Zongwu: Aspiring to be the mastermind behind the scenes

Chapter 323 Childlike Innocence Disappears, Tips Off
"What happened? How could Tong Xin suddenly disappear?"

Tong Bo asked anxiously.

Tong Zhan looked guilty and said, "About half a day after you left, which was last night, Tong Xin suddenly jumped out of bed and started rolling around on the floor for some reason."

I tried to stop him, but he overpowered me instead. After a while, he suddenly rushed out of the inn, and I chased after him, but I couldn't catch up with him..."

Although he is called the elder brother, he is actually only a few years younger than Tong Xin, and in terms of martial arts, aptitude is very important.

Tong Zhan can also be considered a genius, after all, he has the blood of the Tong clan flowing through his veins.

But Tong Xin is even more talented than him, being a natural being capable of awakening his bloodline talent.

In addition, a serious illness in his childhood kept his mindset in that of a child, which ironically fostered his childlike innocence and made him even more dedicated to martial arts training than Tong Zhan.

Therefore, his martial arts skills surpassed those of Tong Zhan and became stronger.

The martial arts ranking among the three brothers, from highest to lowest, is: Tong Bo, Tong Xin, and finally Tong Zhan.

However, as the older brother who had always disciplined his younger brother, Tong Xin was somewhat timid in the face of Tong Zhan, and dared not use his true skills.

However, when one's childlike innocence runs wild, such psychological suppression is clearly completely ineffective.

On the contrary, Tong Zhan, as the older brother, did not dare to go all out, for fear of hurting his younger brother.

The result was naturally that he was hurt by Tong Xin.

When Tong Xin rushed out of the inn, he had no time to stop him. He chased after him, but could not keep up with the other's lightness skill.

After searching for most of the night, although we didn't find Tongxin, we were fairly certain that she was heading towards the Imperial Sword Manor.

After considering it, Tong Zhan decided to come to Yujian Manor, partly to find Tong Xin and partly to tell his elder brother about the matter.

At the time, his wanted posters were plastered all over the area around Yujian Manor, so it was quite a risk.

They then sought out Han Batian of Sanhuafang and asked him to help them gather intelligence.

Han Batian naturally couldn't find out what was going on inside Yujian Manor, but in the afternoon, all the Iron-Clad Guards who had been searching everywhere suddenly returned to Yujian Manor and dropped the warrants for Tong Bo and Tong Zhan.

This led Han Batian to speculate that Tong Bo might have been involved in getting the Imperial Sword Manor to withdraw the wanted notice.

Therefore, Tong Bo is very likely at Yujian Manor at this time.

Tong Zhan decided to take the risk and went to Yujian Manor to find Tong Bo.

Seeing his tired face and travel-worn appearance, yet still trying to appear energetic, Tong Bo said, "I understand. You should go and get some rest."

"Big brother!"

Tong Zhan said, "How can I rest in this situation?"

Tong Bo said, "Listen to me, go and rest first."

"Big brother, you..." Tong Zhan realized something was wrong. How could his older brother be acting this way about something as important as Tong Xin's disappearance? "Do you know something?"

Tong Bo sighed helplessly and said, "I do know some things. In fact, a few days ago I..."

He then briefly explained the matter.

"Last night, just as I entered the underground city and killed that blood python, Tong Xin suddenly went mad at that time, which may also be related to this matter."

You said he came from the south, and that direction is clearly towards Yujian Manor, but he's not actually here. Perhaps he went further south.

That is... Yin Zhong's place!

"how so……"

Tong Zhan sat blankly in the chair, then suddenly raised his hand and slapped himself, saying, "It's all my fault. If I hadn't accidentally lost Tong Xin that time, none of this would have happened."

Tong Bo shook his head: "That's Yin Zhong's fault, it has nothing to do with you. Right now, Master Yin has already gathered his troops to fight Yin Zhong with us. If Tong Xin is with him, that would be perfect."

But if he's not there... given the current situation, the only option is to defeat Yin Zhong first, unseal the Water Moon Cave, and then go find Tong Xin.

Although he does care about children's affairs, there are priorities.

The most important thing right now is to defeat Yin Zhong and unseal the Water Moon Cave.

Otherwise, if it freezes for too long, who knows what might happen?
No one can afford to relax in the face of tomorrow's decisive battle.

Especially him.

Having just learned the Whirlwind Sword Technique, he was then taught martial arts by the Dragon Lady.

If Tong Zhan hadn't suddenly come looking for him, he would probably still be diligently cultivating right now.

Although Tong Zhan cares about his younger brother, he is not a clueless or brainless person.

