Hou Niao was a man who never left a grudge overnight. Well, the result was that he spent the whole night taking revenge.
Just as Rao Zongzhi had said, between friends, you gave me shoes, and I gave you a hat. Courtesy demanded reciprocity; it was fair and reasonable.
He needed someone who understood the Prince of Martial Accomplishment's Household, and Xiao Qiang was just right. As for morality, the cultivation world was not particularly strict about dao companions. It was perfectly commonplace. As the Dao Patriarch had said, among any three people walking together, one was bound to be my companion. More exchange was always a good thing.
After a night of weeding, he felt refreshed and invigorated. But when he walked into the Minister of Justice Prefecture with a face full of springtime triumph, he immediately learned what it meant that good fortune never came in pairs.
Judge Cheng summoned him. "There's a mission that requires you to make a trip to the Northern Lands."
Hou Niao was not particularly surprised. After resting for so long, it was about time he took his turn working. The Minister of Justice Prefecture did not keep idle hands, and it was acknowledged as the busiest of the three prefectures.
A jade slip was handed over. Assignments generally came with this sort of background briefing: the environment, the people, the tangled connections between factions, historical causes, and so forth. The Minister of Justice Prefecture was very thorough in this regard, helping cultivators quickly grasp the circumstances they would be entering and making it easier to complete their missions.
"Two months ago, something very interesting happened in a native tribe between the Yuanyi Mountains in the Northern Lands and the Yaoguang Mountains to their northeast. During one of the tribe's prayers, a Dao