Wang Tuzi felt the raindrops trickle down his body. At first, it felt ticklish, but what came next was a wave of comforting warmth.
It was as if he was submerged in a warm water bath.
Even his pet beast, the nasty vulture felt the same feeling of comfort.
Wang Tuzi’s pet beast had been heavily injured some years back. Not only has it failed to make a full recovery, but there was a toxic buildup in its body thanks to its diet of rotten flesh.
Although rotten flesh was commonly eaten by vultures, the exacerbating factor was its injuries. They had hindered its ability to suppress the toxins and was the reason for the years of excruciating pain it had suffered to date. Wang Tuzi had the endure the suffering as well thanks to their blood pact. Years of constant debilitating pain was how his harrowing appearance came to be.
When too many toxins had accumulated in a human or beast’s body, they would start to look deformed. However, this was remedied by the spirit energy rain. After being drenched in it, their old injuries gradually healed and the toxins were similarly flushed out of their systems.
Even Old Turtle was trembling in excitement. He had previously been treated by Shang’er, and although the treatment ended in success, Old Turtle’s pet beast was still weak and dried up.
This spirit energy rain rejuvenated Old Turtle and his pet beast, who tore away the fabric of Old Turtle’s shirt to look up at the sky and enjoy the healing experience.
Even through one’s naked eye, one could see the turtle grow in size gradually.
Previously, it was only as tall as a steel bucket, but in mere seconds, it grew to half a human’s height. It seemed as if it could easily support the weight of three to five grown men.
Old Turtle was obviously ecstatic at the sight.
Madam Ghost Child approached him and started preaching, “This is how phenomenal Curator is! The way I see it, there’s nothing in this world Curator can’t achieve.”
Madam Ghost Child, Coffin Man, and Old Turtle used to be revered as the Five Lingnan Deities. They were as close as siblings but due to a certain incident, one of them died the rest sustained heavy injuries. In the decades that followed, they lived in constant torment. If Ghost Child hadn’t received Curator’s treatment, Old Turtle wouldn’t have survived until now and Coffin Man would have succumbed to his wounds too.
This was Old Turtle’s first time meeting Curator so he was visibly thrilled. Then, he recalled something.
“Ghost Child, Old Coffin, do you guys remember the legend of Daojun from back in the day?”
Daojun?
All villainous experts were stunned upon hearing the name.
No villainous expert would be oblivious to Daojun’s name. After all, he was the one who established their ranking system hundreds of years ago. In the villain’s community, Daojun was their ancestral figure. Back when he was still around, he was widely regarded as the strongest villain to have ever walked the earth.
“Daojun was known to have worn a mask wherever he went. Don’t you think that Curator is somehow connected to Daojun?” Old Turtle was a straightforward man so he just stated wherever was on his mind.
As it had been a few hundred years, even the top-ranking villains had never actually met Daojun before.
And yet, there was an abundance of legends about this very individual.
“I am aware of this legend too, and having seen a painting of Daojun, it is true that he always wears a mask with the word ‘Dao’ written on it. As far as I know, no one has ever seen his true face before,” one of the villainous experts chimed in.
A mask with ‘Dao’ written on it.
It was a white mask with the word ‘Dao’ written scruffily with black ink. That was how Daojun got his nickname back in the day. It was because of the mask that he wore.
“It must be a coincidence because Curator’s mask only has beast patterns,” Black Crow remarked and the crowd nodded in agreement. After all, as famous as Daojun was among their community, he was a person who existed several hundreds of years ago. For all they know, he could have just been a made-up character, but Curator was real.
“Alright listen up! Wang Tuzi may have provided a clue earlier, we are far from certain that Curator will find the target he is looking for. That white ape is Curator’s grand disciple and he is currently missing. Now that we have been rewarded by Curator, I propose that we head out and join the search as well. If there’s any news, spread the word,” Madam Ghost Child suggested.
The crowd immediately agreed to her proposition.
The monks of Daluo Temple couldn’t be happier to hear this since it signaled the departure of the villainous experts. It was likely that Zhi Yin was with the white ape, so if the latter was located, the same would go for their man.
After the group completed their discussion, they went their separate ways.
It was at the same moment that Lin Jin set foot inside Qi Long Town.
This town was the intersecting point between three different continents, thus making it a strategic location. Surprisingly, it was within the territory of an intermediate country, which was by no means powerful. The shabby walls of Qi Long Town reflected the state of the nation that governed it. If it weren’t for the merchants passing through this place, this town might never have existed in the first place.
The city guards were surprisingly energetic though. Their armor may be rusty and worn out but their expressions were solemn and alert. Their blades were sharp and their polished spears glistened under the sun.
With the mask on his face and Shang’er in his arms, Lin Jin would stick out like a sore thumb, even if Goldy wasn’t around, so he decided to sneak into the city with Camouflage.
The average person wouldn’t notice him at all.
Qi Long Town wasn’t big so it wasn’t long before he reached the other end of the city. If one were to circle the entire town, one hour was more than enough. If they moved with Lin Jin’s speed, the time taken would have been cut down significantly.
Upon entering the city, Lin Jin confirmed that White Ape was in fact the little white monkey that Wang Tuzi had described.
He was this sure because Shang’er could smell traces of White Ape’s monster energy.
Although faint, she was almost certain that it belonged to White Ape.
This psyched up Lin Jin, who immediately went on full alert. According to Wang Tuzi, White Ape had a rope tied around his neck by an old Taoist, who paraded his captured prey around as if it were a dog.
That, and Zhi Yin was following behind them.
There were several explanations Lin Jin could think of here. One, the old Taoist was a highly capable individual who defeated both White Ape and Zhi Yin, and both of them were acting under his threat. Another possibility was that the old Taoist and Zhi Yin have joined hands in capturing White Ape.
Both of these were the explanations Lin Jin found most plausible. In either case, the old Taoist was not to be underestimated. Lin Jin’s guess was that he was at least as strong as one of Daluo Temple’s rectors.
Lin Jin had to be careful.
Relying on her smell, Shang’er led Lin Jin to a tavern.
There weren’t many patrons at the tavern. Of the few available tables, half of them were empty. However, there was one table on top of which rested a bottle of wine and a single brush.
On it was White Ape’s aura. At such proximity, even Lin Jin was able to sense it, much less Shang’er.
Upon reading the letter, a frown appeared on Lin Jin’s face.
There were a few sentences written on the paper.
As the words were written with mana, it would appear as a blank sheet of paper to the average person. Only someone with Lin Jin’s cultivation was able to read its contents.
Instead of being surprised by this, Lin Jin was more shocked by what was written down.
“Heading a thousand miles southward. Will be waiting for you over a warm cup o’ tea!. – Taoist”
Although the letter did not explicitly mention to whom the message was directed, Lin Jin knew it was meant for his eyes.
It was because of the brush that laid next to the paper. The bristles of the brush itself were made from White Ape’s fur, and that was the reason why they arrived here in the first place.
These words were produced using White Ape’s fur.
