"That's Windsource Village," Zhao Yunxiao exclaimed as he watched the village come into view.
"That makes village number six," Gu Qiansi brought her horse to a halt beside him. "You said that this one hasn't had any incidents in a while?"
"That's right," Zhao Yunxiao confirmed. "It's been more than two years."
"Which means that if our conjecture is correct, then they are at high risk right now," Gu Qiansi continued.
"Exactly," Zhao Yunxiao nodded.
The reason why Gu Qiansi referred to this as 'village number six' was because the group had been visiting the neighbouring villages over the past few days, with Windsource village being their sixth destination.
And their efforts had not been in vain.
After speaking to the people in the previous five villages, the group had uncovered yet another piece of the puzzle – a common denominator that had not been included in the case reports to Moonrise City.
Apparently, all of the affected villages had been repeatedly visited by a trader who usually stayed there for a few days before leaving. A trader whom everyone referred to as 'Sir Fu'.
This would not have been a point of particular concern had it involved most other locations. However, these villages were neither wealthy nor geographically located on any major trade routes. This meant that there was little reason for any trader to visit repeatedly.
Unless there was another reason for these visits.
Of course, that alone was not conclusive of anything, and the trader also sounded very friendly and well-liked by the villagers.
That was especially so since the trader had always given great prices to the villagers, to the point where his profit margins would have to border on being abysmal.
But how could that possibly be sustainable?
Because of that, this trader quickly became a point of focus for the group's investigations.
Be it his demeanour, his goods, his prices, his manner of speech... they made sure to note down everything there was to remember about him.
And this near obsession on the trader's traits was just about to bear fruit.
"Young Mistress, look!" Lu Zhiying tugged at Gu Qiansi's sleeves excitedly.
Gu Qiansi: "..."
As speechless as she was, Gu Qiansi still turned to look where Lu Zhiying was pointing.
Not far from the village entrance, a young man stood beside a horse wagon while conversing casually with several villagers. The man donned a long animal skin coat with a heavy hood that had been pulled back to reveal his handsome countenance, and was all smiles as he chatted with the others.
The horse wagon.
The heavy cloak.
The handsome and youthful looks.
The amiable personality.
All of that fitted the exact description of the trader that they had been hearing so much about. There was no doubt about it – this was the man whom they were looking for!
"Yeah, it appears that we are in luck," Zhao Yunxiao smirked.
"Shall I stay put and take aim from here?" Nie Hanchang whispered.
"There's no need for that just yet. Be on the alert, but don't act rashly," Zhao Yunxiao replied under his breath before guiding his horse forward.
Under his lead, the group slowly approached the village entrance, inevitably drawing the attention of the young man and the villagers surrounding him.
"More visitors? What a surprise!" an old villager exclaimed upon seeing the group ride into the village. "Welcome to Windsource Village, young friends!"
The old man looked to be in his seventies. He was bald and relatively skinny, with a large mole on his nose. That said, the wooden cane that he was using as a walking stick looked way too exquisite for him to be just another villager.
"Greetings," Zhao Yunxiao dismounted before clasping his fist towards the villagers and the young man. "We are merchants from afar, having come here to look for new business opportunities. You have our apologies in advance for any inconvenience caused by our stay."
"Business opportunities? This is a curious place to be looking," the young man raised an eyebrow. "Is there anything specific that you are searching for? And where are you from?"
"Oh, are you in charge here?" Zhao Yunxiao revealed a business-like smile. "May I know how to address you?"
"Hahaha, Sir Fu is not a member of the village, but he speaks my thoughts this time," the old man laughed. "I am the village chief, Meng Qin. May I know where you came from, and if there is a specific kind of business that you are looking for?"
There it was – Sir Fu – the same name that they had been hearing so much about in the past few days.
"Ah, so it is Village Chief Meng! It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance!" Zhao Yunxiao clasped his fist towards Village Chief Meng Qin once more. "In fact, I had a good guess on your identity simply from the aura that you are exuding, but I just didn't want to speak presumptuously. Back at Hangyuan Town where we are from, hardly anyone possesses such dignified demeanour!"
"Hahaha! This young friend sure knows how to talk!" Village Chief Meng Qin laughed. "You praise me too much!"
"Hangyuan Town?" Sir Fu narrowed his eyes. "What sort of business opportunities could you be seeking that brought you all the way here?"
