Lin Qingchen, Qin Feng, and Lin Tianming were still in the Pi manor. If Li Mo were to disappear, then the three of them would surely be implicated, so Li Mo had to return as quickly as possible.

“Li Mo, I’d like you to meet several people before you leave,” Yun Ruoyan replied.

Given her serious tone, Li Mo agreed and headed to the inn with Yun Ruoyan.

“Madam Hong, A Fei, Sister Qing,” Yun Ruoyan began. “This is my husband, Li Mo.”

When Yun Ruoyan said the word ‘husband’, Xiao Qing and A Fei both seemed shocked. Even Madam Hong, whose face was always an unreadable mask, glanced twice more at Li Mo.

“Li Mo, they saved my life twice over,” Yun Ruoyan explained. “Their families were destroyed by the Pi family, and they too seek revenge. You told me that you were working with the Feng family to go against the Pis together. In that case, do you think you could bring this troupe into your plans?”

Madam Hong’s eyes widened. “The women of our troupe will stop at nothing to exact revenge on the Pi family,” she stated firmly. “We might not be much in terms of cultivation, but we’ve travelled all across the Mingyuan continent these last few years, and are familiar with each of the seven great families. If the Feng family is willing to take us in, I believe our knowledge will be invaluable.”

Xiao Qing and A Fei were equally agitated: they had once thought that they would never be able to avenge their families, but an opportunity had just arisen!

“I’ll recommend you to the Feng family,” Li Mo agreed.

After the introductions, Yun Ruoyan sent Li Mo off. It was then that he told Yun Ruoyan about Lin Tianming, who was naturally shocked and excited that her uncle had been found alive. She couldn’t wait to visit her long-lost uncle with Lin Qingxue.

“The reason I waited until now to tell you is because I’m worried you would request to see your uncle,” Li Mo sighed.

“Won’t you bring us along? We’ll be careful, I promise!”

“No!” Li Mo rejected. “Not only is the Pi manor under heavy guard, your face is plastered all over the Pi city! Don’t you dare try something as dangerous as saving Zhuo Yifeng and Lin Qingxue on your own again! It’ll be best if we can bring him out of the manor,” Li Mo continued. “Our living conditions are too poor for a quick recovery, so it’d be best if we can bring him out as soon as possible.”

The two were deep in thought when Qiuqiu chirped, “Isn’t this an easy task?”

“Qiuqiu, you have an idea?” Yun Ruoyan immediately asked.

“Naturally!”

That night, the richly dressed man returned to visit Li Mo, and he told him about the courtesan troupe he had met that morning. Coincidentally, the man was also here to talk with Li Mo about the troupe. He had discovered their existence while investigating Yun Ruoyan’s whereabouts, and he suspected that Yun Ruoyan was with the troupe. He had been just about to inform Li Mo of them when Li Mo brought it up first.

“Allies against the Pi family? No wonder! The Feng family is happy to accept all those who oppose the Pis, of course, but I have to discuss this with the head first.”

After the man left, Li Mo closed his eyes and began to meditate. The black spiritual energy in Yun Ruoyan’s body was domineering and combative. While engaged in dual cultivation, her black energy and his white energy had temporarily clashed with each other, and Li Mo had suffered a little backlash as a result. However, the backlash was temporary and not particularly strong, so he could easily restore himself after a little meditation.

The next morning, Li Mo brought the ointment that the man had given him to Lin Qingchen, which she had requested to save Mo’er. When Mo’er had returned to Li Mo drenched in blood, he had thought it dead. However, Lin Qingchen somehow managed to pull the lucky bird from death’s door.

The ointment that the man had brought him was surprisingly effective, and Mo’er recovered quickly. In three days’ time, it was again able to fly for short stretches, and after another few days, it was as good as new.

Li Mo wanted Mo’er to send a message to Yun Ruoyan, but it had been so scared by the cloud-swallowing glutton that it refused to fly out of the Pi manor

—

all the way until Pi Batian returned to the manor with his cloud-swallowing glutton. 

The message that Li Mo had Mo’er sent was one written by Lin Tianming. Perhaps because he was so weak, he wrote in an extremely unsteady hand. The content of the message was simple, steeped with care and love. As Yun Ruoyan and Lin Qingxue read the message, they could almost visualize Lin Tianming’s haggard appearance through the words in front of them.

“Sister Ruoyan, we have to save Uncle!”

