Late at night, South of Dingzhou, Pinglai Inn.
The waiter carefully carried a bowl of mutton sprinkled with green onions into the hall, silently placed it on the table, and walked away.
Several figures were already seated in the hall: a tattooed strong man with green patterns on his forehead, a young man wearing a partial demon mask, a scholar silently reading a book, a Confucian scholar resting with his eyes closed, a veiled young woman...
SNAP.
The tattooed strong man picked up so chopsticks, tapped them on the table, and expressionlessly ate the steaming mutton.
Throughout the inn, only the sounds of slurping food and the scholar turning the pages of his book could be heard.
BANG!
The door of the inn was flung open forcefully, letting in a blast of wretched wind and harsh rain. Accompanied by a flash of lightning, a figure in a bamboo hat and straw coat appeared at the door.
THUD, THUD, THUD.
Li Ang, or rather, his Ink Silk Clone, strode into the inn, bringing in a trail of rainwater, and sat down in a corner of the hall. He slapped the Jade Token given to him by the Wang Family onto the table.
There seem to be quite a few people, Li Ang observed his surroundings and saw a familiar figure—the scholar Yu Shusheng, whom he had encountered in the Huai Rui mutation incident at Victory Square, was also here.
Has he also accepted the bounty from the Taiyuan Wang Family? Li Ang thought casually. Yu Shusheng was a civilian cultivator, and it was quite normal for him to take on high-paying tasks for money. Moreover, it seed he had not ntioned to others that he had seen Bettman.
Otherwise, he would have been arrested by the garrison as a suspect long ago.
As Li Ang surveyed the others, everyone in the hall was also observing him discreetly, undoubtedly guessing his origins and strength.
CREAK—
The sound of wooden floorboards creaking ca from the second floor of the inn, as a man dressed like a steward ca downstairs. He smiled at Li Ang and asked, "Are you Cultivator Lu Feilu?"
"..."
Li Ang looked up at him and silently nodded.
"With your arrival, besides those two, everyone has arrived now."
The middle-aged steward descended the stairs and addressed the crowd, "Let introduce myself. I am the steward of the eleventh branch of the Taiyuan Wang Family in Beidou. This commission was issued by our master, Wang Bojian."
The Wang Family ranked among the Five Families and Seven Hopes, with a large and sprawling family tree consisting of direct and collateral branches, each with subdivisions. Based on their status within the family, they enjoyed different levels of resources.
For example, distant collateral relatives could only serve as minor clerks or engage in comrce, working within the Wang Family’s business enterprises.
On the other hand, mbers of the main direct line were born superior and received the best education from a young age.
Famous Yu Country poets such as Wang Zhihuan, Wang Changling, Wang Wei, and Wang Bo were all mbers of the Taiyuan Wang Family. Achieving great success in a particular field was also the best way to elevate the status of their respective branches within the entire family.
Being able to gather so many cultivators indicated that Wang Bojian, the issuer of the bounty, held a high position within the Taiyuan Wang Family.
"The missing Mr. Chu was the husband chosen by my master for his daughter. They were preparing to marry in half a year."
The steward said calmly, "Mr. Chu was once a student at Lu Li Academy. He was fond of studying Golden Stone Study, which involves researching Ancient Bronze Vessels, Stone Inscriptions, bamboo slips, oracle bones, Jade Artifacts, bricks and tiles, Sealing Mud, Commander’s Seals, and Ming Qi. This study also involves verifying historical records to rectify history.
One and a half months ago, while exploring local steles near Dingzhou, he and the two guards accompanying him disappeared mysteriously.
His life lamp shows that he is still alive and in Dingzhou, but we cannot find him anywhere.
The family elders have divined that he must have been drawn into so sort of Bizzare Species mutation."
Li Ang raised an eyebrow at this. demon, Demon, Alien, and Bizzare Species were four types of mutations. demon were living variants, Demon were humanoid variants, Alien were inanimate objects, and Bizzare Species were those extrely complex and unclassifiable Mutated Objects, often the most dangerous and lethal.
"As for why we have sought you all out... ahem, Mr. Chu’s father and my master are sworn friends who arranged this marriage long ago.
Not many years later, Mr. Chu’s parents tragically died in a fire. Mr. Chu was then brought to Taiyuan.
So..."
The steward looked embarrassed and didn’t finish, but his aning was clear.
