Monitoring

Meanwhile, in a dimly lit residence somewhere in Nanning County, the doors and windows were tightly shut, and the lamps cast only a faint glow.

Wu Heng wore ordinary clothes and stood in the room. One hand was clasped behind his back, while the other lightly tapped the edge of the table. Three men in black knelt before him, their auras concealed and their gazes cold.

"How did the investigation go?" he asked in a deep voice, anxiety and unease woven into his tone.

One of the men in black lowered his head. "Reporting to you, my lord, we carefully searched the entire ruins of the Pill Hall, including the hidden compartments around the perimeter and the underground chambers, but found no formula for the Blood Spirit Pill. We only found several damaged alchemy manuals."

Wu Heng's gaze darkened. "As expected, Daoist Chai took it."

His sharp eyes fixed on the man in black. "Then where is he hiding now?"

Another man replied, "He's currently at Black Tiger Fortress. Our people confirmed his whereabouts. He has close ties with the people of Black Tiger Fortress."

"Black Tiger Fortress?" Wu Heng ground his teeth, his voice already tinged with anger. "That madman really dares to hide there! Has that place become completely lawless?"

Black Tiger Fortress was the notorious stronghold of Nanning County, and its power had expanded rapidly in recent years. Not only did it have a Seventh Rank Martial Artist holding down the fort, but it also had the Bai Family of Jingzhou backing it. Recently, its men had repeatedly descended the mountain to plunder merchant caravans and massacre villages, acting with extreme arrogance and wanton violence.

Although Wu Heng was the County Assistant and had the Wu Family supporting him, when faced with an existence like Black Tiger Fortress, he was utterly powerless to do anything.

Irritated, he swept the teacup aside. "A bunch of bandits, and they dare to push their luck this far! Hmph!"

After a moment, he steadied his emotions. His eyes flickered as he asked again, "Any unusual activity from Gu Chang'an and Li Hongye?"

The man in black replied, "They've been staying at Sky Wind Martial Hall, cultivating day and night and rarely going out. However, we noticed that Gu Chang'an recently bought a small four-room residence with a courtyard and garden. It cost several hundred taels of silver."

"Over a thousand taels?" Wu Heng raised an eyebrow, his expression changing slightly. "Didn't that brat come here fleeing famine? How could he possibly have so much silver?"

The man in black answered, "We investigated his background. Gu Chang'an became Li Tianfeng's disciple, and he publicly claimed that the money was lent to him by Li Tianfeng."

"Li Tianfeng..." Wu Heng murmured under his breath, a trace of suspicion appearing in his eyes.

Li Tianfeng was an Eighth Rank martial artist, but he had once ventured through Guangling Commandery. Afterward, he returned to Nanning County and established Sky Wind Martial Hall, so it was normal for him to have some savings.

Recent investigations had also revealed that Gu Chang'an and Li Hongye had an ambiguous relationship.

In other words, Li Tianfeng was not only Gu Chang'an's master but also Gu Chang'an's future father-in-law.

So it was only reasonable that Li Tianfeng could lend money to Gu Chang'an.

However, whether that was true no longer mattered.

Wu Heng furrowed his brows tightly and sank into deep thought for a long while.

His current situation was extremely dangerous.

The Blood Pill incident had enraged Guangling Commandery.

Wang Hao had died in battle, and the entire Martial Guard Division had nearly ground to a halt.

As the County Assistant of Nanning County, he should have been in charge of local security, yet he had allowed bandits to run rampant and demonic cultivators to refine pills, even alarming his superiors.

Now, Guangling Commandery had dispatched a special officer to take over as chief of the Martial Guard Division. On the surface, they claimed it was to "investigate the Blood Pill case and purge the vicious criminals," but in truth—they were clearly using the opportunity to settle accounts and reorganize Nanning County!

And Wu Heng was one of the primary targets of this reorganization.

"Mm..." Wu Heng muttered softly, his expression cold as ice. "I can't just sit here and wait for death."

His fingers tapped the desk unconsciously, his gaze dark and brooding.

Gu Chang'an... Li Hongye... Daoist Chai... Black Tiger Fortress...

One thread after another tangled in his mind. He knew that if he wanted to preserve his position—or even his life—he had to seize a bargaining chip that could truly control the situation.

Wu Heng let out a cold laugh, a vicious glint flashing in his eyes.

"Keep a death watch on Gu Chang'an, and Li Hongye as well. If they show even the slightest abnormality... report it immediately."

Meanwhile, the night was as black as ink.

The streets of Nanning County were silent, save for the occasional barking of dogs in the distance and the faint chime of wind bells colliding in the breeze.

Outside Sky Wind Martial Hall, a figure slipped out soundlessly. His lightness technique made not a single noise, and he was like a shadow of the night—it was Gu Chang'an.

After breaking through to the Eighth Rank, his five senses had grown increasingly sharp. Even in a bustling place, he could clearly detect the slightest trace of an unusual aura.

Tonight, he once again sensed the presence of pursuers.

There was more than one, and they were hidden extremely well.

Gu Chang'an's heart sank, and his brows knitted tightly.

Who exactly was watching him?

Could it be the Firewood Gang?

Hadn't they already been wiped out?

Other than the Firewood Gang, he didn't seem to have offended anyone.

He thought it over again and again, but had no clue.

Then he lowered his breathing and swiftly circled around, darting back from behind until he was close to several dark figures.

At last, he saw their attire clearly—black clothes embroidered with gold patterns, sabers hanging at their waists, and faint golden-snake designs on their bodies.

"People from the Flowing Gold Gang?" he wondered in surprise.

Why were they watching me?

He asked himself and found that he had no dealings with the Flowing Gold Gang. He had never offended them, nor had he touched any of their people.

Given the Flowing Gold Gang's usual way of doing things, they shouldn't stir up trouble without reason.

And yet, they had actually deployed men to watch him?

If this wasn't a decision made by someone within the gang, then it meant... someone had instructed them.

Gu Chang'an pondered for a moment before suddenly thinking, "Could it be... people from the government?"

He had long heard that the Flowing Gold Gang had been able to replace the Black Sand Gang because it had the support of government forces.

If that was true, then the people capable of ordering the Flowing Gold Gang around were most likely the forces backing it.

The moment this thought arose, his heart tightened.

After the Blood Pill incident, he and Li Hongye had become two of the very few survivors.

Someone suspects they know something?

The Firewood Gang had refined Blood Pills for so many years without anyone discovering it. There had to be high-ranking officials within the government helping conceal it.

"It's a pity I have no evidence." Gu Chang'an's eyes turned cold.

It wasn't time to alert the enemy yet.

His thoughts raced, and he quickly made up his mind.

"I'll endure for now and first uncover the mastermind behind this."

At that moment, the several Flowing Gold Gang scouts behind him had already lost track of Gu Chang'an's whereabouts and were quietly discussing whether to withdraw.

They had no idea that the very person they were supposed to monitor was lurking not far away beneath the eaves, silently watching them.

"It's time to go retrieve that thing."

Gu Chang'an quietly melted into the night and turned to leave. His figure soon vanished into the darkness.

That was the location of the treasure vault Wang Hao had told him about before his death, and also the place Gu Chang'an had not dared to visit rashly over the past few days.

Now that his cultivation had broken through to the Eighth Rank, he finally dared to set out under cover of night.