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Chapter 67: Inquiry

Zhou Heng couldn’t help but complain inwardly.

However, he kept a warm smile on his face and said to Xu Hai, “I’ve also heard a lot about you. Your nickname ‘Cloud-Picking Master Hand’ is famous indeed; it’s an honor to meet you.”

Upon hearing this, Xu Hai chuckled with a hearty laugh, but inside he almost burst into laughter because his reputation was all made up—everything about Xu Hai, that ‘Cloud-Picking Master Hand,’ was just invented on the spur of the moment to con people.

As someone who often ‘joined forces’ with others, only to fleece them afterward, he could hardly use his real identity. It was always good to have several aliases for convenience in his activities.

Now, the people around Xu Hai looked at him with envy. This unremarkable- looking man seemed to be on good terms with this newly famous martial artist on the People’s Ranking—it’s true that appearances can be deceptive.

Moreover, this ‘Bone-Damage’ Zhou Heng was only seventeen years old, and he had entered the People’s Ranking with a Ninth Grade cultivation. His future was bound to be limitless, with a high possibility of climbing into the top ten of the People’s Ranking, or even breaking through the heaven and earth bridge to become a Middle Third Rank bigshot!

Impressive!

“Is there a People’s Ranking master staying at my inn?”

Just at that moment, a joyful voice was heard, followed by the sight of a man in his fifties trotting out to greet them, guided by the inn’s waiter to where Zhou Heng was.

“My heavens! As expected of a People’s Ranking master, truly elegant and handsome. I am the innkeeper Gao Shu; Young Master Zhou, rest assured that the best suite on the top floor has already been prepared for you, guaranteed to your satisfaction.

“Moreover, as long as you’re willing to stay, it doesn’t matter how long—it will be completely free of charge. Do you have any requests, Young Master Zhou? Feel free to ask for anything; just treat this place like your own home, haha!”

The man was slightly plump, with plenty of fat on his face that jiggled when he laughed, and his double chin folded into several layers.

One could tell that he was truly overjoyed, even somewhat excited.

Zhou Heng understood the innkeeper’s mindset.

He simply wanted to use the fame of the People’s Ranking master to attract customers.

In this world where the Martial Path was prevalent, young masters on the People’s Rankingwere like celebrities on Earth to many ordinary people.

They would draw many admirers.

Da Qi, with its thirty-three states, had a vast territory and a huge population numbering over a billion!

Even though people under thirty years old accounted for less than thirty percent, that was still an astounding number.

And there were only a hundred on the People’s Ranking!

Indeed, there were many young people with sufficient strength, even greater than those on the ranking, who could make a name for themselves on the People’s Ranking.

But a large part of these youths preferred the seclusion of their clan’s or sect’s internal training, detached from worldly affairs and sparing from combat, and therefore were not known to the public due to the performance-based nature of the People’s Ranking.

Therefore, in the eyes of ordinary people, those on the People’s Rankingwere seen as among the strongest and foremost of Da Qi’s overwhelming youth population.

Such renown was tremendous.

Of course, since people in this world merely admired People’s Ranking masters and weren’t crazy fans, with none of the somewhat distorted fan culture found on Earth, the fame of People’s Ranking masters could bring in quite a bit of monetary gains, but not excessively so.

Their fame usually influenced the convenience of travel and the level of care received from influential figures, appearing in various aspects of everyday life.

Like now, the innkeeper Gao Shu clearly had his eye on Zhou Heng’s fame when he offered him the best room without asking for a penny.

Thus, for an innkeeper, such a reputation meant greater business, and for Zhou Heng, it was much more convenient than looking for a room to stay in by himself.

“Then, thankyou very much, Innkeeper,” Zhou Heng said with a smile. “However, I think I might not be staying for very long.”

In fact, he wanted to ask if he could exchange the top suite for a regular room and have the difference paid to him in silver… but he really didn’t have the heart to say it.

At this moment, the people around were even more envious of Zhou Heng. The top suite, at least requiring three taels of silver a day to stay!

Fame and fortune!

How wonderful!

