The Ku Mountain Sect disappeared.

Half a month had passed since the Red Hook Chaos, and people hadn't seen that "Cure All With Medicine" flag again. This small sect that stirred up trouble everywhere vanished without a trace, as if it had evaporated into thin air. Even the best scouts of the Yueshui Bureau couldn't find any clues.

Some said Shi Jingzhi publicly took the life-saving magic treasure, exposed his wealth, and was killed by the Red Hook Sect for the treasure. Others said they were just lying low, hiding among other sects, waiting to fight for the Shi Rou at the martial arts assembly.

The Ku Mountain Sect was ultimately a small sect that couldn't stir up much of a storm. People talked about it for a few days and then put it out of their minds.

Without the Ku Mountain Sect, the world continued to be as lively as before.

It was late spring, the evening breeze was warm, and Yi City was full of lush greenery. People were willing to go out for a stroll. Every decent teahouse and tavern was bustling with noise.

Four porters ordered a pot of good wine and asked the waiter to dilute it into four pots with water. The group only had a plate of salt-boiled peanuts to go with the wine, which wasn't satisfying, so they ordered a few more small dishes before getting a good look from the waiter.

The porters traveled north and south, barely literate, but they had seen and heard a lot. Sitting at a table together, they naturally had endless things to talk about.

"The Luojiu area isn't doing well, don't bother going there anymore." One of them, with a face like a shoehorn, said worriedly, "In previous years, there were still people doing business, and we could make a few big bucks. It's different now, their new king, Divine... Divine Descent Sage or something, is very powerful."

"How powerful? Tell us, tell us."

"They say his eyes are as big as copper bells, and his hands can shoot fire. The Luojiu people were already as strong as bulls, pity our mortal bodies, the kids charged in waves and fell like wheat being cut. In the past, we could still hold on with lives, but now... tsk tsk."

The shoehorn-faced man wiped his weathered face and sighed deeply.

"Isn't Yi City still doing well? If the east isn't good, let's go west. Didn't they say there's a fair every day by the Great Prohibited Formation, plenty of work to do."

"Alright, my cousin was fooled by those words. It's so windy there, even his hair got blown off. Let alone no work, it's as dry as a ghost."

"They all say the Divine Emperor Wu protects us, our Dayun has no disasters or misfortunes, how come it's getting worse and worse?"

"My old uncle can tell fortunes, he says it's because the current emperor has lost his virtue..."

As soon as these words came out, the other three immediately changed their expressions. The shoehorn-faced man immediately raised his voice and said loudly, "If east and west aren't good, let's go north and south. There aren't many people in the north, and isn't there going to be a martial arts assembly in the south? There will be plenty of people, let's all go together."

The porter who had just propagated his "old uncle" reacted, and immediately clicked his tongue a few times - he forgot this was under the emperor's feet, and he almost brought disaster upon himself with his words.

He hurriedly picked up the conversation, "Let's go, let's go. Let's all go together, so we can look out for each other. Those jianghu people all know some moves, if we run into someone who refuses to pay, we won't even have a place to complain."

The shoehorn-faced man took a sip of wine with relish, and said smugly, "No problem, once we finish the work at hand, we'll leave at night. The stables in Yi City are too expensive, can't afford to stay, can't afford it."

"You still have work on hand?"

"Of course."

After drinking his fill of wine, the shoehorn-faced man bought some fresh meat and vegetables and went to the mountain outside the city with them on a pole. The mountain had beautiful scenery and clear water, and wealthy families liked to build villas here. He often took on odd jobs delivering vegetables.

This time was a little different.

The person who came to meet him was not a cook or servant, but a young man wearing a Nuo Mask. The man wore a plain long robe, his long hair was like fine charcoal, and his skin was dazzlingly white. Judging by his bearing and demeanor, he didn't look like a servant at all.

In comparison, the wooden Nuo Mask was crude and ugly, exuding an ominous aura.

Oh no, the shoehorn-faced man was shocked and terrified, he had run into an immortal!

His delivery sign was from the vegetable market. These days, even demons would go to the vegetable market to hire people to deliver vegetables... Either the vegetable order was fake, or the order for someone to be cooked was real...

