Wait a minute, where is my master?

Inside the hall, Jin Xu was quietly listening to Li Mi discussing the current situation.

Many had come today: two of the "Three Friends of Winter," the Great Commander of the city guard, the leaders of the three great Cultivation families within Gusu City, and Officer Lin, who was temporarily taking over for Magistrate Song.

Xia Yunzhao, however, did not appear at this gathering.

Li Mi did not conceal the existence of the Transformation Pond but spoke truthfully about the current discovery, and those seated in the hall were indeed qualified to know about it.

Normally such a meeting would be presided over by the City Lord, but the City Lord of Gusu City had said that he was in a critical phase of seclusion, so he had a night watchman substitute for him.

"That is the situation, are you all clear?"

After Li Mi spoke about the seriousness of the matter, an emaciated elder, the fourth person on his left, spoke up.

This person was the current patriarch of the Li family, one of the three great Cultivation families in the city, and of course, he wasn't related at all to the night watchman Li Mi.

It was merely a coincidence that they shared the surname.

"Mr. Li, I too have heard of this Transformation Pond, which is indeed extremely sinister. Our three families, residing within Gusu City, naturally have the responsibility to assist the dynasty in maintaining its safety. But for you to suddenly ask our three families to divert people to help in the investigation, this... As you know, my Li family has many merchant teams, and many Cultivators are escorting these teams abroad. It would be difficult for them to return in a short time, can we perhaps delay for a few days?"

The gaunt elder spoke very politely, but his underlying message was one of delay, and he was not eager to commit people.

After all, the experts in his family were either nurtured with substantial resources or maintained with a lot of Spirit Stones—any casualties incurred in assisting the night watchman in the investigation would pain him deeply.

After he finished, he even gave a meaningful glance to the Zhao and Liu families' leaders, signaling that the three great Cultivation families of Gusu City should stand united.

"Mr. Li, how many people do you need, and what level of cultivation? Just give the word, and my Zhao family will provide everyone available."

A voice tinged with laughter rang out, belonging to the plump Zhao Dabao.

Fatty Zhao's father had been out of town for a long time and had not yet returned, so today's meeting was attended by him as a substitute.

To ensure that Zhao Dabao was taken seriously despite his lack of cultivation and also to safeguard his safety, Zhao Qian had accompanied him, now standing behind him.

The patriarch of the Li family looked puzzledly at Fatty Zhao, not understanding why this usually shrewd lad had agreed so readily.

But Zhao Dabao didn't seem to care at all.

Didn't he see Jin Xu, a Daoist priest, sitting right next to Li Mi? It was crystal clear which side to stand on.

Besides, he had already given all twenty-four Mystic Treasure Pearls from his family to the Daoist—how could he fret over a few Cultivators hired with Spirit Stones?

Seeing that the fat boy didn't even look at him, the skinny patriarch of the Li family secretly grew angry and stealthily unleashed the pressure of his Nascent Soul Realm toward Zhao Dabao.

"Scoundrel, what do you think this place is!"

Although wounded, Li Mi was still at the strength of the Void Refinement Realm. Seeing the Li family patriarch's subtle maneuver, he angrily dissipated the patriarch's pressure.

It was then that the newly appointed Officer Lin stepped in to smooth things over, moving past the incident.

Jin Xu had been listening from his seat, feeling rather drowsy. He hadn't expected meetings in the Cultivation World to be this tedious.

The gist was that Li Mi said the night watchman did not have enough personnel, and the city guard was still needed to maintain order in the city. Therefore, he wanted to borrow men from the three families to locate the missing Transformation Pond before the Demon Sect made their move.

Aside from Fatty Zhao, who agreed very eagerly, the other two families were pushing back, apparently wanting to negotiate for more benefits.

Finding the discussion exceedingly dull, Jin Xu stood up, woke up Little White and Yu Yaoer, who had fallen asleep on the back of his chair, and bid farewell to Li Mi before he boldly walked out through the middle of the crowd.

