Ch. 1777 - Putting On An Act

Hearing the man’s words, Xu Zimo smiled slightly.

Then he asked, “Tell me, then. What forces are present in this Ancient Town?”

“There are three forces in total that you must not offend,” the man explained.

“First is the Four Seas Merchant Guild. They don’t just operate in Ancient Town. Throughout the entire Greenlands, they are the largest merchant guild.”

“Second is the Beast Howl Tower, a force established by the beastfolk. Although on the surface, humans and beasts are at odds in Greenlands, no one truly dares to become an enemy of the beast race. After all, the beast race is also one of the major races.”

Xu Zimo smiled faintly. It seemed the beast race was developing quite well.

However, the Myriad Beast Realm led by Chaos had not yet revealed itself.

What Xu Zimo feared was that the Myriad Beast Realm might emerge too early and disrupt the balance of the God World.

Even with Chaos secretly supporting them, the beastfolk had already developed impressively.

“So those are the Beast Howl Tower and the Four Seas Merchant Guild. What’s the third one?” Xu Zimo asked.

“The third is Dark Star Tower, an assassin organization,” the man said, fear flashing across his face.

“That organization operates without a sound. Ordinary people can’t even find them. I’m not exaggerating. Dark Star Tower is active around Ancient Town. You’d better be careful.”

After saying this, the man left. Paimon explained, “Dark Star Tower should be something created by the Ancient Relicfolk. They can’t appear openly, so they use an assassin organization to get things done.”

“Interesting,” Xu Zimo said, narrowing his eyes.

“What does my lord plan to do? Visit them in secret, or capture everyone and interrogate them directly?” Paimon asked.

“Given our current disguises, it’s obviously inconvenient to show ourselves openly,” Xu Zimo replied.

“Besides, directly questioning the Ancient Relicfolk is useless in a situation like this. They would never admit it, even if beaten to death.”

“Then what do we do?” Paimon asked.

“We infiltrate the Ancient Relicfolk and find their Saint Sovereign ancestor. We can use soul-searching to extract some answers.”

Soul-searching could only be used on those with weak cultivation. For true powerhouses with strong souls, they would rather self-destruct than allow their souls to be searched.

Xu Zimo’s meaning was clear. Better to kill by mistake than let anything slip through.

In a matter like this, he had no better option for the time being, and there was no time to delay.

Walking through the main hall, Xu Zimo’s gaze swept across every person present.

What race they belonged to was impossible to hide from him.

The disguises of the Ancient Relicfolk could only fool beings below the level of a Grand Emperor.

Once one reached the Grand Emperor realm, illusions could be seen through easily.

Sure enough, among the stallholders lining the street, a small portion were members of the Ancient Relicfolk.

There was a faint power of heaven and earth about them, as if their race itself was highly compatible with the Heavenly Dao.

He signalled Paimon with his eyes.

Paimon separated from him.

…

Du Xiaozhuang was an utterly ordinary person in Ancient Town.

His identity as a member of the Ancient Relicfolk had always been well hidden.

It was said that the Ancient Relicfolk could calculate heaven and earth, making them an extremely dangerous race.

To avoid being targeted, the Ancient Relicfolk had always lived under assumed names.

Not just him, but his entire clan lived in Ancient Town under false identities.

On this day, a burly red-haired man slowly walked over and stopped in front of his tea stall.

Du Xiaozhuang hurried forward to greet him. “What kind of tea would you like, sir?”

The red-haired man sat down casually and shouted, “Bring me the best tea you have.”

Hearing this, Du Xiaozhuang’s eyes lit up. This was clearly a wealthy customer.

Business had arrived.

He quickly smiled and said, “Sir, our best tea is Ancient Tea. It’s our specialty. You must try it.”

Du Xiaozhuang began brewing the tea, and before long, it was ready.

The red-haired man drank the tea while seemingly observing his surroundings.

Suddenly, he let out a loud shout. “There’s poison in the tea!”

With a bang, he smashed the teacup in his hand, stood up, and glared angrily at Du Xiaozhuang.

“What are you trying to do? How dare you attempt to murder me?”

Du Xiaozhuang’s face changed drastically. He shouted in panic, “I didn’t do it. I really didn’t. I’m just a tea seller. Why would I harm you?”

“Speak. Are you trying to kill me for my money?” the red-haired man roared.

His voice was loud, quickly drawing everyone’s attention.

People began pointing and whispering.

At this moment, a small group approached from not far away.

They were all dressed in green robes, with the words Four Seas emblazoned on their chests.

“It’s the Four Seas Merchant Guild,” someone said.

“The market of Ancient Town is organized by the Four Seas Merchant Guild. If anyone dares cause trouble, they’ll handle it.”

People discussed among themselves.

Soon, the group in green robes stepped forward.

One of them grabbed the red-haired man by the collar and snarled, “You dare cause trouble here? Do you know where you are?”

“Whether the tea is poisoned or not, you can check it yourselves. I’m a customer. Is it wrong to speak up?” the red-haired man replied calmly.

He flicked his arm, and the green-robed man holding him was sent flying.

Everyone’s hearts tightened.

This red-haired man was clearly no ordinary figure.

He picked up the teapot and poured out all the remaining tea.

The liquid was green and even showed signs of corrosion.

Poison or not was obvious at a glance.

Du Xiaozhuang collapsed onto the ground, completely stunned.

He kept repeating, “It wasn’t me. I didn’t poison it. I’m innocent.”

Chaos broke out all around.

At this moment, Xu Zimo stepped out from the crowd.

“The poison was added by you. You’re trying to frame someone else.”

He patted Du Xiaozhuang on the shoulder and smiled. “This has nothing to do with you. There’s no need to be afraid.”

Du Xiaozhuang looked at Xu Zimo in confusion.

“What did you say?” the red-haired man glared at Xu Zimo fiercely.

“Kid, don’t stick your nose where it doesn’t belong.”

“I said the poison was added by you. You’re trying to scam him,” Xu Zimo replied.

The red-haired man seemed both angry and embarrassed.

He punched Xu Zimo, knocking him to the ground, then strode away.

The red-haired man was strong, and for a moment, no one dared to stop him.

“Are you all right?” Du Xiaozhuang hurried to help Xu Zimo up.

Seeing Xu Zimo coughing up blood, Du Xiaozhuang felt deeply guilty.

“I’m sorry. This all happened because of me.”

“Upholding justice is the duty of cultivators like us. There’s no need to feel that way,” Xu Zimo shook his head.

He struggled to stand, clearly grievously injured.

“Don’t push yourself. Come to my place and rest while you heal,” Du Xiaozhuang said urgently, pulling at him.

“Oh. I wouldn’t dare impose,” Xu Zimo waved his hand.

But Du Xiaozhuang insisted, dragging him along. “You’re my lifesaver. If it weren’t for you today, who knows how long that man would have kept causing trouble.”

Under his insistence, Xu Zimo finally followed him away, “reluctantly.”

The red-haired man was Paimon. At this moment, he had already switched to another disguise and was following behind them.

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