Wait a minute, where is my master?

Looking at the panic-stricken waiter before him.

Jin Xu asked in a gentle voice, "Waiter, don't panic, take your time. What happened?"

The lad was still flustered, his expression now even more animated and exaggerated.

"Taoist, you don't understand. Just after you left this morning, a group of soldiers clad in armor came charging in! Bearing portraits of you three, they demanded that you come out!"

As he spoke, the boy was gesticulating wildly, imitating the soldiers' expressions and gestures.

"And then?"

"Cough, as you know, commoners can't fight against officials. The laws of Great Xia are strict, and we're just a small inn, so we notified the two ladies to come downstairs.

As soon as the ladies came downstairs, those soldiers said that you all hadn't shown a city entry token, nor had you paid the city entry fee.

Now, that's nonsense—residing in the top-floor rooms, how could you lack the funds for the entry fees?"

The waiter expressed his indignation on behalf of Jin Xu.

The Taoist gave the matter some thought; indeed, they had been brought directly into the city by the big-bellied monk.

It seemed they truly had not paid that fee.

"...Keep going."

"Eh."

The lad didn't notice Jin Xu's discomfort and continued his lively pantomime.

"That girl in the golden-red gauze dress, with scales on her forehead, pulled out a load of spirit stones as soon as she heard them, offering to pay the entry fee.

She even mentioned that they had the protection of the Seventh Princess of Great Xia, and that the token could be supplemented later.

But those soldiers refused, insisting they had violated Great Xia's laws and had to be taken to jail.

Then the little girl with grey short hair seemed to get upset. I don't know where she pulled out an iron rod from, but she was about to smash those soldiers!!!

Fortunately, she was held back by your other companion.

It seemed she mentioned something about a young master teaching them to abide by the law and so forth.

In the end, the two ladies were taken away by the soldiers."

The waiter put on quite the performance, deeply engrossed in his acting.

One moment he imitated the soldiers in armor, the next he portrayed Yu Yaoer and Little White.

Jin Xu felt this man was wasting his talent working here; in modern times, he would at least be recognized as a method actor.

"Thank you for informing me, Waiter. I'll go find my two companions first, then properly thank you afterward."

The Taoist initially thought it was a misunderstanding, planning to contact Xia Yunzhao to see if he could fish the people out.

After all, he was now without any possessions, his sleeves as empty as the wind.

Spirit stones, spiritual liquid, storage treasures, were all with Yu Yaoer.

Oh, the coachman!

Jin Xu flashed out of the Yanyu Building, intending to retrieve the jade token he had just sent out for use, only to find that the man had already left.

"..."

Behind him, the waiter who loved to perform chased after him.

"Taoist, wait a moment, I have something else for you."

As he spoke, he took out two jade tokens and handed them over, muttering, "These were left for you by the girl in the golden-red gauze dress and the soldiers. They said that as long as you get these, you will surely reward generously."

The lad looked at Jin Xu with a flattering smile.

"Hmm..."

The Taoist expressionlessly took the jade tokens from his hand.

He first examined the message in the first one.

"Young master, we were suddenly approached by the soldiers of Shangjing City, demanding that we pay the city entry fee and present a token. If you come back, remember to bring Sister Yunzhao to rescue us. — Yu Yaoer."

The content inside the token was quite normal, not much different from what the waiter had said.

He then checked the second one.

"Kid, if you still want your two demon pets to live, come alone to Longevity Mountain outside Shangjing City before the Hour of the Dog! No reporting to authorities, no bringing help! — Mountain Master of Longevity Mountain"

"Hmm!?"

Jin Xu furrowed his brows in confusion.

The message in this token differed greatly from what the waiter had said!

The young Taoist reached up and touched the Taoist bun tied at the back of his head and said to the waiter who was still waiting for a tip, "Waiter, are you sure my two companions left with a group of soldiers?"

"Absolutely, young Taoist. Their attire was unmistakably that of the City Guard Army of Shangjing City."

"Oh, then do you know where Longevity Mountain is?"

"I do, it's northwest of our Shangjing City, roughly seventy-five kilometers away."

Before receiving his tip, the waiter answered all questions without hesitation.

Hearing this, Jin Xu nodded.

"Thank you."

Then, executing a "Basic Escape Skill of the Great Xia City Guard Army—Pulling Up a Carrot on Dry Land," he soared into the sky.

Having discerned his bearings high above, he performed another Pulling Up a Carrot on Dry Land, heading straight for the northwest!

"Daring to abduct your Taoist's fish and dog, you must be tired of living!"

The young Taoist swore that he was only concerned about the safety of Yu Yaoer and Little White; it was definitely not because the storage magical treasure was with the Little Fish Demon!

In front of Yanyu Building.

Spattered with dust, the flabbergasted servant gazed at Jin Xu, who had just flown out from the city at a right angle.

Bewildered, he said, "Was that necessary? Even if you didn't want to give me a tip, there's no need to defy the no-fly decree of the Capital."

The no-fly array over Shangjing City was broken by a hole created in haste by the anxious young Taoist. This city, already undercurrents swirling, was instantly ignited by Jin Xu's actions.

Various powers sent out their people to investigate whether someone had become impatient and decided to take direct action.

...

In an ordinary house within Shangjing City.

A morning had passed, and the furnishings inside the house had returned to their original state. Not a trace of damage was visible.

The Demon Sect's Third Elder, Yan Meishan, lay on a couch, complaining to the newcomer with black eyes about someone stealing her face.

However, she was interrupted after only a few words.

"Let's put aside the matter of your clone for now. We've found out who was behind the incident in Ling City."

"Who?"

Hearing there was serious business afoot, the Third Elder stopped complaining and sat up on the couch.

"Heh, I have one piece of good news and one piece of bad news. Which would you like to hear first?"

The pitch-black eyes suddenly played coy.

"Just hurry up and tell me!"

Yan Meishan waved her hand and cast another spiritual power whip, which the black eyes dodged as usual with agile movements.

"Don't be hasty. The good news is that the incident in Ling City wasn't caused by the forces of the other major immortal sects. Everyone is watching Great Xia's spectacle. Even Qingmu Academy, which is closest to them, has no intention of taking action."

"Can't you let your mistress hit you once?"

The Third Elder unleashed several waves of spiritual power, and many items in the room were once again smashed to pieces.

Her temper had become extremely unstable ever since the young Taoist stood her up.

"I'm not one of your playthings; I don't have a masochistic streak. Do you want to hear the bad news or not?"

The black eyes controlled by Ye Wuyang danced around the room.

"Speak."

Seeing that she couldn't hit her target, Yan Meishan stopped trying.

She collapsed back onto the couch.

As she fell heavily onto it, a part of her body trembled chaotically.

"The bad news is, from the traces of destruction and the remnants of spiritual power in Ling City, we can deduce that the Yinming Corpse Evil was also eliminated by that young Taoist. We can now be almost certain that he is deliberately opposing us."

The pitch-black eyes stated somberly.

"Why? Does the force behind this person have a conflict of interest with our Demon Sect?"

Yan Meishan turned over on the bed and looked at the pitch-black eyes as she asked.

"Heh~"

The question made Ye Wuyang laugh.

"We are the Demon Path, do people need a reason to oppose us?"

"...Right."