Just why was one of the Flying Swords Hall's inner disciples here, pretending to be a small trader?
And if Zhao Yunxiao had managed to recognise him, could this Fu Liren have recognised them as well?
No, that was unlikely. Otherwise, the earlier conversation would not quite have gone the way it did.
That made sense as well. After all, not only were they just one of the countless outer disciples of the Black Tortoise Sect, but it was also true that not everyone was like Zhao Yunxiao, who seemed to have made it his life's mission to know as much as possible about as many things as possible.
More importantly, Fu Liren had not been part of the entourage for his faction's recent visits to the Black Tortoise Sect.
"Is he also here to investigate the kidnapping cases?" Gu Qiansi guessed.
"Oh, right. There's that possibility as well," Lu Zhiying revealed a look of surprise. "I was still thinking that the Flying Swords Hall must be involved in the kidnappings!"
The group fell silent for a good few moments as the gravity of that statement weighed down upon them.
It was a preposterous statement, but none of them could deny that such a thought had indeed crossed their minds, even if only for the slightest of moments. And if that statement were true, then it was a huge matter that would require the intervention of the sect administrators!
But... what were the chances?
After all, while the Flying Swords Hall might be subordinate to the Black Tortoise Sect, their influence still extended far and wide. They would be hard pressed to come up with a situation that could have forced them to resort to kidnapping innocent villagers.
"It would be best if Gu Qiansi's conclusion was right, or if Fu Liren was just passing by for some other reason," Zhao Yunxiao rubbed his temples helplessly. "But even if Fu Liren ended up being involved in the kidnappings, hopefully it would just be him going rogue instead of being instructed by the Flying Swords Hall..."
"Can we take him in a fight?" Nie Hanchang asked.
Zhao Yunxiao shook his head without hesitation. "Even barring any progress that I am unaware of, Fu Liren was at the Primary Origin Core realm the last time I checked. Even if the four of us gang up on him together, we would lose nine times out of ten."
"A ten percent chance isn't too bad," Nie Hanchang smirked.
"That's figuratively speaking," Zhao Yunxiao explained. "Our actual chances are probably way lower."
They might have succeeded in taking down a Peak Essence Physique realm cultivator in the past, but the gap between an Essence Physique realm cultivator and an Origin Core realm cultivator was like that between heaven and earth, far greater than that of cultivators at the Essence Gathering and Essence Physique realms.
That was because to enter the Origin Core realm, a cultivator would have to overcome the deadly heavenly tribulation!
"Oh."
"What should we do then?" Gu Qiansi asked.
"There is no need to change our plans for now," Zhao Yunxiao replied. "We will do exactly what we have discussed before and ask around for more information, both on the kidnapping cases and on Fu Liren. We still need more information before we can decide on our next step."
"Okay then," Gu Qiansi nodded.
"Understood," Nie Hanchang added.
"Got it!" Lu Zhiying answered.
"Well then, let's get to work."
***
Just as they had done for the previous villages, the group split up to gather more information from the villagers. In the name of understanding more about the local terrain and environment for business consideration, they sought more details about the concerns that the villagers had, which quickly led to the kidnapping cases surfacing as an issue.
Most details were similar to the other villages. The one thing that truly set them apart was the fact that they had not had any kidnappings in more than two years, corroborating the intelligence that the group had gathered.
This time, Zhao Yunxiao did not participate in the information gathering.
Instead, he spent the entire day walking along the borders of the village. When he was done with that, he continued to comb the inside of the village, painting his footsteps onto every main road and every small alley.
From time to time, he would squat down and draw a few symbols on the ground.
From time to time, he would stop to bury an item or two.
Most of the villagers had been drawn to where Gu Qiansi, Lu Zhiying and Nie Hanchang were, considering that they were actively seeking conversations with the villagers. Because of that, few noticed an unfamiliar face roaming around in silence.
Few, but not none.
"I was wondering where you were. Why are you just walking around alone?" Ah Yan, their young lady guide from earlier, caught up from behind him.
