Chapter 5159 — Playing Hard to Get
The Blossom Guardian · Page 2 of 2
Although the number of Ancient Alliance experts under the Center's control already amounted to fully twenty, the targets he could turn were very limited. After all, Jing Taiyang's fifteen Foundation Establishment experts had been brainwashed by the Center's drugs; turning them would be far from easy. Apart from Qin Yuanming here, only four truly had any chance—namely Bing Wushuang, Xue Jianming, Yao Long, and Jing Yueming, all likewise threatened by the poison gas in their dantian.
Bing Wushuang and Xue Jianming were both Golden Core experts, not so easy to deal with. Of the rest, the easier targets were only Yao Long and Jing Yueming.
"Truly?" Qin Yuanming was delighted and nodded hurriedly. "Good—this disciple will set to work at once."
"Remember, you must take special care to avoid Jing Taiyang. He is the one who recruited Jing Yueming; if he finds out, you're finished. And the gu the old man planted in you is no simple thing—no one under heaven but him can undo it. If you harbor the slightest disloyal thought, you're finished too." Wei Zhao said, watching him.
"This disciple understands!" Qin Yuanming was full of confidence. He had a distant relative in the Thousand Blades Sect, and had visited it before, knowing many people there. He might not know anyone called Jing Taiyang or Jing Yueming, but luring a single man over should not be difficult.
Watching Qin Yuanming's departing figure, Lin Dongfang suddenly said, "You're really so at ease letting him go alone?"
"What else can I do—I can't very well go with him, can I?" Wei Zhao smiled indifferently. "The boy's no fool, and he clings to life and dreads death—the perfect man for this sort of job. If nothing goes wrong, all the better. If something does, then it's a warning shot across the bow—just the thing to make the Center's lot pull in their horns a little."
"Heh, you really do know how to comfort yourself, kid." Lin Dongfang laughed.
Half a day later, Qin Yuanming returned, with Jing Yueming following behind him.
"Out with it—what secret mission is this, that you bring me to your North Island Cangwu Sect's little island and even avoid Jing Taiyang?" Seeing they were heading further and further into the wilds, Jing Yueming could not help asking.
Jing Taiyang was his handler, and they were moreover cousins; there was no ordinary reason to keep even Jing Taiyang in the dark. But since Qin Yuanming knew Dr. Glasses and the rest with such precision, that proved he really was one of their own—only, what on earth was this secret mission?
"You'll know when we get there." Qin Yuanming said without turning his head.
"Hold on!" Jing Yueming suddenly stopped in his tracks and eyed Qin Yuanming warily. "Just who are you? What is your purpose in bringing me here on purpose?"
"You're still doubting my identity at a time like this?" Qin Yuanming turned to look at him in disbelief, then went on striding forward with an air of indifference. "If you're suspicious, feel free to turn back now—no one will stop you. Only, when the higher-ups ask about it later, don't blame me for telling them the plain truth."
This was a textbook case of playing hard to get. They were now a single step from their destination, and any sign of eagerness at this point would easily give him away. Though this was North Island Cangwu Sect territory, and from the moment Jing Yueming set foot on the little island he was doomed to have no way out, Qin Yuanming well knew that Wei Zhao wanted everything carried out quietly, without anyone the wiser—otherwise, if others learned of it, his mission would count as a failure. (To be continued.)