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Beiyue asked again, "What does Evelyn want?"
Cui Ming explained, "Evelyn and Zhao Wei are part of the law enforcement system. I need some information from the police; with their help, we can know the Fire Cultist's movements without any issues."
What does this have to do with Ashen? Beiyue didn't want to ask further and said, "Just tell me what needs to be done."
"The first thing is to contact the old team. We brothers will meet up in Dawn City. The second thing is to head to Nordo City and wait for visitors there. I will be in a group with everyone. Our mission is to find the leader if they also go to Nordo City. If not, then it won't concern us; the Ye Family and Wandering will handle it. Naturally, if we fail, it would be a waste of our efforts. However, since we have time on our hands, contributing to the alliance is also necessary. On the other hand, if we can significantly weaken the Fire Cult Practitioners' strength, we might have a chance to check out the Starfire Desert and Golden Mine, which surely has individuals of high value."
Beiyue said, "The Ye Family and Wandering are at great risk. If even one practitioner escapes, they will be accused of provoking a war."
"Beiyue, that's a theory for common folks. Twilight City isn't afraid of fighting the Fire Religion Nation at all. The Fire Cult Practitioners pose a threat to them; if they can do something underhanded to weaken their strength, they will definitely do it. Provoking a war? I don't acknowledge that; I’ll just play dumb and deny attacking any Fire Cult practitioners. An alliance investigation? It won't yield results for at least a year or two. The Fire Cult wants war? With so many practitioners eliminated, how can they fight? If it comes to blows, the Eternity Alliance and Force Alliance are obligated to assist Twilight City. Conversely, if Ye Family practitioners go to the Fire Religion Nation, the Fire Cult Practitioners will surely find a way to trap them—making them disappear without a trace. I had nothing to do with it; their disappearance is none of my business."
Beiyue nodded, "You need to lure the Fire Cult Practitioners away from their territory. That’s the most crucial step."
"Yes, I already have bait; I'm not worried about them not taking it. But I'm concerned they might be too clever and only nibble without swallowing. If that happens, I won't catch anything," Cui Ming said. "Planning is up to us; success is up to fate. We’ll do what we can, and leave the rest to destiny. After talking with Ye Xin tomorrow, I’ll head into the desert. Whether this plan can unfold depends on Zhir's attitude. Although we've spent some time together, Zhir speaks very little; I’m not confident I can persuade him to take risks."
Beiyue encouraged him, "As you said, planning is up to us. Do your best; even if you fail, you can still find peace in that."
"Mm."
...
Ye Xin, the old fox, was someone Cui Ming considered difficult to deal with within the Ye Family. Ye Xin rarely spoke in front of outsiders; he preferred action over words. Although not originally from the Ye Family, he was included in their family tree by the head of the family and became a direct descendant of the family head—a rare occurrence among aristocratic families. This also reflected the family head's keen judgment in choosing Ye Wen as his successor.
As for Ye Xin's strength? It's hard to say; during the Competition Match, Ye Xin shone briefly before fading into obscurity. Few paid attention to him. Li Qing told Cui Ming that Ye Xin's strength was likely on par with Yellen and Ye Wen's. Moreover, Ye Xin spent much of his time managing the Ye Family affairs meticulously; he had to oversee everything personally, which naturally left him with less time for training.
When Cui Ming sat down with Ye Xin and began talking, he felt a pressure that neither Ye Wen nor Yellen exuded—Ye Xin's expression was very neutral, making it impossible to read his thoughts. He wouldn’t express himself until prompted by someone else first. This kind of conversation was exhausting; Cui Ming knew he didn’t have the patience to outlast Ye Xin. So he revealed part of his plan.
"I want to draw out the Fire Cult Practitioners; my target is a leader from the Fire Cult. Who exactly that is remains unknown to me. I hope there are allies who can help me deal with the visible Fire Cult Practitioners."
Ye Xin pondered for a moment before asking, "What level are they?"
"The first wave might consist of ordinary practitioners; I already have plans to eliminate them and force the Fire Cult to take us seriously by sending out elite members. Based on my conservative estimates, Lion Dog and a certain expert from the Fire Cult will appear; personally, I lean towards Leopard Woman as my guess. The characteristics of Centaur and Serpent Woman are too obvious; Lion Dog’s main features are found in its face."
"Does that mean the battlefield won't be in the Fire Cult Nation or near it?"
"Yes, in the Dawn Desert."
Ye Xin stood up, frowning. "Cui Ming, to be honest, if it were around Twilight City, even if it was the Fire Cult Nation, we, the Ye Family, could still take the risk. But the Dawn Desert is too far away, and there are people closely watching our movements. Based on your team, Cui Ming, and Beiyue, along with your connections in Dawn City and some helpers, I think eliminating Lion Dog and Leopard Woman shouldn't be a big problem."
"It is a big problem. My main goal isn't to eliminate them; I need to capture their leader. I need someone to help me take them out."
"Or conversely, we could send elite troops to deal with the leader," Ye Xin suggested.
See, this is where negotiations become difficult. Ye Xin was tempted but still calculated carefully to secure more benefits for the Ye Family. Simply put, fewer people mean less danger and more rewards. Cui Ming shook his head. "Ye Xin, I've made it very clear. I need allies to help me ambush a few Fire Cultists. I can abandon the plan, but I won't change it just because of the Ye Family's opposition. Changing plans introduces uncontrollable risks. I don't want to get entangled in this."
