The snake in a sheep's clothing Part 1
Chapter 112
On the top of a roof of a simple old building stood a single figure of a middle-aged man. Nobody in the area could see him as he is using an invisibility spell to conceal himself from the crowd. Only those who are in the gold core realm can see his figure if they wanted to as the concealment spell he is using is not that strong. His gaze turns towards a particular building near the town's gate.
It didn't take too long for the man to notice that someone is coming out of that building. And when he saw the person his eyes suddenly glowed with a hint of killing intent flashing through them.
The man is currently looking at a young man who is casually walking out on the streets while carrying a bag of food and other stuff. The young man is wearing an ordinary servant's robe which seems inconspicuous but still, the middle-age man knows that he is not just some insignificant simpleton who can be trifled with.
Though a little interested the man is not worried about anything. He just feels that the young man seems to be a strong cultivator as he is already a core-forming realm at a young age.
The young man might not be like those geniuses who are already in gold core realms at his age, but as a normal cultivator, the young man that he is looking at has great potential.
Although it is too bad that he is not the one who was able to discover the young man first. He didn't know if the lad is a spy sent by the first elder of the clan as the youth is still wearing a servant robe of the Nian clan.
Meanwhile, Shin Jiao is currently buying things leisurely as this time he plans to stay inside the hidden cave for a long time. He needed to also use this time to cultivate and improve himself so that when he starts his journey back to the underground base he could defend himself from people or any beasts who are powerful enough to easily take his pitiful life because of his weakness.
Shin Jiao is aware that strength is essential for his survival in this world and without it anyone would be looking down on him. So he wanted to be able to at least fight back without being suppressed by someone.
"This should be enough to last me for 2 weeks. I'll just go back here if I wanted to buy more food and necessities." Shin Jiao muttered after checking his stuff.
Not long later, he started to walk towards the town's gate and suddenly saw something.
On the notice board near the town's gate, people began to flock in, they seem to be discussing something. And when he neared the place he heard clearly what they are talking about and was surprised.
"What!? The youngest son and the eldest daughter of the Nian clan who was thought to have perished are actually alive?!" A woman suddenly exclaimed.
"I heard from my friend that, both of them were plotted upon by someone from the clan. That is too despicable, no matter what they still all belong to one clan."
"What do you know? Even in clans, those with power are the masters. With the trash cultivation of the youngest master of the Nian clan, how can they put him in their eyes?"
"Well, I can understand it if it's just that. But, the young lady of the Nian clan is a genius, how would you explain that? My guess is that the Nian clan members have fallen too deep in their thirst for power that they are willing to kill their own kin."
"I agree, they are like that one clan called… Umm… Ah right… Gushan clan. They were the most powerful clan before but because of their internal fighting, the clan was destroyed. And now only those minor people in the clan remain without any power whatsoever."
"I was there when the clan was actually destroyed by the Hong clan. It was because the daughter of the Hong clan was killed when she was visiting the Gushan clan for the marriage proposal. She was the beloved daughter of the Hong clan patriarch. So the Hong clan decided to erase the Gushan clan."
"Wait a minute, it was not the Hong clan that killed them. The clan itself killed each other through infighting. They fear the Hong clan too much that, they killed each other just to pass on the blame."
"So you guys mean to say that this thing is also happening in the Nian clan?"
"Well, who knows maybe…"
When Shin Jiao heard the rumors, he could not help but frown. Though he should not concern himself with this situation however Zen Nian and Rat Ling are his friends. He could not just sit still and see the two be in danger. So he pushes himself into the crowd and read the news.
Then what he read almost stupefied him. The three people returned to the clan and were actually accused of stealing clan secrets and giving it to a stranger. And that stranger was considered as an expert and is very dangerous. Then he saw his picture drawn on the parchment of paper. He was accused of being a thief and has a bounty of 100 low-grade spirit stones. Shin Jiao actually didn't feel a bit of worry for himself as no matter who looks at the picture they could not recognize him.
On the picture is a well-drawn image of himself but with scars on his face. Right now Shin Jiao has already healed those superficial scars and has almost recovered his old handsome face, though there are some minor deep scars on his body.
"Hmmm… this should be interesting. The Nian clan might be planning in obtaining the thing that they called artifact and is trying to extract information from the three. If I go there, then their lives would be in much more trouble. But if I go away, who knows what would happen. As of now, I don't have any choice but to strive and become stronger." Shin Jiao thought as he shook his head and walks towards the gate.
But before he could go near it, a middle-aged man suddenly appears in front of him. The man wore an amiable expression on his face as he looks at Shin Jiao.
Before Shin Jiao could react, the middle-aged man suddenly cupped his hands.
"Young man, my name is Ding Gushan. I have noticed that you have good cultivation. I would like to invite you for a tea if that is okay?" the middle-aged man said as he smiled sincerely.
Shin Jiao was taken aback at the politeness being shown by the man. He didn't have any reason to refute as the man is showing him his due respect even though he is wearing a mortal servant robe. When Shin Jiao noticed the spiritual undulation on the man's body, his heart almost skipped a beat.
"An infant soul realm cultivator!" Shin Jiao's mind suddenly goes blank.
He didn't know what this very powerful cultivator wants with him, and what's with the polite attitude. Though Shin Jiao wanted to doubt the man, yet his sense could not detect any dangerous aura from the man. So he didn't refute the man and just greeted the man with respect and cupped his hands.
"Senior, this junior is just a lowly cultivator and has his cultivation damaged. So I may not be as good as senior portrays me to be." Shin Jiao said with a tone of respect.
