Han Li finally returned toward evening and invited Naruto into the room.
Naruto and Han Li sat in chairs, with five others seated before them—the Five Friends of Meng Mountain.
They were the people they had encountered at the restaurant earlier, rogue cultivators at the Qi Refining Stage whom the Black Fiend Sect controlled with a Blood Curse.
One young man was recounting events at length, while the others occasionally added a few words. Naruto wore a thoughtful expression.
Gradually, Naruto gained a rough understanding of what had happened.
While investigating the prince's son and the steward of the Prince's Residence, Han Li had encountered the Five Friends of Meng Mountain in the countryside outside the city, where they had intended to ambush him. He had captured them alive and learned about the Black Fiend Sect.
Han Li had then successfully removed the Blood Curses the Black Fiend Sect had planted in their bodies, recruited them as allies, and brought them back to the Qin Residence.
He had not actually needed these five Qi Refining Stage allies, but deep down, he had other plans.
If the Seven Sects truly managed to withstand the Demonic Path's invasion and life returned to its former routine of cultivation, Han Li intended to find some people to collect pill formulas and medicinal ingredients specifically for him.
That way, he would no longer have to exhaust himself running from place to place. He could devote all his time to intensive cultivation, which would surely improve his progress considerably.
The Five Friends of Meng Mountain were neither too weak nor particularly powerful, making them ideal candidates.
That was why Han Li had kept them around, and he had no intention of using underhanded methods to force them under his control.
Still, Han Li knew his limits.