Jiang Wang continued on his path, reaching the end of the street with ease, and naturally turned right. He pressed forward, then turned left, swiftly disappearing into a narrow alley.

He navigated the county town of Wenxi with practiced familiarity, as if he had lived there for ages, passing the other wayfarers without so much as a glance.

He vaulted over a courtyard wall, and when he reappeared, he was cloaked and hooded, clad in a long black robe, his attire completely changed.

Before departing, he deliberately made a ruckus.

Not long after, a stout man with a bare belly emerged from the inner room, brandishing a steel saber and radiating fury. He glanced around the courtyard and roared, “Damn my mother! Where is the robe I left out to dry?”

A skinny fellow squeezed out beside him. “Hey! Who did this? My cloak is gone from the line outside as well!”

“Damn their mother!” The stout man, Zheng Lao San, scanned the surroundings, cursing and muttering, “They dare steal from Zheng Lao San!”

“Third Brother, look!” The skinny man’s eyes suddenly lit up, and he pointed ahead.

The stout man squinted.

In the courtyard was a stone table, near the clothesline where the robe had been hung. Now the robe was gone, but on the table sat a gleaming silver ingot, worth far more than countless robes and cloaks.

“Waaagh!” Zheng Lao San roared in rage, stomping forward and slashing down with his saber. “The little thief dares insult me!”

His voice was filled with indignation, as if his dignity and honor had been gravely challenged.

The steel blade struck, cleaving the silver ingot in two.

The blade scraped against the stone table, sending sparks flying.

Zheng Lao San wiped his greasy hand, took the larger piece, and left behind a small sliver. “Si’er, this is the money for you to buy a cloak. I’ll take my robe money first.”

Li Lao Si wanted to object, but before the gleaming steel saber, he could not find the words. He could only meekly say, “As you say, Brother.”

To the west of Yong, there are three nations: Chen in the northwest, Jiao directly west, and Luo to the southwest.

Shun’an Prefecture is the western prefecture of Yong. Wenxi County lies in the western reaches of Shun’an, almost bordering the wildlands. Jiao is not so far away.

That Qingyun Pavilion has its headquarters in such a border prefecture and county demonstrates their lack of success. They are likely a little stronger than the Spirit Void Palace of Chen, but not by much.

His aim in seeking out the lost construction of the Cloud Top Immortal Palace from Qingyun Pavilion is unlike the situation at the Spirit Void Palace.

In Spirit Void Palace, Dou Mian had already cleared away all obstacles, including resistance from Chen’s upper echelons. Spirit Void Palace belonged completely to Dou Mian, so with Dou Mian’s cooperation, Jiang Wang only needed to go and take over.

But within Qingyun Pavilion, he had to consider the powers that be in Yong. He did not have a Dou Family or a Chu nation backing him.

So even if Qingyun Pavilion were weak, he had to keep a low profile.

Whether Qingyun Pavilion’s members knew of the lost construction of the Cloud Top Immortal Palace, they would not hand it over easily to Jiang Wang. Even a trade was out of the question. If he brazenly approached them, offering a deal, the most likely outcome would be Qingyun Pavilion devouring both him and the Cloud Top Immortal Palace.

In a foreign land, with no clear path ahead and no support behind him, he had to be extremely cautious.

Jiang Wang was willing to spend three days traversing most of Wenxi County’s streets, carefully familiarizing himself with the town, as a demonstration of this very caution.

And this caution, at least at this moment, had earned him his first advantage against Zhang Linchuan – “Favorable Terrain.”

He had to make good use of this advantage to gain the upper hand.

Hooded and robed, Jiang Wang strode forward, soon arriving at his intended destination.

On the street where he had met Zhang Linchuan, there were not many potential destinations in the direction Zhang Linchuan was heading.

When he turned to thank the auntie, he caught a glimpse of Zhang Linchuan heading left.

That side was a straight road, with five branching paths – three to the left, two to the right – leading to different places. The crossroads Jiang Wang had reached was the first branching path on the left.

Judging by Zhang Linchuan’s earlier pace, if nothing unexpected had occurred, he should have passed through or turned into this path within half a quarter of an hour.

Timing was crucial.

Silently calculating the time, Jiang Wang breathed evenly and stepped forward.

He did not intend to act yet.

But their first meeting had been too sudden, and to conceal any hostility, he hadn’t taken a careful look. He needed to see Zhang Linchuan again, to observe his state and sense his aura, to obtain more accurate intelligence.

At the same time, he was considering how to leave a mark on Zhang Linchuan.

Perhaps he could try planting a wisp of Divine Soul Hiding Serpent?

He quickly dismissed the idea. The Palace of Heavenly Enlightenment was a vital area, and the Divine Soul Hiding Serpent would almost certainly be discovered, which would alert the snake.

Or perhaps capture a bit of his aura for later pursuit?

That was a viable option, but unfortunately, Traceless Pursuit was of too low a rank to handle such a task.

In short, the first objective was to determine Zhang Linchuan’s current strength and state.

The second objective was to try and leave behind a means of pursuit.

And the best outcome would be, in addition to the above, to also identify Zhang Linchuan’s purpose in coming here. That way, he could plan accordingly, just as he had dealt with Hai Zongming. Know yourself, know your enemy, and victory is assured.

