Chapter 35. He Must Be Killed.
"Very interesting things you're telling me here, Eyron. Let's assume that I've noticed Weed's oddities, at least some of them, just like you have. But to accept your theory that he's a former powerful cultivator, these 'facts,' if we can call them that, are far from enough. If you think about it, there are at least a few other possibilities that fit these 'facts.'" Rand said, unimpressed by Eyron's story and conclusions.
"Maybe, but all the other options are much less likely. The chance that I'm right is very high," the giant responded evasively.
"It seems to me that you were deliberately trying to make me think that your theory is the only possible one. Yet, based on what you've seen, it's not even the most obvious option. For instance, it's just as likely that Weed is an ordinary child with outstanding intellect who gained his power through a lucky chance or the influence of a hidden powerful family. And I'm sure such thoughts didn't escape you, but for some reason, you're trying to get me to help you kill Weed. You clearly fear him; in this, you haven't lied to me. But why? Is there some reason you'll have to face him in the future? And you're not sure you'll come out on top, and victory is extremely important to you?" Rand speculated, watching Eyron's reactions.
As Rand asked his questions, Eyron's eyes involuntarily widened. When Rand finished, Eyron opened his mouth, seemingly about to say something, but he appeared to lose his voice momentarily. Only after a few seconds did he manage to compose himself and respond.
"Perhaps I've slightly underestimated you, Oberin. You're even smarter than I initially thought. Some of your conclusions are somewhat correct, although the chance that Weed is an ancient cultivator is not as small as you're trying to make it seem. But you're right, even if he is just a ten-year-old who gained his power through luck or other circumstances, I still think he needs to be killed. And I believe you agree with me on this. Otherwise, you wouldn't have continued this conversation and would have already asked me to leave your home."
For the next half-minute, neither of them spoke a word. The two young men stood in silence, observing each other intently, each lost in thought.
"Let's assume I agree that Weed should be eliminated. He is too mysterious, and the speed of his power growth is concerning. And since you've come to me, I assume you already have a plan? Otherwise, you wouldn't have started this conversation with me." Rand broke the prolonged silence first.
Hearing Rand's agreement, a smile reappeared on Eyron's face.
"Something like that, though it's not a full-fledged plan. Killing him within the sect or even in the City of Fire is too risky, so the only option is to force him to leave the sect and populated areas, and then try to deal with him."
"He will need a reason to leave the sect. And we must leave with him. Otherwise, with our abilities we won't be able to track when he goes out alone," Rand pointed out the difficulties in implementing this idea.
"Indeed, he won't just leave for no reason. Or at least we wouldn't know if he did unless we got extremely lucky. But we can create a reason for us all to leave the sect together. The reason being resources. We can take on a sect mission to earn rewards that will help us in our cultivation. And since he's pretending to be a sect novice in need of resources, he'll be forced to come with us, or his cover will be blown," Eyron explained.
Rand, who had a similar plan a few days ago, pointed out the next challenge:
"Let's say your plan works, and we can get him out of the sect under this pretext. How do you plan to kill him? Just attack him together?"
Eyron wasn't surprised by Rand's question; it was clear he had thought about this as well.
"Of course not. There's a significant chance we might fail to kill him, even with a surprise attack. Who knows what trump cards he might have? And even if we manage to kill him somehow, there's a good chance the sect could figure out who was responsible for a novice's death. It would be much better if someone else did the killing. For instance, stupid, clueless beasts."
A couple of days ago, I went to the Task Pavilion looking for something suitable, and I got lucky. I found an old, uninteresting task to find and eliminate a beast terrorizing a small, insignificant village. The beast is supposedly a fox that has recently gained some Qi. I also found another task that appeared just recently. Its goal is to eliminate a massive pack of wolves that recently migrated to a new area and made a den just a few dozen kilometers from that same village. My idea is for us to take the task of eliminating the fox together, and while searching for this animal, Weed will 'accidentally' stumble upon the wolf pack, which will tear him apart. No matter how strong he is, he can't do anything against hundreds of wolves, especially since the pack leader is at the later levels of Qi Condensation.
To make sure the wolves find him and don't let him go, we can also 'accidentally' drop a known potion called Wolf's Bane on him. This potion, made from the blood of wolf pups, has a peculiar smell that drives canines into a frenzy, making them try to destroy its source. But a human who hasn't reached the Foundation Establishment stage won't sense it at all.
Not bad, right? And don't worry about someone else taking these tasks right now. They are difficult but offer very few resources, so the chance of someone picking them soon is close to zero."
"The concept is not bad, but there are too many uncertainties, and much will depend on luck, with many adjustments needed on the spot. Also, after listening to you, I have an important question: why do you need me? I'm sure you could carry out this plan alone," Rand asked another reasonable question.
But Eyron was ready for this question as well.
"You see, there are several reasons for that. First, to avoid arousing Weed's suspicions, we'll need to invite Balron and Fara to the task as well, and they won't go without you. At least Balron won't, because for some reason, Fara has grown cold towards you recently. And you probably wouldn't go anywhere without this conversation with me, no matter how much we persuaded you.
