“A shocking secret?”
Luo Tangyin's beautiful eyes rippled with a flash of light.
Instead of answering directly, Xiao Wu changed the subject:
“Do you all recall if there was anything unusual about this martial feast?”
Hearing this, Ji Ning's brow furrowed into a deep frown as he fell into contemplation.
Luo Tangyin also lowered her gaze in thought.
While the two remained silent, Shen Xiuhan's heart stirred. A spark of realization flashed in his mind, and he blurted out:
“The Bai family?”
“Exactly! It is the Bai family!”
Xiao Wu gave Shen Xiuhan an appreciative look and lowered his voice:
“Of the Five Great Families of Changyun County, the Wang, Luo, Ji, and Han families all sent their descendants to compete. Only the Bai family didn't even send a single junior to represent them. Do you know why?”
Hearing this, Shen Xiuhan's heart skipped a beat.
‘Could it really be such a coincidence?’
In the next instant, Xiao Wu spoke with a face as solemn as iron:
“That is because none of them are at the Bai residence, nor are they in the Inner City. In fact, they aren't even in Changyun County!”
‘Indeed!’
Shen Xiuhan's eyes darkened as he finally confirmed his suspicions.
When the martial feast first began, he had noticed the absence of the Bai family and had specifically asked his Third Senior Brother, Xiang Yunting.
At the time, Xiang Yunting had replied:
“There are rumors in the city that the three young masters of the Bai family are exceptionally talented and do not need the martial feast to break through to the Anjin Rank...”
This was clearly just a cover-up by the Bai family!
Through his intelligence, Shen Xiuhan had long known the truth behind the matter.
The members of the Bai family possessed human faces but beastly hearts.
Under the guise of “child-snatchers,” they secretly kidnapped children from the Outer City and sent them to a fishing island in the lake to practice demonic techniques.
He had originally planned to find a suitable opportunity to reveal this matter to Xiao Wu, using the power of destiny to break the Bai family's conspiracy.
But destiny was, after all, destiny...
Before he could even speak, Xiao Wu had stumbled upon the Bai family's trail on his own!
Beside him, Ji Ning's brow furrowed tightly as he asked in a deep voice, “Not in Changyun? Then where are they?”
“At Cloudwater Lake...”
Xiao Wu did not finish his sentence. Seeming to have some reservations, he merely shook his head:
“They act with extreme caution, and this matter involves a great deal. Once exposed, it will surely stir up a bloodbath.”
He paused, his gaze sweeping over the three of them as he spoke in a solemn tone:
“I am bringing this up today just to give you all a heads-up. Once I have thoroughly investigated the details and secured ironclad evidence, I will contact you via the 『Four Seas Heart-Linking Disc』. At that time, we will meet in secret to discuss our counterstrategy!”
Hearing this, Shen Xiuhan and the other two exchanged glances and nodded solemnly.
“That's all for now. See you later.”
Xiao Wu cupped his hands to the two of them and departed with Luo Tangyin.
Ji Ning also cupped his hands in farewell, turning to walk away with large, swift strides.
Shen Xiuhan remained silent for a moment before stepping out of the alley as well.
The lanterns along the long street were lit one by one, and the bustling crowd was as noisy as ever.
As Shen Xiuhan walked toward his home, he called out in his mind without hesitation:
‘Intelligence!’
In his field of vision, the illusory golden characters instantly cascaded down like a waterfall!
【Today's intelligence has been refreshed!】
【Intelligence 1: A month ago, Xiao Wu traveled to Cloudwater Lake. Along the way, he witnessed Bai Jing and Bai Xiuan secretly escorting several children to a fishing island. Xiao Wu used a secret technique to sneak onto the island and witnessed the two of them using the children to refine ‘human pills’ to cultivate demonic techniques!】
【The island was heavily guarded by experts, so Xiao Wu did not alert them. On his return journey, his spirit pet, the Gold-Tailed Rat, detected the scent of the 『Ink-Bone Blue Fish』 and led Xiao Wu to it, which eventually led to his meeting with you and his gifting of the spirit mold of the 『Four Seas Heart-Linking Disc』.】
‘So that's how it is...’
Shen Xiuhan's eyes narrowed slightly as he pondered while walking.
The fishing island was where the Bai family and the bandits of Chenjian Dock colluded to refine human pills, making it a highly critical location.
Originally, the one responsible for guarding the island was the fifth chief, Tang Jin!