The water and wine from before had all turned into hot sweat. Without thinking, the shoehorn-faced man put down the pole and immediately kowtowed, "Grandpa, spare my life, Grandpa, spare my life! My muscles and bones are old and brittle, I'm not good to eat!"

The demon seemed to be amused by the shoehorn-faced man. When he handed over the string of coins, there was still laughter in his voice, "Take it."

He didn't know what kind of demon this was, but the heavy string of coins was genuine. To be honest, this demon's voice was quite pleasant, like the cold jade chimes in a jade store.

The shoehorn-faced man was stunned for a while before he finally caught his breath, "This... this grandpa, you scared me to death. The vegetables and meat you wanted are all here, I'll be leaving now..."

"Wait." The man said leisurely, "I still have work to do. If you have no other arrangements, you can come with us to the north of Qizhou."

"Grandpa wants to go to the martial arts assembly? No problem, no problem, I can call a few more people to come." So it was really a living person after all. The porter's heart finally settled back into his stomach.

"Very well. Come back here at the hour of You today."

The man easily picked up the basket of vegetables and meat, and his figure quickly disappeared into the grass and trees.

The shoehorn-faced man wiped the sweat from his forehead and couldn't help but grumble in his heart - these strange jianghu people, always startling people every day. There's no one else here, who are you wearing that creepy mask for?

Yin Ci didn't pay attention to the porter. He quickly returned to a certain mountain stream and stopped in front of a thatched cottage.

Next to the stream was a four-wheeled wooden chair. The person on the chair had long hair hanging loose, hunched shoulders, and a decadent appearance. Su Si clumsily boiled medicine with a small clay stove, while Lord Bai dozed off to the side, transformed into a soft white ball.

"Su Si, you haven't fully recovered yet, go rest for a bit." Yin Ci put down the basket of vegetables and meat and said nonchalantly. "I'll feed the medicine later."

Shi Jingzhi sat weakly in the chair, as if he didn't even have the strength to turn his head. Even though it was already late spring, he was still covered in animal skins, his dull long hair covering his face, making it impossible to see his expression.

"Ah Ci." He said in a feeble breath, "Before your master dies, I still want to eat tofu and fresh fish soup one more time... with more mallow... and white rice..."

Yin Ci walked over expressionlessly and lightly knocked on the person's head, "You have so much to say even when you're about to die? Is it fun to pretend?"

"It's fun." The Shi Sect Master immediately replied.

As he spoke, Shi Jingzhi raised his head, his eyes filled with joy. He moved too much, and some of the face powder on his face fell off, revealing his healthy complexion underneath.

"...But it's boring once we go down the mountain. When we go down, I'll have to stay cooped up in the wooden chair pretending to be sick. By then, I'll only have bland, soft porridge to eat, how am I supposed to live."

Shi Jingzhi made a show of covering his face, wiping away non-existent tears.

"I want to eat white rice with tofu and fresh fish soup, and add a clear-braised pork elbow. Meat and vegetable pies are delicious, and the beggar's chicken from the day before yesterday was also very good, Zizhu--"

Yin Ci was both annoyed and amused. It seemed this person wanted to stuff himself before leaving. Fortunately, with the four of them being grown men, they could afford to splurge on the meat and vegetables.

"I bought the ingredients early, knowing you well." He said helplessly, "If you want fresh fish, go catch it yourself."

"Great! I've learned how to prepare beggar's chicken. I'll make it for you today."

Shi Jingzhi perked up. He swiftly stood up from the wooden wheelchair and strode off with vigorous steps, not forgetting to plant a kiss on Yin Ci's cheek before leaving. Watching his back, Yin Ci felt a mixture of joy and worry.

...The cause of the illness had been revealed, yet Shi Jingzhi's "condition" still could not be cured.

At that time, the Ku Mountain Sect had discussed this matter for an entire night—

Half a month ago, late at night. The four members of the Ku Mountain Sect huddled together in the barren sands, all with solemn expressions.

"Wait, let me get this straight."

Su Si rubbed his head.

