On the road...
Uncle Nate quickly realized these young people weren't ordinary.
Even the delicate-looking girl had incredible stamina. They'd spent the entire morning trekking through rugged mountains and forests, and she hadn't uttered a single complaint, nor had she fallen behind.
By noon, Uncle Nate led Elias Vale and the others to the bandit hideout.
The place had already been reduced to charred ruins.
Damon lawson picked up a piece of scorched charcoal from the ashes and said flatly, "Still warm. This fire didn't happen too long ago."
Another student found a chipped broadsword and pointed it out. "The blade's damaged. Must've struck something really hard."
Meanwhile, Serena Wren had discovered a deep pit in the middle of the camp.
"Come look at this! There are charred corpses down here!"
The group quickly gathered.
Uncle Nate took one glance and his expression changed drastically. He muttered, "Not good."
"What is it?" Serena asked.
"These bodies are drenched in yin energy. They've already undergone zombification," Uncle Nate replied grimly.
Everyone immediately understood what that meant.
Clearly, those two punks from Martial Saint Academy had used Old Master Ren to bite and infect these bandits, waited for them to turn into zombies, then killed them again to boost their mission rating.
Realizing that someone else had stolen the plan they'd been counting on, the students were furious.
One young man couldn't help but curse. "Bastards! If I ever find them, I'll turn them into zombies first and then kill them!"
"Hm?"
Uncle Nate turned to the young man with a sharp look. "You seem to know a lot about zombies."
The student immediately realized he'd misspoken. He quickly backtracked. "Uncle Nate, it was just a figure of speech. I didn't mean anything by it."
The others all glared at him. His slip had drawn suspicion.
Though Uncle Nate didn't press the issue further, a seed of doubt had been planted. He was growing wary of these young people.
Serena quickly tried to smooth things over. "Uncle Nate, we should focus on tracking them first."
Without another word, Uncle Nate resumed his Daoist ritual, using the Divine Guidance spell to continue tracking Old Master Ren's location.
An hour later, they arrived at a nearby village.
The village chief saw the group approaching and looked both confused and cautious.
"Who are you people? What brings you here?"
Uncle Nate stepped forward politely and gave a formal greeting. "Are you the village chief?"
"I am," the man replied.
"Chief, have you seen anyone pass through here carrying a coffin?"
The village chief glanced at Uncle Nate's upright posture and dignified aura. He didn't seem like a bad man, so after a brief pause, he answered truthfully.
"Actually, yes. Just before sunset yesterday, a couple passed through the village with a coffin."
Before Uncle Nate could respond, a voice from behind him called out, "I knew it!"
It was the same loud-mouthed student from earlier.
Uncle Nate turned around slowly, a knowing look in his eyes. "Oh? You know the ones who took the corpse?"
It was clear now. These students were hiding something from him.
The outspoken youth paled, realizing he'd slipped up again.
"Song Ming! Nobody asked you to speak!" another student snapped. "Keep your damn mouth shut!"
They were livid. This guy was the definition of a liability.
Song Ming turned red and green with embarrassment, saying nothing.
Damon lawson stepped forward calmly and addressed Uncle Nate. "Uncle Nate, it's true. We know them. They're our fellow disciples, but they've strayed down the wrong path. We believe they took Old Master Ren's body to cultivate a corpse. Our teacher sent us to stop them and bring them to justice."
His words stunned Serena and the others.
They never expected Damon, usually the stern and silent type, to lie so smoothly, without even blinking. It was shockingly convincing.
Even Elias Vale couldn't help but glance sideways at Damon, clearly impressed.
However…
Uncle Nate already had his doubts. He wasn't going to trust them so easily.
He remained expressionless, only half-believing what Damon said.
"We'll deal with that later."
He then turned to the village chief and asked, "Chief, do you know who was living in that valley before?"
The chief didn't hesitate. "The valley? It was taken over by a gang of bandits. Robbers and thugs, every one of them."
He then looked Uncle Nate in the eye and asked in return, "Daoist priest, did you visit the valley? Are the bandits dead?"
Uncle Nate nodded.
The chief brightened at once. "Excellent! Evil met its end at last. The man who came through last night kept his word. He's a true hero."
There was an unmistakable subtext to his words.
The chief had overheard what Damon and the others were saying earlier, and didn't like the way they talked. It seemed unfair.
To the chief, Vincent and that girl didn't seem like villains at all. On the contrary, they'd helped wipe out a major threat to the village.
Of course, the chief was no fool. He didn't dare speak too bluntly. His comment was a subtle but deliberate nudge to Uncle Nate.
Hearing those words, Uncle Nate felt a bit better.
If they had chosen to test their corpse techniques on bandits, it at least showed they still had some conscience. They likely wouldn't harm innocent people.
At the same time, though…
His suspicion toward Damon and the others only deepened.
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The deeper he goes, the more the truth unravels. Don't wait read ahead and witness Vincent's rise before the world catches up!
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