The Gathering

The news that someone had deliberately lured the Dark Gold Red Tiger off the cliff caused an uproar among the Firewood Gang's higher-ups as it made its way up the chain. They ordered a thorough investigation to find the culprit.

In the end, the two Market Masters stationed at Emerald Cloud Valley came forward. Using the exact spot where the Dark Gold Red Tiger had fallen, they led people to investigate the main cause of its fall from the top of the cliff.

Only then was the reason the Dark Gold Red Tiger had fallen finally brought to light.

Someone had gone to great lengths to set a trap above the cliff, and the method was extremely clever.

They had built a flat platform jutting out over the cliff, placed a live sheep on it, and cut several wounds into the animal to use the smell of blood to lure nearby monsters over to feed.

Except for the spot where the live sheep was placed, the platform was hollow underneath. The moment a monster lunged for the sheep in the trap, it would lose its footing and fall off the cliff.

This also explained why the Dark Gold Red Tiger had fallen off the cliff for no apparent reason despite having decent night vision.

"Now that I think about it, this was a plan prepared in advance and carried out with careful intent."

When Shen Mu heard about it from the other Guardians, he couldn't help furrowing his brow.

If the other party had only wanted to secretly pick Origin Mulberry Fruit, there would have been no need to make such a big commotion.

They could even have simply lured an unranked monster off the cliff; that alone would have been enough to stir up trouble in Emerald Cloud Valley.

Shen Mu guessed that the person who had set the trap had probably intended, at first, to use it to lure in an unranked monster.

While chaos spread through the valley, they could take the opportunity to sneak in and steal Origin Mulberry Fruit.

But they hadn't expected their trap to attract a Dark Gold Red Tiger looking for food, causing the Firewood Gang enormous losses.

Meanwhile, the people who had set the trap hadn't sat idle, either. While the Dark Gold Red Tiger drew everyone's attention elsewhere, they still chose to take the risk and sneak into the valley from above the cliff to steal Origin Mulberry Fruit...

All the Guardians were busy dealing with the aftermath of the Dark Gold Red Tiger's rampage. It never crossed their minds that a group of uninvited guests had entered the valley.

"Those guys really took the art of making a diversion to the extreme."

Shen Mu had to admit it was a plan that required the least investment yet promised a huge payoff.

Everyone had been distracted by the Dark Gold Red Tiger. Who could have guessed that someone would sneak into the valley to steal Origin Mulberry Fruit at the same time?

They hadn't even had to pay much of a price. All they needed was a live goat to set the trap.

But so many Origin Mulberry Fields had been picked clean. It must have taken a lot of people to pull that off.

As long as they were from Cloud Dragon County, who could guarantee that none of them would let the secret slip?

Once the stolen Origin Mulberry Fruit appeared on the market, the Firewood Gang could follow the trail and uncover the mastermind behind this upheaval!

Still, Shen Mu didn't particularly care about any of that. He immersed himself in cultivation again, digesting monster meat to build up his blood qi.

"Gurgle, gurgle~"

Several days passed. After Shen Mu finished practicing the Army-Breaking Saber Technique once more, his stomach rumbled.

"I've digested another two pounds of monster meat."

Shen Mu felt a little pleased, and his gaze fell on the two pounds of Dark Gold Red Tiger meat.

"Let's see what the difference is between meat from a first-rank monster and meat from an unranked one."

Shen Mu gave the Dark Gold Red Tiger meat a quick boil, then began to feast.

Perhaps he had grown accustomed to eating his meat raw and bloody. He no longer found the bloody smell as off-putting as he had at first. And since he had salted the meat beforehand, it actually tasted even better.

Once he had eaten the two pounds of Dark Gold Red Tiger meat, a powerful feeling of fullness washed over him.

At the same time, Shen Mu could clearly feel that the Dark Gold Red Tiger meat had restored much of the energy he had spent practicing the Army-Breaking Saber Technique.

