"She Isn't a Geisha?"

"Mm."

Chen Qiu nodded. While Fat Dragon stood there in a daze, he changed clothes, tied a strip of cloth tightly around his waist to make them fit better, then said casually, "I've basically spent all my Spirit Stones. Only three are left."

"If you spent all your Spirit Stones, you might even break through to the Eighth Level of the Qi Refining Realm."

"What's so surprising about that?"

"That was more than thirty Spirit Stones!" Fat Dragon said, unable to stop his heart from aching. "Brother Chen Qiu, didn't you struggle with yourself before spending them? You spent them so decisively? You should've hesitated for a while, at least!"

"Hesitated?"

After tidying up his clothes, Chen Qiu walked over to the red table. He poured himself a cup of cold tea and drained it in one gulp, then, still not satisfied, put the spout directly into his mouth. Only after finishing an entire pot of cold tea did he wipe his mouth in satisfaction and set the teapot aside.

"The Huang Family has people blocking the city gate. If I hesitated at a time like this, was I supposed to let the Spirit Stones be buried with me?"

"Forget that. You said something big had happened. What is it?"

"Huff!"

At the mention of this, Fat Dragon took a deep breath. He too sat down at the red table, dipped a finger into the teapot, and began writing on the tabletop with tea water. "The Huang Family is a fairly well-known force in Windward City."

"The Lineage's business is the mines in the surrounding area."

"The family head is a cultivator at the Sixth Level of the Foundation Establishment Realm. This time, the Huang Family's Seventh Elder is leading the revenge party. He's at the Eighth Level of the Qi Refining Realm, with six or seven thugs around the Fifth or Sixth Level of the Qi Refining Realm."

"They've loudly announced that they intend to kill us and avenge the Huang Family's young master."

"But according to inside information I obtained, this Seventh Elder at the Eighth Level of the Qi Refining Realm won't immediately move to kill us. The Huang Family's main objective this time is to use our hands to get rid of these six or seven thugs."

"These thugs joined the Huang Family years ago, but they spent all their monthly pay supporting their families and refused to spend even a little on cultivation. So many years have passed, yet their strength hasn't improved. They've gradually grown old, their physical condition is far worse than before, and their combat power has fallen considerably from their younger days."

"This resulted in the Huang Family paying these people the monthly wages of Sixth Level Qi Refining Realm cultivators, while these people could no longer provide the strength expected of Sixth Level Qi Refining Realm cultivators."

"But it wouldn't be appropriate to drive them out directly. After all, these people had given almost half their lives to the Huang Family. Driving them all out would chill the hearts of many below. So, the Huang Family plans to use this opportunity to have them all die by our hands, then have the Seventh Elder bring our heads back."

"The Huang Family doesn't provide death benefits."

Fat Dragon took another deep breath before continuing, "At the same time, I learned a heaven-shaking secret. The Huang Family actually doesn't want to come seek revenge, because the Huang Family is at a crucial moment right now!"

"One of the Huang Family's mines is about to reveal a great opportunity!"

"Apparently, it's a random Heavenly Dao Trait."

"And a major reason the Huang Family has to seek revenge is that if they remain still, others will easily grow suspicious. So they had no choice but to make a trip to Heaven-Question Market. They even brought the weakest batch of Huang Family thugs, killing two birds with one stone!"

"Besides that, the Huang Family sent people here for another reason. Heaven-Question Market is the largest market within a hundred-mile radius, and also the strongest force near Windward City. By using revenge as a pretext to hire many people to watch the city gate, they can determine whether Heaven-Question Market knows this information."

"After all, Heaven-Question Market's leader is in the Golden Core Realm. If that person wants this Heavenly Dao Trait, the Huang Family can only offer it up with both hands."

"But—"

Fat Dragon paused, his expression grave. "In truth, quite a few forces received the news in secret long ago and have already sent people to Windward City. Do you remember that opera troupe from the capital that entered the city last night?"

"The geisha whom some important figure from the capital supposedly offered three Spirit Stones for, yet she still refused to sell herself."

"That geisha is from the Flower-Offering Sect."

"That day, huge crowds gathered at Windward City's eastern gate, and the scene was extremely chaotic. Even the Huang Family failed to realize that quite a few people had secretly slipped into Windward City. And the reason the Heavenly Dao Secret Realm suddenly opened near Windward City last night wasn't a coincidence either—it was drawn by the Heavenly Dao Trait!"

"Brother Chen Qiu!"

"Do you understand now?"

"Before long—perhaps even today—a great battle will break out in Windward City, and it seems we've been swept into it!"

"..."

Chen Qiu, seated before the red table, had gone from bewilderment at the beginning to expressionless silence by the end. After Fat Dragon finished, he paused for a moment before asking quietly, "Brother Fat Dragon, tell me honestly. Could you find out this sort of intelligence at a tavern or teahouse?"

He knew Fat Dragon had a knack for gathering intelligence.

But he hadn't expected Fat Dragon's intelligence-gathering ability to rival the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

"Of course not."

Fat Dragon shook his head. "I used several methods, including going to Under-Heaven Pavilion, a shop that specializes in selling intelligence, to buy information. Then I observed which forces sent people to Under-Heaven Pavilion to purchase intelligence, and where those people went afterward."

"And I gathered rumors circulating about Windward City, compared what was different these days from before, and used other methods as well. This intelligence is the result of putting everything together."

"It has an eighty percent accuracy rate."

"You spent Spirit Stones?" Chen Qiu nodded in understanding.

"I did."

"How much?"

"I spent them all."

"..."

Chen Qiu fell silent again, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly. "Didn't you have fifteen Spirit Stones in your pocket? Didn't you just ask why I spent mine so decisively, saying I should at least hesitate for a while? It doesn't look like you hesitated much either."

"Bullshit!"

Fat Dragon's expression turned ugly. "The Huang Family is already blocking the city gate. If I hesitated now, was I supposed to let the Spirit Stones be buried with me?"

"Not bad."

Chen Qiu nodded. After pondering for a moment, he said quietly, "This is good news for us. At least it can give us a period of respite."

What he needed most right now was a period of respite. As long as he had time to cultivate to the Foundation Establishment Realm and learn a few spells, wiping out the Huang Family would take no more than the blink of an eye.

But.

Heaven seemed unwilling to grant his wish.

Bang, bang, boom!

After two crisp knocks, a tremendous crash followed, and the door was kicked straight open.

A tall woman in a rouge-colored long dress, holding a round fan and wearing a red veil, sauntered into the room with two burly men. Fat Dragon, who had been about to rise and open the door, froze in place.

"You're the Sky-Blasting Gang's outer sect elder, aren't you?"

Casually playing with the round fan in her hand, the woman looked at the frozen Fat Dragon with amusement in her eyes. Her laughter chimed like silver bells. "Meeting again, and you've already become an elder. I wonder if your esteemed sect is still recruiting?"

"May I join?"

"..."

After a long silence, Fat Dragon turned to Chen Qiu. "This is the geisha from that opera troupe in the capital I was just telling you about."

"You two know each other?"

"Mm. I hired her before."

"Isn't she a geisha?"

"She's lying. It's to sell herself at a higher price."

"The rumor that some important figure in the capital offered three Spirit Stones and she still refused to sell herself was also my idea back then."