Luring the Snake

Tu Gou sat by the roadside, racking his brains over where they could find someone from the Central Plains. Old Man Mu's acupoints had already been unlocked, and he kicked pebbles around listlessly while waving his newly purchased longsword and petulantly refusing to say a word.

Tu Gou was in a bind. He knew nothing about Jade City, and with no clue where to begin, he had dragged Old Man Mu around aimlessly for half the night before somehow wandering out of the city. The sky had only just begun to brighten, and apart from them, there wasn't another person in sight.

"Memorial halls, gambling dens, inns, taverns, Blacksmith Village, Swordsman Village..." Tu Gou repeatedly recited the places he had once visited, hoping to find a lead. After racking his brains for ages without coming up with anything, he turned and said, "Is roaming the martial world in the Western Regions really this troublesome? I thought it would be all about taking revenge and settling grudges with carefree abandon. In the end, it's not much different from the Central Plains—no, it's even harder. Back then, whenever I mentioned the Kongtong Sect, at least someone knew what I was talking about."

Old Man Mu snorted disdainfully and tilted his head toward the sky, pretending not to hear Tu Gou's complaints. But his urge to vent was so strong that his icy facade lasted only a moment. He darted in front of Tu Gou and said, "Taking revenge and settling grudges with carefree abandon—that was my life once. You're still a long way from it. First, you need to have the skill I possessed ten years ago. Second, you need to take things in stride. Your head is completely blocked right now..."

Tu Gou knew what Old Man Mu wanted to say