Chapter 122: Such Schemes

For the past month, the Supreme Elder Nangong Hongbo had been feeling genuinely flustered. As the guardian of little Fatty Gu, he had been nothing if not conscientious. Yet, lately, he had frequently found himself unable to track the boy’s presence or aura for no apparent reason.

Take just a moment ago: Nangong Hongbo had been relieved to find the boy in a state of peaceful cultivation, but his peace of mind lasted only a short while. After a ripple in the space around them, little Fatty Gu had simply vanished. It was different from before; even when the boy had been tossing about in the spatial turbulence for over half a month, Nangong Hongbo had at least been able to sense that he was nearby. But now...

"That brat, teleporting whenever he pleases!"

"Have pity on this old, frail body of mine—can’t you let me rest for once?!"

"It seems I really must find an opportunity to plant a tracking mark on that little rascal later."

In the high, empty sky, a sigh echoed as Nangong Hongbo helplessly began to dash about, searching everywhere for the boy’s trail.

***

The Death-Dealer Pavilion was famous across the Wind Spirit Continent for more than just its art of assassination. Its intricate intelligence network was equally vast, blanketing the world. This was why, whenever they undertook a contract, they could always precisely pinpoint the target’s identity and location. Similarly, the so-called "Shadow Division" of the Puppet Sect was also renowned among all major factions for their prowess in espionage.

Little Fatty Gu’s next move relied on exploiting this very advantage of information to sit back and reap the rewards. The contest now was between the Death-Dealer Pavilion and the Puppet Sect to see whose intelligence would be faster, more timely, and more accurate. Clearly, little Fatty Gu trusted the long-standing assassin organization more.

"Investigate! I want the movements of all power-holding elders of the Shura Manor, from the late Nascent Soul stage to the Great Perfection stage—anyone heading out on business," he commanded.

"Investigate! I want the files on the Shadow Division agents who have infiltrated the Southern Region, as well as any instances of their experts at the late Nascent Soul to Great Perfection stages traveling alone."

"Also, mislead the Spirit Severing stage experts sent by your headquarters; help me stall them for another two days."

These three messages were sent simultaneously to his subordinates within the assassins' ranks. The efficiency of the Death-Dealer Pavilion was indeed high. The first message yielded results in just half a quarter-hour, and the second, far more difficult request, took only a day to resolve. As for the third, it went without saying. These assassins were seasoned veterans; from start to finish, they left no trace of surveillance or delay. And two days? For little Fatty Gu, that was just enough time.

By the time Supreme Elder Nangong Hongbo finally located the boy, little Fatty Gu had already reached the northernmost part of the Southern Region and was stealthily creeping toward a magnificent mansion.

"What is this brat trying to do now?!" Nangong Hongbo grumbled inwardly, his divine sense quietly following along.

Elder Xiu Ji, who commanded the Battle Hall of the Shura Manor, was at the Great Perfection of the Nascent Soul stage, with one foot already inside the Spirit Severing stage. As luck would have it, he was returning from business in the Central Region and had stopped to rest at a private villa he owned in the north of the Southern Region.

At this moment, Elder Xiu Ji was not cultivating. Instead, he was enjoying a medicinal bath, tended to by a beautiful woman. She wore only a thin layer of gauze, her fragrant shoulders exposed—whether intentionally or not—her figure graceful, her waist slender, truly a stunning beauty. The old scoundrel, old enough to be the woman’s grandfather, squinted his lustful eyes, his wrinkled hands occasionally teasing the beauty beside him, drawing ripples of giggles.

Just as the two were deep in their intimacy, they never noticed—nor could they have predicted—that an uninvited guest had already slipped inside.

"Pah! Promiscuous filth! You’ve dirtied my eyes!"

Having scouted the situation inside, little Fatty Gu cursed under his breath. Yet, his aura remained completely suppressed. He activated a formation jade slip, instantly shrouding the entire luxurious mansion.

Prepared and ready, little Fatty Gu did not hesitate. He figured if he waited any longer and the old scoundrel started doing anything else with that woman, it would be awkward for him to show his face and strike—otherwise... that would be just too unscrupulous.

With a flash, little Fatty Gu broke through the door. With a single hand-chop, he knocked the beauty unconscious, simultaneously tossing countless fire-spirit dragons into the large medicinal tub where the disrobed old scoundrel was soaking.

In his panic, Xiu Ji leaped into the air, one hand shielding his crotch, the other reaching out to grab his long robe from a nearby rack.

"Ah..."

Seeing the opponent’s defenses wide open, little Fatty Gu struck instantly. The Meteor Five-Spirit Ring spun at high speed, slamming into the old man’s groin. At the same time, he unleashed his pressure, comparable to the Spirit Severing stage, crushing down upon the target. Caught in a moment of soul-suppression and sluggish reaction, Xiu Ji’s hand, which had been guarding his crotch, was completely mangled—bones shattered, tendons snapped, leaving a bloody mess.

Amidst Xiu Ji’s screams, little Fatty Gu struck home, driving his knee into the old man’s abdomen. With his cultivation sealed, the old scoundrel Xiu Ji was captured in a blink, his body curled like a dried shrimp.

Little Fatty Gu produced a rustic scroll and proceeded to use it, and no matter how unwilling Xiu Ji was, it was already too late.

"I heard you just got back from business in the Central Region? Come on, tell me all about it."

"Th-this..."

"Speak!"

"Yes, yes, yes, it’s like this, young master..."

