Lijiang City, Yongtong District.

    Deep into the night, when all was silent.

    Twelve figures, dressed in black, glided into an alley like specters, without making a sound.

    Without speaking a word, ten of them dispersed, silently encircling a courtyard.

    The next moment, the remaining two swiftly scaled the wall and landed soundlessly within.

    Immediately, like cheetahs, they explosively pushed off the ground, charging towards the room.

    Bang!

    The doors and windows shattered in an instant.

    A cacophony of crashing and smashing echoed around.

    Not long after, Jin Wuduan and Sikou Yang emerged from the room with ugly expressions on their faces.

    "We''ve been fooled!" Sikou Yang lamented.

    "Seems like he ran away," mused Jin Wuduan thoughtfully. "The window is open, but the air in the room is slightly stale."

    "It shows he hasn''t been gone long."

    Sikou Yang immediately frowned. "Could it be that someone leaked the information?"

    Zuo Sheng''s scalp tingled, and without losing his composure, he said, "Cheng Yi is cunning and ruthless. Once sold out, it is unlikely he''d be betrayed by the same person a second time."

    "Perhaps he''s come up with some countermeasures."

    Sikou Yang nodded in sudden realization. "To harm Yu''er and Qing''er, he must indeed be treacherous and vicious. It''s only logical that he''d be on guard."

    "What a pity to lose a Thousand Mechanism Token."

    "Leave two people to watch this place, the rest of you go back. We can''t delay tomorrow''s investigation."

    Zuo Sheng sighed in relief and acknowledged with a bow.

    The group arrived quickly and left just as fast, disappearing into the night.

    ...

    On the rooftop, Chen Mu crouched in a puff of black smoke, holding a small piece of paper, watching the line of men depart.

    "What kind of undeserved disaster is this?!"

    "How did the search for Cheng Yi end up at my place?"

    And this little piece of paper.

    Just now, someone had thrown it into his room, warning him to escape.

    "Zuo Sheng?"

    He remembered that back in Qingshan County, Zuo Sheng had allied with Cheng Yi.

    "I can''t stay here any longer."

    ...

    Two hours later, a figure in black crushed the neck of a surveillant with a mere grasp, and vaulted into Chen Mu''s courtyard.

    "Ran away earlier? What a shame," Wu Yin shook his head dispassionately.

    After some thought, he shook his head and chuckled to himself: "Then let''s play this game slowly!"

    Wu Yin produced a thumb-sized, water droplet-shaped bronze object from his sleeve and held it in his palm, sensing it carefully.

    "The Heartless Bell is still here?" Wu Yin raised an eyebrow.

    "Is he coming to take revenge on me?" Wu Yin laughed bitterly.

    "Grandpa, a man came just a while ago and invited us to go eat at the Lijiang House, are we going?" the chubby boy asked, his mouth full of bun, speaking indistinctly.

    Wu Yin''s heart gave a sharp lurch.

    He felt an impulse to grab his grandson and run.

    But he forced himself to remain calm and said with a bitter smile, "Let''s go."

    He probably had already been targeted by Cheng Yi, and had no choice but to go.

    "Senior brother, you really taught a good disciple," Wu Yin thought resentfully.

    ...

    Around noon, at Lijiang House.

    At a square table next to the kitchen corridor, a full spread of dishes was laid out.

    A little chubby boy was holding a shiny red pork hock, gnawing at it and dripping oil all over his mouth.

    Chen Mu looked on at the little chubby boy with a smile.

    The boy''s way of eating reminded him involuntarily of Cheng Ming, the little Daoist acolyte he hadn''t seen for a long time.

    Ignoring the gaunt, dark-faced old man staring intently at him from across the table, Chen Mu kept picking out dishes for the little chubby boy.

    "Cheng Yi my nephew, your face-changing technique is really interesting," Wu Yin sneered coldly. "But using my grandson to threaten me, that''s not very funny, is it?"

    Chen Mu was taken aback. Was he being mistaken for Cheng Yi?

    His nephew? So this old man was Cheng Yi''s senior uncle?

    He didn''t argue, but said cheerily, "I think it''s funny."

    Wu Yin''s face darkened. "Out with it, what do you really want?"

    "I almost got caught last night. A consolation of five thousand taels of silver isn''t too much to ask, right?"

    "Fine!" Wu Yin replied calmly.

    Chen Mu''s heart jumped. That was too little!

    "I misspoke. It''s fifty thousand taels," Chen Mu said indifferently.

    Wu Yin''s face turned dark immediately. After a deep breath, he nodded grudgingly.

    "Give me that Bronze Water Droplet then, no problem, right?" Chen Mu continued.

    That thing could sense the Heartless Bell; he had to get a hold of it.

    Wu Yin''s expression changed, but after glancing at his grandson, he clenched his teeth and said, "Fine!"

    "And another thing..." Chen Mu looked thoughtfully at the little chubby boy.

    "Don''t be too excessive!" Wu Yin''s neck immediately flushed red.

    Oh ho!

    Chen Mu glanced at Wu Yin, then at the little chubby boy.

    "This... isn''t he also a Daoist Bone?"

    The Qingfeng Observatory really had something going. It was so hard to find a Daoist Bone, and this pair of brothers had found two!

    Chen Mu''s lips curled up slightly. "Senior uncle, I almost lost my life. A few pieces of White Jade Spirit Money shouldn''t be a problem, right?"

    Wu Yin immediately felt a lump in his chest.

    Do you think those are cabbages?