Chapter 388: Finding Trouble

Many shops and restaurants were closed. Passersby no longer walked with the carefree air they once did, and even children's laughter was subdued.

When He Lingchuan appeared at the inn, Manager Shi's expression visibly relaxed. "You're finally back!" he exclaimed. "With the sudden Imperial Ooze, we were all worried you'd run into trouble outside!"

He Lingchuan looked up and saw a large hole in the inn's second-floor roof, half-repaired by artisans. "What happened here?" he asked.

"A few days ago, when the Imperial Ooze erupted, two monsters fought and poked a hole in the roof," Manager Shi said, also looking up. "There are too many damaged places in the city and not enough artisans, so repairs only started today."

"Was anyone injured?"

"A shop assistant was hit and is still recovering at the apothecary's," Manager Shi said, shaking his head. "Fufeng City gave half a day's warning about the Imperial Ooze, telling civilians to stay home and not go out, or face the consequences themselves. That night, there were also demon army patrols, but even so, the city was in utter chaos. Countless people were killed, and the air reeked of blood."

So the officials only gave half a day's notice? He Lingchuan's heart stirred. It seemed the Grand Tutor's Residence had done him a great favor by informing him three days in advance.

"It was much the same everywhere," He Lingchuan said. "On my way back, I saw towns and villages also cleaning up the aftermath."

"Our whole team stayed together, with doors and windows tightly shut. Midway through, a few lads couldn't stand the scent of the Imperial Ooze and tried to rush out repeatedly, but we knocked them unconscious," Manager Shi said with lingering fear. "Outside, there were screams and howls, and we held our weapons, not sleeping the whole night. After dawn, we went out to check the goods, and thankfully, most of them were still there. It's a good thing we were in Fufeng City; if we had been in the wilderness or staying in a village, we would surely have been in trouble."

"Many couldn't resist, rushing out to receive the Imperial Ooze, and ended up losing their lives, alas."

He looked at He Lingchuan, feeling that something was different about the young man, but he couldn't pinpoint it. Finally, he said:

"You should take a bath. Have you been rolling in the mud these past few days?"

He Lingchuan grinned. "Sorry, I'm late."

"No problem," Manager Shi said, waving his hand. "Our original plan has changed; we'll be staying in Fufeng City for a few more days, until things quiet down outside before we set off again."

With the Imperial Ooze having just passed, new monsters were emerging everywhere, making it too dangerous to travel now.

"Oh, by the way, Wu Jinsong came looking for you once."

He Lingchuan nodded, returned to his room, and requested two large buckets of hot water to wash off the mycelia and dust clinging to him. After drying his hair and changing clothes, he went downstairs and slurped down a large, steaming bowl of tomato and egg noodles, along with two sesame oil cakes.

The cook was quite skilled; he had managed to bake a simple oil cake with several flaky layers.

He Lingchuan was enjoying his meal when suddenly, more than ten people walked in. They all looked somewhat familiar.

They sat down to eat, and He Lingchuan glanced at them casually.

The person at the head of the group happened to look over as well. Their eyes met, and the other person offered a slight, very friendly smile.

He Lingchuan returned the smile, a silent jolt of surprise going through him:

What a coincidence?

These more than ten people were none other than the black-clad youth and his subordinates. However, their leader had changed into a light blue brocade robe, giving him the air of a refined young master.

The way they walked in didn't suggest they had specifically tracked him.

Fufeng City was so big; how did they happen to enter this particular place?

Fu Jiu was saying to the youth, "Young Master, don't you love eating donkey meat? Don't let this just being an inn fool you; their cook makes excellent oil cakes and braised donkey meat!"

"Oh, really?" the youth said indifferently. "Bring a plate for me to try."

Just as the shop assistant went to get it, a crow flew in through the window and landed on the leader's chair back.

The crow's tail feathers were somewhat singed, and He Lingchuan found it familiar.

The leader didn't even look up. "Why are you still following me?" he said. "You lost the person you were tracking."

The crow chirped, its tail cocked. "I have a new lead!"

"Oh?"

"The scent of Sanxinyuan Mountain Mire is very strong; it can't be easily washed off with water!" the crow said proudly. "I can smell it, right here in this inn!"

He Lingchuan frowned slightly.

The leader and his subordinates exchanged glances.

The Sanxinyuan Mountain Mire had exploded, spreading mycelia and spores everywhere. Anyone or any monster coming from there would carry that scent.

The crow flew half a circle around the dining hall, as if confirming the source of the scent, then folded its wings and landed on He Lingchuan's table:

"You, you have the scent too!"

He Lingchuan shooed it with his chopsticks, making a "shoo" sound, as if it were a common bird.

This indication was unmistakable. The leader walked over and asked He Lingchuan with a smile:

"May I sit here?"

He Lingchuan refused. "No."

The man seemed not to hear, and directly pulled out a chair and sat down. "Thank you," he said.

"Why were you still lingering in Sanxinyuan on the day after the Imperial Ooze erupted?"

He Lingchuan slurped some soup. "Get to the point," he said.

"Humans usually don't stay there long," the man said with a smile. "Do you have any hidden concerns?"

"I don't know what you're talking about, and I don't want to know," He Lingchuan said lazily. "By your appearance, you're not from Fufeng City, are you?"

"How can you tell?"

"If you were from Fufeng City, you'd be staying at the Residence Hall right now, not running around everywhere," He Lingchuan said, pointing to his temple. "People with problems here are all sent to the Residence Hall, to live out the rest of their lives there in peace."

