Monitoring

Meanwhile, in a dimly lit mansion in Nanning County, the doors and windows were shut tight, with only a faint light glowing within.

Wu Heng, dressed in casual clothes, stood in the room, one hand behind his back, the other lightly tapping the edge of a table. Before him, three figures in black knelt, their presence concealed, their expressions stern.

"How is the investigation coming along?" he asked in a low voice, his tone laced with anxiety and unease.

One of the black-clad figures lowered his head and replied, "Reporting to you, sir, we have thoroughly searched the entire Pill Hall ruins, including the hidden compartments on the exterior and the underground secret chamber. We did not find the recipe for the Blood Spirit Pill. We only found a few damaged pill texts."

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

His sharp gaze fixed on the black-clad man. "Then where is he hiding now?"

Another replied, "He is currently at Black Tiger Fortress. Our people have confirmed his whereabouts. He has close ties with the people at Black Tiger Fortress."

"Black Tiger Fortress?" Wu Heng gritted his teeth, anger lacing his voice. "That lunatic actually dares to hide there! Has that place become lawless?"

Black Tiger Fortress, a notorious stronghold in Nanning County, had seen its influence expand rapidly in recent years. Not only did it have Seventh Rank Martial Artists guarding it, but it also had the Bai Family of Jingzhou as its backer. Recently, they had repeatedly descended the mountain, raiding merchant caravans and slaughtering villages, acting with extreme arrogance and impunity.

Although Wu Heng was the County Assistant and had the Wu Family supporting him, he was powerless against an entity like Black Tiger Fortress.

Frustrated, he swept away a teacup. "A bunch of bandits, and they dare to push their luck! Hmph!"

After a moment, he calmed his emotions, his eyes flickering as he asked again, "Gu Chang'an and Li Hongye, have they shown any unusual behavior?"

The black-clad man replied, "They have been staying at Sky Wind Martial Hall, cultivating day and night, and rarely go out. However, we noticed that Gu Chang'an recently purchased a four-bedroom courtyard with a garden, costing several hundred taels of silver."

"Over a thousand taels?" Wu Heng raised an eyebrow, his expression shifting slightly. "This kid didn't come here fleeing from famine, did he? How could he have so much money?"

The black-clad man replied, "We investigated his background. Gu Chang'an became a disciple of Li Tianfeng. The money was publicly stated to be a loan from Li Tianfeng."

"Li Tianfeng..." Wu Heng murmured, a hint of suspicion in his eyes.

Li Tianfeng was an Eighth Rank martial artist who had once ventured into Guangling Commandery before returning to Nanning County to establish Sky Wind Martial Hall. It was normal for him to have some savings.

Furthermore, recent investigations revealed that Gu Chang'an and Li Hongye had an ambiguous relationship.

This meant that Li Tianfeng was not only Gu Chang'an's master but also Gu Chang'an's future father-in-law.

Therefore, it was understandable that Li Tianfeng could lend money to Gu Chang'an.

However, whether this was the truth no longer mattered.

Wu Heng frowned, lost in thought for a long time.

Currently, his situation was extremely perilous.

The Blood Pill incident had enraged Guangling Commandery.

Wang Hao had died in battle, and the entire Martial Guard Division was almost crippled.

As the County Assistant of Nanning County, he was supposed to maintain local order, yet he had allowed bandits to run rampant and demons to refine pills, even alarming his superiors.

Now, Guangling Commandery had dispatched a special envoy to assume the position of Chief of the Martial Guard Division. Ostensibly, it was to "investigate the Blood Pill case and eliminate the villains," but in reality—it was clearly an opportunity to settle scores and rectify Nanning County!

And he, Wu Heng, was one of the primary targets of this rectification.

"Hmm..." Wu Heng mused softly, his expression as cold as ice. "I cannot just wait for death."

His fingers tapped unconsciously on the table, his gaze dark.

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

Threads of clues intertwined in his mind. He knew that if he wanted to preserve his position, or even his life, he had to grasp a bargaining chip that could truly control the situation.

Wu Heng let out a cold laugh, a hint of ruthlessness flashing in his eyes.

"Continue to keep a close watch on Gu Chang'an and Li Hongye. If there is the slightest anomaly... report it immediately."

Meanwhile, the night was as dark as ink.

The streets of Nanning County were silent, with only the occasional distant bark of a dog and the soft chime of wind bells breaking the stillness.

Outside Sky Wind Martial Hall, a figure silently slipped out, his Qinggong utterly noiseless, like a shadow in the night—it was Gu Chang'an.

After breaking through to the Eighth Rank, his senses had become even sharper. Even in a bustling environment, he could clearly detect the slightest unusual aura.

Tonight, he had once again sensed the presence of trackers.

More than one person, and they were hidden with extreme skill.

Gu Chang'an's heart sank, his brows furrowed.

Who was monitoring him?

Could it be the Firewood Gang?

Hadn't they already been wiped out?

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

He pondered for a long time, but no clue came to mind.

He then suppressed his breathing, quickly changing direction, and darted towards the shadowy figures from behind.

Finally, he clearly saw their attire—black clothes with golden patterns, sabers at their waists, and subtle golden snake embroidery on their bodies.

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

"Why are they targeting me?"

He asked himself, having no dealings with the Flowing Gold Gang, never having offended them, nor harmed any of their people.

Given the Flowing Gold Gang's methods, they shouldn't be picking fights randomly.

And now, they were actually deploying manpower to monitor him?

If it wasn't a decision made by his own gang, then it must be... someone else pulling the strings.

Gu Chang'an pondered for a moment, then suddenly thought, "Could it be... someone from the government?"

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

If that was the case, then whoever could command the Flowing Gold Gang was most likely their backer.

As this guess surfaced, his heart couldn't help but tighten.

After the Blood Pill incident, he and Li Hongye were among the few survivors.

Did someone suspect they knew something?

The Firewood Gang had been refining Blood Pills for so many years without anyone discovering it; there must have been high-ranking officials in the government helping to conceal it.

"It's a shame I don't have any proof," Gu Chang'an's gaze turned slightly cold.

Now was not the time to alert the enemy.

His thoughts raced, and he had already made up his mind.

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

At this moment, the few Flowing Gold Gang scouts behind him had lost track of Gu Chang'an and were whispering amongst themselves about whether to retreat.

They were completely unaware that the very person they were supposed to be monitoring was currently lurking not far from the eaves, quietly staring at them.

"Now it's time to go retrieve that thing."

Gu Chang'an quietly melted into the night, turned, and left, his figure quickly disappearing into the darkness.

It was the hiding place Wang Hao had told him about before he died, and also a place Gu Chang'an had not dared to go rashly these past few days.

Only now that his cultivation had broken through to Eighth Rank did he dare to set out under the cover of night.

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