"Just looking around to better understand the current state of the land," Zhao Yunxiao squatted down to pick up a handful of soil, which he rubbed in his hand with an expression that seemed to suggest that he was deep in thought.
"So, how's the land here?" Ah Yan squatted down beside him to look at the soil in his hand. "The elders in the village always said that the land is bad, which is why we have to rely on the forest for sustenance. Is that true?"
"There is no such thing as bad land, only land that is not being used correctly," Zhao Yunxiao glanced at the pleasant-looking teenage girl while letting go of the soil in his hand, allowing it to fall freely to the ground. "At least, that is what I believe."
"What is the best way to use this land then?" Ah Yan asked curiously.
"I can't be certain about the one best way to utilise this land," Zhao Yunxiao shrugged before standing up. "However, I do know one good way to do so. At least for now."
"Oh? How?" Ah Yan leapt to her feet as well.
"When was the last time you received a flower?" Zhao Yunxiao suddenly asked.
"A flower?" Ah Yan was confused by the abrupt change in topic. "I don't think I remember the last time. Why do you ask?"
"Here's a flower for you," Zhao Yunxiao passed her a stalk of flower that he had been holding in his other hand, hidden away from Ah Yan's sight.
"That's a fancy way to talk about a flower that you just plucked from the ground!" the way Ah Yan's expression lit up went contrary to her curt words. "Is this how you people from big towns usually flirt with girls? Too bad for you, but I'll only be with someone from the village!"
"Haha, guess I'd just have to accept my fate then," Zhao Yunxiao let out a light chuckle. "Do you know the name of this flower?"
"Of course! There aren't many flowers that grow in the village after all," Ah Yan replied confidently while slotting it in her hair. "This is a chamomile flower!"
"That's right," Zhao Yunxiao nodded with a smile. "And do you know the meaning of the chamomile flower?"
"There is a meaning to it?" Ah Yan asked.
"The plant's natural hardiness symbolises energy in adversity. At the same time, the sunny yellow centre and the soft white petals mirror the sun, symbolising a sense of warmth and calmness," Zhao Yunxiao answered his own question. "In times of adversity and despair, it represents the ability to stay calm and be patient. Remember that only with such traits would one be able to see the light at the end of the tunnel."
"Is that so?" Ah Yan looked sceptical. "You know quite a bit for someone who doesn't look that much older than me. I guess that's the benefit of living in a big town?"
"Haha, perhaps," Zhao Yunxiao laughed.
"You still haven't said what is a good way to use this land!" Ah Yan reminded.
"Oh, that?" Zhao Yunxiao smiled. "I guess at this moment, this land is ideal for fishing."
"Fishing?" Ah Yan's smile instantly turned into a deep frown. "I might not have seen much of the world, but I am not stupid! The nearest river is tens of kilometres away, so how can this place ever be good for fishing?"
"I'm not pulling your leg," Zhao Yunxiao looked up at the sky that was gradually growing darker. "The bait has already been set. Now, we'd just have to wait for the fish to enter the net!"
Ah Yan felt the corner of her lips twitch.
From the way Zhao Yunxiao spoke... could he actually be serious?
She actually had quite a good impression of him from the first part of their conversation, but one truly could not judge a person by his looks. Ah Yan believed that she had always been a polite and carefree girl; but as of this moment, she was seriously considering putting some distance between herself and this weirdo for the rest of their stay!
***
"What do you mean we just wait?" Lu Zhiying asked in surprise when she heard Zhao Yunxiao's plan that night. "What about the other affected villages? Are we not going to visit them?"
That had been their course of action for the past five villages – to quickly gather information about the kidnapping cases before moving on. Therefore, she could not help but be surprised to hear about this change of plans.
"Is this because Windsource Village has yet to be a target of the kidnappings these two years?" Gu Qiansi rubbed her chin in contemplation.
"Waiting by the tree for the hare to appear?" Nie Hanchang asked. "Would that work?"
