Longzang

Chapter 103 A Shrimp Takes the Bait
Wei Yuan mentally reviewed the relevant information. The Xu family was one of the Seven Clans and Thirteen Noble Families, with its main sphere of influence in the central and western parts of Ningzhou. Humans had only conquered the entire Ningzhou less than two thousand years ago, making the Xu family a newly powerful clan, ranking at the bottom among the major clans. A few years ago, the Xu family controlled several thousand miles west of Hanyang Pass, establishing a grotto-heaven there. Both the government and sects had numerous connections with the Xu family. However, after the entire region was conquered by the Wuyu Clan, the grotto-heaven shattered, severely damaging the Xu family and reducing their strength by 20%.

The only connection between Wei Yuan and the Xu family was Xu Yin'an, the purple-flame youth who slowly climbed through the air during the martial arts test. He was brave, but his arms were too short. After being speared into the air by Wei Yuan, he desperately tried to reach Wei Yuan but still couldn't reach him, and finally died with resentment.

Judging from the shopkeeper's words, it seems the Xu family is secretly involved in the headhunting business? The Shattered Lands are lawless and have changed hands numerous times; brothels and similar establishments don't last long, and the most stable destination for heads is still the Wuyu Clan. It's just unclear whether this headhunting business is a clandestine operation or something that has always been the case.

"Do you have any portraits of female cultivators?"

"That sir said that the female cultivator's appearance may have been altered, so he gave her a personal item that contained her scent."

The shopkeeper then took out a jade earring, which indeed exuded a faint, feminine aura. Wei Yuan's heart skipped a beat; this aura bore a striking resemblance to Yun Feifei's!
Wei Yuan remained calm, carefully putting away the earring, and said, "You can assume Wang Lang is dead. What magical artifacts are available? Take them all out!"

The shopkeeper hesitated, saying, "Isn't this a bit inappropriate? That important person will only hand over the magic artifact after receiving the goods. If you're still worried, how about I give you an extra two hundred silver coins if you don't find a magic artifact you like?"

"make a deal."

With the deal settled, the shopkeeper, beaming with delight, decided not to bother Wei Yuan any further. But just as he stepped out of the room, he heard Wei Yuan say ominously from inside, "That female cultivator's identity isn't simple either, is it?"

The shopkeeper was taken aback; he hadn't expected this simpleton to be so shrewd despite his rough exterior.

He immediately put on a smile and whispered, "Immortal, you truly have discerning eyes! To tell you the truth, that female cultivator was actually a relative of the former prefect. After the former prefect was convicted and executed, she somehow escaped and hid for several years. By chance, she ended up in Wang Lang's hands and was then sent back."

Actually, the female cultivator was of average appearance, but that official had a particular fondness for noblewomen of high status, which was why he was willing to spend a fortune on this deal. After all, prefects were rare, and having acquired this female cultivator meant he wouldn't be using her only once or twice, so the official wasn't really at a loss.”

Wei Yuan remained silent with a cold expression.

The shopkeeper hurriedly said, "Add another fifty taels!"

Wei Yuan nodded.

After the innkeeper left, Wei Yuan leisurely finished his breakfast, then put on a black cloak commonly seen in the area, covered his face, and left the inn. Fishing can't be done in one place all the time; for example, sea fishing requires sitting on a boat and moving around to catch big fish.

Wei Yuan concealed his face and wandered aimlessly through the town. He had no destination in mind, going wherever the road took him, silently listening to the sounds around him and sensing everything around him.

"...Sir, this person's soul is so strong, shouldn't we add more..."

"...Let's move together tonight. Read my signal, go in and kill!"

"Brother, you're blind, how can I read your expressions?"

"...Then watch my hand gestures!"

"We'll head back to Ningzhou tomorrow. If we can catch a Dao Foundation cultivator who matches our destiny, we'll be set for life."

Of the various opinions, six or seven out of ten were related to the headhunting business. Quliu Town was home to many members of the Wuyu tribe, whose greatest need was for humans themselves. Naturally, doing business with the Wuyu tribe meant that heads were the fastest and most profitable method.

As Wei Yuan walked and listened, he gradually gained an understanding of the entire Quliu Town and learned many secrets that were unknown to others.

When Wei Yuan turned to the west of the town, he noticed some courtyards with a different style. These courtyards were circular, and most of them were filled with water. There was no path from the courtyard gate to the main gate, so the people inside had to wade through the water. These circular courtyards were typical houses of the Wuyu tribe.

On the streets of the West End, many people were bundled up tightly, but quite a few others made no attempt to conceal themselves, revealing their enormous heads, wrinkled faces, and the limbs of various birds and beasts. Their eyes, the size of eggs, were disproportionately large compared to their bodies, and lacked pupils, appearing as mere gray or black patches.

