"Why are you so worked up?" Yu Lian had been ready to go back to sleep, but she sensed the fluctuations in Wang Ping’s emotions. She peeked out from his sleeve, cautiously scanned their surroundings, and then looked up at Wang Ping’s face.

"I just encountered... a dream..."

"A dream?" Yu Lian was confused.

"The Star Demoness!"

Now it was Yu Lian’s turn to be worked up. She flicked her tongue rapidly, staring at Wang Ping for a long moment before her emotions calmed down. Then she asked quickly, "What did she look like?"

Before Wang Ping could answer, she continued, "Some books say she’s a great beauty, one who captivates any man or woman who sees her. Others say she’s a kind, elderly woman who likes to play pranks on children, but always brings them joy afterward. And some say she’s a Nine-tailed Demon Fox who likes to leap around like a cat."

Just as Wang Ping was about to reply, Yu Lian went on, "How did you meet her? Is she still here? Where?" She slithered completely out of his sleeve, stretching her neck to expand her spiritual senses as she looked around.

"I can’t sense her..."

Yu Lian was very disappointed. She draped herself over Wang Ping’s shoulder, motionless.

Wang Ping smiled. "She appeared to me as a Nine-tailed Demon Fox, and she really did move like a cat. She told me..."

He told Yu Lian everything that had happened in the dream.

After hearing the story, Yu Lian hovered beside Wang Ping and once again scanned their surroundings. "So she meant that if you keep going, you’ll die?"

"What do you think I should do?"

"Go back, of course! Your life is the most important thing. The Star Demoness might like playing pranks, but she wouldn’t joke about something like this."

"You’re right."

Wang Ping nodded, walked over to the fire, and sat down. He stared into the flames, lost in thought.

According to the Star Demoness, two insane Star Gods were going to ambush and kill him. The whole thing sounded surreal. If they were insane, yet had such a clear target, it had to be a setup.

’Wulang?’

Wang Ping shook his head. His intuition told him this wasn’t Wulang’s doing.

’Then who could it be?’

Wang Ping couldn’t think of any major figures he had offended. The only thing that came to mind was the recent scheme in Zhongzhou. A powerful player was most likely to emerge from that affair.

Seeing Wang Ping lost in thought, Yu Lian gently coiled around his arm and slithered back into his sleeve.

Before he knew it, the sky had brightened. Wang Ping spent the entire night reviewing every person and event he had encountered since he began his path of cultivation...

The only time he’d made enemies was with the Star God Alliance over the White Water Sect incident, but that alliance was neutral. They wouldn’t go so far as to keep insane Star Gods in captivity.

"You couldn’t figure it out?" Yu Lian asked as Wang Ping stood up.

"No."

"Then what do we do?"

Wang Ping walked out of the ruined temple. He had emerged upon hearing the sound of marching soldiers. At the far end of the path, the troop of Government Soldiers and their leading General from the day before were now distantly visible.

"Who knew about our movements on this trip?" Wang Ping asked.

"No one. We didn’t even tell Master."

"That’s true, but there’s one area that’s easily overlooked." 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

"What’s that?"

"The gatekeeper acolytes!"

"Them?" Yu Lian fell into thought. "But they’re all chosen through a rigorous selection process. If there was a problem with them, Qianmu Temple would be shaken to its core."

Wang Ping pondered for a moment. "Not necessarily. Their rigorous selection process is designed to vet mortals. But the one who arranged this is no mortal. They could have spent ten, twenty, even thirty or forty years setting this up. That way, they could operate in the mortal world without anyone being the wiser."

"That’s true. But who would hold such a huge grudge? To spend so much time just to plot against you." Yu Lian was filled with curiosity.

"I’m even more curious than you are."

Wang Ping watched the marching column draw closer. Unlike in his dream, the General at the head of the column merely flinched upon seeing Wang Ping. Though his expression was sour, he didn’t order his subordinates to seize him.

After the troops had passed, Wang Ping glanced up at the overcast sky. He then brought Yu Lian and silently submerged into the Wood Spirit Qi. Using Yu Lian’s ability, they concealed themselves in the nearby river channel.

「Six hours later.」

Wang Ping shot out of the river channel on Qianmu Mountain. As Yu Lian’s spiritual senses scanned their surroundings, the two of them vanished into the Wood Spirit Qi. The next moment, they appeared within the clouds above Qianmu Mountain’s peak.

In the small courtyard of the Mountain Peak Dojo, Shen Xiaozhu was diligently copying a Taoist scripture. This was her daily task. Wang Yang was cleaning the gardens. Since Wang Ping was often away, neither of them had much of a reaction to his absence.

After noon, once she finished copying the scripture, Shen Xiaozhu would take Wang Yang down the mountain to the Inner Sect’s training grounds. There, she would spar with some of the disciples, and sometimes they would sit and discuss things together.

"You’ve taught Xiaozhu well," Wang Ping praised.

"Of course." Yu Lian was not one for modesty.

As the two were talking, an acolyte outside the garden took advantage of the other acolytes’ idle chatter to sprinkle something through the crack of the gate and into the garden.

"Is that him?" Yu Lian was a little angry.

"Let’s watch a little longer."

Soon, evening arrived. Shen Xiaozhu went to the kitchens outside the garden and made a bowl of noodles for Wang Yang to eat. She herself had already succeeded in her Qi Cultivation and only needed to eat breakfast, as was the custom at Qianmu Temple.

Soon, it was late at night. The acolyte who had sprinkled something into the garden during the day took the opportunity to do it again during his night watch.

"What is that? I can’t sense anything at all. It vanished the moment it entered the garden." Yu Lian was filled with curiosity and wanted to go down to investigate.

But Wang Ping remained patient. ’This person is just small fry. I could crush him with a flip of my hand.’

「Five days passed in a flash.」

It was the acolyte’s turn for a day off. He happily greeted the other disciples, descended the mountain, and entered a private residence in an alley behind the town’s academy.

Inside the residence was an old man with no feet. His injury was likely from a fight in his youth.

"He’s a fourth-generation disciple from the temple. His injury... was probably from some mission. Families like his are our first choice when recruiting new disciples," Yu Lian said softly.

Wang Ping nodded calmly. He heard the acolyte call the old man "Dad," but he could clearly sense they had no blood relation.

The acolyte stayed at home for the morning. After lunch, he changed into the simple, gray-white cotton clothes of a commoner. He first went to a nearby cockfighting ring to watch a few matches, then headed to the market in the east of town to buy some daily necessities like salt and rice.

When he returned home, he chatted with the old man while washing his dirty clothes. He also made some flatbreads and rice balls for the old man that would be easy to store. In the evening, he helped the old man bathe, eat, and get to bed.

The next morning, he got dressed, greeted his neighbors, and headed straight back up Qianmu Mountain.

"When are you going to grab him?" Yu Lian asked.

"Let’s wait until his night watch tonight." Wang Ping remained hidden in the clouds, holding an assortment of portraits. They were sketches of every person the acolyte had come into contact with during his day off.