It could be said that Jiang Wang’s attitude was cautious and his actions prudent.

He stepped out of the crossroads and turned right.

Many pedestrians approached, tall and short, fat and thin, with varied accents. Jiang Wang calmed himself, making himself more relaxed and composed, his gaze sweeping across them casually…

Nothing!

Not a single figure matched his target.

Zhang Linchuan was gone!

Jiang Wang’s heart skipped a beat, and the Everlasting Yearning almost leapt from its scabbard.

But his breathing was steady, his eyes calm.

He continued forward calmly, his heart immediately resuming its beat, trying to beat as gently as possible.

A problem had arisen.

This was an unavoidable junction, yet Zhang Linchuan had not appeared. He had either suddenly changed direction or suddenly changed speed. Either way, it seemed to indicate that he had noticed something!

Had he been discovered?

The more uncertain things were, the calmer one should be.
Jiang Wang strode forward, seemingly nonchalantly resting his hand on his sword hilt, his mind ablaze with rapid calculations.

*Assuming I am Zhang Linchuan*, he mused, *whatever the reason for his discovery, even if he truly did discover something…what could he have discovered?*

*No more than that he, walking on the streets of Wenxi County in Yong Country, was suddenly observed by a passerby.*

*That passerby wore a mask, was heavily wrapped in cloth, and his voice was unfamiliar.*

*Could he recognize that passerby as Jiang Wang?*

To the White Bone Envoy, what he needed to focus on was Dong A, Wei Quji, those who could interfere with the White Bone Dao’s plans. Even from the perspective of Zhang Linchuan’s identity, Jiang Wang was merely a newly entered inner sect disciple, a rising star of the Dao Academy. There had been a probing in Tangshe Town, but it was just that…a probing.

In his mind, Jiang Wang, the person, must have perished along with Maple Forest City. No different from the hundreds of thousands who died. At that moment, was that Jiang Wang more outstanding than Wei Yan, Zhao Lang, or Shen Nanqi, more outstanding than them?

*Did I display hostility? Did I reveal killing intent?* Jiang Wang rigorously scrutinized himself.

He was certain that he hadn’t outwardly expressed any emotion.

*Then, faced with a strange passerby who only showed observation, what choice would Zhang Linchuan make?*

A sudden violent attack, avoidance, or a thorough investigation?

The White Bone Envoy naturally held life and death in contempt. Killing would be no more difficult than slaughtering a chicken. But the best opportunity had already passed.

If he wanted to kill, he should have acted the moment Jiang Wang’s observation of Zhang Linchuan came up empty.

The fact that there was no movement until now indicated that Zhang Linchuan had abandoned the first option.

For someone like Zhang Linchuan, there was naturally no need to avoid a strange observer at random. So, he probably wanted to investigate thoroughly. He wanted to know who was observing him, why they were observing him, and whether they were hostile towards him.

In the blink of an eye, he had quickly made a judgment – Zhang Linchuan might be secretly watching!

Jiang Wang’s pace quickened, suddenly increasing his speed.

But his gaze swept around, and the passersby remained the same. No one within his field of vision showed any abnormality.

*Where is Zhang Linchuan hiding?*

Now, the situation had reversed. The enemy was in the shadows, and he was exposed.

Jiang Wang had to admit that Zhang Linchuan was more difficult to deal with than he had imagined. He had taken great pains to conceal himself before observing Zhang Linchuan, but now it seemed it was still not cautious enough.

He didn’t know where he had exposed himself, but at this point, he could only respond.

To respond well.

At this moment, a hoodlum was swaggering towards him.

The hoodlum originally intended to turn right, but for some reason, he changed his mind and veered to the left.

He crashed into a scholar dressed in robes.

It seemed that turning left was a poor choice.

“Are you blind, you dog eyes!” the hoodlum angrily grabbed the frail scholar.

The scholar irritably said, “I yielded to this side, but you insisted on yielding to this side as well. How can you blame me?”

“Still daring to argue!” the hoodlum raised his fist to strike.

A hand caught his fist.

“Why go this far over such a small matter?” Jiang Wang easily separated the two entangled men and gently persuaded, “When you’re out and about, harmony is the most important thing.”

During this “mediation,” he thoroughly observed the people on this street, but the result was no different. He still hadn’t found anyone resembling Zhang Linchuan.

*Am I being overly suspicious?* he wondered.

Zhang Linchuan might have suddenly received some news and turned around and left.

*It would be best if that were the case…*

The hoodlum’s fist had been easily caught, and he knew he was outmatched. Without uttering a single harsh word, he quickly left after Jiang Wang “persuaded” him.

“Thank you, brother, for your assistance,” the frail scholar cupped his hands in thanks.

“You’re welcome,” Jiang Wang patted him on the shoulder and continued forward. “I have things to do, I’ll take my leave first.”

At this instant.

The crowd on the entire street suddenly froze.

One by one, the figures disappeared.

After the crowd receded, only a figure remained in front of him.

The figure was straight-backed, with hair falling down, and possessed a cold and aloof aura, as if detached from the world.

Only he remained on the long street, and only this figure was visible.

He turned around.