306: Invitation_1
On the edge of the Foggy Forest, Leader Yang had been waiting for a long time. With some concern, he asked, “Nothing’s gone wrong, has it…”
Zhang Lan thought for a moment and said, “There’s been no movement in the Foggy Forest; it should be fine.”
Leader Yang nodded, then curiously asked, “Aren’t you worried?”
“I’d be a bit worried if he went into Black Mountain Stronghold, but the Foggy Forest is so vast; he could run, he could hide. We’re still here to back him up. There’s nothing to worry about.”
Leader Yang hesitated, “He’s been to Black Mountain Stronghold before?”
Zhang Lan nodded, “The intelligence you’ve received, all those pieces of information, were gathered by that kid as he sneaked in and eavesdropped around the corners…”
Leader Yang gasped, “Didn’t you say that this intelligence was provided by your ‘Taoist soldiers Court’…”
“Oh…” Leader Yang didn’t finish his sentence before he realized, “Zhang Lan, you shameless guy, you’ve claimed him as one of your Taoist Court’s own again, haven’t you?”
Zhang Lan corrected him, “He originally is one of the Taoist Court’s people, even if in an unofficial capacity.”
Leader Yang fell into thought for a moment, then frowned and said:
“The intelligence was gathered by him, the map was drawn by him, the formation was broken by him. What have the other people in your Taoist Court actually done?”
Zhang Lan was rendered speechless and after a bit, awkwardly laughed, saying:
“Well… we reported the intelligence to the Taoist Court and had you all called over…”
But even as he spoke, he himself had little confidence in his words, so his voice got lower and lower.
Leader Yang looked at him with disdain, “You guys are really something…”
Zhang Lan sighed, “There was no choice. By the time we found out, Mo Hua had already snooped around everything so thoroughly and also…”
Zhang Lan then looked at Leader Yang with a serious expression:
“Apart from him, nobody else could infiltrate Black Mountain Stronghold undetected, nor could they draw a map of it.”
Leader Yang paused, thinking it through more carefully; he had to admit it seemed true.
To achieve all of that, one would need to know the Concealment Technique, the art of formations, possess strong Divine Sense, and also have courage and quick wit.
Even the most experienced scouts among their group of Taoist soldiers couldn’t infiltrate Black Mountain Stronghold and find out anything.
Let alone the formations; that was definitely not something an average cultivator could master.
The more Leader Yang thought about it, the more he was struck by admiration for the kid. Truly a talent indeed! Brave and strategic, decisive in action, versed in concealment, skilled in formations…
Leader Yang kept silent, attentively pondering something.
Zhang Lan looked at him suspiciously, “Are you plotting something sneaky now?”
Leader Yang shook his head expressionless, “No.”
Behind the rocks, bored out of their minds, Zhang Lan chewed on a grass root and imitated Mo Hua, drawing something on the ground.
But whereas Mo Hua drew formations, he drew Leader Yang, fat and ugly, running around in disarray after being beaten up.
Leader Yang ignored him, focusing intently on the Foggy Forest, on guard for any emergencies. The surrounding teams of Taoist soldiers were also fully alert.
After an indeterminate amount of time, Leader Yang’s eyebrows twitched; he sensed someone approaching.
Invisible to the eyes, imperceptible to the Divine Sense, but the faint sound of footsteps could be heard, and the pebbles on the ground appeared to be slightly sinking.
It was as if someone was walking towards them, step by step.
Soon, as the person came close to him, they materialized right before his eyes.
Small and fair, with a clear and handsome visage, it was Mo Hua.
Leader Yang breathed a sigh of relief.
Mo Hua grinned, raised a hand towards him, holding a map with the forest paths and the various Fog Formations laid out.
“Done!”
Leader Yang took a look and his eyes brightened, he couldn’t help expressing his feelings:
“It’s a good thing we have a Formation Master like you; otherwise, we’d probably have no way of figuring out the ins and outs of this Foggy Forest.”
Mo Hua smiled happily in response.
Leader Yang put away the map, gazing at Mo Hua, then suddenly displayed a smile – it was very kind, exceptionally warm, and even… somewhat obsequious.
This smile baffled Mo Hua; in his memory, Leader Yang wasn’t that sort of person. It looked as though he had suddenly become possessed or something.
Zhang Lan, watching from the side, felt his skin crawl as well.
“Little Mo, would you like to take a look at the formations our Taoist soldiers use?”
Mo Hua hesitated, “Aren’t they classified? Can I really take a look?”
Leader Yang quickly nodded, “Though they are classified, there’s absolutely no problem if you want to look.”
Mo Hua looked skeptical, “Really?”
“Really, truly!”
Zhang Lan also asked, “Truly?”