in the edge

Chapter 496 Stars in the Sky
Probably while Du Chengfeng had a nap, the coyote came over again.

Unlike the last time, the coyote this time showed a satisfied expression after seeing the stone city standing in the woods not far away.

"You see, my environment may not be suitable for you. You can always find something that suits you... although this thing looks a bit too human."

"It's not that bad, maybe the taste of mortals is what I want?"

Du Chengfeng answered cautiously, while secretly strengthening his mind and trying hard to maintain the shape of the stone city.

This thing was certainly not what he really wanted. Although he himself didn't know what he really wanted, this thing left over from yesterday's play obviously couldn't be his real goal - but considering that the coyote could detect his way of thinking through the environment, he still built this city as soon as possible.

To put it bluntly, this city is for the coyotes to see, it is a necessary decoy.

After all, the underlying logic believed by the strange and powerful man in front of him is the naked law of the jungle.

It's easy to die if something like this sees through your heart.

"But... do I really have anything worth being seen through?"

Du Chengfeng couldn't help scratching his head when he thought of this. He still remembered the time when he was affected by mental power. He was so stupid at that time, and his thoughts were almost written on his face. When he was so straightforward, it didn't matter whether you could see through him or not, after all, he didn't even have the consciousness to hide.

"If you think about it this way, I have actually recovered to some level?"

Du Chengfeng felt relieved that the influence of mental strength on him was finally not that profound, and his smart IQ finally began to take over.

However, at this moment, the coyote's face suddenly became serious.

"If I were you, I would hide this city deep inside and never let anyone see it... You've exposed it too obviously."

"...huh?"

Du Chengfeng choked.

Wasn't he just trying to fool people? How did it get exposed?

It's just a stone castle, what can you see?
"A big city reflects your desire for a place to live. In other words, you used to be homeless and wandering around most of the time."

Having said this, the coyote raised his paw and patted the hard granite.

"The choice of such a hard material shows that you are very worried about safety. In other words, you actually lack a sense of security... You desire a stable and secure place to live, which directly reflects your inner fragility. Do you know what this means?"

"…What does it mean?"

Du Chengfeng was stunned by what he heard. He really didn't expect that this coyote could actually say something.

"It's just a stone city..."

"It's just a stone city. It really doesn't look like anything."

The coyote sighed.

"But if you really meet someone with such ideas, they can kill you through the things you show."

"This……"

Du Chengfeng was speechless.

Just because of this coyote, it is not a random attack.

First of all, let’s talk about his previous guess. Although this stone city was just a decoy he threw out, the coyote’s judgment almost perfectly hit his thoughts - a stable, secure place to live, a calm and peaceful life, which was undoubtedly what he wanted most.

If even your thoughts have been controlled by others, how far can you be from death?
"At worst, just get started."

There was a hint of murderous intent between Du Chengfeng's brows, and his hands were already flashing white light.

Even without any weapons and relying only on himself, he is still the best swordsman in the world.

"Look, you've been affected by the Three Turbidities again."

The coyote lay on the ground, indicating that he meant no harm.

"Many people think that fighting can solve everything, but fighting can only solve the enemy. There are still many things in this world that you can't solve no matter how good you are at fighting... Let me put it this way, in your situation, if someone says that he is willing to grow old with you, get married and have children, and is willing to build this solid residence with you, and is willing to develop everything in this family with you..."

"Such a person does not exist."

Du Chengfeng shook his head decisively.

He is not a rookie anymore, how could he fall for such a trick?
"It doesn't have to be a person, it doesn't matter if it's something else."

Coyote didn't care about Du Chengfeng's answer, but continued talking.

"What if such a being really came to you? If you met such a being, and it fell in love with you at first sight, obeyed you in everything, and was even willing to go through fire and water for you, without hesitation... Then would you be willing to sacrifice your life for such a being?"

"I……"

Du Chengfeng fell into silence.

He had never seen the so-called love at first sight, but he knew someone who was kind to him - that was Carpenter Li, who helped him when he first came to this world. If something really happened to this good brother, he was afraid that he would really risk his life.

After all, his good brothers treated him well, so he should always be loyal...

"Looking at your expression, you should also feel what I'm saying, right?"

The coyote stood up.

"So think about it the other way around. Isn't this existence equivalent to holding your life in its hands by satisfying your needs?"

"you……"

Du Chengfeng widened his eyes.

Coyote's words opened up another perspective for him. He had never thought that things could be thought of this way.

But this way of thinking seems a bit too...

Du Chengfeng frowned. He couldn't accept this logic.

If we continue to think like this, then there will be no warmth in this world anymore, right?

"Now that you have come this far, you must naturally begin to learn to break away from the logic of mortals."

The coyote had no intention of stopping.

"It's like after you know this method, you can also look for those who are defective in this aspect, help them when they are in trouble, and then use their gratitude to hold their lives in your hands... With gratitude as the connection, whether they live or die is nothing more than a thought on your part."

"There is a problem in what you said."

Du Chengfeng narrowed his eyes.

"If that's what you said, then weren't you also trying to control me by telling me so much before?"

"It's a good thing that you understand this."

The coyote nodded.

"It seems that you at least know that nothing in this world is free, and there is no such thing as taking advantage. All things that seem to be taking advantage have traps, and the relationship between you and me is no exception... The mouse didn't understand this truth. It always thought it could get some small benefits from me for free, so after I generously gave it everything, it never hated me until it died."

"..."

