It was night.

The three of them checked into the largest inn in Baoying County. After booking an entire courtyard, Xuan Yuan  made a special trip back to Mount Zi to bring back Little Dragon Girl.

He sat on a stone stool in the courtyard, fully focused on amusing Little Dragon Girl, who was so delighted to see him again that she stubbornly refused to sleep—gurgling and cooing as she waved her tiny hands. From time to time, he lifted his gaze and saw Huang Rong sitting atop the eaves. The pair of ear pendants she wore sparkled brightly under the moonlight, revealing she was linking her consciousness to her Xuanbird, secretly investigating something.

As for Li Mochou…

The girl was holding her game console and having the time of her life playing.

After a while, Huang Rong jumped down from the rooftop, walked up to Xuan Yuan  , and smiled brightly. «Brother Xing, guess what Rong’er found?»

Xuan Yuan  , humoring her, replied with a grin, «Rong’er, you’re cleverer than anyone—I wouldn’t even try to guess.»

Huang Rong giggled again, then her expression turned half contemptuous, half hateful. «That Ouyang Ke is truly a lascivious fiend. I merely let the Xuanbird circle around the city once, and it uncovered that in just the past few days, four proper young women have already gone missing in Baoying.»

«Those four girls were all abducted by Ouyang Ke, who’s been lurking here for days. I can only imagine they’re suffering a fate worse than death.»

Xuan Yuan   let out a cold, mocking laugh.

As expected of you, Ouyang Ke. Nephew of the Western Venom, from one of the top lineages in the martial world—yet all you do is engage in such low and dirty deeds.

Li Mochou paused her game, forming a sword gesture with her fingers and scrunching her adorable nose. She declared indignantly, «What a vile little snake! Ouyang Ke, you’ve chosen your own path to death!»

Xuan Yuan   gave her a sideways glance. «Stop reading so many weird novels.»

He then recalled: in the plot, this very Baoying County indeed had such an event. Ouyang Ke first assaulted four women, then set his sights on Cheng Yaojia, a lay disciple cultivating at home and the daughter of the Cheng family, a wealthy household in Baoying.

Cheng Yaojia—another well-known name from the Condor Heroes world.

Back then, Ouyang Ke had rotten luck. Just as he was about to act against Cheng Yaojia, he ran into Guo Jing and Huang Rong, who were passing through. In the end, his plans were foiled.

And now, by some twist of fate, Huang Rong—having wandered along with him—had also ended up in Baoying County, right in time for this very incident.

«Oh right, Brother Xing. While I was using the Xuanbird to monitor Ouyang Ke, I noticed someone secretly tailing him from the shadows! That person deliberately dressed themselves in filthy rags. I got curious and planned to catch them for questioning.»

«I’ll go! I’ll go!» Li Mochou eagerly raised her hand.

Huang Rong didn’t object. «Then I’ll go with Sister Mochou. I’ll provide backup. Brother Xing?»

Xuan Yuan   looked at Little Dragon Girl, who was already starting to get sleepy, and smiled. «You two go ahead. I’ll take Long’er back to Mount Zi.»

The two girls nodded, gave cheerful responses, and vanished into the night amidst crisp, ringing laughter.

                                                 …Scene Break…

Under the night sky, Mu Nianci was dressed in rough, coarse clothing, disguised as a man. She had even smeared black ash across her face. After turning several corners, she finally reached the western part of the city and came upon a massive pawnshop.

On the white wall were four large characters—«Tongren Old Pawn»—each bigger than a person.

She circled around to the back of the shop. Beyond the back wall lay the rear garden. After scanning her surroundings and confirming that no one was nearby, she prepared to climb the wall—only to suddenly hear an unnatural gust of wind.

Before she could even react, her back was struck at a pressure point, and she froze on the spot, unable to move a muscle.

Panic filled Mu Nianci’s heart. Was she discovered by Ouyang Ke?

Then she heard a female voice: «Eh? Turns out it’s a girl.»

Another voice followed: «Let’s bring her in and ask questions.»

