Deception (Part 1)

Just a short distance from Chen Xiang Mountain, on a five-story restaurant.

Two diners who were watching from a distance witnessed the entire scene that had just unfolded.

Their eyes met, and one of them quickly stood up.

"Oh dear, I've eaten too much. I need to use the restroom. Just a moment."

The man left the table with a grin and headed towards the restaurant's outhouse.

Soon after he went inside, he came out again not long after.

But when he reached the toilet entrance, he casually and discreetly tossed a small roll of Paper Scroll to the side.

Just then, another person came over, passed him, reached out and caught the Paper Scroll, and put it away.

Half an hour later.

A large ship belonging to the Thousand Sect Alliance is docked in Ci Tong Bay.

At the ship's side, Zhu Wanguo, dressed in a gray outfit, held a wine jug in his hand and occasionally tilted his head back to take a sip.

"We can make our move tonight. Once we take down the Chris Family, we'll have achieved our goal of securing the shipping lanes. All that's left is the Jade Shop Association." He said casually, smoothing his hair that had been ruffled by the sea breeze.

"Young master is a brilliant strategist. He accurately predicted that the Chris Family would secretly send out a fleet yesterday. Otherwise, we wouldn't have been able to so easily control so many Lineage fleets."

Among the several experts from the Thousand Sect Alliance behind them, Han Jia and another Masked Woman were the most eye-catching.

The two were also at the front, clearly indicating that they were the most trusted.

Unlike Han Jia, the Red-clad Woman wore Silver Mask, obscuring her face, but her figure was quite alluring, with curves that frequently attracted the attention of men around her.

Upon hearing Han Jia's words, the Red-clad Woman was about to speak.

Suddenly, a woman stepped forward and whispered a few words in her ear.

After her subordinates stepped back, the Red-clad Woman's expression changed slightly as she looked at Zhu Wanguo.

"Young Master, the situation has changed! Dao Child Zhang Ying of the Aloeswood Palace, has suddenly appeared at the Chen Xiang Mountain. And he has captured one of our Hundred Changes members on the spot!"

"Oh?" Zhu Wanguo was taken aback. "He's back? So he wasn't even on the mountain before? So, was the one on the mountain a fake? Or was he just setting up a diversion? Also, how did he manage to capture the Man of Hundred Changes? He found him as soon as he got back?"

He seemed somewhat curious.

"Perhaps he concealed himself beforehand, observing and waiting for the right opportunity, looking for weaknesses."

In this way, once the Hundred Changes nature of things is discovered, it may not be so easy to start a fire again.

"Zhang Ying is indeed as difficult to deal with as the rumors say," the Red-clad Woman replied.

"It's alright." Zhu Wanguo's expression remained unchanged. "Whether he can find it or not is not important. Everything is still under control, there's no need to rush."

"Yes, Ping'er is anxious," the Red-clad Woman said respectfully, bowing her head.

"Zhang Ying is focused on cultivation and is not good at other schemes or strategies. I have studied him. Before entering Heavenly Treasure Palace, he admired violence, disliked beating around the bush, and was decisive in his actions."

"This person seems shrewd and cautious, but in reality, he's only slightly better than a stubborn fool," Zhu Wanguo said with a smile.

He patted off non-existent dust from his robe.

"Don't worry, in order to resume his quiet life of seclusion as soon as possible, he should be eager to resolve the situation quickly."

How can this be resolved quickly? The only way is to find the root cause; therefore, he will definitely investigate the Jade Shop Association.

"To investigate the Jade Shop Association, there are only two methods: overt and covert. Overt investigations will not yield much information for most people. Therefore, his most likely method is to secretly send experts to the Jade Shop Association to find out the truth."

"Young master is wise," the two women replied in unison.

"Non-Self wise, but that he doesn't know how to hide himself. When a person's inside and out are completely exposed, he's already in a precarious position in the struggle."

Zhu Wanguo gazed at the distant night sky, a slight smile playing on his lips.

*** Aloeswood Palace.

Chen Han went into the study and saw Zhang Rongfang, who had been waiting for him for a long time.

"Daozi, these are the things we found on that person."

He placed a silver round plaque with a fish scale and wave pattern, along with some money pouches and miscellaneous items, on a tray and put it on the desk next to him.

"What is this??" Zhang Rongfang asked, frowning, and picked up the Silver Token to examine it carefully.

He suddenly realized that these organizations all liked to use various signs as identifiers for their members.

Like him now, he already has quite a few brands on him.

The Feather Token of the Golden Wing Tower of the Eastern Sect, the Waist Token of the Great Dao Sect Daozi, the Dao Palace Token in Tanyang, and the talisman of the Government Office where he served.

In addition, there was the stone carving Token given by the Thousand Stone Sect.

Now another one has appeared here.

"This silver Silver Token was found under the skin of that person's abdomen."

It is implanted inside the skin and flesh, hidden very deep.

"Non-Self hadn't checked it one last time, I probably wouldn't have found it at all!" Chen Han replied.

"Hidden so deeply, it seems this Token is closely connected to the mastermind behind it all," Zhang Rongfang remarked.

"That's what I thought too, so I went to investigate. According to the local Government Office's records, this Token came from a small organization called the Sea Star Association."

But Steward Sun Chaoyue's side just sent someone back from the investigation.

"This Sea Star Association had already disbanded and disappeared half a year ago. And what forced it to disband was..." Chen Han paused.

"What is it?" Zhang Rongfang looked at him.

