Chapter 214 - 212: At First, He Just Went Undercover to Get an Identity
「It was a dark and windy night.」
Li Zi opened the door and saw Tang Wen in the courtyard. She stopped short.
"It’s only been a month, but you seem different somehow."
Tang Wen smiled. ’This Childlike Face Lady’s senses are quite sharp.’
He had broken through earlier today.
[Spiritual Meditation Method — Expert (11/12000)]
[Essence: 36]
His Spiritual Power had reached an absurdly high level.
Yet, not the slightest bit of it leaked out from him.
Only his eyes resembled bottomless pools.
Thirty-six ancient, powerful pictographs shone like thirty-six stars.
They were embedded in his Sea of Consciousness,
seeming to follow some hidden pattern of stellar rotation.
Without any need to be drawn or maintained by Spiritual Power, the pictographs manifested and operated on their own.
As they ran day and night, they drove Tang Wen’s Spiritual Power to grow slowly, unceasingly.
’No wonder the Spiritual Power of Sixth-Grade Masters like Vice Gang Leader Zhao is as deep as the sea.’
They also practiced the Spiritual Meditation Method and had likely reached a similar level.
After his breakthrough, Tang Wen studied the changes carefully.
He discovered it would take a full three months just to form the thirty-seventh rune.
If he continued to use the power of the Azure Stone Slab and kept up his own round-the-clock Meditation, he might be able to shorten that time to one month.
If the thirty-seventh rune was already this difficult, each subsequent one would only be harder.
But that was to be expected.
Tang Wen’s current Spiritual Power was equivalent to that of a Senior Sixth Grade.
If a Sixth-Grade Master’s Spiritual Power could be so easily increased and broken through, then Fifth-Grades would be a dime a dozen throughout Ganshan City!
Without some special fortune, a Sixth-Grade Master wanting to increase their Spiritual Power had to rely on the slow, patient grind of five, eight, ten, or even twenty years.
For Tang Wen, even if it took him twenty years, he would still be less than forty years old.
A forty-year-old at the Peak of Sixth Grade, or even a Fifth-Grade Master—how could that not be considered prodigious?
Tang Wen walked through the door.
A map was spread out on a table in the center of the room.
He immediately noticed two locations marked on it, each blackened out and annotated.
One read: Two people.
The other read: Eleven people.
"This... is the Bai Family exploration team’s hiding place? How did you find it?"
Tang Wen’s interest was piqued. He looked up and asked,
"Was this through the Thief Sect’s channels?"
Li Zi blushed and shook her head.
The Thief Sect only had one Veteran Extraordinary now—her.
She had no channels to speak of.
General Zhao said, "With the help of the two Wolf Kings, we captured a few High-level Exotic Beasts. We sold them for some cash, then we went to the Four Seas Camp and hired a Hunter who specializes in investigations."
"Then, two days ago, the Four Seas Camp notified us that the job was done.
The targets are right here in Ganshan City, living normal lives."
Tang Wen frowned. "Something about this doesn’t sound right!"
"You’re right! It’s very strange. The Bai Family posted a similar job at the Four Seas Camp before, but heard nothing for months."
General Zhao pointed to the location marked "Two people" and continued,
"We’ve had these two under observation. It’s a man and a woman. The man is from the Bai Family’s exploration team; we don’t know where the woman came from. Their daily life is uneventful, but they seem to be making a life for themselves."
Li Zi guessed, "Maybe they’re bait."
Tang Wen frowned. "Such obvious bait? Are they fishing with a straight hook?"
’If these members of the exploration team are alive, why haven’t they contacted the Bai Family?’
"What’s his Realm?"
"Martial Artist."
’That makes it even more of a problem. A Martial Artist would have plenty of ways to get to the Four Seas Camp, where the Bai Family has a contact point. Even if something was wrong with that contact point, he could have gone to a city farther east. Besides, the Four Seas Camp established a relatively safe trade route between Sanlian City and Ganshan City long ago. It wouldn’t be too hard to return to Sanlian City by traveling with a group from the camp. Sanlian City is a major power, and the Bai Family has plenty of contact points all along that route. Yet these people went nowhere and simply settled down to live in Ganshan City. Even if they had defected, they should have moved to a different city to avoid being found by the Bai Family.’
"What about the house they’re living in?"
Before Tang Wen could even finish his sentence, Li Zi jumped in, "They’re renting it from the Boat Gang. Apparently, a Boat Gang Elder personally arranged the lease for them."
’Don’t tell me the Boat Gang is mixed up in this too?’
"You didn’t show yourselves directly, did you?"
"No," General Zhao said calmly. "Even posting the job at the Four Seas Camp—we had someone else do it. We hired a proxy. He knew the risks and has already gone into hiding."
Tang Wen relaxed.
’If the members of the Bai Family exploration team are bait... putting myself in their shoes, if I were the one setting this trap... I wouldn’t just set a trap within Ganshan City; I’d scatter bait in the surrounding areas as well. For example, if anyone at the Four Seas Camp put up money to look for the Bai Family or their exploration team... I’d immediately have my own people accept the job, meet the client, and then follow the trail to wipe them all out in one go.’
"Any thoughts on our next move?" General Zhao asked.
"Yes." Tang Wen nodded. "Tonight, I’ll set up surveillance in the markets, taverns, and streets near those two residences. I’ll get a clear look at their faces, sketch their portraits, and hand them over to Miss Bai."
At the mention of Miss Bai,
a playful glint appeared in General Zhao’s eyes. "That Miss Bai has been lingering nearby. Do you think she’s ever heard of the famous Seventh Young Master of the Black Water Gang?"
Li Zi pouted and muttered under her breath, "Such a lady-killer! Now there’s a Miss Bai, too."
Tang Wen shot her a glare before turning back to General Zhao.
"I had no choice. I infiltrated the Black Water Gang under a secret identity.
Unexpectedly, they were desperately short of Beastmasters. I had to play along, risking life and limb, going Seven In and Seven Out, and using every trick in the book.
At long last, I narrowly escaped death and managed to preserve my own life.
Unfortunately, my identity was exposed. I was forced to join the Black Water Gang, where I now live on in shame!"