Having secured the only trace they found, Yang Wu Huang turned to the corridor that lay in the direction Da Hei had rushed in and his expression turned thoughtful. There were several corridors leading away from the hall that they had entered through.
If they wanted to know more about this place, they would have to follow at least one of them and find out what lay on the other side. It would be even better if they could take a look at all of them and then return to the camp with that knowledge. But … it would naturally also be more dangerous to do it that way.
The corridors couldn’t be searched if they didn’t split up. And he knew that Yuan Lei would definitely start to argue again if he tried to give that command. On the other hand, he really wasn’t willing to just look at one. This was his chance to shine. How could he just throw it away?
"Let’s split into two groups."
Yuan Lei immediately whirled around to him, wanting to speak up.
Yang Wu Huang didn’t give him the chance though and explained why he was saying this. "There are several corridors leading away from the hall. One of them might hold a valuable clue that the Elders will need to determine just what this place is about. There are too many corridors to look at all of them but we will not have enough information if we just go and look at one of them. So it is still best to separate into two groups that each investigate one corridor. That way, we won’t be in as much danger but will also be able to find valuable clues."
"Elder Baili said not to separate though. He said that we were supposed to stay in one group all of the time under all circumstances. And I don’t see any reason why it wouldn’t be enough to investigate one corridor today and then another the next day. In any case, it’s already late now. If we don’t go back, we won’t be able to reach the camp tonight."
Di Huan Bo furrowed his brows. "Are you starting with that again? Yang Wu Huang is the leader of our group, naturally, we should all do what he says. If he has determined that searching the corridors now is better, then that is the case. You really have no reason to always speak up against his decisions. In any case, didn’t you also agree that there was no reason to change the leader of the group? If that is so, then just shut up already."
Yuan Lei furrowed his brows and wanted to argue but Tan Xin reached out and patted his arm, shaking her head at him.
To be honest, she agreed with him. She might not have as much of a bad impression of Yang Wu Huang as he had, but she still felt that following the Elder’s words would be for the best. She wasn’t happy with Yang Wu Huang’s decision in this case either but she also realized that there was nothing they could do.
Yang Wu Huang was indeed the leader of their group. So they had to do what he said. Even if they were against that and decided that they wouldn’t follow him any longer, where would be the difference? If Yang Wu Huang, Di Huan Bo, and Ao Jing left the group, they still would’ve split up and would have lost some of the strongest disciples they had. So in the end, the same thing would still be happening.
If they followed Yang Wu Huang’s words though, then at the very least, that separation wouldn’t be permanent. They could rush to look at the corridor and then return. Even if they didn’t manage to find anything or just had a casual look around, it would still be better than angering the three of them and maneuvering themselves into an even worse situation.
Thus, Tan Xin felt that it would be best to just go along this time as well. When they were finally back at the camp, they could bring it up to Elder Baili and ask for somebody else to take over. Or maybe they could take another group along so that they would have more people in case something happened so they wouldn’t need to rely on Yang Wu Huang and the other two.
Yuan Lei looked at her and seeing her gaze, he stopped to think about it for a moment. Realizing the implications himself as well, he finally shut up even though he wasn’t happy.
Yang Wu Huang sighed and then turned to the others. "Well, if that has been decided now, I’d say it is time to decide on the groups. To make sure it won’t be dangerous, we will have to make these groups rather even in strength. I will take Di Huan Bo, Nian Tao, and Yun Bei Fen along. Ao Jing, you will take Yuan Lei, Kui Min, Tan Xin, and Ran Wu with you. There is one person more but since junior martial brother Yun has a spiritual beast, that should make it even again."
Yuan Lei leveled him with another dark look, feeling that Yang Wu Huang really wasn’t trying to make himself sound convincing. The spiritual beast that Yun Bei Fen had was of high level, even higher than he was for sure. To liken that to one of the weaker disciples really was unbelievable. The overall strength of Yang Wu Huang’s group was definitely much higher than theirs. But in any case, it was still better this way.
Yang Wu Huang definitely wouldn’t let anything happen to Yun Bei Fen since he wouldn’t want to get on Elder Baili’s bad side even more. Furthermore, he clearly had some plans with him. While he might annoy Yun Bei Fen to death, he wouldn’t be able to do anything to him with Da Hei around and if they were attacked, Yuan Lei didn’t doubt that Da Hei would be able to take Yun Bei Fen away even if Yang Wu Huang couldn’t do anything. So at the very least, Yun Bei Fen was safe.
On the other hand, he could take care of Tan Xin, Yi Ju, and Kui Min as well as he could. And between Yang Wu Huang and his two followers, Ao Jing was still the one he felt he could get along with the most. He might also be slightly unscrupulous, but it wasn’t to the point of Yang Wu Huang and Di Huan Bo. And if their lives were on the line, he believed that Ao Jing would be easier to deal with. So this time, he actually didn’t argue.
Having made this clear, Yang Wu Huang saw another opportunity. "Since our group is slightly stronger, we will take this corridor since we already know that there was somebody here. If something happens, we will have an easier time getting away. You can choose one of the others. When you have finished investigating, come back to the main hall and we will meet up there again. At that time, we will return to the camp." He gave Yuan Lei a long look, clearly mocking him for what he had done before.
Yuan Lei didn’t bother to answer and just turned to the others, wanting to reassure Tan Yin, Yi Ju, and Kui Min.
Ao Jing walked over and waved at them without leaving him the time though. "Well, let’s go then. If we hurry up, we’ll be back at the camp sooner." In general, he was also on Yang Wu Huang’s side but he had seen very well before that Yang Wu Huang valued himself much more than even his own followers. So if he could, it would be best if they separated for a while. That way, if something happened, he would be able to help himself and would not be used by somebody else to save their life.