"Indeed, Jade Shop Association," Chen Han replied. "This subordinate cannot understand why they would target us so relentlessly. Therefore, I remain skeptical."

"Jade Shop Association? It's Jade Shop Association again."

Zhang Rongfang initially thought that Jade Shop Association was framed, but now another clue has emerged, and the root cause is Jade Shop Association again.

He pondered for a moment, but there were too few clues to deduce who it was.

"Forget it, since it's the Jade Shop Association, let's make it our target for now. We'll find out by investigating."

"Furthermore, after you reported it, did experts from the Snow Rainbow Pavilion come to protect you?" he asked again.

"Yes, a military general named Shangguan Lian Yue has arrived. He is very powerful. He immediately drove away all the troublemakers who had caused trouble," Chen Han replied.

"I know Shangguan Lian Yue, so let's continue to entrust him with protecting Aloeswood Palace. Regardless of whether they cause trouble or not, if these people feel wronged, they should investigate the truth themselves. A mere group of pirates and merchants can't cause any real trouble," Zhang Rongfang replied.

"Yes." Chen Han nodded.

"Also, notify the Jade Shop Association to come and claim the body," Zhang Rongfang added.

"Zhao Sunyi, one of the leaders of the Jade Shop Association, was killed at the Chen Xiang Mountain. Now, it may not be so easy to communicate with him," Chen Han replied.

"They've infiltrated my Dao Palace. If we can't communicate, then there's nothing more to say." Zhang Rongfang showed impatience.

He has no energy to scheme or analyze these things now; he doesn't even have enough time to perfect the Soul Scattering Finger and cultivate his Hard Skill every day.

When you encounter trouble, just crush it with force.

Whether it's the Jade Shop Association or the Hundred Merchants Association, if they don't want to take action, then they should step forward to prove their innocence and find evidence.

"First, request the Prefect to deploy troops to seal off the ships associated with the Jade Shop Association! The whole thing started with them. The seal will be lifted only when the investigation is clear! If the investigation is unclear, then we will identify them as the ones who attacked and looted the medicinal herbs from the ships!"

With the support of the Great Ling, Zhang Rongfang didn't bother to wander around inside.

"Understood, sir." Chen Han nodded solemnly.

In the following days, Zhang Rongfang met with Shangguan Lian Yue and entrusted the safety of the Aloeswood Palace to her.

He then continued searching for the Main Herb for the next level of the Golden Toad Skill.

The Main Herb in the second layer of the Sun Chasing is called Yu Xiang Coral. It is a special medicinal material that ordinary people have never heard of.

However, compared to the Mystic Sun Flesh Fungus, this medicinal herb is less rare and easier to collect.

At least Isibass quickly replied, indicating that he had another lead.

Zhang Rongfang immediately devoted his energy to finding the medicine, frequently visiting the Mansion Isibass to search for information and books, analyze and provide feedback, and offer a high reward for finding the medicine.

Meanwhile, within Ci Tong Port, rumors about the Jade Shop Association and the Hundred Merchants Association were growing.

June 4th, night.

Aloeswood Palace, a figure suddenly darted out, quickly entering the forest under the dim moonlight and heading towards Huang Jing Mountain.

Not long after, at the Huang Jing Mountain, the figure suddenly stopped, lunged to the left, and disappeared into the forest.

The night was deep, a thin mist hung in the air, and the distant sound of the ocean waves rose and fell.

Deep in Huang Jing Mountain.

The figure suddenly stopped, a Token flashing in its hand.

"Young master."

A figure on a nearby tree trunk called out in a deep voice.

"Please rest inside, sir. Things are not going well in Citong lately, so please be extremely careful."

"Okay, you can continue your patrol." Zhang Rongfang nodded slightly and continued heading deeper into the mountains and forests.

Compared to the honest Chen Han who knew nothing, he trusted Zhang Yunqi more about the current situation in Citong.

So we arranged to meet tonight.

Not far into the woods, a figure came from the opposite direction.

Zhang Rongfang quickly stopped and, using the dim Dark Light Vision, could clearly see that the person who had come was Zhang Yunqi.

"Uncle Zhang," he said gently, "It's been a long time. Please explain the current situation in Citong."

Previously, at the Aloeswood Palace, there were already people in disguise who had infiltrated it.

He certainly wouldn't reveal his true intentions.

However, the people of the Aloeswood Palace are not easy to trust, but the people of the Rebel Sect are different.

At this moment, Zhang Rongfang was calm and composed, a stark contrast to his impatient and indifferent expression during the day.

The light was dim, Zhang Yunqi only heard the voice and recognized it as Zhang Rongfang when he got a little closer.

I was slightly surprised.

But thinking that young people might have better eyesight, I didn't pay much attention.

He nodded slightly when asked.

"Even if you hadn't come to me, I was planning to visit you in person. To be honest, there has been quite a stir in Ci Tong Port since you went to Sky Peak Cave."

"What's that noise?" Zhang Rongfang raised an eyebrow.

"My Rebel Sect are scattered widely, and although the details are not very clear, I have still managed to find out a little bit."

The various forces, large and small, that originally controlled the fleets of ships in Citong now seem to be making all sorts of moves.

"I suspect that someone is secretly working on these forces and trying to consolidate them." Zhang Yunqi, having been rooted in Citong for many years, immediately pointed out the main thread behind these chaotic situations.

"Integrating the long-range shipping forces?" Zhang Rongfang's eyes narrowed. "The composition of these long-range shipping forces is rather complicated, isn't it? Who has such great capabilities?"