The noise inside the restaurant didn't stop because of anyone's arrival. The clinking of glasses, the laughter of diners, and the calls of the waiters mingled together, while figures on the long street outside kept passing by the open doorway.
Hua An sat alone at a table. The two jugs of wine on the table were mostly empty, and the dishes were almost finished. His face showed a relaxed expression after drinking. He rested one hand on the edge of the table and held a wine glass in the other, occasionally picking up a piece of food with his chopsticks. He paid no attention to the plain-looking man a few tables away.
Just then, the restaurant curtain was lifted again, and three figures walked in one after the other. The one in the middle was a tall and thin man with narrow shoulders, long arms, thin cheeks, and slightly deep-set eyes. As he entered, his gaze habitually swept around the room. The other two were noticeably more robust. One had a round face and broad shoulders with a slightly protruding waist and abdomen, while the other had a fleshy face. The hem of his robe swayed gently as he walked.
The three men concealed their auras subtly, yet anyone with even a modicum of cultivation could still sense that they were genuine Eternal Silence Realm Initial Stage cultivators. The sharp-eyed waiter, seeing them enter, quickly stepped forward to greet them.
With a forced smile, he greeted them, "Gentlemen, please come in. There's just one table left over here." He then led the three to the empty table next to Hua An. Hua An merely glanced at them briefly before lowering his head to drink again. The three did not speak to him, and each pulled out a chair and sat down.
The round-faced, chubby man stretched his shoulders after sitting down, patted the table with his palms, and after the waiter came over to order the food and drinks, his gaze swept over the other two men.
He was clearly a restless soul. Before the wine was even served, he lowered his voice and said, "Fellow Daoists, it's been almost two years since the Primordial Dao Clan was wiped out, hasn't it?" His words were inconspicuous amidst the noisy chatter of the restaurant, but a few tables away, the ordinary-looking man who had been drinking tea with his head down paused for a fleeting moment at an angle unnoticed by anyone.
Upon hearing this, a slight ripple flickered in the tall, thin man's eyes. He leaned back in his chair, his brows furrowing slightly, and after a moment of contemplation, he said, "Yes, it's been two years. There's still no definitive conclusion as to who destroyed the Primordial Dao Clan; all sorts of rumors are circulating."
As he said this, he instinctively glanced around to make sure everyone was a regular customer eating and drinking before lowering his voice further. "However, I did receive some fairly reliable information. The one who made the move was a Void Emanation Realm expert from the Supreme Transformation Primordial Domain."
Another overweight man, who had been fiddling with the small dishes on the table with his chopsticks, paused a beat after hearing the words "Supreme Transformation Primordial Domain" and "Void Emanation Realm." He looked up, his casual expression softening, and nodded slightly, saying, "Hmm, the information I've heard is about the same."
The round-faced fat man's interest grew even more when he heard that their accounts matched. He leaned closer to the center of the table, pressing his arms against the edge, and deliberately lowered his voice so that only those at the table could hear him. "Big brother, second brother, I heard something else. It's said that the powerful figure attacked the Primordial Dao Clan because he was looking for a golden-robed man from the Primordial Dao Clan." He paused, his eyes darting to the side, then his lips moved slightly, "That man's name is— Chen Jinrong."
The tall, thin man's face suddenly darkened. He didn't utter a word of reprimand, but instead abruptly raised his eyes, his sharp gaze pressing down on the round, fat man's face, before he shook his head very slightly. The meaning couldn't be clearer: Shut up.
The round-faced fat man swallowed back the words he was about to say. He clearly realized he had said too much, gave an awkward twitch of his lips, leaned back in his chair, picked up the tea that had just been brought and took a sip, without mentioning Chen Jinrong again. The other fat man also wisely dropped the topic, though a thoughtful look remained between his brows.
However, none of the three noticed that in the most inconspicuous corner of the restaurant, a pair of seemingly ordinary eyes had turned extremely cold the moment the name "Chen Jinrong" was uttered.