"The Immortal Gathering spent hundreds of years erecting flesh statues in various places to absorb the essence of living beings. They then infused this essence into a living person, forcibly creating an exceptionally gifted 'Desire Child'? You're coughing up blood all day because you can't handle so much essence and are about to burst?"

"Indeed, that's the case."

Shi Jingzhi omitted the details about Yin Ci being the "raw material" and his own identity as the "prince".

Su Si exclaimed in astonishment, "Are they out of their minds? With so much essence at their disposal, they could do anything! Using it to fuel fires for alchemy would be more worthwhile than raising you... *cough* raising a person!"

Yin Ci and Shi Jingzhi: "..." This kid still showed no respect for his elders.

Yan Qing obviously noticed his close friend's impertinent remark and quickly changed the subject, "I also find it strange. With such chaos in the world, if something were to happen to Sect Leader Shi, wouldn't all their efforts be in vain?"

"I've considered this matter but have no solution yet," Shi Jingzhi stroked his chin. "And Su Si has a point. If the Immortal Gathering possesses such extraordinary techniques, there are many things they could do besides raising someone like me."

Yet they only created a senseless "Desire Child", Yin Ci thought. Even with his own undying precedent, the Immortal Gathering's pursuit was not the path to immortality.

What was the purpose of this hundred-year undertaking? Why did the Desire Child exist? If Shi Jingzhi absorbing the essence led to the "Heaven's Wrath", it wouldn't make sense that the people of Dayun recovered more easily from minor illnesses and injuries.

Judging the severity of illnesses and injuries to determine the Heaven's Wrath was an intricate and complex task in itself. Whether the Immortal Gathering was capable of it was debatable. Shi Jingzhi had no control over the essence. Could he even regurgitate what he had consumed?

This matter was not so simple.

To cure Shi Jingzhi, the essence had to be stopped. But the array guiding the essence was in Shi Jingzhi's blood. They couldn't just bleed him dry. Having him transform the essence into pure Qi and use clean internal energy daily could only slightly delay his demise.

Thinking of the flesh statues scattered across the mountains, Yin Ci suddenly had a vague idea.

However, considering their relationship, this matter could not be rushed. It was better to first capture Qu Duanyun and uncover more about the "hundred-year plan"...

......

While Yin Ci was still reminiscing about the past, he nearly collided with two fat fish.

Sect Leader Shi held the cleaned fish in his hand, swaying them in front of Yin Ci, his smile showing no trace of madness or fear.

"Here, the fattest fish," Shi Jingzhi hummed, "Su Si wanted me to use a fillet knife to scale them... Thinking about that kid wildly stabbing with a knife makes my heart and lungs ache. When will you tell him about your 'Su Zhi' identity?"

"I will tell him eventually. When the time comes, I will definitely give him a good beating, don't worry."

Lord Bai turned his head and gave Yin Ci a profound look. However, he was quickly won over by the vegetable leaves Yin Ci fed him, and his accusing gaze slowly changed in nature.

Nevertheless, Shi Jingzhi inherited its spirit and squinted at Yin Ci for a while. He cleared his throat, his tone carrying a hidden meaning, "I'm not worried at all. Zizhu has a grand plan. How could he bear to keep it from his not-yet-official master?"

Yin Ci: "..."

"Small schemes don't matter. Anyway, this master of yours hasn't officially taken you in yet."

There was no need to emphasize it twice. Yin Ci sighed and handed over a meat and vegetable bun, "Yes, yes, yes. Once I've thought it through, I'll have a good discussion with you."

Only then did Shi Jingzhi contentedly bite into the bun and sit back in his wooden wheelchair. Yin Ci touched the disaster-warding talisman on his chest, a surge of complex emotions welling up with nowhere to express them.

No matter how much Shi Jingzhi pretended to be fine, he could still hear him coughing up blood in the middle of the night. The time left for him to consider was running out.

He could only hope that the plan for the martial arts assembly would proceed smoothly—they had to squeeze out the truth about the hundred-year plan and the use of the flesh statues from Qu Duanyun's bones.

Not far away in the imperial capital of Yi City, inside the palace.

