Chapter 25: The 4th Dark Bird

"Are you trying to say that the Dark Bird is connected to the Gourd Mountain we are heading to?" Lin Shen finally understood what Ye meant.

"Think carefully, even though Bai Shenfei comes from the Sea Corn Base, she's only trained there. What her family background truly is, not even we know, let alone the Qi Family or the Wang Family. So why are they trusting Bai Shenfei so much, taking such a huge risk to follow her here? Along the way, they've practically obeyed her every word—even when their Alloy Mutators died or were injured, they never once complained to Bai Shenfei. Are they just trusting her because she claims to know where Gourd Mountain is? It's too strange, especially since we ourselves are questioning why the Qi and Wang families have such unwavering faith in her." Ye said.

"What do you think?" Lin Shen refrained from guessing, signaling Ye to continue.

"After much thought, maybe there's one possibility. Bai Shenfei might actually know where Gourd Mountain is, but she can't enter on her own. She must rely on some kind of special object or strength to gain access." Ye's voice was so low that Lin Shen, who was right next to him, could barely hear.

"The Dark Bird?" Lin Shen had caught Ye's implication.

"Exactly, the Dark Bird. If, as she says, Fourth Uncle instructed her to bring you to Gourd Mountain, then she could have taken only you there. Even if extra help was needed, bringing people from the Lin Family would suffice. Why insist on involving both the Qi and Wang families?"

Ye snorted coldly, adding, "I couldn't make sense of it before, but after seeing Wang Tian'er use the Dark Bird today, suddenly some things became clear to me. The common thread among the three families is that they all possess Dark Birds, and these birds were acquired near this canyon. Perhaps the key to entering Gourd Mountain is the Dark Bird, which explains why Bai Shenfei insisted on involving all three families. To gain the trust of the Qi and Wang families, she most likely disclosed that the Dark Bird is the crucial tool for accessing Gourd Mountain. Because of that, Qi Shuheng and Wang Tian'er have been following her without question—driven by an allegiance formed solely to locate Gourd Mountain. But once Gourd Mountain is found, those with Dark Birds—Qi Shuheng and Wang Tian'er—can easily dispense with us and claim everything within Gourd Mountain for themselves. The entire situation is rife with mutual exploitation and scheming."

"If Bai Shenfei knows the location of Gourd Mountain and the Qi and Wang families have Dark Birds, why involve us? We have no idea where Gourd Mountain is, nor do we possess a Dark Bird," Lin Shen muttered thoughtfully.

"Maybe they fear that Mr. Lin Zongzheng and Fourth Uncle didn't perish inside Gourd Mountain. If anything unexpected happens, they might use you as a hostage."

Ye lifted his gaze and focused intently on Lin Shen, his expression complicated as he continued, "There could be another possibility."

"What kind of possibility?" Lin Shen felt that Ye's intense stare meant what he was about to say had something to do with him.

"Maybe they suspect that you have a Dark Bird." Ye's eyes burned as he slowly said each word.

Lin Shen froze in surprise. "How could I possibly have a Dark Bird? The Lin Family's Dark Bird pet was lost long ago. Even if it hadn't been lost, it would have been inherited by Second Brother. If not him, then Third Brother or Fourth Brother—there's no way it would come to me."

"The Lin Family's Dark Bird was indeed lost, but that doesn't mean the Lin Family has no Dark Birds." Ye lowered his voice.

"What kind of strange talk is that? If it's lost, it's gone. There's nothing left," Lin Shen shot Ye a look of confusion, uncertain of what he meant.

"Mr. Lin Shen, there's something you might not know. In reality, when the Dark Bird eggs were found back then… there weren't three eggs, but four. The ancestors of the Qi and Wang families each acquired one Dark Bird egg, while the Lin Family's ancestors obtained two." Ye revealed slowly.

"What?" Lin Shen's eyes widened in disbelief, his voice involuntarily rising.

Ye quickly reached out and covered Lin Shen's mouth. "Keep your voice down—walls have ears."

