Chapter 161: Interception Midway

"Even though this is our first time going to the Desert of Death, as disciples of the Palace of Martial Kings, is it really that difficult to find out about the conditions along this path?" Qin Feiyang sneered.

Hearing this, Meng Ming was instantly consumed by grief and regret!

Although there were more than a dozen people in their group, the only ones who had actually been to the Desert of Death were himself, Wang Ke, and Li Kui.

That was why he had sought to cooperate with the other two.

Originally, he assumed that Qin Feiyang and his companions knew nothing at all about the conditions along the way.

He had planned to make a big deal out of the dangerous spots and take the opportunity to kill the three of them.

Never did he expect that the other side not only knew the route like the back of their hand, but had also seen through their motives long ago.

"My lord, I was wrong! I was coerced by Meng Ming! Please show mercy and save me!" Wang Ke cried out.

"Yes, yes, yes! It was all Meng Ming's fault! Three Lords, please be magnanimous and spare our lives!" Li Kui also chimed in hurriedly.

"You reap what you sow. Enjoy the process of death slowly. When you are reincarnated in your next life, remember to keep your eyes open and learn who can be provoked and who cannot!"

With a cold chuckle, Qin Feiyang pulled Ling Yunfei and Feng Ling'er along and turned around, leaving swiftly.

As she walked, Feng Ling'er glanced back at Qin Feiyang’s retreating figure, a trace of an inexplicable light flashing in her eyes.

Meticulous to a fault.

Observant to the smallest detail.

Were such qualities innate?

Or were they forged through acquired experience?

If it were the former, it could only mean that the young man before her was a natural-born monster.

But if it were the latter, just how had he walked his path over all these years?

How many setbacks and tribulations had he endured?

Right now, she felt a strong urge to truly understand this man.

An impulse she had never felt before.

"Whoosh!"

Yet, scarcely a hundred breaths had passed, when a white figure suddenly descended from the sky, blocking their path.

"Huh?"

Qin Feiyang and the other two were startled and instantly assumed defensive stances. But the moment they recognized the true appearance of the newcomer, they didn't waste a word and immediately turned tail to run.

Because the newcomer was none other than Elder Wan!

"Halt!" Elder Wan barked, his face exceptionally grim.

The three of them stiffened. They exchanged glances, their eyes filled with utter helplessness.

When they turned back around and met those fury-filled eyes, they instantly felt like children who had done something wrong. They lowered their heads in silence.

"What is going on here?"

"Why didn't the fatty send me a message?"

Qin Feiyang felt deeply annoyed inwardly.

Elder Wan swept his gaze over the three of them. His face was pitch black, and the veins on his forehead were throbbing—clearly, he had reached the verge of explosive rage.

Qin Feiyang and Ling Yunfei swallowed hard and simultaneously tugged at Feng Ling'er's sleeves.

"What are you doing?" Feng Ling'er glared at the two of them angrily.

Of course she understood what the two meant.

However, Elder Wan was currently in the heat of his anger, and she had no desire to court misfortune.

"Very well!"

"Exceedingly well!" Elder Wan looked at the three of them and nodded.

His words were few, but Qin Feiyang and his companions could clearly sense that Elder Wan was like a volcano on the verge of erupting!

The two men tugged at Feng Ling'er's sleeve once more.

Ling Yunfei whispered, "Senior Sister Ling'er, go on! Hurry! Otherwise, we're all going to be finished."

"Why don't you go?" Feng Ling'er snapped angrily.

Bitter feelings welled up in the two men's hearts. They raised their heads to look at Elder Wan and squeezed out sheepish, awkward smiles.

"What are you smiling at?"

"Is it that funny?" Elder Wan roared, his pent-up fury having nowhere to vent.

The two men immediately lowered their heads again while simultaneously reaching out to shove Feng Ling'er forward.

"You two bastards!"

Feng Ling'er was instantly infuriated to the extreme, glaring fiercely at the two of them.

Yet, matters having reached this stage, she had no choice but to bite the bullet and step up.

