Fufeng County· Great General's Mansion
The lavish Great General's Mansion had one corner where a pavilion had been violently destroyed, and a simple but vibrant small thatched cottage was built in its place. Yu Wenze sat alone at the stone table in the courtyard, his gaze desolate. Someone hurried to the door from outside but stopped abruptly at the entrance, not daring to come in.
Yu Wenze opened his eyes and asked slowly,
The newcomer knelt on the ground and reported,
"To report to the General, Xue Shuang, Baili Feng, and Wang Anfeng are set to depart from Fufeng City today."
"Their companions are disciples of the Hidden Sect's Qingfeng Edge, led by someone named Gong Yu, who has frequented Jianghu. His cultivation is roughly at the Middle Third Rank and is highly skilled in swordsmanship."
There was a slight pause before he continued to report in detail. Yu Wenze's eyes narrowed slightly, and after a moment, he ordered,
"Withdraw the men around them."
The man looked surprised but then responded with a deep voice, silently leaving.
Yu Wenze closed his eyes again, sitting calmly in the courtyard, his face stern and impassive as the ancient wells. His right hand's fingers curled up, gently tapping on the surface of the stone table.
"The Academy's delegation to Qingfeng Edge's birthday celebration, and someone is carrying an unknown ancient tome."
"If there's a problem, whoever takes action will face at least two massive forces. It's impossible to go to such lengths for the sake of a possible sliver of a clue."
From inside the cottage, a voice emerged. Yu Wenze opened his eyes, the icy calmness on his face dissipating, replaced by a gentleness. He stood up and walked inside, making his final judgment about the matter in his mind.
"Unless the person behind the scenes has gone mad."
..............................
Secluded sects hidden behind the mountain gates, dwelling beyond the mountains of the secular world.
Those without fate may not enter.
To reach the location of Qingfeng Edge, one must travel north from Fufeng County. The Mo Family Master has a mechanical bird that can make the journey in a day, but Wang Anfeng and his companions on horseback would need to pass many cities. Without hurrying, it would take at least four to five days.
A group of eight traveled along the official road. The four mounts of the Qingfeng Edge disciples were all snow-white horses, immaculate except for ink-dipped hooves, gentle by nature and not given to neighing, yet their speed was extraordinary. Wang Anfeng and Xue Qinshuang both rode green-maned horses with vertical pupils.
Tuoba Yue's steed was a fiery red horse, as fierce as its rider, and its speed was just as swift.
Only Baili Feng was riding an ordinary yellow horse that, even with everyone holding back, could barely keep up. After running all morning, the little yellow horse was already drenched in sweat, foam forming at its mouth, clearly at its limit, necessitating rest.
Seeing that he was about to fall behind, Gong Yu glanced at Baili Feng's panting yellow horse without changing his expression. He pulled on the reins and said,
"There's a private post station ahead, and it's past midday. Let's rest for a while to regain our energy before we hit the road again."
Baili Feng, overjoyed to hear this, sighed in relief, patting his little yellow horse and saying,
"Hang in there, buddy."
"We'll rest in just a moment."
The yellow horse responded with a soft whinny as if it had gained a bit more strength.
Wang Anfeng, listening to Baili Feng's constant encouragement, smiled slightly, feeling that although this senior Gong Yu was taciturn, he was actually quite amiable, far from as aloof as he appeared.
The Great Qin empire was vast, with numerous communication stations across it.
Government stations were for official use only, primarily for transmitting messages between regions, whereas private stations were meant to accommodate travelers and merchants.
The post station's flag was visible from a distance. They rode up to find it already filled with people. Since they had set out in the morning without eating, they decided to take two tables and combine them, sitting down to order food.
The members of Qingfeng Edge remained as indifferently composed as ever. Despite the sweltering weather, there was not a trace of sweat on their bodies, while Baili Feng fiddled with the menu, ordering quite a few rich meat dishes. Judging by his appearance, if it weren't for considering Gong Yu, he might have even fancied a pot of fine wine to quench his thirst.
At this moment, guests at another table, having had their fill of food and wine, called the shopkeeper over to settle their bill. They acted generously, tossing a silver ingot onto the table without asking for change, before getting up to leave. These men were brawny, each carrying weapons and dressed in black garments with broad-rimmed hats on their backs to shield from the sun.
As they passed by Wang Anfeng's table, the sight of the young ladies caught their eyes, which brightened slightly. Yet, wary of the weapons carried by everyone at the table, they dared not behave too boldly. Nevertheless, their eyes seemingly glued to the girls' faces, they cast enamored glances a couple of times before reluctantly departing.
The expressions of the Qingfeng Edge members remained cold and detached, while Tuoba Yue's eyebrows knit tightly in anger, wishing she could draw her sword and confront them. However, with some experience in Jianghu, she knew it wasn't worth drawing her weapon over these Jianghu scoundrels.
Wang Anfeng, on the other hand, showed a slight change in expression, his hand instinctively moving towards the wooden sword.
At that time, tiny streams of heat were gathering inside his body, forming vital energy that was being devoured by his Golden Bell Shield Inner Strength.
Medicine King Valley, Mixed Yuan Body.
But the toxicity was very weak.
The teachings of Wu Changqing surfaced in his mind, and Wang Anfeng came to a realization. He turned to see the burly men had put on their broad hats and were shouting orders to drive the carts away, loaded with goods and covered with black cloths, obscuring the true contents from view.
Yet, as these Jianghu guests had passed by Wang Anfeng's side, the remnants of poison on them had triggered the spontaneous activation of the young man's Mixed Yuan Body.
However, his Cultivation was still shallow, and he could not determine the exact nature of the poison.
Wang Anfeng furrowed his brows in puzzlement.
The potency of this poison was indeed too weak; if it weren't for his Mixed Yuan Body, the poison gas would have been effortlessly neutralized by his Inner Strength the moment it entered his body, leaving no effect and even failing to alert him.
In the records of the Wind Character Tower, there are accounts of sects in Jianghu that incorporate poison into martial arts, but what use is such a weak poison?
A steel knife would be far more formidable.
"Come, Anfeng, what dish do you like? Go ahead and order," said Baili Feng, passing the bamboo slips to Wang Anfeng, interrupting the young man's thoughts, prompting him to put the matter behind him for the moment.
Everyone has their own chances and secrets; why delve into them?
Upon taking the bamboo slips and unfolding them, each strip bore the name of a dish, with around twenty in total, each appearing rather tempting, making it difficult to decide. After contemplating for a moment, the young man pondered inwardly:
Should I choose this dish... wouldn't it be too plain?
This braised pork dish seems good... No, the weather has been hot lately, and it's not likely they have a cellar here.
It's probably not fresh... Would a different choice be better?
Indeed, the first dish seems the best...
Wang Anfeng pondered for a moment, without uttering a word, causing the waiter's smile to grow strained, struggling to maintain it. Eventually, Wang Anfeng spread out the slips and pointed to a dish, selecting it with caution:
"Alright, please wait a moment, sir!" replied the waiter, relieved to have noted down the choice, as he removed the menu and brought up a fresh pot of tea. Wang Anfeng stood up, first scalding the cups with the hot tea, then carefully pouring eight cups of tea, one for each of the guests.
He returned to his seat, lifted a cup, and took a sip. The tea tad bitter; while it was difficult to swallow, the relief it brought was appreciable after a morning without water.
Gong Yu set down her tea cup and spoke up:
"Those men just now were 'traveling guests'."