Tailing

After separating from his friends Bia Jingshen followed this suspicious group from a safe distance. Noticing that they stayed vigilant of their surroundings, Bai Jingshen soon hid in the next side street. He leaned on a wall as he turned his head towards the ground. The young man concentrated his senses for a second, checking if anyone or anything was observing him right now. Although security cameras existed, they normally only watched important places. Therefore, Bai Jingshen gladly noticed, that this street was safe. He quietly told his AI to send a massage to Kayleen before casting a simple spell.

A wide variety of spell's existed in the Great Cultivation World and especially his White Illusion Arts taught a lot of them. Other than martial arts, spells only fulfilled a supportive function. Most of them didn't have any stages that needed to be trained but were simply dependent on the user's cultivation.

The same held true for the 'Illusionary Disguise' spell Bai Jingshen was using now. This was a simple but practical spell which helped to disguise everything about a cultivator. With Bai Jingshen's cultivation no one below the Nascent Soul Realm should be able to recognize him now. Bai Jingshen quickly left the side street again, wearing some ordinary face no one would remember.

Fortunately, the group he had been observing wasn't travelling fast. They were even still keeping up their acting as they walked down the main street.

Soon a cat and mouse game ensued on this busy street. Bai Jingshen would sometimes walk into a shop, other times sit down on some decorative walls. Meanwhile the group he had been trailing laughed around, as they pointed at interesting things they saw though some windows. They even grabbed something to eat and stopped to watch some news on a screen.

A few hours passed like this, with the group swaggering up and down the main street. Finally they vanished into a side street, with Bai Jingshen following soon after. It quickly became apparent that this was a rather tough part of the city. Free mercenaries and even bandits loitered around in bars or shouted at each other on the street. From the looks on their faces it seemed obvious, that only the cities' rules were holding them back from fighting right then and there. The smell of alcohol and all kinds of stimulants wafted through the air, surprising Bai Jingshen. It wasn't normal for cultivators to destroy their own bodies like this. He guessed that only people who had no hope for advancement left came to this part of the city.

After a few steps Bai Jingshen already noticed that he would stand out too much in this street. He looked around, searching for a solution. Since his disguise already worked well so far, he figured he could simply try the same trick twice. The experienced veteran soon found what he had been searching for, as he walked towards a dark corner. The strong smell of cheap alcohol stung in his nose, as he looked at the two drunkards in front of him. One of them didn't even notice his arrival, while the other tried to stand up, only to slide down the wall they had been leaning on again.

Bai Jingshen would have any scruples if his own safety was concerned. He simply knocked both the drunkards out for good, before taking off their clothes. Although he could put on a disguise, it was hard to simulate the dirt and smell with his simple spell. However, he could at least still disguise his face. He took on one of the drunkard's appearances, before unsteadily stepping back on the street. Fortunately he was just in time to see his targets enter a shady bar further down the street. Bai Jingshen swayed as he slowly made his way over.

Just as he tried to step into the building, a broad, scary looking man stopped him.

"Your card."

The former emperor wasn't sure what this man was getting at, but luckily his thoughts were quick. He had already felt something in his pocket earlier, so he pretended to fumble around as he took out a bundle of cards. He looked at them with hazy eyes, realizing that they seemed to be something like invitations to different establishments here. Bai Jingshen was certain he wouldn't have any problems at this bar, judging from the amount of cards in his hand, compared to the amount of buildings in this street.

With a smug, drunken grin he held his bundle of cards in front of the man's face, as he said with a heavy tongue:

"Draw one."

The burly man obviously didn't find his joke funny, but still took a look at those cards. He let out a light whistle, surprised by the number of invitations. It took him a few seconds before he found the one he had been looking for. Without a word this man stepped to the side. Bai Jingshen showed him a toothy grin, before swaggering into the bar.

As soon as the young man came down a small staircase, a pungent smell assaulted his nose. He took in his surroundings and was shocked that such a place existed in this clean city. On dirty, small tables all kinds of cultivators were sitting, drowning themselves in alcohol. To the side he saw some cushions on which cultivators obviously belonging to the Great Cultivation World were relaxing.

Someone just made their way back from the counter, holding some herbs in his hand. His friends smiled in bliss as they carefully took those herbs from his hands. They simply put them in their drink, before taking small sips. Bai Jingshen didn't recognize the herbs, but their effect quickly became apparent as even higher-grade cultivators stayed in their blissful state.

Suddenly Bai Jingshen noticed the barkeeper looking at him weirdly, making him realize that he took too much time to observe this place. The former emperor had already seen the group he had been trailing. They were sitting on a table I the corner, not touching the drinks in front of them. Bai Jingshen randomly grabbed a table that allowed him to listen in, as a woman with wild, pink hair made his way over. She threw him a seductive look, quietly beginning to speak:

"Felm! I didn't expect you today. Couldn't wait to see me again?"

Hearing someone talking to him, Bai Jingshen almost wanted to slap his hand against his forehead. How high was the chance that this waitress knew a random drunkard here? He could only bluff his way out, as he tried to sound as drunk as possible when he replied:

"Someone made trouble… over there. Couldn't drink in peace. So why not visit my favorite lady?"

Bai Jingshen inwardly applauded himself as he noticed the waitress' happiness.

"You always have such a sweet tongue, Felm! I'm glad you came here for me. Normally you would be the first to join any excitement."

"Ahh… you know. I'm no getting younger."

"That's true. Maybe it's time for you to settle down. Why not come with me later after my work is done."

The young man lightly flinched, but he would say everything to make this noisy waitress leave. Therefore, he simply complied.

"Sure… we'll see."

The young woman beamed as she turned around. While walking away she happily exclaimed:

"It's a date then. Don't you run off now. To keep you occupied I will bring your favorite drink!"

Bai Jingshen sighed after the waitress left him. He seemed to have handled the situation well. At least this made his disguise more believable. During his conversation just now he already noticed, that the group on his neighboring table threw some glances at him. Soon however, they went back to focus on their own talk. Finally, the young man could concentrate his senses and listen in.

"So, you are sure about this? You didn't remember anything wrongly?"

"Yes. He only has three options."

"Good. We don't have much information. Let's notify the others and prepare."

"Hmm… we are spread pretty thin like this, should we call for reinforcements?"

"Why, that would only mean more competition. There is only one reward anyways."

"But… he isn't week. His strange movement technique needs to be handled."

"Hmpf. Just a Qi Gathering Realm ant. Who would have known someone from the main family would lose so easily."

"Psst. Are you tired of living? What if someone hears you?"

"Do you think someone would come to this sh*thole?! They are surely enjoying the best herb baths right now, while we are responsible for sitting here in the dirt. I'm SO sick of it."

"I know what you mean, but what can we do?"

"Of course, we have to be the one to complete the job this time! I heard the fourth master puts a lot of importance on this. If we do a good job, we might not only get a reward, but also earn fourth master's favor."

After listening to his targets for a while, the pink-haired waitress retuned to his table. Bai Jingshen joked lightly with her, as he had already fulfilled his goal. The group was still rather cautious, not revealing much information. Others might not be able to figure out what they were talking about.

However, since Bai Jingshen was closely involved in their mission he easily understood everything with the information given to him. It wasn't hard to guess that those people belonged to the Vulcan family. Obviously, he had to be careful during his mission. However, the thought of cancelling never came to his mind. He already had the information advantage. If he still couldn't defend himself, he should just stop cultivating altogether.