunned. Then he said, “I asked you here because I need to save two friends of mine.”

Xiao Xue frowned slightly. She did not quite understand what he meant. In her estimation, this man’s cultivation was certainly no weaker than her own, and might even surpass it. What need could he possibly have for her help?

Mo Bai explained, “Miss Xiao, you also met my two friends the day before yesterday. One is Wuluohua, and the other is Miss Ganyu. Now someone wants to make use of the Spirit Rising Arena for their own scheme, and has captured those two friends of mine.”

Xiao Xue nodded. “They’re threatening you, trying to use you against the Yihua Sect?”

Mo Bai nodded. “Yes.”

Xiao Xue pressed, “You’re afraid?”

Mo Bai answered firmly, “Yes, I am.”

This time, it was Xiao Xue who was moved. She had never imagined that the man opposite her would speak the word afraid so readily. “Why?”

“Because they are my friends,” Mo Bai replied.

Xiao Xue nodded. “What do you need me to do?”

Mo Bai laid out his plan in full. “Tomorrow, I ask you to wait for my signal. We’ll turn their own trap against them.”

The night deepened, but it could not extinguish the moon’s pale glow.

“Why choose me?” Xiao Xue asked after hearing his plan, drawing a long breath.

“Because I know your cultivation is no weaker than mine. I have to find someone dependable,” Mo Bai replied.

“And why do you think I’ll help you?” Xiao Xue asked again.

“Because you also wouldn’t want the Yihua Sect to gain an enemy like me,” Mo Bai said helplessly. “If I truly step onto that arena, for my friends’ sake I might become a madman.”

Xiao Xue said, “Tell the girl who likes you that tomorrow, when we act, there must not be a trace of personal feeling. Otherwise, we won’t fool Guihai Rong'an.”

She did not ask why Mo Bai was so certain that Guihai Rong'an was the one behind the abduction. She only felt that this was something that had to be done.

And now, when Xiao Xue saw the expression on Guihai Rong'an’s face, she knew that Mo Bai’s arrangement had been correct. “Hand them over. I promise I will not kill you here.”

Guihai Rong'an suddenly laughed loudly. “Although Miss Xiao is an outstanding disciple of the Yihua Sect, are you truly confident you can defeat me in three moves? If you cannot bring me down within three moves, perhaps you will never find the person you’re looking for.”

Though he did not openly admit to being the kidnapper, it was already plain enough. Yet he shifted all the pressure onto Xiao Xue, because within just three moves, Guihai Rong'an could order Wuluohua to be moved away.

Xiao Xue said coldly, “You’re trying to put pressure on me?”

Guihai Rong'an looked at her with the smug air of a victor.

Xiao Xue gave a helpless smile. “If I’m not mistaken, only you know they’re being held here. As for Mo Bai, this is not merely about dealing with the Yihua Sect. You have invited far too many experts for that. You’re planning something even bolder, so naturally only you know where they are.”

Those words struck Guihai Rong'an like a thunderbolt. He suddenly felt his breath catch in his throat. His eyes flickered incessantly, but in the end they betrayed him.

“In that case, I simply cannot allow myself to lose to Miss Xiao. Otherwise, I would be utterly finished,” Guihai Rong'an said with a self-mocking laugh.

Xiao Xue replied, “I’m afraid I won’t give you the outcome you want. If you wish to live, leave.”

As she spoke, she had already begun to draw her sword. She did not often use it, but today it would leave its sheath, because she knew all too well how important this battle was.

Guihai Rong'an did not move. He was gambling, gambling with his life, and gambling that Mo Bai truly was the best person to exploit. But the moment Xiao Xue drew her blue sword, he felt his heart turn ice-cold, because what he saw was not a blue blade at all, but a shard of frost.