"That's right, indeed."

Sha Lifei shook his cape, straightening his back.

"It's a pleasure to meet you!"

A flicker of delight flashed in the old man's eyes, and he quickly clasped his fists in greeting: "I am Wang Tianzuo of the Shunyuan Escort Agency. Greetings to you, noble heroes."

"Ah, so it's Chief Wang. It's a pleasure to meet you. Please come in!"

Sha Lifei laughed heartily and raised his hand to invite him in.

To be honest, he had never heard of Shunyuan Escort Agency before, let alone conducted any business with them, but that's how the pugilistic world is.

When traveling, it's all about giving each other face.

Old Wang Tianzuo was quite the diplomat; he first instructed his subordinates to settle in the side rooms, ensuring they wouldn't disturb Li Yan and the others.

After these arrangements, he carried a few bottles of wine into the main hall, respectfully clasping his fists: "Greetings to you, noble heroes."

"Greetings, Chief Wang."

Seeing the courtesy, Li Yan and the others naturally returned the gesture.

Chief Wang then had his men bring in some braised dishes, offering wine while trying to establish connections.

It was clear to him that Sha Lifei was the most approachable of them, so he showered praises upon him.

Sha Lifei was amused by the flattery, but he did not lose himself in it. He drank and subtly probed for information.

This Chief Wang was quite astute and cooperated by revealing his background.

"Shunyuan Escort Agency is in Chengdu..."

"I specialize in business with the Mystical Sect. For instance, there is a new temple being built near the River Dam, and they need to transport some goods, some of which could barely be considered Magic Artifacts. Not only do they attract bandits, but they also get targeted by Wandering Ghosts..."

"To be honest, I hail from the Huangling Sect..."

Upon hearing this, Li Yan was completely at ease.

No wonder he was so courteous.

He had fairly good relations with the Huangling Sect.

If not for his warning, the Huangling Sect would still be unaware that their people were being set up by the Shu Prince Mansion.

They even nearly clashed with Buddhist disciples.

"How was it resolved later?"

After learning about the other's background, Li Yan immediately inquired.

Chief Wang sighed and sneered: "It's the Shu Prince Mansion. After all, we are just people of the pugilistic world. How can an arm twist a thigh?"

"We held grand funerals for the unfortunate fellow disciples and ceased all cooperation with the Shu Prince Mansion to express our stance."

"So, I hold great admiration for you."

"Chief Wang, you're too kind."

Li Yan pondered for a moment, then asked: "I heard that a Commandery Prince from the Shu Prince Mansion was shot dead in the street?"

"Indeed, that's true."

Upon hearing this, Wang Tianzuo looked solemn, "It was quite a scandal. King Shu was furious, marched out of the mansion, causing chaos at the Chengdu Government Office, and even killed several fellow pugilists in the street."

"The causes and consequences of this incident were intentionally spread."

"The root cause was that the Commandery Prince deceived a female magician, played her, and harmed her. Turns out her brother was a powerful magician of the Mei Mountain Sect who came for revenge."

"Right and wrong are evident at a glance."

"In short, this incident severely damaged the reputation of the Shu Prince Mansion. Previously, King Shu might not have been known for his benevolence, but he had a good name. It's unclear why he has become like this now..."

"I see."

Li Yan, upon hearing this, was thoughtful.

According to the sporadically gathered intelligence, King Shu only started to show interest in Longevity after Zhao Changsheng and Lu Sheng visited the mansion, and his demeanor had changed drastically.

Could it be that King Shu also turned to the Evil Dao, and began practicing the Longevity Evil Technique?

This is not impossible.

At such a status, having tasted every human luxury, it's quite normal to be unwilling to fall into the cycle of reincarnation like a common mortal.

As everyone casually discussed matters of the pugilistic world, when night fell, they each lay down beside the fire and went to sleep.

Truth be told, it was far from any romantic notion.

The night was freezing cold, with the wind and snow howling.

The temple's front door had been removed. Even though they had found some old mats for shelter, the cold wind kept blowing in, making the flickering campfire unsteady.

And while wandering, it's impossible to carry several thick blankets with you; those thin wool blankets were hardly enough to block the biting cold.

Fortunately, everyone was long accustomed to it.

Li Yan, after sleeping for a while, suddenly sensed something amiss.

Inside the main hall, the lighting had mysteriously become eerie, fog rose all around, and everything turned hazy.

Splashes!

Suddenly, water surged up from the ground.

It was the Dragon Lady delivering dreams!

Li Yan was determined not to panic but was a bit curious.

Truth be told, after uncovering the reason behind the River God's awakening, the Dragon Lady should have appeared immediately.

After all, their agreement had been fulfilled.

Li Yan thought perhaps the Dragon Lady was going to renege...

Soon, a pair of jade arms embraced him from behind.

Gurgle~

It felt like sinking to the bottom of the water, and his vision was instantly filled with bizarre illusions.

He saw a great river, surging and roaring, water mist rising, seemingly dragons and snakes flying within, sudden heavy rains pouring forth, flooding the land...

Deep within the river, there was an ancient stone palace, carved by unknown hands at unknown times, simplistic and primitive, long submerged by the river, teeming with large fish and turtles, and a large, shadowy silhouette...

Whenever Heavenly Thunder roared, that shadow would stir storms, followed by numerous Water Demons rampaging along the river, people beating drums, sacrificing young boys and girls to avert disaster...

Li Yan knew, that was the legendary Dragon Palace Water Mansion.

By appearance, there seemed to be even more spacious areas inside.

Next came the array of Fangshi setting up a Great Array, driving down Dragon Nailing Piles along the river's Dragon Vein to Suppress and Kill the River God.

Meanwhile, black-robed officials alongside countless civilians chiseling pathways, diverting water to irrigate the plains, and filling stones and building islands within the river to separate the streams...

Instantly Li Yan understood.

"Chiseling Lidu, averting Mo's water disasters, obstructing the river as..."

"Dam the right, inspect the left, the main stream flows east..."

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.