The Vanished Xie An

When Zhou Yao entered the classroom, Liu Wenjun was already at her seat, diligently previewing her textbook.

Seeing Zhou Yao stroll into the classroom looking utterly lazy, Liu Wenjun raised an eyebrow and asked.

"What exactly did you go do yesterday when you asked me to request leave for you?"

"Of course, I went to save Yin Mountain City," Zhou Yao replied with grave seriousness.

Liu Wenjun was stunned for a moment, then rolled her pretty eyes. She paid no attention whatsoever to such nonsense and lowered her head to continue reading.

Zhou Yao smiled and did not explain further.

In a sense, he had not lied.

He had seen through the Yinshan Investigation Branch's scheme and tried to take the Mountain God Tablet from the Northern Yin Mountain Temple in advance. That truly had been saving Yin Mountain City.

Unfortunately, sometimes no one believed you even when you told the truth.

Zhou Yao took out the Mythology General Knowledge textbook from his desk and flipped through it casually, checking the information concerning the college entrance examination.

The Federation College Entrance Examination was three months away and divided into two major categories: cultural subjects and Mythology General Knowledge.

With Zhou Yao's original grades, he scored a little over five hundred in the cultural subjects, enough at best for an ordinary undergraduate university.

As for Mythology General Knowledge, Zhou Yao had scored a pitiful forty points.

In truth, given Zhou Yao's current knowledge, so long as he avoided the answers in the Mythology General Knowledge textbook that conflicted with what he knew before, he could definitely score far higher than that.

After the Mythic Return, much history and common knowledge had been redefined. The earlier "Holy Foreskin" was one such example.

If Zhou Yao answered according to the knowledge from his previous life, many of his answers would be marked wrong.

However, when Zhou Yao had first transmigrated here, he had deliberately concealed himself to avoid exposing anything unusual. During exams, he had intentionally answered some questions incorrectly.

But now that he understood the importance of the Five Great Academies, he naturally needed to accelerate his studies.

According to what Liu Wenjun had said before, scoring above eighty in Mythology General Knowledge gave one a chance of entering the Five Great Academies. Scoring ninety-five could even earn one a guaranteed admission slot.

To Zhou Yao, that was undoubtedly an immense temptation.

While Zhou Yao studied earnestly, on the other side of Yin Mountain City, the Yellow Wind Little Sage had already arrived at the Yinshan Black Market.

Upon entering the black market, the Yellow Wind Little Sage's first destination was naturally Fortune Shop.

He planned to ask Xie An for a written order, while also seeing whether he could sell off this batch of Mythic Materials he had acquired at Fortune Shop.

Yet when the Yellow Wind Little Sage reached Fortune Shop's entrance, he discovered that the little shop had closed at some point.

Its old wooden doors were tightly shut, with a sign reading "Temporarily Closed" hanging from them.

The Yellow Wind Little Sage stood at the entrance for quite some time, feeling puzzled.

His transaction with Xie An from several days ago had yet to be completed. Why had Fortune Shop suddenly closed?

As he lingered briefly, the Yellow Wind Little Sage suddenly sensed several invisible gazes cast at him from the shadows, carrying traces of scrutiny and ill intent.

The Yellow Wind Little Sage's heart tightened, and he immediately became alert. Rather than remain outside Fortune Shop, he turned at once and headed toward the other end of the black market.

The Yellow Wind Little Sage had previously sold two Rune Cores at a pawnshop. Since Fortune Shop was closed, he would simply go elsewhere. Before long, he found that pawnshop.

Golden Scales Pawnshop!

The pawnshop's storefront was not large, but it had an antique elegance to it.

The instant the Yellow Wind Little Sage entered, he sensed that two Mythic Walkers in black robes had followed him inside.

The auras around those two were cold and muddled. They clearly were no respectable Mythic Walkers.

The Yellow Wind Little Sage did not turn around. A faint breeze swirled around his body, turning him into a distorted blur of light and shadow that made it impossible to see through him.

After pondering for a moment, the Yellow Wind Little Sage took out the Frost Marrow Crystal and Earthflame Warm Jade, two materials without Mythic Traits, from Greedy Mouth and placed them on the counter.

Behind the counter sat an old man in brocade robes. His beard and hair were entirely white, yet he was full of vigor, and an exquisite golden magnifying glass hung from his chest.

The old man picked up the two materials and examined them carefully for a moment.

