It was impossible not to be familiar with it, as it seemed to be seen every day.
Nan Zhu’s eyes were fixed on the pattern of the banner, but one of his hands reached out and touched Yu Qing’s hand. He grabbed his wrist, lifted it, and then looked down at the ring on his hand, as if it were an unconscious movement.
Yu Qing himself looked down, and Mu Aotie reacted in the same way.
The gaze of the three martial brothers was fixed on the face of the swimming fish ring. Comparing it with the one on the banner, they found the pattern seemed to be exactly the same.
They could not believe it would be exactly the same, and even less could they believe that they would just happen to encounter the exact same pattern on the road.
Seeing that the group holding the banner and parading through the streets was about to turn into the corner ahead, the three martial brothers immediately took hold of Xiao Hei and followed them.
Xiao Hei did not care either way. Wherever you lead me, I will go.
As long as he could play outside everywhere, as long as he was not cooped up in a room, everything looked fresh and fun to him at this moment.
Walking briskly, the three adults and one child finally caught up with the fluttering banner. They compared the swimming fish pattern on the ring at close range, comparing from head to tail, the shape of the fish lips, the shape of the fish eyes, the size, arrangement, and number of the scales.
After comparing to the very end, they found that even the position and shape of the fish fins at the corners, which had a slightly unique shape, were exactly the same.
Comparing the whole thing, except that the pattern on the banner appeared larger, all other forms were completely identical.
The three martial brothers fell into immense shock and doubt. If someone said that a family had just drawn it casually and it happened to match the pattern on the swimming fish ring, even they themselves would not believe it.
After the comparison was clear, the three adults and one child stopped, stood by the street, and blankly watched the banner go far away.
Xiao Hei could not help but ask, “Fat Uncle, what are you looking at?” He also stretched his head out to look, but did not see anything new.
No one paid attention to him, which frustrated his desire to act like a little adult and participate.
Mu Aotie suddenly said, “Why is this pattern printed on a banner and paraded around everywhere?”
Nan Zhu said hesitantly, “It looks like some shop has opened and is doing some kind of advertising.”
Yu Qing immediately tilted his head to signal, “Old Seven, go and check the situation.”
“Alright.” Nan Zhu agreed readily, but after taking a few steps, he stopped, turned around, and came back, muttering in a low voice, “Aren’t we in a hurry to leave, in a hurry to go back? How should we investigate this now?” As he spoke, he looked around, somewhat apprehensive.
Yu Qing said, “We have searched for so long without seeing any trace, and waited for so long without any news. To bump into it once is the luck of finding a needle in a haystack. How can we miss it? Hurry up, go and check the situation quickly. We will make a decision after seeing how things are. We will wait for you here.”
Nan Zhu had no more objections. He immediately turned around and left, shaking his body of fat as he went. With the cloak covering him, it could not really be seen.
Since they had already encountered an obvious lead, the situation was not hard to find out. Nan Zhu caught up with the banner carriers, chattered with them for a while, and soon came back.
He leaned back in front of his two junior martial brothers and was about to explain the situation. Seeing Xiao Hei stretching his head over like a curious baby, he grabbed Xiao Hei’s forehead, pushed him away directly, and even pushed him behind him and held him there. After refusing to let him eavesdrop, he said in a low voice to his two junior martial brothers, “I was not wrong. It is just a shop that has opened. It has been open for a few days. The ones holding the banner are hired by the shop to advertise and attract customers.”
Yu Qing asked, “Did you ask where the shop is located?”
Nan Zhu said, “How could I not ask about that? It is right by the old well pit in the North Market. The shop is called ‘Lingxi Zhai’, and it sells alchemy materials. This swimming fish pattern is the logo of that shop. As for more details, those holding the banners do not know clearly. We would have to investigate it ourselves. The problem is that we are in a hurry to leave now, and we do not have time to investigate.”
Yu Qing fell silent, and remained silent for a long time, his expression constantly changing.
After waiting for a while, Nan Zhu urged, “Alright, it is enough to know the place. If we have the chance to come back, it will not be too late to investigate then. For now, it is important to get away first.”