"Yeah, what if the culprit doesn't appear soon? We can't possibly wait here indefinitely, can we?" Lu Zhiying added. "After all, there's no fixed pattern in terms of the dates of the incidents."
"No, the culprits will appear soon," Zhao Yunxiao assured.
"What did you discover today?" Gu Qiansi asked.
It was not a question of whether he discovered something, but what he discovered instead. After all, Gu Qiansi understood that Zhao Yunxiao would never speak with such certainty otherwise.
Zhao Yunxiao smiled before replying. "I found tracking marks in this village. Three of them, to be exact."
"Tracking marks?" Gu Qiansi frowned.
"That's right," Zhao Yunxiao continued. "These tracking marks are commonly used in pairs, each being used to track down the other half of the pair. And guess what the three marks are tracking?"
"Young villager girls?" Lu Zhiying guessed.
"Exactly," Zhao Yunxiao nodded. "That said, these tracking marks aren't done very meticulously, and will likely fade away within three days."
"Are you saying that these tracking marks will be used by the kidnappers?" Gu Qiansi rubbed her chin in contemplation.
At the same time, she could not help but steal a glance at Zhao Yunxiao.
He had been silently exploring the village all day, while the rest of them had been going around talking to villagers. So, just how did he discover the tracking marks placed on villagers when they had failed to do so?
Had his energy sensitivity and spiritual sense already surpassed theirs by such a large margin?
"Sounds like the work of a cultivator," Nie Hanchang asked. "Are these marks left by Fu Liren?"
"This isn't a tracking technique that belongs to the Flying Swords Hall, though we can't eliminate the possibility that he deliberately used a common tracking technique to conceal his involvement," Zhao Yunxiao clarified. "In fact, the fact that the tracking marks will fade away in just a few days is probably planned as well. This way, it would be difficult for anyone to find any evidence in the future."
"In any case, the culprits will probably come within the next three days, right?" Lu Zhiying grinned in excitement. "Shall we give them a warm welcome?"
"For sure," Zhao Yunxiao smiled. "But first, we need to leave the village."
"Eh?" Lu Zhiying looked at him in confusion. "I thought you just said that we should wait for the culprits to appear!"
"Yes, but they might not appear if we are still here," Zhao Yunxiao explained. "Especially if Fu Liren is involved."
"...That's true. If I were the culprit, I would like to avoid implicating travellers as well," Gu Qiansi said. "And we did tell Fu Liren that we would only be staying for a few days. From his perspective, it would not hurt to wait for us to leave before acting."
"But how are we supposed to catch them if we leave the village?" Lu Zhiying asked.
"Leave that part to me," Zhao Yunxiao answered with a smirk.
***
After two full days of genuine-sounding conversations with Village Chief Meng Qin and the various villagers about potential business opportunities, the villagers finally bade farewell to the merchants from Hangyuan Town, watching as the group of four slowly rode away on horseback.
"What a pity," Village Chief Meng Qin sighed. "If only our village has slightly better conditions that can draw their interest, maybe our lives would be able to improve greatly moving forward!"
"Everything is predestined, Village Chief. Don't worry too much about it," one of the elders consoled.
"You are right," Village Chief Meng Qin nodded regretfully. "We should be contented with what we already have."
As the village chief and elders slowly dispersed from the village entrance, Zhao Yunxiao secretively poked his head out to watch them from behind a corner.
Gu Qiansi, Lu Zhiying, and Nie Hanchang were right behind him around the corner, though none of the villagers would be able to see them at the moment due to the concealing array that they had set up.
As for the group of four that had just left the village... they were none other than earthen clones that Zhao Yunxiao had summoned. They might not perfectly resemble the group members, but it was still more than enough to pull one over on the villagers.
Zhao Yunxiao turned around to exchange nods with the rest of the group.
With that, they were done setting up camp by the tree. Now, all that's left was to wait for the hare to appear.
Time left until the tracking marks disappear – one day!