That was the place in Fufeng City for housing mentally ill people; he had only learned about it a few days prior.

A big man suddenly stood up and walked over, but the leader pressed down on his wrist, signaling him not to act.

He leaned in and whispered to He Lingchuan:

"I recognize your aura. That move at the Wild Boar Cave was brilliant!"

He Lingchuan slurped a noodle.

"Heavenly materials and earthly treasures belong to the capable," the youth said, looking at him with a smile. "How about we become friends?"

During their previous chase, he had only thought this fellow was nimble. Meeting him today, he realized He Lingchuan was no ordinary person.

He didn't know why he felt this way, even though the man was just calmly eating his noodles.

When he said this, the men behind the youth were surprised. Their young master had often killed people in the streets at the slightest provocation and always escaped unscathed. Why had his temperament suddenly changed this time?

He Lingchuan put down his chopsticks, slowly looked at the youth, and then suddenly broke into a smile. "Alright, what's your name?"

Both knew clearly that the Imperial Ooze they had fought over days ago had already transformed into cultivation within the other's body. It was pointless to fight fiercely now.

"My name is Fu Shan," the youth said, crossing his arms. "And yours?"

"He."

Fu Shan smiled. "So, are we done here?"

He Lingchuan also smiled, without a hint of animosity. "We're done."

Fu Shan enthusiastically invited him, "Why don't we eat together?"

He Lingchuan waved his chopsticks. "No, no, I'm almost finished here."

Both of their amicable attitudes were abrupt. The big men behind Fu Shan were somewhat bewildered, having expected their young master to overturn the table.

Fu Shan then continued, "Since I've met you, there's one more thing I'd like to ask you..."

Just then, the inn's entrance darkened, and someone else walked in. He looked around, and seeing He Lingchuan, walked straight over.

It was Wu Jinsong.

"Brother He, you're finally back! Oh, are you with friends?" Wu Jinsong was sharp-eyed and immediately sensed that something was off about the scene.

How did the standing fellows look so menacing?

He Lingchuan said calmly, "Yes, these gentlemen are people I met in the suburbs a few days ago, and there were some minor misunderstandings between us."

"Oh?" Wu Jinsong immediately understood. "Are those misunderstandings still ongoing?"

In the past few days, in the suburbs? Weren't these "friends" made while snatching Imperial Ooze?

He crossed his arms and looked down at Fu Shan. "Is that so? Where are you from?"

His tone was interrogative. Across from him, a burly man with a scraggly beard glared, ready to retort. But Fu Shan raised a hand to stop him, and put on a sincere smile. "We won't disturb your pleasant conversation," he said. "We'll be going now." With that, he cupped his hands in greeting and quickly left with his subordinates. Before leaving, he didn't forget to take the freshly sliced braised donkey meat.

Once they were in an empty alley, Fu Jiu quietly asked him, "Young Master, that man?"

"Keep a close eye on him," Fu Shan said, his expression darkening slightly. "On the morning after the Imperial Ooze erupted, this He fellow was the first to leave the lakeside, yet he knew I was chasing him. I think he must have left some surveillance methods by the lake, and he might even know who we killed."

"That night, whose hands weren't stained with blood?"

"Who cares if some mountain demons or wild monsters died?" Fu Shan retorted. "The crucial thing is that idiotic python demon!"

They had killed the envoy from Malign Nation. This was troublesome, especially for their subsequent mission.

As soon as these people left, He Lingchuan picked up a chopstick and aimed it at the crow.

The crow had a strong phobia of this action; it shrieked in fright, flapped its wings, and flew out of the inn.

With this surveillance gone, He Lingchuan pointed towards the group, and an eyeball spider crawled out of his sleeve, scampered on its eight tiny legs, and quietly hid itself in the belt of the last departing big man.

Wu Jinsong didn't stop them either. He shook his head and said, "Daring to cause trouble here? They must have a death wish."

In the past two days, chaos had been rampant both inside and outside the city. He didn't want to add to his own troubles, so scaring them away was enough.

He Lingchuan gave him a thumbs-up. "You truly live up to your reputation, Sir Wu; you solved my problem without even lifting a finger."

Wu Jinsong was a guard from the Grand Tutor's Residence, considered a local influential figure in Fufeng City. If He Lingchuan could leverage the authority of the Grand Tutor's Residence, why rely on himself?

"Brother He, don't tease me," Wu Jinsong said. He knew He Lingchuan's abilities. As he took another careful look at him, he suddenly paused in surprise. "Huh, have you made some breakthrough?"

He was also a martial artist. He could see He Lingchuan's eyes glowing with spiritual light, his spirit complete and energy full. His demeanor was different from before.

The noodles had gotten a bit cold. He Lingchuan put down his chopsticks. "By your blessing," he said, "I've unblocked my Ren and Du meridians."

"Congratulations, congratulations!" Wu Jinsong was astonished. The two most difficult meridians of the Eight Extraordinary Meridians—had the person before him easily unblocked them? Then the rest would be no problem, just a matter of persistent effort. The other party was not even twenty years old; achieving this at such an age was truly remarkable. "It seems Brother He has had an extraordinary encounter," he mused.

He Lingchuan asked him, "Were you not out on the day of the Imperial Ooze?"

"I was on duty. The higher-ups notified us to be on high alert," Wu Jinsong replied, his resentment and envy almost overflowing. "If Fufeng City were to fall into chaos, what would become of it?"