But Brother Nine was in no hurry to establish a connection with him immediately.
He knew all too well that an overly enthusiastic response would only arouse suspicion.
That the other party was so impatient to strike up a conversation suggested they might be testing him.
Currently, he was playing the role of a degenerate gambler—someone who still acted tough in front of outsiders and had not yet reached a state of total desperation.
“None of your damn business! Scram!” Brother Nine roared, venting his pent-up frustration on the man.
“Don’t bother your grandfather! One punch from me, and you’ll find out exactly how big a sandbag-sized fist can be!”
As he spoke, Brother Nine did not forget to spit a glob of phlegm toward the man’s pant leg.
“You!” the man shouted.
“I saw that you couldn’t pay your debts and was kind enough to introduce you to a way to make a fortune!”
The man’s veins bulged with anger, but in the end, he suppressed his temper.
“Make a fortune? My ass! If there was money to be made, would you really come looking for me? Do I even know you? What, am I your father? Or have you long admired my reputation as Brother Nine and want to be my adopted son?”
Brother Nine’s words were merciless, causing the man’s face to turn a shade of purple and blue.
Without giving the man a chance to retort, he continued, “I, Brother Nine, am a guard of the Ling House. This bit of pocket change is easily earned! Do I look like I need you?”
With that, Brother Nine stood up, patted the dust off his rear, and shook off his dejected appearance.
With his head held high, he turned and left, disappearing into a nearby tavern to enjoy himself again.
The man said nothing more.
He simply narrowed his eyes, glaring at the departing Brother Nine before turning to leave as well.
He ducked into a small alley and walked to the end, stopping before a house.
He knocked on the dilapidated wooden door.
With a creak, the rusted hinges groaned.
A pair of tired yet sharp eyes peered through the crack of the door, scanning the visitor from head to toe.
“Is it convenient? I’ve come to see you,” the man said, pushing his earlier anger to the back of his mind and asking slowly.
“What did you bring?” the person behind the door asked.
Their voice was raspy, skipping any pleasantries and getting straight to the point.
“Empty-handed.”
“The thought is enough.”
The door was pulled wide open, and a wave of damp air hit him, carrying the scent of rot and decay.
“It stinks in here. You should clean up a bit,” the man complained.
The interior was incredibly sparse.
There was a lopsided wooden table, a bed padded with straw and covered with a dark, coarse cloth, and a chipped ceramic vat half the height of a person standing in the corner.
There was nothing else.
The man did not look away, walking straight toward the ceramic vat.
He pressed his two fingers together and sank his breath into his dantian.
A faint, flickering energy began to wrap around his hands.
Without a change in expression, he approached the water-filled vat and grabbed it.
With almost no effort, he moved the vat to the side.
He used his foot to sweep away the dried grass underneath, revealing a bluestone slab.
He lifted the slab, and a cold, damp draft surged from below, revealing a narrow secret passage.
The walls were reinforced with wooden stakes to prevent collapse, and oil lamps hung along the path, keeping the passage well-lit.
The forks in the path crisscrossed like a maze.
If someone were not familiar with the route, they would surely end up wandering in circles.
Following the route in his memory, the man navigated the maze with ease.
The path ahead suddenly opened up, and a magnificent, massive cavern appeared before his eyes.
However, this was no natural formation.
Dozens of people were currently working in silence, either carving into the rock walls or clearing rubble from the open ground.
Who could have imagined that in just three months, such a massive cave could be quietly excavated beneath Qingmu City?
The cavern currently only had a rough outline, and the structure intended to be built within it was still in its early stages.
Only a large, square earthen platform had been reserved on the ground; the grooves for the arrays on the walls were still crude and unpolished.
Inside the cave, dozens of people were busy.
Even as they dripped with sweat, not a single person spoke.
Aside from the sound of tools hitting the walls, only a few faint whispers could be heard.
Following the sound of those voices, one could see a slender figure standing on a raised platform.
Someone was kneeling behind her, head bowed as they listened to her instructions.
The girl appeared to be only sixteen years old.
Her black hair fell like a waterfall, with a few stray strands framing her face, making her skin look as white as snow.
Her features were as beautiful as a painting, and while a hint of youthful innocence remained, it could not hide her seductive charm.
She wore a long green dress with dark silver patterns embroidered on the hem, which shimmered faintly under the firelight of the cavern.
She was the current Hall Master of Black Wind Hall—Yue Qingfeng.
The man pushed off the ground, leaping through the air.
He did not dare land directly on the platform, choosing instead to land on the ground before walking up the steps.
He waited for the person in front of him to finish reporting.
“Hall Master Yue… regarding the completion… even at the fastest pace, it will take another two years… My people are all crude men. Forget the runes of the arrays, most of them can’t even read a few words.”
The man was burly and knelt on the ground.
From behind, he looked as solid as a boulder.
But upon closer look, one could see his body trembling and hear his voice shaking.
“Then find people. Do I really need to teach you something so simple? I’ll give you three months. Whether you invite them or kidnap them, just bring them here. I will handle the rest. Is that understood?”
Yue Qingfeng’s tone was gentle, like a stream flowing over smooth stones, devoid of any anger.
“U-understood! I… I will get to it immediately!”
As soon as the words left his mouth, he practically scrambled to his feet and rushed out, not daring to stay by Yue Qingfeng’s side for another second.
His footsteps were as frantic as if a monstrous beast were chasing him.
“How is that guard from the Ling family?”
Yue Qingfeng asked without looking at the retreating man.
She kept her gaze on the busy crowd below, her voice as light as a sigh.
“M-Miss, that man doesn’t know what’s good for him. He’s incredibly arrogant and even spoke rudely…”
“So,” her voice remained gentle, perhaps even a bit softer than before, “you came back just to complain to me?”
The air in the cave seemed to freeze, and the invisible pressure suddenly surged.
“N-no! I’ve already investigated him! I only came back to ask for your instructions, Miss!”
“I see. Next time, report the facts first. Don’t waste time on irrelevant things; I’m quite busy. Preparing to sacrifice this many people is a lot of work. Now, tell me about that guard.”
“Yes.”
The man then recounted his entire conversation with Brother Nine and his observations throughout the night.
“Keep watching him. Monitor that guard for at least one month. He might be putting on an act. Additionally, I will find someone else to infiltrate the Ling House to see if his story holds up. The City Lord’s Manor is just for show; the real obstacle we face is the Ling family. I’m just not sure of their true strength.”
“Miss, I don’t understand… Why are you so wary of a small family in such a remote place? Wouldn’t it be easier to just send a Foundation Establishment expert? As far as I know, there are no Foundation Establishment experts in Qingmu City at all.”
“Where’s the fun in that?” Feng Qingyue shook her head.
“I’m here for a vacation, not to go around killing everyone. Do I really need to call for reinforcements to deal with a family in a tiny place like this?”
Vacation…?
Hearing this answer, the man felt a chill run down his spine.
“Miss… weren’t you planning the sacrifice to… increase your cultivation?”
“Huh? Why would I want to increase my cultivation?”
Yue Qingfeng turned around, her face full of confusion.
“Is cultivation really that hard to improve?”
“Then the sacrifice is for…?”
“Like I said, it’s a vacation. I have to find something fun to do, don’t I?”