Qi Cultivation Starting from the Repair Panel

However, rashly making contact with Zhuo Xiu now would probably not be easy, and might even alarm the enemy. He needed to remain hidden for a while longer and wait for the opportunity.

Since Zhuo Xiu acted as a guide today, leading these people here and had even prepared the appropriate attire, it meant that this place must be quite a famous tourist destination within the Tianyao Federation.

Even if Zhuo Xiu left, there would likely be no shortage of tourists in the future. Time was on his side, and he had all the time in the world.

Chu Zheng got up, closed the shop door, casually hung up a 'closed' sign, then retrieved a straw mat from inside, rolled up You Dawu's corpse in it, and placed it in a corner.

It was still early outside, unsuitable for disposing of the body. Besides, he also needed to prepare a set of night clothes for activities later in the evening.

In addition to You Dawu, he needed to deal with Yan Lang and his crew as quickly as possible to prevent future complications.

Chu Zheng wasn't worried about troubles befalling him, but just as with the encounter involving Tree Root previously, You Dawu's death here could inadvertently involve other innocent people due to Yan Lang.

Facing such poisonous snakes from the gutter, the best course of action was to strike them dead with a single blow and resolve the problem once and for all.

...

...

In Yuncao City, there were over a hundred inns of various sizes. The inns to the west of the city charged the highest prices, simply because they were closer to the port and docks. From a window, one could see the great river's ceaseless flow and their own ships.

Ping An Inn was among them, ranking as a well-known large inn, and naturally, the prices were not cheap.

The sky gradually darkened, and the setting sun cast a brilliant silhouette amidst the ancient buildings with green tiled roofs.

The main hall of the inn was filled with tables and chairs, occupied by merchants and gallant warriors from the jianghu, toasting and chatting. The topics ranged from the affairs in the highest of temples, the Golden Throne Hall, to the most ordinary happenings in the marketplace—no subject was off-limits for these people of all walks of life.

As for the truth of these talks, it was up to oneself to discern.

On the second floor, scholars and poets chanted by the Angry River, enjoying the sunset and engaging in poetic exchanges.

The scene of a historic and flourishing Ancient Dynasty was vividly depicted within this single inn.

In a corner of the main hall, four burly men sat around a table, fraught with an absence of greens but brimming with large servings of meat and poultry.

They ate and drank like the bottomless, their mouths dripping with grease, and their mere act of dining revealed a bandit-like demeanor.

However, in a gathering place for all sorts of people, there were many whose table manners were even worse than theirs, so they didn't attract much attention.

Dining, one man looked up at the sky and said indistinctly,

"Why hasn't Dawu come back yet?"

The man's head was wrapped in a tea-colored headscarf, his skin dark and face rugged yet honest-looking.

Sitting opposite him was a lean man, his hair graying and his face lined with age, giving him a somewhat elderly appearance. He immediately took up the conversation,

"Maybe he sneaked off to a brothel."

Before he finished speaking, the muscular, bare-chested giant to his left let out a cold laugh,

"You think Dawu's like you? Can't live a day without the lips of a brothel girl."

"Besides, he can't even pull out a couple of copper coins, let alone have silver. If he dared to embezzle silver and sneak some fun, wouldn't he fear Wolfhead chopping him up?"

The men took turns speaking, while the big man seated by the window, eating in silence, was nearly forty with a face marked by the weather, a long scar on the left side, and narrow eyes as sharp as swords, giving him a fierce look.

In the blink of an eye, the last ray of the setting sun disappeared beneath the horizon, leaving no trace.

Two silver moons rose into the sky, suspended high above.

Inside the main hall, guests came and went, the atmosphere growing livelier as time passed.

In the corner, the three who had spoken earlier were no longer chatting idly, instead wearing cold expressions and staring intently at the entrance, except for the scar-faced man, who seemed insatiable and continued eating.

Moments later, a group of people entered the inn, their faces bearing smiles, led by a woman in her early twenties.

"Wolfhead, look what that girl has in her hand."

The lean man suddenly shouted in a low voice, his expression sour.

Hearing this, the scar-faced man gnawing on a chicken leg halted his motion, lifted his head, and fixed his gaze on the object in the entering woman's hand.

A gold-threaded jade thumb ring was twirling and flicking gracefully on her slender fingertips.