Ever since his trip to Shafu, Prince Xu Jingming's temperament had greatly changed. He no longer wandered around aimlessly and rarely stayed in his own princely residence, instead frequently visiting the imperial palace whenever he had the chance.

He was born from the same mother as the current emperor, so their relationship was closer than with the other princes. Xu Jingming was unlearned and idle, and the emperor had no particular guard against him and allowed him to stay in the palace.

The emperor enjoyed having tea after meals. On this day, with not many political affairs to attend to, Xu Jingxing specially invited this younger brother of his, wanting him to share some of his experiences in Shafu. Although Xu Jingming had turned into a frightened bird, he would never refuse his elder brother's request.

Prince Rong specially chose new attire and forced himself to muster up some energy before stepping onto the long corridor leading to the tea pavilion. The spring breeze was warm and hot, making Xu Jingming feel particularly unsettled.

If Qu Duanyun was really from the Immortal Gathering, was he destined to be deprived of the Shi Rou?

Since returning from Shafu, Xu Jingming had kept his mouth shut tight. He had no evidence and thus did not voice his speculation that "Qu Duanyun tried to harm him". When others asked, he simply said that the Ku Mountain Sect was causing trouble in Red Hook and wanted to seize the Shi Rou using the martial arts assembly as an opportunity.

As for himself, he just happened to run into the commotion and got dragged into it.

In any case, he was usually an erratic person, so not many people raised doubts. Xu Jingming repeated it so much that he almost believed it himself. However, he ultimately remained sober and did not touch the Shi Rou again—

No matter how bold Xu Jingming was, he could not bring himself to face death unflinchingly. If he made another move on the Shi Rou, it was hard to say whether he could keep his life.

Since the Immortal Gathering wanted the Shi Rou and that monster Shi Jingzhi also wanted them, he might as well let them fight it out. Even if he couldn't be the oriole that benefited in the end, at least he wouldn't become a fish in the pond that got caught up in the mess.

Come to think of it, his elder brother originally did not believe in the ways of ghosts and gods, so the Shi Rou might not catch his eye. E-Even if His Majesty's health had been poor recently, with the imperial physicians' meticulous care, it couldn't get too bad.

Perhaps it was better to gather some rare medicinal ingredients and send them to His Majesty as soon as possible. Compared to the Shi Rou, if he could find something as extraordinary as the Ice Summit Snake Lotus, His Majesty might be even more delighted.

To hell with "easing the conflict between the Emperor and the National Teacher", he's had enough. The previous generation's National Teacher had indeed treated him well, but Jiang Youyue of this generation was definitely not a good person.

The more Xu Jingming thought about it, the more relieved he felt. Finally, he exhaled a breath of turbid air, and his footsteps became light and brisk—

"Your Highness."

A gentle voice rang out, and Xu Jingming's scalp tingled. Speak of the devil, Prince Rong slowly turned his head, only to see Jiang Youyue standing not far away with a faint smile.

Now, no matter how Xu Jingming looked at Jiang Youyue, he found him unpleasant to the eye. He mumbled vaguely, taking it as a greeting.

Jiang Youyue didn't mind Xu Jingming's attitude. He remained as refined as ever, giving Xu Jingming a slight bow, and then continued forward. His robes fluttered, giving him the appearance of an immortal. The two should have passed by each other like this, but Xu Jingming had a thorn in his heart. After passing Jiang Youyue, he inexplicably turned his head to look.

Jiang Youyue was also looking at him.

It was an extremely brief glance. If Xu Jingming were the original Prince Rong, he probably wouldn't have taken it to heart. But this time, he saw it truly and clearly.

He saw contempt.

When it comes to "contempt", Xu Jingming is perhaps more familiar with it than anyone else. Prince Rong firmly believes that people have their ranks and destinies have their nobility. He has never shown mercy to his subordinates. But no matter how much Xu Jingming despises his subordinates, he knows that they are "human".

The way Jiang Youyue looked at him was clearly disdaining an ungrateful ant.

The birds chirped clearly by the corridor, and the green trees provided shade all around. The spring breeze was incredibly warm, but Xu Jingming felt chilled to the bone.