The tea stall had been destroyed. Chen Qing left behind a few taels of silver scraps as compensation, then departed this troubled place with Xu Qi and Zhao Shi.
The three searched Black Stone Ridge for another day, but found no trace of Zhu Yi or any other core members of the Zhu Clan.
At dawn the next morning, with the sky just beginning to brighten, a hawk tore through the clouds. After circling several times overhead, it let out a clear cry and dove down, landing precisely on Chen Qing's raised arm.
This was a trained hawk used by the Wutai Sect to deliver urgent secret reports.
Chen Qing skillfully removed a wax pellet from the copper tube on the Eagle Claw. Crushing it open, he revealed a tiny slip of paper.
After swiftly reading it, he shattered the paper into powder in his palm with True Qi.
"A secret report from the sect. Zhu Yi was suspected to have appeared at Blackwater Wharf," Chen Qing said gravely.
After verification, the intelligence provided by Luo Wei had proven true.
According to another secret report, Li Lei and Yan Yaoyang were currently heading for Blackwater Wharf and had arranged to meet him at an inn near the wharf.
"Blackwater Wharf?"
Upon hearing this, Zhao Shi gave a low cry. "No wonder I saw several people from the Earth Origin Sect hurrying east yesterday afternoon!"
Lin'an Prefecture had two major sects, and the Earth Origin Sect was one of them.
"Their sect's cultivation art is earth-attributed. It seems the news of the Earth Core Marrow Pearl is indeed beyond doubt. Its allure is simply too great," Xu Qi said with a click of his tongue, a flash of heat passing through his eyes.
Zhao Shi looked to Chen Qing and asked