After Zhang Yan obtained the Command Token, Sister Guanrong escorted him all the way down the spiritual peak.
Upon reaching the mountain gate, a tunneling light shot out from a palace nearby and landed before the two in the blink of an eye.
It turned out to be Gongsun Mian, who hurried over upon seeing Zhang Yan leave the spiritual peak.
Seeing Zhang Yan was unharmed, he breathed a sigh of relief and stepped forward to bow respectfully, saying, "Daoist Li, you’ve finally come out!"
Since Zhang Yan entered the mountain, there had been no news for seven or eight days. Gongsun Mian was in the dark about what transpired, and inquiries with Sister Guanrong yielded nothing. For the past few days, he had been on edge. If Zhang Yan’s background were truly found to be problematic, not only would Gongsun Mian himself be implicated, but if anything happened to Yue’s siblings, the Yue Clan would certainly not let him off.
Fortunately, Zhang Yan emerged unscathed, relieving him of his anxious days.
Zhang Yan cupped his hands and smiled, saying, "I had a pleasant discussion with the elders in the palace over the past few days, so I lingered a while longer. It seems I’ve kept Daoist Gongsun waiting."
Gongsun Mian waved his hands repeatedly, saying, "No need to worry, no need to worry; as long as you’re fine. By the way..."
He took out a letter from his sleeve and handed it to Zhang Yan, his expression odd as he said, "This is an invitation written by Yue Hongzhang for Daoist Li, asking you to attend a gathering at Nine Dragon Pond. However, it was delivered to me instead. I don’t know what sort of scheme he’s playing. I didn’t dare act on it, so I’m handing it over to you for handling."
After deciding to pursue a connection with Zhang Yan, Yue Hongzhang initially waited patiently for a day or two but soon lost interest. So, he sent a maid with a letter, ignoring Han Guzi’s instructions entirely and brazenly leaving.
Zhang Yan took the letter without even glancing at it, tossing it into his sleeve before leaving the mountain gate alongside Gongsun Mian.
The two landed before a bamboo forest, and Zhang Yan took out the human bag. Tilting it downward, the unconscious Yue siblings rolled out. He said, "Since the token is in hand, I won’t make things difficult for Daoist Gongsun’s two juniors. Let’s consider the previous matters settled."
Gongsun Mian smiled wryly as he helped the siblings to their feet. Though they were practitioners of cultivation, their skills were weak, and having been unconscious in the human bag for seven or eight days without food or water, they were likely in poor condition.
At that moment, Zhang Yan’s gaze sharpened as he seemed to sense something. He said, "Brother Gongsun, I have some matters to attend to and must leave first. Before the Treasure Meeting, I will be staying at Baofeng Temple. The Dragon Flame Tongue Herb will likely take another hundred days to mature; you can come to the temple then to retrieve it."
Gongsun Mian quickly replied, "Of course, of course. Brother, attend to your matters. Your junior will visit you at the temple another day."
The two exchanged bows, and Gongsun Mian tucked Yue’s siblings under his arms before stepping atop a cluster of Xuan Guang light, flying southwest.
After he left, Zhang Yan reached out, summoning a talismanic script that flew straight to his hand as he raised his arm.
In the past few days, while staying at the Purple Bamboo Mountain Daoist School, there had been prohibitions outside the palace barring entry, preventing the flying talisman from reaching him. However, this particular flying talisman was crafted by the Qingyu Sect and differed from ordinary talismans—it would automatically attach itself to nearby birds or beasts if unable to locate its intended recipient, continuing until its spiritual energy was exhausted.
Zhang Yan opened the flying talisman and found it contained a letter sent by Zhang Pan, already a night old by the time it reached him.
After reading its contents, his brows furrowed and a sliver of coldness flashed in his eyes. Rising swiftly, he transformed into a streak of flying rainbow light, heading straight for Baofeng Temple.
For over a month, the Chen couple had enjoyed peaceful days under Zhang Pan’s protection. However, late last night, chaos broke out suddenly in their hall, with the sounds of fighting and shouting.
The disturbance quickly dissipated, and when the couple cautiously supported each other out to investigate, they found Zhang Pan standing in the hall. At his feet lay a corpse, its face unrecognizable. Chen Jishi turned pale with fright, retreating repeatedly and nearly collapsing to the floor.
Mrs. Chen, however, was bold. She pushed aside her maid, stepped forward toward Zhang Pan, gave a respectful bow, and asked, "Little Daoist, what has happened here?"
Zhang Pan replied in a low, muffled voice, "This man and a Taoist sneaked here late at night, creeping toward your rooms. Clearly, they harbored malicious intent. When I stepped forward to stop them, they tried to attack me. This one was killed with a single punch."
Mrs. Chen pressed on with her question, "What about the other Taoist?"
Zhang Pan responded gruffly, "That Taoist had slippery feet, like they were greased. He escaped."