The two brought Zhang Chengling back to a Zhao Jing who had almost gone mad out of worry. The elder asked him anything and everything while Wen Kexing turned a blind eye; this old man might be a sly fox but he did have concern for his late friend’s son. He silently left, but the moment his back was facing them, he saw someone staring right at him.

Wen Kexing stopped walking, and in that man’s eyes there was an insidious light glinting, like that of a mad dog that was about to pounce. Wen Kexing saw Cao Weining greeting him respectfully, and knew that was his Uncle Master – the infamous ill-tempered Mo Huaikong of Qing Feng Sect.

Mo Huaikong was listening to Cao Weining rambling and looked to the direction the young man was pointing at to face Wen Kexing. At first glance he felt a sense of familiarity; then those deep, dark eyes caused him a pinch of alarm, but he couldn’t pinpoint why.

In his astonishment, he saw Wen Kexing smile back at him. He grunted when Cao Weining started to describe how well-acquainted he was with another man, sensing that this Wen Kexing was no good at all.

He turned to shout at Cao Weining, “Will you stop it already?”

Cao Weining swallowed the rest of his words, wishing he could sew his mouth shut.

—

Only at night fall did Zhou Zishu finish with his meals. He was leaning on the tavern’s balcony rails, taking small sips of wine when someone walked in and said something to the person sitting in the table next to him; both then paid for their food and left. Zhou Zishu opened his eyes wider as he realized half of the tavern was gone already. He pulled a random young man to his side and asked, “What happened?”

“We just got news that the Gao’s Manor has successfully captured a Ghost, and they are going to do a public execution!”

Zhou Zishu’s brows creased. Gao Chong had captured a Ghost? At this moment he no longer had doubts about the Ghosts’ appearance, but what was the Ghost Valley’s intention for doing all of this?

Those were the ones who had caused despicable crimes when they were still living among others and had to enter the Valley to seek refuge; wouldn’t they be afraid of acting in broad daylight again?

Was the Lapis Armor really hiding some kind of big secret, so terrible that it could lure even the Ghosts out of the Valley and make the well-spoken Sir Gao clam up and use such a stupid trick to divert people’s attention?

Still deep in thoughts, Zhou Zishu knocked into someone on his way downstairs. He muttered an apology, but once looking up, he was stunned: It was the disciple of Monk Gu with his otherworldly aura.