After observing for a moment, he ground the chicken bone in his mouth, swallowed, and spoke calmly,

"When night falls and the place quiets down, drag her to the ship, probe her, and make sure there are no slip-ups."

Upon hearing this, the three men rose from their seats. The lean man headed for the kitchen, the brawny half-naked man proceeded upstairs, and the seemingly honest man went straight out of the inn.

Over an hour later, four individuals reconvened in the elegant private room on the third floor.

"I've found out, just arrived in town today: River-crossing Dragon, spending freely, should be a fat prize. I've looked, several of them have some strength, but possess no Inner Strength, won't be difficult to handle,"

the honest-looking man spoke first, his brow slightly furrowed as he added:

"Da Wu hasn't come back yet, I'm afraid it's more likely bad news than good. Just don't know if these people did it. That lass seems like the leader, hard to gauge her depth, could be a bit of a handful."

"Then let's snatch a few, leave a note, and force them to come out of the city to talk,"

Yan Lang pondered for a moment and changed his earlier plan:

"There's a Grandmaster in the city, causing trouble will invite problems."

...

...

The season had turned to deep autumn.

The night grew darker, the cold wind more biting, seeping into the marrow of one's bones.

A shadow silently landed in the midst of Ping An Inn. Chu Zheng's eyes were sharp as lightning, searching through the window for any trace of Yan Lang and his men.

Just as he started looking, several figures flew out from the back of the inn, each carrying a person, moving rapidly with a brisk pace, heading straight for the city outskirts.

Chu Zheng's pupils flickered with Spiritual Light, and he quickly discovered the information he was looking for.

[Yan Lang (Zeroth Order): Former Imperial Guard of the Yuangu Dynasty, Tomb Robber, had a fortuitous encounter in his early years, possesses the Inner Strength of a full zodiac cycle, almost comparable to a Martial Arts Grandmaster.]

Besides Yan Lang, the people being carried, according to the information on the panel, were all citizens of the Tianyao Federation, clearly tourists who had come here to sightsee.

This meant Zhuo Xiu should also be inside Ping An Inn.

Just as Chu Zheng was about to follow them, a figure suddenly burst out of the inn, without the slightest deviation, chasing directly after the departing Yan Lang and his men.

Zhuo Xiu...

Seeing this, Chu Zheng concealed his aura and slowly followed.

Tracking and locating someone was clearly not a difficult feat for the Tianyao Federation.

Quite the coincidence.

Chu Zheng couldn't help but sigh slightly, Yan Lang was truly audacious, probably without any idea of the kind of person he had provoked.

Zhuo Xiu, after all, had reached First Order, to mortals that was equivalent to an Immortal, simply not someone these few could deal with.

Even Grandmasters, Great Grandmasters, in front of a being of First Order, were nothing but chickens and dogs.

With just one finger, Zhuo Xiu could easily crush Yan Lang and his men to death.

In a blink of an eye, Chu Zheng followed Zhuo Xiu's trail out of the city, running several miles before stopping at a mountain pass.

He found a treetop and quietly slipped into it, settling down to watch.

The development of this affair had completely surpassed his expectations, and now, all he could do was watch the show unfold.

Yan Lang stood at the mountain pass, showing no signs of breathlessness, his face cold and composed, his palm tightly gripping someone's throat; a little pressure would be enough to kill.

At this moment, a sense of dread filled his heart. This woman's speed was terrifyingly fast, even when he exerted his Qinggong to the fullest, he couldn't shake her off in the slightest; she had caught up to him in the time it took to make a cup of tea.

He knew very well that this time, he had probably hit a snag.

"Let him go, whatever you want, I can give it to you,"

Zhuo Xiu said in a steady voice, showing no sign of impatience, but inwardly she was burning with anxiety.

The lives of these tourists were each more precious than the last, and any mishap would mean the end of her career as a tour guide.

The moment she learned of the situation, she had already activated the alarm system, and now all she needed to do was to stall for time, waiting for the central processing unit to respond.

Yan Lang tightened his grip and shouted harshly:

"I want ten thousand taels of silver."

"I'll give it to you!"

Without any hesitation, Zhuo Xiu reached into her sleeve and pulled out a stack of silver notes:

"Ten thousand taels in silver notes, let him go, and I'll ensure your safe departure."