Chapter 199 - Yuan Hao (1)

“Xu Yuan. Someone is following us.”

After the three had walked some distance, Ran Qingmo suddenly sent him a voice transmission.

It came out of nowhere. Xu Yuan’s brow lifted slightly at the sound.

The residential alleys in the slums around Calm Bay were long, narrow, and cramped. The longer ones ran more than 200 feet, while the shorter ones were only about 80 feet. Forks and turns tangled everywhere, making it very hard to track anyone through them.

Still, after hearing Ran Qingmo’s warning, he instinctively circulated his cultivation art and probed behind them. Yet even with his sixth rank cultivation and the boost from the Blood Origin Heartfall Art, he found nothing at all.

Xu Yuan frowned and sent back, “Strong?”

Ran Qingmo pondered for a moment, then shook her head. “Not very. Judging by his breathing and heartbeat, he should only be around seventh rank.”

Xu Yuan fell quiet. A seventh rank was tailing a sixth rank without being noticed. More importantly, Xu Yuan’s Innate Dao Physique allowed him to send his soul intent out of his body to scout. His thoughts churned. He lowered his eyes and glanced at the faint, almost invisible footprints in the dirt behind them. Understanding dawned, but a moment later his eyes narrowed.

After a pause, he chuckled softly. “Looks like whoever’s following us is an old hand.”

“Should we get rid of him?” Ran Qingmo asked, quite naturally.

Xu Yuan glanced at her, the corner of his mouth curling.

The world these days could hardly be called peaceful, especially in certain provinces and prefectures. For a woman as beautiful as Ran Qingmo to wander the jianghu, trouble would always come knocking sooner or later.

Even in his previous life, things were still a proper mess around the turn of the millennium, let alone in an age like this.

When traveling outside, a black hand was a necessary qualification, just like the club she had used on him back then.

Still, Xu Yuan shook his head at Ran Qingmo’s suggestion. “No need. We’ll go back and find him.”

With that said, he released the restriction on the Sage's remnant soul. Almost instantly, that familiar bass voice rang out. He sounded deeply aggrieved. “Xu boy, I know there are some things this old man shouldn’t know, but do you have any idea how I spent these past dozen days? It’s dark and cold inside that soul ring...”

“All right, all right. You’ve stayed there for 10,000 years. What’s another ten days?” Xu Yuan was torn between laughter and tears. “Lend me your soul force for a moment.”

“Tsk.” The Sage's remnant soul clicked his tongue. While releasing his soul force, he muttered, “I won’t say much more. This old man has gone to all this trouble helping you, so remember to find me a good disciple.”

Xu Yuan shook his head and did not expose him. The instant their soul intents connected, Xu Yuan found the person tailing them. He took Xu Xinyao with him and rose into the air, then landed in front of the man in a single breath.

The empty alley fell into dead silence.

Looking at the three conical-hatted figures who had appeared in front of him in the blink of an eye, the man following them instinctively took half a step back, but his expression barely changed.

Seeing his reaction, Xu Yuan roughly had his answer.

The young man was lean and strong, about 28 old, with ordinary features. He looked just like any common farmhand.

“Scout?” Xu Yuan wasted no words and asked directly.

An old hand at tailing people like this was either a local gang snake or a military scout. Judging by how well he adapted on the spot, he was probably the latter.

And if he was not the latter, they could simply kill him.

A local gang snake following them, especially with Ran Qingmo and Xu Xinyao present, was most likely not looking to make friends.

The man’s reaction remained calm. He only cupped his fists. “Has Young Master come to find the wolf’s head?”

Xu Yuan knew he was checking the countersign, so he smiled. “No. I came to find the monkey.”

After a moment of silence, the man respectfully cupped his fists and knelt on the ground. “Greetings, Third Young Master.”

Xu Yuan waved a hand. “Get up. Lead the way.”

The man immediately rose, hurried forward a few steps, and said softly, “Third Young Master, Commander Yuan has been waiting for some time.”

Under the man’s guidance, the three of them crossed several blocks and arrived at a high-walled compound with guards posted outside. Two imposing stone lions sat on either side of the gate, and faint ripples of formation patterns could be seen along the courtyard wall.

Sure enough, even the poorest places had rich people. Though a place like this was probably not bought through proper means.

Xu Yuan glanced sideways at the man beside him.

Seeing Xu Yuan’s look, the man explained in a low voice, “Third Young Master, this is the residence of the Calm Bay Gang’s leader. Mhm, the Calm Bay Gang is the largest gang in this area. They control the unloading at the docks, gambling, and the flesh trade.”

After saying that, he signaled for the guards at the gate to open up.

The courtyard gate opened. As they went deeper into the compound, Xu Yuan could not help but smile faintly to himself.

Starting a war was not as simple as moving troops. Intelligence, supplies, silver, and much more all had to be prepared in full.

Xu Yinhe made the decision, and the people below began to act. Each branch of his forces coordinated with the others.

The Calm Bay Gang was likely the work of Lou Ji’s Blackscale Guards. He had not expected them to have hidden pieces buried even inside the territory of the Myriad Manifestations Sect.

Xu Xinyao looked around and came to the same conclusion. She said softly, “Third Brother, is the commander behind this Calm Bay Gang one of the Blackscale Guards?”

“Probably.” Xu Yuan nodded. “Looks like that old hag’s people are even more capable than we imagined.”

The chaos of the slums was chaos only to outsiders. To the people born and raised here, this place was basically a web of neighbors and familiar faces.

Because the poor district was so large, and because it had many attractions that drew visitors, a sudden arrival of a 100 or so unfamiliar faces might not attract much notice. But if more than 1,000 extra people appeared here in a short span of time, there was no way the local snakes would fail to notice.

The reason local snakes could exist at all was most likely because they had certain communications with people on the official side. But the town of Myriad was named after the Myriad Manifestations Sect for a reason. Naturally, it had countless ties to the Myriad Manifestations Sect.

In tense times like these, the slightest disturbance could easily set off a chain reaction.

Xu Xinyao nodded in agreement. “No wonder Yuan Hao was able to smuggle people inside.”

As the residence of the largest gang’s leader, this place was far from comparable to the Chancellor's residence in Stillwater, but it still occupied a large area.

After passing through several courtyards, the group finally entered the rear hall where the master of the house lived.

Small bridges and flowing water, cloud-bright pavilions and elegant verandas. A stone-paved path led all the way to the hall ahead.

A middle-aged man with hair half black and half white came out from the hall to welcome them. There was a scar on his face, and he carried a faint, almost imperceptible killing intent.

He fit Xu Yuan’s image of a gang boss rather well.

The scout leading the way immediately introduced him in a low voice. “Third Young Master, this man is the leader of the Calm Bay Gang. This lowly one will take his leave first.”

“Mhm. Go on.” Xu Yuan nodded, stopped where he was, and watched as the man approached.

“Bai Zhao greets Third Young Master.” After the middle-aged man arrived before him, he did not kneel. Instead, he cupped his hands and bowed deeply.

This was probably the difference between the Blackscale Guards and the Blackscale Army.

The Calm Sky Martial Halls not only taught its martial apprentices cultivation arts, it also cultivated their collective awareness and loyalty. Loyalty to one man, Xu Yinhe.

As for the specific methods, those had been carefully argued and refined by the Chancellor's Manor’s staff. They worked subtly, gradually, without provoking resistance from the apprentices.