Chapter 658 639: Leaving

Wu Yuan of the Pill Immortal Alliance finally left Wang City. Some said he returned to the Wu Family, while others claimed he went to Haojing. But to the ever-expanding Wang City, Wu Yuan's name had already faded. His departure was like pouring a ladle of water into a basin—it might cause a stir, but in a pond, it would create little more than a ripple. Wang City was developing at a breathtaking pace, its changes palpable with each passing day!

After the Five Elements Divine Beast Festival ended, Zhan Yingluo was supposed to return to Haojing immediately. Instead, she stayed behind and even joined the Bai Family's hunt. Fatty Bai practically treated her as if she were the lady of the house.

Zhan Yingluo was thrilled. Back in Haojing, she never had such exciting opportunities to hunt. Her family was a bit overprotective, but what could she do? She was the Zhan Family's only daughter. In the Zhan family... daughters were doted on. Never mind the elders; her older and younger brothers alone were enough to drive her mad. The most amusing one was her youngest brother. He was only eleven, yet he was already clamoring about protecting his big sister and forbidding her from going out. When she left for Wang City this time, he had cried his eyes out.

Although she enjoyed being pampered by everyone, Zhan Yingluo still felt that leaving home had been the right decision. The feeling of hunting a True Essence Beast entirely on her own for the first time was a thrill many times greater than mere surprise.

Upon returning to Wang City, the first thing she wanted to do was find Wang Meng and show off. However, Muhe Xiaoyu had beaten her to it.

Wang Meng was still living in the private courtyard provided by the Bai Family. Muhe Xiaoyu lingered outside his door for a long time before finally mustering the courage to knock.

"Little Yu, from the look on your face, I can tell the hunt was a great success."

Muhe Xiaoyu sized up Wang Meng. 'How can he be like this? So incredibly composed!'

She never thought she would feel inadequate, but after meeting Han Chuxue, Muhe Xiaoyu realized that girls like that truly existed in the world.

Before meeting Wang Meng, she had thought no man in the world could be better than her own big brother. But now, she knew she had been wrong again.

"We just played a supporting role. The Bai Family were the ones who truly had a big win this time."

Muhe Xiaoyu smiled sweetly. This was a new development; for some reason, she had recently started to feel shy even when she spoke.

"I understand. Thank you. The Bai Family will need your continued support in the future," Wang Meng said. He knew that while the Bai Family had strong momentum, their foundation was still shallow. They were top-heavy and needed time to overcome this vulnerability, making the Muhe Family's support essential.

"Are... are you leaving?" Muhe Xiaoyu's heart sank, and a sense of loss washed over her.

"Life is full of meetings and partings. That we got to know each other at all was a rare twist of fate, wasn't it?" Wang Meng said, sensing the girl's pure and simple affection for him.

Muhe Xiaoyu was not an unperceptive girl; she understood the meaning behind Wang Meng's words. She bravely lifted her head. "Will we meet again?"

Wang Meng nodded. "We will. We're friends. It seems I haven't been very formal with you since the day we met."

A radiant smile bloomed on Muhe Xiaoyu's face. "That's true. You get friendly with people right away!"

After a slight pause, Little Yu smiled. "Back with the hunting party... I still have things to do... so... friend, we'll see each other again."

Watching Muhe Xiaoyu's retreating figure, Wang Meng also broke into a warm smile.

You can find kindred spirits at the ends of the earth; this was one of life's wonders.

At some point, Zhan Yingluo chose a highly inappropriate moment to pop out from the side. "Tsk, tsk. The return of a prodigal is more precious than gold! Young Master Wang, have you truly changed your ways? To let a beauty like Little Yu get away... incredible. Have you really decided to go vegetarian?"

Wang Meng looked at Zhan Yingluo. "You seem quite disappointed that I've gone vegetarian. Is it because I haven't eaten *you* yet?"

Zhan Yingluo shot up like a cat whose tail had just been stepped on. "You dare! Believe it or not, I'll cut you! You lecherous Demon! A leopard can't change its spots!"

Miss Zhan retreated in defeat. When it came to a battle of wits, she was no match for him, be it Wang Rencai or Wang Meng.

Wang Meng was happy. Truly happy. As long as he had friends, he would never be lonely.

After the large-scale joint hunt, the Bai and Muhe Families joined forces once again. This time, it was for a massive auction!

Everyone was abuzz with discussion. For the Muhe Family to help the Bai Family to this extent clearly indicated a deep partnership. It seemed that from now on, Wang City would be dominated by just two families. With the Muhe and Bai Families working together, no one else stood a chance.

The Muhe Family already had established auction networks, and within just a few days, they attracted nobles, merchant caravans, and magnates from all over Great Zhou to bid.

The auction was a resounding success. The sale of numerous Third-Transformation True Essence Beasts with immense potential, along with the appearance of two Fifth-Transformation True Essence Beasts, once again made everyone recognize the potential Wang City held.

However, the Wang Family of Haojing was completely baffled by the storm of events unfolding in Wang City...

The Wang Family was vast and influential; it never lacked for dandies. Wang Rencai had merely been the most vicious and peculiar of them all.

In the past, he had been "demoted" to second place, but now, the Wang Family's number one dandy was Wang Rencai's fifth uncle, Wang Shifeng.

And Wang Shifeng's life recently... had been anything but easy.

As the saying goes, a man dreads fame as a pig dreads fattening up. Without Wang Rencai there to take all the heat, even a trip to the Celestial Fragrance Tower to enjoy himself was a nerve-wracking affair.

