Missing

"Brother, how much is this gold-nurturing grass?"

"Two hundredths of a Spirit Stone per stalk. They're all two years old. Hey, don't touch if you're not buying!"

At an herb stall in the stall area of South Lake Market, the stallholder reached out and slapped the back of a scrawny customer's hand.

The customer, who looked like little more than skin and bones, hastily withdrew the hand he had been about to touch the spirit herb with, an embarrassed smile appearing on his face.

Another customer, a burly bald man, came up beside him and pointed at a pile of herbs on the stall, asking in a gruff voice:

"Brother, how much is this south scarlet grass?"

Seeing how burly the man was, the stallholder became a little more polite. "Twenty-six thousandths of a Spirit Stone per stalk. One year old."

The burly man frowned at this. "One year old? Too expensive! Will you take seventeen thousandths?"

"How much do you want? If you're buying a lot, we can negotiate."

The stallholder hesitated.

"I'll take everything on your stall. But wait here a while. I'll go back and get my Spirit Stones."

The burly man carried himself like someone with money to burn.

The stallholder immediately beamed. "All right! That price it is! I'll wait right here for you!"

"Good! Wait for me, and don't go anywhere."

The burly man turned to leave, but just before he did, he suddenly asked curiously:

"Oh, right. On my way here, I saw several immortals heading toward your South Lake Village. Did something happen over there?"

The stallholder shook his head. "I'm not too sure about that. I don't live around here, so how would I know?"

The burly man nodded, seemingly unconcerned, and was about to leave when the scrawny customer beside him spoke:

"I happen to know about that."

"Weren't the higher-ups going to excavate that Third-Rank Spirit Spring a while back? They sent out quite a few Servant Disciples. I heard the Sect has been rather short-handed lately, so they're planning to recruit more Servant Disciples. Those newly admitted disciples who haven't been assigned duties yet have all been settled in South Lake Village."

"The immortals probably came to keep these new Servant Disciples from getting unruly."

"So that's it. Thank you for clearing that up!"

Understanding dawned on the burly man, and he cupped his fist in thanks.

"You're welcome. I only heard it from an elder in my family. But South Lake Village will probably be bustling for a while. Settling so many people will take eight or ten days at least."

The burly man nodded, thanked him again, then hurried away.

Once he left the market, there was no one around.

Wang Ba frowned.

"That long? Now this is trouble!"

Indeed, the bald, burly man was naturally a disguise Wang Ba had fashioned to make gathering information easier.

But the information he had obtained was far from encouraging.

"Ten days... am I supposed to stay outside for ten days?"

"Then it won't just be the Immortal Ascension Society looking for me. If Steward Li or Niu Yong and the others come and can't find me, they might report it to the Sect. The Sect's people would launch a large-scale search too."

Could he evade a cultivator's search?

Wang Ba had no confidence at all.

Even if Yin Spirit Power could deceive others, how long could he sustain it without a large supply of Spirit Chickens to replenish it?

Besides, replenishment was nowhere near as fast as consumption.

"So I absolutely can't stay out in the wild... but the tunnel out of the Sect is right under a Foundation Establishment cultivator's nose now..."

Wang Ba sank into thought.

Once again, there were wolves ahead and tigers behind.

But there was no helping it. As a mortal, he was bound to face restrictions at every turn if he wanted to move around within the Sect.

At that moment, Wang Ba's desire to become a cultivator grew even stronger.

If he became a cultivator, the situation before him would naturally come apart like bamboo beneath a blade.

"Wait!"

"Become a cultivator?"

Just then, an idea that made him shudder suddenly leaped into his mind!

The more he thought about it, the more he felt that, dangerous as the idea seemed, it was probably his best option right now!

He rapidly thought it through, sorting through its possible flaws one by one.

Finally, Wang Ba made up his mind.

Maintaining his Yin Spirit Power, he ran swiftly toward Dingbaqi Manor.

That was right!

Dingbaqi Manor-the very manor under the Immortal Ascension Society's surveillance!

Along the way, he picked up the chicken manure buckets he had abandoned.

The sixth level of the Body-Strengthening Scripture gave him abundant stamina, speed, and recuperative ability, and he soon returned to the entrance of Dingbaqi Manor.

He took several deep breaths in succession, bringing his body back to its usual state.

Only then did he carry the chicken manure buckets into the area under surveillance.

The next second, his Yin Spirit Power spun rapidly.

But with his previous success to draw on, Wang Ba was much calmer this time.

It took him only a short while to return easily to Old Sun's room.

He stroked Jia Seven, using this to settle his nerves.

Then he restored his own appearance in his mind, disguising only his physical condition as that of an ordinary person.

He then strode out of Old Sun's room.

His Yin Spirit Power spun again, only much more slowly than when he had disguised himself as air.

It looks like the consumption of Yin Spirit Power really does depend on how difficult my disguise is.

Wang Ba quietly committed this discovery to memory.

Then he made a show of doing some random chores around the manor for a while before returning to his own room.

In the mountain hollow nearest Dingbaqi Manor.

Yu Changchun, who had been meditating with his eyes closed, seemed to sense movement. He opened his eyes and glanced at the image in the water mirror. Seeing that Wang Ba had returned to his room, he relaxed and soon closed his eyes again, slowly breathing in and out Spiritual Qi.

Monitoring Wang Ba and preventing secrets from leaking was certainly important, but as a cultivator, cultivation was his very foundation.

Yu Changchun understood this deeply.

Besides, he did not believe any Servant Disciple could resist the temptation of longevity.

Of those who endured hardship to come to the Sect and toil like oxen and horses, how many were not doing it for longevity?

Had his superiors not demanded surveillance to prevent the existence of the Immortal Ascension Society from being exposed, he would never have bothered staying here to watch a mortal.

"Three days at most. That boy will definitely come looking for me."

Yu Changchun sneered, then seemed to think of something. With a slight stir of his will, Old Hou's body beside him suddenly jolted, and a glimmer abruptly appeared in his eyes.

It was as though his whole being had come alive.

Only his expression remained somewhat blank.

Seeing Yu Changchun, the still-confused Old Hou hurriedly bowed, respectfully but clumsily. "G-greetings, Manager."

"Mm. No need for ceremony. Go about your work!"

Yu Changchun waved his sleeve.

"Yes, sir!"

Then, still muddleheaded, Old Hou stepped out of the area enclosed by the triangular flags. Seeing the surrounding scenery, he immediately looked bewildered.

"Huh? Why am I here... right, where's my donkey? Oh no! I still have chicken feed to deliver! That bastard at Ninety-Two Manor will start cursing again!"

With that, he hurried off to look for his donkey cart.

Early the next morning.

Wang Ba walked out of his room. Sensing the rotation of his Yin Spirit Power, he felt no surprise whatsoever.

That Yu Changchun really is still watching me.

Looks like he didn't discover that I slipped away yesterday.

Wang Ba now had a little more confidence.

But soon, early the following morning, his heart sank.

"You're saying Niu Yong has gone missing?"