Chapter 80: Chapter 80: A Trail of Dust

“The specifics are not very clear,” Meng Xing shook his head and said, “This mansion was seized a long time ago, earlier than Magistrate Wu’s tenure. Well, it has been this way since I was a child.

“However, having grown up in this city, I’ve heard some legends about this grand mansion that not even the lord may know of. It is said that over a hundred years ago, a wealthy merchant moved here and built this grand mansion.

“At that time, the merchant’s family could be considered the number one family in Huangtong Mansion City. With many members, young or old, male or female, they were the envy of all, and even the then-lord had to show them some respect.

“But then one day, out of the blue, the earth became scorchingly hot, and overnight, the wealthy merchant’s family living here vanished without a trace, and the mansion was then taken over by the prefectural city’s yamen.”

“It seems to be quite legendary,” Zhou Heng nodded and smiled, but in his heart, he placed more importance on the mansion. Rumors, even if not entirely true, always have some basis; they cannot all be taken as false.

After that, he followed Meng Xing into the mansion and wandered around the main areas, looking and inspecting.

I must say, as expected of the mansion where the number one family in Huangtong Mansion City lived a century ago, the craftsmanship is so refined, it simply cannot be compared to ordinary households.

However, the more he saw, the more Zhou Heng felt a nameless gloom and pressure in his heart as if there was some great hidden danger here.

“Before this, has anyone else lived in this mansion?” Zhou Heng asked Meng Xing.

“Yes,” said Meng Xing and sighed deeply, “Young Master, you may not know, but this mansion used to be one of the important sources of financial income for our prefectural city’s yamen. It was often rented to wealthy individuals from other places.

“However, due to a new policy issued three years ago by the County City, various prefectural and county yamen were prohibited from renting out seized property, which caused our income to drop significantly.

“The treatment of us runners has decreased considerably. Oh, and, Young Master, please don’t mind the desolation here.

“Actually, the lord was planning to have someone clean up the place again in a few days, but we didn’t expect you to return so soon, and we haven’t had the chance yet.

“It should be cleaned up in the next few days.”

“No worries, I probably won’t move in just yet, thanks to Catcher Meng and Magistrate Wu,” Zhou Heng smiled slightly. Until he clarified what was wrong with the mansion, he dared not truly move in.

Even though many people have lived here over the years without any problems, he trusted his intuitive instincts.

Later on, Zhou Heng said goodbye to Meng Xing and went to visit Liao Quancheng.

This Doctor Liao was quite well-regarded within Huangtong Mansion City, praised as a distinguished physician, and he also ran a medicine hall, making him easy to find.

However, Doctor Liao was usually not easy to get a hold of, and one had to present a greeting card in advance.

But when the manager of the medicine hall heard Zhou Heng’s name, he trembled and quickly ran to the back to announce the visitor. He came back in just a moment, inviting Zhou Heng very respectfully to meet with Liao Quancheng.

This caused some of the “regular customers” in the medicine hall to stare in amazement, conjecturing why Doctor Liao would pay such attention to a young man?

Could it be due to Zhou Heng’s high ranking on the renowned fighters list?

But Doctor Liao has always only cared about medical skill levels and didn’t pay much attention to martial arts ranks. Could it be that this young Zhou Heng is already a medical sage despite his young age?

Many people began to wildly guess in their hearts.

Ever since encountering the miraculous recovery of Yu He, Liao Quancheng regarded Zhou Heng as a hidden medical expert and had always wanted to find an opportunity to visit. Unfortunately, Zhou Heng had been too busy recently to meet him.

So when Doctor Liao heard that Zhou Heng was the one seeking him out, he was immediately excited to the extreme. He wished he could go out to welcome him himself, eager to discuss the mysteries of medicine with Zhou Heng.

However, after Zhou Heng explained his purpose, Liao Quancheng was somewhat disappointed.

It turned out Zhou Heng was not there to discuss medicine.

But instead to investigate the whereabouts of the purchaser of medicinal materials.