Taking a step at a time and raising her head, she walked up to Elder Wan and lowered her gaze, saying, "Grandpa Wan, we were wrong."

"You actually know you were wrong?"

"How truly rare!"

"Then tell me, where were you wrong?" Elder Wan asked, laughing out of sheer anger.

"I shouldn't have kept it from you..."

"I shouldn't have gone to the Desert of Death behind your back..."

"It was all my fault..."

"I was just too willful..."

"I shouldn't have listened to the slander of Jiang Haotian and Ling Yunfei..."

Initially, Qin Feiyang and Ling Yunfei had felt quite grateful to Feng Ling'er for taking the blame all by herself.

But upon hearing the fifth sentence, they were dumbfounded.

So it turned out they had thought too much of her?

This woman was completely and utterly shifting the blame!

"Grandpa Wan, I shouldn't have let myself be incited by them. I should have stopped them from the very beginning and reported them..."

"Grandpa Wan, I have failed your nurturing grace..."

"My conscience is burdened..."

Feng Ling'er put on a grievously wronged expression, tears practically welling in her eyes.

"Acting."

"Keep right on acting!" Qin Feiyang and Ling Yunfei looked at her with utter disdain.

It was a waste of such talent for her not to become an actress.

Feng Ling'er cast a covert glance at the two of them, a look of triumph crossing her face as if to say: *Who told you to push me? That's the price of offending your mistress.*

Then, she put on a pitiful expression once more, looking at Elder Wan as she said, "Grandpa Wan, although I was egged on by them, I don't deny my faults. Please punish me as you see fit, Elder!"

"A person shouldn't be this shameless!" Qin Feiyang sighed heavily.

There was no counting on this woman anymore.

If she kept talking, she would only add fuel to the fire.

He looked at Elder Wan and voluntarily confessed his fault, saying, "Elder, sneaking out of the Palace of Martial Kings was indeed our wrong, but I was also coerced—it was Ling Yunfei who instigated it."

"What?"

Ling Yunfei's eyes bulged in disbelief as he stared at Qin Feiyang.

Feng Ling'er was dumbfounded as well.

Elder Wan's face twitched incessantly.

When Ling Yunfei finally recovered his wits, he roared hurriedly, "Elder Wan, I knew nothing about it! It was them who made me tag along!"

"Ugh!"

Qin Feiyang and Feng Ling'er were stunned.

This was a flat-out refusal to admit guilt!

Elder Wan swept his gaze over the three of them, feeling both furious and amused.

"Hmph, don't think that by refusing to admit it, this matter can just be swept under the rug."

"I might as well tell you: before leaving, I had Elder Ji emulate the Hall of Pill Kings and build a bamboo cage. It's probably finished by now."

"If you don't make a full and honest confession, once we return, you'll be spending a good period of time living inside that cage."

"I'm sure you'll find yourselves quite satisfied with it," Elder Wan said expressionlessly.

"A bamboo cage!" Feng Ling'er's lovely face instantly lost all color.

"You don't have to be this ruthless, do you?" Qin Feiyang chuckled sheepishly.

"Hmph! To deal with disobedient brats like you, extreme methods are necessary," Elder Wan sneered.

Qin Feiyang's expression stiffened as he said helplessly, "Elder Wan, the truth of the matter is this: some time ago, I heard people say that the Desert of Death is a place extremely well-suited for tempering oneself, so I instigated Ling Yunfei and Feng Ling'er to go have a look together."

Someone had to shoulder this responsibility.

Since neither Feng Ling'er nor Ling Yunfei was willing, he would take it upon himself!

"Is that really how it was?" Elder Wan frowned.

Qin Feiyang nodded.

During this time, Ling Yunfei was locked in a struggle.

Finally, steeling his heart, he refused to let Qin Feiyang take the rap alone.

He shook his head and said, "No, it was all my fault. I wanted to find out the truth behind my father's death, which is why I asked Jiang Haotian and Senior Sister Ling'er to help me. Elder, if you want to punish someone, punish me alone. I'm willing to go into the bamboo cage."

