It turned out that when Zhang San sent him a message this morning, the old man in yellow had already guessed what Zhang San was up to. Seeing the expectant, excited look on Wang Xiaoer's face, the old man in yellow's eyes dimmed imperceptibly, although they quickly returned to normal.
The old man in yellow took out a letter and 150 taels of silver bills from his bosom and handed them to Wang Xiaoer with a smile, "It's all here. The relay station near your mother's hometown had some trouble recently, which is why it was late. Take it and have a look."
"So that was it. I was worried for several days!" Wang Xiaoer said with a laugh.
The old man in yellow patted Wang Xiaoer on his little head and jokingly scolded, "What's there to worry about? Your mother is so kind and amiable, and the neighbors all treat her extremely well! Stop worrying and go read the letter in the inner room. I still have things to discuss with your master."
"Alright!" Wang Xiaoer happily agreed.
...
"What exactly happened?" Zhang San's voice was very low and serious.
The old man in yellow's previous expression, although only abnormal for a fleeting moment, still did not escape Zhang San's eyes in the end.
The old man let out a sigh and beckoned Zhang San to a corner, whispering, "Her mother...died..."
Four words that made Zhang San's eyes go wide in disbelief.
The old man slowly explained, "Actually, her mother had been chronically ill for a long time. Her father also died in the jianghu. She was afraid Wang Xiaoer would be lonely and helpless, which is why she wanted to find a master for Wang Xiaoer to teach him some martial arts and skills to survive in this chaotic world. I found it hard to refuse because of this, so even though I knew it was July 3rd, your... I still brought Wang Xiaoer to you that day..."
Even though the old man in yellow had laid everything out clearly, Zhang San still couldn't believe it and asked, "Then...then where did this letter and money come from..."
Zhang San was a smart man. He already understood the cause of the matter before he even finished speaking.
The mother was probably afraid her death would impact her child, so she wrote the letter in advance.
Seeing that Zhang San understood, the old man in yellow calmly said, "The letter was written by her in advance. As for the money, actually her mother's money had already run out a month ago. The silver I gave for the last two months was from me. Don't worry, Little San... I won't ask for it back. I know you won't teach the child in vain, so this was originally money you deserved."
Zhang San looked at the old man in yellow as if seeing him again for the first time.
Looking at the silver bills in his hand, Zhang San actually felt they were a little heavy.
Can money also become difficult to accept?
What's wrong with me today?
Zhang San felt doubtful about himself.
Seeing that Zhang San remained silent, the old man in yellow thought to himself that this child Zhang San was not a bad person by nature after all.
Thinking this, the old man in yellow deliberately changed the topic and said, "Right, five days ago in the evening, didn't you come ask me a lot about recent events on the Baiyun Prefecture roads? There was another big incident today that I just received news of this morning."
Today?
There was news from the Baiyun Prefecture jianghu today as well?
But today was also the day that county magistrate went out...
Could it be...
A moment of astonishment and suspicion made Zhang San snap out of the matter with Wang Xiaoer's mother. He hurriedly asked the old man, "Grandpa Huang, what big incident? Tell me quickly!"
Now it was the old man in yellow's turn to be astonished, because ever since ten years ago, he had never seen Zhang San reveal a flustered look.
Still feeling astonished, the old man in yellow told Zhang San about a piece of news Black Cloud, the number one black society in Baiyun Prefecture, had received that morning...
...
"Wang Xiaoer!!"
Zhang San's urgent shout made Wang Xiaoer run out from the inner room without a second thought.
Zhang San anxiously said to Wang Xiaoer, "What you said was 'strange' was all right!"
But before Wang Xiaoer could ask further, Zhang San continued, "Go back by yourself today. I have to leave first!"
With those parting words, Zhang San demonstrated Heavenly Stairs qinggong without concealing it. His figure flickered and he disappeared from the small courtyard, leaving behind two extremely astonished people.
The old man in yellow was astonished that in the half year they hadn't met, Zhang San's qinggong had suddenly reached this level!