This baffled the bargaining Li family patriarch.

Was this still a meeting, and why had three left already!

"Sir, this young Daoist..."

The patriarch of the Li family saw that Jin Xu's seat was at the front and knew his status must not be low, but since he couldn't sense any Spiritual Power emanating from him, he didn't dare to stop him and just expressed his confusion aloud.

Li Mi internally sighed, reflecting on the declining influence of the night watchman since Emperor Min abdicated. He was now apparently at the mercy of a Cultivation family within the city.

But upon hearing the gaunt patriarch of the Li family inquire, he still explained a few words.

It wasn't about being submissive; it was more about fearing that they would alarm Jin Xu.

"This young Taoist is a hermit with profound knowledge. The way he acts has deep meanings. On the other hand, how many people can your Li family dispatch?"

On the other side.

As soon as Zhao Dabao saw Jin Xu leaving, and since he had already agreed to dispatch people, he apologized to Li Mi, who was presiding over the meeting, and followed Jin Xu out.

Two of the 'Three Friends of Winter,' upon seeing that five had already left, thought it wouldn't hurt if they left as well, so they used checking on the recovery of Song Xili as an excuse to leave the hall too.

Those left in the hall were merely Li Mi, the commander of the city guard, Officer Lin, and members from the Li and Liu families who felt somewhat disrespected.

...

Outside the hall.

Jin Xu basked in the sunlight and stretched lazily, then turned around.

Hmm? Why have so many people come out?

Is the meeting over?

Zhao Dabao quickly took a few steps, his chubby cheeks jiggling, "Jin Xu, since there's nothing concerning us inside anymore and who knows how long the meeting will last, why don't I show you around Gusu City properly?"

At these words, Yu Yaoer and Little White both brightened up. Jin Xu thought it indeed might be nice to properly explore the place. His past visits to the city were either cut short after a meal or interrupted by a case.

He hadn't truly experienced the charm of this seaside metropolis.

After deliberating throughout the night, he had reconciled himself to the fact that while he needed to find his master, he should also enjoy life, especially since his master had left him that well of liquid gold mines which shouldn't be wasted.

"This plump young fellow, why not take us along for the tour as well? I haven't been to Gusu City for decades," said Mei Shouyi, dressed in a plum-colored scholar's robe with a Mandarin jacket.

"Didn't you say you were going back to check on how Elder Song's injuries were healing?" Mr. Zhu spoke up.

"Well, we have to believe in Elder Song's resilience. Moreover, strolling around the city and bringing back some local products for him might cheer him up and speed up his recovery," Mei Shouyi retorted.

Mr. Zhu did not respond, unsure whether he had been persuaded by Mei Shouyi's reasoning.

Zhao Dabao, who had just heard about the identities of these two middle-aged scholars from Li Mi back in the hall, readily agreed.

"Then why not bring me along as well," said a woman in flowing white robes who suddenly appeared; it was Xia Yunzhao, who had been absent all morning. While addressing Zhao Dabao, she subtly positioned herself beside Jin Xu.

Seeing Xia Yunzhao's maneuver, Yu Yaoer inadvertently scrutinized her and clicked her tongue, "Dirt poor." The Little Fish Demon felt her crisis was averted.

Although Fatty Zhao didn't know the identity of the woman in white, seeing how she interacted with Jin Xu made him cheerfully say.

"Of course, it would be my honor, Zhao Dabao, to show you around Gusu City. Shall we depart?"

After he finished speaking, everyone looked to Jin Xu.

Upon his nod.

The Gusu City day tour squad officially set off.

...

Guard A and Guard B, standing in front of the building, watched this scene and silently screamed, Could you also take us along?!!!

Unfortunately, neither dared to speak up, especially since both were slated to receive 30 lashings soon.

At that moment, they experienced it.

What it's like to see the world in its disparities.