Friends, Know Any Connections?

That was it?

The merchant caravan auction rumored to hold countless treasures—this was it?

He had thought there might be pills that could revive the dead and regrow flesh from bone, or Immortal Treasures that could smash apart a mountain gate with a single throw.

Yet more than half of what the caravans presented were raw materials for pill refining and artifact forging.

Still, he had acquired some precious ingredients. He could take them back to replenish his father's vitality and help his mother whiten her skin and care for it. It barely counted as not having made the trip in vain.

Come to think of it, if an auction like this could produce the auspicious beast Cheng Huang, "riding which grants two thousand years of life," that would be truly unreasonable.

Wu Wang left the great tent somewhat disappointed. Lin Suqing followed behind, her arms full of storage artifacts, smiling like a peony in bloom while warily watching their surroundings.

Their group did not linger. They directly boarded the Frost Wolf carriage and raced toward the grasslands beneath the gaze of a street full of onlookers.

However, after they smoothly rendezvoused with the main party, Wu Wang made a decision that left the guards deeply anxious.

Wu Wang said, "You go back first and wait for me outside the Royal Court. I'm going back to the market we just visited for another look."

"Young Master, you're going alone?"

"How could that do? What if someone harbors ill intentions toward you, Young Master?"

"Young Master, at least bring some guards. If not, we can surround the entire market from a distance!"

"Keep a low profile. Don't panic."

Wu Wang smiled. "As long as no one recognizes me as the Young Master of the Bear Hug Tribe, there won't be any trouble."

Lin Suqing added, "If you're buying things, I can run errands for you, Young Master."

Wu Wang said, "I suddenly want to walk around somewhere crowded. Don't worry. Just obey."

The guards did not dare urge him further. By his order, they escorted the carriage away first.

To put them at ease, Wu Wang changed into a guard's outfit right in front of Lin Suqing.

While he changed, the old auntie covered her eyes with both hands, yet secretly peeked through her fingers several times. Her eyes brimmed with the gratified feeling of this child was practically raised by me.

Wu Wang: ...

Not a ripple stirred in his heart.

He removed his Beast Bone mask, thickened the Ice Crystal Film clinging to his skin to make himself appear thirty percent more muscular, then took out an Imitation Human Skin Mask he had bought years ago. He carefully smoothed it over his face like applying a facial mask, instantly turning himself into a rough-looking brute.

The most important part of disguise and changing clothes was actually concealing one's aura.

Wu Wang drew several talismans in the air, reducing the fluctuations of the Star Invocation Technique to their lowest point. He also sprinkled liquor over himself, deliberately disrupting the aura of his body's regular circulation.

To outsiders, he now looked like an authentic Northern Wilds burly man.

"Young Master~"

Lin Suqing transmitted, "How badly do you want to go out and have fun?"

Wu Wang shot her a glare and transmitted back, "Speak properly. How is this going out to have fun? This Young Master is merely adapting in advance to the chaotic environment outside."

Lin Suqing covered her mouth and giggled, her cheeks faintly red as her laughter gradually turned into a muffled "guh-heh-heh."

Everything was ready.

Wu Wang rode a giant wolf and quietly left the convoy. Halfway there, he found a secluded forest, changed outfits again, took out several inferior Spirit Cores to sell later, and headed back toward the market.

With the guards and attendants suddenly gone from around him, he felt as though the sky had opened and the clouds had parted within his heart.

Sigh, had it been easy for him?

For all these years, wherever he went, large groups of people followed him. Even when he shut himself away to cultivate in a wooden cabin, masses of guards filled a ten-mile radius around it.

Now, leaping on horseback—cough, leaping on wolfback—as he raced along, he suddenly felt the sky high and the air crisp, his heart open and his mind refreshed. The gale howled past his ears, and he felt like a ten-thousand-year avian Fierce Beast that had flown free of its cage, bursting into hearty laughter.

However, half an hour later, in the market's most bustling district—

Wu Wang held a pouch of loose coins he had just exchanged for and, somewhat disappointed, entered a busy restaurant before taking a seat in a private booth on the third floor.

