These days, the Golden Wing Tower has attracted the attention of many young martial artists due to its rising fame.
The number of potential participants also increased dramatically.
However, some members do not fully adhere to confidentiality guidelines after joining. Continuous reminders and monitoring are necessary.
These types of people can only be considered as members of the Deputy Tower for the time being.
Of the Zheng Lou members, only three joined. They were all the type who were reserved and kept their mouths shut.
The three of them took on many of Qing Su and Bao Ning's miscellaneous tasks.
The three were codenamed Green Dove, Red Dove, and Black Dove. Their martial arts skills were all above the Fifth Grade.
Behind them are relatives from Wu Mountain.
With such a connection, their loyalty to the Golden Wing Tower is even more assured.
While Zhang Rongfang and Jin Xiu were discussing what they should buy to prepare for their picnic,
Inside the Yin Huai Forest.
Inside a dilapidated and abandoned, eerie Daoist Daoist Temple.
Bang! A disheveled figure crashed hard into half of the door and rolled out.
The figure was covered in blood, and the only way to tell that it was a voluptuous young woman was by her curves.
She was supposed to be wearing hunter's leather clothing, but now her dark brown fox fur coat was stained with her own blood.
The black leather pants were covered in cuts and scratches.
"Run!! Run!! Get as far away from here as possible!!"
Chen Miaoxiang screamed inwardly, scrambled to her feet, and ran wildly into the distance.
She never dreamed that she was resting in the city, preparing for a hunting trip in the mountains.
Unexpectedly, after falling asleep by accident, he woke up to find himself in this Yin Huai Forest.
When she woke up, she found that her friends and bodyguards were gone.
She was alone, lying on her side in the corner of the dilapidated Daoist Temple.
Moreover, in the room where she was lying, there was a Daoist priest with his back to her, sitting cross-legged with his head down, chanting some scriptures.
She couldn't understand what the other person was saying, but her body instinctively felt a strong shiver constantly stimulating her, urging her to escape from there as quickly as possible.
Without the slightest hesitation, she took advantage of the break in the Daoist's chanting and quietly left the room, running wildly outside.
After running out, she realized that she had suffered so many injuries without her noticing, and many of them seemed to cause no pain at all.
This intense abnormality made her feel increasingly fearful of her situation.
Stumbling and staggering out of the Daoist Temple, Chen Miaoxiang hadn't gone far when she suddenly trembled and stopped in her tracks.
She stared blankly into the woods ahead.
On the trunks of large trees hung corpses, nailed to the trees with their chests pierced.
None of these corpses resembled ordinary people.
They were burly and strong, and carried some special waist pouches that only people from the Jianghu would use.
Some weapons were also found lying at their feet.
But this group of people actually perished here in these deep mountains.
Chen Miaoxiang felt a chill run through her body, as if this was a nightmare from which she could not wake up.
She involuntarily took two steps back.
"Xiang'er!" Suddenly, faint calls came from afar.
Chen Miaoxiang perked up and hurriedly shouted.
"I'm here!! Ming Ge!! I'm here!"
The voices in the distance paused, then immediately erupted into a commotion, indicating that quite a few people had arrived.
"Xiang'er! Don't move! I'm coming to find you right now! Please don't move!"
The man called Ming Ge shouted loudly.
"I'll be waiting for you right here!" Chen Miaoxiang replied loudly, her heart filled with joy.
But as soon as she finished speaking, she suddenly felt something was wrong.
Behind her, something seemed to be blocking all the light. A chilling shiver ran through her body once more.
Suddenly, she turned around and saw the mysterious Daoist priest from before, facing her directly, raising his iron sword high.
The man was wearing a metal Helmet, and all exposed parts of his body were covered in metal.
For example, they wear metal gloves on their hands, and their necks are covered by the metal shell of the Helmet.
Swish! The iron sword fell.
***Outer perimeter of the Yin Huai Forest.
Zhang Rongfang and Jin Xiu spread a large blue tablecloth on the ground and then placed the food they had brought on it one by one.
Then light a Mosquito Repellent Incense stick on the side.
Amidst the enticing aroma, the two knelt down and began chatting while enjoying the snacks they had brought.
The place they chose was the most lively picnic area around the Yin Huai Forest.
Hunters and herb gatherers frequently come and go from this area, and there is also a Barracks camp and outpost not far away.
Therefore, many animals and wild beasts dare not approach this area.
The weather cleared up, and many others, like them, came to eat in the wild.
Clearly, they are not the only ones who are confident in their abilities.
Zhang Rongfang picked up a piece of Plum Candy and put it in his mouth.
On the surface, he was eating, but in reality, he was paying attention to the idle chatter of the other people around him, as well as the commotion coming from the woods.
"Speaking of which, there have been very few serious cases reported in Yin Huai Forest since the last case involving Shadow in the Forest." Jin Xiu took a sip of Fruit Wine, her pretty face slightly flushed.
"It is said that this place has been taken over and is under the care of a folk organization in Wushan Prefecture called the Zhengming Society."
With organizations like these around, the situation in Wu Mountain can indeed be improved.
"Did any other women come here at night after that?" Zhang Rongfang asked.
"Yes, but many are turned away by the Zhengming Society. However, recently, there have been some rumors that this place is starting to have problems again."
"So when you first said you wanted to come here, I was a little scared too." Jin Xiu wasn't pretending; she was genuinely a little scared.
