In Ping Shan County.
A diner, slightly drunk, staggered out of the restaurant.
Walking out of the long street where the restaurant was located and turning into a small alley, the drunken look on his face disappeared, and his steps became steady and powerful.
The thin, small man glanced in the direction of the restaurant, sneered twice, and quickly left.
He walked very quickly, as if he was very familiar with the County Town. He turned left and right in the cluttered alleys, and before long, he turned onto a long street in a square. The long street was crowded with people, clearly a main road.
After looking back and confirming that no suspicious people were following him, he then stepped into a gambling house on the street.
The gambling house was quite lively, with the gamblers' shouts echoing non-stop. The short man nodded at the two fierce-looking, strong men guarding the gambling house entrance and walked straight inside without stopping, soon arriving at a luxurious room behind the gambling house.
The room occasionally echoed with the sweet chirping of women. The short man came to the door and gently knocked.
“Wu Laoda, it’s me, Sun Mazi.”
After a while, the door opened, and the short man stepped inside.
“Speak, disturbing me at this time, interrupting my good business. If you don’t say something useful, you know the consequences…”
As soon as the short man entered, a lazy voice came.
It was a very fat big man.
The big man was not tall, but his round belly bulged high like a small mountain. His fat face and big ears trembled as he spoke, looking quite comical.
The fat man held two slender, delicate women in his arms. Compared to him, the two women looked like toys. As the fat man's two fat hands wandered, they occasionally let out sweet giggles.
The short man only glanced and quickly lowered his head, as if he had long anticipated this situation.
“Wu Laoda, there’s a situation. Someone is inquiring about us again. They are definitely up to no good, being so secretive.”
“Oh, how many people came? How is their strength?”
Hearing the short man's words, Wu Shan seemed to gain some interest. He pushed the two women in his arms aside, letting them retreat, and then asked with narrowed eyes.
As the second-in-command of the Red Hair Bandits, after Luo Hu went into seclusion, most of the team's affairs were left for him to decide.
After being attacked by experts twice in a row, he had already understood that he was being targeted.
Naturally, they also had their own countermeasures. Besides abandoning their original stronghold, the entire Pingshan County was also filled with many of their people.
Others thought the Red Hair Bandits had less than a hundred people, and that wasn't wrong. There weren't many true Red Hair Bandits, but the number of usable people was far more than that.
Besides the bandits within the Red Hair Bandits, few people knew that in Pingshan County, the actual controllers behind many industries were the higher-ups of the Red Hair Bandits.
For example, the gambling house in front of them.
Therefore, under careful arrangement, their informants were spread across most areas of Ping Shan County. In Pingshan County, their intelligence could be said to be extremely well-informed.
What's more, their background was not just this; Ping Shan County was their best hiding place.
Aside from the first Blood Transportation level assassin being discovered and decisively killed by Luo Hu at the original stronghold, the second Blood Transportation Warrior who came didn't even get to see their faces before being led into a trap they had set up and dealt with.
Despite this, the continuous appearance of Blood Transportation Realm experts in Pingshan County, with the clear goal of targeting them, also made them realize that more experts might come later. While keeping a low profile, they also paid extra attention to unfamiliar faces appearing in the city.
“Leader, two people came this time, a young man and a half-grown youth. The young man is not old but his cultivation is not low. If I'm not mistaken, he should be a Forging Tendons Martial Artist, and at Forging Tendons Completion.”
“As for that half-grown youth, he has already entered the Body Tempering Realm…”
The short man Sun Mazi immediately recounted everything he had seen and heard in the restaurant.
“You mean what you saw were just two little brats who haven't even fully grown? The strongest is only at the Forging Tendons Realm!?”
Wu Shan narrowed his eyes, looking at Sun Mazi with a forced smile.
Slap!
Before Sun Mazi could say anything, a slap had already knocked him to the ground.
Ouch!
Sun Mazi cried out in pain. Fortunately, the other party didn't use much force. After a wail, he stood up again and quickly explained.
“Wu Laoda, I personally heard that half-grown youth mention the words Red Hair. The way he gritted his teeth seemed to show quite a bit of hatred towards us, so I can conclude that these two are definitely here for us…”
“Hmph, if it weren't for that, it wouldn't just be a simple slap. This is a small punishment for interrupting my mood.”
Wu Shan sat back down in his seat and spoke indifferently.
“Where are they?”
“In… in Song He Lou. They are staying in Song He Lou.”
“A bit interesting. Since when do even little guys like this dare to come looking for us?”
