“My big brother has been missing for nearly two days. My uncle reported it to the External Affairs Hall and the Punishment Hall, but there’s still no news. Brother Wang, if you know anything—anything at all—please tell me. The Niu family will reward you heavily.”

The speaker bore a striking resemblance to Niu Yong, carrying that same ruffian swagger.

However, the emotion seemed genuine; his eyes were rimmed with red as he spoke, betraying deep affection for his missing sibling.

“Brother Niu is a fortunate man; fate will surely favor him,” Wang Ba offered a generic comfort.

In truth, Wang Ba hadn’t seen Niu Yong in two days.

That wasn’t entirely unusual. Niu Yong didn’t come every single day; sometimes he’d skip a day or two between collections.

He was the ‘Dung Tyrant,’ after all. This was his turf. No one else dared to poach his chicken manure business.

But Wang Ba didn’t buy this man’s story.

It was too coincidental.

Yesterday, the Ascension Society began their high-intensity surveillance. Today, a lookalike shows up claiming Niu Yong is missing and conveniently taking over his route?

It reeked of a setup.

First, it cut off Wang Ba’s potential communication channel with the outside world. Second, it was likely a loyalty test. If Wang Ba tried to pass a message or report anything to this “brother,” and he turned out to be an Ascension Society plant…

Regardless of the truth, Wang Ba treated it as a trap.

He offered a few noncommittal remarks, effectively stonewalling the man. Eventually, Niu Yong’s brother drove the dung cart away.

Watching the man’s slumped shoulders and desolate expression as he left, Wang Ba felt a flicker of doubt. Maybe he really was Niu Yong’s brother.

“But how does a living, breathing person just vanish into thin air?”

” The Sect is huge, sure. But Niu Yong isn’t a reckless fool. He’s street-smart, worldly-wise, and knows how to navigate the social hierarchy of the Sect better than anyone. He wouldn’t be stupid enough to offend a disciple…”

“Unless…”

Yu Changchun’s painfully ordinary face flashed in Wang Ba’s mind.

The Ascension Society.

Considering his own predicament, was it possible Niu Yong had also been targeted?

It was more than possible. It was likely.

Wang Ba watched the cart disappear down the mountain path. He hesitated for a split second, considering calling the man back to warn him. Then, he extinguished the thought.

He was under active surveillance. With the terrifying perception of a Qi Refining cultivator watching his every move, he would likely be silenced before the warning even left his lips.

Wang Ba wasn’t a villain, but he wasn’t a saint willing to sacrifice his life for a stranger.

He quickly finished feeding the Rare Fowl and sweeping the coop. Then, he scooped some rice and retreated into his hut to cook.

He would rather choke on woodsmoke indoors than waste precious Yin Spirit power maintaining a disguise outside.

In just the past day, dealing with the Foundation Establishment cultivator’s scan and the constant gaze of the Ascension Society manager had cost him three full drops of Yin Spirit power.

That represented over a dozen Spirit Poultry eaten and nearly a month of hard Visualization.

Wang Ba grit his teeth, hatred for the Ascension Society burning in his gut.

Ideally, he would crush the jade pendant Zhao Feng gave him. It would summon Zhao Feng, forcing a confrontation.

Once a fight broke out, the Ascension Society would be exposed to the light of day. Their shadows and secrets would evaporate.

But after playing out the scenario in his head, he abandoned it.

No one knew how deep the rot went. If he exposed them, he would become the epicenter of the conflict.

Being in a difficult situation was one thing; having a target painted on his back was another. There would be plenty of people who wanted him dead to silence him.

Even if he managed to slip away in the chaos, his own secrets were a liability. If a Foundation Establishment cultivator scrutinized him for too long, his Yin Spirit power would run dry, and his disguise would fail. He would have nowhere to hide.

Moreover, if a low-level Outer Sect disciple like Zhao Feng and a mortal like Shopkeeper Lu noticed something was wrong, surely the Sect’s higher-ups weren’t blind.

