Chapter 346

True Lord White Crane stretched widely, looking utterly satisfied, like a gourmand who had just devoured three incredibly fresh oysters in one go.

Only he could enjoy such a treat; Generals Augment and Diminish were not so fortunate. If he weren't afraid to act mischievously in front of that person, White Crane truly would have borrowed those three sets of cards, summoned Augment and Diminish, and made them watch him eat. That would surely have made the experience even better.

With the spiritual problems resolved, it was time to deal with the physical remains. After all, as righteous individuals, their bodies were too pristine, which wasn't to Rùnsheng's liking.

After True Lord White Crane retired to rest, the vertical pupil vanished. Lin Shuyou, following Tan Wenbin's instructions, moved the three corpses to a nearby garbage dump. A small concrete block, estimated to be less than three cubic meters in volume, seemed to serve as a marker. Large amounts of trash had already covered and extended around it, forming a small mountain.

Although Yin Meng was gone, the corpse-dissolving liquid she had concocted was still effective. This was one of the few recipes Yin Meng had managed to stabilize.

"Sizzle... sizzle... sizzle..."

The corpses, their clothes, and even a circle of nearby trash were completely dissolved, sending rats and cockroaches scurrying away. Lin Shuyou found a plastic stick and stirred it around, erasing the humanoid imprints left by the three bodies on the ground. After that, Lin Shuyou fetched a broom and a bucket to clean up the mess made by the 'Three Eyes' who had been thoroughly beaten.

Meanwhile, Rùnsheng went to a nearby construction site, loaded construction waste onto a cart, and began to backfill the pit he had made on the road. Lu Xuan was dead, and Little Yuan had left, so there was no one to maintain the miasma here. Worried that a car might accidentally drive into the uneven pit in the early morning, Tan Wenbin deliberately set up a basic formation around it. Drivers approaching would see a row of courtyard walls in the Jiangnan villa style appear on one side of the road. Although it would look very strange, Tan Wenbin was currently only capable of following instructions, unable to modify the internal structure of the formation.

Zhao Yi walked past Rùnsheng, watching him dump a cartload of waste into the pit. Even after filling it three times, the pit still appeared very deep. This meant that when Rùnsheng had slammed that shovel towards him earlier, he hadn't held back at all. Sigh, that guy named Li didn't even say anything to him. Of course, if he were in Li's shoes, Zhao Yi wouldn't have said anything either.

Walking through the quiet alley, the rolling shutters of the small massage parlors on both sides were down. Most of the sign lights were off; those still lit were either forgotten or had bad connections. Looking up, Zhao Yi saw the young man's figure on the roof of Yaoji Inn. Just as he was about to climb straight up the wall, he saw the young man make a gesture for him to drink tea. Zhao Yi put his hands in his pockets and walked up the stairs. When he appeared on the rooftop, he was carrying a thermos in his left hand and two teacups plus a bag of tea leaves in his right.

"This tea is good. The scent is familiar. This inn must be run by the Liu family."

The tea leaves were "self-sourced" from under Yao Nianen's counter. When Zhao Yi was in Nantong, the tea the Liu family's old lady drank had this exact flavor.

"It's been separated for decades; it's not anymore."

"Deliberately emphasizing that," Zhao Yi smiled. "So you asked them for a favor."

"Mm."

Zhao Yi brewed two cups of tea, handed one to the young man, and took the other for himself.

Li Zhuiyuan: "Aren't you going back yet?"

Zhao Yi: "It's fine. Lu Xuan came out with me secretly. Besides, I've already made arrangements there. Going back too early would only arouse suspicion."

Li Zhuiyuan: "Did you have fun there?"

"Of course, I had a great time."

