Chapter 1789 (Raw 1801): Life Is Like a Show; It All Depends on Acting
As Xiao Chen held the jade strip and watched Yan Zhe leave, he entered deep thought.
Beside him, Luo Nan whispered, “This Senior Yan Zhe is really generous. To think that the Myriad Star Mountain is such a dangerous place. Should we invite them to come along with us?”
Xiao Suo said seriously, “It turns out that the Myriad Star Mountain is such a place with so many Rank 6 sect disciples on experiential training. This is somewhat hard to imagine.”
Sects were separated into ranks, with Rank 7 being the highest. Above that were the various Holy Lands, the super factions of the mundane world.
Rank 6 sects were already genuine giants.
A Rank 6 sect elder could easily sweep through the entire Grave Sea without sweating.
Xiao Suo’s worry was not unreasonable.
However, Xiao Chen had interacted with Rank 5 sects before. In Dragon Flame City, he had fought with many Rank 5 sect disciples of the Yanwu Dynasty.
He had even fought with true inheritors. Without exception, he defeated them all.
Rank 6 sect disciples would be very strong, but not that strong. Xiao Chen did not fear them.
What Xiao Chen feared were the Rank 6 sect Elders. He would not have any chance of victory if he ran into them.
Xiao Chen turned to the Iron Hand Yama and asked, “Old Yama, what do you think?”
The Iron Hand Yama thought for a while. Feeling torn, he replied, “There is simply no way to ask for help. Our strengths are not equal; a true collaboration is impossible unless we let them have most of the profit.
“In any case, I do not quite believe it. We have met only a few times; this Yan Zhe won’t help us for nothing.”
Elder Tang interjected, “The Scarlet Blood Pirate King’s treasure would definitely be incredibly vast. Even if we took only one percent of it, we would gain a lot. It would still present each of us with a significant fortuitous encounter, but…”
“But what?” the Iron Hand Yama prompted.
Elder Tang hesitated for a moment before saying, “But what if the other party decides to tear down the bridge after crossing it, not even giving us one percent? We would not have the strength to do anything about it at all.”
“That can’t be. I think that Senior Yan is not that kind of person. If he was, he would not have saved us the first time we met.”
“During our first meeting, there was no great profit involved. It would be hard to say later.”
Everyone discussed this; the discussion never ended.
The crew was split into two factions, with the Iron Hand Yama and Elder Tang arguing against the others. These two were very experienced and did not believe in all the so-called good things in the world. Before profits, everything was possible.
Luo Nan, Fei`er, and Xiao Suo all felt that Yan Zhe could be trusted and wanted to invite him to come along to Myriad Star Mountain.
“Young Master Xiao, what do you think?”
Only now did everyone recall that Xiao Chen had not spoken yet, and they quickly looked towards him.
Xiao Chen’s eyes looked serious as he said, “This person is not normal.”
“What?!”
Xiao Chen had just been keeping silent. The moment he spoke, his words were astonis.h.i.+ng, shocking everyone.
“Tell me, who can still remain so calm after hearing about the Scarlet Blood Pirate King’s treasure? He did not even show any excitement or agitation; could there be such a person?”
Xiao Chen’s questions immediately had the Iron Hand Yama, Xiao Suo, and the others exchanging glances.
“Naturally, there are such people. Once one’s strength reaches a certain level, one would not care about the Scarlet Blood Pirate King’s treasure. However, what does he count for? He is just a late-stage Star Venerate. How could he be so at ease?”
Fei`er’s expression changed slightly as she asked in a soft voice, “Then, he is pretending?”
Xiao Chen nodded silently. “This person is quite terrifying; his motives are hidden very deeply. He is extremely familiar with our every action. Of all the times to come, instead of earlier or later, he coincidentally appeared as we are about to leave.
“After that, he casually told us about how dangerous Myriad Star Mountain is and what factions are in its surroundings. He clearly wants to go and explore Myriad Star Mountain with us. However, he purposely deterred us by scaring us, to get us to ask him for help.”
Luo Nan’s, Fei`er’s, and Xiao Suo’s expressions all changed immediately.
They recalled that they thought about inviting Yan Zhe along to explore Myriad Star Mountain with them after they heard him say that Myriad Star Mountain was too dangerous.
They had completely fallen into his trap and schemes.
Xiao Suo thought hard before saying, “However, I don’t understand. Why does he think so highly of us? With his strength, he doesn’t need to bother with us.”
Right now, even if all the people on the Black Cutla.s.s worked together, they would not be a match for Yan Zhe. At best, Xiao Chen could barely protect himself and flee.
To the crew of the Black Cutla.s.s, a late-stage Star Venerate was already an extremely terrifying existence.
“Whoos.h.!.+”
Xiao Chen deliberately took out the Scarlet Blood War Banner. “It could be because of this.”
Back when Xiao Chen first saw Yan Zhe, he felt that the other party was testing him.
Yan Zhe did not manage to get the acknowledgment of the Scarlet Blood War Banner and could only use it as a normal weapon.
