Luo Fire Mourning Feather

Luo Bin trusted his sense of smell. With Crimson, his five senses were naturally sharper than any ordinary Martial Master's, and this familiar faint fragrance...

What exactly was giving it off?

Carrying this doubt in his heart, Luo Bin entered the Chen Residence's main hall. The old man and the young woman weren't there; judging by the voices, they seemed to be talking in Chen Tianren's meeting room.

Luo Bin didn't disturb anyone. He sat down on the sofa by himself and sipped tea. Chen Jing, Chen Mansheng, and the others were likely resting upstairs. Only two maids in fashionable clothes were moving about, wiping dust off the floor and furnishings.

"Have either of you smelled a faint fragrance?"

The maids looked at Luo Bin in surprise, their faces blank. They sniffed hard and said, "Fragrance? What fragrance are you talking about, Young Master Luo?"

He asked three maids in a row and found that none of them seemed to perceive this faint, delicate scent at all. For some reason, every time Luo Bin smelled this fragrance, an inexplicable craving rose in him, as if he'd encountered some rare delicacy.

Suppressing his restless mood, Luo Bin returned to Qinghui Courtyard, changed his clothes, and walked out the main gate of the Chen Residence. The moment he stepped out, he spotted Liang Shuisheng pulling a rickshaw down the road, jogging toward him. The rickshaw carried no passengers, only a few bundles of various sizes that looked like luggage.

"Young Master Luo, I've come to throw myself on your mercy..." Liang Shuisheng ran up to Luo Bin and spoke first. After saying it, he felt a little embarrassed and scratched his head.

Luo Bin suddenly remembered Liang Shuisheng's terrifying stamina and endurance—he seemed perfectly suited for long-distance rickshaw pulling. And since he'd brought the rickshaw along, having him take Luo Bin to Yingshui Ferry again was undoubtedly a good choice.

It might be a bit hard on him, but based on Luo Bin's judgment of Liang Shuisheng, Ping City was twenty li from Yingshui Ferry. A slow jog wouldn't be too much trouble.

In truth, given Luo Bin's current standing in the Chen family, he could drive off a car without a word and no one would say anything. But that would be too conspicuous.

Right now, he just wanted to quietly figure out what that fragrance near Yingshui Ferry was—the one that seemed identical to today's scent...

"You came at just the right time. I'll take you to drop off your luggage at my place first, then you'll take me somewhere." Luo Bin said.

Liang Shuisheng scratched his head with a simple grin. Sweat from the road still glistened on his face, but his eyes burned bright. Without a word, he grabbed the rickshaw handles and followed.

Luo Bin led him around to a small side gate of the residence and into Qinghui Courtyard. The courtyard wasn't large, but it was a standalone unit, quiet and secluded. Luo Bin pointed to an empty room in the west wing.

"You'll stay here for now. Put your things down, change into something lighter, and leave the rickshaw in the yard."

Liang Shuisheng unloaded the luggage with quick, efficient movements. He pulled a half-worn gray cotton short-sleeved shirt from his bundle, changed into it, and parked the rickshaw steadily in the shadow of the wall.

The whole process took less than the time it takes to burn an incense stick. Silent, but carrying that sharp, practiced efficiency born of years of hard labor.

Luo Bin watched from under the main house's eaves. When Liang Shuisheng was done, he spoke: "Yingshui Ferry. Do you know the way?"

"I do!" Liang Shuisheng said immediately. "I've pulled the rickshaw there twice. Twenty li. I'll get you there within an hour!"

"No need to rush." Luo Bin sat down in the rickshaw. "Keep it steady. When we get there, I'll figure things out."

"Got it! Hold tight, Young Master Luo!"

Liang Shuisheng lifted the rickshaw, went out the small gate, and turned into the early morning streets. He didn't run fast, but his steps were steady and even, the carriage barely swaying. Luo Bin leaned back, closed his eyes to rest, but his nostrils fluttered slightly.

That faint fragrance... was very strange.

Extremely subtle, like wisps of silk tangled in the damp morning breeze. If his five senses hadn't been sharpened by Crimson and multiple breakthroughs, he would never have detected it. The farther they got from the Chen Residence's main hall, the fainter it became.

It was exactly the same as the one he'd smelled during the River God Festival—crisp and clear, with a hint of elusive sweetness. When it entered his lungs, it actually stirred the qi and blood in his dantian, stirring up an instinctive "craving."

Like a starving man smelling meat, or a drunkard catching a whiff of aged wine.

This was far from normal.

Ever since Luo Bin had obtained Crimson, his perception of heavenly treasures and high-energy blood food had far surpassed ordinary people's. But a "fragrance" that could trigger a resonance in his qi and blood... this was the first time.