When Ye let go, Lin Shen spoke again, this time lowering his voice, "I've never heard of the Lin Family acquiring two Dark Bird eggs."

"I heard it from the old master a long time ago. Once, while drinking with Cang Yun and me, he talked about the Dark Birds during a lively conversation. The old master mentioned that the Dark Bird nest was first discovered by the Lin Family ancestors, who contributed the most effort in acquiring the birds. When they saw there were four eggs in the nest, the ancestors of the Qi and Wang families each took one, but the Lin Family ancestors claimed two."

"Then why have I never heard anything about the Lin Family having two Dark Birds? Were both birds lost?" Lin Shen asked with curiosity.

"No, only one Dark Bird was lost. The other egg was taken back to the Lin Family but was never seen again because the Lin Family ancestor claimed it didn't hatch—it became a dead egg."

Lin Shen paused slightly. "Well, luck really wasn't on our Lin ancestor's side. Four Dark Bird eggs hatched three birds, and ours ended up being the dead egg."

"You don't believe it, do you? Truth be told, the Qi and Wang families didn't fully believe it either. They've always suspected that the Lin Family's second Dark Bird egg wasn't a dead egg but had been hidden away as a secret weapon. That's why, even during the Lin Family's most difficult downfall, the Qi and Wang families didn't dare completely destroy us. They feared the Lin Family might still be harboring another Dark Bird—this allowed Second Brother's rise and ensured the Lin Family retained its current standing."

"During that time, the Qi and Wang families kept probing the Lin Family to find out whether we secretly kept another Dark Bird. If we didn't, the best-case scenario for the Lin Family would have been losing all interests in the Dark Bird Base—possibly even complete ruin. But they hadn't anticipated Second Brother's exceptional capability; before they could gauge anything, they discovered eliminating the Lin Family—even without a Dark Bird—would cost them far too much. By then, they had no hope of taking action."

"Later, as Second Brother grew stronger, and Third and Fourth Brothers also rose in prominence, the Qi and Wang families cowered in fear like beaten dogs. They were likely so terrified that they couldn't sleep, knowing that even without a Dark Bird, just having those three was enough to make them tremble. The Lin Family became more intimidating than if it had a Dark Bird." Ye chuckled proudly at this notion.

"Had Second Brother not vanished mysteriously, the Dark Bird Base would likely have consolidated under the Lin Family's banner long ago." Ye then fixed his gaze on Lin Shen's eyes once more. "Lin, you should know best—those three were extraordinary. At the Dark Bird Base, they didn't even need Dark Birds. But if the Lin Family truly retains a remaining Dark Bird—"

"Then it would only make sense for it to be with me, the most useless Fifth," Lin Shen remarked with sarcasm. He sighed helplessly, adding, "Ye, I really haven't seen any Dark Bird. When Second and Third Brothers were around, I could walk around with confidence at the Dark Bird Base, always accompanied by Alloy Mutator guards. I never needed something like that. Besides, with my level of strength, even if I had a Dark Bird, do you think I'd be able to keep it safe from Qi Shuheng and Wang Tian'er? I'd probably be dead before I could summon the bird."

"Lin, I trust you implicitly. But my trust doesn't matter—what matters is that the Qi and Wang families don't trust you. Bai Shenfei doesn't trust you. Even Wei Wufu, I'd wager he's sticking close to you because of the Dark Bird. Otherwise, why won't he leave your side?" Ye said coldly.

"Their disbelief is irrelevant—I truly don't have one." Lin Shen thought for a moment before speaking again. "And at the end of the day, no matter how powerful the Dark Bird is, it's simply one type of Crystal-based Creature. Its purported utility might not even live up to expectations."

Ye wanted to respond but was interrupted by the sounds of shouting outside their tent.

The two men tensed and quickly stepped out to see what was going on.

Standing guard outside their tent, Wei Wufu was already upright, gazing at the night sky. Around the camp, others had also gathered—each lifting their heads to stare upward.

Lin Shen followed their gaze, only to freeze in shock as he let out a cry: "Ah!"