So you want the Ye Family to be the vanguard? Upon hearing what Cui Ming said, Ye Xin immediately thought about the potential damage to the Ye Family's reputation if it leaked that they were secretly ambushing Fire Cult Practitioners. At the same time, the alliance would likely face immense pressure. After all, the alliance operated on a parliamentary system and hoped for peaceful coexistence with the Fire Cult, with optimistic representatives holding a majority.
But Cui Ming was firm; if it couldn't be done, then it couldn't be done. You either do it or you don't—there was no middle ground. If you didn't do it, neither would he; for Cui Ming, the loss wasn't significant. However, this was a good opportunity for the Ye Family to strike against Fire Cult Practitioners. Since their emergence, pressure on the Ye Family had increased significantly; they were currently selecting talents from collateral branches to serve in the main family. If they could eliminate two experts from the Fire Cult, it would undoubtedly be beneficial.
Ye Xin said, "I have two conditions."
"Go on?"
"We might want to capture them alive."
"No problem."
"The second condition is that we can't bring too many people; we would attract attention. If it's just Lion Dog and Leopard Woman as two experts, that's fine. If there are four experts, we will need help."
Cui Ming shook his head. "I'm afraid that even with just two people, you can only guarantee defeating them but not eliminating them completely. Plus, with your mindset of wanting to capture them alive... Ye Xin, cooperation requires honesty; you can't only consider the interests of the Ye Family. The Ye Family is just part of this plan. Moreover, from a benefits perspective, capturing their leader will only benefit you."
"Heh heh, your reason for capturing their leader has already been stated by my fourth brother: to replace him."
Heh heh, perhaps that was too much talk. Cui Ming replied seriously: "Ye Xin, we don't intend to become targets for the Fire Cult; therefore, we will operate discreetly and prefer not to succeed than take unnecessary risks. If this is how the Ye Family feels, we cannot cooperate."
Ye Xin countered: "If you don't trust me, what can I say to make you believe?"
Cui Ming said: "It's simple; I need both of you—Ye Shi and you—to deal with Fire Cult Practitioners. However, you are soldiers, not generals; someone else will need to take charge." Hearing Ye Xin's attitude made Cui Ming realize that she was calculating her options carefully. The Ye Family did not have an advantage against Fire Cult experts; with Yellen and Ye Wen unable to participate, what basis did they have for ambushing their opponents? Thus it was all about whether they could gain something from this situation.
"Since that's the case, it seems we don't need the Ye Family?"
Cui Ming candidly replied, "Because the leader hopes that if something goes wrong, the Ye Family can take the blame. For instance, if someone runs away, the fault will lie with the Ye Family, not him."
"He..." Ye Xin stroked her chin and asked, "Wandering, right?" Wandering absolutely cannot take the fall; otherwise, the burden would be too great. The Ye Family could understand taking the blame for a seat in the council, considering the long-standing feud with Twilight City and the Fire Cult, whose displayed strength puts immense pressure on the Ye Family. Wandering's situation is entirely different.
"Perhaps."
Ye Xin smiled wryly. "So do I have any other options?"
Indeed, you have no other options, but you know too much. Cui Ming initially did not want to elaborate further, but Ye Xin's attitude was not conducive to cooperation, so he could only politely explain that their group was led by Wandering.
...
After bidding farewell to Beiyue, Cui Ming prepared to head to Dawn Desert. He would pass through West Lake City into the interior and then cross York Mountains to reach the desert. It would take quite some time because the distance was indeed far.
Once Cui Ming set off, he began refining his plans in his mind.
Wandering was sorted out; this person is truly hard to describe. Sometimes he can be quite lewd; in situations like this, Wandering should have found it difficult but ultimately weighed the pros and cons. With the Ye Family as scapegoats, he reluctantly agreed. However, in reality, as soon as Wandering heard the plan, he excitedly responded that it was no problem. Cui Ming did not know Wandering's true reason for excitement; around the time of the Competition Match, Wandering had already sent Wei Wei to lead two hunters into Fire Cult Nation to gather intelligence secretly. There was no other way; he was the only one with dictatorial authority in his department. Once matters were discussed within the alliance, Fire Cultists would already be aware of them. Wei Wei had obtained information from official sources in Sharon City that the Half-Orc Practitioner Team would gradually expand. Although he did not know why this was happening, Wandering was eager to pull off a big job.
The Ye Family was settled; Mi Xiaonan posed no issues; Balance Sect was also fine. As for intercepting the leader's aide, Evelyn was uncertain; Zhao Wei would definitely help and could replace Mi Xiaonan if she had matters to attend to by forming a new Five-Man Team. Meanwhile, after Beiyue returned, they would contact Romir and Fanxi through Li Qing. Li Qing had a good relationship with Cui Ming and them; perhaps they could gather a team together. Adding in Wind... calculating everything together, there would be a total of six fixed Henchmen. If Romir and Fanxi helped out, that would make eight people—eight heroes at a high level—against one Fire Cult Practitioner leader. Cui Ming believed that should be manageable. However, based on intelligence gathered, there was a possibility that their opponent was a Crow; thus Cui Ming also contacted Jayce and even wrote a letter to Little Lu without mentioning needing help—just inviting him to visit Dawn City when convenient and leaving an address along with his small villa's phone number. If Mi Xiaonan could persuade Mi Big Head to assist and with Mi Xiaobo in Nordo City as well, they could have over ten heroes at high levels. Not even considering Crows—just Wandering alone—Cui Ming wasn't confident they could all make it out alive. (To be continued.)
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