CHAPTER 97: CHAPTER 91: DEMON TALISMAN

In the Grey Clothes Tower, Chen Ku couldn’t help but look back the moment that person spoke.

The newcomer also wore a conical hat, obscuring their appearance and age. Judging only by their voice and their two visible hands, Chen Ku guessed they were unlikely to be over forty years old.

The man’s fingers were not rough and lacked wrinkles or spots. They were slender, and his nails were neatly trimmed.

Could this person... be the Peace Path Incense Master that the Transformation Diagram warned me about, the one who intends to issue a bounty for my capture?

Chen Ku’s thoughts flashed like lightning.

To avoid revealing his identity, despite his anxiety, he glanced only once before turning his head away, pretending to continue perusing the Bounty List.

Indeed, the other person did not notice Chen Ku.

After all, Chen Ku was not only wearing a conical hat, but his stature and features had also completely transformed into those of Du Xiaodao.

After confirming the newcomer wished to issue a bounty, the grey-robed person behind the counter pointed towards the stairs and said, "Someone on the second floor will take care of you."

"Mm."

The man with slender hands, presumed to be the Peace Path Incense Master, nodded briefly and proceeded to the second floor.

Chen Ku seized this opportunity to put away the Bounty List. After a brief word with the grey-robed person, he quickly left.

Stepping out of the Grey Clothes Tower, Chen Ku deliberately turned into a dark alley. He then transformed into a small white mink and tucked his clothes behind a stack of bamboo poles with his small paws.

Then, with his palm-sized body, he doubled back towards the Grey Clothes Tower.

Remembering the man’s scent, Chen Ku, now a small white mink, quickly reached the eaves of the Grey Clothes Tower’s second floor.

Directly below the eaves, separated by less than three meters vertically, was the man in the conical hat. With the hearing of a tiger and a Flower Fox Mink—abilities overlaid from his Transformation Diagram—Chen Ku easily heard the conversation below.

"You wish to place a bounty on Chen Ku, the new disciple recently accepted by the two Masters of Medicine King Hall? How much are you willing to offer?"

"Ten Thousand Taels for his head."

"Possible, but you must pay half as a deposit upfront. That’s the rule."

"I’m aware."

These few simple sentences made Chen Ku’s heart pound violently.

Indeed! It was this person! This man was the Peace Path Incense Master!

A powerful Martial Practitioner at the peak of the Meridian-Opening Realm, further augmented by the various mysterious Talisman Papers of the Peace Path.

Chen Ku didn’t understand how he had offended the Peace Path for them to willingly spend ten thousand taels on his life.

Such a price! Even Blade-Handlers and assassins of the Mystic Barrier Realm could be lured by it!

At this moment, it seemed the deposit had been paid below.

Five thousand taels, produced so readily, all just for his life.

"Very well. If a Blade-Handler or assassin takes his head, our Grey Clothes Tower will light a bonfire at the agreed-upon location at Three Quarters Past Noon. At that time, you may come with the remaining half of the bounty to collect the head."

"Mm, I’m leaving."

"Please take care."

The small white mink that Chen Ku had become crouched on the eaves, watching the Peace Path Incense Master exit the Grey Clothes Tower and head towards the outer market square.

Its red nose twitched. Firmly locking onto the man’s scent, Chen Ku waited until he was three to four miles away before returning to the dark alley, changing back into his clothes, and resuming his pursuit.

「South Street, Baojiao County Outer City.」

Chen Ku hadn’t expected the man’s return path to be in the same direction as his own small courtyard in the outer city.

He waited until the man passed his small courtyard. Then, he detoured to his courtyard to retrieve weapons, just in case.

His staff was being repaired and wasn’t ready yet.

So he retrieved another, more formidable weapon: the Blood Blade!

Following the Peace Path Incense Master’s scent, Chen Ku continued towards the outermost residential alley of South Street, where the man seemed to enter a particular courtyard.

Inside that courtyard, he detected the scents of a dozen other people.

As Chen Ku considered his chances of successfully reporting these people and having them all captured, he hesitated. Ultimately, he decided to eavesdrop first, hoping to learn more secrets.

Thus, as he stealthily approached from that direction, a white mist simultaneously shot from between his eyebrows, transforming into a Flower Fox Mink that trailed towards the courtyard.

In the courtyard at the end of the residential alley, as the man in the conical hat entered, someone asked, "Incense Master Yao, how did it go?"

Yao Wensu replied, "The bounty has been placed. We can also dismantle this underground hideout in the city. It’s no longer safe to stay, especially recently."

Meanwhile, the Flower Fox Mink had silently reached the corner of the courtyard wall.

Yao Wensu entered a room and informed the dozen or so cult members inside of the evacuation plan.

"We’re evacuating already? Shouldn’t we leave some people in the city? Otherwise, the Path will be completely in the dark about the situation in Baojiao County City."

A woman spoke up, "I’ll stay. Among all our brothers and sisters, my cultivation is the weakest; I’ve only just developed Qi Sensation. If I’m discovered, it won’t be a significant loss for the Path."

Yao Wensu said calmly, "Every brother and sister in the Path is our family. We are all born equal; the death of any one of us is a loss. Furthermore, after breaking through to the Mystic Barrier, Shangguan Yun gained some kind of mental and spiritual aptitude and now practices the ’Spirit Capturing Heart Method.’ If one of our members is killed in the city, that’s one thing. But being captured alive by him is what we fear most, as it would expose too many of the Path’s vital secrets."

"Ling E understands. It was rash of me. Please forgive me, Incense Master Yao," the female cultist named Ling E said apologetically.