Chapter 346: Chapter 202: Secret Exchange (Part 2)

"What is it?"

He wasn’t sure how many people knew the name of the Fiery Sun Bird, a Demon Beast. But the sight of the fireball falling from the sky, followed by the great fire that scorched the mountain, was still vivid in his mind.

He had also encountered a giant python later, one that had been affected by a Demon Beast. He just hadn’t paid it any mind at the time.

Now, however, Lu Wushuang’s words made him recall those past events. 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

But Lu Wushuang asked, "You’ve agreed?"

Cheng Zongyang said expressionlessly, "If you try to bargain with me again, not only will you fail to get your revenge, but you’ll suffer for it too!"

Lu Wushuang glared at Cheng Zongyang, biting her lower lip so hard that her two small fangs were exposed. She looked quite fierce.

Ultimately, she lost their staring contest and had to look away, but her voice still held a trace of defiance. "Fine! I’ll talk!"

"That Demon Beast ended up using a Demon Technique that affected many of the mountain’s creatures, causing ordinary wild animals to undergo a Mutation and become Exotic Beasts! At the same time, some special objects were also affected.

I remember my father saying that when that Demon Beast came from the eastern sea and fell into Tianduan Mountain, it also left some things behind.

Before that Demon Beast was killed last year, the technique it unleashed toward the sky wasn’t just a simple Magic spell. It was attached to some kind of object, something priceless that the Royal Families are now offering a reward for."

Cheng Zongyang frowned and suddenly asked, "Your Lu Family is merely one of the Lower Three Grade Families. How do you know so much?"

A person’s status determines the circles they move in and the information they’re privy to.

He found it hard to believe that someone from an ordinary Lower Three Grade Family could possess information known only to the highest echelons.

But Lu Wushuang said, "My father was once a guard for one of the core families under the Li Family’s jurisdiction. He left to establish the Lu Family later on. He learned of these things back then.

As for what happened last year, all the foreign families and factions knew about it because the Royal Families released the information. Otherwise, how could the Thirteen Royal Families muster so many people to attack Da Liang? And why would everyone cooperate so willingly?"

With that, Cheng Zongyang finally began to understand some things that hadn’t made sense to him before.

He hadn’t expected such secrets to be involved, but he’d gleaned a great deal of information from her words.

’First, families like the Lu Family all had connections. The "core families" under the Royal Families’ rule were those that possessed Innate Experts.’

Lu Yan had once been a guard for a core family, so it was natural for him to have some old ties and lingering goodwill.

This was still manageable for Cheng Zongyang; he could handle that.

’Second, the Fiery Sun Bird had left behind something special that the Royal Families needed. That’s why they’d put out a bounty and, at the same time, released some information to entice so many Martial Artists to willingly help them!’

’Third, the six families would all be sending people into Tianduan Mountain in droves to search for that "special thing."’

This third point was not good news for him.

Cheng Family Village was located at the border between the Inner and Outer Mountains of Tianduan Mountain. If large numbers of people went in, it would only be a matter of time before the village was discovered. Although the Geomagnetic Stone offered protection, it wasn’t a perfect, long-term solution.

After pondering for a long while, Cheng Zongyang asked, "What is this thing? What does it look like? What does it do?"

Lu Wushuang shook her head. "I’ve never seen it, but I’ve seen the description on the bounty. It’s described as being like some kind of metal, heavy, and small. I don’t know what it’s used for, either. I only know the Royal Families are offering Martial Arts Elixirs, High Tier Cultivation Techniques, Divine Weapons, and even positions within the Royal Families as rewards, which is enough to prove its immense value."

As he listened to Lu Wushuang’s description, Cheng Zongyang searched his memory, trying to recall if he had ever seen such an object.

Slowly, gradually, an image suddenly surfaced in his mind—

During the great fire on the mountain last year, his uncle, Zhou Hanchang, was in the Salt Mine Area, bringing water to cool down the animals. Afterward, a monkey had given Zhou Hanchang a dark, unremarkable-looking object.

’Could that be it? But wasn’t that just a meteorite?’ Cheng Zongyang’s mind raced, but he couldn’t be sure if it was the same object.

But anything that would make the Royal Families offer such a high bounty was bound to be priceless. Cheng Zongyang agreed with that much.

’Looks like I’ll have to find it and take a look when I go back. I’ll have to send it to the Wilderness World to be appraised before I can be sure.’

With this in mind, Cheng Zongyang looked at Lu Wushuang and asked, "Anything else to add?"

Lu Wushuang fell silent. After a moment, she said, "My father had a piece of it."

At this, Cheng Zongyang’s interest was suddenly piqued. But a moment later, as he recalled the details of the situation, he frowned slightly.

He knew very well what Lu Yan had on his person, and he hadn’t seen anything like that.

Lu Wushuang added, "A piece of it was incorporated into his Gloves."

Cheng Zongyang turned to look at Li Lu. Li Lu understood at once and headed outside. He wasn’t sure if Lu Yan’s Gloves were among the confiscated supplies.

At that, Cheng Zongyang said, "Alright. Your secret is quite valuable to me. I’ll agree to your request."

At this, Lu Wushuang snapped her head up to look at Cheng Zongyang, her eyes filled with excitement. "When?! And... can you rescue my father?"

Cheng Zongyang shook his head. "That will depend on the opportunity. I’ll have someone arrange a room for you. You don’t have to worry about the He Family here."

"Okay! Thank you!" Lu Wushuang said, her eyes rimmed with red, as she cupped her fists in thanks to Cheng Zongyang.

This made Cheng Zongyang feel rather awkward.

’If this girl knew he was the one who had finished off Lu Yan, he wondered what she would be feeling.’

But the only one who knew that he had killed Lu Yan was He Shujun.

’Killing He Shujun would be simple enough, but the time wasn’t right yet.’

Afterward, while they waited, Cheng Zongyang learned many more things from Lu Wushuang.

The more she spoke, the more Cheng Zongyang realized how intelligent Lu Wushuang truly was. Although she couldn’t participate in many affairs because she was a woman, she had managed to gather a lot of information from her older brother, Lu Wufei.