"Frost Marrow Crystal and Earthflame Warm Jade of Spiritual Dust quality. Their condition is not bad." The old man spoke slowly, his voice hoarse yet steady. "I value them together at twenty-three Soul Shards. Do you have any objections, sir?"

Twenty-three Soul Shards, if refined, amounted to roughly three hundred Mythic Factors. It was a fairly reasonable price.

The Yellow Wind Little Sage nodded, having no objection.

The old man took out an antique wooden box from beneath the counter. Inside lay twenty-three Soul Shards arranged neatly in rows.

Every Soul Shard was a rich gray, showing no signs of having been consumed.

After inspecting every Soul Shard and confirming that they were all full and undamaged, the Yellow Wind Little Sage put the entire wooden box into Greedy Mouth.

With the transaction complete, the Yellow Wind Little Sage did not linger and turned to leave Golden Scales Pawnshop.

The two black-robed Mythic Walkers who had followed the Yellow Wind Little Sage into the pawnshop immediately followed him out as well.

Inside the pawnshop, a burly young man emerged from the back room. Looking at the two black-robed figures' departing backs, he asked.

"Master Jin, someone actually dared to pull tricks at Golden Scales Pawnshop. Should we step in and teach them a lesson?"

The brocade-robed old man called Master Jin viciously smacked the young man over the head with his smoking pipe and cursed irritably.

"Idiot! Didn't you notice those two men's auras?"

The burly young man scratched his head honestly, his face blank with confusion.

"Auras?"

"Heh!" Master Jin sneered. With the smoking pipe clenched between his teeth and his eyes narrowed, he said, "They stink of carrion-eating stray dogs from the sewers."

He blew out a ring of smoke and spoke slowly.

"Those two are from the Nethernight Gang, a pack of hyenas the Yin Mountain Branch Office keeps in the black market."

"Yesterday, those people appeared at that Xie fellow's Fortune Shop and arrested quite a few Mythic Walkers connected to it.

"Today's customer may be connected to Fortune Shop. Coupled with showing off his wealth inside the pawnshop, that is why this pack of hyenas set their sights on him."

Master Jin shook his head and sighed.

"If they were just ordinary goods, it would not hurt to help send them packing. But it is best not to touch the Nethernight Gang's wild dogs, lest we provoke the Investigation Bureau behind them."

"These are troubled times. All we can do is protect ourselves."

Outside the black market, within the alleys of the old district.

Two black-robed Mythic Walkers hurried through a narrow alley, chasing the fleeting figure ahead.

Moonlight spilled over the dilapidated walls, stretching their shadows long. Their footsteps were light and swift; they had clearly received professional training and could maintain tremendous speed even in such complex terrain.

"Damn it! Why can this guy run so fast?" one of the black-robed men muttered, his breathing somewhat rushed.

"With such high vigilance, it looks like he has already discovered us."

"We had only intended to test him, but it seems we have hooked a big fish," said the other black-robed man, his deep voice tinged with delight.

"The deputy captain of the Investigation Bureau personally ordered the arrest of Fortune Shop's owner.

"Who would have thought that that useless man, who had always remained at Scavenger First Rank, had somehow completed his advancement? He even escaped successfully despite our encirclement."

"The big shots at the Branch Office flew into a towering rage and ordered us to find Fortune Shop's owner at all costs.

"Since this person stopped outside Fortune Shop, he must be connected to it. As long as we capture him, we may be able to follow the vine and find the melon, earning ourselves great merit!"

At that thought, neither black-robed man could conceal the joy on his face.

They accelerated, Mythic Factors circulating through their bodies and increasing their speed once more. Like ghosts in the night, they darted rapidly through the alleys.

After passing through another narrow alley, the sight before them made them freeze.

Ahead was a dead end.

A tall wall blocked the way, its surface covered in vines and moss.

The ground was piled with discarded junk that gave off a rotten smell. It was a completely sealed alley, with no exit other than the path they had entered through.

And the target they had tracked all this way was standing at the alley's end.

The distorted light and shadow gradually dispersed, revealing a small, round figure.

It was a yellow-furred little mouse that looked harmless to humans and animals alike. Its round eyes stared at them, while the corners of its mouth curled upward in an eerie smile.

"Could the two of you share a portion of that great merit with me?"

The next moment, a blade-like cold wind swept through the entire alley!