This restaurant was considered the tallest building in the market. It had only three floors in total, but from his private booth, the distinctive tents of the Northern Wilds spread out beneath his gaze.

He had thought that a market would at least have some entertainment—ring tosses, archery, arrow pitching, perhaps song and dance performances.

But after wandering around, all he had seen were street stalls, and ninety percent of them sold three kinds of goods: ore, beast cores, and beast hides.

There was not the slightest bit of childish fun to it.

Moreover, Wu Wang suddenly realized he had developed a bad habit. Whenever he had nothing to do, he looked into the eyes of passing women, unconsciously comparing them to the pair of almond-shaped eyes he had seen in his dreams.

Once or twice was fine. But after doing it too often, he easily ended up making eye contact with women, making things slightly awkward.

A few older sisters had even given him suggestive looks!

The various Northern Wilds tribes were generally quite harmonious. In this market, one could see ninety percent of the Northern Wilds' races. Most had human forms while retaining more or fewer beastly traits.

For instance, several Rabbit-eared Girls wearing leather skirts and leather boots passed by the roadside. Their fluffy ears and little tails were rather adorable.

It was just that their pupils were blood-red, making them somewhat frightening to look at.

Almond-shaped eyes... almond-shaped eyes...

Wu Wang tossed the purse he had just exchanged to the waiter serving tea, telling him to judge the amount and bring some food. The waiter soon returned with a table full of meat dishes and several jars of fine liquor.

Wu Wang drank by himself, relaxed and content, his gaze continuing to sweep across the eyes of women coming and going.

He had actually already thought it through.

First, it was currently impossible to tell whether that dream was real or false.

If it truly had happened, there was nothing he could do now. He could only wait for the other party to come looking for him.

Before then, all he could do was become stronger, so that he could face all sorts of possible situations.

He did not have the slightest favorable impression of the figure from his dream.

Trapping him this way and preventing him from interacting with the opposite sex was unreasonable—abnormal!

Such tyranny could never be smoothed over simply because she was beautiful enough to topple cities and kingdoms. He, Wu Wang, would never just because she was as beautiful as an immortal—

Hm? Almond-shaped eyes?

Wu Wang instantly perked up and fixed his gaze on the long street outside the restaurant, just in time to see a pair of almond-shaped eyes looking upward.

They resembled them, greatly resembled them, but upon closer inspection, they were not the same.

The almond-shaped eyes he saw now were too cold and clear, and their pupil color was slightly lighter.

Before the other party's gaze could reach him, Wu Wang immediately withdrew his eyes. He had roughly seen that she was a woman from the Human Domain, dressed in a pure white plain skirt and wearing a bamboo hat and veil. She possessed cultivation, and it was not weak.

Behind her were more than ten figures, half men and half women, all appearing young and dressed in brocade robes and splendid skirts. Only one old Daoist in a blue Daoist robe trailed at the very back of their group.

His first impression of them was that they were disciples from some immortal sect of the Human Domain undergoing training.

But Wu Wang quickly discovered that the old Daoist's cultivation was merely average among them. The aura types of these cultivators were entirely different, while the strongest was the young female cultivator wearing both a bamboo hat and veil, revealing not the slightest scrap of skin.

Of course, she might only look young on the surface. If a female cultivator was ruthless enough with herself, she could be nearing the end of her lifespan and still have a face like peach blossoms, looking eighteen without a single line at the corners of her eyes.

For a specific example, refer to the old auntie, the Young Master's secretary.

That group entered the restaurant as well. They took several private booths by the window, produced a few jade coins to order tea, but did not order any food.

The waiter's eyes nearly rolled out of their sockets.

If Wu Wang's senses were correct, even the two weakest young cultivators in that group had already entered the Golden Core realm, though the auras around them were still somewhat unstable.

Were there really so many young Golden Cores in the Human Domain?

