Everyone had their suspicions, they figured this so-called lifesaving favor was probably deliberate, a setup by the man calling himself Yu Linhai, so he could stay around and hide in plain sight.
"What're you saying?" Jian Dan's sword was still pressed against his throat, and she asked with a smile.
"I'm your captive now, I'll do what you say."
His tone didn't change, but the group tightened their guard. He'd shown he could bend and endure, so he must be scheming something.
"Tsk, so you're pinning this on us? You not scared I'll kill you?"
"If you wanted to kill me, you would've already. You'll need me once you get inside the inner ring."
Jian Dan raised an eyebrow at that, this man was bold and cautious. He'd expected they'd move into the inner ring, and he'd planned ahead.
"We're going inside the inner ring, but we don't necessarily need you to lead the way. If you've got any other bargaining chips, lay them out."
Don't assume they'd be fooled.
"I know a route from here to the Immortal Realm, that's why they haven't let me go, why they've been hunting me. I had no choice but to hide inside their squad." Yu Linhai dropped his biggest card.
The Heavenly Sword Sect members exchanged glances, then gave Jian Lu a look.
"Sounds tempting, but we're not forcing you to tell us everything right now. For now, we expect you to cooperate." Jian Dan said, cool and confident. "Otherwise I won't hesitate to hand you over to an inner-ring immortal in exchange for what we need. We're all gonna go to the Immortal Realm sooner or later, no need for shortcuts."
Nobody argued. Her words carried weight.
Yu Linhai felt cornered, he'd offered his strongest lead but it hadn't moved them. He was alone now, not sure he could handle all of them if things turned. If even one of them slipped, he'd be the one in trouble, especially with the woman holding him, she didn't look weaker than him.
From their style, he could tell they weren't scattered mercenaries like Hu San's lot, they were precise, planned, and patient. Maybe they didn't believe him, maybe they just wanted to make sure he wouldn't cause trouble.
His guess was right, Jian Dan had only given him an opening, she wasn't buying his shortcut. If that route existed, it was probably in the inner ring, maybe where those immortals gathered. But they were here to find someone, not to take any risky shortcut to the Immortal Realm.
Besides, she suspected that if she dared to use such a shortcut, the Heavenly Dao would shove her back. She wasn't going to tell the Tian Sword Sect that.
She sheathed her Mò Xī Jiàn, signaled to the others, then said to Hu San, "Your turn."
"Yes." Hu San jumped up and fumbled, not sure how to start.
"Enough, stop twitching. I know we've gotta pretend." Jian Dan said. She messed up her hair, tucked away her hairpin and storage ring. Senior Sister Jian Jing did the same, making them both look a little ragged.
Jian Dan pulled out a Binding Immortal Rope from her storage ring and bound herself and Jian Jing, then tossed the other end to Hu San.
He caught it and squeezed the rope, eyes shining. "A real Binding Immortal Rope, what a treasure."
"Wipe your drool, let's go."
"Alright!"
Hu San led the way, with Yu Linhai following behind them to make it look like they were preventing escape. Jian Dan only let her divine sense out long enough for him to feel it, then withdrew it, the message was clear, don't try anything, we're not helpless.
That show rattled Yu Linhai, he hesitated, then decided to play along for now.
"You two move faster, if we weren't aiming to capture you alive, we wouldn't bother wasting so many people!" Hu San barked as he dragged them forward.
"You'd better pray Mao Wu likes what he sees, or I'll have you slaughtered."
Their racket gave them away, a hidden sentry had to notice. One man dropped down from a tree and stepped in front of Hu San, arms folded. "Well, if it isn't Hu San. You not listening to Qingmian back there, what're you doing here?"
Clearly both squads knew each other, and the sentry glanced at Jian Dan and Jian Jing while talking to Hu San.
The two women kept their act, eyes slightly red, glaring at Hu San. They huddled together and made themselves look submissive, the ropes on their wrists making the act obvious.
"Ah, yeah, some trouble came up. Qingmian sent me. These two female cultivators are a gift for Mao Wu. Would you pass the message along?" Hu San chirped, rubbing his hands.
Another sentry had already sent word, then dropped down to scrutinize the group. "Only you two coming? You not afraid we'll just keep you all?"
"Boss didn't want casualties, that's why he sent just us with a gift. If we don't make it back tonight, he'll know the deal's off and he'll handle the next step. It's only the two of us and two captives, not the end of the world." Hu San lied smoothly.
"You seem honest enough, what's such a big gift for?" the sentry pressed.
"It's not my place to say. Qingmian said it must be told to Mao Wu in person, not many people can know." Hu San added.
That made the sentries relax a bit, the two squads competed but also collaborated. Qingmian's crew used to be bigger until losses in a canyon left them weakened. Mao Wu wanted to recruit them, but Qingmian's group had hidden, so this chance was too good to miss.
The sentries exchanged looks, and the one who'd shown himself leaned down to whisper into the ear of the first sentry. After a nod, he told Hu San, "You're lucky, boss didn't go out today. Come with me."
He led the way, while the other climbed back up the tree.
From the rear, the Tian Sword Sect watchers saw the squads join and slip inside the sentry perimeter. Jian Mao gave a hand signal, then vaulted up the tree where the other sentry had been hiding. Before anyone reacted, he cut the man down and took his storage gear, even grabbing his armor.
Jian Xu, Jian Chun, Wu Siyuan, and Kuang Dao formed a ring and moved out quietly, removing the outer sentries, then followed Jian Lu's marks into the enemy territory.
Hu San dragged Jian Dan and Jian Jing out of the old grove and they reached Greenfield Lake.
The lake was large, splitting Mao Wu's territory in two. They'd come in on the outside sector, where about ten guards were posted. When those guards saw Hu San and the two bound women, hunger showed on their faces.