"Haha! You are a truly wise and humble young one. I like your attitude. How about this, you come to me and I will tell you what I can do for you. If you are not satisfied with it then you can reject my offer. I won't take any offense." The middle-aged man said chuckling.
Because of the kind gesture of the man, Shin Jiao didn't want to disrespect him and in this area, he also didn't want to cause a scene. So he just followed the middle-aged man to a restaurant near the tall western wall of the town. The two sat at the top floor of the restaurant which is full of people. Then the middle-aged man ordered a lot of food which made Shin Jiao dumbfounded.
The man didn't say anything and waited until both of them finished eating. Shin Jiao didn't pass the opportunity as it is his first time to eat this many foods in this strange land. Though he himself can cook something delicious however he didn't have a chance to eat in restaurants before as he is busy taking care of a lot of things. Plus this lunch is free so he who would just let it passes by.
"Young man, I'm actually interested in recruiting you to be a cultivator under me. I will give you cultivation resources and your very own spirit cave... What do you say?" The middle-aged man said as he took a sip from a cup of tea.
The middle-aged man observes Shin Jiao and his reactions and what he saw made him feel a little bit surprised. He had met a lot of young men who have potentials but the young man in front of him seems to be calm and not anxious even after being offered great benefits. With this, Ding Gushan is sure that Shin Jiao is not a normal young man. On many occasions that he starts to offer some benefits, many young cultivators would always say yes without thinking too much. But Shin Jiao seems to be unfazed by the benefit he is offering.
"This one has a big appetite… Hmm… interesting." Ding Gushan thought.
Shin Jiao looks at the man and tries to determine if the man is telling the truth or not. In his experience, he could almost always tell if someone is lying to him. And looking at the man's expression and eyes, he seems to be telling the truth.
But Shin Jiao could not just follow the middle-age man without any rime or reason. He just met him and he could not just put his trust in the guy, so he decided to decline politely.
"Senior… this… this lowly one is just a mere core-forming realm cultivator with damaged cultivation and is unable to decide immediately. Would senior give me some time?" Shin Jiao said as this is all he can think of.
If the man gave him some time, he would surely grab this opportunity and ran to the Dark Forest. He is confident in his escaping technique and thought the middle-aged man may seem to be powerful but he has a teleportation scroll, he can just use it in case of emergency.
When Shin Jiao politely declined the offer of the middle-age man, Shin Jiao actually noticed a faint trace of reaction in the man's eyes. This made Shin Jiao a little scared as the man can actually squish him like a bug if he wanted to. So he felt a little pressure but showed none on his face.
"Sigh… I wanted to actually just invite you to be one of my people. But you are proving to be a hard bargain." The middle-aged man said in a calm voice.
Shin Jiao suddenly felt the air around him turn stale and stuffy. He can feel a strong surging aura coming from the middle-aged man. When he saw the expression on the man's face, he was taken aback. From an amiable man to a sinister-looking guy the change in Ding Gushan's expression is truly mind-blowing.
Shin Jiao suddenly thought some of those politicians from Earth. He seems to have forgotten the craftiness of man. In this world where strength rules, not all men show their real selves in just a single glance. The man named Ding Gushan is one such man. One of the reasons why Shin Jiao left the agency is because of this attitude of the leaders he is serving. The complex intricacies of politics would always get on his nerve, and such is happening right now.
"I didn't want to do this but you have forced my hand young man." The middle-aged man suddenly said as he waved his hand in the air.
Then Shin Jiao suddenly felt a strong fluctuation of Qi wave which covers the whole restaurant. Then the people from down below calmly walks up to the second floor and stood before them.
"No more pretense, I wanted the legacy that you have. Either you give it to me peacefully or else we take it forcefully." Ding Gushan said as he nonchalantly sips some tea.
The area around the restaurant seems to be covered in a barrier. Plus it seems that the restaurant is under the control of the man in front of him. Now Shin Jiao felt like his luck is truly running out. How can he escape this predicament that he is in right now? Though he didn't want to do it, however, if fighting is the only way out then he will have to claw himself out of this mess.
The only thing that's bugging his mind right now is, why did the man ask him about his legacies?
"Does he mean the artifacts or the crafting techniques?" Shin Jiao thought as he showed a frowning expression.
"Oh, it seems that you didn't know the situation you are in right now." Ding Gushan said as he looks at Shin Jiao's confused expression.
"You see, my name is Ding Gushan and I am the master of Ya Nian… I'm also known as the second elder of the Nian clan… the reason why I know your secret is because of that little girl. I never would have imagined that a cultivator like you have the ability to make those things. With your ability and knowledge, you could be great and famous. But instead, you decided to hide in this small backwater town. Foolish… too foolish." Ding Gushan explained as he showed a mocking gaze on Shin Jiao.
"If you give me the legacy that you have, I promise to make your death quick and painless. But if you struggle then all my men will play with you… they would like to see the man, who has the ability to kill Scarface Fey." Ding Gushan added.
When Ding Gushan said this, the people surrounding them suddenly sent chilling glare at Shin Jiao. All of them are like hungry wolves looking at their prey.
As each person in the room is a bloodthirsty individual, they wanted to face some challenges. And when they heard that Shin Jiao was able to kill Scarface Fey and his group they wanted to test their strength in fighting him.
"Sigh… mister Gushan. I don't want to be impolite. But since you have given me some food, I just wanted to say something." Shin Jiao suddenly said as he slowly stood up.
"If each of you cares for your lives, please go now. If no... then die!" Shin Jiao said as a huge killing intent suddenly went out of his body.
Shin Jiao would always keep this within himself and would rarely release it. But since he is at a disadvantage, he didn't want to hold back and will just go all out.