"What do you mean? It's started again? Why haven't I seen any reports to the authorities?" Zhang Rongfang frowned.
Since the Golden Wing Tower suffered a major blow and lost more than half of its members, his understanding of the entire Wu Mountain has also weakened considerably.
"The missing people are all women from the surrounding area. The Government Office previously said that the case was closed and that everything was settled. Now that it's starting to resurface, isn't that a slap in their face? Naturally, they dare not make it public again."
Jin Xiu said, "It's because I have a cousin who went missing a while ago. After searching everywhere without success, we found out that she went to the Yin Huai Forest."
"So, in other words, women have started going missing again recently?" Zhang Rongfang asked.
"Pretty much, I've heard about it for the past few months anyway," Jin Xiu nodded. "But there are Government Office- set watchtowers here, so most of them should have been turned away, right?"
"Hmm." Zhang Rongfang's gaze drifted into the depths of the Yin Huai Forest.
The woods were like a shrouded fog, blocking out direct sunlight. From the outside, one could only see about ten meters in before the shadows blocked the view.
The towering trees, some tens of meters tall, together formed a vast and gloomy understory.
Why did Gong Shuyin send me here? Is there something I need here?
Zhang Rongfang seemed to be deep in thought.
Since there have been new cases of people going missing here recently, and it's been going on for several months now.
That means that Wushan Prefecture is helpless in dealing with this place.
Or perhaps they are unable to bear the cost of resolving this issue.
"Perhaps we could make a fire here and cook something, like milk tea?"
Jin Xiu'er, who was standing nearby, saw several stalls not far away where people had already started grilling over fires, and she was immediately tempted.
"That's possible, but I didn't bring a tinderbox. We can build a stove out of stones though," Zhang Rongfang nodded, then smiled as he came to his senses.
He is currently recuperating and doesn't practice martial arts much each day, only practicing his Civilian Skill for a short while.
Feeling so relaxed made me feel much more at ease.
"Then I'll go borrow some fire. Or we can just share with others," Jin Xiu'er suggested enthusiastically.
*** Commerce Affairs Office.
"Zhang Rongfang went out with Jin Xiu again?"
Lu Mei Sha, carrying the Almond Cake she had just bought, heard the news from her personal maid Xiao Shui and her eyelids twitched.
These days, Jin Xiu has been taking the initiative in various ways, and even her former best friend can see through her intentions.
As Jin Xiu'er and Zhang Rongfang grew closer, her anger intensified.
What puzzled her even more was...
Although Zhang Rongfang did meet all of Jin Xiu's requirements, given her looks, she wouldn't have gone to such lengths to be proactive.
Zhang Rongfang is now just an ordinary person who is affiliated with and dependent on her brother.
Even with some talent, it may take many years for it to fully develop.
Over the years, too many things have changed, and no one can say for sure what other changes might happen in the meantime.
So, seeing her best friend being so proactive, even to the point of disregarding the girl's reputation and throwing herself at him, she was understandably tempted.
This made Lu Mei Sha even more resentful.
"Did they go together?" she asked again.
"Yes, Miss. He said he was going to some woods outside the city, but I didn't hear clearly. Young Master Rongfang also said he would be back later, so we don't need to wait for him for dinner," Xiao Shui added.
"Yeah?"
Lu Mei Sha wasn't stupid; she had chatted with her brother about it once before.
Both of them realized that Zhang Rongfang was hiding something, but no matter what he was hiding, the older brother believed that he would not harm his own sister, so he ignored it.
Lu Mei Sha originally thought so too.
After all, a martial arts genius who could Entering the Ranks at such a young age had once traveled hundreds of miles alone just to join a Dao Palace and obtain Daoist Registry.
It's probably not as simple as I thought.
But now, that guy actually has his eye on a snobbish woman like Jin Xiu?
"Okay, I understand. You can go now."
Lu Mei Sha waved her hand, looking thoughtful.
She returned to her room and put down the snacks. Sitting in a chair, her mind raced.
I know Jin Xiu'er's personality very well; she is extremely pragmatic and opportunistic, and she won't do anything without a reason.
Her proactive approach suggests she's definitely discovered something profitable! And it's highly likely that this is related to Zhang Rongfang!
Lu Mei Sha understood perfectly well.
'But even if Zhang Rongfang has some hidden talents and great future potential, he is still just a First Grade martial artist right now. His talent can't be used now, and he only receives a monthly stipend from the manor, which isn't much money.'
What could he possibly have that would make Jin Xiu'er value him?
After much thought, she suddenly realized that since Zhang Rongfang had gone outside the city, a thought suddenly arose in her mind like wildfire.
Immediately, she acted on her thought, quickly got up, packed her things, and left.
Instead of going to her destination, she went to another place.
After all preparations are complete.
Before long, she changed into a dress, put on a veil and hood, and came to Zhang Rongfang's residence again.
'This is a golden opportunity—a perfect chance to find out what secrets Zhang Rongfang is hiding!'
'If he really has any secrets, finding out will put my mind at ease.'
'If he has no secrets and is just bluffing, I can tell Jin Xiu immediately. We're best friends; I can't let her be fooled and suffer a great loss.'
Immediately, she took out a key that Zhang Rongfang had left with her sister, unlocked the door, and went inside.
Meanwhile, in Zhang Rongfang's study, a Xiao Hong Bird slowly flew down to the desk and began to eat the grains scattered on it.
The bamboo tubes tied to the Xiao Hong Bird's legs were clearly visible in the daylight.