"What are you looking at? Are you that serious? Have you seen a ghost?" Zhang Dabiao waved his hand in front of my eyes, pulling my thoughts back.
"I'm not looking at anything, I think I saw an acquaintance?"
"An acquaintance? Are you hallucinating? You've only been in this line of work for a few months, how can you have so many acquaintances? Besides, this is the South, not the North. Don't get any funny ideas just because a girl is pretty, be careful I tell Chen Yun when we get back." I smiled slightly at Zhang Dabiao's teasing and put away my doubts.
The private room was large, at least a hundred square meters. In the center was a huge square table, with people sitting at each corner. Many new faces, men, women, old, and young, had also appeared behind them.
When Zhang Dabiao and I entered, we didn't attract anyone's attention. Hu Sixi and the people opposite him were arguing fiercely. Hu Sixi's face was as black as the bottom of a pot, and he was sitting on a chair sulking.
Based on the seating arrangement, it was clear there were several factions. Wang Defa, with his subordinates, sat together, his expression still a smile that revealed nothing of what he was thinking.
To Wang Defa's right sat Hu Sixi and behind him were Hu Yuan and many of the Hu family's subordinates. His already dark face was now almost purple, clearly very angry.
Sitting opposite them was an acquaintance – Fang Niubizi. However, this time he wasn't as arrogant as he was at Li Zuoquan's house. He stood behind an old Taoist, also dressed in a Bagua Dragon Tiger robe, appearing quite respectful. It was clear this was from the Longhu Mountain lineage.
Next to Longhu Mountain, the group looked somewhat disorganized. There were people dressed as Taoists, some looked like students, and there was even a child. Their attire was varied, led by an old Taoist, about seventy or eighty years old, dressed in a dirty robe whose original color was indistinguishable.
At this moment, the old Taoist was snoring in his chair, completely ignoring their argument. I was incredibly impressed by his sleep quality. He slept soundly amidst the heated argument, a snot bubble hanging from his nose, expanding and contracting with his breath, which was quite comical.
Before I could ask who he was, Zhang Dabiao, fearing I would embarrass myself again, quickly whispered in my ear that he was an elder of Maoshan, and few people knew his name. However, he liked to be called "Sleeping Taoist" because he loved sleeping the most, regardless of the occasion, time, or place.
Listening to Zhang Dabiao's explanation, I nodded inwardly. This Taoist name truly suited him. I just wondered if he would still be able to sleep when he learned that the Half-Yin Realm wasn't so easy to find.
As soon as this thought crossed my mind, I felt my body tense. Vaguely, I thought I saw the Sleeping Taoist's tightly closed eyes open slightly. When I looked closer, he was still sitting in his chair, snoring, and the bubble by his nose had even burst.
Sitting next to the Sleeping Taoist was a beautiful woman in her thirties, dressed in striking ethnic clothing, making her look like she was twenty-seven or twenty-eight. Seeing me look at her, she smiled, her face slightly flushed, and lowered her head. Su Dan Novel Network.
"Damn it, why is she involved?" Zhang Dabiao exclaimed, startled like a rabbit.
"Who is she? Why do you seem so afraid of her? Did you leave something behind with her..." Seeing Zhang Dabiao so nervous for the first time, I couldn't help but tease him.
Before I could finish, Zhang Dabiao's large hand covered my mouth, muffling the rest of my words. I struggled to pry his hand away and looked at him with dissatisfaction, asking if he was trying to murder me.
"Little brother, I just saved your life! I beg you, if you don't know someone or something, please ask around, okay? You dare to flirt with the Witch Girl of Miao territory, do you want to die? But you have to consider your big brother!"
"Witch Girl?" My eyes widened. Looking at the beautiful woman who seemed like a friendly older sister, if Zhang Dabiao hadn't reminded me, I would never have connected her to being the current Witch Girl.
Witchcraft was not easy to deal with. The last time I encountered Sui Wan'er, I was driven to distraction by her witchcraft. If it weren't for the help of Senior Black Robe, I would have suffered a great loss.
Just as I looked at her, she also looked up. Our eyes met in mid-air. Her eyes seemed gentle, but there was a hint of coldness, making me feel like I was being stared at by a leopard hidden in the dark. The feeling came and went quickly, as if it were all an illusion.