A harsh reality is that, compared to the current situation, childlike innocence does seem less important.

Whether it's dealing with Yin Zhong or lifting the ice seal on Shuiyue Cave, these matters are clearly far more important than Tong Xin.

Therefore, although Tong Zhan was helpless, he could only suppress his troubles and rest in the Imperial Sword Manor.

Tong Bo wasn't completely indifferent to his younger brother, so he went to find Yin Hao and explained the situation.

Firstly, they wanted to use the power of the Imperial Sword Manor to search for Tong Xin's whereabouts.

Secondly, if Tong Xin were to appear beside Yin Zhong during the subsequent battle, informing him in advance could prevent the Imperial Sword Manor from taking drastic measures against her.

Yin Hao readily agreed.

The next morning, I responded to Tong Bo.

Sure enough, Yujian Manor actually discovered traces of Tongxin.

However, that happened the afternoon before.

Moreover, Tong Xin only passed by the vicinity of Yujian Villa briefly before continuing south.

Based on this information, it is almost certain that Tong Xin is currently going to find Yin Zhong.

It's still good news, albeit not entirely.

At least their whereabouts have been confirmed.

Then, the army set off south.

At its peak, the Iron Guard was extremely powerful, with a number of five thousand men, all of whom were armored and martial arts experts.

It should be noted that the Demon Knights of the Demon Master's Palace only number three thousand.

However, the Demon Master Palace is backed by the Yuan Kingdom, which can be considered a large country.

Although Yujian Manor is located in the ancient Shu Kingdom, the ancient Shu Kingdom and Yujian Manor are clearly not on the same side.

The fact that he could raise a 5,000-strong Iron Guard on his own speaks volumes about his strength.

However, that was at the peak of Yujian Mountain.

Today, Yujian Manor is far from being at its peak.

The current lord of the manor, Yin Hao, is not a man of great talent; he can only be considered a mediocre ruler. The only thing worth praising is his kind and benevolent character.

His Iron Guard currently numbers only two thousand men, which is divided into a 1,500-man Iron Guard and a 500-man reserve force.

The Iron Guard is a proper elite army fully armored.

The reserve team, however, did not receive such treatment and were equipped with leather armor.

The reason for this division is that the current Imperial Sword Manor is far from its peak and simply cannot support a sufficient number of elite armored soldiers; it can only provide armor for 1,500 people.

Two hundred of them were transferred away by Yin Zhong.

Yin Hao then mobilized another thousand men to go with him to deal with Yin Zhong.

Only three hundred people were left to guard the mountain villa.

However, if you include the five hundred reserve soldiers, there are actually eight hundred people.

Yin Tianqi did not go with them and was also left behind.

The thousand-strong army marched at a considerable pace.

Even so, it still takes about two days to get there.

During this time, Tong Bo continued to cultivate diligently in order to increase his strength.

At the same time, outside the Water Moon Cave.

Zhou Ming was watching Yin Zhong examine Tong Xin. Just as everyone expected, Tong Xin was right next to Yin Zhong at that moment.

After losing Tong Xin, Yin Zhong did not find her. At that time, he thought that his control method had not succeeded at all.

After that, I didn't pay much attention to it.

In fact, although the whole process was interrupted at the last moment, it was still more than half successful.

Even so, he still has a certain connection with Tong Xin.

However, this connection is extremely weak and will continue to weaken as the distance increases.

At the beginning, Tong Xin was hidden in Zhou Ming's personal space, so Yin Zhong couldn't find her.

Later, Zhou Ming released him, but the connection was extremely weak.

Furthermore, his connection with Tong Xin was essentially the same as that of the Blood Python, so Yin Zhong didn't notice this at all.

But the blood python died the night before last.

As Yin Zhong sensed this, he also noticed the connection between himself and Tong Xin.

It's like inserting a wig into a person's full head of beautiful hair; no one would notice.

But inserting a wig into a bald man's head is incredibly obvious.

After Yin Zhong discovered this, he was furious about the death of the Blood Python, and at the same time, he tried to strengthen this connection so that Tong Xin could return to his side.

The result, naturally, was that they achieved their goal.

To be honest, Yin Zhong is also somewhat pitiful.

The original story of Shuiyue Cave Heaven contained elements of intellectual battles and mystery-solving, with the main mystery being the identity of Yin Zhong.

While the protagonists unravel the mystery of Yin Zhong's identity, Yin Zhong himself is constantly testing and trying to find a way to enter the Water Moon Cave.

But now, because of Zhou Ming's interference, Tong Bo not only knows all of Yin Zhong's secrets, but has also united all the people he can with him.