These are the Wuyu tribe, who live among water and swamps. By human standards, they are strangely shaped, like a mixture of birds and beasts, but in reality, they are naturally skilled in magic and proficient in sacrifice. Some of their spells, which require large-scale blood sacrifices to activate, have the power to destroy the world, and even immortal lords must avoid their sharp edge.

When the Wuyu tribe reaches adulthood, they hold a sacrificial ceremony, offering sacrifices of animals they have personally hunted in exchange for power. After the ceremony, their limbs often change, most commonly transforming into the form of birds or beasts. Generally, such physical transformations signify supernatural abilities, and at the Dao Foundation Realm, the more bird-like or beast-like a Wuyu member is, and the more bizarre their appearance, the more powerful they are.

The Wuyu tribe is powerful overall, even surpassing the Liao tribe in the north. However, they seem to have a strong enemy in the west, which has been holding back their main force, resulting in a stalemate with the human race and a slight overall setback.

After walking around the western district for a while, Wei Yuan gradually felt unwell. The number of Wu Yu clan members in this area far exceeded his expectations. After only walking one block, Wei Yuan counted over a hundred pure-blooded Wu Yu clan members, including seven or eight who had reached the Dao Foundation stage. Such a large number of Wu Yu clan members was beyond reason; could something major be about to happen, or was war about to break out again?
Wei Yuan didn't venture any deeper into the western district. He already had enough eyes watching him, both openly and secretly, and those eyes were growing increasingly sharp. The Wuyu tribe used humans as sacrifices, and the stronger the sacrifice, the better the effect. Walking on their territory was like a lone beautiful woman walking among a group of homeless people—it was impossible for her not to attract attention. The main target hadn't taken the bait yet; now wasn't the time to get entangled with these small fry.

Wei Yuan changed direction and headed towards the North District, gradually attracting fewer stares along the way. The North District presented a different scene. Everywhere were low shacks, crammed with countless people; each shack seemed capable of holding dozens. The streets were filled with sewage, with almost no ground above the water. Wei Yuan waded through the water with every step, the surface teeming with filth and reeking of foul odors. Fortunately, Wei Yuan was currently blessed with good fortune, and the filth either drifted away or brushed past him, never settling on his boots.

As they passed a shack, a dozen or so small heads crowded at the doorway, looking at Wei Yuan with a mixture of curiosity and fear. The youngest child held a beetle the size of his palm, its body bitten in several places. Fortunately, the beetle had probably been roasted. Inside the shack lay a woman, and two men sat against the wall, their condition unknown.

This shantytown alone probably houses tens of thousands of people. They are all ordinary people, thin and sickly, constantly struggling on the brink of life and death. Their spirits are dim; even if offered as sacrifices to the Wuyu tribe, they wouldn't accept them.

But ahead of Wei Yuan stood several grand courtyards made of bluestone, each nearly a hundred feet in circumference. The foundations of these courtyards were raised three feet, ensuring no sewage would accumulate. The two-foot-high walls were imposing and sturdy, with guards perched high above, overlooking the vast expanse of low-lying shacks just across the street. These residences were clearly in the style of the human race, and were manned by numerous private soldiers.

Wei Yuan overheard many secrets along his journey, including several concerning these large courtyards. It was said that the courtyards were inhabited by members of the Xu family, and that these members held considerable positions within the family. Two of the courtyards were specifically used as military garrisons, likely housing nearly a thousand formidable private soldiers. The Xu family had numerous businesses in Quliu Town, both overt and covert, and even the Wuyu Clan had to give them considerable leeway.

Frankly, Wei Yuan didn't understand the relationship between the Xu family and the Wuyu clan. They had just fought a major battle, with countless deaths and deep-seated hatred, yet they coexisted peacefully in Dianliu Town. According to information Wei Yuan had heard privately, there hadn't even been any major conflicts between the Xu family and the Wuyu clan.

Suddenly, the courtyard gates opened, and dozens of body-casting warriors poured out. Carrying two-zhang-tall vermilion poles, they walked along, planting them as they went, marking out a plot of land several tens of zhang in diameter. A steward-like figure shouted, "Our master has taken this land! Those within the marked area must move out within a quarter of an hour, and this food is your reward!"

Samurai carried several large baskets of coarse grain cakes and dumped them on the open ground, whereupon countless people rushed over like hungry dogs to grab them. Several high-ranking samurai then began setting fire to the designated shantytown area, slowly burning it from north to south. The flames, enhanced by Taoist magic, did not extinguish when exposed to water, and the fire line gradually advanced, but a few who were too slow to run were still burned alive.

Moments later, the grain cakes were all gone, and the designated shantytown was burned to ashes. Those who were driven out scattered into other shantytowns; some forced their way in, some begged the original owner for a place, and most had to fight with the original owner—some won, some lost—and in the blink of an eye, more than a dozen lives were lost. The few women were all taken in, and surprisingly, even the children were taken in, even though the shacks were already crammed with children.