Wu Shan reached out and stroked his chin, which seemed to have countless layers, a thoughtful expression on his face.
“Leader, should I send someone to deal with them?”
Sun Mazi asked tentatively.
“Not yet. Send people to keep an eye on them and see what they are doing. Pay attention to who they are in contact with. One Forging Tendons, one Body Tempering. What kind of waves can they make in Pingshan County?”
Wu Shan slightly shook his head, an expression of interest on his face.
“Are you sure that young man is at the Forging Tendons Completion Realm?”
“I'm sure of that person's Qi and blood fluctuations, it shouldn't be wrong.” Sun Mazi said with certainty.
“How old does he look?”
“Around 20 years old, not exceeding 25.” Sun Mazi thought for a moment and gave his answer.
“I understand. Go down and keep a close eye on them.”
Hearing this, Sun Mazi didn't delay and quickly withdrew.
Watching the other party, the short, thin figure disappear from sight, Wu Shan was thoughtful.
“Forging Tendons Completion in his early 20s, whose greenhorn is this? Perhaps we can dig out who is really causing trouble for us…”
...
Linjiang Prefecture, Unnamed Great Mountain.
Crashing sound…
The waterfall falling from the cliff face landed on the rocks, producing a continuous crashing sound.
In the stream below, a large yellow python suddenly emerged from the water and bit a black panther that was drinking from the stream.
Just as the black panther was about to resist, its body stiffened. Before long, the yellow python's full body withered, while the black panther shook off the remnants of the python clinging to it, glanced behind, and leaped, actually jumping directly onto the cliff face dozens of meters high.
It disappeared into the mountain forest in just a few breaths.
At the foot of the mountain, in a small unnamed mountain village, wisps of black mist swirled out. In the mountain village, hundreds of villagers, men and women, old and young, the weak and children, stopped their actions like machines and walked out onto the village road outside their doors.
A black panther's figure flashed through the village. Wisps of black mist surged from the ears, noses, and throats of hundreds of villagers, all entering the black panther's body. The black mist surrounding the black panther visibly solidified slightly.
The next second, these villagers were like long-decayed dead wood. A gentle breeze blew, and the next second, their bodies shattered with a bang.
A hint of enjoyment appeared in the black panther's dark, lifeless eyes. However, it soon sensed something. Its figure, like a ghost, suddenly moved several meters to the side.
But just as its figure landed, the ground had already shattered, and a large hand emitting a yellow glow had firmly imprinted on its abdomen.
The force of this blow was extremely powerful. The black mist covering the black panther's body was almost pierced through.
It changed direction in mid-air and landed on top of a residential house to the side. It didn't seem to be injured, but the black mist surrounding its body was visibly much thinner.
The black panther didn't stop at all. As soon as it landed, it leaped and shot towards a part of the village.
The ground below shattered, and a muscular, strong man in black profound armor walked out.
Looking at the black panther fleeing rapidly, a mocking smile appeared on his face.
Shattering the ground with one foot, his figure chased after it like a tank.
“Let's see where you can run this time!!”
The black panther's speed was extremely fast. Even if the strong man in profound armor behind it burst out at full speed, the distance between them was slightly widening. However, the man in profound armor wasn't flustered at all.
However, in just a few breaths, the black panther, which seemed somewhat desperate, suddenly stopped. Its dark eyes looked ahead. A tall woman had appeared in front of it at some point.
It was Song Yan, who was with the strong man in profound armor.
Feeling the strong man in profound armor rapidly approaching from behind, a fierce light burst forth in the black panther's dark pupils. The black mist around its body also surged. It leaped up and pounced straight towards Song Yan.
“Is the dog jumping over the wall in desperation? Unfortunately, it's useless!”
As if she had anticipated this scene, Song Yan's slender fingers quickly moved, linking together elegantly to form a mysterious hand seal.
At the same time, her eyes burst out with a green glow, and a layer of green feathers appeared on her fair cheeks.
With a soft shout, the hand seal was struck out towards the rapidly charging black panther.
In an instant, a pillar of green light shot out from the hand seal and landed on the black panther.
Black light burst from the black panther's body, but it was still struck by the green light pillar and sent flying backward.
Although it quickly stood up, the black mist covering its body had thinned to an almost imperceptible level.
Without giving it a chance to breathe, the next moment, two faint lights, one green and one yellow, enveloped the black panther.
Roar!!