Feng Ling'er looked at Qin Feiyang and Ling Yunfei in a daze, then gritted her teeth and said, "Grandpa Wan, they originally planned to wait until they grew stronger before coming. It was I who was impatient and forced them to come right now! Punish me instead! But please, can we not go into the bamboo cage?"

"Have you finally found your conscience?" Qin Feiyang and Ling Yunfei were slightly dazed.

"Look at the three of you, acting so recklessly."

"With your paltry strength, let alone going to the Desert of Death, making it this far is purely due to your good fortune and sheer luck!"

"Tell me, can you ever give us peace of mind?"

"Do you have any idea how worried Elder Ji and I were when we found out you had sneaked out of the Palace of Martial Kings?"

"Do you want to scare us old folks to death?" Elder Wan glared at the three of them, a mixture of anger and affection in his heart.

"We know we were wrong." The three lowered their heads, filled with remorse.

Elder Wan continued, "Especially you, Ling Yunfei. When I asked you about your father's situation back then, you played dumb with me. Am I really so untrustworthy to you?"

"I..." Ling Yunfei opened his mouth to speak, but had no idea what to say.

"Actually, the moment I learned you had run off, I already guessed it might be related to your father."

"I won't deny it—asking about your father's situation was indeed to find out the location of that place. But I truly harbor no malicious intent."

"I merely wanted to find out what on earth is in that place, causing a former genius of my Palace of Martial Kings to suddenly perish," Elder Wan sighed.

*So he had already guessed it.*

A chill ran through Qin Feiyang's heart.

Fortunately, he hadn't continued to conceal it, otherwise it would have been a case of protesting too much.

"I'm sorry," Ling Yunfei said, bowing deeply.

As it turned out, he had indeed thought Elder Wan had ulterior motives, never expecting it all to be a misunderstanding in the end.

Elder Wan waved his hand and said, "Enough. I won't hold this against you anymore. Coincidentally, I don't have much to do during this period, so I'll accompany you to the Desert of Death."

The three of them were overjoyed.

This old man was a genuine Battle Emperor; having him tag along would undoubtedly save them a great deal of trouble.

Elder Wan chuckled and shook his head. With a wave of his weathered hand, battle Qi surged, carrying the three of them aloft as they soared into the sky, hurtling at top speed toward the Desert of Death!

"Flying at this speed is fast indeed!" Qin Feiyang muttered, then asked in puzzlement, "Elder, how did you find out we sneaked out? And how did you manage to track us here?"

Feng Ling'er and Ling Yunfei looked at him inquisitively as well.

"Yesterday, I went to look for Ling'er, but her cultivation chamber was empty."

"I went to look for Ling Yunfei, and he wasn't there either."

"Thinking it rather strange, I went to look for you. Fatty and Lu Hong both assured me in unison that you were all cultivating inside some ancient manor."

"I almost fell for it. Fortunately, Elder Qu told me that Ling'er had left the Palace of Martial Kings once before," Elder Wan recounted.

Upon learning of this, he went to settle scores with Fatty and Lu Hong, but the two of them were stubborn as mules and refused to say a word even under threat.

In his anger, he confiscated their image crystals and ran off to question the black-armored guards guarding the city gates.

The guards told him they had indeed seen Feng Ling'er and two disciples of the Palace of Martial Kings leave Swallow City and head in the direction of Star-Moon City.

He pursued them all the way to Star-Moon City, and upon inquiring with the guards there, actually learned that the three had headed toward the Desert of Death.

How could he let that stand?

He had rushed over in anxious panic, and sure enough, intercepted Qin Feiyang and the other two halfway.

In other words, their whereabouts hadn't been leaked because of Qin Feiyang or Ling Yunfei, but because of Feng Ling'er.

Because Feng Ling'er was too famous, and even though she wore a mask, she was still too conspicuous, making her whereabouts very easy to trace.