This scene left Wei Yuan somewhat stunned. The refugees he had seen in his childhood were like wild beasts, but the people here were perhaps even worse than wild beasts. The Wei family's donkey shed and pigsty were much cleaner than these shacks.

Seeing the rows of warriors setting fires and acting as if nothing had happened, Wei Yuan's face turned somewhat cold. Wang Lang, whom he had caught on his first day of fishing, had intricate connections to the Xu family, and Yun Feifei was most likely connected to the Xu family as well. Since that was the case, Wei Yuan decided to stir up a hornet's nest and see what was hidden in those large mansions ahead.

Before Wei Yuan could even make a move, a commotion suddenly broke out behind him, and more than ten knights galloped over. The splashes of dirty water from their horses' hooves sprayed everywhere, some of it aimed directly at Wei Yuan's head!
At this moment, Wei Yuan was in a bad mood, how could he withstand such provocation? The dignity of a hot-tempered swordsman cannot be trampled on by trash, so a golden cauldron suddenly appeared above Wei Yuan's head, collected the dirty water in one go, and then smashed it hard at the knight! The mere Blood Fusion was directly smashed by the golden cauldron, his entire chest was dented, and he flew more than ten feet away, crushing a shack.

The group of knights were immediately startled. The young swordsman at the head of the group turned around, glanced at Wei Yuan, and said coldly, "Kill him and dismember him!"

After saying this, he headed straight for the main courtyard, not even glancing at Wei Yuan. Three or five riders followed him, while the remaining knights drew their swords and surrounded Wei Yuan.

Wei Yuan slowly retreated into the shanty behind, his aura disappearing, vanishing before the eyes of the many knights.

The knights were taken aback and immediately spurred their horses into the shack to search. They didn't care how many people were crammed inside; they trampled them underfoot, and screams of agony immediately filled the air.

At that moment, several streams of black energy silently entered the warhorses' bodies. All the warhorses neighed loudly, reared up, and instantly threw half of the knights off their mounts. The thrown knights crashed heavily into the sewage, all motionless. The two Dao Foundation Realm knights were shocked. They managed to control their warhorses and then dismounted to check, only to find that all the fallen knights had a thin wound on their throats. The wounds were charred black, with intense sword intent condensing and refusing to dissipate, as if they had been scorched by flames.

At this moment, Wei Yuan's figure appeared at the other end of the long street, flashing continuously. Each time he appeared, he was several feet away, and he would disappear at the end of the long street in a few steps.

The leader, who had already reached the courtyard gate, turned around and saw the heavy casualties among his men. Enraged, he flung off his cloak, revealing a handsome face with a small golden sword between his brows. He leaped into the air, drew his sword, and unleashed a crescent-shaped sword aura that instantly pierced Wei Yuan's back!

However, Wei Yuan's figure vanished like ripples on water, only to reappear a few feet away, quickening his pace as he tried to rush into the shantytown ahead to hide.

The young swordsman, enraged by his missed attack, decided to become one with his sword, flying like an arrow shot towards Wei Yuan!
Just as he reached his peak speed and momentum, a large cauldron gleaming with golden light suddenly appeared out of thin air in front of him and smashed into the young swordsman's face with a loud bang!
The origin of this cauldron is unknown, but it is thick and hard, undoubtedly much harder than his face.

The young man's face was instantly smashed open, stars flying everywhere, and he fell backward, crashing heavily into the sewage. The sewage instantly submerged his face, and the current pushed a cloud of filth over him.

After smashing the young swordsman, the golden cauldron slowly disappeared, remarkably calmly, its lingering sound echoing endlessly.

With a splash, the young man abruptly sat up in the water, his face covered in filth. He instinctively wiped his face, his hands covered in a mixture of blood and filth. His face turned green instantly, and he nearly vomited!

Fortunately, two of his men arrived and helped him up from the sewage, offering him a white towel to wipe his face. After wiping himself, he saw the yellowish-green filth on the towel, and the young swordsman finally couldn't hold back any longer, spitting out his breakfast and the leftovers from last night's supper.

He stared at the shack where Wei Yuan had disappeared, his voice shrill and distorted with rage, screaming hysterically, "Investigate! Find all the things that used the cauldron! Turn the place upside down if you have to, catch him!"

At this time, Wei Yuan had already arrived in the East District. He didn't know if the Qi Luck Fishing technique he had just learned would be effective, or if he would encounter the fish he wanted to catch on this trip.

In his early twenties, at the mid-stage of the Heavenly Foundation stage, born into the powerful Xu family, he seems to dare to run rampant even in the Shattered Domain... what kind of shrimp is he?

(End of this chapter)