The black panther, directly impacted by the two forces, let out a silent roar towards the sky. The black mist on its body finally completely dispersed. Its dark eyes were filled with unwillingness. As the green and yellow faint lights dissipated, the black panther in the center also completely turned into countless fragments.
“It seems this Phantom Demon Beast's Magic Seed is nothing special. Its strength is only barely at Bones Transformation. I thought it would be much stronger and got excited for nothing…”
Withdrawing his hand, the strong man in profound armor walked over with a smile on his face, taking heavy steps.
“Moshān, don't underestimate this Phantom Demon Beast. This Magic Seed was just severely injured before and hasn't recovered yet. Otherwise, it wouldn't be so easy to deal with. Even so, it took the two of us several days to track it, which shows how troublesome it is.”
Song Yan walked over, seeming somewhat dissatisfied with the strong man in profound armor's dismissive attitude, and said with a frown.
As she spoke, she pressed her palm on the ground again. A green glow flashed across the surrounding ground, sweeping up the scattered fragments again. After confirming everything was in order, she withdrew her hand.
“Fairy Song is right, I did underestimate this Phantom Demon Beast a bit.”
The strong man in profound armor, Moshān, smiled and spoke, his gaze sweeping over Song Yan, revealing a hint of hidden greed.
“Being able to deal with this Phantom Demon Beast so quickly is thanks to Fairy Song predicting that this Magic Seed would absorb flesh and blood in this mountain village and setting up an ambush in advance, allowing us to capture it in one go.”
Song Yan didn't seem to care about the other party's flattery.
“Alright, with this matter concluded, it's time to go back after delaying outside for a few days.”
“As Fairy says.”
The two didn't linger and quickly disappeared one after the other.
Time slowly flowed.
One hour… two hours… three hours…
Until the sky completely fell into darkness, and the cold moonlight shone upon the earth, the mountain village was silent, with only the occasional sound of insects chirping.
Broken and decayed corpses were scattered haphazardly on the ground.
The leg of a withered corpse, of which only the upper half remained, bulged slightly outwards. The next moment, a slit actually cracked open, revealing a black eye. The pupil of the black eye rotated, as if confirming something.
After confirming there was no abnormality, the black eye turned into a wisp of black mist and detached from the broken corpse.
At this moment, a field mouse shook its head and poked its head out from a mouse hole in the village ground, cautiously looking around.
In just an instant, the black mist entered its body.
The field mouse's chubby body trembled, and its two eyes were already stained with a hint of black.
The black eyes looked in the direction the two people had left earlier, revealing a hint of indifferent mockery.
Then it quickly disappeared into the mountain peak.
Time flowed like water, silently passing.
Soon, two days had passed.
Pingshan County.
On the long street.
“It’s already been two days, and you're just idling in this city, wasting my time? Give me the Snow Silver Moth, I'll find the Red Hair Bandits myself!!”
Cao Luan glared resentfully at Lin Sheng, who was strolling on the street, occasionally stopping at stalls on both sides to buy small trinkets.
Since entering Ping Shan County, after releasing the Snow Silver Moth once with no response, the other party had been completely inactive like this, ignoring his repeated urges, which was about to drive him mad.
If it wasn't for the fact that he was currently in Ping Shan County and still had no news of Luo Hu, he might have already been unable to resist taking action.
But by now, he no longer planned to waste time with the other party.
Cao Luan quickly took two steps to block Lin Sheng, glaring at Lin Sheng with unconcealed anger.
“Now I want to terminate your commission. Even if you change your mind now, I won't give you half a penny more. Now! Immediately! Give me the Snow Silver Moth!!”
“Oh?”
At this time, Lin Sheng was playing with a blue cloth silk sachet in his hand, occasionally bringing it to his nose to sniff gently. Looking at the extremely angry Cao Luan, he just lightly said 'Oh?', and casually tossed the blue cloth sachet in his hand over.
“Scram.”
After indifferently uttering two words, Lin Sheng had already walked past the other party without stopping, leaving only Cao Luan, who seemed not to have reacted and was frozen on the spot.
He looked at the small jade gourd wrapped inside the sachet, and then looked at Lin Sheng, who had already walked into the crowd.
Originally, he thought it would be very troublesome to get the Snow Silver Moth back, and had even prepared to use some trump cards. He didn't expect the other party to give it to him so easily.
“Bastard.”
After a moment of silence, he finally uttered these two words, and then walked in the opposite direction.
What he didn't notice was that more than one gaze occasionally fell on him, and quietly followed him mixed within the crowd.