“Don’t worry.” Yun Ruoyan patted Lin Qingxue’s hand. “We’ll rescue Uncle from the prison soon.”

Yun Ruoyan had requested several herbs in her return message to Li Mo. The evening Li Mo received the message, the richly dressed man paid him a visit again.

“Good timing

—

I have a favor to ask,” Li Mo began.

“Brother Li, please, ask away. We’re on the same boat, after all. My name’s Feng Yicheng, so please feel free to refer to me by name.”

“In that case, Brother Feng, how many of the herbs on this list can you acquire?” Li Mo passed him Yun Ruoyan’s list.

Feng Yicheng scanned the list, then folded it up and tucked it inside his robe. “Some of the herbs on the list are rather uncommon, but the Feng family has more than enough clout to acquire them all. Don’t worry, Brother Feng.”

“Good.” Li Mo relaxed: no matter how troublesome it would be, he had to acquire those herbs for Yun Ruoyan, so having them all taken care of was a big relief.

“Brother Li, I’m here today to talk about the courtesan troupe you brought up. The family head has agreed to take in the troupe, and he already has an important plan for them. I’m to be sent to train the troupe starting tomorrow, so I was hoping you could inform them that I’ll be coming beforehand.”

Li Mo nodded, then had Mo’er send another message to Yun Ruoyan, mentioning that the Feng family would take care of her request and that Feng Yicheng would be heading her way. Three days later, Feng Yicheng had secured the ingredients and travelled to the inn.

After he handed her the herbs, Yun Ruoyan immediately began concocting a pill. Whether or not they would be able to rescue Lin Tianming successfully would rest on her success.

Feng Yicheng was a handsome man, carefree and outgoing, so he was particularly well-liked by the courtesans. The goal of his visit was, under the orders of the Feng family head, to turn the troupe of courtesans into an information organization that could easily get into any of the seven great families.

Feng Yicheng quickly discovered that the women were all exceptionally talented spies, and he hadn’t needed to teach them very much. He suspected that they had received prior training; their previous instructor was Madam Hong.

“Miss Hong.” Feng Yicheng bowed when she walked in during a practice session. After learning about her and her accomplishments, Feng Yicheng had been rather taken by the woman.

“No need for the courtesy, Young Master Feng.” Madam Hong’s gaze landed on the gathered women. “I heard Ruoyan mention that you would be the manager of our troupe.”

“No, no

—

that would be far too heavy a responsibility. I’m more like a liaison between the Feng family head and you, Madam Hong, responsible for assigning tasks from the Feng family.” Given his attire, Feng Yicheng looked like a noble young master, but his words were more like those of a seasoned housekeeper. Madam Hong found the incongruity more than a little surprising.

“May I ask you a question?”

“Please, Miss Hong.”

“I asked Ruoyan about you when I heard that you were coming. Allegedly, you’re a cultivator from a lower realm, just like she is, but how did you manage to obtain such a high-ranking position in the Feng family so quickly?”

Actually, Madam Hong’s question was one mirrored by Yun Ruoyan and even Li Mo. However, everyone had their own secrets, and neither Yun Ruoyan nor Li Mo wanted to pry too much into Feng Yicheng’s background.

“That’s because I was originally a member of the Feng family.” Feng Yicheng didn’t seem intent on hiding this information. “The first head of the Feng family was a cultivator who came from a lower realm and founded a place for himself on the Mingyuan continent. In the lower realm from which I came, every ten years, our family would send a talented cultivator into the Mingyuan continent to aid the Feng family. My uncle, the head housekeeper of the Feng family, Feng Bo, arrived on the Mingyuan continent ten years ago, followed by me. In the future, there’ll be even more scions of the Feng family arriving on the Mingyuan continent and strengthening our family further.”

“Is that so? I hadn’t imagined that a family would be able to straddle both a lower realm and the Mingyuan continent,” Madam Hong replied.

“Every head of the Feng family is wise and far-seeing, and we couldn’t have elevated the Feng family to its current status without them,” Feng Yicheng replied, his chest puffing with pride.

“And when you become strong, do you intend on becoming like the Pi family?” she suddenly asked.

“No, definitely not. The Feng family has never turned to violence, on this or any lower realm. We hope to minimize unnecessary slaughter and to promote stability for all.”

“If you speak the truth, then I, Fu Xiaohong, am willing to offer my life in pursuit of this goal,” Madam Hong replied resolutely.

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