No doubt about it, Hongji Restaurant really was the Lu family's main intel hub here in the Tianmu Mountains. By nightfall, news was already pouring in, one piece after another.
The incident happened last night. The Zhou clan made a major move, sending out thirteen cultivators, including two Foundation Establishnt mbers and five at the higher levels of Qi Refinent...
Word was, it had sothing to do with Zhou Qiniang, the Zhou family’s legitimate daughter. The rumor said Lord Xingde abducted her, though the Zhou clan had publicly denied it...
Around noon today, the Zhou clan entered the Taoyuan mountain range and began searching the mountains by force. It stirred up quite a few conflicts. They even fought Mo Honghua, the most powerful cultivator in Taoyuan. Mo Honghua admitted defeat, and after that, the Zhou clan was allowed free rein to search the area...
They said an elder from the Qingyu Sect happened to be passing by and witnessed the entire fight...
By sundown, the Zhou clan was still combing through the Taoyuan range.
And now, past midnight, they’ve surrounded the mountains completely...
Wei Hongqing thought for a mont and said, “Looks like the Zhou clan is convinced Lord Xingde is still in Taoyuan. They must have found a lead. I’ll have them keep digging…”
By dawn, new information ca in. Sure enough, the Zhou clan had followed a lead straight into Taoyuan. It most likely ca from Zhou Qiniang herself.
A steward from the Tianmu Mountains ca in to report quietly: “Even though the Zhou clan keeps denying it, we’ve confird the connection; this really is about Zhou Qiniang. There’s no doubt Lord Xingde abducted her. The Zhou clan planted sothing on her that lets them track her movents.”
“What did they use?” Wei Hongqing asked.
“The Qingyu Sect is skilled in spirit-binding arts," the steward replied. "They have a special technique involving spirits; they hide a minor ghost inside an object, and as long as that object stays on soone, they can sense its general location. It’s not pinpoint accurate, but it gives them a rough range. Our Tianmu Mountain once tried to trade a pill formula for that technique, but they turned us down. That’s why many suspect the Zhou clan may have used this to bait Lord Xingde... Master, what’s the higher-ups' stance on this? Taoyuan isn’t territory that belongs solely to the Qingyu Sect, and the Zhou clan certainly has no right to do whatever they please. They’re clearly showing no respect for Tianmu Mountain.”
“No need to overthink it," Wei Hongqing said calmly. "Just keep gathering intel.”
By this point, Liu Xiaolou had ford a rough picture of the situation. He turned to Wei Hongqing. “Thank you, Brother Wei.”
Wei Hongqing let out a quiet sigh. “Xiaolou, I still think you should be careful. Really think this through.”
Liu Xiaolou nodded. “I understand.”
Just as he was about to leave, soone barged in and dropped into a seat without a care in the world. He glanced at Liu Xiaolou, then turned to Wei Hongqing and said, “Old Wei, what’s the plan?”
The newcor was dressed in lavish clothes, his skin smooth and youthful. He was no older than twenty, by the looks of it.
Wei Hongqing smiled. “Second Young Master Lu, let introduce you. This is my good brother, Liu Xiaolou. Xiaolou, this is Second Young Master Lu. His older brother, Lu Yuanlang, ranks third among the inner disciples of Tianmu Mountain.”
Liu Xiaolou was taken aback for a mont, then slowly cupped his hands and said, “So you're Second Young Master Lu. A pleasure to et you.”
Second Young Master Lu chuckled. “We’ve t before, haven’t we? Isn’t this the nephew of that Zhou family lady, Qiniang?”
Wei Hongqing blinked. “Nephew?”
Lu’s smile turned sly. “I saw him at the Zhou family estate once. He was there mooching off relatives, made a scene, even mistook soone for the wrong person. Ha? You an to tell you didn’t know, Old Wei? Eh, never mind. Let’s pretend you didn’t. Anyway, I heard you’ve been digging into this business with the Zhou clan chasing that rogue cultivator. What’s really going on there?”
“We just caught wind of it and didn’t know the details, so I had so people ask around. No real plan behind it. Just part of my job, that’s all.”
Lu locked eyes with him, then glanced at Liu Xiaolou again. He shook his head and laughed. “Co on, Old Wei. That’s not very honest. Keeping things from ?”
“You flatter , Second Young Master," Wei Hongqing said. "The Zhou clan is a major family within the Qingyu Sect. I’m just a lowly steward running a restaurant. I wouldn’t dare act without permission. Really, I’m just gathering information in case the sect inquires.”