Besides Wang Rencai's aunt, Wang Shifeng was probably the person who most desperately wanted Wang Rencai back in the Haojing Royal Family.

"Shifeng! What am I supposed to do with you? The family put you in charge of the True Essence Beast trade. I wasn't asking for miracles, but you can't even get the basic accounts straight? What is wrong with you? And another thing—a large number of Third-Transformation True Essence Beasts were just auctioned in Wang City, and from what I can see, our Wang Family was the only one absent!"

Patriarch Wang Zongzheng was furious at his son's incompetence. If Wang Shifeng hadn't been the son of his most beloved concubine, he would have slapped him dead long ago.

Wang Shifeng wore a pained expression. The news from Wang City had come too suddenly. At the time, he had been busy at the Celestial Fragrance Tower trying to win over Beauty Ping. After three days and three nights of effort, he finally earned the right to spend the night with her, and in his excitement, the matter completely slipped his mind.

"Father... I know I was wrong. But the decision to give up on Wang City was yours. I just assumed..."

But Wang Shifeng was no Wang Rencai. That oddball wouldn't have bothered to utter a single word of explanation. Wang Shifeng, on the other hand, was adept at making excuses for himself.

Wang Zongzheng rubbed his temples. He had indeed given the order to abandon Wang City... but that was a matter of timing. It didn't mean the Wang Family should skip a major auction there.

"Don't let it happen again. Now get out!"

Wang Shifeng scurried away as if his soles were greased. At that moment, he missed having Wang Rencai around more than ever...

Wang Zongzheng sighed. Scolding this son was just a formality. As long as he wasn't stirring up trouble like that scoundrel Wang Rencai, it was cause enough for celebration.

"Patriarch, Patriarch Zhan Yuange of the Zhan Family requests an audience," an old servant said softly, stepping into the room.

"Oh! Please show him to the inner study."

The inner study was typically a man's private sanctum; not even a wife could enter without permission. Receiving a guest there was a way to demonstrate both great respect and a degree of intimacy, a clear signal of the host's intent.

Wang Zongzheng waited a moment longer before heading to the inner study. Although he wanted to show closeness to Patriarch Zhan Yuange, he also had to maintain the dignity of the Wang Family. It was a delicate balance: he could not arrive before his guest, but he could not be too late, either.

As Wang Zongzheng entered the inner study, tea was just being served to the Zhan Family Patriarch.

Zhan Yuange rose to his feet. "Brother Wang."

"Younger Brother Zhan! No need for such ceremony with me. Please, sit!"

Wang Zongzheng was very pleased with Zhan Yuange's attitude, speaking graciously with a smile on his face.

Zhan Yuange could sense the importance Wang Zongzheng placed on him. He smiled and said, "Brother Wang, your family has made quite a power play this time. You even managed to keep me in the dark."

"Oh? The Wang Family has been rather quiet lately. What move could we have possibly hidden from you, Younger Brother Zhan?" Wang Zongzheng was taken aback. Because of the Yuan Family's ancestor returning, the Wang Family had been scaling back its activities recently. While not exactly keeping a low profile, they certainly hadn't made any major moves.

Zhan Yuange was perplexed by Wang Zongzheng's expression. "Don't tell me you don't know what's happened in Wang City, Brother Wang?"

"Wang City?"

"That's right. I came today to congratulate you, Brother Wang."

Wang Zongzheng was now completely baffled. "What do you mean?"

Zhan Yuange found it strange. The Wang Family hadn't even attended the major True Essence Beast auction in Wang City. This was a clear declaration to the world that Wang City was already within their sphere of influence. Anything the Wang Family wanted, they would naturally take for themselves internally; there was no need to go through public auction channels.

Zhan Yuange then repeated this line of reasoning, adding, "...according to the latest news, the Bai Family recently captured a Fifth-Transformation Night Vulture. I've come to you today, Patriarch Wang, to shamelessly ask for that beast on behalf of my family's younger generation. Of course, we can discuss the price."

The Night Vulture was a True Essence Beast found only in Wang City, and a Fifth-Transformation one was even rarer. If it went to auction, its rarity would guarantee a price far exceeding its intrinsic value. Of course, asking for the Night Vulture was just a pretense. What Zhan Yuange really hoped for was to use this as an opening to get the Zhan Family involved in the Wang City hunts through the Wang Family, seeing as they had also lent their support.

But Wang Zongzheng was more confused than ever... 'Wang City is the Wang Family's territory now?' He was aware of the recent turmoil there, but... the Wang Family had clearly washed its hands of Wang City. They hadn't done a single thing!

Thanks to his family's deliberate concealment, Wang Zongzheng had no reason to even think of Wang Rencai.

Except... suddenly, it occurred to Wang Zongzheng. He seemed to recall having sent that good-for-nothing scoundrel, Wang Rencai, there!

He vaguely recalled that the Jiang Family of Wang City had taken the initiative to propose a marriage alliance. That had actually saved Wang Rencai's life; otherwise, Wang Zongzheng's original plan had been to send him to an even more desolate border region to fend for himself, preferably until he was dead and gone.

'Could it be... that the rumors from a while ago were actually true?'

He'd heard some rumors a while back about "a prodigal's reform is more precious than gold," that the boy had learned his lesson. And since the Jiang Family had broken off the engagement, perhaps it was time to bring Wang Rencai back to Haojing...

But now, looking at Zhan Yuange's earnest expression... Wang Zongzheng couldn't make heads or tails of the situation.

"Ahem... I haven't been personally involved in the matters of Wang City. How about this: I will give you a clear answer tomorrow, Younger Brother Zhan?"