Lin Yun had never been one to assume the worst of people. But his kindness had been betrayed many times, and with the added advantage of his panel, he often didn't need to pay close attention to notice the world's abundant malice.
Just like now.
He didn't know what choice Fei Yuming would make, but it wouldn't change his own attitude on the matter.
Not long after Qi Desheng returned, Fei Yuming was set free. The disciples of the Beast Taming Sect had been waiting for Lin Yun's rescue, but when they saw the completely unbound Fei Yuming, they knew.
They had been thinking too naively. Their Senior Brother Fei had defected to the enemy.
"Senior Brother Fei, how could you?"
"You were the one who insisted on leading us away, and that's why we ran into danger!"
"And now you betray your fellow sect brothers to buy your own freedom! Have you no shame?"
A group of disciples shouted at him, their voices filled with accusation. After all, Lin Yun was genuinely trying to save them. But Fei Yuming was a selfish coward, through and through.
"Tsk tsk, aren't we all upset?" Fei Yuming sneered. "If you think what I did was wrong, why don't you go and tell Lin Yun? Heh, aren't you all just like me, hating Lin Yun's guts? Why else would you be here?"
His words left them speechless.
"I merely traded Lin Yun's one life for my own!" he declared with pride.
The reason he had betrayed them so decisively was because he had just learned from Qi Desheng that the direction Lin Yun was heading likely held a hidden secret realm. A firm conviction immediately took root in his heart. Lin Yun and Zhou Damao must be after a secret realm! When their strength skyrocketed, what place would there be for him back at the sect?
Besides, Qi Desheng's strength was clearly superior. Since the Crimson Ghost Sect already had everything under control, why struggle? Wasn't it simpler to just defect to the enemy?
This line of thinking led to the ensuing series of events. Fei Yuming repeated everything Lin Yun had told him to Qi Desheng, one five and one ten, leaving nothing out.
"Do you know what you're saying?" Qi Desheng stared coldly at Fei Yuming. "If I find out that a single word of what you just said is false, I might just kill you." He needed this man to understand the consequences of crossing him. Either solve the problem honestly, or wait for even bigger trouble.
Fei Yuming gave an awkward laugh. "Every sentence I spoke is the truth! All of them heard it!"
Qi Desheng glanced at the other Beast Taming Sect disciples. One of them had a crisis of conscience. They had always thought their Senior Brother Fei was a kindred spirit, but he was actually a selfish coward. And Lin Yun, while perhaps annoying in many ways, had at least never harmed them.
"Hmph, Fei Yuming, do you even hear yourself?" the disciple challenged. "You're only doing this for yourself, aren't you? And you want to use this opportunity to get someone else killed?"
Hearing this, Fei Yuming panicked. Before Qi Desheng could even react, Fei Yuming himself rushed forward and began raining fists and kicks on his own sect brother. After a short while, the disciple was a bloody mess. Seeing his pathetic state, Fei Yuming finally stopped, panting heavily.
"You traitorous scum, eating from the inside and digging from the outside," he spat. "What do you think I'm doing? Only if I am free will you all have a chance to be released."
Watching Fei Yuming's frenzied display, Qi Desheng smiled. It seemed his guess was correct. There was some credibility to what Fei Yuming had said.
The Crimson Ghost Sect had issued a kill-on-sight order. It didn't matter who, as long as they could capture Lin Yun, there would be a heavy reward, whether he was dead or alive. To them, this was clearly a matter of utmost importance.
"Let's go. We'll see for ourselves what's going on," Qi Desheng commanded, having taken the bait.
Meanwhile, Lin Yun and Zhou Damao had already arrived at the location. They quickly found the dilapidated tombstone and, sure enough, discovered the entrance to the ancient secret realm beneath it.
Although a seal had been placed on it in advance, for Zhou Damao, who had come prepared, it was no problem at all.
"Junior Brother Lin, this is incredible! How on earth did you know about this?" Zhou Damao was still in a state of disbelief. "For you to find such a hidden place!" This was a secret, yet Lin Yun had somehow known.
Lin Yun, having prepared his excuse long ago, just smiled. "Have you forgotten, Senior Brother? Not long ago, I took care of disciples from every major sect. And, of course, I relieved them of quite a few things. This location was something I found among their belongings."
Hearing this, Zhou Damao's doubts were immediately dispelled. Just as they had thought, Lin Yun had his own methods. Otherwise, this whole affair wouldn't have become so simple.
"I never would have imagined so many things were happening as if guided by fate," Zhou Damao remarked with a sigh.
The two continued forward. After moving the tombstone aside, they broke the seal. A powerful surge of energy immediately washed over them.
Zhou Damao frowned. "Careful, this place is very dangerous. If we go in rashly…"
Lin Yun smiled. "If this place weren't dangerous, we wouldn't have come here. Those guys from the Crimson Ghost Sect are all battle-hardened. If we fight them head-on, we have almost no chance of winning. But if we use strategy, taking them down isn't impossible."
Although Zhou Damao didn't fully understand Lin Yun's meaning, he knew his junior brother must have a plan to deal with their enemies.
"You all stay here and don't follow us down," Lin Yun instructed the other disciples. "I only need Senior Brother Zhou to go down with me to lure the enemy over. Your job is to rescue all the other disciples."
The few junior brothers nodded seriously.
"Senior Brother Lin, what if… what if Senior Brother Fei tries to stop us?" one asked. "He's one of them now. Will he still care about us?"
Seeing the doubt on their faces, Lin Yun smiled. "Don't worry about that. This situation will soon take a turn. Fei Yuming will pay the price for his reckless decision."
With that, Lin Yun and Zhou Damao entered the ancient secret realm.
As they descended, Zhou Damao asked one more time, "Junior Brother Lin, are you truly prepared for this?"
Lin Yun nodded, his gaze fixed on the bottomless entrance of the secret realm.
"I'm ready. Driving the tiger to devour the wolf—this is the only way to solve this once and for all."