Although Wang Bojian was an upright man and didn’t break the arranged marriage, instead taking Chu Haoman in and providing him with the best education, the result was that Chu Haoman beca a son-in-law living under another’s roof. He spent his entire childhood and youth in the Taiyuan Wang Family. As an outsider with a different surna, he endured much gossip, which is why he went to study at Lu Li Academy in Jiangnan Road.
Now that he’s missing, the Taiyuan Wang Family’s own cultivators are naturally unwilling to risk themselves to help—he’s just an unbetrothed, live-in son-in-law. If he’s gone, he’s gone; they can just find another.
That’s why Wang Bojian had spent a lot of money to commission outsiders for help.
The tattooed strong man waved his hand, showing no interest in the entanglents of large families. "As long as the money is right, everything else is negotiable. Where is the site of the anomaly?"
The steward nodded. "It’s in the mountains forty miles west of Dingzhou. According to divination, it can be entered using certain special thods. When the ti cos, Cultivator Wang Linian from our Taiyuan Wang Family and Cultivator Ji Xingwang from Lu Li Academy will lead you there."
Wang Linian was a taciturn, middle-aged man with a longsword at his waist, presumably sent by the Taiyuan Wang Family to supervise the group. Ji Xingwang, on the other hand, was the Confucian scholar with a gentle deanor.
"Ji Xingwang?"
Hearing this na, everyone present was slightly astonished, and Li Ang also narrowed his eyes.
Lu Li Academy was not only ho to its Mountain Master, Lu Qingya, a renowned Candle Cloud Realm Cultivator, but also to several respected Doctors—Ji Xingwang was one of them. He had recently published a paper on the telescope, which superseded the Eagle Eye Technique.
Ji Xingwang nodded to the assembled crowd. He was Chu Haoman’s teacher, a middle-rank Cloud Patrol Realm Cultivator. The veiled young woman who accompanied him was Chu Haoman’s junior martial sister, possessing Innate Divination ability.
After him, everyone in the hall introduced themselves one after another.
"Liao Kaifeng, a Postnatal Martial Artist," the tattooed strong man stated indifferently.
"Yan Yan. A Rain Listening Realm Telekinesis Master," said the young man, adjusting the half-demon mask on his face.
"Yu Shusheng. I know a few minor tricks, hardly worth ntioning," the scholar said, closing his book with so embarrassnt.
"Lu Fei, Postnatal Martial Artist," Li Ang waved his hand.
BANG!
The inn’s door was pushed open again, and two identical-looking young n walked in, arm in arm. They boisterously introduced themselves: "Yu Yong."
"Yu Yuan."
The two spoke one after another, perfectly in sync.
"We are Puppet Masters."
"Sorry for being late. We just went to pray at the Qihuai Niangniang Temple outside the city, which is said to be very efficacious. As for the fortune stick we drew—"
"Spring seldom cos to a withered tree; a lone boat ets a great storm. Setting out finds no support; all endeavors fail."
The two sowhat unreliable-looking Puppet Masters exchanged glances and said dramatically, "Looks like soone’s going to die on this mission."
"It won’t be ."
"Nor ."
"Then who could it be?"
The twin brothers looked at the people in the hall, rubbing their chins.
"..."
The tattooed strong man nad Liao Kaifeng remained unmoved. He coldly asked, "Are you the Puppet Master brothers from Lingnan Road?"
Yu Yong said, "You recognize us?"
Yu Yuan chid in, "Heavens, are we that famous? To et admirers even in Taiyuan? Big brother, do you have paper? We can give him an autograph."
The tattooed strong man’s eye twitched. "No, the rumor I heard was that you two scamd for money and debauchery in Lingnan Road. You couldn’t stay there any longer and had to flee to the vicinity of Luoyang."
Hearing this, Yu Yong and Yu Yuan’s expressions changed drastically. They declared righteously, "Brother, you can eat whatever you want, but you can’t speak nonsense!"
"Accuse us of swindling money, fine, but debauchery?"
"If you’re referring to that female cave master of the Liao people from Wu Wuliao, she’s so heavy that when she travels, she needs to lie on a stretcher carried by more than a dozen people."
"She even deluded herself into thinking she could have two husbands, wanting to take us both. How could that be acceptable?"
"If we were to... spend the night together, wouldn’t it be like blind n feeling an elephant?"
The two brothers bickered back and forth, their voices extrely noisy.
Seeing this, Ji Xingwang rubbed his forehead and interjected, "Gentlen, please be quiet. Since everyone is here, we shouldn’t delay. Let’s set out now; we can reach there by dawn."
The employer’s word was command. Everyone gathered their belongings, left the inn, and headed southwest from Dingzhou.
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