A pale yellow bird flaps its wings and soars over mountains and rivers, then swoops down.
Swish.
A small bird flew through a dense coniferous forest and landed in the palm of a White Dress Woman with off-the-shoulder sleeves.
"It's here! It's here! A letter from Mother!"
The woman wore a white veil, and her eyes were bright and mischievous.
Behind her, another Giant Figure, at least two and a half meters tall, slowly approached.
The figure was clad in full-metal black armor, with sharp horns on its shoulders, elbows, knees, toes, and heels.
On his back were two Black Copper-Wire Giant Axe that resembled bat wings.
"Mother. Letter." The Giant Figure repeated in a low voice.
"Let me see." The Veiled Woman quickly took the Bamboo Tube off the little yellow bird's leg and poured out the Letter Paper.
"Haha, it's my turn to go this time!" the woman exclaimed happily. "I've been resting for five or six years, and since the distance is short, it's my turn to take the lead!"
"Shuangshuang, is this the letter Xiaoyin gave you?"
Behind the two, a tall man with white hair and beard slowly walked out of a stone house standing by a stream.
The man was dressed in a black Python Robe and held Refined Iron Cane in his hand. His appearance was dignified and imposing.
"Yes, Father." The woman named Shuangshuang turned around, leaped a few times, and arrived in front of the old man, handing him the Letter Paper.
The old man took it and looked at it.
"This time it's worth your personal intervention. This young fellow, at such a young age, managed to escape unscathed from two Spirit Puppet. He's quite capable."
"This person is someone that expressionless woman from the Golden Wing Tower values," Shuangshuang added.
"Those few lunatics, though they're crazy and do inhuman things all the time, have a really sharp eye," the old Heavenly Maiden nodded.
"Shuangshuang, you can go too. This person has great potential. You should try to win him over. We can provide him with whatever he wants, including wealth, sex, and power."
Now, Eastern Sect is surrounded by enemies, his position precarious. If he is sensible and knows when to advance and retreat, he should know how to choose.
"Shuangshuang will do her best," the Veiled Woman nodded earnestly.
"If we successfully recruit this person, he can be used as a seed for the Spirit Vein. Success will also add a great expert to our sect. Even if we fail, having one more Spirit Puppet is not a loss," the old man said with a smile.
"What if we can't win them over?" Shuangshuang asked.
"Everyone has desires, so keep trying." The old man smiled. "Of course, if you've tried everything and it still doesn't work, then what we can't have, we absolutely cannot let anyone else have. At that time, you can personally take action and completely destroy this person."
"Understood, Shuangshuang will do our best!" the woman said with a smile.
Time passed.
Inside Wushan Prefecture.
In the blink of an eye, more than a month has passed since the Golden Wing Tower sealed off the Yin Huai Forest.
At first, many people in the entire Yin Huai Forest were dissatisfied, thinking that they could no longer go there to eat picnics.
When it was later revealed that another woman had gone missing, everyone fell silent.
On the contrary, the blockade and takeover of the Golden Wing Tower made everyone feel more at ease.
After the last great battle, almost all the martial artists in Wushan Prefecture knew that the current leader of the Golden Wing Tower, Spirit Envoy, was powerful and intimidating to Wu Mountain.
With him handling the matter of the Yin Huai Forest, I naturally feel much more at ease.
No one expected that Zhang Rongfang was making various plans and preparations for going to Great Capital at this time.
Before leaving, he left a letter for his sister and brother-in-law, saying that his insights and cultivation in Civilian Skill had been appreciated by the higher-ups, and that he would go to the Great Dao Sect Ancestral Court for further study. He would write back from time to time afterward.
They could follow the path of the Great Dao Sect and also downplay the imprint of their Confucian Household background.
Although Zhang Rongyu felt regretful, he still supported Zhang Rongfang to go.
After all, being lucky enough to gain the appreciation of superiors is quite a good opportunity.
Brother -Suda Heqi provided a full thousand taels of silver, which Zhang Rongfang used to make arrangements at the Heavenly Treasure Palace.
Zhang Rongfang didn't stand on ceremony, knowing that his brother-in-law's business was now so large that he didn't care about such a small amount of money. So he readily accepted it.
Then came the arrangements made by Jin Xiu. Zhang Rongfang casually found her a property under the name of Golden Wing Tower, gave her a job, and then took her mother out to recuperate.
Everything was arranged.
Anyway, it's not like he won't come back.
May 27th.
A merchant caravan, secretly controlled by the Golden Wing Tower, slowly left Wushan Prefecture and headed towards Great Capital.
Two days after the caravan left.
A fierce battle broke out around the Ten Thousand Mile Villa. Xue Chengyu, Sea Dragon Jiaoren, made another move but was severely injured by the mysterious man, losing an arm and fleeing in a sorry state.
June 3rd.
A caravan transporting stone and bronze statues from Wu Mountain to Great Capital set off again, mingling with many other caravans, and slowly left Wushan Prefecture.
***"Spring brings summer, summer brings cold autumn, autumn kills winter, winter covers spring. Now that summer is over, autumn is coming again and life is not as good as before."
Between Wu Mountain and Great Capital, there is a place called Night Mountain Ridge, where there is a post station Inn for traveling caravans to rest and resupply.
The Inn is called Egret Inn.
When busy, they only supply the government; when not busy, they do business.
At this moment, inside the Inn, the Feng Family caravan members slumped into the Inn, rubbing their legs and stretching their arms and wrists, waiting for the innkeeper to prepare and serve them food.