"There's no room for negotiation. The Tiger Kui Seal is in my hands, and the Hu family must get the lion's share, otherwise, we won't look for the Half-Yin Realm." Hu Sixi's furious roar instantly drew our attention.
"You say we look for it, and then you say we don't? Do you think this is your Hu family's territory in the North? If you want the lion's share, you need the ability." The old Taoist from Longhu Mountain glared, showing no fear of Hu Sixi, and said coldly.
"Since you say so, then I, Hu, will have to ask for your guidance..."
"Are you afraid of me?"
Seeing that the two sides were about to fight, the Sleeping Taoist suddenly opened his eyes, yawned widely, and looked at the Taoists of Longhu Mountain, then at Hu Sixi.
"You two, who are almost two hundred years old combined, why are you still so hot-tempered? You haven't even found the place yet, and you're already fighting amongst yourselves. Aren't you afraid of being laughed at by the younger generation?"
The old Taoist from Longhu Mountain spoke first, "Sleeping Old One, you were resting just now and didn't hear what he said. He said we were just tagging along and taking advantage, and that it would be good enough to have a place in the Half-Yin Realm, and the rest has nothing to do with us. Isn't that a joke? It's like bandits breaking into our house and搶ing our territory, and then calling us rude. Shameless to the extreme..."
"Sleeping Old One, don't listen to his nonsense. This old Taoist has bad intentions. I didn't say that..."
The Sleeping Taoist interrupted Hu Sixi's explanation and said, "We don't even know where the Half-Yin Realm is, and you're already arguing. How will we proceed? Besides, how can the size of the territory be divided? Is it up to you to decide?"
The Sleeping Taoist's words startled both of them. They had just been thinking about how to gain benefits for their sects, and they had forgotten about the key figure, Wang Defa. He represented the largest faction – the Beijing lineage.
Seeing that the fire was about to spread to him, Wang Defa, who had been watching the show, had to speak up, "Everyone here is a senior. I'm just a runner, ensuring the safety of supplies. I'm not convenient to comment on other matters."
Listening to Wang Defa, it seemed like he hadn't said anything, but in reality, he had spoken more ruthlessly than anyone. What did "ensuring the safety of supplies" mean? To put it bluntly, it meant that each sect had to obey obediently to survive.
Otherwise, their logistical support would be cut off, meaning the end of their sects. Such a threat completely silenced Longhu Mountain and Hu Sixi. Only the Sleeping Taoist, with half-closed eyes, seemed to be falling asleep again.
"If the logistics can be guaranteed, that's great! May I ask, Group Leader Wang, if you can support our village with some food? We're almost out of supplies and can't afford to eat." The Witch Girl looked at Wang Defa with a look of "admiration" and asked. Others might fear the big figures in Beijing, but the Witch Girl wasn't afraid. They had lived in the deep mountains and forests for generations, and only recently entered the public eye. To threaten her, let alone a task force leader like Wang Defa, even the big figures in Beijing wouldn't make her flinch.
The deep mountains were already full of poisonous insects, and coupled with their witchcraft, even if all the Yin practitioners attacked, they might not gain much advantage. Unless they used weapons of mass destruction to annihilate their clan, it was best to dismiss the idea.
"This... this is easy to say. I'll arrange for people to provide supplies for you right away." Wang Defa kept his word and quickly arranged for his subordinates to send supplies to the Witch Girl's tribe, completely losing his previous calm demeanor.
Seeing Wang Defa back down, the Witch Girl stopped pressing the issue and changed the topic, asking, "You mentioned six factions earlier, but only five are present. What about the sixth one? Didn't they come, or..."
"Zhang Danian's disciple, a bit foolish, probably outside looking at pretty girls!" After saying that, his gaze met mine. His expression changed slightly, and he quickly corrected himself, "Let me introduce everyone, this is Zhang Danian's last disciple, the Yin Guashi, Song Qingyun."
Suddenly, I became the focus of the entire room. All eyes turned to me, but most of them held disbelief, while some let out insincere smiles, expressing doubt.
"..."