He'd almost forgotten Mortal's greatest talent: his peerless disguise skills. Unless someone brought along a Corpse King to track him by scent, there was simply no way to find him.
He really didn't need to travel with the caravan. In fact, if he were alone, Black Robe might never find him in his entire life.
Hanyu was in a quandary. Should he travel with the caravan or not?
He didn't have to agonize over it anymore once Mortal said he was heading south.
"Originally, if it hadn't been for that business with Hidden Moon Peak, Cousin and I had planned to head south together and find Yixian and the other one. But Cousin can't go now, so I'll go by myself."
Mortal sighed helplessly.
Hanyu sighed too. That meant they were going in opposite directions. He was heading north, while Mortal was going south. They certainly wouldn't be taking the same route.
Mortal smiled. "It's fine. Another day, I'll ask Cousin whether he can make a treasure that lets us contact each other. That way, we can get in touch whenever something comes up."
Hanyu thought it over, then couldn't help laughing. "You're giving him a ridiculously difficult problem."
The more Mortal thought about it, the more amusing it seemed. He immediately decided he'd give Cousin this challenge before leaving tomorrow, so he wouldn't be bored sick after going home.
"Let me give you something!"
As for Hanyu, Mortal grinned and pulled something from his robes...
The next day, a long procession of carts laden with all kinds of goods slowly rolled out of Shuzhou City. A burly man with a full beard glanced back at the city gates a few times, then walked away without looking back.
This was naturally the caravan Su Wanjun had mentioned—and a genuine caravan at that. The bearded man looked utterly ordinary among the group, helping everyone else pull the ox carts and silently keeping to himself during rest breaks.
The night before, Mortal had given him a face mask as thin as a cicada's wing. It fit Hanyu's face perfectly, and the moment he put it on, he had an entirely different face.
Hanyu had tried it on right then and there. As soon as he put it on, it felt cool against his skin. Then he could feel the mask molding itself to his face. A little while later, he looked in the mirror and froze.
The face in the mirror was completely different, and there wasn't the slightest trace of disguise.
"Stick this on before you blend into the caravan tomorrow. It'll be safer that way."
Mortal had said with a grin.
Perhaps he still wasn't reassured. Before Hanyu left, Mortal made a few last-minute adjustments, and that was how he'd ended up looking like a bearded man.
Hanyu was deeply touched. "When I get a good pill someday, I'll give you one."
Mortal immediately fled in terror.
The caravan had been on the road for half a day by now. No one in it had acted suspiciously, but to be safe, Hanyu still kept his bearded face on and made sure not to stand out.
They were taking a break halfway through the journey. Hanyu couldn't resist pulling out a thin paperback and flipping through it. Mortal had given it to him, claiming it was a priceless manual every overseas cultivator needed.
At first, he'd struggled to reconcile "priceless" with "every cultivator needed one." Then he opened it for the first time and saw that the author had written "priceless" on it. Only then did he understand.
It really was profound. The very first page taught people not to use their real names when doing business.
The title was rather unusual: "How to Play the Pig to Eat the Tiger."
It went into great detail about how to make yourself look like a weakling in all kinds of situations, how to appear easy to bully, and how to stab someone in the back at the critical moment.
After finishing it the first time, Hanyu felt rather sorry for Mortal. Had life overseas really driven people to this?
His mind couldn't help conjuring up a scene: two pigs that looked like weaklings bumping into each other, each groveling more servilely than the other as they apologized, before both suddenly bared their fangs...
It was more sinister than the Hungry Ghost Diagram.
After reading through it several more times, he began to find himself agreeing with it...
"Hah—ptooey!"
A strange, almost magical sound suddenly rang out in Hanyu's mind, making him jump.
He hurriedly searched through his mind, but aside from the Extreme Misfortune Pill, which still had six days left, he couldn't find another trace of it.
"Hahaha! The bottle just burped. That scared you?"
The little Artifact Spirit mercilessly mocked him.
"It's digesting last night's energy. It doesn't have time to bother with you right now."
Hanyu withdrew from his mind with a dark expression. Just then, a whistle sounded, and the caravan's leader shouted, "We're moving out!"
Shuzhou City.
A large party of several dozen people swept into the city. Their leader was a man over fifty, with wrinkled skin and white hair. Qiu Susu was among the group. If Lu Dayou had been there, he would certainly have recognized the extraordinarily rude elder from Tianshui Sect.