"Could it be that first-rank monster meat helps people in the Boiling Blood Stage recover their strength faster, giving them more energy for body tempering and martial arts practice?"

"I wonder how much blood qi first-rank meat can provide."

"But I doubt two pounds of first-rank monster meat could provide more blood qi than ten pounds of unranked monster meat. Otherwise, everyone would just buy first-rank meat."

Shen Mu thought to himself.

First-rank monster meat cost five times as much as unranked monster meat. How could an ordinary family afford to spend like that?

Shen Mu estimated that if two pounds of first-rank monster meat could provide as much blood qi as five pounds of unranked monster meat, that would already be quite good.

Once he was full, Shen Mu picked up Moon Embroidery and walked out of the Bamboo Shed, ready to begin another round of body tempering.

But just as Shen Mu finished practicing the Army-Breaking Saber Technique once and lay down on the grass for a short rest, Wei Bo came looking for him.

"Brother Shen, practicing the Army-Breaking Saber Technique again?"

Wei Bo called out to Shen Mu with a smile from a distance.

Shen Mu had entered the valley only two months ago and had already smoothly advanced to the second level of the Boiling Blood Stage. There was no doubt that he had earned Wei Bo's respect.

At Shen Mu's cultivation speed, he might well reach the third level of the Boiling Blood Stage and catch up to Wei Bo in just another three months.

"Brother Wei, what brings you over?"

Shen Mu stood up and asked, "Is something the matter?"

Meeting Shen Mu's puzzled gaze, Wei Bo got straight to the point. "Incense Master Ren has come to Emerald Cloud Valley."

"Incense Master Ren?"

Shen Mu froze, surprised. "What did he come to Emerald Cloud Valley for?"

Wei Bo said, "You've probably heard about the circumstances surrounding the Dark Gold Red Tiger's fall into Emerald Cloud Valley a few days ago, right?"

Shen Mu nodded, waiting for him to continue.

"With the Dark Gold Red Tiger falling off the cliff, the Firewood Gang has suffered enormous losses. The stolen Origin Mulberry Fruit alone is estimated to have cost us tens of thousands of silver taels. Compensation for the gang members injured by the tiger will also run to tens of thousands of silver taels."

"Now, not only do the higher-ups know about this, but the other eight major factions are treating it as a topic of conversation over tea."

"The gang leader has ordered us to find the mastermind within a month, to make an example of them!"

"As the person chiefly responsible for Emerald Cloud Valley, Incense Master Ren has naturally been put in charge of investigating the culprit."

After explaining, Wei Bo continued, "Incense Master Ren has summoned all the Guardians in the valley to the entrance. He says he has something to announce. I was sent to notify everyone."

Shen Mu asked, puzzled, "The culprit is an outsider. Why summon us Guardians?"

"I have no idea."

Wei Bo shook his head, then glanced at the bare Origin Mulberry Fields and made a strange face. "Maybe he thinks we have too much free time?"

The corner of Shen Mu's mouth twitched. He immediately guessed why Ren Yunzhao had summoned the Guardians.

With the Origin Mulberry Fruit stolen, the Guardians in Emerald Cloud Valley had nothing to do.

In the past, they could use guarding the Origin Mulberry Fields and preventing thieves from sneaking into the valley to steal the fruit as an excuse to focus on body tempering and building their blood qi every day.

Now that all the Origin Mulberry Fruit had been picked—especially since thieves had taken it all—the higher-ups were probably already annoyed just looking at the Guardians. There was no way they would let them collect their pay for doing nothing.

"Looks like if the higher-ups don't have anything to do, they'll find something for everyone else to do."

Shen Mu sighed inwardly.

"Brother Shen, I still have to notify the other Guardians. If you're free, head over as soon as you can."

Wei Bo waved and said no more, then hurried toward the Bamboo Shed where the next Guardian was staying.

Watching Wei Bo's retreating figure, Shen Mu put on his clothes and headed toward the entrance of the valley.

He was curious, too, about why Ren Yunzhao had summoned all the Guardians.