Chapter 33: Scapegoat

“……”

Chi Xue felt it made sense when she heard it, but at the same time, she thought Bai Wuzhuang was being a bit paranoid.

She hid at the corner, secretly watching the Zheng Fangxing Cave. There had been no movement inside for a long while; it didn’t look like anyone was lying in ambush.

But, it was true that there were many unseen blind spots to the left and right of that Bronze Bell, making it very easy to set up an ambush.

Moreover, there was only one path into Zheng Fangxing Cave—anyone wanting to ring the bell had to pass through there.

“Are you sure you’re not just overthinking it?” Chi Xue whispered.

“Shh, let’s wait for someone else to go in and test it out. I wouldn’t go in there even if you beat me to death,” Bai Wuzhuang replied, pressing down on her head and speaking in a barely audible voice.

“Isn’t this a little cowardly of us?” Chi Xue scratched her head.

“Didn’t you say you’re only a little stronger than me? And even if you’re really strong, you can’t beat the Wolf King. Dong Daren and I both saw it with our own eyes—Qing Shaofei stabbed Feng Shaoye in the back, and that Immortal Blood Wolf Claw he unleashed could tear you to pieces in an instant. Qing Shaofei is dead, but the Wolf King’s revived. If you’re not afraid of dying, go ahead and try,” Bai Wuzhuang said, sounding a bit impatient.

“This is kind of a waste of time,” Chi Xue still grumbled.

“If it were Dong Daren, there wouldn’t be so much nonsense. Besides, it was Tuo Long who found that bell last round. He knows the routes better than any of us, and knows better how to hide and kill,” Bai Wuzhuang muttered.

“Tuo Long? You think he’s a Wolf? That can’t be right. If he were a Wolf, why would he ring the bell? Only a good Sheep would do that.” Chi Xue asked, puzzled.

“He rang the bell exactly so you wouldn’t suspect he’s a Wolf. Isn’t that just falling for his trick? That’s exactly what he wants you to think,” Bai Wuzhuang analyzed.

“Mm…” Chi Xue felt like that made sense, but there was still something off.

Little White’s logic was all her own guesswork, no evidence or reasoning, just wild talk.

But the strangest thing was, her wild guesses were usually right. Otherwise, Chi Xue wouldn’t be running with her.

Since they were in this together, she could only trust her unconditionally.

So Chi Xue stopped complaining, and the two squatted together in the dark corner, occasionally taking out the Brass Mirror to keep watch on the Maze’s central Bronze Bell.

No idea how long they’d been crouched there.

Bai Wuzhuang leaned against the wall, almost falling asleep, leaving Chi Xue to hold the Brass Mirror and keep watch.

“Sha sha~ sha sha~ sha sha~”

There was a sudden rustling up ahead, and Chi Xue elbowed Bai Wuzhuang awake.

Bai Wuzhuang nearly coughed up blood from the blow. Fortunately, she’d just awakened as a cultivator. She pricked up her ears to listen.

“Footsteps,” she muttered, lying atop Chi Xue, peering through the Brass Mirror.

In the middle of the tunnel was a figure, moving back and forth at the intersection.

This crossroad was shaped like the character “王,” and the two of them were hiding at the far end. The middle of the road had more branching paths, making it rather complex.

However, the mysterious newcomer was much braver than the two of them, walking out directly and boldly heading for the Bronze Bell at the Maze’s center.

Bai Wuzhuang glanced at the figure’s back and immediately recognized him as Er Xiaozi, one of the two Divine Seal Bodyguards.

This guy was likely either the Horned Sheep or the Black Sheep—having him scout ahead was ideal.

But something else puzzled Bai Wuzhuang: during the voting, those two bodyguards always got votes for no apparent reason.

In the first few rounds, they’d been lone wanderers, not even meeting anyone. Why were people voting for them?

The answer was simple: the two Divine Seal Bodyguards must have been voting for each other—perhaps because they were enemies outside, rivals in the same line of work.

Anyone could see these two wouldn’t play by the rules. Even if they were Horned Sheep and Black Sheep, they’d never cooperate.

Chi Xue wasn’t as naive as Dong Huiting. She and Bai Wuzhuang watched as Er Xiaozi took step after step toward the Bronze Bell, not planning to warn him.

If nothing happened, all the better—let Er Xiaozi ring the Bronze Bell, and they could move to the next level of the Maze.

If he was ambushed…

They’d deal with it later; either way, it didn’t matter.

But this Divine Seal Bodyguard Er Xiaozi wasn’t reckless—he remained alert, gripping his long blade as he crept into the Maze’s center.

“What are you all doing here?” Er Xiaozi, entering, looked around and shouted in surprise.

Chi Xue, watching from the shadows, was just as startled—Bai Wuzhuang’s guess was actually right.

In the next instant, a scarlet, piercing claw flashed out from the right-hand corner, smashing Er Xiaozi’s raised blade to fragments as he tried to block.

Then, with another blow, it pierced his chest, ripping out his heart entirely.

Just like that, Er Xiaozi fell dead, his corpse sprawled on the ground, blood splattering everywhere.

He hadn’t even had a chance to fight back. The enemy killed him as easily as snapping a chick’s neck.

“…That was the Wolf King’s attack?”

Chi Xue’s scalp tingled. Thank goodness she’d listened to Bai Wuzhuang—otherwise, she’d be the one with her heart ripped out.

“Now that you’ve seen a corpse, you should be able to awaken the Sheepdog Ability, right?” Bai Wuzhuang asked.

“……”

Chi Xue stayed silent.

“Why aren’t you saying anything?” Bai Wuzhuang pressed.

“Not close enough,” Chi Xue replied.

“……”

Now it was Bai Wuzhuang’s turn to fall silent.

“So what do we do?” Chi Xue scratched her head.

“We charge. The one hiding in there has to be Lao Mo. He’s stolen the Wolf King’s Power, but the Wolf King can only use his ability once per round. Right now, he’s at his weakest. If we want to kill him, it has to be now,” Bai Wuzhuang suddenly turned bold.

She finished speaking, then drew her pitch-black short sword and crawled out from behind the corner, sticking close to the wall beneath the shadow of Yin-Yang.

Chi Xue had no choice but to risk her life and follow.

The two of them crept stealthily toward the Zheng Fangxing Cave at the center of the Maze.

But halfway there, just as they reached the crossroad where Er Xiaozi had appeared, Bai Wuzhuang suddenly stopped.

Chi Xue bumped her nose into Bai Wuzhuang’s backside, looking puzzled. She whispered in the tiniest voice, “Why aren’t we moving?”

Bai Wuzhuang realized something was wrong, and quickly rolled back to the corner.

Chi Xue could only roll back with her. Now, both of them hid at the corner of the crossroad.

“You all? Didn’t that bodyguard just say ‘you all’?” Bai Wuzhuang whispered.

“You mean…” Chi Xue instantly caught her meaning.

Bai Wuzhuang meant there wasn’t just one person hiding in the Zheng Fangxing Cave. Besides Prisoner Old Mo, there were others lying in wait.

“Ka ka ka~ ka ka ka~”

Luckily, they’d hidden in time. Eerie noises came from within the Zheng Fangxing Cave.

Daring Bai Wuzhuang once again pulled out the Brass Mirror and peeked outside.

She saw two pairs of fair, feminine arms roughly dragging Er Xiaozi’s corpse into a blind corner of the room.

Where did these women come from?

Among female cultivators, there were only herself, Chi Xue, and Dong Huiting.

No, besides us, there definitely were other women.