’Cooperation?’

Bai Yuan’s right hand, which was gripping his saber, slowly lowered.

It wasn’t that he believed Dao Ji’s words. An Elder from the Divine Mansion Sect had appeared not far away and was looking in their direction. Bai Yuan had lost his chance to strike; otherwise, he would have killed Dao Ji without hesitation.

’A Ghostwriter who leaks information deserves to die.’

Dao Ji took a deep breath.

As a Ghostwriter himself, he naturally knew that a broker revealing a Ghostwriter’s information was tantamount to creating a life-or-death grudge.

"I have a big job. Are you interested?"

He spoke in a low voice, staring intently at Bai Yuan as he awaited his answer.

If he hadn’t been so desperate to find someone in Huanglong Prefecture, he wouldn’t have sought out Bai Yuan.

That’s right. Although he outwardly tried his best to distance himself from the Ghostwriters, in reality, the connection had never been broken.

The true owner of the South City Blacksmith Shop wasn’t the middle-aged Blacksmith, but him.

Though he had already joined the Divine Mansion Sect, the competition within the sect was extremely fierce. Without a massive amount of resources to support him, every step forward would be incredibly difficult.

That was why he had never forgotten his old trade.

Dao Ji prided himself on his ability to read people; he could identify a person by their scent. The day Bai Yuan accepted his mission, Dao Ji had been in a hidden compartment in the small wooden cabin.

Just now, he had recognized Bai Yuan as the young man from that day by his scent. This was all a spur-of-the-moment decision.

He had no choice. This operation was too dangerous, so he needed a lot of experts.

Although Huanglong Prefecture had many Ghostwriters, there were few true masters. Martial Artists at or above the Strong Internal level were even rarer.

After all, any Strong Internal Martial Artist could go to a county town and become a local hegemon. There was no need to be a Ghostwriter, living with their head on the line day in and day out.

He had already secretly investigated Bai Yuan’s background.

The man came from a poor background, so he should be desperate for money. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have become a Ghostwriter.

He felt Bai Yuan had no reason to refuse, because he understood Ghostwriters very well.

As long as the price was right, they would even kill their own family.

But, to his surprise— 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

"Not interested."

Bai Yuan said flatly.

Before his voice had even faded, he leaped out of the Holy Fire Pit. ’A big job means big trouble. With my cheat, there’s no need for me to get entangled in the Ghostwriters’ conflicts.’

Dao Ji looked up in the direction Bai Yuan had left, sighing softly in his heart.

’He’s a sharp one.’

The man’s decisiveness was indeed somewhat beyond his expectations.

But it also made sense. How could someone who climbed from poverty to become an Inner Sect Disciple of the Divine Mansion Sect, and was even valued by Dong Wanjun, be judged by ordinary standards?

He wasn’t worried that Bai Yuan would leak his secret. After all, they both had leverage over each other.

Since the man was smart, he wouldn’t do something so foolish as to cause mutual destruction.

...

Bai Yuan walked back to Wan Jun Peak.

He didn’t pay much mind to Dao Ji’s words.

If Dao Ji dared to expose his identity as a Ghostwriter, Dao Ji himself wouldn’t be far from death.

Leaking a Ghostwriter’s information was a major taboo in the Jianghu. Dao Ji would surely be hunted down by every Ghostwriter in Huanglong Prefecture; not even his status as an Outer Disciple of the Divine Mansion Sect could protect him.

Just as he reached the mountainside, he saw You Shengnan and Xiongshan walking toward him, side by side.

"Senior Brother, Senior Sister, off to do another mission?"

Bai Yuan asked with a smile.

Like Old Dong, You Shengnan and Xiongshan were both mission fanatics. For them to have stayed in the mountainside courtyard for half a month was already unprecedented.

You Shengnan said, "I accepted a top-tier Bing-rank mission. Senior Brother Xiong is accompanying me."

Bai Yuan raised an eyebrow.

A top-tier Bing-rank mission was extremely difficult even for a Strong Internal Martial Artist. No wonder You Shengnan had asked Xiongshan to go with her.