Wu Wang did not concern himself with them. He sat to one side, eating great mouthfuls of meat and drinking great mouthfuls of liquor while continuing to watch the people passing on the street.

Originally, he had no interest whatsoever in that group, until he heard a form of address that sounded strangely familiar.

"Senior Zuo Dong, why are you in such a hurry?

"We have traveled together all this way. We spent several months together aboard the Cloud Boat, and later we are all heading to the same destination. Why not continue traveling together, so we may look after one another?"

Zuo Dong?

Why did that name sound so familiar...

Wu Wang raised his head to look at the old Daoist, only to see a thin-faced man with white brows. His aura was peaceful and enduring. He smiled while speaking and occasionally cupped his hands in salute.

Not only did he lack a senior's airs, he was actually very respectful toward these young cultivators.

The old Daoist said, "This poor Daoist is truly worried about his disciple."

"Senior Zuo Dong," said a beautiful female cultivator dressed in colorful robes, her expression solemn, "your disciple is a cultivator of our Human Domain, trapped within a Northern Wilds tribe. This is also a matter in which we must lend our strength."

"I would not dare trouble you all, I would not dare trouble you all."

The old Daoist repeatedly waved his hands and said warmly, "For this poor Daoist to have been able to ride your Cloud Boat here to the Northern Wilds is already a blessing.

"You young friends have come under orders to discuss trade and exchange with the human tribes of the Northern Wilds. This poor Daoist is going to rescue his disciple. It is quite possible I will become enemies with them."

Bang!

A male cultivator in luxurious robes slapped the table hard and cursed, "These Northern Wilds are truly savage! Who knows what kind of torment Senior Zuo Dong's disciple has endured!"

"Exactly! If that Young Master of the Bear Hug Tribe truly, truly defiled your disciple, we must teach him a lesson!"

Pfft—

The cultivators were filled with righteous indignation when they suddenly heard that strange sound from beside them. They all turned their heads and happened to see a burly man holding a wine bowl and wiping his mouth.

"Cough, cough cough!"

Wu Wang coughed twice. The dozen-odd cultivators withdrew their gazes and continued discussing how they would teach a certain Young Master a lesson.

At that moment, a certain Young Master's expression was exceptionally colorful.

What was it like to be eating melon seeds, only to find the gossip was about yourself?

Wasn't this Daoist Zuo Dong the "my master, True Man Zuo Dong" mentioned by the old auntie?

This was too much. What were they all babbling about? What did they mean, consumed by lust? How had he become vile and shameless?

Had they investigated? Gathered evidence? And yet they were here spouting nonsense at the top of their lungs.

Sure enough, rich imagination and self-righteous justice did not exist only on Blue Star's internet.

Wu Wang secretly curled his lip, continued eating and drinking, and began carefully observing this group.

Daoist Zuo Dong had been persuaded to stay. He sat in the corner, somewhat restrainedly chatting with two or three young men beside him.

Wu Wang made a rough estimate. If this group truly went to the Bear Hug Tribe, as they claimed, to demand accountability, they could probably hold out at the Royal Court gates for—

Three—no, four breaths.

Among this group, the one who interested Wu Wang most was naturally the Plain Skirt and Bamboo Hat Woman.

She had likely already formed a Nascent Soul, instinctively making Wu Wang wary.

After covertly assessing her a few times, Wu Wang felt that this woman in a plain skirt and bamboo hat was like a pool of clear, rippling water.

Her posture was exceptionally upright. The curve of her back outlined by her long skirt displayed a woman's softness, and her legs were quite slender. Judging from her back alone, she was already a rare beauty.

As for the seven or eight male cultivators, four or five of them occasionally glanced her way.

That feeling of wanting to draw her attention yet not daring to approach made Wu Wang feel as though he had returned to his middle school days in his previous life.

Judging by their behavior, they really were a group of young cultivators.

In particular, Wu Wang did not even need to exert any effort. In their conversation, these people revealed their upcoming itinerary and the reason they had come to the Northern Wilds.

