Chapter 0
“From your dark and twisted perspective, he seems to be flaunting his knowledge while subtly inspiring and ingratiating himself with others. But normally, if I were to explain things, I’d probably do it the same way,” Sword Demon said honestly.

“True, let’s keep observing,” Gu Fei replied.

The two quietly followed Broken Water Arrow, who kept circling in the forest along a set route. Every place he passed was a training ground for a team, and Broken Water Arrow would observe their progress and offer targeted advice. His words and actions were just as Sword Demon described – perfectly normal. Of course, from Gu Fei’s dark and twisted perspective, all of this was calculated. However, proving that required more convincing evidence. Gu Fei and Sword Demon were tracking him hoping to find something, but all they heard and saw was this.

“Can you see anything?” Gu Fei and Sword Demon were getting tired of following him. After eavesdropping on another conversation between Broken Water Arrow and the players, they didn’t immediately chase after him. They leaned against a tree together, gazing at the sky they couldn't see. Sword Demon raised his right hand to his mouth again, his dagger between his fingers, pretending to smoke.

“I can’t see anything at all…” Sword Demon sighed.

“We’re not professionals at this!” Gu Fei had to admit that Sword Demon had talent in online games, and he was a kung fu expert. They were both leaders in their respective fields, but investigation and evidence gathering was a discipline in itself! Neither of them had any experience. Perhaps a professional would have seen something suspicious in Broken Water Arrow’s words and actions long ago, instead of just jumping to conclusions like Gu Fei.

“What do we do?” Sword Demon asked Gu Fei. He was the one who came up with the idea of tracking him, and now it seemed like a failure.

“If he just keeps going back and forth in this forest, guiding everyone, I don’t think we’ll find anything,” Gu Fei said. “But maybe he’ll go somewhere else? Meet someone?”

“There’s no need for that… he can just send a message if he needs to,” Sword Demon said.

“How troublesome,” Gu Fei sighed. Things like sending messages were impossible for players to know. Any secrets would be discussed here, and outsiders wouldn’t have a chance to find out.

“Hey, are we still following him? He’s getting far away.” The two had only rested briefly behind the tree, and Broken Water Arrow was still within their sight.

“To be honest…” Gu Fei wasn’t in a hurry. “This guy is just a simple task for you. He’s definitely helpful to Waters Deep’s guild, but your task doesn’t conflict with that help. You can still provide that help after you kill him. Wear a mask, he won’t know who you are, and it won’t affect his relationship with Waters Deep and the others. You don’t need to feel any psychological burden for killing him, you’re just completing your task.”

“I know… but now I’m concerned about more than just the task. If this guy has any ulterior motives towards Waters Deep and Lu Ke’s guilds, as you suspect, I have to stop him,” Sword Demon said.

“Then I suggest we go find Young Master. I think he can provide the most help in this situation,” Gu Fei said.

“Alright!” Sword Demon nodded.

“Tch! His lousy guild would be better off gone! Why should I help him?” The place where they found Young Master Han was, of course, a tavern in LinYin City. LinYin City was like a village, with a very rural architectural style. The tavern was no exception. The environment felt many years behind other main cities. Young Master Han, drinking in such conditions, was clearly in a bad mood. After hearing what Gu Fei and Sword Demon had to say, he rejected them without a second thought.

Gu Fei wanted to persuade him a little, but then he heard Sword Demon, as if he hadn’t heard Young Master Han’s refusal, continue to describe their observations: “That Broken Water Arrow, according to Thousand Miles Drunk, has the physique of someone who’s been trained in combat. He also seems to be very knowledgeable about jungle warfare. He has a good grasp of trap placement. A lot of people in Extreme Cold admire him.”

“What’s so strange about that? It’s just that his strengths in the real world are being used in the game. Of course, he’s much stronger than ordinary players. Don’t you have one right next to you?” Young Master Han was referring to Gu Fei, whose kung fu skills made him right at home in the violent world of the game.

“That’s true, but…”

“I understand your concern,” Young Master Han said. “Using this kind of trick to destroy a guild may be disgusting, but it’s definitely the most effective way.”

Sword Demon didn’t say anything. Gu Fei looked into his eyes and saw that his gaze was distant. He was clearly reminded of something. And Young Master Han’s words seemed to imply something as well. What past did they share?

“I know you still don’t want to admit what happened back then. But I have to reiterate for the nth time that it was definitely a premeditated action, not just some brotherly discord because of a quarrel, as you claim,” Young Master Han said.

“What happened? What happened?” Gu Fei quickly asked.