Yu Qing suddenly asked, “When will we be able to come back? If we wait until we have the chance to come back, and that shop has closed down and disappeared, what should we do?”
Nan Zhu and Mu Aotie looked at each other speechlessly. This kind of question depended on how you looked at it, but it was not impossible. No matter where it was, it was very common for businesses to go under and close down. The Sea Market was no exception.
And facing the overwhelming power of Zheluo Mountain, even if they escaped back to Youjiao Port, when they could come back here was truly a question. Tie Miaoqing was a lesson from the past, forced by that person to hide in Youjiao Port for many years.
The problem was how long their physical conditions could last.
Bringing his thoughts back, Nan Zhu asked, “Old Fifteen, there is more to your words. What do you mean?”
Yu Qing tilted his head and said, “Let us go back.”
Nan Zhu and Mu Aotie thought he meant going back to Youjiao Port, but the direction was wrong, going in the opposite direction of the seaside. Nan Zhu immediately shouted, “Where are you going?”
Yu Qing said, “Back to Hu Youli’s house.”
Both senior martial brothers were choked with shock. Mu Aotie quickly caught up and grabbed Yu Qing’s arm, asking, “Have you gone mad?”
Nan Zhu, who had pulled Xiao Hei along, also came over. He gestured with his chin towards the surroundings and reminded him, “Old Fifteen, what kind of joke are you playing? Are you going back to seek death?”
Yu Qing also looked around and said in a low voice, “This is not the place to talk. We will talk after we go back.” With that, he walked away first.
Old Seven and Old Nine looked at each other. In the end, having no choice, they could only follow, wanting to see what kind of idea Old Fifteen was really hatching.
Xiao Hei was carefree and without worry. He had grown up in desolation and loneliness since he was a child. A lively place was a good place, and he did not care whether they were going in circles.
The three adults and one child walked through the streets and alleys, passed the Yao family shop, and walked to the elevated pavilion above that alley. They flew up again, opened the door skillfully as if familiar with the route, and entered uninvited.
Hu Youli downstairs heard the noise and quickly ran up. She was still holding a knife in her hand. Seeing the group of three adults and one child, she was stunned, and the knife in her hand slowly lowered. She asked suspiciously, “You… what are you doing?”
The three martial brothers were also quite embarrassed. They had just said goodbye not long ago, and it was the kind of goodbye where they were determined to leave. How should they explain going back on their word now?
Yu Qing reached out and scooped Xiao Hei over. Patting Xiao Hei’s head, he said, “Xiao Hei said he likes you and wants to stay here for a while. He made such a fuss that we had to come back.”
Nan Zhu and Mu Aotie immediately nodded in agreement.
Xiao Hei thought for a moment and shouted at Hu Youli, “Sister, I did not say that.”
Yu Qing immediately turned his head and asked, “You remembered it wrong, did you not? Do you not like Sister?”
Xiao Hei’s thoughts fell into some kind of struggle, and he got a bit confused.
Yu Qing, however, pushed him forward and said, “Go ahead. If you want to eat meat pies, go find your Sister.”
As soon as he heard there were meat pies to eat, Xiao Hei immediately ran over, hugged Hu Youli’s waist again, and looked up to say, “Sister, hungry, eat meat pie.”
Hu Youli smiled, rubbed his messy head, nodded in greeting to the three martial brothers, and took Xiao Hei downstairs.
She did not ask much. She felt these people were not simple, and there must be a reason for them coming back.
The three martial brothers all breathed a slight sigh of relief. Nan Zhu immediately pulled Yu Qing’s arm again and asked in a low voice, “Tell me, what do you want to do by running back?”
Yu Qing said, “We finally got a clue about the ring. We cannot let it go cold. Naturally, we have to continue the investigation.”
This time, even Mu Aotie had to remind him, “It is too risky. Once the forces of Zheluo Mountain make a move, I am afraid they will not leave us a way out.”
Nan Zhu also disagreed, “If we could investigate slowly, would we still need to run?”
Yu Qing asked, “Do you dare to guarantee that the Wang family is not watching us and will let us escape back to Youjiao Port smoothly?”
