After the grandmother and grandchild were done communicating, Cheng Xiao Xiao went and asked the elders to be sure to help out with the recruiting event in two days. Then, after she informing the Temple of Divine Plans Ancient Forefather of her trip, she took off with Mo Xuanzun.
Mo Xuanzun had been to the Valley of the Alchemists in the past and knew the way. The two of them didn’t need anyone to show them the direction. Under his direction, the two mystical cranes headed straight toward the Valley of the Alchemists.
At the border of Dafeng, a group of oddly-clothed individuals appeared and attracted a lot of attention to themselves. Yet nobody knew who they were.
They went straight inside an inn in the small town. The entire inn had been booked ahead of time and, right at this moment, the entire place was empty. The innkeeper and the server were so bored that they started to doze off.
BOOM!
The shut door was forced opened by someone and the two who were falling asleep were so startled by the loud footsteps that they jumped out of their skins.
“Dear patrons, we…”
“Shut up!”
A loud shout interrupted the server’s words and they way the group was looking at him, they might as well be looking at a corpse.
The server had no doubt in his mind that if he dared say another word, he would be torn apart by these people. He fell back a couple of steps in fear and dared not made another sound.
The innkeeper, on the other hand, was one who was more experienced. He had an inkling and said to the group in a low voice, “Hi everyone. Please follow me upstairs. We have been awaiting you.”
“Lead the way!” said the middle-aged man who appeared to be the leader of the group.
“Yes, follow me, please.”
The innkeeper dared not delay any in his service. He took these men onto the second floor respectfully to meet up with the other mysterious guest.
The server saw the innkeeper returned shortly and opened his mouth and was about to say something. The innkeeper shook his head at him while giving him a warning look.
The server swallowed his words.
Inside the most luxurious room on the second floor sat a young gentleman in a fanciful robe. He was wearing a mask so nobody knew who he was.
His studied the 12 gloomy-looking men in front of him with his piercing look, as though he could see right through them.
The 12 men didn’t seem to be upset by that. They only stood there quietly as though they were waiting for his commands.
After a long wait, the young master with a mask finally started talking slowly. “You came all the way from the City of Heitu to here. That wasn’t an easy trip to make. Come, give them some rewards!”
“Yes, Young Master!” said one of his servants standing behind him. He brought over ten or so little pouches and handed them to these men.
The two of them didn’t even look at them before they shoved them inside their chests as though they were something of no importance.
Even though nobody could see the expression of the young master under the mask, the servant standing next to him could see that his lips twitched a few times.
“I trust that you know where you are heading next?”
“We know. Sacred Land Zhongyuan!” said the leader in an indescribable tone.
“Good. I am glad you know.” The masked man’s voice was a bit austere. “This deal is very straightforward. You shall not cause any trouble in Dafeng, nor could you kill any of our residence. You are to head straight to Sacred Land Zhongyuan and, as long as your ability allows, you can claim possessions of anything that you can find at Sacred Land Zhongyuan. We shall not interfere with that.
“Naturally, I would not care if you kill anyone at Sacred Land Zhongyuan and, by the same token, if any of you were killed by those from Sacred Land Zhongyuan, I shall not try to avenge you either. Everything is all up to you.”
“That’s not a problem.” The leaded nodded and continued. “You have hired us, naturally we would follow your terms. If anyone tries to get in our way, however, we will just have to do what is necessary.”