It left Wu Wang, who had just decided to gather intelligence on them, with no sense of accomplishment at all.

They had come aboard a Cloud Boat, spending only a little over three months on the journey. They came from different immortal sects in the Human Domain, and had arrived in the Northern Wilds for a trial.

The trial was divided into two parts. Their first objective was to give gifts to the Wave Tribe and the Bear Hug Tribe, human tribes of the Northern Wilds, establish friendship with them, and preferably exchange for a batch of Treasure Materials for artifact forging.

Their second objective was to enter the Blood Soil Forest of the Northern Wilds, hunt a Fierce Beast five thousand years old, and bring back its Spirit Core.

After completing this trial, they would be able to formally join a certain organization.

With the Plain Skirt and Bamboo Hat Woman among them, they would have no difficulty fighting a Fierce Beast five thousand years old. The trial was not particularly difficult.

As Wu Wang lowered his head to drink, he pondered briefly, then soon sighed inwardly.

In order to temper these outstanding Human Domain talents, to let them experience the hardship of trials so they could grow from it, he decided...

The moment he returned, he would send someone to notify the Wave Tribe: whenever they saw this lot, drive them to the Bear Hug Tribe!

Hadn't these people been having a wonderful time cursing that "lecherous" Young Master?

Heh. Hehehe.

Above the heads of these Human Domain prodigies on the restaurant's third floor, bright red characters spelling danger seemed to appear one after another.

Just then, two light laughs came from outside the window. A figure leaped directly in from the street through the window, laughing as he said:

"Why didn't you fellow Daoists wait for this poor Daoist?"

The dozen-odd people, who had been talking animatedly, all frowned in unison. Several female cultivators immediately placed the artifacts and belongings they had casually been carrying onto the empty seats beside them.

Wu Wang glanced at the newcomer, feeling slightly puzzled.

He was a rather handsome young male cultivator, with sword-like brows, starry eyes, sharply defined features, a tall and slender build, and a well-proportioned physique. A faint fragrance even lingered around him, and his cultivation was indeed quite formidable.

Second only to that woman in the plain skirt and bamboo hat.

Yet this fellow seemed to have terrible relations with the others. The male cultivators acted as though they had not seen him, while the female cultivators behaved as if they had not heard him. Not a single person invited him to sit.

It was still old Daoist Zuo Dong who stood and smiled. "Fellow Daoist Ji, if you do not mind..."

"No need, Senior. Please remain seated!"

The male cultivator surnamed Ji cupped his hands in thanks, then gave a hearty laugh and walked directly toward the female cultivator in the bamboo hat and plain skirt... toward Wu Wang behind her.

Six black dots popped up across Wu Wang's forehead in succession. The male cultivator had already sat beside him and cheerfully laughed.

"Friend, I have come from afar and heard that the humans of the Northern Wilds are especially hospitable. Today, I have already felt the winds of the Northern Wilds. Might I ask you to treat me to a cup of Northern Wilds wine?"

"Friend, please!"

Wu Wang roughened his voice and generously made an inviting gesture. His response was natural enough.

The young cultivators glanced over several times, but said nothing. Their conversation merely became less cheerful than before, and their voices lowered somewhat.

"Friend."

A strand of transmitted speech suddenly slipped into Wu Wang's ear, coming from the male cultivator surnamed Ji beside him.

"No need to speak aloud. This poor Daoist wishes to ask around. If the answer is yes, blink. If you do not know, smile. There will naturally be a reward afterward."

Wu Wang gave a slight nod, a faint smile appearing at the corners of his mouth.

The male cultivator surnamed Ji transmitted, "Friend, a local?"

Wu Wang blinked.

"I have brought some money, yet suffer from having nowhere to spend it. I heard the women of the Northern Wilds have waists beyond compare, and I too would like to admire them."

The male cultivator surnamed Ji calmly produced a folding fan and lightly waved it in his hand. On the surface, he fully deserved the title of a refined young gentleman in a muddied world, but in private, he asked:

"Know any connections?"