Split Up

After Bian Chunchou finished speaking, he smacked his forehead. "Oh no, I forgot to report to the sect and request the money for the spirit physician—one hundred Spirit Stones. That would've been enough for a trip to the Heaven-Shattering Sword Sect." If he'd had that money back then, perhaps he would already have joined the Heaven-Shattering Sword Sect. Though... he had no talent for swordsmanship.

Wen Xu had suffered hardship too. Even though he had money now, he still counted every coin carefully. "It's fine, I'll report it. After all, I count as their junior grand-uncle."

Bian Chunchou: ...Then perhaps they should forget it. Would the Divine Dragon Divine Venerable think his friend was too stingy?

Wen Xu noticed. "Chunchou, you seem especially respectful toward my master."

"Am I?"

"Just a tiny bit. At least more respectful than you are toward the sect master."

Bian Chunchou: Could those possibly be the same?! That was a Divine Dragon!

For the next three days, the heavens refused to cooperate. The three of them were stranded in the city for three days without hearing any news of Evil Cultivators being captured. On the fourth day, the skies finally cleared. After squatting in Yueyu Forest for another two days, they finally gathered ten jin of Moonlight Grass.

"Finally finished digging it up. I'm never taking another Moonlight Grass gathering job again." The task was not especially difficult, but it truly ground people down. With that time, he could have completed ten or so medicine-delivery errands.

Looking at it that way, the medicine-delivery mission at Listening Crane Manor was simply the king of cost-effectiveness.

They bundled up the Moonlight Grass and stored it all in Wen Xu's storage ring. Mission Two was finally completed perfectly. Next came the investigation mission, Mission Three.

Honestly, after that bizarre incident of "a man getting pregnant," looking at this investigation mission now made Bian Chunchou's back turn cold.

"Wen Xu-Xu, do you think the people in Mist Mountain Village getting pregnant one after another might be related to Evil Cultivator parasitism?" However, Mist Mountain Village lay west of Langyuan City, while Yueyu Forest was to the southeast. One was east and the other west—the distance between them was rather great.

Besides, the mission did not say that men were getting pregnant one after another. It could not possibly be such a coincidence, right?

If Bian Chunchou could think of it, Wen Xu naturally could as well. He was always extremely cautious in his actions, so he said, "I don't know, but it never hurts to be careful. Do you remember that pair who abducted people?"

"Of course I remember. They should still be sitting in the City Lord's Office prison, right?"

"Let's ask them which tea stall they encountered that pregnant man at."

That made sense. The three immediately headed back. With their identities as Yonglu Mountain disciples, there was practically nowhere in Langyuan City they could not enter. The moment Bian Chunchou revealed his identity, the yamen runners respectfully invited him inside.

"What do immortal masters want with those filthy scum? To be honest, they died two days ago."

Bian Chunchou was astonished. "Died? How did they die?"

"They suddenly dropped dead. Perhaps they committed too many evil deeds, and Heaven sent down its retribution. No one has claimed the bodies, so they have been left at the morgue for two days. If no one comes for them after a few more days, they can only be thrown into the mass grave."

Bian Chunchou immediately realized something was very wrong. Yet when he arrived at the morgue, let alone the bodies lying in state—even the entire morgue... was gone.

Well, damn. They had destroyed the evidence thoroughly. No wonder, with Yonglu Mountain's efficiency, there had been no news of any operation to arrest Evil Cultivators these past few days.

So there was a mole in the city.

"Then are we still doing this mission?"

Wen Xu's fingers could not help lightly tapping the tabletop, a small habit of his whenever he was thinking seriously. "We are. But... not with great fanfare."

"Then how do we do it?"

Wen Xu raised his head. "I've always felt that cultivators focus too much on cultivation and methods, and instead forget the simplest, most straightforward method."

"What?"

"Beggars." Wen Xu closed his eyes, and no one saw the churning emotions in them. "When there is the slightest stir in a place, the first to notice will never be ordinary commoners, nor will it be cultivators who hold themselves above others."

Split Up

Beggars were the impoverished people at the very bottom of society.

They lived by begging. They had no dignity, no place to settle, and most did not even have household registration. When a beggar died, they simply died. Even if they were beaten to death, no one would seek justice for them. Most were thrown into mass graves after death. The few fortunate ones merely managed to be buried in the earth.

When Wen Xu was young, he had seen far too many beggars die for no apparent reason. Precisely because he had seen so many, he understood that, because of their humble position at the bottom of society, beggars were the group best at reading expressions and sensing danger in this world.

Human lives were as cheap as grass, and beggars' lives were worth less even than grass.

Though the Cultivation Realm was blooming with splendor, this world would never lack poor people, nor beggars who lived by begging. Wen Xu had seen quite a few beggars in Langyuan City.

"You mean we should find beggars near Mist Mountain Village and ask them for information?"

Wen Xu shook his head. "There is no need to get too close. If Mist Mountain Village truly has some calamity, the beggars would certainly hide far away."

Bian Chunchou had been poisoned by television dramas for too long, and his way of thinking had not yet completely broken free of it. "But what if that Evil Cultivator is utterly vicious and captures beggars to feed the evil seeds of the Jade-Bone Albizia Tree?"

"They wouldn't." Wen Xu immediately denied it.

"What wouldn't they do?"

Wen Xu smiled. "Do you remember the man we saved? If he caught the eye of the brothel's thugs, he should have been fairly handsome, right?"

Bian Chunchou understood. "Damn, Evil Cultivators are being picky these days too? Look at how capable he thinks he is!"

What Wen Xu did not say was that beggars endured wind and meals in the open, never knowing whether they would survive the next day, their appearances disheveled and miserable. Even if an Evil Cultivator was not particular, they would not choose beggars as hosts for evil seeds. But there was no need to tell Chunchou that.

As for Chen Zui, he had no patience for thinking things through at all. Once he heard they merely needed to ask around for information, he immediately lost interest. By now, he had already gone out to practice with his saber.

The three returned to the city to rest and reorganize for half a day, then set out for the western side of Langyuan City.

Considering that Yonglu Mountain disciples' uniforms were far too conspicuous, and that Chen Zui was truly not cut out for gathering information, Bian Chunchou and Wen Xu decided to split up. Still, Bian Chunchou was somewhat worried about Wen Xu's eyes. "Do you really not need Chen Zui-Zui to go with you? How about we still act together?"