Swindling the Roster

"I'll await good news from Fellow Daoist Ye, then." Ning Suxin did not ask how Ye Tian planned to proceed. She merely nodded and asked whether he needed anything else.

Ye Tian shook his head. From the very beginning, he had never intended to impersonate Shao Zhang and contact Huang Zhongguan. For one thing, he did not know Huang Zhongguan's masked code name. For another, every withered bark mask had its own unique traits, impossible for others to imitate. If he rashly posed as Shao Zhang and contacted Huang Zhongguan, he could easily startle the snake in the grass.

Ye Tian's plan was, in fact, exceedingly simple. After taking his leave of Ning Suxin and her uncle, he returned directly to his own cave dwelling, took out the withered bark mask, put it on, and headed straight for the Fourth Elder's residence to find the cultivator named Huang Zhongguan.

The night was dark, and the cold wind howled past.

With the withered bark mask on, Ye Tian moved like a roaming dragon. Under cover of darkness, he evaded everyone's eyes and ears and crept alone toward the Fourth Elder's cave dwelling. When he arrived, he happened to see someone who had just finished tidying the Fourth Elder's residence and was outside closing its doors.

That person was none other than Ye Tian's target for this trip, Huang Zhongguan. Huang Zhongguan looked to be in his thirties or forties, somewhat plump, yet fair and clean-featured, with bright, keen eyes. It seemed Heaven was aiding Ye Tian: the Fourth Elder was not in the cave dwelling, and there was no one else nearby. Only Huang Zhongguan was present. Yet after leaving the Fourth Elder's residence and taking only a few steps, Huang Zhongguan suddenly halted.

"Who dares skulk about so furtively within