Main Text Volume Three Chapter One Hundred and Fifty-Eight The Coastal City

Having made up his mind, Yu Mu wasted no time. Acting promptly, he quietly left Dragon Fall City that very night along with the Dragon Maiden.

To prevent the Jiang family from tracking their movements, Shi Zhen had devised a winding and circuitous route for them. Along this path, there were several places where the Shi family had no business presence, meaning that even if Jiang Zhu attempted to trace their steps, he would be thrown into considerable difficulty.

The Dragon Maiden, whom Yu Mu had been most worried about along the way, performed far beyond his expectations. Throughout the journey, she turned into an obedient young lady. Not only did she fail to display any of her violent tendencies, but she also cooperated fully with Yu Mu's assumed identity.

The Dragon-man race was indeed a sentient and intelligent species; the Dragon Maiden had simply lacked spiritual enlightenment, which was why she previously behaved like a wild beast. Consequently, throughout the journey, Yu Mu devotedly provided her with a foundational education.

However, as they drew closer to the ocean, the Dragon Maiden's emotions began to fluctuate. Fortunately, it remained within controllable limits, and they managed to avoid any real disaster.

A dozen days later, the two finally arrived at the Coastal City.

The Coastal City was not only the maritime gateway connecting to the Sage Continent, but also the sole maritime route. Thus, in a sense, its scale was by no means inferior to Dragon Fall City.

Merely the coastal docks and wharves stretched for dozens of miles. Countless vessels of every description swarmed like crucian carp crossing a river, an endless vista that defied the eye.

The spot where Yu Mu and his companion appeared was a teleportation array located not far from the coast. This was a secret stronghold established by the Shi family within the city; its modest scale made it largely unobtrusive.

Rather than contacting the people of the Shi family, Yu Mu mingled among the travelers and walked right out, heading straight for the docks.

As soon as the Dragon Maiden approached the wharf, she began to grow restless. With no other choice, Yu Mu channeled a portion of his Rejuvenation Spiritual Qi into her, which finally helped her calm down.

Perhaps due to their elemental affinities, Yu Mu's Rejuvenation Spiritual Qi had a very special effect on the Dragon Maiden, much like when they had first met. It was precisely this Rejuvenation Spiritual Qi that had caused the Dragon Maiden to develop a sense of identification with him.

Throughout the journey, it was also this Rejuvenation Spiritual Qi that enabled her to behave herself and avoid causing trouble.

Guided by passersby, the two arrived at a long-distance shipping center.

This place was a bustling gathering hub for all passenger and commercial shipping bound for the Sage Continent. After comparing various options, Yu Mu selected a shipping merchant whose vessel was set to depart in ten days, and purchased two tickets.

The two retraced their steps and returned to the teleportation array. A Shi family disciple, seeing them return shortly after leaving, approached them with curiosity and asked, "Did the two of you leave something behind?"

Looking around to ensure no one else was near, Yu Mu produced a token and said, "I wish to see the person in charge here."

The token looked utterly ordinary, crafted from wood with the single character "Shi" carved upon its surface, and nothing more. The disciple took the token and channeled spiritual qi into it, whereupon he was instantly startled.

Stimulated by the Shi family's unique spiritual qi, the token emitted a red radiance from within, which morphed into the character "Zhen".

"You... you are from the main..."

Before the disciple could finish, Yu Mu interrupted, "This is no place for idle talk. Take me to see the Hall Master quickly."

"Yes, yes, yes! My lord, please follow me."

Following the disciple, the two arrived at a seafood restaurant. In the back kitchen, Yu Mu met the branch hall master of this place. This individual was a gigantic fat man who, at that moment, was waving knives and ladles around as he personally cooked behind the stove.

Before the three of them could even speak upon entering, the heavy-set man flew into a rage and shouted, "The kitchen is a restricted area, unauthorized personnel are forbidden to enter! Do you not know that? Get the hell out of here right now!"

Fierce as the fat man was, the disciple remained completely unconcerned. Instead, he walked closer and said, "Hall Master Mu, these people are hardly unauthorized personnel. Look here—" With that, he produced the token and waved it briefly.

Upon catching sight of the red radiance, the fat man paused slightly, then reined in his anger. Still displeased, he muttered, "Fine then, I suppose I can't stay mad. But take them to the back hall to wait for a moment; I'll be right there as soon as this dish comes off the stove."

Lowering his voice, the disciple ventured, "Uhm... Hall Master Mu, these people are from the main sect—ouch!"

Before he could finish his sentence, Hall Master Mu flicked the back of his spatula and struck him a sharp blow on the head, scolding, "Not even matters of heaven-shaking importance can interfere with my culinary art! Get lost already!"

"Right, right, right! Your senior culinary skills are supreme." With a wry and bitter face, the disciple turned to Yu Mu.