"Damn it! Good, so it was you old scoundrel who put out a bounty in the Death-Dealer Pavilion to assassinate me!"

"No, that’s not it! Young master, let this old servant explain!"

"Ah..."

After giving him another brutal thrashing, little Fatty Gu finally heard the explanation. It turned out this old fellow was just a runner; the true employer was a Deputy Manor Master of the Shura Manor, which meant this was, naturally, the will of the Shura Manor itself. Poor Elder Xiu Ji—if this had been a normal situation, he might have been able to hold his own against little Fatty Gu for a while, but alas, there are no "ifs" in this world.

After giving him a few more instructions and tossing down a few fourth-tier supreme-grade spirit pills, little Fatty Gu quietly vanished into the night.

***

In the northeastern part of the Southern Region, within a crowded teahouse filled with guests, a strange youth sat by a window, drinking tea with an expressionless face, his ears pricked and his eyes occasionally glancing around. He had been in the Southern Region for over a day, seemingly blending into the local life, yet he wandered constantly, visiting every teahouse and tavern he came across. Everywhere he went, different waiters would quietly slip small strips of cloth of similar material into his hands while pouring tea.

This youth was named Shan Mo, having come from the miasma-filled lands of the Central Region.

That night, like any ordinary commoner, the youth Shan Mo returned to a thatched hut on the edge of town, carrying a common iron sword.

"If you don’t want to die, don't move!"

"Bang!"

"I told you not to move! You insisted, so don't blame me."

Little Fatty Gu, masked and hidden, felt he had been polite enough, but the boy had pulled a magical dagger out of thin air to stab him. That had truly angered the otherwise polite little Fatty Gu. He swiped the dagger away and delivered a fierce kick.

Shan Mo was no slouch; though young, he was already at the Great Perfection of the Golden Core stage, hiding it well during the day. Yet, even so, he didn’t last two rounds against the monstrous combat prowess of little Fatty Gu before being sealed and slammed into the mud wall.

The youth stared expressionlessly at the masked attacker, remaining coldly silent. It was clear he had been specially trained by the Puppet Sect, but unfortunately for him, he had met little Fatty Gu. Under a mental attack, his will, though like steel, proved useless.

"You are still young. Do a job for me. If you perform well, I might consider removing the soul-seal in your head."

"Are you... Gu Changqing?"

"Hmm?"

"If you are, then I believe you! I agree to help you! But... I have a request!"

"Speak."

***

Overnight, little Fatty Gu dashed all over the Southern Region, capturing a few more people and giving them their first task.

Inside the deepest meeting hall of the Shura Manor:

"Manor Master, Deputy Manor Master..."

"Old Ji, you? What happened?"

"Manor Master, you must seek justice for me!"

Before dawn, Elder Xiu Ji, his clothes torn, stained with blood, covered in sword and saber wounds, and one hand a mangled wreck—looking ten years older than he had before—threw himself onto the floor, unable to rise.

With tears streaming down his face, Xiu Ji tearfully recounted his grievance: on his way back from the Central Region after dealing with the Death-Dealer Pavilion, he had been intercepted by several experts. He fled all the way to the northern Southern Region, where his beautiful mistress had taken a fatal blow for him and died on the spot. He himself was severely wounded and had been forced to overdraw his life potential to escape...

"The Puppet Sect dares to do this?! Hmph!"

To survive, the shrewd Xiu Ji turned his performance into a true act, telling lies more convincingly than the truth, snot and tears flowing. He claimed that at first, he didn't know why the Puppet Sect was intercepting him, until he forcibly captured one of them halfway. Under soul-searching, he learned that the Puppet Sect’s forces in the Southern Region had been decimated, and they suspected that the Shura Manor had discovered that the death of the Manor Master’s personal disciple, Xiu Zheng-hu, was their doing, leading to a vengeful rampage that wiped out their entire Southern branch...

"Xiu Zheng-hu? No wonder! I was wondering when such a powerful expert appeared in our Wind Spirit Continent to attempt possession, but it turns out it was the Puppet Sect all along."

"Indeed, if you search the entire continent, only the Puppet Sect would stoop to such underhanded tactics."

"And to think we were scaring ourselves..."

The heavy-hearted Manor Master, Xiu Binggan, suddenly saw the light. He wanted to avenge his disciple and seek justice for the Elder, but he still had his reservations. Although the Puppet Sect’s overall strength was inferior to the Shura Manor’s, they were not to be underestimated.

Just as the Manor Master was feeling vexed, several more figures arrived.

"Manor Master, you must seek justice for us!"

Their voices arrived before they did.

"Brother Haobo, Brother Sihai... what is this?"

"Manor Master, I am incompetent. None of the disciples guarding the mines survived; only this old bag of bones was lucky enough to escape with his life!"

"Manor Master, our shops in the west have all been destroyed. Elder Xiu Meng has fallen in battle, I, I..."

The seven figures who had arrived, while not as miserable as Xiu Ji, were not far off. Their bodies were covered in countless saber and sword wounds, their skin peeled back, and their injuries already crusted with black blood...

They all pointed their accusations at the Puppet Sect.

With the power-holding elders of his own manor in such a sorry state, and his most talented disciple lost to the Puppet Sect—coupled with the fact that the Puppet Sect had recently deployed nearly ten thousand high, middle, and low-ranking subordinates into the Southern Region with great fanfare without even greeting them, the local overlords...

It was truly too much bullying!

Bullying the Shura Manor too far!