“Something that happened in the game a long time ago,” Sword Demon said, and didn’t continue. From their brief conversation, Gu Fei had already guessed a bit. It seemed that someone like Broken Water Arrow, who was very popular, had also joined Sword Demon’s guild, which led to the guild members being devoted to him. In the end, the guild must have disbanded or split up. Young Master Han believed that it was a premeditated attempt to break up the guild, while Sword Demon only thought it was an internal conflict caused by disagreements. There were naturally many details involved, but it was clear that Sword Demon didn’t want to talk about it, so Gu Fei kept his mouth shut. Although he would occasionally make a few poisonous remarks, they were just harmless jokes. Gu Fei wouldn’t intentionally bring up things that would hurt people’s feelings.

“What suspicious things have you noticed about this Broken Water Arrow?” Gu Fei brought the topic back to the present.

“He doesn’t need to be suspicious. The most taboo thing for a guild is to have someone who can steal the president’s spotlight and be more popular than the president. As the saying goes, ‘A mountain cannot have two tigers.’ If Waters Deep doesn’t understand this principle, his guild will either split up or dissolve. But with that guy’s personality, he’ll probably stupidly give the president’s position to someone else, thinking he’s being noble!” Young Master Han said.

“That’s fine, isn’t it?” Gu Fei didn’t think much of the president’s position.

“The president is the soul of a guild. The formation of a successful guild’s atmosphere is almost always influenced by the president. Randomly changing the president means changing the entire guild’s style, principles, and aura. Only irresponsible people would casually hand over the president’s position to someone they don’t know well. Although it’s just a game, this position isn’t simple. How many brothers and friends are eagerly watching! Thinking you’re being cool and noble by saying ‘So-and-so is more suitable than me’ and throwing the position away… do you know how many people’s hearts you’re breaking?” Young Master Han said.

“Wow…” Gu Fei felt uncomfortable sitting at the table. “Are you saying this? Are you really saying this? Why are these words coming from the most detestable person? Is there any justice in this world?”

“Go back and tell Waters Deep that if he’s still thinking clearly, he should kick that kind of person out of the guild as soon as possible. Even if he doesn’t have those intentions, sometimes things don’t develop according to anyone’s personal wishes,” Young Master Han continued.

“They don’t follow personal wishes, but they’ll follow your wishes?” A voice suddenly came from the other side. The three of them looked over and were immediately stunned. Gu Fei and Sword Demon exchanged a glance. They didn’t expect such a coincidence. Waters Deep actually appeared here at this moment and, it seemed, had heard everything.

“Oh, it’s you? You came at the right time. These two here have been worrying about you so much!” Young Master Han never showed embarrassment or awkwardness on his face. He could always look down on everything with disdain, which sometimes made people admire him.

Waters Deep didn’t say a word. He silently walked to the three’s table and looked at Gu Fei and Sword Demon. Suddenly, he quickly reached out, and before Gu Fei could even react, Waters Deep had ripped the mask off Sword Demon’s face.

“Damn it!!” Young Master Han shouted. Sword Demon’s face, with such makeup, was too surreal.

“What’s the meaning of this?” Waters Deep held Sword Demon’s mask in his hand.

“Broken Water Arrow is my task target. I wanted to see what kind of person he is,” Sword Demon replied.

“Task target? I seem to have heard you guys suspecting something, right?” Waters Deep’s tone was very calm, but Sword Demon knew that they never spoke so calmly. They always joked and cursed, always very excited.

“That’s right, I suspect he joined your guild with ulterior motives,” Sword Demon said. He dared to do it, and he never dared not admit it.

“Is that so? What motives?” Waters Deep asked.

“No evidence, just suspicion,” Sword Demon said.

“Is that so? So you made all this up?” Waters Deep shook Sword Demon’s mask.

Sword Demon was silent.

“We’re old friends,” Waters Deep said. “If you really have any suspicions, you can tell me directly.”

“Just because it’s only suspicion, I don’t want to affect your relationship. So I wanted to secretly see clearly,” Sword Demon’s words were very sincere, and his expression was also very sincere. Unfortunately, it was covered by makeup.

“So I should thank you for this?” Waters Deep said.

Sword Demon continued to be silent.

“Lao Duan!” Waters Deep suddenly shouted.

Gu Fei and Sword Demon were both shocked. Then they saw the door of the tavern being pushed open, and Broken Water Arrow steadily walked to the table in a few steps, looking down at them.

“These few friends of mine have a bit of a misunderstanding about you. Why don’t you explain it to them?” Waters Deep said.

“There’s nothing to explain. Time can prove everything,” Broken Water Arrow said calmly.

“Well said!” Waters Deep heavily patted Broken Water Arrow’s shoulder. “Time will tell, time can indeed explain everything.” Waters Deep angrily threw Sword Demon’s mask onto the table, turned around, and went out the door.