Wait a minute, where is my master?

The glowing Communication Jade Token distracted Jin Xu from his scattered thoughts.

But the garbled transmission only made him more irritable.

The little Taoist decided to try again.

He got up, went into the temple, and headed to his room to fetch something.

At this moment, Yu Yaoer came out with a bowl of "soup."

On her way back, she sensed that her young master was not in high spirits, so she made some soup to comfort the young Taoist.

After all, last time her master was nearly killed and was quite frightened, but she managed to "heal" him with a bowl of soup.

"Where's the master?" Yu Yaoer asked Little White, holding the soup.

"Oh, the temple master went back to his room," Little White replied.

Little White handed the cicada she was holding to Little Fish Demon.

"Here, Sister Little Fish, I caught this ingredient for you. It's delicious when grilled."

The two women exchanged what they were holding and walked hand in hand back to the backyard, just in time to see Jin Xu coming out of his room, carrying a pitch-black fishing rod.

The young Taoist wanted to try again to see if he could fish for his master.

"Master, are you going to find us another companion?" Yu Yaoer said excitedly.

Both she and Little White knew that the young Taoist had a mysterious fishing rod and that they both had been fished over by Jin Xu.

"No, I'm going to fish out my master," Jin Xu said, walking to the well.

The two women were stunned.

For a moment, they couldn't tell if the young Taoist was joking or serious.

When Yu Yaoer was studying new recipes in the kitchen, she had informed Little White that this was no ordinary Taoist temple and that their master was no ordinary master.

That was Xuanxu Temple, one of the two great Taoist temples.

Little White had done her research before crossing into the Nine Provinces Realm and naturally knew what that name represented.

"Master, you're going to fish out your master?" The Little Fish Demon looked puzzled, blinking her big eyes.

Could her master's master also be a demon or spirit? She hadn't heard of that from her grandmother.

"Yes, you two step back a bit. I'm not sure what I'll pull up with this cast," the young Taoist said gravely, already starting to infuse Spiritual Power into the ink jade rod; the silver-white fishing line grew longer as the power surged into it.

Hearing this, the two retreated to the side of the Big Willow Tree as instructed.

"Master, are you perhaps too anxious? We haven't even been here a month," Yu Yaoer said from under the tree, addressing Jin Xu by the well.

When they first moved to Little Platform Mountain, it was to avoid the "assassination" by the two Immortal Palaces and to take time to slowly look for clues about Jin Xu's master.

But they had barely settled down for a month, and now the master was suddenly in such a hurry.

Little White whispered to her, "Sister Little Fish, the master's Jade Talisman at his waist just lit up, and there was an unclear message inside. After hearing it, the master went back to get the fishing rod."

"What did the message say?" The Little Fish Demon inquired curiously.

It seemed quite possible that this message had prompted the young master to try to fish out his own master.

"One year %* note &* I & … ¥ come back"

Little White perfectly recited the garbled message.

"..."

What in the world was that? Was the master's Communication Jade Token broken?

The two women were still chatting.

By the well, Jin Xu had already cast the fishing line and hook into the water.

Being closer this time, he didn't have the issue of inaccuracies.

As the hook touched the water, the young Taoist pictured the image of Tianxing Taoist in his mind.

Almost as soon as the image formed in his mind, Jin Xu felt a tug on the ink jade rod.

Something had taken the bait!

"This quickly?" the little Taoist felt a bit uneasy.

Then he gave a strong tug upward.

Incredibly...

...

...

Xu Qian returned to the night watchmen's station, ready to report to Mr. Li about the Zheng family's old mansion.

But after looking around and not finding him, he sent a Communication Jade Token to Mr. Li but got no reply, so he had to ask a few colleagues at the station.

They all said that Mr. Li had left the city before he got back.

After making another round at the station, Xu Qian was astonished to find that he, a seventh-grade night watchman, was now the highest-ranking official there.

"I don't know what kind of trickery is brewing in the Capital, having reassigned so many people."

He muttered to himself and then left the night watchmen's station.

As he walked down the street, almost as if by fate, he looked up and saw a golden, glittering building with jade railings and carvings before him, and its delicate signboard bore the large characters "Yingchun House."

There weren't any tactics to attract customers at the entrance of this building, only the sound of a zither music and faint fragrance drifting out; it was clear they aimed for an elegant and serene ambiance, a high-end brothel.

"Sigh, I still have a case on me, have no leisure to come to such a place."

Xu Qian said to himself and was about to leave.

But then!

He had a second thought.

"Forget it, since I can't get in touch with Mr. Li now, why not go in and see if there are any new girls."

He chuckled and prepared to step inside.

But at that moment, a greeting came from behind him.

"Lord Xu, here to see Xiangxiang again?"

From the other end of the street, "kindred spirit" Zhao Dabao, walked leisurely towards him, taking measured steps.

Now that Zhao Dabao had a Spirit Root, logically, he should be diligently cultivating at home; after all, he was no longer at an age advantage and could only catch up through hard work.

However, his father had specifically instructed Uncle Qian before leaving the city that before he returned to the Zhao family, Dabao was not to cultivate.

With nothing better to do, he went out to stroll the streets.

Fatty Zhao first went to check out the new fountain outside the Zheng family's old residence on East Market Street.

Of course, he couldn't go in.

But he could still see from over the courtyard walls how high the water of the fountain was spraying.

He heard that this marvelous sight was created by an esteemed person among the night watchmen, with a little Taoist who seemed a banished immortal, and two maiden as beautiful as celestial beings.

Instantly, Zhao Dabao's thoughts turned to Jin Xu; after all, the incident of the valley turning into a basin had only just happened a few days ago.

Now, coincidentally encountering Xu Qian on the street, he certainly couldn't pass up the opportunity. He needed to find out exactly what had happened at the Zheng family's old mansion.

To cozy up to a big leg, one needs to understand the big leg.

That was what Fatty Zhao was thinking in his mind.

Xu Qian, squinting through the pain of a smile, watched Zhao Dabao's beaming approach and no longer felt like going in to find a girl.

Working as an official in Gusu City, he naturally knew about the Zhao family in the city and had heard of this eldest son of the Zhao family, renowned as a business prodigy.

But the two had never really interacted.

After all, a seventh-grade night watchman with no background at all and a big shot from a longstanding Cultivation Family, even if that big shot had no Spirit Root and couldn't cultivate.

They were still incomparable.

In the end, the night watchmen's organization wasn't like it had been when Xia Xuanmin first founded it a thousand years ago.

Their first meeting was actually at the Xuanxu Temple.

Their only point of connection might be Xiangxiang.

So Xu Qian didn't understand why the Fatty Zhao before him was so hospitable!

Seeing Xu Qian about to leave, Zhao Dabao quickly walked faster, grabbed him, and pulled him into the grand entrance of Yingchun House.

He even specifically ordered several girls to be brought to them and arranged for a private upper room.

ps: Not very familiar with brothel culture, it's quite challenging to write about.