Chapter 300: Remnants

Manager Wang was slightly startled by his behavior, but he did not move.

Many people use such tactics during a first encounter, and he was very aware that the other party was also an old hand at this.

So he stared at Li Yunxin's footsteps, counting in his heart.

From the edge of the table to the door took a total of thirteen steps, about six breaths of time. During these thirteen steps, either Manager Wang would stand up to keep him, or Li Yunxin would turn around and ask him again "Have you thought it through"—whoever spoke first would lose the upper hand.

Manager Wang believed the first person to speak would not be him. Because he possessed enough resources and capital; he had what Li Yunxin urgently wanted.

He was also certain that Li Yunxin would not truly walk out that door—at this moment, on such a night, in such a situation, no one in this world would do so.

...Then Li Yunxin reached the door.

He pushed the door, stepped out, and closed the door behind him.

The sound of the wind and rain briefly drifted in from outside and then disappeared with the sound of the door closing.

Manager Wang was stunned.

He actually left?!

After being stunned for a moment, he turned to look out the window—finding that Li Yunxin, with the Wolf Daoist, was heading west, and was about to disappear behind a half-collapsed house.

He hesitated for a breath, and finally sighed, gritted his teeth, and reached out to push open the window: "Young Master, please stay your steps!"

But Li Yunxin did not turn around.

Manager Wang got anxious now, leaning half his body out, his clothes being drenched by the rain in an instant: "Dragon King, please stay your steps! This humble one indeed has important matters to discuss!"

Li Yunxin took two more steps forward before stopping. Then he turned his face in the darkness to look at him, his voice carrying clearly through the great wind and rain: "Is it you who wants to talk to me, or are you relaying your master's words?"

Manager Wang hesitated for a moment and then shouted: "It is my master's intention."

Then he saw Li Yunxin turn and ask the Wolf Daoist something, to which the Wolf Daoist replied respectfully. Li Yunxin then thought for a moment and walked back—carrying a gust of wind and rain, he pushed open the door of Wood South Residence for the second time, closed it, and sat in front of Manager Wang.

"So, what is the purpose of Wood South Residence?"

Li Yunxin still carried the chill from outside. But this time Manager Wang did not smile and tell him to "have a cup of wine to warm your body." He let out a low sigh: "Sigh, the Dragon King is so impatient. Fine. What I said earlier about our Wood South Residence being for the purpose of making the Mutual Aid Society unlucky is indeed the truth. We are... an intelligence agency, of sorts."

He said this and saw Li Yunxin frown slightly: "Agency. You said agency? (Note 1)"

"...Yes, an agency."

Li Yunxin was silent for a while. He felt he had a vague guess about part of the origin of this "Wood South Residence." At least, who it was connected to.

"Agency" was not a word belonging to this era—at least he had never heard the people around him say it. But now it was spoken by Manager Wang.

He thought for a moment: "Continue."

Manager Wang didn't know why Li Yunxin was silent. But he continued: "Our master is just as worried about the Mutual Aid Society's power as Wang Long; he knows they are all a group of dangerous people. The Mutual Aid Society lurks in the shadows, and we lurk in the light. Our purpose is to find someone like Wang Long, to provide help or cooperation, and uproot them."

"What do you mean by lurking in the light?"

"It's... just like this." Manager Wang looked around the room. "The Dragon King should know where information is most plentiful and circulates most frequently. It is in these restaurants and teahouses. Our Wood South Residence has shops in every major city, listening to many things said by guests coming and going from north to south, and making friends with local nobles, officials, peddlers, and runners. We can always get a great deal of news."

Li Yunxin thought for a moment: "But you doing this in every country will make every imperial court wary. So, in reality, you are... working for the courts of the various countries?"

"The Dragon King is wise." Manager Wang took the opportunity to offer a bit of flattery. "You could say that. But in reality, we are only responsible for providing a limited amount of information, simply exchanging what we have. The nobles of the various countries are not all stupid; they know if we can work for them, we can also work for others. So they only treat us as an uncontrollable but cooperative intelligence agency. Our Wood South Residence is an old name, with nearly a thousand years of history—over time, everyone has become used to it."

Li Yunxin nodded: "Good. Now you sound like you're talking business rather than making trouble. For you to be able to operate like this, you must have something to rely on. You said your main shop is in Jinghua of the Qing Kingdom—who on earth is your master? A demon or a Human Cultivator?"

Manager Wang smiled and pointed out the door: "The Dragon King should think about our name."

Li Yunxin was immediately enlightened. His master was called "Hua Munan," and this shop was called Wood South Residence, and it had nearly a thousand years of history...

With such a long lifespan, it was either a Human Cultivator whose cultivation approached the Supreme Realm, or a demon.

So, it was a demon.

