Chapter 221 - 214: We Must Lure Tang Wen Back

"Thank you for your consideration, Young Master Xie."

"You may leave."

Once he had eaten and drunk his fill, he strolled around the courtyard.

A crow appeared from nowhere and began circling him.

Tang Wen waved his hand, beckoning it to land. He saw a small paper ball clutched in its talons.

[Tonight. Thirty-five li southeast of Ganshan City. Four bonfires.]

'A meeting invitation?'

'This looks like Bai You Ruo's handwriting.'

'If she wanted to see me, she should have sent a message back with the Blood Crow at the scheduled time.'

Feeling suspicious, Tang Wen contacted the Brown-tailed Crow.

The Brown-tailed Crow immediately sent him a vision. The paper ball had been thrown into the Beast Taming Garden by someone.

Not only that, but they had aimed specifically for the Sand Wolf's den when they threw it.

'This means the other party knows me very well.'

He mentally called for the Blood Crow, telling it to fly to the address written on the note and take a look.

At the same time, Tang Wen also notified General Zhao and Li Zi.

There was still more than half a month until the gang's general meeting.

His Body and Essence had surged recently, and his strength had greatly increased. After a period of quiet, he was itching for some action.

He wanted to head out of the city and see what was happening.

Before long, the Blood Crow, leading a few other crows, arrived at the spot thirty-five li outside the city.

On the ground were four bonfires arranged in the shape of a square (口). The firewood had been stacked up before being lit.

They were extremely conspicuous.

Bai You Ruo and Bai Xue stood there without any disguise.

They stood right out in the open, attended by maids and servants.

The Blood Crow saw them clearly from the sky, and the three people on the ground—Bai You Ruo's group—also saw the Blood Crow.

She waved a greeting to the Blood Crow.

The Blood Crow turned and flew back.

It appeared as if it were returning to the city to deliver a message.

Tang Wen would never reveal his ability to see through the eyes of Exotic Beasts to anyone.

After confirming that the area outside the city was safe, General Zhao left the city that very night.

He was wearing the [Moon Traveling Clothes] and departed from the section of the city wall guarded by the Black Rock Martial Arts Hall.

This stretch of wall was sprinkled with honeydew.

Anyone who touched it would be tracked by Hummingbirds.

However, one only needed to wear an extra layer of clothing and wrap several layers of fine cloth around the soles of their feet.

Of course, if conditions permitted, the safest method was to have clean clothes waiting outside the city, bathe immediately after crossing the wall, and change.

After all, the honeydew and pollen were minuscule. If the wind blew them onto your body, they were very difficult to clean off completely.

If you ran into someone meticulous, they might be able to follow the trail and find your tracks.

Fortunately, General Zhao was well-prepared, and his journey was uneventful.

"You are... General Zhao!" Bai You Ruo was somewhat surprised to see him.

"It's good to see you are well, Miss Bai."

"Young Master Tang Wen didn't come?" Bai You Ruo raised an eyebrow.

"Today was too short notice."

"That's true. He is a young master of the Black Water Gang now, after all."

General Zhao glanced at her. "He's running this errand for the Bai Family. He had no choice. It was just to save his own life."

"Urk!"

Bai You Ruo was taken aback. "What do you mean?"

General Zhao recounted the story Tang Wen had told him, but with some extra spice and a dash of exaggeration. "...He was never very good with the Disguise Technique, so the Black Water Gang saw through him on the spot. He had to improvise, claiming to be so astonishingly handsome that on his way here, he was nearly captured by a burly female bandit to be her husband. He only managed to escape by revealing his Talent! Ever since then, he has been extremely cautious."

Bai You Ruo and Bai Xue looked at each other, their ears burning with embarrassment.

When it came down to it, Tang Wen was working for their Bai Family.

Others could mock him, but they really shouldn't.

"My considerations were inadequate. I have made Young Master Tang Wen suffer."

General Zhao noticed a large, dark-faced man with an unfathomable aura standing beside them, so he didn't say much more. "When our camp agreed to cooperate, we anticipated many difficulties. As for Tang Wen's situation, it was a close call, but fortunately, he landed on his feet. He even turned misfortune into a blessing and became the Black Water Gang's Seventh Young Master."

Bai Xue, unable to hold her tongue, asked, "Is Young Master Tang Wen planning to live here permanently? Ganshan City is no place for him."

General Zhao just smiled and said nothing.

'We understand what you two young ladies are implying.'

'Ganshan City is no good.'

'But your Sanlian City is a wonderful place, right?'

General Zhao said, "Tomorrow night, find a place closer to the city. We'll meet again then."

"Alright."

The dark-faced man spoke up, "The walls of Ganshan City are not easy to cross. Should we find a place inside the city instead?"

General Zhao glanced at him and shook his head. "It won't be an inconvenience. Tang Wen is an Extraordinary now."

"What?!"

Bai You Ruo couldn't contain herself. "General Zhao, you can't be serious!"

"You'll see for yourself tomorrow," General Zhao replied with a slight smile.

