had ever encountered.The girl's smile,雖然 a little exaggerated, did not in the slightest detract from her charm and beauty. The middle-aged man on one side became even more obsessed!Not just middle-age...Chapter 340 The Secret of Black Wind Fort 2
No matter the reason, it would be best to avoid them. Therefore, when she saw them looking in their direction, she immediately pulled Xianyao over and found a place to hide. Under normal circumstances, hiding on the balcony would have been discovered.
"No need, they won't discover us." Xianyao broke free from Heixue's hand and said coolly before walking back to the balcony to observe the situation outside.
"How can that be They are right beside us. A single look would reveal our presence." Heixue spoke softly, as if she was afraid her voice might alert them.
"Watch and see for yourself. Even if they look in this direction, they won't see us!" Xianyao smiled mysteriously, leaving others puzzled.
"What They can’t see us unless they’re blind... Wait, are they really blind" Heixue was about to refute when she noticed someone looking over but quickly turned away, not spotting Xianyao on the balcony.
If it had been just one person, maybe their eyes were faulty or they hadn't paid attention. But if multiple people did the same thing, it couldn’t be a personal issue—it must be something else.
"Of course they aren’t blind; in fact, their vision is better than most." Xianyao shook his head and explained. "Otherwise, how could they have been chosen for search missions."
"...I know that, but why" Heixue said irritably. Her previous statement was merely to express her surprise; everyone knew this fact, so there wasn't any need for a serious answer.
"If you already know it, then why ask why" Xianyao’s words left Heixue feeling helpless again.
"Xianyao, are you playing with me..."
"What do you mean by ‘playing’ I’m being serious!" Xianyao said earnestly. "With everything going on now, why would I play around"
"Alright, forget that then. Tell me, if they aren't blind, why can’t they see us" Heixue asked again, making sure to phrase the question more carefully.
"This is simple because they can’t see us." Xianyao replied seriously, but his answer seemed redundant.
“…” Heixue was exasperated. "Xianyao!!"
“Alright, I'm not playing with you. Originally wanted to make things a bit amusing while we wait here for a long time...” Xianyao chuckled. Before Heixue could pounce, he got down to business.
"Actually, it's an incredibly ingenious architectural layout. There are complex building factors involved as well as a strange array of mystical formations. We can see them here, but when they look over, they're seeing another place—probably the building over there."
When Xianyao mentioned this, he pointed to a nearby building that was around twenty or thirty meters away. This was what left Heixue in awe.
No matter how you looked at it, with such proximity, how could they make such an enormous mistake The array must be incredibly intricate!
In reality, Heixue had a misconception; Xianyao placed the mystical formations as secondary factors. The primary reason was the architectural elements that created complex optical illusions, like mirages.
For Heixue, it didn't matter which factor was more important because she didn’t understand either way. Even if explained thoroughly, all she needed to know was that there were intricate designs achieving this result.
"If they can't see us, could they accidentally stumble in" Heixue was more concerned about them entering by accident, since their safety relied on remaining undiscovered.
“The probability of that happening is practically zero and can be ignored.” Xianyao replied.
If the chances were virtually non-existent as Xianyao said, then they didn’t need to worry about it. This was something Heixue understood and so she did not ask further.
“So what should we do now”
"Wait until they think we've left, then we can leave too," Xianyao answered simply. They just needed to wait for a while.
In this place, there were food reserves that would last them months. She believed the others wouldn’t stay here indefinitely and had more important matters elsewhere to attend to.
Certainly, they will leave some people behind to guard for a while, but if there's no result, they'll still depart. Moreover, even if they don't immediately leave, given enough time, Xiaoyao can find their defenses' weak spots and slip away.
Being at the height of attention versus after it has passed—these two situations are worlds apart!
Hmm, this means we wait until after things have cooled down. Waiting itself is a solution, and quite possibly the best one.
"What if they stay here indefinitely" Black Snow asked. This wasn't her posing a question to Xiaoyao but rather something she had considered. If it were her in his situation, she would remain until she'd tracked him down, whether within or outside the fortress, gathering information.
"They won't. They'll leave soon," Xiaoyao replied.
"That's not necessarily true. Fan Gao is a very patient person and will dig up every last detail to find you. He wouldn't give up easily since you've already left," Black Snow shook her head, saying this as everyone knows their opponents well.
"That was when he had no leads at all. If he discovers the secret passageways in this stronghold, he'll think we'd long ago escaped through them," Xiaoyao replied calmly.
"Secret passages There are secret passages here" Black Snow responded with a lack of knowledge and confusion.
"Of course there are secret passages. This is the lair of bandits, who always prepare for possible sieges; having escape routes is normal. There aren't just one or two, but several leading to different locations," Xiaoyao answered Black Snow's question, which he thought was her confusion.
Actually, what puzzled Black Snow wasn't this information—it was something else:
"If you know about the secret passages, why not escape through them instead of hiding here" This was what she found puzzling. Indeed, if there were secret passages, wouldn't it be a more thorough solution to simply leave
"Firstly, I don’t know whether you're aware of these secret passages. If you knew about them and I went inside, I’d become an easy target," Xiaoyao pointed out the situation outside, not overly concerned.
"That’s true. However, the likelihood of knowing is low since this knowledge is kept among a few individuals. Even if our sect has extensive intelligence networks, it's hard to know such things," Black Snow said.
Some secrets are so tightly guarded that they never become known beyond those who hold them; how could such information be obtained through channels
The secret passages of the Black Wind Fortress were known only to a few leaders, and each kept it closely under wraps. Even their closest associates didn't know about these escape routes since they could also serve for entering.
"That’s one reason; more importantly, if I used those secret passages, there's a high chance the searchers would discover me," Xiaoyao pointed to those searching outside.
Black Snow was momentarily stunned. She had forgotten this point—now that Fan Gao's people were everywhere, walking about outside increased the risk of being discovered.
This way, waiting here poses the least risk and only requires patience. Since they currently have no urgent matters to attend to, it’s indeed the best choice.
After reaching this conclusion, Black Snow sat on the balcony beside Xiaoyao, admiring the moonlight as well. Tonight was a full moon, but soon she stared blankly at Xiaoyao:
"Xiaoyao, do you have any wine With such beautiful moonlight, we should drink to enhance our mood," Black Snow propped her chin on the balcony table and looked over at him.
"I do have a bit. However, now isn’t the time for drinking. Also, are you admiring the moon or looking at me How about it—am I very handsome" Xiaoyao chuckled without an unnatural feel to his words.
"Handsome indeed, I find myself liking you more with each look," Black Snow nodded in agreement without denial, her straightforwardness somewhat disconcerting. Yet, this was typical of most people; for Xiaoyao, it wasn't unusual at all.
"I won’t stop you from admiring me and looking at me. I still want to watch the moon a while longer," Xiaoyao said nonchalantly before continuing his silent gaze into the night sky.
Black Snow remained quiet by his side, silently watching him… At this moment, Black Snow felt as if they were in a scene of "the silence after midnight speaks louder than words." This environment seemed perfectly suited for such an occasion, remaining very quiet indeed.
This tranquility contrasted sharply with the tumult outside where Fan Gao’s forces were searching fervently. Both knew that their situation was something unknown yet foreseeable to the other side.
Both could imagine if Fan Gao received news now—he'd surely have a myriad of expressions… "What! Impossible! How can this be They disappeared from our eyes, and we immediately followed—how is it possible we saw no signs whatsoever insidee Fourth Prince Does his一貫 seriousness in work apply even to this particular subject"Well, he is very serious. Every alchemy session, he strives to give his best effort! And he conducts continuous rou...