Lu’s smile faded. His tone turned cold. “Old Wei, I ca here in good faith. Thought if you were in so kind of trouble, I might help. If there were any benefits in it, I wouldn’t mind throwing a little your way either. But you’re feeding this nonsense? What, you really think the Yan family makes a reliable backer?”
Wei Hongqing lowered his voice. “Second Young Master, if there’s anything else you need, just say the word; I’ll do whatever I can to help. But as far as I can tell, the Zhou clan’s actions don’t involve Tianmu Mountain at all. There’s no benefit in it for us…”
Before he could finish, Second Young Master Lu brushed his sleeve aside and turned to leave. As he walked out, he tossed back, “Wild cultivator by birth; don’t know what’s good for you. Suit yourself...”
The private room fell silent.
After a while, Wei Hongqing told a waiter to bring in the steward who’d been gathering information. “How did Lu find out?” he asked.
The steward bowed his head. “Master, Second Young Master happened to be drinking here at the restaurant. He noticed our people going in and out and started asking questions. Given his status, we didn’t dare hide anything.”
Wei Hongqing stared hard at the steward for a long ti, saying nothing.
“Master,” the steward asked, “do you need anything else? If not, I’ll head back out and keep digging.”
Wei Hongqing let out a long breath, waved him off, then downed the rest of his wine in one go. He turned to Liu Xiaolou with a wry smile. “Sorry you had to see that. That’s how it is with the big sects.”
Liu Xiaolou asked, “Is that guy not on good terms with you?”
Wei Hongqing shook his head. “Just a spoiled young master. Third layer of Qi Refinent. Always throwing his weight around thanks to his older brother’s position. He’s been giving us trouble for a while now... By the way, you two have t?”
“Yeah, we’ve t. I thought he was the Zhou family’s second young master at the ti. Didn’t expect him to be from the Lu family.”
“He didn’t give you any trouble, did he?”
“Not really. He tried to whip , but missed. His cultivation’s nothing special, but that temper of his sure is.”
Wei Hongqing gave Liu Xiaolou a pat on the shoulder, a sign that he understood. “Once I’ve got solid footing here, I promise I’ll help you settle that score.”
Liu Xiaolou smiled. “Brother Wei, there’s no need to let soone like that get to us. We just grit our teeth and bear it for now. The day you rise above all this, people like him won’t even matter.”
After saying his goodbyes to Wei Hongqing, Liu Xiaolou made a sweep through the private rooms, checking each one, but saw no sign of Second Young Master Lu. He let it go for now and left Tiann Market, heading toward the Taoyuan mountain range.
It was over a hundred li away, but he made it there before dawn. As he neared the outskirts of Taoyuan, he slowed down and watched quietly from the main road into the mountains. Sure enough, a few figures were stationed along the path. Likely people from the Zhou clan.
Seeing that the main road was blocked, he took a narrow side path instead. But less than two li in, a sharp prickling sensation ran down his back, like soone’s eyes were glued to him.
He didn’t dare go further.
Looking around, he caught two wild rabbits and tied them to his waist with a length of grass rope. Humming a tune, he turned back the way he ca. Only then did that creepy feeling of being watched finally fade.
What kind of trick was that? Could it be that “spirit-binding” technique from the Qingyu Sect? Creepy stuff, seriously.
Liu Xiaolou was very familiar with the terrain, and quickly picked a well-hidden spot where he could stay out of sight. Once tucked away, he sat in silence, deep in thought. He couldn’t make sense of that prickling, watched feeling from earlier. And without understanding that, he couldn’t co up with a safe way into the mountains.
Not being able to enter the range was definitely bad news. But the fact that the Zhou clan was still searching around the mountains... that was good news. It ant that Lord Xingde and Zhou Qiniang hadn’t been found yet. For the ti being, at least, they were safe.
As he was turning this over in his mind, two shadowy figures crept past his hiding spot, moving just as cautiously and stealthily as he had.
Friends from the Daoist side coming to join the fun?
Under the moonlight, Liu Xiaolou got a better look at them. And realized both figures looked very familiar. One was the steward from Hongji Restaurant, the one who’d been out gathering intel. The other… was none other than Second Young Master Lu.
The two of them lingered nearby for a while, then circled back toward Liu Xiaolou’s hiding place. They stopped just a few zhang away, whispering to each other.
“This is the place, Second Young Master. I swear. But now he’s gone. No idea how.”
“You’re sure you didn’t mistake it?”
“Positive. No question. Last ti I saw him, he was right here.”
“So where is he now?”
“I don’t know…”
“You lost track of a low-level rogue cultivator? What a damn useless idiot you are.”
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