Demon Sword Sect’s Undercover
Chapter 409 - 409 408 Miscellaneous Matters

409: Chapter 408 Miscellaneous Matters 409: Chapter 408 Miscellaneous Matters Hou Niao nodded; he certainly understood the old man’s thoughts, which were quite normal.

He reached into his Treasure Gourd and pulled out fifty mid-grade Spirit Stones, “The future is important, but the present should not be neglected either.

I once obtained a secret manual from elder Hou and have yet to make payment, so let’s settle it all now.

As for the future, being of the same line within the sect, we will not lose contact.

I am Hou Niao.

If there are any promising individuals in your clan, you can tell them my name.”

The young man by his side looked on, his eyes widening; fifty mid-grade Spirit Stones were equivalent to five hundred low-grade Spirit Stones.

He had never seen such a large amount of resources in his life.

To his knowledge, even during the family’s heyday, they had never been this wealthy.

The old lady felt greatly relieved; this was a layer of protection, the greatest show of goodwill.

Hou Niao?

He had not heard of this name in Jin City before.

Perhaps he was a cultivator passing through from an Outer State?

She was about to express her thanks when suddenly it dawned on her, a realization that comes with old age, her memory not as sharp as it once was at over eighty years old.

“Hou Niao, Master Hou?

I remember now.

It seems my former teacher left a letter before he passed, stating if a cultivator with the surname Hou comes to the mansion, to hand the letter to him…

Look at my memory, I’ve completely forgotten.”

With the young man’s help, the old man shakily made his way to the inner chamber, and soon after, he returned with a scroll in hand,

“This is it!

Written at the top, it’s to be opened by the Junior Friend Hou Niao.

Isn’t that you?”

Hou Niao took the scroll and, out of respect, tore it open with his hands; inside was a single sheet of paper, upon which was written in bold characters:

The Qian Character Mantra of the Body Sword Skill, a fragmented section; for completeness, one must go to the Sword Storage Tower in Yu Capital.

This was precisely what Hou Niao needed.

He did not expect to gain much in Jin City, but he needed a lead.

It was hard to understand the old man Ba Quan’s thinking.

Clearly, he was a minor cultivator who accomplished nothing significant in life, yet his actions had quite the bearing of a master.

Was it because he read too many unusual novels?

He was more inclined to believe it was the intuition of an old man who had long been in contact with scrolls, or perhaps he just took a chance, hoping for the best while prepared for nothing?

You know, he actually got it right.

Intuition does not differentiate by Realm; even a minor cultivator might possess astonishing prescience.

The old lady, who had been observing his expression, said with some trepidation, “The old man is lunatic, always spouting nonsense that confuses everyone.

If there is anything unacceptable written above, please just pretend you did not see it.”

She was worried that the old man might have asked for something unreasonable, thereby losing the biggest opportunity.

Hou Niao carefully stored the scroll, “The elder misunderstands.

The content written is very useful to me, fulfilling the agreement I had with elder Hou.”

Standing up, “I won’t be staying in Jin City for the immediate future.

If you encounter any insurmountable obstacles in Jin City, you may seek out Capital Commandant Wang Shouzhong, the Prosecutor in the Commandant’s mansion.”

The old lady trembled with gratitude.

The Commandant’s mansion, indeed, the Upper Cultivator serving as Prosecutor.

It seemed the old man did accomplish something worthwhile in his life.

…Hou Niao left the Hou Mansion, in good spirits.

The complete set of the Body Sword Skill was within reach.

This was his primary objective for the trip; everything else was secondary.

The next person to seek out was Bai Qingqian’s grandfather.

Although he had gotten involved with his granddaughter, meeting this elder was still a necessity, regardless of whether such relationships determined anything in the Cultivation World.

There were many matters that needed clarification, including internal issues within the Bai Family.

If the grandfather couldn’t handle severe measures like “scraping bone to heal wounds,” he wouldn’t mind having Bai Qingqian completely withdraw from their family’s enterprises.

