From the end of the world

Chapter 302 Meeting Xuanwu

"what?"

Ma Zao looked confused. She might think that according to the trend of this conversation, I should give up meeting the navy master Xuanwu.

"Aren't you going to save your friends?" she asked helplessly.

"No, I want to go save Chang'an. I decided to put the matter of the panacea aside for the time being. I feel a little sorry for you in this regard," I said.

She quickly said, "That's not the case. I just felt that I shouldn't continue."

"There are two reasons why I said I wanted to meet Xuanwu."

In order to reorganize my thoughts, I integrated the clues in my mind and turned them into words to explain them to Ma Zao.

"Two?" she wondered.

"For one thing, since Xuanwu was most likely attracted to Yueyin Mountain City by your strange luck, we will definitely meet sooner or later. Even if we want to bypass him, it is estimated that it will not work." I said, "Instead of letting him continue to hide in the dark and attack me at any time, it is better for us to take the initiative and meet him when he appears at the place designated by Gua Tianshi to test his specific attitude."

"That's true..."

Perhaps because she felt it was her responsibility, she became a little embarrassed.

"You don't have to blame yourself. Although there is such a reason, the second reason is equally important." I said, "If nothing unexpected happens, the reason why Xuanwu chose Yueyin Mountain City as the meeting place is not only because he was attracted by you, but also because he had something else to do. We can't know what his purpose is in Yueyin Mountain City now, but we can at least guess the general direction."

Following my words, she said thoughtfully: "It's something related to Silver Moon...right?"

"Don't think of anything else." I said, "If his goal is really to see Silver Moon, then just like us, he may have to go to the deepest part of the fog to see Silver Moon herself."

"Will he be able to do it?" she asked.

"He is a Great Master Demon Hunter who has lived for hundreds of years. Like Yin Yue, he is also rated by Fu Feng as invincible below the Great Impermanence. Although there is no evidence to prove that he definitely has a way, he is at least better than us." I said, "And through him, maybe we can get clues to find Yin Yue."

"I see..." She nodded in admiration.

"Also... I still plan to challenge the prediction of Gua Tianshi and see if I can have it all." I continued, "But in order to prevent failure in Chang'an, I need to make some adjustments.

"Considering that the situation in Chang'an is more urgent now, I will give priority to saving Chang'an. Therefore, even if Xuanwu wants to abide by the agreement and give me the panacea, I will refuse. However, I am not going to give up the opportunity to ask for the panacea, but I am going to propose to delay it until after this incident is over.

"Giving up the panacea does not mean that Chang'an can be saved, but getting the panacea will make it impossible for me to save Chang'an. In other words, as long as I don't get it before saving Chang'an, it will be fine.

"And if Xuanwu feels that 'the customer requested to serve the food later' is disrespectful to him and breaks the agreement in anger, then... maybe you will have to give up on getting the panacea from him. You may need to be mentally prepared."

In fact, considering the prophecy that "if you get one, you are doomed to lose the other", there may be some potential unknown causal relationship between "getting the panacea" and "saving Chang'an's soul"... For example, if I want to save Chang'an's soul, I must consume the panacea on him. In this way, "you can't have both" can be said to be reasonable.

Judging from the tone of the hexagram master, the matter does not seem to be that simple. It is more likely that there is no causal relationship between the two parties. "You can't have both" is more of a fate that will happen to me. Because my luck is not enough to make me achieve two great successes at the same time, I can only choose one.

In the worst case, the mere act of "going to see the navy master Xuanwu" will advance the "progress bar" of "getting the panacea" and reduce the "progress bar" of "saving Chang'an's soul".

But it is more in my nature to actually meet him than to speculate here. Most importantly, we don’t have the choice to meet or not. We can only choose whether we take the initiative to meet him or be forced to meet him in the near future.

"You can rest assured that I won't be disappointed so easily." Ma Zao said seriously.

"Well... I'll leave now," I said. "Just in case, you stay in the hotel. If I need you later, I'll notify you through thermal energy marking."

"I understand." She nodded vigorously.

"Oh, there's one more thing..." I thought for a moment and said, "It's already the second day, so I want to return to my original appearance." This time she was a little slow, then nodded slowly: "Oh..."