Yu Mu smiled inwardly. Although this fat man appeared quick to anger, he was actually generous and tolerant by nature; otherwise, an ordinary disciple would never have been so casual with him.

Moreover, he possessed his own principles and was not snobbish like others.

The three of them went to the back hall. They did not have to wait long before the fat man walked in. Taking off his large chef's hat, he revealed himself to be completely bald. He picked up a towel to wipe away his sweat and asked, "Did the two fellow Daoists come from the main sect?"

"Indeed."

"Ah... What brings you to see me?"

Yu Mu explained the purpose of their visit. Hearing this, the fat man laughed and said, "Is that all? Good! I'll take a trip to the branch office right now. The two of you wait here."

Without even changing his clothes, the fat man strode off in long, hurried strides.

In less time than it took to eat a meal, he returned accompanied by a middle-aged woman.

As soon as she crossed the threshold, he announced, "This is Branch Master Shi Xiang, the elder sister you're looking for. Elder Sister, these two fellow Daoists are envoys from the main sect. Discuss whatever matters you have amongst yourselves; I'm going back to cook."

With that, he swaggered away. Shi Xiang shook her head, laughed ruefully, and said, "That damn fatty has no manners at all. Please don't take offense, fellow Daoists!"

She invited the two of them to be seated. Once they were settled and had exchanged pleasantries, Yu Mu recounted the business that had brought them here.

When Shi Xiang heard the details, she asked with some astonishment, "Since you've already arrived here, naturally everything should be handled by my Shi family. Why on earth did you go and book a ship yourself? If the Eldest Brother hears of this, he'll think I neglected our guests."

Yu Mu smiled faintly and replied, "The more people involved, the easier it is to expose our tracks. Operating under the guise of an ordinary traveler makes it much harder to draw unwanted attention."

Shi Xiang nodded in agreement. "Mm, that is true. You mentioned that the ship you booked departs in ten days?"

"Yes. To be honest, I wasn't certain whether booking it for that time was too early or too late."

"Oh?" Shi Xiang asked doubtfully, "Why is that?"

Yu Mu explained, "I was worried that if I booked too early, our pursuers might catch up with us. But if I booked too late, I was afraid my friend wouldn't make it in time for departure."

Shi Xiang laughed heartily. Retrieving a stack of talismans from her bosom, she drew out one inscribed with the number "ten" and said, "Rest assured, Eldest Brother is far-sighted and meticulous; how could he possibly make such an oversight?"

Seeing that some of these talismans bore numbers while others bore various words, Yu Mu asked in shock, "Could it be that these talismans are capable of transmitting written messages?"

Shi Xiang smiled and replied, 'Of course, though it is limited to simple matters and requires prior awareness. Take your situation, for example: if a talisman inscribed with the three characters 'kill Yu Mu' is triggered, that command is transmitted over. However, if there was no prior knowledge of your situation whatsoever, how could such a command possibly be executed?

Expressing a completely unforeseen matter clearly requires a vast amount of text. The creation of mother-and-child talismans is no simple task, and forging every single Chinese character—err, every single word—is a massive undertaking.

Furthermore, crafting talismans is an expensive endeavor, so even if they could be made, no one would be extravagant enough to use them on such a massive scale. Therefore, this method of communication is only suitable for simple expressions."

Yu Mu immediately understood the function of these mother-and-child talismans. They were equivalent to the communication radio waves of his past life, restricted only by the difficulty of production and exorbitant costs, which prevented them from seeing widespread use.

After finishing her explanation, Shi Xiang channeled spiritual energy into the talisman in her hand. The runes upon it flashed briefly before turning into fine dust.

In a certain room within the Shi family residence in Dragon Fall City, a man sat upright inside, occasionally glancing at the various talismans plastered all over the walls. Suddenly, one of the talismans flashed with light and lost its spiritual resonance.

The man snatched up the talisman, which had now degraded into ordinary paper, and bolted out the door.

"Report to my lord! A message has arrived from Coastal City."

"Ah, come in," Shi Zhen said calmly from inside his study as he sipped his tea.

"Yes," the man replied, entering and respectfully presenting the talisman to Shi Zhen with both hands.

Shi Zhen took it, glanced at it, and waved his hand. "Very well, I know. You may withdraw!"

"Yes."

After the messenger departed, Shi Zhen walked up to a section of the wall and pressed his hand against it, subtly channeling his spiritual power. With a series of creaking sounds from grinding steel, a concealed doorway opened in the wall.

This iron door was over a foot thick and clearly forged from no ordinary metallic material. Beyond the door, a staircase led straight down into the underground.

Descending the stairs, Shi Zhen entered a chamber. Though situated underground, the room was furnished with great comfort. Inside, Shi Xiong was supervising Xiaomin's cultivation, while An Shu sat nearby in quiet meditation.