Outside storms could be faced with confrontation, but handling internal affairs often led to hurt feelings.

It wasn’t his place to intervene; that was for Grandfather Bai to oversee.

Having killed that family’s father and two sons, incidents like that should never be repeated.

That was a principle.

Bai Qingqian’s grandfather was in Jin City, recovering from injuries.

Finding him would be easy…

Their meeting was satisfactory, but while his attitude was one thing, reality was another.

The future direction of the Bai Family remained uncertain.

Hou Niao felt reflective.

Despite his every effort to avoid the Dugu clan, he had fallen into the deep pit of the Bai Family.

It was difficult to remain entirely detached in the Cultivation World; wherever one settled was a pit unless one chose to perpetually drift.

However, Bai Qingqian, though a merchant by birth, was simpler in matters of emotion.

She didn’t see him as mere breeding stock or burden him with the many complications of the Cultivation World.

He had also considered once the Bai’s affairs were set straight, he hoped Bai Qingqian would withdraw from the business world, reducing disputes and devoting more time to cultivation.

After all, what use were mountains of gold and silver if your life was not long?

…

In Jin City, he was returning to visit relatives, which made it awkward to call on others; it was uncomfortable for him and embarrassing for them.

While it was acceptable to skip the Mu Shuai and the Military Commandant’s residences, the visit to the Capital Commandant’s residence was a must.

Li Chuping had assisted him in his path of cultivation; he couldn’t just pretend not to see it.

Moreover, should anyone cause trouble, at least there would be one mansion willing to smooth things over for him.

In the small sitting room of the Capital Commandant’s residence, Hou Niao gave a slight bow, “I’ve met Brother Ouyang.”

Ouyang Mi, of the Natural Realm, was the current Jin City Capital Commandant.

In just five years, he had practically taken control of the city.

None who rose to be a Commandant of a state were pushovers, so Hou Niao was very cautious, even though no one knew he was still laying low as a member of the Anhe Daoist Sect.

If you wish to hide something, don’t do it at all.

Ouyang Mi was a bit surprised.

Upon his appointment, he had heard Li Chuping mention this man, but they hadn’t discussed him in depth.

He knew him to be a person not easily placated and quite sophisticated.

What astonished him was that this man had advanced from the Tongxuan to the Tongtian Second Realm in just over a decade—a rare feat.

However, it also meant that Ouyang Mi couldn’t employ him privately.

A cultivator at such a level was not someone who could be swayed easily by simple affiliations; furthermore, there was little disparity in their levels of cultivation.

Who would first reach the Golden Core between the Second and Third Realms of Tongtian was anyone’s guess.

“Junior Brother Hou is young and promising.

Your legend persists in Jin City.

I’ve long heard of you but have yet to meet you.

Now that I see you, you truly are a hero from a young age…”

For a first meeting, especially between minds so astute, there was naturally a round of mutual compliments.

Hou Niao’s visit was a matter of courtesy, while Ouyang’s warmth was a question of formality—all superficial exchanges.

In Ouyang’s view, this man was simply Li Chuping’s private associate; it was good to know him but not to make use of him.

Even though they were both part of the Sikong Capital Commandant system, to achieve something noteworthy in one place required having people you could trust, regardless of any existing conflicts.

People like Hou Niao were not what Ouyang Mi wanted to bring back to Jin City.

Far from helping him, it would merely add trouble for himself.

Of course, the atmosphere was still quite harmonious.

After all, they might all work within the same system in the future, and having more connections was always beneficial.

At least in the matter of Hou Niao’s private return, Ouyang Mi was very accommodating, “What’s the big deal?

As far as I know, there are some who are sent away for a mere year and then sneak back.

Others who return every three to five years are even more common.

You, returning once every ten years, shows remarkable restraint.

Resupplying skills, replenishing resources, handling personal affairs—everyone understands.

It’s really nothing unusual.”