Xu Hai couldn’t help feeling envious, but he immediately suppressed this emotion, sneering to himself, “What man of distinction on the rankings, isn’t he just a greenhorn in the pugilistic world? Once he invites me to be his ally, I’ll fleece him completely, heh heh!”

Afterward, Zhou Heng finished the check-in procedure and returned to the table where they initially sat. Seeing Xu Hai still there, he smiled and said, “I recall Brother Xu had something to discuss with me earlier, something about a grand scheme?”

“Indeed!” Xu Hai nodded eagerly, thinking to himself that Zhou had finally taken the bait, and said with a smile, “However, this matter involves many powerful figures, and I cannot reveal it lightly.

“How about this, if you are truly interested, come to the breakfast stall across the street to the east tomorrow morning. I’ll treat you to breakfast and elaborate on the matter.”

Building rapport often starts with a meal, and Xu Hai knew this well; plus, breakfast was the cheapest option, low cost.

“I can join you,” Zhou Heng said with a smile, then he added, “However, I have one condition. In fact, I came to Yuyang County to investigate the Wang Family’s situation in detail.

“You might know that the Wang Family has run into trouble in the prefectural city, and now they have all been arrested, but there are still some unknown clues, so I came to investigate.”

“You’re a constable!?” Xu Hai became a bit panicky subconsciously.

“No, just helping to gather information,” Zhou Heng said with a smile. “Brother Xu, do you know anything about the Wang Family or if there have been any strange events in Yuyang County recently?”

“Phew…” Hearing that Zhou Heng was not a constable, Xu Hai relaxed a little and then said with a smile, “Actually, I haven’t been in Yuyang County for long, and I don’t know much.

“As for strange events, there really have been some. Recently, many girls have become more beautiful, heh heh, and I don’t know why.”

“Become more beautiful?” Zhou Heng’s eyes narrowed slightly as he inquired further, “What do you mean by becoming more beautiful?”

“It’s like those who were very plain-looking suddenly became exceptionally beautiful,” said Xu Hai, who seemed quite interested in this topic, perhaps having paid special attention to it, “And these people, although much more beautiful, have only had minor adjustments to their facial features, so everyone can still recognize them. It’s not that they’ve become unrecognizable.”

“Many? When did this start?” Zhou Heng asked, his thoughts instinctively turning to Chen Hanyu’s face that seemed as if it had been meticulously refined.

Could it be that Yu Shang had not truly perished?

Was the ghost that possessed Wang Tong actually Yu Shang?

Had Jiang Jian’s Taoist Formulas failed to kill it?

“Not too many, but not a few either, probably around a dozen girls, I guess. It’s made quite the stir, but those girls are all tight-lipped about the specifics. It started around three or four days ago,” Xu Hai paused, contemplating, and added, “I suspect, however, it’s probably some cosmetic technique with severe side effects, possibly requiring regular check-ups and adjustments; otherwise, they wouldn’t be so secretive.”

“Hmm, I see. I’ll see you at the breakfast stall tomorrow,” Zhou Heng nodded, accepting Xu Hai’s earlier invitation.

Besides, he planned to investigate the homes of these beautified girls tomorrow.

To see if any ghostly energy lingered.

Xu Hai left the inn with a joyful heart, feeling that his venture to fleece the unsuspecting had successfully taken its first step by initially winning Zhou Heng’s trust.

Next, he would slowly cultivate a relationship with Zhou Heng, waiting for the day he would be seen as a comrade in the martial path. That would be his time to reap the rewards!

It was already night, clouds shrouding the moon.

“Why is it so dark?”

Wandering carelessly, Xu Hai walked along the road. He was a man who lived off scamming others, with no fixed abode, only renting a small courtyard on the outskirts of the city.

The distance from the county town back to the small courtyard wasn’t very far, but there was a stretch of road that was quite dark. It was passable in moonlight, but when the clouds covered the moon, it became pitch black.

And as he walked this night path,

a mass of sticky substance, like wax, oozed out from the corner of a wall. It writhed and twisted as it crawled.

Slowly it approached Xu Hai!