Chapter 852 - Take a Gamble

Xian Xun gritted his teeth. Nian Hong Fang was the person he wanted to separate Ma Zhi Wu from the most. After all, hadn't the disaster in his own family occurred because the person accompanying him all these years had made him believe that he was a true friend only to turn out to be a demon instead?

Back then, he shouldn't have been surprised at that. This was what they loved to do the most: pretending to care for somebody only to stab them in the back the next moment. Ma Zhi Wu would do the same to Nian Hong Fang as soon as he reached whatever goal he had. It was good that the Chun Feng Sect had managed to expose him for what he was before that and separate the two of them. Otherwise, who knew what might have happened? With Nian Hong Fang's personality, he might not be able to take being played like that. Even if he wasn't killed by that demon, he might not be able to live afterward.

There had been way too many occurrences of this very same thing. If he casually picked out ten people of their Chun Feng Sect and asked them what they had experienced that made them become a demon hunter, at least eight of them would probably say that they had experienced or witnessed something like this. It was just one of the favorite pastimes these demons had.

But even though he didn't like it, Xian Xun had to give in to Ma Zhi Wu this time. Otherwise, they would never receive the information they needed to catch the other two demons. Letting him get into contact with Nian Hong Fang just once was still much better than letting two demons ran rampant.

Especially since these two seemed to have already made trouble in the Yun Zou Sect. One of them even had a person that believed to be their beloved fiance while the other one … Well, he didn't know what exactly he had been up to but it couldn't be anything good. The fact that he had managed to even rope the Liu He Alliance into this showed that he definitely wasn't an easy opponent. They had to be extremely cautious with him.

Fulfilling Ma Zhi Wu's demand was still the lesser of two evils. Still, he should try to negotiate to diminish the harm Nian Hong Fang would receive as much as possible.

Xian Xun sighed. "It is absolutely impossible for you to meet Nian Hong Fang."

"Then I have nothing to say."

"Not even if I allowed you to send him a message?"

This time Ma Zhi Wu hesitated. He didn't necessarily have to see him. Well, he did want to but he had known from the very beginning that it was unlikely for the Chun Feng Sect to let that happen. In that case, wasn't it better to take the little they offered him? Even letting Xiao Fang know that he was still alive and that he hadn't just run away would already be very good. At the very least, his Xiao Fang wouldn't need to worry about him any longer.

Still, Ma Zhi Wu didn't believe that Xian Xun would be so nice as to actually let him contact Nian Hong Fang. He just wasn't the type of person to do this. He would try to get the information and then refuse to honor his part of the bargain on the ground that he was a 'demon'. In that case, he couldn't give in easily. He had to secure his side of the deal first. "How would I know that he really receives my message?"

Xian Xun's gaze darkened. "You do not trust my word?"

Ma Zhi Wu just gave a slight smile. "The person who had me kidnapped and imprisoned for five years isn't somebody I'd ever trust."

Xian Xun sighed once again. "You really still don't understand. It's a pity but, well, since this matter is urgent, I won't try to make you understand now. You will have more time for that later. As for that message to Nian Hong Fang, you can write a letter. One of our disciples will deliver it and then bring back his answer. Will that be good enough?"

Ma Zhi Wu nodded. "It will." Anyway, he didn't have another chance. Just being able to let Nian Hong Fang know about his situation and being able to receive something from him … That was more than he had ever had in these years. It was enough for now. Until they one day saw each other again.

"Very well." He motioned for Liu Cheng to go and tell the disciples to bring paper and brush and then turned back to Ma Zhi Wu. "Then shouldn't you tell me something?"

Ma Zhi Wu raised his brows. "What should I tell you? I haven't even thought of what to write him."

"You don't expect me to trust you, do you?"

"You wanted me to trust you a moment ago."

"This is different and you know it. Your kind always lies. So you will have to tell me what I want to know before I am able to have our disciple deliver the message."

Ma Zhi Wu lowered his gaze to his tied up hands. This was what he had expected. Now what? Would they enter a stalemate where one side refused to believe the other side until nobody got what they wanted? That … Normally, he wouldn't care. But with the sweet promise of being able to contact Nian Hong Fang, he didn't want to let the chance slip through his fingers. He had to find some compromise.

He exhaled lightly and looked back up. "Well, I guess it is either that none of us can get what we want or we will have to find some way that both of us will be satisfied. Considering that you consider yourself to be righteous, I should probably soften my stance and believe that you would honor your word if you swore, right? And considering that most of my blood is human, you should also be able to believe that I'm not completely evil. So how about a compromise?"

"What kind of?"

"You tell me first what this is about. I'll give up some information, then I will write to Nian Hong Fang. When I get the answer, I will tell you the rest of what I know." This was a gamble. He couldn't be sure that he wouldn't accidentally reveal exactly what Xian Xun wanted to know in the first half. Even if he was cautious, it could still happen, and he didn't believe for even a moment that Xian Xun wouldn't break his promises. But this was the only thing he could do. He either gambled on it and won or he wouldn't receive anything. But if he didn't try he had already lost anyway. "So? What do you say? Is the deal on?"

Xian Xun took a deep breath. He didn't want to make a deal with a demon but he also knew that there was no other way. "Very well. We'll do it that way then."