At the same time, in a private room at an inn in Sunset Glow Town, 200 li away, three Wandering Knights dressed in short martial outfits were passing cups and drinking wine.
Tossing a fried peanut into his mouth, one of the Wandering Knights wearing a blue headscarf chewed twice before speaking. "Da Leng, did you cast your net yet?"
The Wandering Knight called Da Leng breathed out a mouthful of alcohol, poured himself another cup, and said, "Nonsense! It was Ba Tou's order. Would I dare not obey? I sent out all the eyes under me two days ago—not one was left behind."
"Good. Third Brother seems pretty concerned about this matter. Us brothers had better make sure we perform neatly."
"Don't worry, brother. I know it as clearly as a mirror." Setting the Wine Gourd back in the middle, Da Leng's eyes rolled around as he lowered his voice. "Hey, did either of you find out what the fugitive did? Why are they making such a huge fuss over it?"
The Wandering Knight who had remained silent all along curled his lips and nudged his wine cup forward.
Da Leng understood at once. He hurriedly picked up the Wine Gourd and filled the man's cup. "Xie Zi still has the most information, huh? Hurry, tell us two. What word did you hear?"
Nodding in satisfaction, Xie Zi picked up his full cup and took a sip. "I'm only telling you because we're good brothers. Don't go spreading it around."
"Rest easy!" Da Leng thumped his chest and shouted. "The two of us are famous for keeping our mouths shut. Just spit it out already."
"Fine, fine. Gather closer, and I'll tell you." Xie Zi beckoned to them.
Da Leng and the other Wandering Knight readily complied, immediately leaning in close.
Having put on enough airs, Xie Zi stopped whetting their appetites. With a mysterious look, he whispered, "I heard Gu Oldest ran into trouble."
"Gu Oldest!?" Both men were startled. Da Leng immediately pressed, "Even Gu Oldest's skills weren't enough to avoid running into trouble? Did he run into some sect's expert?"
"Isn't that what we're investigating? But I heard there wasn't much of a conflict, so we're mainly gathering information first. We need to figure out the other side's background."
"Tut, tut. This really isn't a small matter. I need a drink to calm myself." As Da Leng spoke, he raised his cup and drained it in one gulp. "But I heard Gu Oldest is an eighth-stage Mystic Practitioner expert. Someone who could make him run into trouble... must be at least a Mystic Master, right? And they want us to investigate someone like that... this...?"
To Da Leng, someone at Qi Refining was already an incredibly formidable figure. As for Mystic Practitioners, Mystic Masters, and Great Profound Masters beyond that, they were beings to be worshipped on bended knee. Mystic Spirits and Profound Kings at an even higher level were completely beyond reach.
So, upon hearing that the gang had provoked someone suspected to be a Mystic Master, he immediately felt his heart beat like a drum.
"Why the hell should we fear him?" The blue-headscarf-wearing Wandering Knight slapped the square table. "Our Gang Leader is a Great Profound Master!"
"But that person might be one too. We can't be sure."
"Heh." Xie Zi suddenly gave a derisive snort.
The two men looked at Xie Zi at the same time and asked, "What are you laughing at?"
Xie Zi shook his head. "I'm laughing because you're still too young."
"Oh? How so?" Da Leng asked as he poured Xie Zi another cup of wine.
"Do you really think the Yellow Gang could take root in the Jiangbei Region and flourish like a fish in water within two years just because it had a Great Profound Master as its Gang Leader?"
"This..." Da Leng drew in a breath, feeling that Xie Zi's words made a great deal of sense.
Jiangbei was filled with sects, and the disciples within them loved nothing more than upholding justice and roaming the land as heroes. If the Yellow Gang's foundation had not been deep enough, it would have been uprooted long ago.
"Brother, I truly admire your insight, Xie Zi. Amazing, amazing! Hurry and tell us two—who exactly is behind the Yellow Gang?"
"That, I don't know." Xie Zi answered bluntly, but after finishing the wine in his cup, he added, "Still, I can be certain that their background is absolutely not small."