"Be careful."

"We will."

You Shengnan and Xiongshan nodded, and the two of them headed down the mountain.

Once again, Bai Yuan was the only one left in the small courtyard on the mountainside of Wan Jun Peak.

Bai Yuan returned to his own courtyard.

A short while later, the sound of an iron pestle grinding something rang out in the courtyard, and a pungent, spicy smell began to drift through the air.

The Devil’s Pepper in the mortar had been ground into a fine powder, within which one could see shimmering specks.

Bai Yuan had upgraded the Devil’s Pepper powder formula by adding Fire Spirit to it.

Fire can devour a person, and the same was true for Fire Spirit. By mixing a small amount of Fire Spirit into the Devil’s Pepper, its effects would be amplified several times over.

Of course, Fire Spirit was extremely precious.

Bai Yuan wouldn’t be willing to use it unless it was a matter of life and death.

He carefully packed the specially made powder into a thin bamboo tube hidden in his sleeve.

This bamboo tube was a powder-launching device crafted with masterful, ingenious techniques. With this device, the powder could be sprayed out more than ten times faster than before, making it impossible to defend against.

He had accumulated a good amount of Fire Spirit from hunting Fire Armor Rhinoceros Beetles recently.

Only now was Bai Yuan willing to part with some to mix into the powder. The remaining Fire Spirit was, of course, to be made into Fire Spirit Soup.

He had gone to the Herb Hall on the main peak yesterday, but there were still three ingredients he hadn’t managed to acquire.

To be precise, they weren’t herbs, but vegetables.

The Divine Mansion Sect’s Herb Hall carried almost every Spirit Grass that could be found in Huanglong Prefecture, but this, of course, did not include Spiritual Vegetables.

As a Spirit Chef, Bai Yuan naturally understood the principle that all things in the world possess spirit.

If a plant contained enough spirit, it was called a Spirit Grass.

If medicinal herbs could become Spirit Grass, then vegetables could do the same.

However, most Pill Masters in this world were unable to utilize the spirit within Spirit Vegetables. Therefore, their value was far less than that of Spirit Grass. They could only be cooked into dishes by chefs. Although they could still be worth one hundred taels of silver, this was a far cry from the value of Spirit Grass.

Spirit Vegetables were of no benefit to Martial Artists, so the Herb Hall naturally wouldn’t stock them.

Bai Yuan planned to go to the city market in a few days to try his luck.

...

Huanglong Prefecture, East Gate Lane, the Wang Family.

A man in a black robe and a conical bamboo hat knocked the iron ring on the Wang Family’s large, vermilion-lacquered gate.

KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK...

The dull thuds echoed continuously.

Soon, an old man in servant’s clothes poked his head out. Seeing the furtively dressed person at the door, he couldn’t help but frown.

"Who are you looking for, sir?"

the old servant asked.

"Wang Changsheng."

the man said in a voice that made it hard to tell if he was male or female.

Hearing the name Wang Changsheng, the old servant’s pupils constricted. Wang Changsheng was the name of the Wang Family’s Old Ancestor.

Although this man before him addressing the Old Ancestor directly by name was disrespectful, the old servant saw how strange the visitor was and dared not offend him.

Most importantly, the Wang Family’s Old Ancestor lived at the Divine Mansion Sect year-round and had only just returned to the Wang Family yesterday, which was an unprecedented event.

For this man in black to show up just one day later—he couldn’t afford to be neglectful.

If this man truly was the Old Ancestor’s guest and he caused the man any displeasure, his own end would be miserable beyond words.

"Ah, an honored guest. Please, come in."

The old servant immediately led the black-robed man into the Wang Family’s reception room.

The man in black waited for about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea before an old man in green robes stepped over the threshold and appeared in the room. It was none other than Elder Wang from Wooden Man Alley.

Elder Wang stared intently at the man in black, the corner of his eye twitching as a flash of anger came and went.

"Xinchou, aren’t you afraid Dong Wanjun will kill you?"