However, Tang Jin had his right arm severed by Ji Ning's sword, causing his strength to plummet. He would definitely not be allowed to continue guarding the island.
The person who replaced him was highly likely to be one of the other chiefs of the Anjin Rank.
Tang Jin was only at the early-stage Anjin Rank, having opened three acupoints, ranking at the very bottom of the five Anjin chiefs.
Therefore, whoever replaced him would only be stronger.
Shen Xiuhan shook his head and cast his gaze to the next piece of intelligence.
【Intelligence 2: After suffering severe injuries, Tang Jin's status in Chenjian Dock plummeted. He was stripped of his chief position by Duan Xiao and is now responsible for overseeing agricultural work.】
【Note: Tang Jin is subjected to strange looks everywhere on Dongyi Island. Recently, he has taken a liking to drinking at a wild tavern near the West Market Pier of Changyun. His next drinking time: thirty-one days from now, at the first quarter of the hour of You.】
When Shen Xiuhan saw this, he was momentarily stunned.
Suddenly, a scene flashed through his mind—
At the West Market Pier.
That one-armed figure carrying a wine flask, walking with staggered steps.
His eyes flickered slightly, a trace of peculiarity crossing them:
‘That day, when I saw that one-armed man at the West Market Pier, I only thought his back looked a bit like Tang Jin's. I didn't expect it to actually be him...’
Using the spiritual artifact 『Overturning Sea Bead』, Shen Xiuhan had personally gone to investigate the waters near Chenjian Dock's base, ‘Dongyi Island’.
The island had thousands of acres of fertile fields, orchards, and plenty of taverns, restaurants, and even pleasure barges for the water bandits to enjoy.
With Tang Jin's status, even if he had fallen from grace and lost much of his standing, he shouldn't lack meat and wine.
Why would he need to sneak into a wild tavern in Changyun County just to get drunk?
This was highly suspicious.
Now that the intelligence had confirmed it, his suspicions were indeed correct!
Shen Xiuhan narrowed his eyes slightly, his fingertips tapping gently inside his sleeve.
‘After Tang Jin fell from power, his status in Chenjian Dock hit rock bottom. He was actually stripped of his chief position and assigned to farm... The contrast between his past and present status is like heaven and earth. It is practically a fatal humiliation!’
‘No wonder he ran to Changyun County to drink. He probably couldn't even drink in peace on Dongyi Island!’
Shen Xiuhan looked at the time ‘thirty-one days from now, at the first quarter of the hour of You’ and quietly memorized it.
【Intelligence 3: Wang Lin and Ding Ning are pursuing the traitor Tian Ping'an under orders. This person killed his comrades, stole a precious treasure and cultivation technique, and deserted the Longxiang Army. Upon learning that Colonel Zhenyue Zhao Zheng was coming to Changyun, he fled to Changshui County overnight to hide, planning to make his next move after Zhao Zheng departs.】
Tian Ping'an!
Shen Xiuhan's gaze froze, but it quickly turned into delight.
This person had actually deserted the Longxiang Army!?
And Senior Brother Wang Lin and Senior Sister Ding Ning were pursuing him under military orders...
Shen Xiuhan's mind spun rapidly.
Many things that he couldn't figure out before suddenly became clear.
‘I was wondering why they never showed up again after appearing at the martial arts hall that day. It turns out they were on military orders and couldn't afford to be distracted.’
Once Shen Xiuhan understood this, his brow furrowed again.
‘But so many days have passed, and they still haven't caught Tian Ping'an?’
According to previous intelligence, Tian Ping'an was only at the Tendon Tempering rank.
Meanwhile, Wang Lin and Ding Ning were undoubtedly of the Anjin Rank!
An Anjin expert chasing a Tendon Tempering cultivator should be as easy as a tiger chasing a sheep.
Yet, after pursuing him for so long, they still hadn't succeeded...
Did that mean...
Tian Ping'an possessed some other means that allowed him to evade the pursuit of Anjin martial artists?
Shen Xiuhan's expression gradually grew solemn. He took a deep breath and re-read the intelligence carefully, word by word, not daring to miss anything.
‘Murdering comrades, stealing precious treasures and techniques, and deserting the Longxiang Army...’
What was the precious treasure?
What was the cultivation technique?
Shen Xiuhan's eyes flickered. He had a vague feeling that the reason Tian Ping'an had managed to avoid being caught by his two senior fellow disciples was likely closely related to that “precious treasure” or “cultivation technique”!
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