Chapter 204: Chapter 93: Return to Nanlin Road

On a small path through the woods.

After changing their disguises and masking their auras, Wang Ping and Shen Xiaozhu rode like two wandering martial artists, their horses galloping furiously.

Yu Lian’s parents never appeared again, nor did any other Spirit Snakes come looking for her. Yu Lian said her mother had done this intentionally. She believed the Spirit Snakes had many bad habits, and her mother worried that if Yu Lian spent too much time with her own kind, it would be detrimental to her current cultivation.

How to put it... Yu Lian’s mother had cultivated in the human world since she was young, so perhaps she couldn’t stand some of the wilder aspects of the Spiritual Snake Race, such as their laziness, greed, and their constant, ceaseless mischief.

Yu Lian’s only disappointment was that she hadn’t gotten to fight any of her kin. Before coming to Gray Water Pond, she had always fantasized about the magnificent feat of defeating all her clansmen and being acclaimed by her people as their Queen.

「Six days later.」

Wang Ping entered Yunhai City in the northern part of Hu Mountain Country.

The city had no walls, for it was built upon an inland lake. Besides the sky, the only ways into the city were the four stone bridges on each side. Entry cost two silver coins per person, and all weapons had to be registered.

After what had happened with the assassins, Wang Ping had no intention of returning to the Upper Dan Sect. After exchanging letters with Yuan Zheng Taoist, the two decided to meet here. Afterward, Wang Ping would find a way to return to Xia Country.

Upon entering the city, however, Wang Ping did not immediately go to the agreed-upon meeting place. He first found an inn and, under the pretext of waiting for someone, rented two rooms in the rear courtyard. Then, he sent the street-smart Shen Xiaozhu out to gather intelligence.

「One evening, three days later.」

In his room, Wang Ping waited until the middle of the night for Yuan Zheng, who arrived under the cover of darkness.

"You’re one cautious kid."

Yuan Zheng Taoist leaned against the doorway of the room, positioning himself so his shadow wouldn’t fall on the window. After teasing Wang Ping, he continued, "I heard about what happened to you. The stories spreading everywhere are quite incredible. They say you were hunted by more than ten Second Realm Cultivators, but you ended up turning the tables and killing half of them."

"Because of your situation, I nearly turned the Inner and Outer Sects upside down, and I actually managed to dig some things up. It earned me a small merit, so I guess I owe you one." Yuan Zheng’s gaze fell on the lamplight inside the room, and he added with an amused chuckle, "And here you are, pulling this illusion trick on me..."

"It won’t interfere with our conversation," Wang Ping replied.

"Alright, I understand."

Yuan Zheng Taoist said with a wry smile, "It looks like you won’t be needing the escape route I prepared for you, then?"

Wang Ping nodded and changed the subject. "What’s the situation with what happened before? Does my share still count?"

He was asking about the Holy Heart Grass.

"Don’t worry. A bottle of top-grade Sacred Heart Pills, or five stalks of Holy Heart Grass—I’ve already secured them for you. Oh, right, Sun Shulin, who was in your group, is having people look for you. It seems he has a stalk of Holy Heart Grass to give you."

Wang Ping was taken aback. "He’s that honest?" he blurted out.

"He is indeed an honest man. I haven’t seen anyone like him in a long time." Yuan Zheng Taoist chuckled. "It almost makes me want to recruit him as a member of our gathering."

"You can, but he’ll need to be vetted."

"What should I do with his stalk of Holy Heart Grass?"

"I’ll write a personal letter. You can accept it on my behalf and refine it into Sacred Heart Pills. I won’t show myself." As he spoke, Wang Ping pointed to the bed he was sitting on. "I have three more stalks of Holy Heart Grass under the bed. Help me refine those into Sacred Heart Pills as well."

"Alright. With Sun Shulin’s stalk, it’s just enough to refine another bottle. How about this, I’ll count it as two bottles of Sacred Heart Pills for you," Yuan Zheng Taoist said generously.

Wang Ping nodded and said, "Once the elixirs are refined, entrust them to someone from the Daoist Scripture Hall for escort. I’ll pay for it."

"No problem!"

"The fight this time was pretty intense. What exactly happened?"

"Those lunatics from the Celestial Water Sect! They stole the Yuqing Sect’s Holy Heart Grass, and they even snatched the Nine-Layered Exquisite Tower that the Yuqing Sect had placed in their camp. A Third Realm Cultivator from the Yuqing Sect was seriously injured."

