"Have you heard? The Hall of Tiger Roar's master went personally to the Youzhou region to plunder spiritual stones."
At the first floor of Liushi Zhai in Jian'an City, the guests were in a heated discussion.
Liushi Zhai is the most luxurious inn in the entire Ji'an City, boasting nine stories. Those who enter this inn are either wealthy or noble. The higher the floor you enter, the more prestigious your status. Particularly, above the ninth floor, apart from the Emperor of Wu Country, only the bigwigs of the remaining two major forces of the Alliance of Slicing Moon can gain access.
Moreover, the first floor of Liushi Zhai has no restrictions, as long as you have money, you can come.
The diners on the first floor of Liushi Zhai, coming and going, were set off by that previous sentence as if the conversation was opened up. They talked endlessly.
"By the way, just as our Slicing Moon Alliance ventured southward, the Hall of Tiger Roar couldn't stay still. It must have seen this opportunity and wanted to make a quick profit in secret; they really are cunning."
"Isn't that so? Although the master of the Hall of Tiger Roar is powerful, compared to the enigmatic Empress Wu Xin of the Magic Cult, it's just like a mouse seeing a cat. They usually covet the spiritual mines in Youzhou, but they dare not openly go to grab them. They can only take advantage of this opportunity when our large army is southward."
"That damned guy, did he succeed in the end?"
"Of course not. I heard that the Empress Wu Xin of the Magic Cult didn't intervene. It was a swordsman in green robes who took action. In half a day, he returned with the head of the master of the Hall of Tiger Roar, hanging it on the city wall of the capital for three days. Since then, no one in the western part of Youzhou has dared to cause trouble."
...
At a corner table in Liushi Zhai, Chen Mo, with a giant sword on his waist, listened quietly to everything around him. When he heard about the green-robed swordsman who had slain the master of the Hall of Tiger Roar within half a day, his pupils constricted suddenly.
"It's Zhang Long? I didn't expect him to act so swiftly. It seems keeping him in the capital was the right decision."
Chen Mo lightly picked up a cup of wine on the table and drank it all at once. Earlier in Yuan City, he had wondered why the Zhao family had run away so quickly. After hearing this story, he now understood why.
No doubt, Zhao family had also heard of this news and feared that they might become the next master of the Hall of Tiger Roar.
Chen Mo poured wine into the cup, his fingers lightly rubbing the cup's body. A spiritual stone was placed on the table, and after calling out softly to the waiter, he saw a pageboy with a white towel over his shoulder running over with a smile, "Sir, what can I do for you?"
"Can I ask you a question?"
Chen Mo lightly tapped his fingertips on the table three times, causing the pageboy's smile to fade and his posture to straighten as he looked up, "Please follow me to the second floor."
Chen Mo rose from his seat and followed the pageboy.
This time Chen Mo traveled north to Wu Country alone, while Jiang Dongli stayed in Beijiang to defend the city walls and prevent the Alliance of Slicing Moon from attacking again.
It's convenient to act alone, but without the assistance of teammates, it's almost impossible to make progress.
Fortunately, Liushi Zhai is a prestigious inn in Ji'an City, which on the surface is a luxurious establishment, but behind the scenes, it serves as a powerful intelligence network. Although it does not compare to the widespread web that spans across nine states, no one in Ji'an City or even Wu Country can match their expertise.
In a corner by the window on the second floor, after the pageboy respectfully seated Chen Mo, he instructed, "Sir, please wait here for a moment."
Chen Mo nodded slightly and looked out the window. This was the window of Liushi Zhai's main entrance. From here, he could see the bustling streets outside.
A familiar figure suddenly appeared in Chen Mo's line of sight.
In a white robe, with a handsome and dashing face, he walked down the street holding a folding fan, acting in a flippant manner. Behind him, a group of admirers, almost in a frenzy, wanted to swarm around him to get some advantage from him. However, they were prevented from doing so by his attendants.
"Song Xiu ..."
Chen Mo immediately recognized the flippant character. Wasn't he Song Xiu, the sixth prince of Wu Country, whom he had cheated earlier?
"Guest."
Suddenly, a gentle female voice interrupted Chen Mo's thoughts. He couldn't help but turn his head and saw a woman in front of him, wearing a water-blue long dress.
Her long black hair was half tied up and half hanging down. She had a pair of jade pendant earrings on her head, her bright eyes twinkling. Her delicate face had a look of endearing sisterliness.
As soon as she sat down, she gave Chen Mo a sweet smile, revealing two adorable dimples.
"Are you the official?"
Chen Mo frowned slightly, gave a brief glance at the girl in front of him, and then asked.
"Answering Official" is a profession at Liushi Zhai.
As Liushi Zhai is the largest intelligence organization in Wu Country, it naturally has people who collect intelligence and those who sell it. The people responsible for answering the questions of those who come to collect intelligence here are called "Answering Official."
The girl with dimples smiled sweetly, "Yes, sir. I am Qiu Ruomeng, the official in charge of welcoming you. Sir, if you have any questions, I will certainly answer them all. However, the cost is a question and a spiritual stone."
Liushi Zhai's intelligence gathering is priced clearly; generally, a question costs one spiritual stone. However, for special intelligence that requires sending someone to investigate, there will be an additional charge.
During this northern journey, Chen Mo obtained a large number of spiritual stones from the mine, which were sufficient for him to use in Wu Country.
A spiritual stone was lightly pushed forward, and Chen Mo smiled, "Alright, I'll be straightforward. Today is the swearing-in day of the Alliance of Slicing Moon, right?"
"Yes."
"Yes," said Chu Ruomeng with a smile, before Chen Mo could react, a hand reached out and grabbed the spiritual stone on the table.
Chen Mo was stunned for a moment, blinking his eyes and pulling at his lips, "I haven't even asked yet!"
Chu Ruomeng stuffed the spiritual stone into her space ring and casually opened her hand, "Since you didn't ask clearly, I've already answered."
"Alright then, you win this time."
Chen Mo took a deep breath, suppressing his anger. He knew it was the other party's territory, and it wasn't appropriate to get angry. Moreover, he still needed Liushi Zhai's help in the future. Since he had asked for help, he could only take the hit this time and consider it a loss. There would be plenty of opportunities to get his revenge later on.
"What kind of people have come to the Alliance of Slicing Moon's assembly this time?"
Chen Mo took out another spiritual stone and placed it on the table. Unlike before, he firmly pressed one hand on the stone.
Chu Ruomeng's eyes sparkled as she stared at the spiritual stone, but soon, she composed herself and looked up at Chen Mo, "The Emperor of Wu Country, Song Ji; and the first martial artist in Wu Country, Song Tianxia. From Tianyuan Sect came the sect master Lu Guang and the senior elder Lu Yong. The Zhao family is that family patriarch Zhao Kongs Cheng and his younger brother Zhao Kongs Ming."
"Besides these, are there no others, such as their families?"
Chu Ruomeng was about to take the spiritual stone in Chen Mo's hand, but saw that he firmly pressed his right hand on it, not giving her the slightest inch.
"That's the next question, you'll have to pay more."
Chu Ruomeng frowned unhappily.
"But that's not the case"
Chen Mo smiled and shook his head, looking very serious, "I asked what kind of people came to the Alliance of Slicing Moon's assembly, not just the important figures. That is to say, their families are also included. Even if you left out one person, it doesn't mean you've answered my question. And this spiritual stone naturally cannot be yours..."
