“I don’t hate him because of your order.” Pan Yue’s disgust was painted all over his face. “I am absolutely disgusted by his actions and that is why I did not save him!”

“Oh? What did he do?” Rong Yuan’s curiosity was piqued.

Pan Yue cursed under his breath and ignored Rong Yuan’s insult at him. “That old man came to find me after you guys disappeared. He forced me to tell him your method of disappearance, thinking that I helped you guys. When we were discovered, he threw me out as bait. If not for him, my Royal Father would not know that I helped you guys. In his eyes, I am a useless person and he never suspected me before.”

Oh, so he knew that he was a useless son! 

Gu Lingzhi and Rong Yuan wore an amused expression and Pan Yue could only scour at his friends’ reactions.

However, they now understood why he was exposed and their disdain towards Mao Dingling grew.

“Are you speaking the truth?”

“Of course I am, why would I lie to you?”

Lord Fashen nodded his head, “Alright, we shall leave him there then.”

Lord Fashen’s dispassionate response stunned Gu Lingzhi and the rest as they could not believe what they heard. Although that seemed impractical, they could do without Mao Dingling.

Seeing the hesitation by the group, Lord Fashen coughed, “Do you think he will be grateful to you if you save him? You guys are too young. Let me ask you, what is the scariest thing in a war?”

What is it? Is it the enemy?

Gu Lingzhi wondered to herself.

Rong Huachang smiled knowingly and only Rong Yuan’s eyes flashed, having grasped Lord Fashen’s intentions, “The scariest thing in a war is not the enemy but the betrayal of someone with you. From Mao Dingling’s actions, he might not be a traitor, but who would be comfortable with battling with him when he readily sells his comrades to the enemy?”

“That is right. It is important to have as many Demigods as possible. However, it is more important to have a reliable comrade.”

Gu Lingzhi nodded in realization before she turned towards Pan Yue.

 Wasn’t he an example of a betrayer?

The North Qiu Kingdom’s demise would come soon enough. Pan Yue sold his family for the greater cause. Otherwise, how would the Alliance receive a report to reveal North Qiu Kingdom’s scheme? Furthermore, when the war started, Pan Yue donated generously to the war effort under his identity of Wu Yue. No ordinary man could achieve what Pan Yue did.

“Hey, what are you looking at me for? Without me, would you be here now?” Pan Yue scoffed as he felt Gu Lingzhi staring at him.

“That is why I am looking at you in admiration.” Gu Lingzhi chuckled, “Can’t you see the gratefulness in my eyes?”

“I can't see it.” Pan Yue shook his head. He could only see disgust in Gu Lingzhi’s gaze.

“That just means you are not looking hard enough or you do not have enough empathy.”

Gu Lingzhi and Pan Yue bickered with each other. Finally, Rong Yuan cut in, “Alright, stop talking to an idiot or you will become one too.”

Rong Yuan was obviously being jealous. Gu Lingzhi laughed to herself and stopped arguing with Pan Yue.

Once again, Rong Huachang fell into a state of confusion. The interactions between them did not seem like regular acquaintances.

Were they good friends? 

“Grand-aunt, you will know about it when he is ready to tell you. Let us discuss how we are going to take the Sacred Weapon from Pan Luming now.” Observing Rong Huachang’s confusion, Rong Yuan laughed and changed the topic.

Rong Yuan did not want to lie to Rong Huachang as he respected her deeply. However, he could not reveal Pan Yue’s secret without his consent and hence he could only change the topic.

Rong Huachang knew that Rong Yuan did not want to say anything and she did not probe him further. Turning to Lord Fashen, she waited for his decision…

In the following days, the guards of the palace searched the vicinity multiple times without any trace of the spies from the Alliance. By then, Pan Luming and the elders were certain of the Black Thorn’s identity and they were determined to catch her. All of them were fixed upon the Black Thorn and they searched everywhere for her. Left with no choice, Gu Lingzhi who now disguised herself as Pan Wen again, had to accept the task of finding the Black Thorn.

Before Pan Yu could finish briefing ‘Pan Wen’ on his mission, he revealed that he had sensitive information on the Black Thorn, one that he could only reveal to Pan Luming in a private meeting.

Staring at ‘Pan Wen’’s pleading eyes, Pan Yu hesitated for a few minutes.

‘Pan Wen’’s actions had disappointed him recently and Pan Yu thought it would be a good opportunity for ‘Pan Wen’ to gain favor with the Chief Duke. Since this was a chance for the Chief Duke to gain a better impression of ‘Pan Wen’, Pan Yu readily agreed to the request.

As anticipated by Gu Lingzhi, Pan Luming quickly jumped onto the bait. Pan Luming rarely met large crowds unless it was a grand event. The assassin situation in the palace lured Pan Luming out of his hole and this showed how highly he regarded the situation to be.