Du Chengfeng's answer was to chop the coyote in the face with his right hand. Du Chengfeng's right hand was like a knife, but it was sharper than a real knife. He was confident that this knife could definitely chop the coyote in front of him into two pieces!
But this fatal blow finally stopped on the coyote's head.

He couldn't kill it, so it might not be the true form of the coyote. Moreover, such killing was meaningless, and it only made him seem somewhat incompetent and furious.

"call……"

Looking at the coyote's unresponsive look, Du Chengfeng let out a breath.

This was the first time since leaving Jibei that Du Chengfeng felt that his momentum was suppressed.

You know, when he met Ruan Shantao, who was stronger than himself, he even wanted to take action. Later, when he fought with the Emperor Taizu of Southern Chen, the battle was even more intense. After that, he never met an opponent stronger than himself. Even Wu Zhao or Huang Tian could only barely match him.

But only this time...

Before, Du Chengfeng once thought that he could fight with this coyote to a draw, and even exchange his life for another.

But this time, Du Chengfeng felt it clearly.

This seemingly ordinary coyote is stronger than him!
"you win."

Du Chengfeng retracted his hand and looked at the coyote in front of him.

"Tell me what you want. Tell me first. Life can't give it to you."

"I've got what I wanted."

The coyote looked calm.

"A fairly usable weapon, and an ally who is fairly cooperative... Actually, I wanted to train you into a weapon as well, but it's obvious that you have greater potential. Also, don't look at me like that. This kind of thing is not a question of whether you agree or not. When you went up to the sky with me, we were already a team."

As he said this, the coyote showed a rare cunning expression.

"If we prosper together, we all prosper together. If anything happens to me, you will definitely not be well. If I am killed by some senior or wise man, you, as my junior, will definitely be dealt with. After all, they will also be worried that you, a new star, will avenge me."

"..."

Du Chengfeng had a blank expression on his face.

Just because what the coyote said is still true.

He didn't even realize it, the coyote had already accomplished everything. Just as the coyote said, if the coyote was killed by some senior sage, he would definitely be hunted down for thousands of miles - just because they had been watched once by the stars when they went to the sky before, which meant that all those so-called seniors were already aware of the connection between the two of them.

"But if something happens to me, you won't survive."

Du Chengfeng narrowed his eyes.

"Aren't you afraid of dying with me?"

"I just said, there is no such thing as just taking advantage."

To Du Chengfeng's surprise, the coyote nodded as if it were a matter of course.

"If we prosper together, we prosper together. If we suffer together, we suffer together. If you cause trouble and die, I will naturally be implicated. This is a normal thing. Why should I be afraid?"

"If you put it that way, I understand."

After listening to what Coyote said, Du Chengfeng suddenly relaxed.

"Tell me, who are you going to kill?"

"…How did you guess that?"

The coyote looked at Du Chengfeng in confusion.

"I don't remember talking to you about anything else."

"You really haven't talked about it, but you need help."

Du Chengfeng touched his chin.

"You obviously don't need help, but you chose to come to me. This can only mean that you need help right now. You have encountered something that you can't accomplish by yourself... Let me guess, this matter should be relatively secret, so you would rather come to a stranger like me than to ask the predecessors for help..."

Having said that, Du Chengfeng suddenly raised his head.

"Or, which senior sage are you going to attack?"

"...You are wrong about one thing. I came to you not only because you are a stranger."

After listening to Du Chengfeng's words, the coyote looked at Du Chengfeng again, and there was some change in his eyes.

"As expected, you are just as I thought. Once you are free from the influence of the three turbidities, you are actually very smart... Indeed, you guessed right. I am going to attack a senior sage, but the one I am going to attack is not a living senior sage, but the cave of a senior sage who has already died."

As the coyote said this, he raised his paw and began to draw on the ground.

"The other sages don't know about the death of that sage yet, but this kind of thing can't be kept secret for long. I'm afraid some well-informed people have already known about it... I may not have enough combat power if I go alone, so I need a reliable partner to help me do this."

"……Then what?"

Du Chengfeng narrowed his eyes.

His intuition told him that it was more than just that.

"And then? What could possibly happen next? We two will pretend to be invited and go explore the cave. Then, before the other seniors react, we will take away everything we can."

The coyote continued to draw on the ground with his paws.

"It's about this far from us. Remember the distance so you don't fly in the wrong direction... Why are you looking at me like that? Didn't I tell you everything?"

"You didn't tell me everything."

Du Chengfeng shook his head.

"Say something more. I don't want to die for nothing. Since this is not a small matter, you'd better not take advantage of me."

"Hey, it's hard to talk to smart people. Can't you just take your share of the benefits for free?"

The coyote looked up at Du Chengfeng, then shook his head.

“Forget it. From your expression, I know I can’t trick you, so I’ll just tell you the truth… There’s something strange about the sage who manages that cave. He was my guide, and I was going there to inherit his legacy. He said that after he died, he would give me everything, so I was the first one to receive the news…”

"but."

Du Chengfeng interrupted Coyote.

“But there’s something wrong with this, isn’t there?”

"Your guess is correct. I also think there is something wrong here."

The coyote nodded.

"Although he told me at the time that he wanted me to inherit the estate, I always felt that there was something strange about it, as if I would definitely die after I went... Just like I wouldn't be nice to you for no reason, he wouldn't be nice to me for no reason either."

At this point, Coyote's expression became subtle.

"So I kind of doubt that he's not actually dead yet."

(End of this chapter)