"What do you mean by that?" the blue-headscarf-wearing Wandering Knight hurriedly asked.
"Well..."
The moment he saw Xie Zi playing coy again, the blue-headscarf-wearing Wandering Knight grew anxious. "This round of wine is on me! Big Brother, hurry and tell us."
"Hahaha, Bie Niu really knows how to handle things. Then I'll give you two a proper explanation." As Xie Zi spoke, he rolled up his sleeves and braced his right hand against the table. "Have you heard of Luo Yan Wu-Shen Tingyun and Duan Shan Zhang-Lin Yunjian?"
"No." The other two shook their heads together.
"Tsk." Xie Zi shook his head. "You two are terribly ill-informed. How are you going to get by out there in the future?"
"Isn't that why we have you, Xie Zi? Hurry up and tell us."
"If you haven't heard of those two, you know the Ding Tian Sect and Wen Shi Valley, right?"
"I know those two!" Da Leng quickly answered. "They're famous sects over in East Prefecture. I heard they have many Experts."
"Right. At least you have a little knowledge. Shen Tingyun and Lin Yunjian are disciples of those two sects, and despite their young age, they made names for themselves in the JB District. Their futures could be said to be limitless. But now..." Xie Zi made a throat-slitting gesture. "Both of them are already..."
"Dead!?" Bie Niu asked in shock.
"That's right. And do you know why they died?" Seeing the two shake their heads, Xie Zi continued, "It was because they meddled in the Yellow Gang's affairs!"
"Whoa!" Da Leng cried out, instantly energized. "Our Yellow Gang is that powerful?"
"I'm afraid it isn't our Yellow Gang that's powerful, but the force behind it. So I'm guessing our Yellow Gang is bait released by some Great Demonic Cult, specially used to hook those elite disciples who think themselves above all others and are astonishingly gifted. Then, once the time is ripe... kill them!"
"Th-this..." Bie Niu immediately began to stammer. "If we kill the elite disciples of those great sects, won't those great sects send people to cause trouble for our Yellow Gang?"
"Cause trouble, my ass!" Xie Zi laughed disdainfully. "The people who killed them weren't members of the Yellow Gang. Remember, our Gang Leader is only a Great Profound Master. How could he possibly dare provoke those great sects? If those great sects insist on slaughtering us, then they'd be indiscriminately killing innocents. How would they be any different from the Demonic Sect? All right, all right, that's all I'm saying. You can figure out the rest yourselves. Remember, don't spread it around. I came up with all this myself, so it might not be accurate. Spread nonsense carelessly, and you might lose your head."
"Understood, understood. Ah, Big Brother really sees through everything. I didn't understand any of it at all. Come, drink, drink."
With that, the three brothers resumed passing cups and exchanging drinks.
Knock, knock, knock.
As the three drank until their heads swayed, a sudden knock sounded at the door.
"Who is it?" Bie Niu called out.
"Boss, it's me, Dou San. I've brought news."
"Come in."
With a creak, the private room's door was pushed open. Dou San entered from outside, repeatedly cupping his hands in salute. "Oh my, all three Bosses are here. This lowly one greets you all."
"Talk." Bie Niu said directly.
"Right away. Tian Shu just sent word that he saw six people enter the town. They were all wearing Straw Hats, and their features matched what the Bosses described."
"Oh? Where!?" Bie Niu's eyes lit up.
Elsewhere, Li Fucheng and the other five were searching all over Sunset Glow Town for somewhere to rest.
"Young... ah, Senior Brother, these Straw Hats are too ugly, and they're really uncomfortable to wear." Tang Tingshuang said with an awkward expression.
Li Fucheng first looked around. Only after confirming that they had not drawn attention did he reply, "Don't call me that wrongly again. Remember, I'm your Senior Brother! As for the Straw Hats, even Wang, someone so experienced in the martial world, is wearing one. That means they must be useful. We were too high-profile along the way, which is why we stirred up so much trouble. We need to be more careful from now on."
"All right... I'll listen to Senior Brother." Tang Tingshuang obediently nodded.
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