The ordinary-looking man remained seated, his posture unchanged, teacup still in his hand. Yet, in his heart, anger had surged forth in an instant. That rage was extremely fierce, churning wildly deep within his Fate Soul, threatening to burn away all restraint.
His five fingers were slowly tightening under the table, a force that was almost impossible to release was accumulating deep in his finger bones, and the breath in his chest sank to an extremely low level at that moment.
The mere mention of Chen Jinrong sent a chilling glint through the deepest recesses of his eyes.
But that cold glint didn't actually show on his face. He didn't look up, didn't glance at the three of them again, and even the hand holding the teacup quickly returned to its previous relaxed state.
Anger raged within him, but his face remained calm, showing no sign of anything amiss. The faint, ordinary smile he had heard earlier when he overheard the chatter at the next table still lingered on his lips. To anyone watching him, he would simply appear as an ordinary cultivator, drinking tea alone and seemingly unconcerned about the gossip at the next table.
Just then, the waiter hurried out from the back room, carrying a large wooden platter on both arms, filled with freshly cooked dishes, steam rising all around.
"Here they are! Gentlemen, the dishes are all served--"
Bang. The first plate hit the table. Then the second, the third. The series of soft clattering sounds of dishes falling pulled the ordinary-looking man back from the surging anger in his chest. His eyelashes fluttered slightly.
The next moment, all his emotions sank back into the deepest recesses of his eyes. He picked up the tea, which had grown somewhat cold, and took a sip as if nothing had happened. He even reached for a snack next to him and put it in his mouth, chewing slowly. The anger that had almost burst out of his chest just moments before left no trace.
No one noticed. The three Eternal Silence Realm Initial Stage cultivators didn't notice. The waiter didn't notice. Hua An didn't notice either.
At this moment, Hua An had already put the last glass of wine into his mouth. "Ha..." After the wine went down his throat, he let out a comfortable breath, put the empty glass on the table, wiped the corner of his mouth, and looked down at the few remaining dishes and wine.
He was clearly quite satisfied with his meal, and his demeanor was more relaxed than when he had entered the restaurant. After a moment, Hua An left the money for the food and drinks, pushed back his chair, stood up, straightened his robes slightly, and walked straight out of the restaurant.
The ordinary-looking man didn't look at him. At least—no one saw him looking.
Hua An passed by the three Eternal Silence Realm cultivators, walked through the main hall, lifted the curtain, and then his figure blended into the flow of people coming and going in Returning Light Heavenly City.
The man remained seated, not moving immediately. Even after Hua An left the restaurant, he sipped his tea slowly for a moment. A breath, several breaths. Time passed slowly. The flow of people outside the door changed constantly, and Hua An's figure had long since disappeared from the restaurant's direct view.
The three Eternal Silence Realm Initial Stage cultivators also began to eat and drink, completely ending their conversation about the Primordial Dao Clan and turning to other topics.
Only after Hua An had gone far enough did the ordinary-looking man finish the last drop of tea in his cup. The teacup gently landed on the table with a soft thud. He stood up calmly, took out the tea money from his pocket and placed it on the table, even giving a casual nod to the waiter passing by.
"Take care, sir!" the waiter greeted with a smile. The man smiled faintly, did not reply, and turned to leave the restaurant.
Outside, the main street of Returning Light Heavenly City was still bustling with activity. The lamplight stretched along the pale bone path into the distance, and cultivators of all kinds mingled and crisscrossed. The calls of shopkeepers rose and fell along the street. After the man entered the crowd, he did not quicken his pace. His figure soon blended into the countless pedestrians.
He didn't chase after Hua An along the route she had just taken, nor did he leave any obvious trail. He simply walked slowly along the long street, turned a corner at an intersection with the flow of people, and then continued on another adjacent long street a moment later.
Hua An had already gone quite far, and the ordinary-looking man silently followed in the direction Hua An had gone.