"Ding Fan, don't worry about us. After all, the people from the City Lord Mansion haven't targeted us yet. Besides, my cultivation isn't weak; there won't be any problems."

At this moment, He Qianyao looked at Ding Fan and spoke with confidence in her eyes.

He Qianyao knew in her heart that the "impostor Ding Fan" was very important to Ding Fan. For someone to impersonate Ding Fan, they must be quite familiar with him. More importantly, that guy must know something about the recent incidents where many sects were destroyed overnight. Right now, everyone is rumored to believe that Ding Fan did it. Naturally, this is crucial for Ding Fan and must be thoroughly investigated.

Ding Fan nodded after hearing He Qianyao's words and didn't say anything, as she made a valid point. At this moment, the City Lord Mansion's people hadn't targeted them, and He Qianyao and the others had impressive cultivation levels. As long as they didn't encounter exceptionally powerful cultivators, ordinary cultivators wouldn't be able to harm them.

Furthermore, Ding Fan would only be out for a short time during the night and would be back soon. The safety of Ye Ningbing and the others shouldn't be an issue.

Currently, for Ding Fan, the most important matter was the "impostor Ding Fan." Although Ding Fan didn't know if the scar-faced man, the "impostor Ding Fan," knew about the events where sects were wiped out overnight, since the other party dared to impersonate him, he must be able to provide some useful information.

Moreover, if Ding Fan's guess was correct, the one impersonating him was likely an evil cultivator. It was necessary to ask him about the zombies and the ancient relic marked with the Corpse Sect. What was that about?

Finding out about these matters was clearly best done through the scar-faced man. These issues were very important to Ding Fan, considering he bore not only his own responsibilities but also those of the entire Dayang Sect. Ding Fan couldn't forget the bloody vengeance of the Dayang Sect.

If it weren't for the elders of the Dayang Sect, or even Sect Master He risking their lives to protect him, he wouldn't be alive today. Those Distraction Stage cultivators back then could easily kill him.

Therefore, when Ding Fan learned about the recent destruction of several sects overnight, he became particularly concerned. After all, many of those sects had slaughtered the Dayang Sect in the past. Now, the Cultivation World was spreading rumors that he was the one who destroyed those sects.

Ding Fan was very clear that he wasn't the one who destroyed those sects. So why were there rumors saying he did? What did any of it have to do with him?

To grasp the answers to all these questions, Ding Fan had to understand it from the "impostor Ding Fan."

...

As night fell, He Qianyao and the others had already returned to their respective rooms to rest. At this moment, after greeting everyone, He Qianyao and the others gathered in Ye Ningbing's room.

While Ding Fan directly headed to the Good Fortune Inn.

As Ding Fan walked, the sky grew darker. With a mind full of questions for the "impostor Ding Fan," he quickly found the Good Fortune Inn after some inquiries.

By this time, the lanterns at the inn's entrance had already been lit, making the inn appear not so lonely in the pitch-black night.

Just as Ding Fan was about to enter the inn, suddenly, a dense crowd of shadows appeared at the end of an alley under the light. From the shadows, it was clear that each person was fully armed with sharp weapons, evidently coming with ill intentions.

Ding Fan paused when he saw this. Soon, a fully armed group of cultivators appeared in front of him. Among them, a girl led the group. She was beautiful, but her brows revealed a hint of trouble, and Ding Fan recognized her immediately. She was Gu Qingqing, whom he had seen in the restaurant earlier in the day.

At this moment, recognizing the girl, Ding Fan felt a bit helpless, thinking that whatever you worry about might just come true. Ding Fan had been concerned about encountering people from the City Lord Mansion before arriving, and now not only did he meet them, but he also ran into that girl.

Seeing the fully armed group across from him, Ding Fan knew they must be up to something and likely weren't there for him. Hence, he planned to leave and avoid provoking them, even though he didn't fear them. Among the group, the highest cultivation was only at the Late Nascent Soul Stage.

Given their strength, Ding Fan had no reason to worry. But he had important matters to attend to tonight and needed to get information from the impostor Ding Fan. After all, those matters were crucial to him.

But just as Ding Fan was about to leave.

"Stop!"

A middle-aged man, fully armed, shouted at Ding Fan with a loud voice. This person was Lin Hu, whom Ding Fan had knocked down with a wind blade earlier in the day.

Hearing the man's shout, Ding Fan stopped, not wanting to cause trouble, but it seemed unavoidable today! Ding Fan was not afraid of trouble; since the other party called out to him, he'd see what they wanted. After all, he didn't feel he did anything wrong during the day's events.

At this moment, Lin Hu whispered something to Gu Qingqing, whose face turned visibly unpleasant afterwards. Knowing about the events earlier in the day, Gu Qingqing knitted her brows coldly, clearly feeling that the person across was too disrespectful to the City Lord Mansion.

Gu Qingqing scrutinized the other person, who was just an Early Nascent Soul Stage cultivator, thinking he was audacious enough to disregard the City Lord Mansion's authority and even lay a hand on her people, flipping them over earlier. It was utterly presumptuous!