A demon who had not emerged into the world, and had established such a large-scale, massive organization.

He frowned, pondering for a good while.

Manager Wang waited patiently for him to digest this information. Then he saw Li Yunxin look up and ask him: "What is the relationship between your master and the Painting Saint?"

Manager Wang was not surprised, he only blinked: "Hmm?"

Based on this reaction, Li Yunxin understood. He wasn't surprised, nor did he give a direct answer. This meant it was either "indeed there's a bit of a relationship" or "trying to be mysterious."

Li Yunxin felt it should be the former.

Because in reality, this Manager Wang had only given a general outline of Wood South Residence's situation but still hadn't said what their goal was. Perhaps because... they were only a tentacle. A tentacle naturally has no purpose of its own; its reason for existence comes from the master of the tentacle. Could the "Hua Munan" he spoke of also be just a chess piece of the Painting Saint?

The wick of the oil lamp on the table was short again. Manager Wang picked up the chopsticks, trimmed the wick, put them down, and quietly looked at Li Yunxin.

After another few breaths, Li Yunxin broke the silence: "So, finding me at a time like this, what do you want to do?"

Manager Wang let out a light breath: "Tonight, first I will give the Dragon King a gift. A piece of news."

"Please, speak."

"Has the Dragon King heard of Red Ridge?"

"I heard the Wolf Daoist mention it. Twenty miles outside Rong City, there is an earthen hill named Red Ridge. Half of the young labor force in Rong City works there."

"That is a vital point for the Mutual Aid Society." Manager Wang said with a smile. "The earth and stone excavated from Red Ridge are not sent to the nobles in the capital, but are what the Mutual Aid Society wants. And currently, this Sword Palace is, in fact, working for the Mutual Aid Society."

"The Mutual Aid Society hides its head and tail; I imagine the Dragon King has been troubled by how to grasp their flaws. Now that the Dragon King knows this news... you naturally know what to do. Red Ridge is a piece of fat on the Mutual Aid Society's body. Once something changes, they will certainly not sit by and watch. At that time, the Dragon King can follow the vine to find the melon."

Li Yunxin was slightly surprised in his heart. But his face remained impassive: "Is Yang Jianzi also part of it?"

Manager Wang's profound and mysterious air seemed to return. He smiled slightly: "On this point, this humble one would like to hear the Dragon King's thoughts."

Li Yunxin let out a light laugh: "I don't know what your status is in Wood South Residence. But seeing your current manner, you look a bit like a major figure. Well... as I see it, I suspect that Yang Jianzi is no longer there."

Manager Wang raised an eyebrow: "On what evidence?"

"The matter of whether it is permitted to eat living beings—from this, one can conclude that this Sword Palace can no longer control its own major policies. For Yang Jianzi to be able to create a world in Yu Kingdom where humans and demons coexist, he must have had powerful methods. For such a person to now be unable to manage these prefectures and counties... and the Wolf Daoist, he once placed his hopes in Yang Jianzi to resolve this situation but waited and waited only to be disappointed."

"If the Sword Palace were a person, then he is now paralyzed. For a ruling group or organization centered around a specific person, once such a serious and terrible situation occurs, it often means that the person themselves has encountered a problem. Furthermore, considering..."

At this point, Li Yunxin's eyes brightened slightly.

He paused and frowned: "The Wolf Daoist also mentioned the Jackal Daoist... saying he used to manage Weicheng but is now causing trouble in the surrounding areas, has controlled Red Ridge, and has something to rely on..."

Manager Wang clapped his hands: "The Dragon King is truly exceptionally intelligent. Here is an additional piece of news—the Jackal Daoist's reliance is Yang Jianzi. And the 'Yang Jianzi' currently in the capital of Yu Kingdom is our puppet. Over a hundred years ago, we briefly clashed once with the Mutual Aid Society, a small victory. And that Yang Jianzi, hmph, was originally a traitor."

"Tell me in detail."

Manager Wang smiled: "Yang Jianzi was originally one of our people. His creation of this world of coexistence between humans and demons in Yu Kingdom was also a trial. But later the Mutual Aid Society wanted some things in Yu Kingdom—for example, the earth and stone of Red Ridge—and thus they turned him. We only found out about this a long time ago and reacted five hundred years ago. But it reached a stalemate after that—until we regained a point over a hundred years ago."

Li Yunxin noticed a number he mentioned. In fact, he had always been quite sensitive to a few specific numbers.

For example, "two thousand years ago," "a thousand years ago," "five hundred years ago."

Many people and events were related to these time points—

The Painting Saint appeared in the world two thousand years ago.

The True Dragon appeared in the world two thousand years ago.

The Painting Saint fell into madness and died a thousand years ago.