Wang Xiaoer, on the other hand, was astonished and suspicious about his master's first sentence - his master had said 'strange' was right, what did that mean?
"Grandpa Huang," Wang Xiaoer called the old man and asked, "What did you and my master talk about? Why was he in such a hurry to leave?"
The old man in yellow was also puzzled. He candidly said, "Nothing much, just that five days ago your master specifically came to ask me about matters in the jianghu, right? Seeing that he was concerned about it, I told him about our organization discovering Dark Building assassins appearing on the borders of Baiyun two days ago this morning."
Wang Xiaoer was also shocked. He hurriedly asked, "Two days ago? Grandpa Huang, did you say two days ago? And it was on the Baiyun Prefecture border?"
The old man in yellow grew more puzzled. Stunned, he replied, "Yes, two days ago... If they didn't stop to rest, with their speed, they might have already arrived nearby. Of course, it's also possible they changed directions and went to another county city instead..."
Wang Xiaoer immediately understood his master's reason for leaving.
The old man in yellow then said, "Did you and Little San run into some trouble?"
Wang Xiaoer looked at the old man but ultimately chose not to reveal Xiu Wangchou's matter. But because of this, Wang Xiaoer also started feeling anxious like Zhang San.
...
While continuously using qinggong to leap over rooftops towards the outskirts of the county city, Zhang San had not stopped thinking either.
At this moment, he finally understood what Wang Xiaoer meant by "strange"!
It really was strange!
On the night five days ago, after Zhang San confirmed from the old man in yellow that Poison Valley would not cause trouble for the time being and the Wang Residence did not have the capability to do anything to Xiu Wangchou, the only thing Zhang San and Wang Xiaoer still found strange was that the Baiyun Prefecture government had also not sent anyone to Xiaoyun County.
After all, it was a subordinate county. How could the prefectural government remain indifferent after a large number of officials had died in the county?
This was good thing of course, which made Zhang San and Wang Xiaoer smallly delighted. But the crux of the issue lay here...
"How could I not even have considered this?!" Zhang San scolded himself in his heart while leaping onto another rooftop.
If the Wang Residence, Poison Valley, and the prefectural government were not managing or temporarily unable to manage this matter anymore, then...
Why was that county magistrate not fleeing?
Could it be he did not know he was the next target?
Of course that was impossible. Xiu Wangchou's acts of revenge made it clear he was not taking revenge on an individual, but on a group, an organization. The one left for last would definitely also be his biggest target of revenge.
A person like that would naturally know Xiu Wangchou had a bone to pick with him.
Xiu Wangchou fought to the death with someone in broad daylight. Although he killed his opponent, he was heavily injured by Poison Valley's two top experts. This kind of incident happening in broad daylight was definitely something that county magistrate knew about. And since Xiu Wangchou's corpse was not found in the county city, that was proof that Xiu Wangchou, an upper-level expert at the Earth rank realm, was still alive.
So it was still that question - why was he not fleeing?
At first, Zhang San guessed it was because this county magistrate knew he had been marked for death by Xiu Wangchou while the black society [jianghu] and the prefectural government were not providing reinforcements. Therefore he did not dare make a move on his own.
But that surmise now appeared to be in error.
When was there a better opportunity to flee compared to when Xiu Wangchou was heavily injured?
Could it be he was waiting for Xiu Wangchou to recover from his injuries before attempting to flee?
Of course not. This county magistrate was actually waiting!
Waiting for his true, powerful reinforcements - Dark Building!
One had to admit, this county magistrate's courage was astonishing, because being watched night and day by an Earth rank upper-level expert like Xiu Wangchou was terror that would probably make anyone want to flee.
"If what I'm surmising is true, then that excursion he went on this morning was also fake. It was all a tactic to make Xiu Wangchou lower his guard!" Zhang San muttered to himself.
"The direction he traveled was north, but there are only flat plains and fields north of Xiaoyun County. Setting up an ambush there would be meaningless. To the south there are mountain ranges... It must be in the south!"
Having finally figured out the key details, Zhang San rushed toward the outskirts of the county city.