As such, although Yan Zhe had the Scarlet Blood War Banner, he would not be able to use it in the treasure trove.
On that day, Yan Zhe saw the war banner unfurl in Xiao Chen’s hand and materialize a mysterious phenomenon.
Xiao Chen immediately guessed that Yan Zhe would return.
If Xiao Chen had not gained the acknowledgment of the Scarlet Blood War Banner, Yan Zhe would definitely have s.n.a.t.c.hed it back.
After hearing Xiao Chen’s explanation, Luo Nan, Fei`er, and the others felt a chill run down their backs.
The Iron Hand Yama appeared rather normal. “Before profits, how could there be any poise or magnanimity? After being in the Ash Gray Sea for so many years, if he really were this benevolent, he would have been eaten up long ago, unable to reach his current position.”
“What should we do?”
The crew found both advancing or retreating difficult, unable to make up their mind.
In the face of the schemes of such a strong enemy, they were apprehensive of every step. It was like there was a sharp blade pointing at their backs, about to thrust them into a deep abyss at any moment.
Xiao Chen remained rather calm. “We will just adapt to the situation.”
---
On the other side, when Yan Zhe returned to his abode, the core members of the Iron Horn Pirate Group started asking about what happened.
After Yan Zhe described what happened, they all showed confused and surprised expressions.
“Captain, you aren’t just going to let them off like that, right?”
“Indeed, the Scarlet Blood Pirate King’s treasure is involved!”
“The Scarlet Blood Pirate King is a legendary Pirate King. There is no imagining how vast the treasure he left behind is. If we can obtain it, the Iron Horn Pirate Group might be able to become a legendary pirate group.”
Yan Zhe’s subordinates were incredibly excited. Some even felt anxious.
They immediately asked for permission to go and capture Xiao Chen and the others and bring them back.
Yan Zhe smiled faintly. “There are three levels of schemes. Poor, average, and good. Your method of just using brute force is the poorest of the poor. That Xiao Chen is not an easy person to subdue. Even if we use his friends to threaten him, we cannot guarantee that he won’t choose to go down with us. At that time, the losses would be great; it would not be worth it.”
“However, we cannot just let them go like that, right?” said the old man who sold the Dragon Shadow Condor wing bone to Xiao Chen, unable to understand.
Feeling confident, Yan Zhe smiled unhurriedly. “He will take the initiative to come to find me in less than two hours.”
“What if they really leave?” someone asked, dissatisfied.
Yan Zhe replied indifferently, “I naturally have a backup plan. The Ash Gray Sea is not a peaceful place. After they suffer a little there, they will take the initiative to find me. When dealing with people, a psychological attack is the best tactic. I want him to serve me wholeheartedly and even thank me for being able to do so.”
After a while, someone reported that Xiao Chen asked for an audience.
Yan Zhe smiled, and the Iron Horn Pirate Group’s core members immediately felt that their captain was unfathomable and supremely clever in his schemes.
“Captain is truly divine. Xiao Chen’s every step is within Captain’s calculations.”
“Indeed, it is as Captain said. He really came.”
Yan Zhe waved his hand and said, “Don’t give anything away. Come with me to meet him.”
Yan Zhe received Xiao Chen in the great hall. “Young Master Xiao, what’s the matter?”
Xiao Chen pretended to mutter to himself irresolutely before saying somewhat abashedly, “I would like to invite Big Brother Yan to come with me to Myriad Star Mountain; we could take care of each other. Of course, I will repay you greatly if we gain anything.”
Yan Zhe revealed a conflicted expression and said, “I’m afraid that while I want to, I can’t.”
Curious, Xiao Chen asked, “How come?”
Yan Zhe explained, “I won’t be able to leave the Grave Sea for half a month. I still have many old friends to see. After leaving the Grave Sea this time, I probably will not return for the rest of my life. I simply do not want to waste this opportunity.”
Xiao Chen appeared shocked, but he did not press the issue. After casually chatting for a while, he took his leave and left.
“Captain, he even delivered himself to our doors. Why did you not agree?”
After Xiao Chen left, the other people in the great hall again revealed confused expressions.
Yan Zhe said indifferently, “Don’t worry. Everything is within my control. It is hard to say whether he is here to test us out. By answering like that, I can ease his suspicions. Also, if I just casually agree, it would be hard for him to recognize my importance. After he suffers hards.h.i.+ps and I arrive to help him out, he will be truly grateful to me.”
Yan Zhe’s words made all of his subordinates look at him in awe of him. They simply did not expect that their captain’s schemes ran so deeply.
Xiao Chen, who was outside the courtyard, shook his head and smiled bitterly as he left straightaway.
Even after being seen through, you are still acting. Very well, I will continue this act.
Life was like a show; it all depended on acting.
Xiao Chen did not have any good ideas on how to deal with this Yan Zhe for now, so he could only play along with the other party.
Firstly, he needed to verify how strong the Iron Horn Pirate Group was.