Of course, considering Zhou Heng’s excellent medical skills, Liao Quancheng had already intended to establish good relations with him, so he was very forthcoming to Zhou Heng’s inquiries.

Regrettably, just as Zhou Heng had expected, the people of the Three Poison Sect were not fools; they covered their tracks very well, leaving no way to track them down through Liao Quancheng.

However, even though he did not get the information he wanted, Zhou Heng learned another piece of news from Liao Quancheng.

The very same medicinal material buyers he had asked about had also been inquired about by someone else before him.

That person was Shen Jingjing, the second young lady from the Shen Family in the North District of Huangtong Mansion City.

After thanking Liao Quancheng, Zhou Heng left the medicine hall, feeling somewhat puzzled and thought to himself, “I remember the Shen Family as just a common wealthy family, mainly dealing in silk and textile business, with no martial arts background.

“If the person pursued by the Three Poison Sect that day was Shen Jingjing, she must have had at least Eighth Rank cultivation, a Martial Path Eighth Rank at just eighteen years old—how could she appear in such an ordinary family?

“Is it that Shen Jingjing herself is the issue, or is the Shen Family not as simple as they seem on the surface?”

With a heart full of doubts, Zhou Heng went to find Meng Xing again.

He asked him to help investigate the Shen Family and whether Shen Jingjing had had any recent incidents or any connections with the Three Poison Sect or the Plague Emperor Sect.

After handling these matters, Zhou Heng bought a pile of vegetables and meat and returned home to begin his period of seclusion.

He intended to cultivate his inner strength.

Powerful moves, weapon-grade blades—he already possessed those, and what he had, many Seventh Rank Warriors didn’t even qualify to hold in their hands. But he was very clear on where his shortcomings lay.

Realm!

Cultivation!

Inner Qi!

These are the fundamentals of the Martial Path.

As such, Zhou Heng planned to diligently cultivate his inner strength and increase his Inner Qi while awaiting news of the Three Poison Sect and the Plague Emperor Sect. He aimed to improve his proficiency with the Authentic Internal Energy Heart Method.

To lay a solid foundation for the path of his martial future.

Ten days later.

Zhou Heng awoke from his deep state of inner strength cultivation to the morning sun, exhaled a breath of turbid air, and inhaled a breath of the morning’s Yang Energy, feeling refreshed and clear-headed.

Authentic Internal Energy Heart Method: Advanced (2896/3000)

He was very close to achieving great mastery.

In just ten days, his Inner Qi had nearly doubled compared to before—an inner strength cultivation speed that can truly be called astonishing.

Zhou Heng could distinctly feel that his inner strength cultivation speed had increased.

He guessed that this might be related to the “Spiritual Root +1” he obtained from opening the Fortune Bag earlier.

Although the foundational attribute of Spiritual Root was related to Taoist Formulas, the Authentic Internal Energy Heart Method was also a Taoist internal cultivation method, and there might be some connection between them.

Only then could he explain the doubling of his internal cultivation speed.

The enhancement of his inner qi also improved Zhou Heng’s perception. After stabilizing the flow of inner qi within his body, he felt that there was something different about his physical state compared to usual.

It was as if certain breaths locked within his body on normal days had suddenly lost their restraints, beginning to leak out bit by bit and spread.

“Has it already been twenty days?”

Zhou Heng frowned slightly and took out a talisman paper from his bosom. It was densely covered with complicated patterns drawn with cinnabar, but the color of the cinnabar had already faded significantly.

This was the seal talisman given to him by Cheng Jianjian to block the yang energy in his body, to prevent the covetous ghosts from being attracted to his Pure Yang Body due to the power of Yin and Yang gathering.

Now that the talisman’s effective period had ended, it meant that the yang energy in Zhou Heng’s body was no longer sealed. According to the laws of Yin and Yang gathering, in such a situation, no matter what he did, it was possible to encounter ghosts.

“Miss Cheng said goodbye back then, saying we would meet again after twenty days, but now the time has come and she still hasn’t arrived…” Zhou Heng’s frown deepened, suddenly recalling the news about Yuyang County he had heard from Wu Zongshan.