At that moment, Bai Xue remembered something and cried out, "I remember... I remember! Tang Wen... he's only eighteen, isn't he?"

The dark-faced man, Bai Shuo, was visibly moved. "General Zhao, please don't make such outrageous claims. An eighteen-year-old Extraordinary would be a prodigy of his generation! Among the great families of Sanlian City, he would be considered at the Crown Prince Level."

The crown princes of Sanlian City were geniuses cultivated from a young age, selected from the best of the best, with no expense spared in terms of resources and wealth.

It could be said that the resources lavished on any one of them would be enough to feed and clothe a small city of a hundred thousand people for seven or eight years!

Could such a person really emerge from the desolate lands of the Northwest?

What could they possibly have used to cultivate him!

Talent alone is not enough.

General Zhao didn't bother to argue.

After exchanging a few more words, they agreed to meet the next day in a river valley twenty-five li outside the city.

He then took his leave.

Only after his figure had vanished from sight did Bai You Ruo say, "If Tang Wen has truly become an Extraordinary, we must find a way to bring him back with us!"

The next night, General Zhao and Tang Wen arrived at the river valley together.

A year of great drought had left the river valley completely dry, without a single drop of water.

And by the looks of it, it was hard to say if it would even rain in the coming winter.

After both parties exchanged greetings.

Bai You Ruo introduced Bai Shuo to them. "This is Uncle Shuo, a Sixth Grade Gangwu Realm master."

Tang Wen and General Zhao immediately showed their respect.

"A Sixth-Grade Powerhouse?" Tang Wen's heart skipped a beat.

"You really are an Extraordinary." A sharp glint flashed in Bai Shuo's eyes.

He had traveled far and wide for many years and had a viciously sharp eye, even though he had never deliberately trained it.

He could tell that Tang Wen was very young—definitely not yet twenty.

An Extraordinary who was not yet twenty.

No wonder he could become the Seventh Young Master just like that.

No, wait!

Bai Shuo's expression darkened slightly as he looked behind Tang Wen. "As the esteemed Seventh Young Master, doesn't the Black Water Gang have people protecting you?"

Tang Wen understood what he was thinking. "I've used the Breath Concealment Technique to disguise my Cultivation. The gang thinks I'm just a Martial Artist. I slipped out secretly today."

Bai Shuo relaxed. He had indeed not detected any masters following Tang Wen.

"It's only been a few months, and Young Master Tang Wen has already become an Extraordinary. It truly puts me to shame." From the moment he appeared, Bai You Ruo's beautiful eyes had been glued to Tang Wen.

She came from a prestigious family.

When she had first met Tang Wen, she thought he was a genius worth recruiting.

Now, he was a genius worthy of the Bai Family marrying one of their daughters to, just to bring him into their Direct Lineage!

Hearing the strange, affected tone in her voice, Tang Wen felt a little uncomfortable. "You praise me too much. I was just lucky."

Bai You Ruo and Bai Xue were both eager to get closer to him.

After his initial shock, Bai Shuo now fully endorsed what Bai You Ruo had said yesterday: "Bring Tang Wen back to Sanlian City, back to the Bai Family!"

Unlike the great families of Ganshan City, who kept all their resources for their own kin,

the Bai Family, having witnessed more rises and falls, was much more open-minded.

Take Bai Shuo, for example. His surname was also Bai.

But he was not born into the Bai Family.

He was a child the Bai Family had adopted.

After he had demonstrated sufficient character and Talent,

he was given a surname and a name.

From then on, he trained in Martial Arts and ate alongside the other Bai Family disciples.

In his reckless youth, he even got into fights with a few of the young masters, sometimes ending up with a bruised and swollen face.

Later, he married a beautiful young lady of the Bai Family, and their children were considered part of the family's Direct Lineage.

This was not an isolated case.

There were many similar situations.

There were even outsiders who had reached the position of Taishang in the Bai Family.

It was precisely because of this culture that upon seeing a rare genius like Tang Wen, the three members of the Bai Family present had slightly different, but fundamentally aligned, thoughts.

Bai You Ruo: 'I have to trick Tang Wen into coming back with us, no matter what!'

Bai Xue: 'I'll have to become a concubine for someone alongside the Miss anyway. If I could be Young Master Tang Wen's concubine…'

Her eyes sparkled. Just the thought of it made her feel like she had hit the jackpot!

Bai Shuo: 'We're outside the Bai Family's sphere of influence now. I wonder if he's interested in Miss You Ruo and Xiao Xue.'

The three from the Bai Family spoke politely and pleasingly.

Bai Shuo was a Sixth-Grade Master who had been immersed in Martial Arts for decades.

Knowing Tang Wen was fond of closed-door cultivation, he started a conversation with him about Martial Arts.

Tang Wen was immediately interested. He seized the opportunity to ask for guidance, not talking much about the Bai Family's exploration team. Instead, he immediately asked about "perfect transformation" and "Perfect Extraordinary."

Unexpectedly, as soon as Bai Shuo heard this, his expression turned solemn!