Messenger

The next morning, after the disciples of the Law Transmission Hall had finished breakfast, Huang Ren and Wu Lian were busy cleaning up.

"What's wrong with you today? Didn't you sleep well last night? Why are you so absent-minded? You even forgot to add the salt!" Wu Lian nagged as she worked. "If you didn't sleep well, go back and lie down for a while. I'll take care of things here."

Huang Ren came to his senses at her words, came to his senses, glanced at his wife, and said with a smile, "It's nothing. I might just be a little tired."

"Um... I'm going out for a while later..."

Wu Lian glanced at him and said, "You don't need to put so much pressure on yourself. I already spoke with Senior Brother Man Xiong about the Yin Soul Silk yesterday. We should be able to gather enough within a year."

As she spoke, a smile appeared on her face. "Do you know who's refining the Yin Soul Silk this time? It was actually that little fellow White Dragon. Even I didn't expect it. Senior Brother really thinks highly of him."

"It's a good thing that we can form a favorable bond with the little fellow..."

As Huang Ren listened, regret gnawed at his heart like a venomous snake.

He worked about in a daze until dusk, when he suddenly realized that there was no time left.

"Lian, Lian'er... I'm going out for a while..."

"Why did you suddenly call me that?" Wu Lian gave him an annoyed look. "How old am I now?"

When they were young, Huang Ren had called her that.

But now, they were both old.

"You're not old at all. You're still as beautiful as you were when you were young." Huang Ren said this and wanted to step forward and embrace his wife, but he held himself back, afraid she would notice something.

"Bah, we're both this old, and you're still so slick-tongued..." Wu Lian said that with her mouth, but her face was full of smiles.

"Then I'm off."

"All right. Come back soon, and don't waste any time."

Huang Ren casually took a bamboo basket and slung it over his back, putting on the appearance of going to the Household Affairs Hall to collect supplies. Then he walked outside.

Just after leaving the courtyard, he slowly came to a stop. He clenched his fists tightly, then abruptly turned around and ran back.

"Why did you come back again? Did you forget to bring something?" Wu Lian was busy working when she saw Huang Ren approach.

Before she could react, he pulled her into his arms.

"What are you doing? In broad daylight!" Wu Lian was somewhat bashful, but her hands were still wet, so she could not push him away.

"Nothing. I just feel like it's been a long time since I held you like this." Huang Ren took a deep breath, then released her, smiled, and turned to leave.

When he reached the door, he paused slightly, turned around, and looked back at his wife again.

Wu Lian was looking at him too.

Huang Ren grinned, then turned and left.

It was dusk, and the shadows stretched long.

"What's gotten into that Fatty Huang today?" Wu Lian watched her husband's departing back, feeling that the man seemed to have something weighing on his mind.

"I'll ask him when he gets back!"

Thinking this, she went back to her busy work.

Wild Dog Cave.

After Huang Ren arrived, he did not dare enter the cave. If he ran into the Master of Wild Dog Cave, that would be a real headache.

He could not afford to offend either Qiyun Cave or Wild Dog Cave. But his wife and daughter still had some connections with Qiyun Cave. If he died at the hands of someone from Wild Dog Cave, his wife and daughter might still receive Qiyun Cave's protection.

Huang Ren had not slept all night, yet his mind had become much clearer.

No matter how much he regretted it, he could not change anything.

As he paced back and forth outside the cave in the ironwood forest, he suddenly heard that child's irritated and angry voice again.

"Why did you come to my Wild Dog Cave again, you fatso? Are you looking to die?" Tong Jin was still surrounded by a group of people. When he saw Huang Ren, all the dissatisfaction and anger he had been bottling up burst out at once.

Ever since he returned yesterday, his father had repeatedly warned him that he absolutely must not set his sights on that white dog again.

He had never seen his father look so stern, especially with that cold, rigid tone. Just thinking about it now made him shudder all over.

"If you set your sights on that dog again, I'll personally send you to Qiyun Cave. From this day forward, you will no longer be my son."

From childhood until now, his father had never spoken such harsh words to him.

Now that his joy had turned to nothing and he had been reprimanded as well, Tong Jin had been holding in a bellyful of anger, looking for somewhere to vent it. Then he saw this fatso.

"Esteemed..." Huang Ren rubbed his hands together and tried to speak with an awkward laugh.

Tong Jin could not be bothered to deal with him. He simply shouted, "All of you, beat him! Beat him hard and teach this dead fatso a lesson."

At his command, all the surrounding senior and junior fellow disciples charged forward with grins, raining down punches and kicks without the slightest mercy.

Huang Ren was beaten to the ground, and even the bamboo basket on his back rolled far away.

He covered his head with both hands and curled up. Before long, he had been beaten until his skin was split and his flesh exposed, his face swollen and bruised. Blood flowed from several wounds and stained his clothes, making for a truly gruesome sight.

"All right, Junior Brother. If you keep hitting him, you'll kill him. He is a fifth-generation disciple, after all." A female disciple nearby tried to persuade him.

Only then did Tong Jin snort and say, "This is letting you off easy, you dead fatso. Throw him out. From now on, if I see you, I'll beat you every time. Get lost!"

"I have something to say." Huang Ren's whole body was swollen and aching. Some areas of his flesh had split open, and the pain made him suck in sharp breaths.

Yet he gritted his teeth and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Man Xiongmu is going down the mountain today. He said he was going out to travel."

Tong Jin could not help freezing. He hurriedly shouted, "Stop!"

The other disciples stopped what they were doing.

Tong Jin walked over to Huang Ren, and the others moved aside to make way.

"Where did you get this news?"

Huang Ren grimaced through the pain. "My daughter has a very good relationship with that beast. The two of them usually keep in touch through Sound Transmission Talismans."

"I found out by accident from my daughter."

"I just wanted to trade this information for some more benefits."

At this point, Tong Jin's heart gave a sudden leap, and he was somewhat tempted.

But he quickly remembered his father's warning. He shuddered, muttered a curse under his breath, then viciously slapped Huang Ren's chubby face twice. "You still want benefits? I'll give you a couple of big mouthfuls!"

"Get lost. Don't let me see you again."

After hearing this, Huang Ren struggled to climb up from the ground. Ignoring his battered appearance, he limped and staggered away.

The message had already been delivered. What happened next had nothing to do with him.

Tong Jin's mood grew even worse. Although he coveted that dog's pelt badly, he did not dare treat his father's solemn warning lightly.

The other senior and junior fellow disciples knew nothing about what had happened at Qiyun Cave yesterday. Seeing that Tong Jin was in a bad mood, they all came over to cheer him up.

"Come on, let's go find some fun."

The group was about to leave with Tong Jin when the voice of the Master of Wild Dog Cave came from the Cave Mansion behind them. "Jin'er, come in."

Hearing his father's words, Tong Jin could not help shrinking his neck. His expression stiffened slightly, but he did not dare delay. He hurriedly entered the cave with cautious steps.