The Zhou Tian Boundary Officer had determined that the ghosts sealed in Yuyang County were only of Fifth or Sixth Rank, so they sent two Star Envoys there. Could Cheng Jianjian be among them?

After all, the people from the Zhou Tian Boundary Officer seemed to be quite scarce.

There was also the subsequent investigation into “Xuan Yang”; Zhou Heng didn’t know whether the Boundary Officer had prioritized it, or if Wu Zongshan had received a reply yet.

Or could it be that there was some problem in Yuyang County and Cheng Jianjian couldn’t free herself?

Is that why she didn’t come to replace the talisman?

Zhou Heng’s thoughts became unsettled, and he even began to consider investigating the situation in Yuyang County.

He must seal the yang energy as soon as possible.

Otherwise, there’s no telling what kind of ghosts might be attracted, what kind of trouble they might bring.

“First, I’ll go to the prefectural city yamen and inquire about the situation in Yuyang County and the recent state of the Zhou Tian Boundary Officer.” Zhou Heng made up his mind, preparing to find Wu Zongshan, but then he saw Meng Xing hurrying over.

“Master Zhou, are you going out?” Meng Xing held a letter in his hand, handing it to Zhou Heng, he said, “This is from the mansion lord. He asked me to give it to you. There are preliminary results for the investigation you requested.” “Oh?” Zhou Heng’s eyes brightened upon hearing this. He took the letter and smiled, “That’s quite the coincidence. I was just planning to visit the prefectural city yamen to inquire.”

Afterward, he opened the letter, and his brows immediately furrowed upon seeing the content.

It seemed there was some problem with the Zhou Tian Boundary Officer, as there had been no reply regarding “Xuan Yang.”

Moreover, Wu Zongshan had lost contact with them during this period.

Analyzing some rumors about the recent movements of the Three Poison Sect, it’s very likely they have a gathering place in Yuyang County, and someone from the Plague Emperor Sect might appear.

Shen Jingjing left home more than ten days ago and is missing, suspected to have headed towards Yuyang County.

In addition, there were some other news about Yuyang County.

In the last ten days or so, more and more people believing in the “treasure” rumors have appeared. Many Eighth and even Seventh Rank warriors came from afar, heading towards Yuyang County.

Now, that place has become a gathering spot of turmoil, teeming with a mix of characters.

Zhou Heng read the content of the letter silently for a long time before he raised his head to look at Meng Xing, “How many days have you been waiting here, Head Catcher Meng?”

This news didn’t seem to have been received on the same day.

It sounded more like a summary of messages from multiple occasions.

And the fact that Meng Xing appeared as soon as he stepped out the door was too coincidental, not quite normal.

“Master Zhou is very perceptive.” Meng Xing said with a smile, “Actually, it’s only been three days. I didn’t want to disturb your closed-door training. Seeing that you’ve come out, I came over.”

“Thank you very much.” Zhou Heng sincerely bowed his hands, “Also please convey my thanks to Lord Wu; I plan to make a trip to Yuyang County.”

“The lord has already guessed your intentions and has prepared a fine horse at the city gate.” Meng Xing nodded with a smile, “Please take care, Master Zhou, and we hope for your swift return.”

“Hmm.” Zhou Heng nodded, then turned around and went back home.

He packed up his luggage and bags.

Took along the gold, the Zhi Zhi Sword, and sharp gloves.

Strapped on the waist knife.

Finally, he took out the Life-saving Jade Talisman that You Ziheng had given him and used it to draw an invisible Tai Chi diagram on the floor of the room. This Life-saving Talisman could give Zhou Heng one chance of resurrection when facing attacks below the third rank of heaven.

But the revival location had to be set in advance.

Otherwise, he would revive in the same spot and still be at the hands of death.

This Tai Chi diagram was essentially the “resurrection point.”

After making all these preparations,

Zhou Heng scaled the wall and dashed for the city gate.

Upon reaching the gate,

He leapt onto the horse.

“Go!”

Kicking up dust, he headed for Yuyang County.