But even his rudeness depended on who he was dealing with. Once they entered the city, he directed his people to fan out discreetly instead of acting too brazenly.
After searching for about half a day, they gathered again, shaking their heads.
The elder had no choice but to take Qiu Susu aside and pay a private visit to Su Wanjun. He explained why they had come, then asked whether a Medicine Master had visited.
He was rather reserved. After all, someone only twenty-five years old who had reached the Spirit Peering realm was intimidating enough. And Su Wanjun had Star Moon Pavilion backing her as well.
"I haven't seen any Medicine Master come into the city. What did he look like?"
Su Wanjun asked.
Qiu Susu stepped forward and quietly described Hanyu's appearance.
Cousin had just returned from outside, looking listless. Hearing the words "Medicine Master" made him perk up a little. Then, when he heard Qiu Susu's description, he realized it had to be Hanyu!
Before Su Wanjun could speak, he hurried over and said, "I've seen him. Two days ago, I went out for a stroll in the countryside and happened to run into him."
The elder's face lit up. He quickly pressed, "Where is he?"
Cousin pretended to recall and spoke haltingly. "At the time, there was someone surnamed Bao with him, fawning over him quite a bit. He said he wanted to invite him to Southern Border's Zhu You Sect."
"Did he go?"
The elder suddenly tensed. If Hanyu had gone, another trip all the way to Southern Border would be enough to wear him to the bone.
Cousin shook his head apologetically. "How could I have paid attention to that at the time? If that man who said he was surnamed Bao hadn't later mentioned wanting to invite him to Zhu You Sect as an elder, I wouldn't have taken any special notice. After all, it's pretty unusual to invite someone to come back and be an elder, isn't it?"
It wasn't unusual at all. The elder's face darkened. He hadn't expected Zhu You Sect to have taken an interest in Little Alchemist too. If they were offering a position like that, there was no guarantee Little Alchemist wouldn't be lured over.
He then forced a smile and thanked Cousin. After bidding Su Wanjun farewell, he hurried out of the residence with Qiu Susu.
Their disciples were waiting outside. Once the two came out, the elder said in a deep voice, "We're going to Zhu You Sect in Southern Border."
"Why did you lie?"
After they had left, Su Wanjun couldn't help shooting Cousin a disapproving look.
Cousin let out a scornful laugh. "A whole group of people like that didn't look like they were searching for someone. They looked more like they were looking for trouble. How could I let the Medicine Master get dragged into it?"
His words earned him another glare.
"Hah—ptooey!"
This time, the bottle was doing it for real.
This had happened two days later. The vast caravan lined up and slowly entered Tianning Prefecture after the Prefectural Guards inspected it.
He'd known the northern lands were vast, but he'd never expected there to be two whole days' travel between northern prefectures.
After the caravan found an inn to stay at, Hanyu slipped away in secret. He found a secluded corner, peeled off his beard, and instantly took on the appearance of yet another robust young man.
It was right then that the bottle caused trouble again.
Pure Yang Qi Fragrance Pill: The user gains a Pure Yang meridian physique. Side effect: the scent emitted by the body attracts the same sex and repels the opposite sex.
Hiss!
The bottle's standards had sunk even lower today.
"Bring it on. I have the Overseas Divine Skill to protect me."
Hanyu patted the thin book in his robes and calmly melted into the crowd on the street...
Bai Jingliang leaned listlessly against the railing, gazing down at the endless stream of people on the main road below.
The second floor of Joyous Guest House was bustling, but the noise couldn't disturb him as he sat there in a daze.
On the table sat an untouched feast of sumptuous dishes. Beside him was a man who looked to be in his twenties, with delicate features and a distinctly feminine air.
The man kept chattering on and on. Bai Jingliang acted as if he couldn't hear a word, simply resting his head on his arms.
Perhaps the man finally noticed. He leaned over, reached into Bai Jingliang's ear, and pulled out a wad of cotton. With a sigh, he said, "Brother Liang, why have you picked up this strange habit since you came back from the south? You stuff cotton in your ears every day."
Bai Jingliang only gave him a listless smile. "Shaoyang, what were you saying just now?"
Yin Shaoyang sighed again and was about to repeat himself when Bai Jingliang abruptly straightened up from the table. He rubbed his eyes, then looked startled.
"Shaoyang, go on ahead. I suddenly have something to take care of. That's it for now."
Before Yin Shaoyang could react, Bai Jingliang was already climbing over the railing and leaping down...
Before you continue