Proud Sword Soaring Clouds

Chapter 303: Chapter 244: A Great Conspiracy

Ling Xiao squinted. A strong, cold wind began to whip across the ice plain at dusk.

The wind whimpered as it passed through the massive ice crevasses, creating a terrifying sound. Song Mingyue instinctively tightened the fluffy scarf around her neck and shuffled closer to Ling Xiao. Even though she wasn’t physically cold, the place filled her with a profound sense of unease.

Ling Xiao’s eyes glinted as his mind rapidly memorized the frequency of Zhang Danian’s whistle. ’Zhang Danian would never have imagined, not in a million years, that someone could memorize it after hearing it just once.’ After all, it had taken him over a year of practice to firmly commit the long, bizarre melody to memory!

Even so, he had to practice it every few days. So much so that, for all these years, the members of his Adventurer’s Guild just assumed their leader enjoyed whistling that tune. They never imagined it had such an ingenious purpose.

Soon, a sound echoed from within the cave. Ling Xiao’s expression flickered as he listened. ’This person is definitely strong!’ he thought. ’At first, the footsteps sounded far away, but they reached the entrance in the blink of an eye.’

Then, a tall man draped in the snow-white pelt of a polar fury bear appeared at the mouth of the cave. His eyes gleamed, and he stared at the group with a cold, suspicious gaze, sizing them up warily.

Meanwhile, the group was also sizing him up. The man’s skin was bizarrely, almost unnaturally, white—nearly the same color as the translucent snow. He had a high-bridged nose, deep-set eyes, high cheekbones, and a long face. His hands and feet were large, but his overall body structure was similar to a human’s. A mane of long hair fell loosely over his shoulders, giving him a strikingly handsome appearance.

The man’s throat bobbed. He spoke at a rapid pace, rattling off a long string of unintelligible words. Aside from Zhang Danian, whose expression remained unchanged, no one else could understand him at all.

An idea struck Ling Xiao, and he released his Spiritual Power. ’That’s right, I can’t understand what he’s saying,’ he thought, ’but I can sense whether or not Zhang Danian has any ill will toward me!’

One must never let down their guard. That was a lesson Ling Xiao had learned long ago.

An excited expression appeared on Zhang Danian’s face. The language his father had painstakingly taught him all those years ago was finally of use. As he thought of his father, who had passed away several years ago, the corners of his eyes grew moist. Through his blurry vision, he seemed to see his father’s encouraging smile once more.

Composing himself, Zhang Danian opened his mouth and replied with his own long string of words, his expression earnest. He then gestured across his people. When his gesture passed over Ling Xiao, he hesitated for a split second, but ultimately included both Ling Xiao and Song Mingyue in his group.

Ling Xiao’s Spiritual Power had clearly registered Zhang Danian’s momentary hesitation. ’It’s only human nature to want to harm me,’ Ling Xiao thought. ’But if you really try it, I will definitely strike back! Let’s hope you make the right choice. It all depends on what you decide.’

After listening, the tall, pale-skinned man hesitated for a moment, spoke a few more words, then turned and went back inside the cave.

Zhang Danian turned to the group and explained, "He asked who we were. I told him we are humans from the continental interior and that we came here hoping to trade with them. I also said you were all my subordinates. He said he needs to go inside and discuss it with his people before he can decide whether to let us in." He then gave Ling Xiao an apologetic smile. "My apologies. I said that for the safety of the entire group. Otherwise, they might think we lack sincerity."

Ling Xiao smiled warmly. "Don’t worry," he said. "We won’t cause you any trouble."

Behind Zhang Danian, Ah Ku and Leng Yu both secretly sneered. ’It’ll be a miracle if you *don’t* cause trouble!’ they thought.

However, they couldn’t influence their Guild Leader’s decision. Besides, neither of them had a better solution. All they could do was pray they could finish their trade with the Ice Sea Secret Race people quickly and send these two walking disasters on their way.

After a short while, the sound of numerous footsteps echoed from the cave. More than twenty people emerged. They were all built like the first man, and they were all empty-handed and expressionless as they formed two rows. From behind them, an ancient elder slowly walked out, his hair, eyebrows, and beard all snow-white. He was slightly stooped and thin as a rail. The elder appeared to walk with extreme slowness, but in reality, he barely fell behind the others.

A sudden chill ran down Ling Xiao’s spine. A brilliant light flashed in his eyes as he squinted at the elder, utterly aghast.

’Just now, that elder unleashed a blanket of Spiritual Power that instantly enveloped everyone in our group. This incredibly pure Spiritual Power... it’s immeasurably stronger than my own! For a split second, I felt as if the Death God himself was standing over me!’

The elder seemed taken aback for a moment. He slowly raised his head to look at Ling Xiao. The two rows of tall, pale-skinned men by the entrance all turned to fix their wary gazes on Ling Xiao, their expressions becoming chilling and hostile.

The elder gave a slight raise of his hand, and the men immediately turned their faces forward again, as if nothing had just occurred.

"COUGH, COUGH..." The elder coughed twice, then spoke with some difficulty, "Friends from the human race... which one of you is the son of the man from ten years ago?"

Although his accent was strange and his speech halting, he was unmistakably speaking the human tongue!

Zhang Danian was suddenly overcome with nervousness. A moment ago, he had been entertaining the idea of using the Ice Sea Secret Race to set up Ling Xiao and his companion. But now, he was having second thoughts. ’In their eyes, Ling Xiao and I are both just humans,’ he thought frantically. ’And we arrived together. Even if I claimed they threatened me, would the Ice Sea Secret Clan People believe me? Besides, even if I was coerced, can I really divert this disaster onto the Ice Sea Secret Race?’

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