News Spreads! Encounter Bai Wuji!

In the center of Jade Water City stood Wangxi Tower.

This was the most luxurious restaurant in Jade Water City, originally opened by a Wealthy Man of the city.

But after the White Lotus Sect arrived in Jade Water City, they forced the Wealthy Man to give them a fifty percent cut.

Moreover, Bai Wuji had placed his own people inside the restaurant to serve as informants.

Tonight, Bai Wuji was hosting Magistrate Zhan Qing Tian at this very restaurant.

Now, only four days remained until the one-month deadline Bai Wuji had set with Zhan Qing Tian.

Bai Wuji invited Zhan Qing Tian for two reasons: first, to find out whether the Yamen had gathered any new intelligence recently.

Second, to remind Zhan Qing Tian that only four days were left—if he failed to hand over the person by then, he and his entire family would die.

Bai Wuji sat at the head of the table, with two attendants standing at his sides.

The man on the left was around thirty years old, of average build, with an unremarkable face. He was Bai Wuji's trusted confidant, Zeng Shiyong, a master of the "Dog Fist."

The man on the right had a pale face, narrow eyes, and a feminine demeanor.

He was Bai Wuji's other envoy, Gu Rou, also a Fourth Blood Bone Forging martial artist, skilled in the "Spirit Snake Swordplay," wielding a soft sword.

Zhan Qing Tian sat at the table, with Advisor Lin Gu on his left and the Yamen's Captain Guan on his right.

Suddenly, he rose from his seat and dropped to his knees before Bai Wuji.

"True Man Wuji, I beg you to spare my life and my family's."

"From now on, I will serve you in any way you command!"

With only four days left until the deadline, and no word yet from either the Prefectural City's Constables or the Tang Sect's assassins, he hoped that pledging his loyalty might earn him a way out.

Bai Wuji let out a cold chuckle.

"Magistrate Zhan, no need for such grand gestures. If you don't hand over that Mysterious Martial Artist in four days, I will still slaughter you and your family."

Instantly, Zhan Qing Tian, still kneeling, turned ashen-faced and began trembling all over.

Suddenly, a White Lotus Disciple came clattering up the stairs, leaned in close to Zeng Shiyong's ear, and whispered a few words.

He was reporting that Su Que had killed the White Lotus Monk out on the street.

After all, the White Lotus Sect controlled several businesses in Jade Water City.

Many restaurants, brothels, and gambling dens hid Bai Wuji's informants.

These informants were Bai Wuji's direct underlings, passing information only to him and his two envoys.

From the moment Su Que openly provoked the White Lotus Monk and his group, the White Lotus Sect's informants had spotted him.

At first, they didn't believe the White Lotus Monk could be killed by Su Que.

But after Su Que effortlessly killed the White Lotus Monk, these informants realized something was wrong and rushed to report.

Upon hearing the news, Zeng Shiyong's eyes suddenly flashed with sharp light. He waved the White Lotus Disciple away, then slightly bowed and used his internal energy to compress his voice into a thread, sending it directly into Bai Wuji's ear.

Bai Wuji's eyes also widened slightly, a flicker of surprise passing through them, his heart a mix of joy and anger.

Joy, because the Mysterious Martial Artist they had been searching for so long had finally shown himself in public!

Anger, because this Mysterious Martial Artist had slaughtered White Lotus disciples in broad daylight, shaming the White Lotus Sect!

"Let's go. I want to see this for myself!"

Having finally obtained information about the Mysterious Martial Artist, Bai Wuji was determined not to let him escape. He abruptly stood up, bypassed the stairs entirely, and leaped directly over the second-floor railing.

He wore a plain Daoist robe, his hair tied in a Daoist bun, with three strands of long beard. As he floated down from above the restaurant, passersby on the street thought he looked every bit the part of a lofty immortal.

His two envoys and five attendants followed him, also jumping down from the second floor.

Unlike Bai Wuji's effortless descent, their landings were far more violent.

Their feet hit the ground with heavy, booming thuds.

Then, they quickly caught up with Bai Wuji and followed him as he sped toward West City.

Back at the restaurant.

From the moment Bai Wuji heard the news to the moment he leaped out, everything had happened too fast, too suddenly.

Zhan Qing Tian, the Magistrate of Jade Water City, was still kneeling on the floor, utterly confused about what had just occurred.

As he stood up, a young, fair-skinned Constable rushed up the stairs three steps at a time and reported to Zhan Qing Tian and the others:

"Magistrate, Advisor Lin, Captain Guan!"

"That Mysterious Martial Artist has appeared!"

"He killed the White Lotus Sect's street preachers right out in the open!"

Zhan Qing Tian, the Advisor, and Captain Guan exchanged glances, shock evident in their eyes.

They immediately understood why Bai Wuji had left so abruptly—he was going after that Mysterious Martial Artist.

"Let's go check it out too!"

Upon hearing of the Mysterious Martial Artist's appearance, Zhan Qing Tian's deathly pale face finally showed a hint of color.

"If Bai Wuji clashes with the Mysterious Martial Artist, and the Mysterious Martial Artist gains the upper hand, we'll coordinate with him to kill Bai Wuji!"

Zhan Qing Tian said to Captain Guan and the others.

With that, the group descended the stairs and headed toward West City.

Since Zhan Qing Tian and the Advisor knew no Martial Arts, they moved slowly.

Captain Guan carried Zhan Qing Tian on his back, while another Constable carried the Advisor, racing toward West City.

West City.

The commoners, hearing no further commotion behind them, stopped and turned to look at Su Que from a distance.

At that moment, Su Que was walking among the corpses, patting them down.

Seeing such a fierce and formidable man looting the dead, the people found it surreal and whispered among themselves.

"This great hero is so powerful, yet he seems to be short on cash?"

"And look how practiced he is at looting bodies—it's clearly not his first time!"

"Pfft! What do you know? No matter how mighty a hero is, he still needs to eat, drink, whore, and gamble—money flows like water! Looting a corpse is only natural!"

After a while, Su Que finished searching every corpse.

What he found were all loose silver and Silver Ingots, roughly over three hundred taels, gathered into a small pile.

He tore off a piece of a White Lotus Disciple's robe, spread it into a large cloth, placed the silver and ingots in the center, and deftly tied it into a bundle the size of a head.

Just as Su Que lifted the bundle in his hand and stood up, several figures swept toward him.

Bai Wuji and his men had arrived.

Though Bai Wuji had been furious when he heard the news at the tavern, seeing his men lying dead in the street with his own eyes stoked his rage to the point where his eyes nearly split.

He didn't care about their deaths.

What bothered him was that Jade Water City was his turf, and this Mysterious Martial Artist had publicly humiliated the White Lotus Sect so brutally.

It was a direct slap in the face.

"Who are you, sir? Why provoke the White Lotus Sect?"

Bai Wuji stared at Su Que and asked.

White Lotus Sect?

Only then did Su Que realize Bai Wuji and his men belonged to the White Lotus Sect.

Though he had long known of Bai Wuji, he had never seen his face.

Now, sensing a certain authority in Bai Wuji's words and demeanor, he asked:

"Are you Bai Wuji?"

"Yes."

No sooner had Bai Wuji answered than a sudden explosion rang out.

Su Que had stomped hard, shattering the blue stone slabs beneath his feet, his figure blurring as he shot toward Bai Wuji.