Two hours earlier, at the City Lord's mansion.
While the four major sects—Qingling Mountain, Purple Flame Realm, Heavenly Net Witchcraft, and Divine Evolution Temple—were tacitly standing guard like security...
In a distant alley, the group from the Ten Thousand Saints Palace lurked in the shadows.
Lu Ying watched them, his gaze lingering on the drowsy disciples of Qingling Mountain among the crowd. For a moment, he wished he could chop off those six heads and hang them at the entrance of Qingling Mountain!
Last night, Lu Ying hadn’t slept a wink, scouring every corner of the inn but finding nothing amiss.
A nagging sense of unease had driven him to search for the Qingling Mountain six in Zhuoguang City at dawn—until he finally tracked them to the City Lord’s mansion.
Now, everything was clear.
They had been tricked by that wretched Wen Shuangbai and her lot!
Lu Ying flicked his sleeve and stormed off, with Yu Xiaoxiao and the four substitute disciples hastily trailing behind.
The innkeeper was at the counter, tallying accounts, his frown deepening with each calculation.
Business was terrible. Few guests came, and though yesterday had been the busiest, the first six had shamelessly tried to stay for free! The next six hadn’t haggled, paying eighty spirit stones per night—but they’d only taken two rooms.
One for the man and woman, the other crammed with the remaining four.
Times were tough. Making money was harder than ever.
He’d have to squeeze every last coin from the current six guests.
Otherwise, who knew when the next customers would arrive?
Just as he was scheming, the six barged in, radiating fury.
The innkeeper instantly switched to an obsequious grin. "Ah, you’re back! Have you eaten? Shall I prepare a meal? Our inn serves food too, cheaper than outside—"
Lu Ying cut him off coldly. "No need. We’re checking out soon."
"Checking out?" The innkeeper scurried after them up the stairs. "But why? Wasn’t your stay comfortable—"
"I said we’re leaving. Are you deaf?" Lu Ying’s temper flared. This groveling, lowly innkeeper was the last thing he needed. If not for the Holy Tower, he’d never set foot in this filthy, cramped dump—even the dogs his family raised would turn their noses up at it!
The innkeeper halted, his smile turning brittle. "Very well. Gather your belongings, and I’ll settle your bill."
Lu Ying and Yu Xiaoxiao returned to their room.
During the last competition at Tian Family Village, the extravagant antics of the Jade Rhinoceros Valley had inspired Yu Xiaoxiao. Over the past month, she’d begged the elders of Ten Thousand Saints Palace for a golden silk quilt. But in the end, they’d only given her an ordinary spirit silk blanket, saying golden silk was too precious—reserved for true needs, not mere sleeping comforts.
At least she’d brought it. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have known how to endure the grimy bed last night.
Yu Xiaoxiao reached for the blanket—then froze. "Lu Ying, come look! This isn’t ours. Someone swapped it!"
Lu Ying glanced over and spat through gritted teeth. "The innkeeper."
"Now, now, you can’t go accusing people without proof," came the innkeeper’s mocking voice from the doorway.
Lu Ying and Yu Xiaoxiao turned to see him strut in, flanked by twenty burly men. He brandished an abacus and gestured to one. "This is my nephew—works at the City Lord’s mansion! He’s here to witness, so you can’t say I’m cheating you!"
The nephew gave a sloppy bow. "Rest assured, I’m fair and impartial. Justice above all."
The innkeeper smirked, circling the room as his abacus clattered. "One packet of tea used—twenty spirit stones. Ink and paper borrowed—thirty…" He lifted a chair. "Tsk, tsk. You even broke my chair—another thirty! Total’s two hundred. Pay up, then you can leave."
Lu Ying’s face darkened like a storm cloud.
[Oh heavens, is Ten Thousand Saints Palace being scammed by a shady inn?]
[These noble-born youngsters, always waited on hand and foot—have they ever faced such a situation?]
[Well, they were tricked by Qingling Mountain first. Otherwise, they’d never have stayed here.]
[Serves them right! They’ve been tailing Qingling Mountain since entering Zhuoguang City. What were they plotting?]
Murderous intent simmered in Lu Ying’s heart.
But the twenty men the innkeeper had brought were all cultivators.
Worse—they were tied to the City Lord’s mansion.
In Zhuoguang City, the City Lord’s word was law.
No, they can't be killed.
If they're killed, the Sacred Palace's current cycle would be over.
Qingling Mountain.
What a formidable Qingling Mountain.
After a long silence, Lu Ying suppressed his anger, nearly spending all the sacred stones he had earned in the previous round.
By the time the Sacred Palace group left the inn, they only had a dozen or so sacred stones left.
Yu Xiaoxiao whispered a suggestion, "Brother Lu, why don't we go to the City Lord's Mansion and find Brother Di and the others? The wages there aren’t bad—we could earn back what we lost in half a day."
"No," Lu Ying replied darkly. "We're going to the Qi family."
He firmly believed in his own judgment—the people from Qingling Mountain must have obtained a crucial clue from Tianjia Village.
By following them, he was certain they would find it.
That was what the Divine Wood Sign had told him.
Moreover, Lu Ying suspected that the item in question was most likely the method for weaving Spirit Mountain Veil.
If he could obtain it, the future of the Lu family would be limitless.