The leadership might be planning their own counter-move. If Wang Ba triggered the conflict prematurely, he might ruin their plans and end up crushed by both sides.

In short, his best bet was to endure. Wait for the recruitment drive in South Lake Village to stabilize, find a gap, and flee the vortex of the Eastern Sage Sect.

There was no point in creating extra problems and putting in effort for no reward.

“Strange. Why hasn’t Old Hou arrived yet? I’m waiting for him to play his part.”

Wang Ba sipped his thin porridge, glancing out the window.

Usually, Old Hou would have been here by now.

In the mountain hollow outside Manor Ding Eighty-Seven.

Yu Changchun sat with eyes slightly narrowed, lips parted, rhythmically inhaling and exhaling Spiritual Qi.

Suddenly, the ring of triangular flags around him trembled.

“Hm?”

Yu Changchun snapped his eyes open. His gaze darted like lightning to a specific flag.

A water mirror shimmered into existence, revealing a figure standing outside the formation.

The visitor’s face was obscured by a blur, but his body was unmistakably corpulent, draped in the robes of an Outer Sect manager.

“Li Zhi? What does that ‘Smiling Tiger’ want with me?”

Yu Changchun muttered in confusion. He formed a hand seal, causing a small flag to flutter. The air around the formation rippled like disturbed water.

A moment later, the corpulent figure stepped through the ripples.

“Why aren’t you out scouting for suitable seeds? What are you doing here? Aren’t you afraid the Chief Manager will punish you?”

Yu Changchun didn’t bother with pleasantries.

The visitor didn’t take offense. Even though his facial features were a bizarre blur, the aura of a smile was palpable.

“You’re certainly comfortable hiding out here. You have no idea that the outside world is already turned upside down.”

“Turned upside down?”

Yu Changchun paused, his expression shifting to alarm. “Have we been discovered?”

“Heh. Almost.”

The smile on Li Zhi’s blurred face seemed to widen.

Yu Changchun felt a crawl of revulsion looking at that eerie, featureless grin.

“Cut the crap. Tell me what happened.”

Li Zhi maintained his amiable, slow-tempo delivery.

“The day before yesterday, Liu Changfeng used the Buried Bone Secret Technique to bait a Laborer Disciple. He moved too fast, didn’t check the background properly. Turns out, the kid was the nephew of an Outer Sect disciple. The moment he got the manual, he sprinted straight for the Punishment Hall. Fortunately, our insider at the Punishment Hall intercepted him halfway…”

“That incompetent fool! I always said Liu Changfeng was a liability! He nearly got us all killed! When this is over, I’m sending him to the ‘Snake Bone Cave’ to suffer ten thousand snake bites! It’s the only way to vent my hatred!”

Yu Changchun exploded into curses.

Li Zhi’s smile didn’t waver.

“Heh. No need. He’s already dead.”

Yu Changchun’s tirade choked off in his throat. He stared blankly at Li Zhi.

“D-Dead?”

Disbelief washed over him.

“Liu Changfeng… he was at the Ninth Layer of Qi Refining… He was the direct grandson of that person…”

Li Zhi’s blurred smile radiated a terrifying warmth. “Dead. The Chief Manager handled it personally yesterday.”

A deep, bone-chilling cold settled in Yu Changchun’s chest.

After a long silence, he rasped, “Then… yesterday, when the Chief Manager descended into the puppet, why didn’t he say anything?”

Before Li Zhi could answer, the realization hit Yu Changchun.

“I see. He sent you here specifically to tell me. Kill the chicken to scare the monkey…”

“You’re wrong.”

Li Zhi shook his head gently.

“Hm?”

Yu Changchun frowned. Had he misunderstood?

“It’s ‘kill the monkey to scare the chicken’.”

Li Zhi’s voice was soft, his blurred face beaming with benevolence.

Yu Changchun’s face went rigid.

“Heh. Just a joke.”

Li Zhi laughed it off breezily, then pivoted. “By the way, speaking of ‘chickens’… how are you handling that little fellow I introduced to you? The one good at raising them?”