Following his memory, Fang Yuan brought Jia Jinsheng to the same mountain wall crevice once more.
The two entered the crevice. The path grew narrower and narrower, and their surroundings plunged into complete darkness. Jia Jinsheng grew increasingly apprehensive with each step — after all, he was a stranger in unfamiliar territory.
Finally, he couldn't hold back: "I have a question. Jia Fu has always presented himself as an honest man — kind, approachable, and trustworthy. Meanwhile, I'm the one who swindles, cheats, and forces trades. Why did you choose me for this deal instead of him?"
From within the crevice came Fang Yuan's answer: "Because his cultivation is too high. If he saw the Shadow Wall, he could choose to trade with me, or he could choose to abandon the deal and hand the Shadow Wall over to the Guye Patriarch. I don't like putting the initiative in someone else's hands. Besides, I never believed in so-called honesty. So-called reputation is all bullshit — it's just that the profits weren't big enough to move their hearts, nothing more."
The more important reason was that Jia Jinsheng held a unique position but possessed weak cultivation, making him far easier to manipulate. Naturally, Fang Yuan would never say that out loud.
"Heh heh." Jia Jinsheng let out two dry laughs, and most of his suspicion immediately dissolved. "That last line of yours really hits home."
The two finally squeezed into the secret cave within the mountain.
Jia Jinsheng spotted the Shadow Wall the instant he looked up, and burst into hearty laughter: "Haha! I bet right — you didn't lie to me!"
Fang Yuan stood behind him and let out a soft chuckle, saying nothing.
Jia Jinsheng stared at the Shadow Wall. The images on the rock face shifted ceaselessly, replaying the entangled history between Hua Jiu Xing Zhe and the Fourth Generation Patriarch.
After watching it through once, he withdrew his gaze, turned sideways to look at Fang Yuan, and taunted: "Looks like your fourth-generation ancestor wasn't all that impressive."
Fang Yuan replied: "That's nothing unusual. The Guye Clan needed a hero, so the Fourth Generation became a hero. Before long, the Bai Family Stronghold will need a despicable scoundrel, and the Fourth Generation will become a despicable scoundrel. Hero or scoundrel — they're just labels others attach to you."
"Wonderful words!" Jia Jinsheng clapped his hands and laughed while surveying the secret cave.
His gaze lingered for a moment on the skeletal remains of Hua Jiu Xing Zhe, and he remarked: "What a pity — a Fifth Transformation powerhouse. Little brother, you must have reaped quite a few rewards from him?"
The legacy of a Fifth Transformation Gu Master was naturally no small matter. At the mere thought of it, Jia Jinsheng's heart stirred, and he couldn't resist probing Fang Yuan for details.
Fang Yuan shook his head: "It's been so long. Most of the Gu died. I only managed to get one Wine Worm."
Jia Jinsheng didn't believe him: "Little brother, don't lie to me. Once this deal goes through, we're accomplices — I won't tell a soul. Tell me honestly, how much did you really get?"
Fang Yuan let out a cold snort, too lazy to bother replying, and offered no further explanation.
This reaction from Jia Jinsheng was exactly what Fang Yuan had anticipated. It was precisely why he had chosen Jia Jinsheng over Jia Fu.
Jia Jinsheng continued on his own regardless: "Setting everything else aside, I know Hua Jiu Xing Zhe possessed the famous Thousand-Mile Earth Wolf Spider. It's a Fifth Transformation mount Gu — enormous in size and extraordinarily skilled at burrowing through earth. Hua Jiu Xing Zhe walked the Demonic Path, and the reason he could roam freely was that he relied on this Thousand-Mile Earth Wolf Spider to burrow away from Righteous Path encirclements time and again."
"Oh? Is that so?" Fang Yuan furrowed his brow slightly. He genuinely hadn't heard much intelligence on Hua Jiu Xing Zhe.
Jia Jinsheng puffed up with pride: "When I came to your Stockade last year, I heard this legend and found it very interesting, so I made a point of asking around when I got home. The Thousand-Mile Earth Wolf Spider and Hua Jiu Xing Zhe were virtually inseparable. In my view, this secret cave in the mountain was carved out by the Thousand-Mile Earth Wolf Spider. After all, Qing Mao Mountain is entirely thick, sticky green earth — how could a cave like this form naturally? Little brother, stop hiding it. Hua Jiu Xing Zhe died here, so his Thousand-Mile Earth Wolf Spider must be here too!"
Fang Yuan's frown deepened. He felt a growing sense of unease, and his gaze turned dark and distant: "True, there's no other exit from here. The Thousand-Mile Earth Wolf Spider is massive — it could never squeeze through the crevice we came in by. However, it's also possible that the spider was trapped and killed in advance by the Fourth Generation's scheme. You saw it in the Shadow Wall — throughout the fierce battle, Hua Jiu Xing Zhe never once summoned the Thousand-Mile Earth Wolf Spider."
"Then this matter is even more suspicious. This secret cave couldn't have formed naturally — it must have been carved out by Hua Jiu Xing Zhe on the spot. If he didn't have the Thousand-Mile Earth Wolf Spider, did he have some other means?" Jia Jinsheng looked at Fang Yuan with deep suspicion.
Fang Yuan's brow was now knotted into an almost solid tangle. The unease within him kept growing. The fresh intelligence he had just obtained from Jia Jinsheng made him vaguely realize that there was some crucial link he had overlooked.
He couldn't help but sink into deep thought.