Chang Hong Bi looked at him curiously, yet cautiously, and asked, “What… do you mean… isn’t right?”
For some reason, the boy’s question sounded like a thunderous shout in Huo Xiao Di’s ears. He reacted as if struck by a whip, suddenly leaping up. “I mean, something just doesn’t add up here!”
Chang Hong Bi asked, “What doesn’t add up?”
Huo Xiao Di’s expression shifted. A thought, heavy like a boulder, pressed against his chest, making it hard to breathe. His hands felt icy.
His voice turned bitter. “I… have to… go back… and ask… him!”
Before Chang Hong Bi could respond, Huo Xiao Di grabbed his arm and shot off like an arrow, a returning arrow.
* * *
When Huo Xiao Di burst into the rundown temple, his heart was pounding. Even he couldn’t explain why he felt so tense.
Seeing Zhan Ri Fei’s face eased his tightly wound nerves. Zhan Ri Fei’s complexion appeared much improved, so much so that it seemed like the person who had been tormented to near death by the effects of the “Old Friends at First Sight” poison earlier had nothing to do with the man before him now.
Only then did Huo Xiao Di realize how little he truly understood about this black-clad man’s martial prowess.
Every time Zhan Ri Fei made a move, it seemed as though Huo Xiao Di hadn’t caught it.
Before meeting him, Zhan Ri Fei had already endured the dual afflictions of the Shura Sect’s “Old Friends at First Sight” poison and Shang Qing Temple’s “Great Compassion Palm,” yet he had subdued Mu Xiu Quan and fought off the two emissaries of Han Shui Palace afterward.
Just how many secrets was this enigmatic black-clad man hiding?
Strangely, Zhan Ri Fei didn’t appear surprised to see him and Chang Hong Bi return. Huo Xiao Di suddenly felt that his rash decision to come back resembled a rabbit being chased by seven wolves.
The two men stared at each other silently, neither speaking.
At last, Huo Xiao Di couldn’t hold back. “Why aren’t you saying anything?”
Zhan Ri Fei replied, “I don’t know what Huo Xiao Di wishes me to say.” A faint trace of amusement began to flicker in his eyes.
Huo Xiao Di stamped his foot in frustration. “You—! Do you have to make me say it out loud?!”
Zhan Ri Fei said calmly, “Huo Xiao Di’s thoughts are as intricate and unpredictable as Ling Long. I truly cannot guess. Are you hoping I’ll ask, ‘Why has Huo Xiao Di returned after leaving?’”
Huo Xiao Di exclaimed, “Exactly! I came back because something doesn’t make sense to me!”
—If your goal in killing Mu Xiu Quan was to seize Chang Hong Bi, you could have waited until Mu Xiu Quan killed me before making your move. Wouldn’t that have been more advantageous, removing both obstacles at once? With both Mu Xiu Quan and me gone, who else present could have stopped you?
—If your intent was to compete with Han Shui Palace for Chang Hong Bi, you could have waited until I was locked in a grueling battle with them, wearing each other down, instead of intervening prematurely.
—If your aim was Chang Hong Bi, why would you reveal to me that the treasure was actually this child, thus creating an additional adversary for yourself?”
Huo Xiao Di’s frustration boiled over. “Everything I just thought of has glaring flaws! Why didn’t you refute me? Are you deliberately trying to make me look foolish?”
Only after speaking did he realize he hadn’t even given Zhan Ri Fei a chance to defend himself. Still, he couldn’t shake his sense of grievance, as though all this confusion was somehow Zhan Ri Fei’s fault.
Zhan Ri Fei merely smiled and said, “Even without my rebuttal, hasn’t Huo Xiao Di already unraveled the truth? Otherwise, why would you have returned?”
He continued calmly, “I know you don’t fully believe your deductions. If you did, that single move earlier would have been enough to end my life. If you were confident in your conclusions, you would have pierced me through with your sword long ago. How would we still be here, talking like this?”
Huo Xiao Di snapped back, “Don’t celebrate too soon! Just because my deductions have flaws doesn’t mean you’re entirely without suspicion. If you’re innocent, then how do you explain how Xiang Yang Temple’s exclusive ‘Great Compassion Palm’ ended up being used on you?”
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