What happened to the promise of “I won’t be disappointed so easily”?

But I don't want to continue to meet the Water Master Xuanwu in this 12 or 13-year-old form. I had an appointment when I met the Ancient Moon God before, so I couldn't do it (thinking carefully, it should have been the next day), and I can't do it this time. The other party may become an enemy, and I don't want to be underestimated by my enemies.

We finished our meal and left the restaurant. I first sent Ma Zao back to the hotel, then turned into an adult and went alone to the address designated by Gua Tianshi where the Water Master Xuanwu would stay.

It was a local tourist garden with fresh air and elegant environment. There were many neatly trimmed flowers, trees and sculptures on both sides of the narrow stone road. The ticket was a little expensive, so I paid the money and walked around. It was probably because the people in the town were turbulent now, and no one would be patient enough to appreciate the gardening here, so this tourist garden is now deserted, exuding a deep and quiet atmosphere.

Thanks to the small number of people, I didn't have to search for the target in the crowd. Soon, I found the person who seemed to be the target.

It was a man standing under the trellis, quietly admiring the plants. He was about 40 or 50 years old, which was considered the prime of life for some men who were good at keeping fit, and he exuded that kind of vigorous aura. His body had swollen and tight muscles, and he was wearing light-colored clothes that reminded people of the training clothes at a martial arts hall, and he stood as straight as a pole.

Although he looks very powerful, he does not give people an aggressive impression. He is more like a scholar or professor who participates in sports and fitness in his spare time.

The vigorous spirit in his body seemed to be suppressed by a calm temperament like the abyss of the sea. At first glance, he seemed to be just an ordinary calm man, even I almost misjudged him. Fortunately, he appeared in this place. If he was mixed in the crowd, maybe even I would have accidentally missed him.

Only when I realize that he is not an ordinary person can I appreciate his transcendence. In fact, I think it is definitely not an illusion, he vaguely gives me a real sense of giantness.

Different from the threat Yin Yue brought to me before, the feeling he brought to me actually reminded me of the fate turbidity that attacked me and Ma Zao. I can conclude that he is still at the same level as me, but he seems to have some parts that have been exposed to the realm of great impermanence in advance.

I think he should be the Navy Master Xuanwu.

"Ok?"

Perhaps he noticed my gaze, he frowned and his eyes flashed towards me like lightning.

"Xuanwu, right?" I asked.

"...You are, Zhuang Cheng?" he said, "I don't think I have told you about my itinerary."

"I'll find a way to find you," I said.

Now he was still hiding from Xuan Ming and his followers, so the fact that I could find his exact location so easily was probably not something he should take lightly. He frowned tightly, as if he was lost in thought, and then his eyebrows relaxed, as if he had found the answer.

"It's Gua Tianshi, right?" he asked. "From the fact that my Fa Tian Xiang Di was suppressed, Gua Tianshi should also be in Yue Yin Mountain City now. Although I did guess this, I didn't expect him to reveal my whereabouts to you...

"He shouldn't be the kind of person who would give away the information he got from divination for free without any reason. Did you join his sect to avoid being hunted down by the Great Impermanence?"

"It's up to you," I said.

"...Is that so? If you ask me, a character who is so bold as to challenge the Great Impermanence is unlikely to be a coward who would later tuck his tail between his legs and seek refuge under another Great Impermanence." He looked at me calmly, "In other words, it's not you who needs the Gua Tianshi, but the Gua Tianshi who needs you...

"Is he going to take the initiative to recruit you to his sect? No, how could that be possible... If it was someone else, it would be fine, but how could he extend an olive branch to a demon hunter like you whose background is unknown and who has awakened tremendous power for unknown reasons..."

"Is there any problem for a demon hunter like me who 'awakened great power for some unknown reason'?" I asked.

Hearing this, he showed a strange smile that seemed to be both sarcastic and self-deprecating, and then slowly said: "Come to think of it... I haven't introduced myself to you yet."

I nodded and said, "I am Zhuang Cheng. It's our first meeting. Please give me your guidance."

"I am Xuanwu, and I am the alchemist Shuishi you are looking for." He said calmly, "At the same time, I am also the one who will take your life later."

(End of this chapter)