Chapter 68: Hair Gel Hand

On the way back to the courtyard, Zou Feng appeared exceptionally "exhausted."

From Wang Xingjian’s perspective, this wasn’t strange.

He was still recovering from severe injuries, yet he had to attend a gang meeting in a wheelchair.

It was only natural that his condition would worsen after such an ordeal.

"Worthy brother, get some proper rest. You don’t need to worry about exterminating the remnants of the Ten Directions Sect."

When they arrived at the courtyard, Wang Xingjian had no intention of going inside.

He also needed to make some preparations for the mountain search that evening.

"Brother Wang, you must be careful during the mountain search. That reward... when you really think about it, it’s not worth dying for..."

Wang Xingjian chuckled dismissively. "Of course. To be honest, I have no interest in fighting those Ten Directions Sect remnants to the death."

"But this chaos is the perfect opportunity for me and the Hall Master to take care of something we haven’t been able to finish..."

At this point, Wang Xingjian fell silent and waved for Zou Feng to go back to his room.

Hearing this, Zou Feng immediately recalled how Wang Xingjian had been waiting at the night market, desperate to hire a Poison Cultivator.

Zou Feng had previously thought it was to deal with Qian Kun, but now that Qian Kun was dead, ’What were the two of them plotting?’

’But that has nothing to do with me for now. Right now, I should focus on my plan to bait the hook and advance to the Eighth Grade as soon as possible.’

After entering his room, Zou Feng ate something casually, then could "no longer hold on."

He ordered the Guards not to disturb him and went to bed early, before the sky had even darkened.

However, after "sleeping" for less than half an hour, Zou Feng shot up, quickly changed into a porter’s outfit, and put on a gray, sleeveless linen shirt.

Then, he styled his hair like an adult’s.

Having practiced the Karmic Fire Red Lotus Palm, Zou Feng’s palms had gained the extra function of "hair-perming."

With a light grasp of his Red Lotus Palm, he could comb his hair up, set it in place, and even give it a slight curl.

It was even more convenient than someone’s "Hair Gel Hand."

With his hairstyle done, he smeared some soot from the bottom of a pot—which he had prepared earlier—on his face, completely concealing his pale complexion.

Finally, he started Cultivating, making his muscles bulge and his body shape change along with them.

He didn’t need any complex Disguise Technique or Bone Shrinking Technique; a simple disguise was enough.

’The key to a disguise is not getting caught. Once you fall into the enemy’s hands, any disguise is useless.’

Grinning at the muscular, stain-faced "porter" in the bronze mirror, Zou Feng vanished from the room the next moment.

The only thing left behind was the faint sound of a window closing.

The sky was gradually darkening. It was the time of day when porters left the city center and rushed back to the shantytowns.

Zou Feng easily blended in with them, arriving near the shantytowns without any trouble.

When no one was looking, he turned onto the road leading to the Black Flood Dragon Gang’s storehouse.

During the meeting that day, Zou Feng had heard clearly that the mountain search would begin late at night.

Therefore, Ma Pingchuan was most likely still in the storehouse area.

’If I’m not mistaken, that guy will probably look for an opportunity to contact his liaison with the Ten Directions Sect beforehand.’

’Or he might just meet with the Ten Directions Sect remnants directly.’

’Of course, my prediction could be wrong. Ma Pingchuan might not dare to have any more dealings with the Ten Directions Sect.’

’But that doesn’t matter. If it comes to that, I still have my backup plan of scavenging on Qifeng Mountain.’

Unexpectedly, after crouching in the bushes for only a short while, Zou Feng saw Ma Pingchuan swagger out of the storehouse gate and head toward Qifeng Mountain.

On the surface, it looked like he was going over early to wait for the mountain search to begin.

However, Ma Pingchuan didn’t have any of his men with him, which was clearly out of character.

’Having lost Qian Kun and with his new backer not yet stable, Ma Pingchuan has indeed chosen to take a desperate risk.’

’He’s going for a high-risk, high-reward play!’

Zou Feng tailed him from a great distance. With Ma Pingchuan’s level of skill, it was nearly impossible for him to be discovered.

Before long, Zou Feng knew he had been right to follow him.

Although he was heading toward Qifeng Mountain, this was clearly not the rendezvous point the Black Flood Dragon Gang had agreed upon.

Ma Pingchuan finally arrived at a farmer’s house at the foot of Qifeng Mountain.

Watching Ma Pingchuan cautiously enter, Zou Feng was of course not foolish enough to go eavesdrop at the wall.

’Who knows how many experts and strange talents are among the Ten Directions Sect remnants? There’s no need to take that risk.’

’My original target was only Ma Pingchuan. Getting intel on the Ten Directions Sect remnants is just a bonus.’

So, Zou Feng kept just far enough away to barely see the house, leaping up into a large, leafy tree to wait quietly.

After only the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Ma Pingchuan reappeared, a look of clear excitement on his face.

’It seems the benefits the Ten Directions Sect gave him were quite substantial.’

’Well... Ma Pingchuan is just a delivery boy now!’

’It’s all mine!’

Having sold the information and received huge benefits, Ma Pingchuan was so happy he was practically floating.

He was incredibly impressed with himself. After Qian Kun’s death, he had been in a dead-end situation, but in such a short time, he had managed to turn it all around.

And now, with these benefits, he didn’t need to care about the position of warehouse manager at all.

’But dealing with the Ten Directions Sect is like asking a tiger for its skin. I have to know when to quit while I’m ahead.’

’So next, should I sell this information on the Ten Directions Sect to the Celestial Essence Sword Sect without exposing myself?’

’Or maybe I shouldn’t make it so complicated. I could just leak it to the Sixth Young Master. That would count as a great service, and the rewards would still be handsome!’

"You’ve got some nerve, Ma Pingchuan, colluding with the remnants of the Ten Directions Sect!"

Ma Pingchuan was fantasizing about his bright future when a low rebuke suddenly sounded beside him.

The voice wasn’t loud, but it was enough to scare Ma Pingchuan witless, making his legs go weak.

"A mis... a misunderstanding! Your Excellency, let me explain!"

In his state of utter panic, Ma Pingchuan nearly lost all ability to think clearly, left with only the instinct to make excuses.

But just as he turned, a crimson palm struck him heavily in the chest.

"PWAA—"

Staggering back more than ten steps from the blow, Ma Pingchuan barely managed to regain his footing.

He forced himself to look up, trying to see who had ambushed him.

But it was too dark, and his attacker’s face was clearly smeared with something black. All he could see were a pair of eyes and a set of bright white teeth in a mocking grin.

"You... you..."

’This guy’s a dead man anyway,’ Zou Feng thought, so he switched back to his original voice. "Ma Incense Master, have a safe trip!"

"Zou Feng!?"

Ma Pingchuan’s hair stood on end, and he roared with uncontrollable rage, "I’ll fight you to the death!!"

He abruptly started Cultivating, madly lifted a boulder, and hurled it at Zou Feng, looking as if he would take them both down together.

But as soon as he threw the rock, Ma Pingchuan greased his soles and—WHOOSH—slid away in the other direction.

Glancing back to see Zou Feng seemingly unable to react in time, Ma Pingchuan felt a surge of relief. "Good thing my Body Skill is my greatest strength... huh?"

"Poison!?"

"WAAAGH—"

A mouthful of black blood spewed out. Then, Ma Pingchuan watched in horror as a bloody hole suddenly burst open in his chest.

"Son of a bitch, this isn’t the Karmic Fire Red Lotus Palm!"

As this final thought flashed through his mind, Ma Pingchuan’s consciousness completely faded, and he pitched forward.