Spare Me, Great Lord!

Lu Shu started his journey. What Nie Ting did not tell him was that the Puppet Master Cloud Yi had entered India through legal means, with a valid visa and plane ticket, the day after Lu Shu had left.

She must be kept out of China’s territory…

In the underground part of the base, Nie Ting’s eyes were glued to the surveillance video footages. Confused, Shi Xuejin asked, “So what was that Puppet Master doing here? But it seems that our speculation was right. They are interested in India in its most vulnerable state.”

“It’s not that simple,” Nie Ting said calmly, “It’s possible that they already know Lu Shu’s real identity.”

Think about it, the Puppet Master’s stay in the Liu Village was rather baffling and she was even on the same flight as Lu Shu. Could both incidents have been a pure coincidence? Or was it a plan?

“But the thing is, why didn’t she take action if she knew who Lu Shu was?” Shi Xuejin was confused, “I’m more inclined towards thinking that she’s looking for or waiting for something at Luo City.”

“Not entirely impossible,” Nie Ting agreed with a nod, “Speaking of which, why is there such a long delay in the opening of Longmen Mountain remains at Luo City? What’s behind it?”

“I’m not sure about that. Our prediction of the remains on Longmen Mountain is only based on our experience too. Nowadays, with the increasing rate of Spirit Qi regeneration, there are more and more people who can practice cultivation. But our judgment about the Longmen remains may have been wrong since there’s been nothing special spotted around the region,” said Shi Xuejin, “By the way, do you think anything bad may happen to the team with Lu Shu there? I reckon he’d better act alone…”

Nie Ting turned and looked at Shi Xuejin. “Do you mean that bad things will happen to him or others in the team?”

“Others, of course…”

…

Lu Shu’s team gathered in a separate carriage on the train. They would take the plane from the Capital and the following procedures had all been settled.

He studied everyone in the carriage. The so-called negotiation group consisted of three people only, one woman and two men, each dressed in a suit and a pair of spectacles with an intellectual air.

But those secret practitioners were different. They lay around in the carriage, chatting and smoking, while some were playing cards. There were a total of 14 practitioners, including Lu Shu and a team leader who was from the Heavenly Network.

Lu Shu did not know the leader. Despite his young age, his energy waves had reached the peak of Class C. According to his self introduction, this man named Xia Rensheng had received relevant training and was a proficient Russian and English speaker, which explained why he was selected to be the leader this time.

Those elites of the negotiation group took out a thick stack of materials once they boarded the train. Lu Shu took a glimpse and saw that they were reading information useful for this mission.

These people always came fully prepared. There was no reason to convince others without good knowledge of both parties’ situations.

Admittedly, they were very committed about their job. They spent the entire train journey flipping through their materials and in quiet discussion except for toilet breaks, a drastic contrast with the surrounding secret practitioners.

Before those practitioners were employed by the Heavenly Network, they were experienced magical stone smugglers who led a life-threatening lifestyle.

They used to deal with black markets with their cunningness and schemes. On the other side, the negotiation elites were rather conservative people with conventional mindsets.

However, all of them worked in the same team for Xia Rensheng.

Lu Shu alienated himself from everyone since he did not know any of them. He closed his eyes and rested on a bed in the corner.

He did not find anyone there trustworthy because he had no idea about their backgrounds. He would be a reliable protector, but not someone there to talk about cooperation or trust.

Although those secret practitioners now belonged to the Heavenly Network, it did not guarantee their personality.

Lu Shu had his hands on the black market for a while, and he could not have a better idea of how the majority of the secret practitioners were like. Hence, Lu Shu would rather try not to reveal his own information in the group, just in case any traitor there would sell it.

The only woman in the negotiation group was quite young. Her name was Lin Ganyu and she had a pair of black-framed specs on her nose. Suddenly she turned to Xia Rensheng and said, “Mr Xia, could you please ask those people to keep quiet? Our current work plays a vital role in the diplomatic tie between the Heavenly Network and Europe. May we please request to have our discussion in a quiet environment?”

Lin Ganyu’s choice of words was very polite, but not her tone.

A secret practitioner called Liu Fan replied with a disapproving laugh, “You have your work to do, so do we. Why should you act as if you are superior to us?”

Lin Ganyu’s eyes narrowed in slight annoyance. “So how does your card playing help you with your work?”

Liu Fan lit a cigarette in the carriage. Immediately the stinky smell permeated the entire room. Lu Shu frowned at him. Certainly Liu Fan himself would not mind it since he was a smoker, but how could he smoke in such an enclosed environment?

The wily slicker Liu Fan said with a grin, “We can do our work well so long as we are happy. So stay out of our business!”

Lin Ganyu instantly exploded into rage. “How can a bunch of scoundrels do their job well? Look at what you have done on the train! You play cards, chitchat and that one, who’s been sleeping since the train started moving! What work can you do if you lack sufficient prior knowledge about your rivals?!”

Lu Shu was shocked.

He was the only sleeper there, so she must be referring to him! It was fine that you were all having an argument, but could you please exclude the innocent one?

At first, Lu Shu felt sympathy towards the negotiation group, but not anymore. Neither side were kind-hearted people. Ha, it’s a long journey ahead. Let’s harm one another.

Smiling, Xia Rensheng patted those secret practitioners’ shoulders and extinguished the cigarette with a pinch of his fingers. “Observe the rules on our way there. Okay, go and take some rest.”

One sentence from him worked better than ten sentences from Lin Ganyu. None of the secret practitioners would go against the Heavenly Network because they had to seek refuge under the Network.

Laughing, the group dispersed and went to rest. They were still cursing on their way to bed, as if to show to the negotiation team that they had done so only to save Xia Rensheng’s face, not theirs.

Lu Shu listened to the commotion with his eyes closed. Perhaps that was the natural barrier between the lower and the upper-class. Neither side was willing to yield to the other. Lu Shu observed his chi mountain, whose progress had been slowed down again due to the remains. The mountain was only halfway till its original scale, and the journey of sharpening it was even longer and tougher.