Even stranger was that the servants at the Chen Residence hadn't noticed a thing.

This fragrance seemed to target only people like him... Martial Masters? Or perhaps only those who cultivated specific techniques, a certain kind of person?

As his thoughts churned, the rickshaw had already left the city.

On both sides of the official road stretched endless rice paddies. At this season, the seedlings were green, rustling in the wind. In the distance, a branch of the Li River gleamed like a silver ribbon under the morning light. As they neared the Yingshui direction, the faint fragrance from the Chen Residence had completely vanished, while the seemingly identical scent from the Yingshui side grew clearer.

Luo Bin suddenly opened his eyes. "Shuisheng, stop."

Liang Shuisheng immediately halted, parking the rickshaw steadily under a roadside tree. He turned back, his face questioning, but he didn't speak.

"Wait for me here." Luo Bin got out, his gaze fixed on the familiar riverbank a few hundred paces away—the site of the "River God Festival" a few days ago.

The altar had been dismantled, leaving only scorched marks. But the fragments of the "Fu River God" Spirit Shrine he'd kicked over were still piled messily by the river, blackened clay shards tangled with weeds, looking desolate and eerie in the morning light.

When he'd killed the Water Mountain Ghoul at the bottom of the river last time, he'd vaguely felt that stretch of water was "different." Deep in the ghoul's lair underwater, there seemed to be a heat hidden beneath the yin and filth, mixed with that faint fragrance.

At the time, after the fight, there were too many people around, so he hadn't looked into it further.

Now it seemed that deep in the Fu River, there might still be some secret connected to this faint fragrance.

The Fu River was a branch of the Li River. The water wasn't deep, but there were undercurrents, sinking sand, and the lingering yin and filth left by the Water Mountain Ghoul that had dwelled there for years.

Even if an ordinary person dived down, they'd find nothing. But Luo Bin was different. With his Phantom talent, the water was his home ground.

Still... in broad daylight, with Liang Shuisheng not far away, diving into the water rashly would draw too much attention.

Not to mention that this fragrance came so suspiciously—what if it was some kind of bait...

"Shuisheng." Luo Bin turned and walked back to the rickshaw.

"Young Master Luo?" Liang Shuisheng had been quietly guarding the rickshaw, his eyes alertly scanning the surroundings. Seeing him return, he quickly responded.

"Is there a place nearby with a high vantage point? Somewhere secluded."

Liang Shuisheng thought for a moment and pointed to a rolling hill to the east. "There's an abandoned brick kiln over there. It's high up and overlooks most of this riverbank. There was bandit trouble years ago, so the kiln was abandoned. No one goes there normally."

"Good. Let's go there."

The brick kiln was indeed long abandoned—half the cave had collapsed, overgrown with wild grass.

But standing atop the mound of earth above the kiln, the entire stretch of the Yingshui Ferry landing, the riverbank, the water's surface, and even the distant official road lay fully in view. Luo Bin had Liang Shuisheng keep watch below the kiln while he himself found a spot behind a shaded, broken wall and sat down cross-legged.

He needed to wait.

Wait for nightfall. Wait for a safer moment. At the same time, he also wanted to see whether this fragrance, besides drawing him in, would attract... something else.

The sun climbed higher, then slowly slanted westward.

Occasionally, a fisherman passed by the riverbank, and women came to wash clothes—nothing unusual. The faint scent lingered all the while, neither growing stronger nor fading.

Luo Bin had excellent patience. He circulated his cultivation technique, silently tempering his blood and qi. The perfected realm of the Golden Skin Pass grew ever more stable, and he even felt he had touched the barrier of the Jade Bone Pass.

During this time, Liang Shuisheng crept up twice—once to bring him sesame cakes wrapped in lotus leaves and some clear water, and once to report in a low voice that men dressed as Shuo Gang members had ridden along the river on patrol in the distance, but they hadn't stopped.

Luo Bin nodded, mentally noting another mark against the Jiang Family's movements.

Finally, evening came. No one remained on the riverbank.

A waning crescent moon rose, its clear light spilling across the river, the ripples shimmering like scattered silver.

Luo Bin stood and said to Liang Shuisheng, "Wait here. If I haven't returned by midnight, go back to the city on your own and tell the Chen Family at the Chen Residence that I'm at the Yingshui Ferry. Remember, unless I send a signal, no matter what you see, don't approach the riverbank."

Liang Shuisheng nodded heavily, his fist clenched tight. "Young Master Luo, please be careful!"

Luo Bin said no more. His figure swept down the mound like a night owl, and in a few bounds, he silently merged into the reeds at the edge of the riverbank.