However, despite this, as Gu Qingqing appraised him, she suddenly found him interesting. It was night, her side had more people, they were fully armed, and their cultivation was much higher than his. Yet, he showed no fear whatsoever, standing tall with no sign of cowardice.

"What do you want?"

At this moment, Ding Fan asked them resolutely.

Gu Qingqing heard the other party's words. The tone was neither fearful nor overbearing. This made her feel extremely curious, as in Pine Stone City, no one would not recognize members of the City Lord's Mansion, and no one would dare face them so calmly after provoking them.

Yet the other party was just so calm, even a bit dismissive. Although Gu Qingqing was a lady from a prestigious family, she had seen quite a bit of the world, and she felt there was something unusual about the other party.

"Do you know who we are?"

At this moment, Gu Qingqing looked at Ding Fan with a heavy expression and questioned coldly.

"And what does who you are have to do with me."

Ding Fan said indifferently. Although Ding Fan knew in his heart they were people from the City Lord's Mansion, it didn't matter to him. If they were persistent, he wouldn't hesitate to strike!

At this moment, upon hearing Ding Fan's words, Gu Qingqing's brow furrowed slightly. She couldn't believe that someone in Pine Stone City wouldn't know her identity, but she also didn't expect such a response. Initially, Gu Qingqing felt a bit angry upon hearing his response, but it surprisingly reduced a lot of her anger, and instead, she regarded him more seriously.

The middle-aged man Lin Hu standing beside Gu Qingqing was stunned upon hearing Ding Fan's words, not expecting someone to dare answer the young lady this way — it was simply courting death! However, the middle-aged man Lin Hu didn't dare say anything as the young lady hadn't spoken yet, and because he feared Ding Fan. After all, he was still scarred from being flung back by one of Ding Fan's Wind Blades earlier. He was well aware that even though he was a Nascent Soul Middle Stage cultivator, he was defeated by a single attack from an Early Nascent Soul Stage cultivator, which showed Ding Fan was not at all simple.

Lin Hu could only suppress his resentment for the moment and watch for the young lady's intentions.

Gu Qingqing found herself momentarily at a loss for words, realizing this was no ordinary situation. Despite her side having the advantage in numbers, the other party wasn't afraid in the slightest, which was very telling.

Gu Qingqing wasn't someone without worldly knowledge. She understood that this situation seemed quite grave, plus she had other affairs to attend to now. Quarreling with him endlessly was unwise, so she spoke somewhat courteously:

"We are from the City Lord's Mansion. We were rude earlier today, and I hope you can forgive us."

Though Gu Qingqing spoke politely, her attitude remained cool. After saying this, she led her people into the Good Fortune Inn as if she didn't care what Ding Fan might say.

Seeing this scene, Ding Fan couldn't help but feel a bit curious, and Gu Qingqing intrigued him. This woman was interesting.

But just as Gu Qingqing and the others were about to enter the inn, a sneering laugh suddenly rang out.

"Ha ha... I thought the City Lord's Mansion was full of heroes, turns out they're just a bunch of useless fools! Ha ha..."

"Ha ha... Today really opened my eyes!"

At this moment, two middle-aged men in identical black uniforms emerged from an alley. It was evident they were disciples from some sect due to their matching uniforms. One man was of medium build, the other slightly thinner, but both wore expressions of disdain and contempt on their faces.

Upon seeing the two men, Ding Fan's eyes lit up. He distinctly recognized their attires as those of the disciples of the Wild Wolf Gang! As soon as Ding Fan saw them, he couldn't help but burn with anger, long having been at odds with the Wild Wolf Gang! Seeing the Wild Wolf Gang's disciples infuriated him.

The scenes of the Wild Wolf Gang slaughtering the Dayang Sect flooded Ding Fan's mind.

"It's pathetic that the revered City Lord's Mansion can't handle even one Early Nascent Soul Stage cultivator…"

"Ha ha..."

For a moment, as the two Wild Wolf Gang disciples mocked and laughed, they reached the inn entrance.

"Courting death!"

At this moment, Lin Hu beside Gu Qingqing couldn't help but shout angrily. Despite his calm demeanor, even the young lady couldn't restrain him any longer, so he wielded his longsword and charged at the two Wild Wolf Gang disciples.

Gu Qingqing was furious upon hearing the words of the two Wild Wolf Gang disciples. Although satisfied to see Lin Hu make a move, she remained worried because she too recognized their attire.

Clearly, they were disciples of the Wild Wolf Gang. She didn't expect their presence here. Why were the disciples of the Wild Wolf Gang here? Could it be because of Ding Fan?

In an instant, considering this, Gu Qingqing turned to a fully armed escort beside her and said:

"Go and inform Ding Fan that the people from the Wild Wolf Gang have arrived!"

"Yes!"

The escort promptly responded to the young lady and quickly ran towards the inn.