Yun Ze’s pupils instantly trembled, and he gasped for air!
He instinctively wanted to flee, but then he heard the old beggar’s voice in his ear.
“Don’t move.”
Yun Ze turned his head to the direction of the sound and was stunned when he looked closely.
He saw the old beggar sprawled on the ground, crossing his legs, and casually stuffing braised beef into his mouth.
But the two black-skinned dogs in front of him showed no reaction. They merely scanned their surroundings and then turned to leave, as if they hadn't noticed them at all.
What was going on?
Right, immortal techniques! It must be immortal techniques!
“You’re quite something, kid.”
Before Yun Ze could speak, the old beggar said, “You knew there was an immortal present, yet you dared to do such a thing. Weren’t you afraid of being caught?”
“Didn’t I have Senior supporting me?”
Yun Ze smiled, got up, and sat in front of the old beggar, pouring him a cup of wine. “Senior, what was that just now…”
“Don’t know, don’t care, go ask yourself.”
The old beggar said, taking a swig of wine, and then slumped to the ground. “This old man is going back to sleep. Whether you cultivate or hide in your room is none of my… Zzz~!”
As if the word ‘business’ was left unspoken, the old beggar was already snoring, with half a piece of beef still in his mouth.
Yun Ze rolled his eyes helplessly.
He didn’t know whether to call this person reliable or unreliable.
If he was unreliable, why would he appear in his and Bubu’s room at such a critical moment, evading the yamen’s search? If he was reliable… what normal person would fall asleep halfway through a meal!
Never mind, he’d first check if those two black-skinned dogs had left and figure out the current situation.
Yun Ze walked to the door and looked through the paper window at the two figures descending the stairs.
He then went to the street-facing window and watched the two yamen runners leave the inn before opening the door and calling out, “Waiter, bring some wine and food!”
“Coming right up, esteemed guest!”
Yun Ze had heard his parents say that the most well-informed people in the prefecture were not only those who traded in information for money, but also two other types of people.
One was beggars, and the other was waiters, especially those on pleasure boats, who knew the most. Inns and restaurants were secondary.
The waiter soon came upstairs with wine and meat. He didn’t seem surprised to see the old beggar sleeping with his meal half-eaten and Bubu lying on the bed. He simply placed the food and wine down and prepared to leave.
“Hey, wait.”
Yun Ze stopped the waiter and casually tossed him a small piece of silver. “What was going on with those officials just now? Did something happen at the yamen?”
“Oh, esteemed guest, you weren’t out last night?”
The waiter smiled, took the silver, and without biting it, knew it was genuine by touch. After tucking it into his pocket, he began to tell Yun Ze, “Last night, a ‘Lake Immortal’ appeared in Wanqing Lake. First, over a dozen yamen runners went into the lake to search, and three of them died. The ‘Lake Immortal’ then threw the bodies of the three yamen runners into the yamen.
At the same time, the He Mansion suffered a flood, which was rumored to be divine retribution.
So, as soon as it was dawn, the entire Weishan Prefecture was sealed off. The He Mansion’s retainers and the yamen runners were all searching the city for a young man.
They insisted that the ‘Lake Immortal’ in Wanqing Lake was not an immortal but a water ghost, and that the young man was a reincarnation of a water ghost.
They told us to pay attention, and to report anyone who saw the young man, and there would be a reward. But who would believe that!
Everyone knows the character of the He family’s young master. Perhaps he did something wicked again and wants to cut off all ties!”
“Is that so…”
Yun Ze asked thoughtfully, “Did they say what the young man looked like?”
“No, they said they were looking for a painter in the city to draw him.”
The waiter leaned closer to Yun Ze. “But no one was willing to go! They were all afraid of divine retribution!
In the end, they found a scribe from the yamen to draw him. It is said that only ten copies have been drawn and will be posted soon.”
“There’s no portrait yet? How are they searching for people?” Yun Ze continued to ask.
“Better to catch the wrong person than let the right one go!”
The waiter became curious. “They’ve apprehended almost all the young men in the city who fit the age criteria. Speaking of which, it’s strange, esteemed guest, why are you…”
Yun Ze’s heart skipped a beat, but he remained expressionless. “Heh, perhaps they’re afraid.”
A faint remark made a strange glint flash in the waiter’s eyes.
However, Yun Ze paid no attention and simply waved his hand. “Alright, you can go.”
“Yes, thank you, esteemed guest!”
After the waiter left, Yun Ze’s brows furrowed into a knot.
A city lockdown!
He Lai Chao could actually get Weishan Prefecture locked down.
Weishan Prefecture was a vital trade route for the Tangshan Dynasty, handling an immeasurable amount of goods daily. Even a single day of lockdown would result in incalculable losses!
It seemed that He Lai Chao, no… it should be the He family, was determined to find him.
Since that was the case, he would wait for them to come looking!
Yun Ze sat down cross-legged, re-froze the ice in the wooden box, and began to cultivate again.
He had experimented before. This breathing technique was not only useful underwater but could also absorb the profound energy of heaven and earth under normal circumstances, although the speed was much slower than in water.
Now that He Lai Chao dared to seal the city, he would definitely not let Wanqing Lake, where the ‘Lake Immortal’ appeared, off the hook. If the old beggar didn’t help him, he wouldn’t be able to go near the lake again.
The situation was tense these few days, so he would cultivate in the inn for a few days.
Anyway, given the importance of Weishan Prefecture, even the He family would probably not dare to keep the city locked down for too long. He would consider cultivating in the lake after the lockdown ended.
Yun Ze calmed his mind, gradually entering a state of cultivation, feeling the profound energy accumulating more and more within his body…
Three days later.
During this time, the yamen runners came three more times, but they never saw Yun Ze.
Yun Ze had not stepped out of his room once. He ate and drank whatever the waiter brought upstairs, eating when he was hungry, drinking when he was thirsty, and when he was sleepy…
He wasn’t sleepy. It seemed that as long as he maintained a state of cultivation, he wouldn’t feel tired.
It was strange. On the other hand, the old beggar had slept through these three days, yet he still used the same breathing technique.
Yun Ze didn’t understand why, but he didn’t dare to wake the old beggar to ask, so he could only cultivate on his own.
It wasn’t until the evening of the third day, when the waiter brought food, that he mentioned the lockdown was over and passage was free.
Yun Ze was just about to leave a note and see if he could go cultivate in the lake when he heard a soft moan from the bed.
“Patriarch! Patriarch, no!”
With these six words, Bubu sat up in bed, her entire body covered in sweat, as if she had just had a nightmare.
“Bubu?”
Yun Ze hurried forward, squatted by the bed, and looked at the little girl. “Are you okay?”
Bubu didn’t speak, her eyes filled with terror and confusion.
After this state lasted for a few breaths, she slowly came back to her senses, turned to look at Yun Ze in front of her, and slowly uttered a sentence…
“Where’s the jade? Give me the jade first!”