Five Cauldrons III
As the sun sets, dim light shines from the courtyard wall, through the treetops, and onto the edge of the White Stone chessboard.
A few chess pieces were covered with withered yellow leaves, which swayed slightly in the wind.
A petite and elegant woman, dressed in a white dress with Jin Ling tied around her waist, sat quietly at one end of the chessboard.
"If longing cannot be contained, then let love flow deep into the Qing Yao." (Qing Yao Great Ling lanterns placed in rivers to express one's longing. People write their final words of love on the lantern shades. When the lantern floats away, it signifies forgetting everything and starting anew.) "If the Qing Yao disappears, one can forget everything. But you are not suited to the path of Extreme Emotion." A tall man in a blue robe, his sleeves fluttering, had appeared at one end of the courtyard.
He slowly approached and sat down familiarly at the other end of the chessboard.
"Among the Four Great Limit Realms, the Extreme Heart is the easiest, but also the weakest. However, it is the safest one."
He looked at the woman opposite him.
"You want to pursue the Extreme Law and the Heavenly Demon, but neither is actually suitable for you."
"But I've already gone more than halfway. There's no turning back now." The woman raised her head, revealing a bewildered and pale face.
She was none other than the Heavenly Maiden Tong Zhang, who had disappeared long ago!
"If you insist, I can indeed help you. But neither of these paths is right for you," the man sighed.
"I'm not afraid." Tong Zhang reached out and gently placed his hand on the chess piece. "Someone once told me that in this world, only power can last forever. And the Extreme Law and the Heavenly Demon are the strongest."
She felt the coldness of the chess pieces and vaguely knew that she had forgotten so much. She had also become much stronger.
But that's not enough. "Then you'll be in a lot of pain," the man replied.
"I've been through so much pain, it's okay. No one understands pain better than me. It will only make me stronger," Tong Zhang replied.
The man didn't reply. He simply glanced sideways at the increasingly setting sun.
"If you are really sure, then first think about your initial desire. The inability to obtain what you want is the root of everything."
The Heavenly Maiden looked up at the man.
"At first, I wanted to live, but then I forgot."
"Then what do you remember?" the man asked.
"I remember."
Tong Zhang lowered his head.
"I"
Her mind went blank, and she couldn't answer at all.
"You know that becoming stronger will lead to a better life, and in your pursuit of becoming stronger, you've forgotten everything. Your only obsession is becoming stronger. But you've also forgotten why you even wanted to become stronger in the first place."
The man sighed.
"If you remember nothing, then go find your memories. Whether it's revenge, repaying a debt of gratitude, or protecting something, whatever it is, as long as it's yours and the most important thing, go and take it back. Whether it's the Heavenly Demon or the Extreme Law, this is all important."
Otherwise, if you keep acting recklessly, you'll never reach a higher level. You'll always be stuck in the first stage.
"I understand." Tong Zhang closed his eyes and nodded slightly.
*** Dan Province, Cloud Glow Mountain.
After traveling for two consecutive days, Mo Qingyu and her group finally led Zhang Rongfang to the location of Cloud Glow Mountain.
As for where they were originally going, that was no longer Zhang Rongfang's concern.
Cloud Glow Mountain is famous for its summit, which is often bathed in clouds and mist, and illuminated by the reflection of the sunset glow.
The mountain is not large, but below it lies a dense network of Official Road roads and mountain paths, making it a crucial point for travel between Dan Province and other provinces.
On both sides of Cloud Glow Mountain are large areas of steep and difficult-to-access Duan Gu and mountain ranges.
This is the only place that is suitable for travel.
"This is Cloud Glow Mountain."
Mo Qingyu stood on the slope of a small hill and pointed to a mountain peak not far away, explaining its features.
"From here, there are Three Paths leading to the Prefectural City, Mu Yang, and Si Jiu Peak."
"Generally, when outsiders enter the province, they will go to the Prefectural City first to inquire about information. After all, the Prefectural City has the largest population and information can be spread in all directions."
Zhang Rongfang gazed at the mountain peaks, then scanned his surroundings.
He imagined himself as Ding Yu, arriving here with a map in hand. What would be the first thing he do? "Inquire. I'd ask around." Zhang Rongfang felt his mind had become much sharper lately. It seemed that Blood Flesh Completion really did improve his aptitude.
"Where can I ask someone?"
"There are probably only three main channels: one, passersby; two, herb gatherers and woodcutters; three, nearby residents."
Passersby are the hardest to predict, as the randomness is too great.
As for the herb gatherers and woodcutters, they looked around but couldn't find a trace of them, so it was clear that no one came here to gather herbs or cut firewood.
Finally, a nearby resident asked, "Are there any residents nearby?"
"We don't come here often," Mo Qingyu said hesitantly.
"Then you're useless." Zhang Rongfang's eyes turned cold.
"Wait, wait, wait!" Mo Qingyu shuddered and immediately shouted, "There are more of us, we might know something about the surrounding area!!"
She quickly went to discuss it with the other women in the group. At this point, only these women remained in the group.
The two men who had been drugged and captured have already been released.
A group of people asked and answered questions repeatedly, pressing for answers.
Finally, Mo Qingyu felt as if she had been granted a pardon and found a woman who was familiar with the area.
She pulled the person up.