Nan Zhu said, “That is still better than sitting and waiting for death. Did you not think this way before?”
Yu Qing said, “I did think this way before, but I have changed my mind now. I do not want to run anymore.”
Nan Zhu did not believe he would just sit and wait for death. Seeing something was wrong, he asked in shock and doubt, “What exactly do you want to do?”
Yu Qing brought his mouth close to the two of them and whispered, “We have more or less understood the situation of Zheluo Mountain these past few days. Their sect is not a normal sect with proper lineage. It does not have the layered foundation of a normal large sect. Have you not seen the passersby mocking them? The foundation for this sect’s existence is the relationship between the Wang family and the Earth Mother. What if this relationship is severed?”
“Severed?” Nan Zhu was confused. “How could it be severed? Could we possibly sever this relationship?”
Yu Qing whispered again, “What if Wang Xuetang also meets his end?”
Nan Zhu and Mu Aotie instantly widened their eyes and stared at him in unison.
Yu Qing said, “I heard that Wang Xuetang married two wives in total, having three sons and two daughters. Later, there was infighting among the children, and accidents happened one after another. Only one son and one daughter from different mothers were left. The son is in the hands of You Ya, and his days are numbered. The daughter followed her divorced former wife. It is said she left Zheluo Mountain with resentment and has long been married off.
If Wang Xuetang dies, given the sect structure of Zheluo Mountain, there will definitely be great chaos. Those below will certainly be busy fighting for power and profit. Whether they will fall apart is unknown, but at least for a considerable time, they will not have the mind to compete with us.”
In this regard, he was also someone who had been through it. After his master passed away, the scene of martial brothers fighting each other was still fresh in his memory. They could fight to the death over a minuscule profit. Let alone the huge profits of Zheluo Mountain, it would be strange if it ended peacefully.
The two senior martial brothers looked at him in a daze, which could also be said to be speechless.
After a good while, Nan Zhu asked, “You want to kill Wang Xuetang?”
“I have been talking for half a day and you still do not understand?”
“No, have you gone mad? Wang Xuetang’s cultivation level is definitely not low, and he has a cloud of experts around him. We do not even have a chance to get close. How can we kill him? Kill him in our dreams?”
“Did we not still manage to solve the one in the Sea Suppression Division?”
“How can that be the same? That was by relying on something. Now that we are in the spotlight, Qing Ya will not possibly help you get that thing a second time.”
Yu Qing glanced around and lowered his voice again. “Liu Piaopiao was afraid that the amount emitted by that thing would affect people outside the hidden channel, so she economised on the dosage. There is still a little less than half a bottle left. I did not want to leave that handle during the meeting, so she casually stuffed it into the crevice of a big tree. I should be able to find it again.”
“…”
Nan Zhu and Mu Aotie were dumbfounded.
Seeing them not speaking, Yu Qing had to persuade them again. There was no way around it. This matter was not easy to handle alone, and it required the cooperation of the two. “The Wang family has gone too far in bullying people. They provoked us first. I do not know if the Wang family has set up some kind of trap waiting for us. If we run now, we might not be able to escape. Even if we can hide for a while, can we hide for a lifetime? It is better to strike first!”
Nan Zhu said earnestly, “Old Fifteen, the principle is simple to say, but how can it be so easy to do. By the side of the grand master of Zheluo Mountain, there must be strict security. How can they allow people to strike at will? If it were really that easy, would not everyone be in danger, and would not the world be in chaos?
Even if we succeed, those connected to us will be assassinated one after another by the same means. It will be hard not to suspect us.
Once the suspicion is completely fixed on us, for some people, no evidence is needed. Once Zheluo Mountain stabilises the situation, will they avenge the former sect master? And then there is the Earth Mother. The Wang family is, after all, a relative of the Earth Mother. Will the Earth Mother help her relatives take revenge?”
Yu Qing said, “According to what you say, we can only submit to the will of others, we can only leave it to fate, and we do not even have the qualification to resist. Old Seven, I think people like us, small figures, do not have the qualification to think that far ahead. We cannot make everything perfect, so we can only focus on the present.”