The first responded cheerily, «Okay!»

Mu Nianci was still trying to figure out who these people were when an invisible force grabbed her wrist. Before she could resist, her body was whisked into the air against her will.

«Ahhhhhh——!»

Terror gripped her. The attackers were right next to her, yet she couldn’t see anyone—it felt like she’d been seized by ghosts.

By the time she came to her senses, she had already been brought to the finest inn in the city and placed in a courtyard.

In the courtyard, Xuan Yuan  —who had just returned from Mount Zi—was surprised to see Huang Rong and Li Mochou bring someone directly to him. He raised his eyes to look at Mu Nianci.

Though she looked like a beggar, much like the first time he’d seen young Huang Rong outside Zhangjiakou, her ashen face couldn’t hide her expressive and striking eyes, even though they were now filled with fear.

«Why did you bring her here?» Xuan Yuan   asked. He had assumed Huang Rong would interrogate the person outside.

Only then did Huang Rong and Li Mochou disable their stealth field and reveal themselves. Already terrified, Mu Nianci saw two ghost-like figures suddenly appear beside her and immediately passed out on the spot with a roll of her eyes.

Huang Rong and Li Mochou looked at each other, then both turned to Xuan Yuan   and gave him awkward smiles.

«She seems a bit… too timid,» Huang Rong said.

«Anyone would faint if you appeared like that. Wake her up,» Xuan Yuan   said, waving his hand.

Huang Rong squatted down and pinched Mu Nianci’s philtrum.

A moment later, Mu Nianci slowly regained consciousness, only to see an astonishingly beautiful young girl smiling at her in a strange way. Thinking back to what she saw before fainting, she panicked and crawled backward, shouting, «Ghost—ghost! Don’t come near!»

«We’re not ghosts. Look—we have shadows.»

Huang Rong pointed at the ground. Mu Nianci widened her eyes and stared carefully. Indeed, the three before her cast faint shadows in the moonlight. Her heart calmed somewhat.

«Now, I’ll ask and you answer. What’s your name?»

Mu Nianci hesitated. «Mu… Mu Ci…»

Clang! A small dagger appeared in Huang Rong’s hand and pressed gently against Mu Nianci’s throat.

«You’re lying. I’ll ask again. What’s your name?»

Terrified, Mu Nianci had no choice but to answer truthfully, «My name is Mu Nianci. Who are you people? Why did you capture me? Are you working for Ouyang Ke?»

«Mu Nianci?» Xuan Yuan   had been momentarily lost in thought, letting Huang Rong take the lead in the interrogation. But hearing that name made him look up. «Why are you here?»

Huang Rong and Li Mochou looked at Xuan Yuan  .

«You know her, Brother Xing (Big Brother Shen)?»

«She’s the adopted daughter of Yang Tiexin,» Xuan Yuan   explained. Upon hearing the name, a trace of sorrow flashed through Mu Nianci’s eyes.

Seeing Huang Rong and Li Mochou still confused, Xuan Yuan   added, «Yang Tiexin is Yang Kang’s biological father. Yang Kang is now the envoy of the Jin—he goes by Wanyan Kang. Miss Mu, are you tailing Ouyang Ke because you’re looking for Yang Kang?»

Mu Nianci’s eyes burned with hatred. Gritting her teeth, she said, «Why would I look for him? I wish I could kill him. He acknowledged a traitor as his father, got my adoptive parents killed, and willingly became a lapdog for the Jin—pretending to be some noble prince. But he’s still the only bloodline of my adoptive father. I hate him, but I can’t kill him—so I refuse to see him.»

«But Yang Kang aside—Ouyang Ke, that accomplice of evil who works for those Jin dogs and helped bring ruin to my family—I will eliminate him!»

Xuan Yuan  : «…?»

Huh?

Just because he and Huang Rong didn’t go to Zhangjiakou, they ended up throwing the entire plot off-course?

From the way Mu Nianci now regarded Yang Kang as an arch-nemesis, it seemed the future Celestial Hero Yang Guo might not come into being at all.