In late July, a scallop-shaped flying boat descended into Broad Cloud Ward's air harbor, and an investigative delegation over a hundred strong emerged.
Dong Pengfei stood in the square below, watching the imposing delegation with decidedly mixed feelings.
At their head, surrounded by the others like a moon encircled by stars, was a stout, potbellied man in silver-and-black brocade robes. Though he looked fat-headed, big-eared, and bloated, his entire body had a strange bronze-and-iron quality. Clear signs of mechanical modification marked his exposed hands and half his face.
Dong Pengfei had read the delegation's information and knew this man was an administrative elder of the Hecheng Merchants' Association, with a cultivation level of Foundation Establishment.
His name was Chang Hao. Born with exceptional gifts, he had shown extraordinary promise from childhood. After fighting his way up through sheer strength to become the Hecheng Merchants' Association's Armaments Director, he had even commissioned a Grand Artisan to modify him, refining his body into a half-flesh, half-machine puppet with the grade of a four-star Battle Puppet.
Beside Chang Hao stood a man with red lips, white teeth, and alluring features, dressed as a woman in a long red gown.
Dong Pengfei knew this person as well. His name was Sang Chong, and rumor had it that he possessed a woman's heart in a man's body. He had been searching far and wide for a Grand Artisan to modify him, but dissatisfaction with every proposed plan had left him perpetually troubled.
He did not belong to the Hecheng Merchants' Association, but was the eldest son of He City's Sang Family. Though his unusual dress and temperament had long made him an outcast, after reaching Foundation Establishment, he had secured his position as a clan elder and wielded considerable influence. This time, he had come