As Zhao Yi spoke, he rolled up his sleeve to reveal his arm. He tilted his head slightly, and the skin on his arm turned black, then slowly peeled and floated upwards. The black skin didn't completely detach; there were still flesh and blood connections in the middle. But the next moment, with a sharp "slish" sound, the black skin flipped over, revealing its inner surface. It was covered with various marks, not from abuse, but colorful symbols used for sensing, observing, detecting, and other purposes. One of them was even Lu Xuan's dharma pattern.

Zhao Yi: "Everyone who walks the river path, at this stage, naive innocence is rare. Especially those guys, even if they just dogmatically follow the experiences passed down by their ancestors, they are not easy to deal with."

Li Zhuiyuan: "Flipping your jiao-dragon hide outwards to suppress these sensory marks – your ingenuity is truly remarkable."

Most who study sorcery spend their time in contemplation and deduction, but Zhao Yi spends most of his time peeling off his own skin.

Zhao Yi: "I finally got a piece of jiao-dragon hide. Wouldn't it be a waste not to study it thoroughly?"

Li Zhuiyuan: "Mm."

Zhao Yi: "Want to hear about the situation over there?"

"Go on."

"First, everyone is hiding something."

"I can tell."

Normal opponents should have died swiftly when Li Zhuiyuan created the first opportunity. Yet, Lu Xuan and his group managed to hold on for another round despite being completely on the defensive. If Li Zhuiyuan hadn't applied additional pressure in time, the situation tonight would likely have been overturned. While the Four Mystic Gates sect members possess abundant methods, they have inherent weaknesses. Others will be even harder to deal with. Their subordinates will be more loyal, and their own strength will be sharper. In extreme cases, a berserk martial artist is much harder to deal with than a frenzied formation master.

"Some hide only one layer, others two. It's not impossible that some hide even more."

Zhao Yi meant that any detectable hidden aspects were likely deliberate disguises.

"Second, their understanding of the river's currents is generally quite deep. Of course, they can't compare to you; at most, they're at the level of observing hydrology, while you're a hydraulic engineer."

"Is there a third?"

"Third, they have an unspoken understanding with their families and sects in this 'wave'. This is what you need to pay attention to: their family elders will definitely leave some traces when attacking the Yu family. They won't intentionally help their own river walkers — that would invite karmic backlash. But... they can certainly overexert themselves."

"As expected."

"My family has no one left. Even if there were, they wouldn't be qualified to participate in this hunt targeting the Dragon King's legacy. I still think your old lady should have sent someone over, even if just to observe."

"Not sending anyone is the right decision."

"Do you have new clues?"

"No."

"Then just now..."

"Sixth sense."

"You actually believe in that?"

"Occasionally, exceptions can be made."

"Then I choose to trust your sixth sense. When it's time to truly enter the Yu family, whoever's elder leaves traces first, I'll deliberately keep my distance from them and not get involved."

By this point in their conversation, the tea had cooled to a perfect drinking temperature. Zhao Yi leaned back against the iron railing.

"That Chen family girl, I somehow feel she's a bit... unusual."

"In the same situation yesterday, if it were anyone else, I wouldn't have had time to save them, even if I wanted to. You find her unusual because she's injured now. Once she recovers and her strength returns, that feeling will fade."

"Haha, when injured, she seems a bit foolish; when powerful, she's genuinely free-spirited."

Li Zhuiyuan didn't deny it, because that was the truth. A fully recovered Chen Xiyuan, if she stood before him, truly had the ability to immobilize him, touch his face, and call him "little brother."

Zhao Yi: "Do I have a bad impression on her?"

Li Zhuiyuan: "Not very good."

Zhao Yi: "Sigh, can it be remedied?"

Li Zhuiyuan: "After she recovers, find an opportunity to explain to her in person."

Zhao Yi: "Once she recovers, I wouldn't dare stand in front of her."

Li Zhuiyuan looked up at the faint glow appearing on the horizon in the distance, signaling a new morning.

Zhao Yi: "It's getting late. I should head back. See you next time we cast the net."

"No need to see me off."

"You're too kind."

Zhao Yi leaned forward