The leader of the Feng Family was Feng Keqin, a Fourth Grade martial artist who was almost fifty years old.
At this moment, Feng Keqin was sitting with several caravan guards, sighing and complaining.
"Old Feng has lived a long life and seen a lot. Tell me, has this kind of weather always happened before? In recent years, the four seasons seem to be out of order. I don't know why."
Lao Chen, the head of the caravan's guards, took a sip of Mare Milk Wine and, feeling a bit hot, tugged at his collar.
"It wasn't like this before," Feng Keqin shook his head. "When I was young, the seasons were distinct, but in the last few years, things have inexplicably changed."
"But what are you worried about? Everyone here has fertile land to cultivate. Even if the harvest is less, it's still much better than what ordinary people do."
"Feng, you don't understand. My family has received Agricultural Sericulture Compilation from the Government Office, saying that we must strictly follow them. But the conditions of good and bad land vary from place to place. If we follow the same procedures for everything, isn't that just making things chaotic?"
Another leader, Zheng Jiaxing, also looked worried.
"At least the higher-ups are starting to value agriculture. I heard this Agricultural Sericulture Compilation was compiled and issued by the highest authorities. Even if it's not practical, it's still a good thing. At least if anything happens, the Government Office will let you pass through because of agricultural matters," Feng Keqin comforted him.
"That's the only way to think about it."
A few people were chatting idly.
Among the group of people the caravan was traveling with were about ten people who had Hua Qian to join the team and were heading to Great Capital to visit relatives, do business, or make their way in the world.
The group sat alone in a corner. Some waited for the Inn to bring food, while others took their own dry rations and ate them dry.
Among these people, one of the men, a tall and burly man, was also holding a piece of pork jerky and a bag of fresh milk tea, eating slowly, bite by bite.
The man wore a black straw hat and a gray windproof cloak like the others, with a multi-pocketed garment underneath for carrying things.
Listening to the idle chatter of the others not far away, the man slightly raised his head and looked towards the entrance of the Inn.
Outside, the setting sun cast a red glow across the land, yet there was a subtle sense of desolation and bleakness.
The Inn's main entrance faces a bamboo grove.
The bamboo grove swayed in the wind, making a rustling sound, but not a single bird could be heard chirping.
Occasionally, one can see itinerant merchants, dragging their goods and urging their mules, passing by the gate at a leisurely pace.
The mule carts left tire tracks on the road from time to time, disappearing into the distance along the Official Road.
"Here it is, sir! Your order of Garlic Scape Shredded Pork, mapo tofu, and Stir-fried Dried Tofu!"
Soon, the Inn's waiter brought up the ordered dishes one by one.
The man took off his straw hat, revealing a face that was not particularly handsome, but rather heroic.
He had slightly dark skin, bright eyes, a full face, and lips that were always slightly pursed, with a somewhat thin lip line.
It gives people a sense of stubbornness and strong opinions.
This man was Zhang Rongfang, who had just severely injured Xue Chengyu and left Wushan Prefecture alone.
He used the caravan controlled by the Golden Wing Tower as bait to provoke a sneak attack by the Sea Dragon, and then launched a counter-attack, successfully severely injuring Xue Chengyu.
Actually, it wasn't really bait. Because he really left with the first caravan.
Of course, just because he left doesn't mean he won't come back.
The day after the first caravan left, he used his superior speed to rush back and then lay in wait.
Sure enough, they then brought out the Sea Dragon.
Now, more than a month has passed since the end of April to the beginning of June. He has accumulated three Attribute Points. However, this time, he has kept them and has not immediately added them to his Civilian Skill.
He planned to go to Great Capital, obtain the Secret Art, and then see if he could use Attribute Points to quickly complete the Secret Art.
Keep some as a backup, just in case you're short on time later.
Coming to his senses, Zhang Rongfang looked at the dishes in front of him and sighed inwardly.
Each plate of this dish contains only half the amount of a normal serving at a restaurant.
Moreover, there's very little meat inside.
But being able to eat hot food halfway through a journey is already quite good.
He didn't hesitate, picked up his chopsticks, checked the food, and then slowly began to taste it.
He ate very slowly.
This way, you can stop quickly once you notice something is wrong.
Even if there is poisoning, it won't be serious.
The toxins weren't serious enough to be a problem for him right now.
After all, a health value of over forty is no joke.
While they were eating, suddenly two people at the table to their right exclaimed in surprise, jumped up, and scrambled away from their chairs.
"There's a snake!"
The two men were independent travelers traveling with a caravan, and they appeared to be two merchants traveling together to Great Capital.
The two hurriedly got up, knocking the plates and dishes on the table askew and causing them to slip and fall to the ground.
A lot of food spilled onto the table, chairs, and floor.
Everyone looked over and saw a slender, bright green snake slowly crawling under the table.
"It's Bamboo Pit Viper! Hiss... How could there be Bamboo Pit Viper here!?"
Someone exclaimed in surprise.
"We were just having drinks when we suddenly felt something climbing up!" the merchants at that table exclaimed.
Zhang Rongfang frowned slightly, and faintly heard a soft laugh.
His eyes scanned the area and quickly settled on two teenagers in the corner.
The two looked very similar; they appeared to be Twins.
The boy had delicate features, his long hair was tied up with a silver ring, and he wore a white robe with a magpie chirping pattern.
The girl had snow-white skin, her long hair was styled into many small braids, and she wore a bright green tulle dress.
Zhang Rongfang noticed that both men were holding a long Bamboo Tube. The lids of the Bamboo Tube were open.