Passing through numerous palaces, Gu Lingzhi arrived at a forbidden palace that was hidden out of plain sight.

The entrance to the palace was below the ancestral hall. Pan Yu pushed a secret button behind a statue leading to the palace and the large doors of the palace grunted as they moved aside to reveal a flight of stairs that led to the basement.

Gu Lingzhi followed closely behind Pan Yu as she headed down. At the bottom of the stairs was a crystal jade door that automatically opened when Gu Lingzhi stepped in front of it, making her gape in awe. As expected of the man that carried the Royal Family on his shoulders, his palace was of another level. When the North Qiu Kingdom was defeated, Gu Lingzhi wanted the craftsmen from the Alliance to learn the architecture behind the design of this secret palace.

As the Earth Palace opened, Gu Lingzhi was struck by the beauty and splendor of the palace she saw before her.

Like the décor outside the door, the Earth Palace was constructed with a luxurious aura. From the architecture, Gu Lingzhi could tell that the Royal Family of the North Qiu Kingdom soaked in the luxury of their wealth. No other kingdom could compare to the splurging of the North Qiu Kingdom’s Royal Family.

Pagodas and pavilions were erected in all four corners of the palace, each built for a specific leader of the Royal Family. If she had not observed carefully, Gu Lingzhi would not believe that the interior of the palaces were as grand as the exterior. In the middle of the palaces was a hundred feet tall statue.

The statue was that of a man who had a clean and dashing face. The statue held himself up smartly and Gu Lingzhi could feel the honor that the man had.

Without Zi Zi informing her, Gu Lingzhi immediately recognized the statue as her enemy, Pan Luo.

The moment she landed her eyes on the statue, a strong sense of heat swept through her from the depths of her bones and she quavered slightly from the sheer intensity of hatred.

“Wen’er, what’s wrong?” Pan Yu suddenly asked as he saw ‘Pan Wen’ rooted to the spot.

Pan Yu’s voice shook him to his senses again and ‘Pan Wen’ laughed lightly, “It’s nothing, Father. I am just taking a closer look at the Grandmaster.” She had to take a close look at Pan Luo’s face to know who she should exact revenge on.

“The Grandmaster is a very accomplished man!” Pan Yu praised the Grandmaster, thinking that his son was in admiration of the Grandmaster. Pan Yu continued to praise the Grandmaster before he bowed a few times in front of him. He even forced ‘Pan Wen’ to bow to him.

Bow to her enemy? She would rather be killed than bow to him!

Killing intent flashed through Gu Lingzhi’s eyes. Her hatred was even worse than when Pan Liwen forced her to kneel to the Pan Family ancestors. The ancestors of the Pan Family were the descendants of Pan Luo and they had not been directly involved with the Spirit Tribe. The hate Gu Lingzhi felt towards them was mainly because of the war. She had not resisted kneeling to them as much as she reeled in disgust as kneeling to Pan Luo!

Pan Luo was different! He was the main perpetrator in causing the destruction of the Spirit Tribe. Why should she bow to him?

Hiding the killing intent that flooded his face, ‘Pan Wen’ purposely changed the topic, “Father, I need to see the Chief Duke now. It won’t be too late to pay my respects to the Grandmaster later.”

“Right, let’s meet the Chief Duke first. The matter of the Spirit Tribe descendant is more important to deal with.”

Pan Yu’s attention was immediately shifted and he stood up from the floor as he dusted his pants. Without thinking twice, he led ‘Pan Wen’ off in another direction.

As they walked, ‘Pan Wen’ took a final glance at the statue, resentment continued to fill his eyes.

The Imperial Guards had stayed behind when they entered the underground palace and ‘Pan Wen’ was not particularly worried about others keeping watch on his moves. With the face of his enemy etched deeply into his mind, ‘Pan Wen’ kept up with Pan Yu’s steps and headed off to find Pan Luming.

Pan Luming’s room was located in the deepest part of his palace. After passing through many corridors, the two stopped at a large, red-colored door. Without knocking on the door, Pan Yu called, “Chief Duke, we are here.”

“Mm, let him come in.” Pan Luming’s deep voice reverberated down the corridor.

Pan Yu stepped behind and urged ‘Pan Wen’ to enter the room, “Go in. I told the Chief Duke about your request to meet him. You can go in by yourself.”

“Are you not coming in?” Was he going to meet Pan Luming alone? Were things going to be so smooth?

Pan Yu shook his head, “The Chief Duke dislikes being disturbed by others. You can go in by yourself, I have other matters to attend to.”

With that assurance, ‘Pan Wen’ took in a deep breath to calm himself down before he pushed aside the doors.

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