Wen Yan went down to the basement, used the shelves and the things Old Xi had left behind to open the window leading toward Fuyu Mountain.

He first took out his own credentials and stretched them through the window.

"Brother Jian, it's me."

The moment Wen Yan's voice fell, he saw a small sword fly over, circle around his credentials, and after confirming it was really Wen Yan, the little sword instantly disappeared without a trace.

Wen Yan wasn't in the mood to bother about the flying sword. He jumped down from the window.

The Fuyu Temple was already silent. Clearly, the people here had far healthier routines than he did; by this hour, they had long since gone to rest, and at dawn tomorrow they'd be up for morning lessons.

A tall figure appeared. The Eighth Uncle-Master Ancestor looked Wen Yan up and down, glancing at the window.

"Hey, this thing is actually pretty handy."

"All the Uncle-Master Ancestors are resting, right?" Wen Yan lowered his voice.

"All asleep. Luckily, Third Senior Brother's flying sword has seen you, recognizes your aura. Otherwise, sneaking in at midnight like this, you'd probably eat a sword first thing. Are you taking me over there? Are you sure it's really the Rakshasa Bird?"

"Things seem a bit complicated..."

"Then talk slowly."

Wen Yan and the Eighth Uncle-Master Ancestor sat in the courtyard, and in a low voice, Wen Yan recounted what had happened before. The Eighth Uncle-Master Ancestor's face grew serious as well.

"The Mountain Lord, huh. So he really didn't die."

"What's the story with that?"

"He's been killed twice already. First time was over a thousand years ago—almost two thousand, I think. I'm not too sure.

The second time... I was half asleep, just heard people mention it, maybe some hundreds of years ago.

Never thought he'd actually survive, and now he's revived again.

You'd best stay far away from him. That guy's aura of slaughter is strong; born for killing.

He's got this Technique of Slaughter—very few survive it if they get struck.

The ones who do survive are all excessively strong in their times."

The Eighth Uncle-Master Ancestor saw Wen Yan wanted to say something and curled his lip.

"Don't look at me—I might not be able to stand even a single strike from him.

Either dodge altogether, or just tank it with pure strength.

I figure since the Mountain Lord has died twice, he's definitely pretty weakened now.

The Second Miss should be able to withstand his Technique of Slaughter."

"You mean Aunt Gan?"

"Yeah, but the Second Miss went out and still hasn't come back. No idea where she went."

"Uh... Aunt Gan didn't take her phone?"

"She didn't take it—said the thing's too unreliable."

"Still not back, huh..."

Wen Yan sighed. Back when he got the shelves, he had actually thought of Aunt Gan—maybe the shelves could be useful.

But now he couldn't get in touch with Aunt Gan, there was nothing he could do.

A flying zombie that can soar and burrow beneath the earth, wherever she wants to go, no one can stop her.

"You'd better keep away from the Mountain Lord. Don't provoke him.

I heard, back in his prime, he was seriously wild—arrogant and crazy.

After dying twice and showing up again, he's way more low-key now.

But now that he knows how to lay low and endure, he's even scarier."

"I figure, he probably wouldn't even bother to kill me..."

The Eighth Uncle-Master Ancestor thought it over, and breathed a slight sigh of relief.

"True. In his eyes, martial artists probably aren't even on par with the most average craftsmen.

If you encounter him, just say you're from Fuyu Mountain.

He'll see you're just into martial training, with not a hint of cultivation talent, and look down on you even more.

But—whatever you do, don't let him know you can use Scorching Sun."

"The Thirteenth Ancestor wouldn't..." Wen Yan was dumbfounded.

"No, the Thirteenth Ancestor lived in a different era—he was long gone by the second resurrection. Fuyu Mountain and the water system guys just don't get along, that's all.

I mean, when you're forced to the limit, just don't let him feel you're worth killing, that's it."

When the Eighth Uncle-Master Ancestor gave Wen Yan tips on staying alive, it was all practical advice, not at all concerned about losing face or shaming the school.

Wen Yan felt a little troubled. After chatting a bit, he returned through the window.

The Eighth Uncle-Master Ancestor said he wouldn't come, showing up would make them too big a target and draw attention; he couldn't guarantee he'd be able to protect Wen Yan.

Not coming was actually better. The Mountain Lord, while having killed plenty, really seems uninterested in easy prey; the ones who die by his hand, from what's known, are always people of note.

Wen Yan recalled the ghost servant he'd met last time; the Eighth Uncle-Master Ancestor had already concluded there's no way that ghost servant was killed by the Mountain Lord—at most, the Mountain Lord just found a suitable tool for a job.

Besides, those killed directly by the Mountain Lord could never become ghost servants at all.

After returning from Fuyu Mountain, Wen Yan picked up his phone, thought a bit, and decided to call Cai Heizi.

He'd been startled enough himself today; couldn't let Cai Heizi be scared all alone.

The call went through—it was surprising he hadn't been blocked.

And it wasn't declined either, just picked up directly. Judging by the sounds on the other end, Cai Heizi was probably still working overtime at his office.

"Minister, Feng Yao already reported to you, right?"

"Yeah. Highly suspected to be Rakshasa Bird demon, probably out of Crouching Tiger Mountain?"

"I saw her at a night market by the river. Her looks were different, but I just had a feeling—it was her. Plus, there was a man with her. She always walked half a step behind, didn't dare walk side by side."

Cai Qidong was silent for a long time.

"You alright?"

"He definitely spotted me, but just didn't give a damn."

Now Cai Qidong stared at the documents in his hands, his expression grew even gloomier.

"Then it's him..."

Cai Qidong stood in the command room, gave a few orders to the people beside him, and in no time pulled up surveillance—the footage was from riverbank cameras in Virtue City, specifically the earlier recording.

They quickly locked onto one man and one woman based on Wen Yan's timeline.

Facial recognition: the woman's face was fake. The real owner of that face happened to arrive in Yu State tonight.

The man, on the other hand, his face matched someone from a neighboring commandery. Two days ago, that guy was seriously ill, lying in a hospital—family took him home because he was beyond saving; per his and the family's wishes, he wanted to die in his village.

Because by local custom, if someone dies outside the village, they can't come back, and can't be buried there either.

Cai Qidong instantly realized, this was a cloned body.

"We need to speed things up. Is it possible to talk to the West River Dragon God as soon as possible?"

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