On the other hand, Yin Zhong, apart from having a slight suspicion of Tong Bo's identity but guessing wrong and still mistakenly believing that Tong Bo was indeed a member of the Tong clan who had secretly learned the Dragon God Technique, knew almost nothing else.

They didn't even know that Tong Xin was Tong Bo's younger brother.

Not to mention any power or influence.

However, even so, Yin Zhong still has a significant advantage.

Because he is too strong.

Moreover, he didn't know what kind of tricks he was hiding.

For example, even though he was completely unaware of the changes at Yujian Manor, he still had a bad feeling about it.

This premonition began with the death of the Blood Python and continues to haunt him to this day.

Yin Zhong then decided to help Tong Xin open his third eye as soon as possible and make him his assistant.

“The path of cultivation through magic has almost no combat power in the early stages. Even if it can help this person open their Heavenly Eye, what use would it be?”

Zhou Ming asked.

Yin Zhong smiled and said, "I can have the power of heaven and earth that he receives when he opens his Heavenly Eye be poured into his body to temporarily enhance his strength."

Zhou Ming exclaimed in surprise, "There's such a method?"

Yin Zhongdao said, "This method can only be used temporarily and cannot be sustained."

Tong Xin himself did not possess any means of refining the power of heaven and earth, so even if these powers flowed into his body, he could not make them his own, and could only use them crudely and temporarily.

Moreover, such a powerful force surging directly into his body would put enormous pressure on his body and meridians, and if he was not careful, his meridians might rupture.

If things develop to that point, at best one will lose all their martial arts skills, and at worst one will die on the spot.

Essentially, it's a matter where the risks and benefits are completely incomparable.

"I didn't expect my second uncle to have such a method. It's quite timely to use it now."

"Ok?"

Yin Zhong was taken aback: "What do you mean by that, my dear nephew?"

Zhou Ming said with a smile, "The organization behind me sent me some intelligence. The master of Yujian Manor recalled all the Iron Guards yesterday, withdrew the wanted notice for Hua Ying, and today led a thousand Iron Guards southward."

For a moment, Yin Zhong didn't even realize what this intelligence meant.

But it was only for a moment.

Then, with a look of shock and anger on his face, he asked, "Is the news true?"

"That is certainly true."

Yin Zhong's complexion returned to normal, but his eyes became even more profound.

The withdrawal of the arrest warrant signifies a reconciliation with Tong Bo's side.

Leading a thousand Iron Guards south... At other times, perhaps all sorts of possibilities would have arisen.

But at this moment, Yin Zhong could only think of one possibility.

"I understand, thank you for reminding me, my dear nephew!"

In a way, Yin Zhong has gotten what he wanted.

After all, his goal was simply to wait for the rabbit to run into the tree stump.

Now the rabbit has arrived.

It's just that there are a lot of them coming.

But he was not afraid at all and calmly began to make various preparations.

Yin Zhong's current state does indeed indicate that his strength is somewhat weak.

Even setting aside the experts, the mere presence of a thousand Iron Guards would be a huge problem for him.

If a surprise attack were to suddenly appear, Yin Zhong would probably have no way to deal with it.

But now that he has learned the information in advance, Yin Zhong will naturally let those people see just how terrifying the foundation of an old monster who has lived for thousands of years is!
"What are your thoughts on this matter, my dear nephew?"

"What are you saying, Second Uncle? I was just given some information by Second Uncle."

"Stop pretending, I don't believe you haven't considered that possibility!"

Zhou Ming smiled and said, "Second Uncle, I met you first, and then I came to Yujian Manor. No matter what happens to Yujian Manor, I will naturally stand on your side."

"That's good!"

Yin Zhong smiled with some relief.

At this moment, he recalled his original purpose in seeking out Pei Ju: to cultivate Zhou Ming and make him his capable assistant.

Unfortunately, Zhou Ming grew too fast, not only in terms of strength, but also by joining a reclusive clan.

This caused his original idea to fall through and created many barriers between them.

The Jade Tablet Heavenly Book mainly records the cultivation methods of the Tong clan, and includes some magical spells.

But clearly that wasn't Yin Zhong's true skill, nor was it his entire repertoire.

He originally intended to teach Zhou Ming gradually after he had grown up.

But I didn't expect the other party to have grown, and to have grown so quickly.

The idea in my heart had to be abandoned.

These techniques, of course, cannot be taught.

Now, Zhou Ming's attitude makes him feel that perhaps he can pass on some of his knowledge.

"In that case..."

He thought for a moment and said, "Next, I'll help my second uncle with some things."

Zhou Ming smiled: "Okay, Second Uncle!"

(End of this chapter)