"My lord! My Chen Da Niu, and I am nineteen years old!"
The woman had delicate features and a great figure, but her skin was a bit dark, and her hands were rough and cracked, clearly indicating that she had been doing farm work since childhood.
"Da Niu, hurry up and speak, don't keep the adults waiting!" Mo Qingyu urged from the side.
"Yes." Chen Da Niu began by briefly introducing the surrounding area.
From her account, everyone learned that there were three villages closest to Cloud Glow Mountain.
In the villages heading towards the Prefectural City, there is a place called Ran Xin Village.
Zhang Rongfang asked her to lead the way to the village.
The group traveled non-stop, crossing several hills, and soon found the Ran Xin Village that Da Niu had mentioned.
The village is small, surrounded by mountains on three sides, with only one entrance and exit.
A wooden arrow tower was also set up at the entrance.
After Mo Qingyu's people went up to negotiate, the group was allowed to enter the village.
Soon, after paying a small bribe, Zhang Rongfang easily met the village chief—a seventy-year-old man with the body of a young girl.
"Speak, what do you want? I thought you were traveling merchants from around here, but you didn't bring any goods. Hurry up and tell me what you need, I have to go back to work." The village chief's name was Zheng Chunjuan. Despite her petite stature, she was quite influential in the village.
Zhang Rongfang noticed that the women who served them tea trembled slightly when facing the village chief, clearly showing extreme fear.
"Well, I'd like to inquire whether a young man who looks like this has ever passed through here before?" Zhang Rongfang handed over the Charcoal Pencil of Ding Yu's face that he had just drawn.
Zheng Chunjuan took it and looked at it.
A man's face, drawn with remarkable detail and exquisite precision, appeared on the paper before my eyes.
"This person," she pursed her lips, seemingly trying to recall.
In reality, at least a dozen or twenty men come to their village every month, and it's hard to remember them all.
But Ding Yu left a very deep impression on her.
It's all because this kid was drained for so many days, yet he still had the strength to run away, and his legs didn't even give way. He's truly gifted!
Therefore, she was deeply impressed by it.
It hadn't been long, and someone had already come looking for her so quickly. She hadn't expected that.
It wasn't this fast before; usually, it would take several months, or even half a year, before someone would come to inquire.
Most of them disappeared without a trace, and nobody paid any attention to the missing people.
"I don't recognize this person." As for acting skills, village chief Zheng Chunjuan was already a master, her heart didn't even race.
They've done this kind of thing countless times—dealing with male relatives who come looking for them.
They had already handled it with ease, without batting an eye.
"Would you like to think about it again?" A glint of gold unconsciously appeared in Zhang Rongfang's hand.
That's the color of Gold Leaf.
Zheng Chunjuan saw it, and a glint of greed flashed in her eyes.
But after thinking about it carefully for a while, she still shook her head helplessly.
"I'm sorry, sir, it's not that I'm unwilling to tell you, but I really haven't seen this person before."
Zhang Rongfang carefully observed the other person using his Dark Light Vision, but there was nothing unusual about their expression, heartbeat, or breathing.
He seemed genuinely unaware, and he let out a soft sigh and stood up.
"Since that's the case, we've disturbed you. We'll take our leave." He left a silver coin behind and turned to depart.
"Take care, esteemed guest." Zheng Chunjuan smiled, picked up the money, and watched the guest leave.
Once the person was completely out of sight, she casually tossed the loose silver aside.
She didn't even care about that little bit of money.
Especially since they had just received a large sum of silver Gold Notes from Ding Yu.
The amount of money involved was enormous, and the Token itself clearly indicated that it wasn't from an ordinary power or organization.
If someone can find you so quickly, wouldn't they just be asking for trouble by leaking information?
Zheng Chunjuan smiled; she wasn't that naive.
Outside the house, Zhang Rongfang and his group walked quickly between the houses, preparing to leave the village.
As Zhang Rongfang passed by several small buildings, he noticed that some of the girls inside were putting yellow flowers on bronze mirrors.
Pasting yellow flowers is a custom from the previous dynasty. Since the founding of the Great Ling Dynasty, many provinces have not had this custom for two hundred years.
Surprisingly, there were also girls here who, after removing the stickers, had faint floral marks on their faces, beautiful and elegant.
In addition, many of their clothes are made of high-quality materials.
And the houses here are all two-story buildings.
"This village is very prosperous," he said.
"It must be because it belongs to Black Dragon Township and is located near a major transportation route," Mo Qingyu replied softly.
Zhang Rongfang thought about it and realized that indeed, all of Dan Province's external transportation passes through here.
From this perspective, there is indeed some truth to the idea of being wealthy.
Without further thought, he led his group out of the village.
The huntress guarding the tower even whistled at them from afar, her expression flippant.
After leaving the village, Zhang Rongfang decided to go directly to the Prefectural City. There, he could first contact the advance team he had sent, and then gather a group of local people for a large-scale search.
This is much more efficient than searching by yourself.
"Something's not right!" Suddenly, Zhang Rongfang stopped abruptly in the forest.
"My lord?" Mo Qingyu and the others stopped behind them, puzzled. "What's wrong?"
"Why can't we see a single man in that village?" Zhang Rongfang asked, frowning.
A group of women looked at each other, not understanding what it meant.