The Ninth Dragon Son, Chiwen, came to the Wei River a thousand years ago.

Bai Yunxin came to the world a thousand years ago.

The Evil King and The Seven Sons began guarding Trapped Sky Mountain a thousand years ago.

Wood South Residence has a history of a thousand years.

The Qing Kingdom replaced the Ye Kingdom five hundred years ago—in this world, the change of dynasties for large countries is a very rare event.

Five hundred years ago, a certain force represented by Wood South Residence clashed with the Mutual Aid Society.

These cannot all be coincidences. These intricately linked things must simultaneously point to one person or one event—it's just that Li Yunxin doesn't have enough information yet; he cannot yet reveal the answer.

Li Yunxin let out a light breath: "A thousand years ago the Painting Saint fell into madness... a thousand years ago you were creating a world of harmony between humans and demons in Yu Kingdom. Manager Wang—are you truly the Painting Saint's people?"

He mentioned the Painting Saint for the second time. This time, Manager Wang did not smile.

His expression became serious. After a long silence, he gave a low sigh: "In the end, the Dragon King would have found out sooner or later."

"We are just... remnants of the Painting Saint."

A sudden impulse arose in Li Yunxin's heart. But he quickly suppressed it. He breathed lightly twice and said in a low voice: "The Painting Saint fell into madness and was rumored to have died; was it because of the Mutual Aid Society?"

Manager Wang looked at him: "These are not things I should know. I am just a small figure."

The two were silent for a while.

After a long time, Li Yunxin asked again: "How much do you know about the Mutual Aid Society?"

Manager Wang's face was somewhat gloomy, as if he hadn't escaped from the previous emotion. But he still thought for a moment: "Not much. Over these years... both sides have sent spies to each other. I don't know how many Mutual Aid Society people are in Wood South Residence now, nor how many of our people are in the Mutual Aid Society. But what is already known is that the Mutual Aid Society has four hundred and fourteen elders."

"Among these four hundred and fourteen elders, it seems nine are the most important core, responsible for deciding all major matters."

Li Yunxin was slightly stunned: "Four hundred and fourteen?"

He paused again: "In... Dongting, I saw a body. It was the body used by the Mutual Aid Society's Fu Liangzi to possess so he could pose as Kun Wuzi—it was said to be the body of one of the Mutual Aid Society's elders. That body had powerful physical strength, at least at the Great Accomplishment Profound Realm... and now you say there are four hundred and fourteen elders—truly!?"

The number of Profound Realm cultivators from the Daoist Orthodoxy and Sword Sect combined was only about a hundred.

And the elder's body Li Yunxin saw, which Fu Liangzi possessed, was at least a Great Accomplishment Profound Realm, and that elder should not have been a major figure. Because he could contribute his body just for a Sect Master of the Daoist Orthodoxy's Langya Grotto-Heaven—but the Mutual Aid Society had four hundred and fourteen elders...

Wouldn't that be four hundred and fourteen Profound Realms then?!

All the demons, Daoist Orthodoxy, and Sword Sect in this world combined did not have so many high-cultivation Profound Realms!

Hearing his words, Manager Wang suddenly stood up: "The Dragon King has obtained the body of a Mutual Aid Society elder?! Where?! Where is it now?!"

Seeing his manner, Li Yunxin knew this matter was extraordinary. But he could only sigh: "Sigh, it was possessed by Kun Wuzi's Spiritual Soul and taken back to the Daoist Orthodoxy's Cloud Mountain, I suppose."

Manager Wang immediately pounded the table fiercely, as if wanting to vent his anger but unable to do so. He could only stand straight for a while and then sit back down heavily: "Sigh, Dragon King... sigh! Dragon King! You don't know how much effort we spent just to catch a glimpse of a Mutual Aid Society elder's true face!"

Li Yunxin hesitated for a moment, frowning slightly: "So you're saying... you haven't seen the true face of a Mutual Aid Society elder? After all these years?"

Manager Wang sighed for a while and looked up: "Sigh. The elders of the Mutual Aid Society are exceptionally mysterious. Never mind us seeing their true face, even those people within the Mutual Aid Society rarely see them. I know what the Dragon King is thinking—thinking that those are four hundred and fourteen individuals of extremely high cultivation."

"But the reality may not be so. Those people may be different from what we imagine. Otherwise, four hundred and fourteen Profound Realms, if they all came out at once, they could sweep across the world. Why would they need to lurk in the dark and engage in these sneaky, dishonest dealings?"

"It is precisely because we want to figure out why that we wanted to get that elder's body... now, sigh, Dragon King, can you still design a way to get that body back?"

Li Yunxin thought for a moment and only said: "It is at the Daoist Orthodoxy's Cloud Mountain."

Manager Wang sighed again: "What a pity, such a great opportunity."