Moreover, I need someone to drop the potion on Weed's clothes. Unfortunately, its smell dissipates quickly, so someone will have to apply it just minutes before encountering the wolves. Otherwise, there's a chance Weed might escape them. During our forest walks, we'll split into groups of two or three, and there's a good chance Weed will want to be in your group because he holds a high opinion of your combat skills. And at the right moment, you…"
But before Eyron could finish speaking, Rand burst into laughter.
"Ha, you plan to get rid of me too, don't you? To be with Weed when the wolves attack. And they'll eat me along with Weed. How convenient, killing two birds-opponents with one potion-stone. The funniest part is that you're telling me this to my face, even though you called me a smart person a few minutes ago."
Rand's statement momentarily threw Eyron off his speech, but he quickly recovered and spoke confidently:
"I understand your concerns, but you're mistaken. Perhaps I might have tried to get rid of you in such a way if not for one thing. You have already become an elder's disciple. Likely, if I were involved in your death, that old man would stop at nothing to uncover the truth and avenge you. And your death, forgive me, isn't worth such major trouble with a powerful elder. As for encountering the wolves... once you see the wolves approaching, you just need to suggest to Weed that you split up, under some pretext, like 'so at least one of us can survive.' And that will be enough since, unfortunately for him, all the wolves will chase only him.
Besides, I don't think Weed will fall quickly under the wolves' onslaught, so you'll have plenty of time to escape and reach a safe place. But if you have another plan or disagree with something, I'm willing to listen to your suggestions."
"Now, everything is clear to me, and this plan... I'm more or less satisfied with it," Rand answered after a brief reflection.
Eyron, who had been expecting a lengthy discussion and prolonged argument, looked at Rand in surprise, who agreed with his plan without much resistance. Initially, Eyron wanted to comment on this quick agreement, but then he decided that since he had already achieved the desired consent, it was better to remain silent.
Meanwhile, as Eyron pondered over Rand's quick agreement, Rand asked a new question:
"When do you plan to put your plan into action?"
"Right now, everyone has resources they received from participating in the competition, and with them, they can quickly progress in their cultivation. So neither Balron nor Fara will agree to go anywhere right now. But in a week, their resources will run out, and they'll feel the difference between cultivating with resources and without them. Then I'll come to them and propose a quick and easy way to get new resources. I think they won't be able to refuse such an offer. And if they go, Weed will almost certainly go with them," Eyron revealed the new part of his plan.
"And what if, for some reason, Weed still refuses? Or some idiot takes one of the tasks? Even if it's unlikely, these possibilities still need to be considered," Rand continued to clarify the finer details of the plan.
"I don't think something like that will happen, but if it does, the plan will be considered a failure, and we'll have to come up with something else."
Rand and Eyron discussed various aspects of the plan to eliminate Weed for another twenty minutes later, and after that their conversation came to a logical conclusion. Eyron then said goodbye to Rand and left his house.
Immediately after his guest left, Rand began to reflect on his conversation with Eyron and the entire situation with Weed in general:
"He made me laugh. To apply Wolf's Bane to someone else's clothing without getting any of it on yourself... that's nearly impossible. Especially if you don't know about this particular feature of the potion. And yet, he claims he doesn't want to kill me. He came up with a ridiculous explanation involving Byron and hopes I'll believe it? Did I overestimate him?
Or maybe he expected me to figure it out? Even if I didn't know about Wolf's Bane, I would have found out all possible information about it in the next few days, and his omission would have been pointless. Is he testing me? Evaluating my deductive abilities? Funny.
But he's an amusing fellow. It's a pity he thinks so highly of himself, evidently never having been put in his place his whole life.
Perhaps, if the opportunity arises, I should try to kill him during this task. That will be my way of testing his survival skills. Ha.
But what he told me about Weed's fight with the bandits is quite alarming. Did Weed have this power from the beginning, or did he acquire it only recently? Another mystery without an answer. He needs to be dealt with as soon as possible because who knows what he might do in the future and how quickly he might become stronger. And relying solely on Eyron's plan isn't enough. I need something more reliable than a measly potion and a pack of weak wild wolves.
But with my current resources... I can't obtain anything suitable. A mere few hundred low-quality spirit stones won't solve this problem.
So, I'll have to resort to supplies from the past, even though I don't like it. But I'll need to try to minimize the risks," Rand thought it all over, then stepped out of his house, looked at the moon in its last waxing phase, and decided: "in three days, it will be a full moon, and then I'll start gathering the means to eliminate Weed."
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Kreol
Kreol Hello everyone. Today, I have two important announcements for you:
First, I found out that it will be extremely difficult to cash out money from Patreon in my country. Therefore, I found an alternative that shouldn't have these problems. The site is called Boosty. Starting tomorrow, chapters will be released there ahead of other platforms by +1 and +2 chapters.
Second, after the release of Chapter 40, chapters will start coming out every other day. This is a necessary measure, as I realize that I won't have the strength or time to maintain a daily release schedule in the long term. This is because I not only write (and translate into English), but I also work. Perhaps in the future, if the number of subscribers on Boosty is high enough, I can return to a daily release schedule.
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