Chapter 597: Incongruity

’They’re fighting again!’

Su Qing’s eyes sparkled. It seemed the Ye Yue Family and the Shengchuan Family were truly fated to clash. They couldn’t stand the sight of each other. ’Oh, come on, fight! Fight!’

Su Qing prayed inwardly. Dealing with these guys wouldn’t be too difficult, but if they started fighting amongst themselves, that was a show Su Qing would love to see.

In the valley, Ye Yue Taidou and Shengchuan Gong refused to back down. If not for the man with the neatly trimmed mustache holding them back, the two would have already come to blows.

Finally, Shengchuan Gong sneered and said to Ye Yue Taidou, "Fine, Ye Yue Taidou. Didn’t you say our Shengchuan Family’s Arrays are no good? In that case, the Shengchuan Family will no longer participate. You and your Ye Yue Family can figure it out yourselves. I, Shengchuan Gong, will have my own explanation for His Majesty. After all, it wasn’t a disciple from my Shengchuan Family who died in Hua Country. The Shengchuan Family has no need to get involved just to help your Ye Yue Family get revenge."

With that, Shengchuan Gong prepared to call his disciples and leave. He was absolutely furious. He had come to help, only to be blamed for everything. This Ye Yue Taidou was like a rabid dog, completely unreasonable.

Ye Yue Taidou was dumbfounded. His Ye Yue Family didn’t specialize in Array Techniques; they were more skilled with puppets and talismans. The Array for Putai Mountain was still incomplete—they hadn’t even finished carving the transport spells onto the Array Stones. He never imagined Shengchuan Gong would disregard even His Majesty’s honor and threaten to just wash his hands of the whole affair.

But Ye Yue Taidou had his pride. Although he inwardly regretted that his words had gone too far, he had no intention of admitting his mistake. It was a joke! If he, an elder of the Ye Yue Family, were to apologize to Shengchuan Gong, wouldn’t the Ye Yue Family forever be seen as inferior to the Shengchuan Family?

That was absolutely unacceptable.

"Hmph! If you want to leave, then leave! I refuse to believe this Array can’t be completed without you, Shengchuan Gong." Ye Yue Taidou glanced at the silent Qian Ying and sneered, "Don’t think your Shengchuan Family is the only one that knows Array Techniques. Miss Qian Ying is also well-versed in them."

"Heh, very well. Then we’ll have to trouble Miss Qian Ying with this matter." Shengchuan Gong sneered and genuinely prepared to leave.

"Hey, how did it come to this? Why has it gotten so serious? Please, you two, calm down, calm down." The man with the neatly trimmed mustache quickly tried to mediate. "Right now, we need a united front against our external enemy. We can’t have infighting among our own people. The priority is to find the person who snuck in. After all, this is a major undertaking. If it all falls apart at the last minute, I’m afraid it won’t be easy to explain things to His Majesty."

Hearing the words of the man with the neatly trimmed mustache, both Ye Yue Taidou and Shengchuan Gong fell into silent thought. As Yin Yang Master Families, they held significant influence in Japan, but they couldn’t afford to offend the Imperial Family. Otherwise, things wouldn’t end well for them. Although this man with the mustache was an ordinary person, he was here representing His Majesty. Therefore, they naturally had to weigh his words carefully.

At this moment, Miss Qian Ying, who had been standing to the side, spoke up. "Lord Shan Tian is right. We all need to work together to complete this Array. After all, His Majesty places great importance on this matter. If we succeed, His Majesty will surely be pleased. When that time comes, the status of both your families in Japan will certainly rise even higher. This is a win-win situation. Let’s all focus on the bigger picture."

"Exactly my point," the man with the neatly trimmed mustache said with a laugh, shooting Miss Qian Ying a grateful look.

Miss Qian Ying then turned to Ye Yue Taidou and said, "Elder Ye Yue, while I know some Array Techniques, I simply cannot compare to Elder Shengchuan. The Shengchuan Family has mastered Array Techniques, passing them down for many years. This plan is very much in need of Elder Shengchuan."

Perhaps because Miss Qian Ying’s words were so gratifying, Shengchuan Gong let out a smug "hmph" and shot a sidelong glance at Ye Yue Taidou.

Ye Yue Taidou knew Miss Qian Ying was giving him a way out, so he took it. "Since Miss Qian Ying has put it that way, I won’t press the matter. We are all working for His Majesty, so of course, we must focus on the bigger picture."

"Yes, yes, exactly! We are all working for His Majesty, so we must focus on the bigger picture," the man with the neatly trimmed mustache quickly chimed in with a smile.

"Alright. I’m a magnanimous person, so I won’t bicker with you, Ye Yue Taidou. Hmph." After speaking, Shengchuan Gong pointed at several people, ordering them to follow him.

The man with the neatly trimmed mustache hurriedly asked, "Elder Shengchuan, what are you...?"

"Didn’t you say the Maze might be unstable? I have to go check it out," Shengchuan Gong said gruffly before leading his men out of the valley.

The man with the neatly trimmed mustache breathed another sigh of relief and gave Miss Qian Ying a grateful nod. If not for her words today, this situation might have truly been unsalvageable.

Miss Qian Ying gave a faint smile and said, "Since we won’t be starting work so soon, I’ll go back and rest for a while. Call me when it’s time to begin."

"Yes, Miss Qian Ying. Please, go get some rest."

A conflict that could have led to them parting ways was dispelled in a few words by Miss Qian Ying. Su Qing’s eyes clouded with thought. She was beginning to find Qian Ying hard to figure out.

Su Qing was certain that what Miss Qian Ying had said late last night was meant for her to hear, letting her know exactly what they were planning to do in these mountains. Setting aside whether Miss Qian Ying’s words last night were entirely true, her actions this morning clearly showed that she didn’t want the Ye Yue and Shengchuan families to have a falling out.

Su Qing mulled it over and over, but she kept feeling a sense of contradiction. She couldn’t pinpoint the exact reason. Did Miss Qian Ying deliberately leak the plan last night to set a trap, or was she genuinely trying to pass information to her?

After thinking for a long time, Su Qing still couldn’t figure out Qian Ying’s intentions and decided to stop dwelling on it. If the other party was planning something, they would reveal their hand sooner or later. She would just deal with whatever came her way.

「Two hours later.」

Shengchuan Gong returned with his men, frowning. "There are no flaws in the surrounding Maze. I also had my men search the area, but we didn’t find any trace of a stranger."

After speaking, Shengchuan Gong turned to the man with the neatly trimmed mustache and asked, "Have you found those patrolmen from last night?"

The man with the neatly trimmed mustache shook his head. "Elder Shengchuan, I had my people search the entire area. We haven’t found any sign of them."

"How strange. Where could they have gone?" Shengchuan Gong said, puzzled. "The Maze is fine, too. It’s impossible for anyone to have gotten in."

Ye Yue Taidou, standing to the side, just grunted and said nothing.

"Rest assured, Elder Shengchuan," the man with the neatly trimmed mustache said quickly. "I will post extra manpower around the perimeter and have everyone heighten their vigilance. If there’s any sign of movement, they will report it immediately."

"Very well. Let’s begin carving the Array Spells first." Shengchuan Gong ignored Ye Yue Taidou and spoke only to Qian Ying. "Miss Qian Ying, we’ll be counting on you."