Yuan Zheng spoke quickly, a hint of excitement on his face. "Now we’ve got a good show to watch. The Celestial Water Sect is definitely going to be wiped from the rosters. Their entire mountain sect will probably be razed to the ground. The unluckiest ones are the ordinary disciples who know nothing about any of this."

Wang Ping had mixed feelings after hearing this. After a long silence, he said, "We’ll leave it at that for now. See you at the gathering." As soon as he finished speaking, his figure grew illusory and vanished into nothingness in the blink of an eye.

Seeing this, Yuan Zheng Taoist laughed out loud. ’On the path of cultivation, caution is a virtue, and so is suspicion.’

...

In a small courtyard about a li from the inn, Wang Ping ended his conversation with Yuan Zheng and decisively severed his connection to the illusion.

When he opened his eyes, he saw Yu Lian’s own pair of shining eyes in the darkness.

"How did it go?" Yu Lian asked.

"He should be trustworthy. Yuan Zheng has no reason to deceive us," Wang Ping assessed.

"But it seems you still don’t trust him."

"This has nothing to do with trust. I just don’t want to place my life in someone else’s hands." After speaking, Wang Ping rose and looked toward Shen Xiaozhu, who was standing cautious guard at the entrance under the moonlight. This was the courtyard Shen Xiaozhu had rented; she was indeed very reliable when it came to getting things done.

For one night, Wang Ping sat in the courtyard while Shen Xiaozhu stood guard at the entrance, and Yu Lian slept soundly, draped over Wang Ping’s shoulder.

He then stayed in the courtyard for another seven days before discreetly having Shen Xiaozhu check out of the inn.

「A month and a half later.」

Wang Ping successfully set foot in the territory of Nanlin Road. In this region, he no longer kept a low profile. He projected his identity token into midair, swept up Shen Xiaozhu, and flew toward the Daoist Scripture Hall in Jinhuai Prefecture.

During the month and a half he spent traveling, he had secretly sent messages to various parties through the transmission channels of the Daoist Scripture Hall and the Inner Courtyard of Qianmu Temple. He ordered them to strictly investigate the information leak and also had a brief communication with Daoist Zi Luan.

Upon entering the Daoist Scripture Hall, Wang Ping reverted to his original appearance and had Shen Xiaozhu do the same.

「The rear courtyard.」

Inside the main house of Zi Luan Courtyard.

Wang Ping and Zi Luan sat on opposite sides of the master Eight Immortals Table. In the middle of the room, Wenhai cautiously reported on his findings from his recent investigation. Afterward, Shen Xiaozhu recounted what the Shopkeeper had told her...

"The Shopkeeper stated clearly that the one who wanted to surround and kill Master this time was Wulang from Nanlin Road. He also said that there is a problem with the secret contact Master uses in the Nanlin Road Daoist Scripture Hall."

After finishing her report, Shen Xiaozhu emphasized these two sentences. When the Shopkeeper entrusted this matter to her, he had explicitly said that these two pieces of information were crucial and that she absolutely had to deliver them.

After listening, Zi Luan’s gaze fell upon Wenhai, but he wasn’t really looking at him; he was pondering the matter. He then turned his head to Wang Ping. "Fellow Daoist, you’ve had a close call but came out unscathed. Rest assured, this matter isn’t over. Since they made the first move, even if we kill Wulang, my junior brother will have nothing to say."

After saying this, he looked back at Wenhai.

Wenhai hastily clasped his hands and said, "Wulang Taoist has vanished. I estimate he won’t dare show himself for some time."

"Then find him. Pry the information from the mouths of those around him. There’s no rush. We can play this game slowly."

Zi Luan’s face once again bore his signature smile. "On the path of cultivation, every action has a purpose. A person like him would certainly not joke with his own life. But the more cautious one is, the more likely they are to reveal a flaw. For example, this time..."

He looked at Wang Ping. "Rest assured, everyone has a weakness. I will continue to fund this matter until we catch Wulang by his little tail."

Wang Ping immediately responded, "The Daoist Scripture Hall doesn’t need to provide the funds..." He looked at Wenhai. "Whatever money this requires, come find me at Qianmu Temple."

"Ah, I almost forgot, Fellow Daoist Changqing is not short on money." Zi Luan smoothly took the out. Wenhai could only bow silently.

Sometimes, the more peaceful the world, the greater the expenses. The biggest problem for the Daoist Scripture Hall in recent decades has been funding. Otherwise, Daoist Zi Luan wouldn’t have started scheming to get money from the wealthy households in various regions.