—
Wen Shuangbai and her five companions had just finished dinner and stepped out of the dining hall when they saw Steward Qi approaching with Lu Ying, Yu Xiaoxiao, and the others.
"Come, let me introduce you. These six are the newly hired guards of the estate," Steward Qi announced.
Wen Shuangbai paused mid-step, her face perfectly composed with polite curiosity, though inwardly, a stampede of curses raged through her mind.
Lu Ying swept his gaze over the six of them, his lips curling slightly as he clasped his hands in greeting. "Pleased to meet you all. We’re newcomers here, so we hope you’ll guide us well."
Suppressing her disgust, Wen Shuangbai exchanged a few stiff pleasantries with these persistent leeches before retreating to her room with her teammates.
After sitting in her room for a while, stewing in irritation, she finally stormed off to find Wu Ren and demanded a deck of leaf cards. Then, openly gathering the others, she led them to Xie Ziyin’s room for a game—after all, his room was the most spacious.
They sat in a circle on the floor.
Shen Hefeng threw down a card with a scowl. "What kind of rat card is this? Feels like it’s been soaking in a cesspit for seven days and nights—reeking of filth! I could smell the stench from miles away!"
Wen Shuangbai tossed another card. "Rats should stay buried in their dung heaps. If one dares crawl in front of me, I’ll stomp it dead."
Xie Ziyin drew a card and placed it over Wen Shuangbai’s. "The rat thinks it’s the oriole."
Shen Hefeng flung down another. "Dream on! That thing belongs in a cesspool, nothing more!"
Li Zhuohua snatched Shen Hefeng’s card and shoved it back at him. "What are you playing out of turn? It’s my move!" She carefully selected a card and played it before asking seriously, "When do we kill the rats?"
Lu Jiayao, holding an excellent hand, glanced left and right before realizing—they weren’t actually playing cards! They were using the game to discuss how to deal with the Sacred Palace.
So he played randomly. "I’m fine with anything. I’ll follow your lead!"
Yin Xuan yawned, staring at his terrible hand before handing it off to Santtu to play for him. He closed his eyes, feigning drowsiness. "I’ll follow too."
Wen Shuangbai studied the cards on the floor and played cautiously. "The moment we see the rats, we kill them. If we wait, they’ll grow into bigger pests. And these rats are trying to steal what’s mine—I don’t want to see them again!"
Li Zhuohua instantly perked up. "I’ll do the killing!"
Shen Hefeng scratched his head under his Taoist cap and eyed the two most ruthless schemers. "You two are the most vicious—how should we do it? Poison them like rats?"
Wen Shuangbai shot him a sharp look before deliberately playing a card and nudging the man beside her. "You’re the most cunning and ruthless—you tell us."
"..." Xie Ziyin glanced at the cards she had played, his fingers hovering over one before switching to another and placing it over hers. "Let the rats believe they’re the oriole. Kill three birds with one stone."
The others were baffled.
But Wen Shuangbai understood instantly. A sly smile curved her lips as she slammed her remaining cards down. "I win! Pay up!"
Lu Jiayao gaped. "We’re playing for money?!"
Had he known, he wouldn’t have thrown his perfect hand away!
Shen Hefeng spluttered, "You scheming witch, you were serious?!"
Wen Shuangbai lashed her whip at him. "Bald-headed Shen, when have I ever joked around?"
She tallied the losses, pointing at Shen Hefeng and Xie Ziyin. "You two lost the most—ten spirit stones each. Santtu, five. Senior Sister, two. Big Brother doesn’t owe anything. Pay up before leaving—or lose for life!"
Xie Ziyin: "..."
He shook his head and calmly placed his remaining cards facedown.
Li Zhuohua, fired up, demanded, "Again!"
They played three rounds, splitting into teams for the last one.
Wen Shuangbai paired up with her senior sister, Xie Ziyin teamed up with the eldest senior brother, while Shen Hefeng and Lu Jiayao formed another group.
Xie Ziyin and the eldest senior brother took the lead, Wen Shuangbai and her senior sister chose an alternative path, and Shen Hefeng and Lu Jiayao stayed behind, ready to flee and hide at the first sign of trouble.
Soon, it reached the hour of Xu’s second mark, as Wu Ren had specifically instructed.
The six of them wrapped up their card game and returned to their respective quarters.
—
Tonight, the moonlight was pale and dim.
By the late hours of the night, faint, unsettling noises emerged from the depths of the Qi residence—thud, thud, thud—sending chills down one’s spine yet compelling curiosity to investigate.
On the first floor, Lu Ying concealed himself behind the curtains, a trace of disdain flashing in his eyes.
The Qi residence was indeed not as simple as it seemed.
But he didn’t act rashly.
He waited for the disciples of Qingling Mountain to make the first move, biding his time until they clashed with the Qi household. Only then would the Wansheng Palace swoop in to reap the rewards.
Lu Ying stood patiently in the darkness for a long while, keenly attuned to every movement around him.
Half an hour later, in a nearby bamboo grove, several stalks suddenly swayed, their leaves rustling as they scattered to the ground.
A night breeze, no matter how gentle, could never stir such a commotion.
A sharp glint flickered in Lu Ying’s eyes. He shook the divine wooden talisman in his hand, signaling the others from Wansheng Palace, then soundlessly followed the trail of rustling foliage, slipping deeper into the Qi residence.