"Food sources," Zhao Yunxiao answered without hesitation. "I'm not sure how familiar you are with our hometown, but it is not exactly a place that is suitable for food cultivation. While we have been able to get by all this time, my young mistress is searching for a stable food source that can eliminate the town's reliance on hunting. By doing so, we are seeking to completely disrupt the existing food industry within the town!"
The rest of the group were not surprised by Zhao Yunxiao's comments as they nonchalantly dismounted from their horses behind him. After all, this was the same persona that they had given themselves when visiting the other villages as well.
And by his 'young mistress', there was no doubt who he was referring to. There was only one person among them who was dressed well enough to befit such a status.
Of course, Zhao Yunxiao had not sought Gu Qiansi's consent prior to coming up with this backstory.
"Is that so?" Sir Fu rubbed his chin in understanding. "That does sound like a good idea, but the execution part doesn't sound too plausible."
"Sir Fu here is a trader as well, so he would know a thing or two," Village Chief Meng Qin explained.
"Oh? In that case, we can't possibly reveal more details to a potential competitor!" Zhao Yunxiao narrowed his eyes at Sir Fu.
"Hah, don't worry. I won't be stealing your idea," Sir Fu assured.
"It's better to be safe than sorry. It is a harsh world out there," Zhao Yunxiao shrugged. "What about you, Sir Fu? What are you trading in specifically?"
"Hah, I am just a small-time trader who doesn't have any specialties. Instead of a trader, perhaps you can even call me an errand runner," Sir Fu chuckled bitterly.
"Sir Fu is being way too humble. How can you be considered a mere errand runner?" Village Chief Meng Qin hurriedly chimed in. "The supplies that you brought and your help in selling our produce... I cannot fully emphasise just how much help that is to us!"
"It looks like Sir Fu is also wary of us as competitors. Completely understandable," Zhao Yunxiao smirked.
"Haha, that is putting things too seriously. I am truly just running a small business," Sir Fu shook his head helplessly. "That said, I'm sure Village Chief Meng would welcome the company here. Would you be staying for long?"
"Probably just a few days, but who knows? We might stay longer if my young mistress sees a need to," Zhao Yunxiao gestured discreetly towards Gu Qiansi behind him.
"I understand. But do avoid pressuring the village into any unfair deals," Sir Fu cautioned with a cold smile. "If I ever learn that you have done so, you can be certain that I'd step in."
"And you still claim that you aren't seeing us as competitors?" Zhao Yunxiao scoffed. "I'm sure that considering how Village Chief Meng is wise enough to lead an entire village, he wouldn't need to be babysitted by, pardon me, an outsider with regards to the decisions relating to the village, would he?"
Sparks of tension could almost be seen in the air as Zhao Yunxiao and Sir Fu stared each other down.
"Haha, you two are making things sound too serious," Village Chief Meng Qin laughed awkwardly to ease the tension. "Don't worry, Sir Fu. This young man is right as well – I might be old, but I still know what I am doing. If there are any business opportunities that benefit the village, I'd definitely welcome them. Otherwise, I won't be foolish enough to accept anything that could harm the village."
In fact, he was forced to say this as well.
After all, there were other villagers present. As the village chief, he definitely had to emphasise his autonomy when accused of being led by the nose by Sir Fu – someone who was not even from the village.
And that was exactly what Zhao Yunxiao had intended.
All that talk about autonomy in terms of business opportunities was just a farce. His main intention was to reinforce in the village chief's mind, as well as that of the villagers listening, the thought that Sir Fu was ultimately still an outsider.
Drawing such a clear distinction would make it much easier when they eventually sought more information about the latter.
"...Village Chief Meng is right. Pardon me if I have crossed the line," Sir Fu admitted, albeit reluctantly so.
"Haha, Sir Fu is being too serious. I'm just reassuring you that I have it covered," Village Chief Meng Qin laughed.
"Ahem! Apologies if I have been too straightforward as well. I tend to get carried away when it comes to business," Zhao Yunxiao cleared his throat awkwardly. "In fact, if Sir Fu has any business ideas in mind, we are happy to discuss any potential collaboration as well."
"Don't worry, I understand," Sir Fu smiled bitterly. "As for business ideas... as I said, I am just a small trader. So, how can I have any such thoughts in mind? All right, it is not getting any earlier, so I'd have to get going. The last thing I want is to end up staying the night out in the wilds."
"When will we see you again?" Village Chief Meng Qin asked.
"We'll see, but it probably would not be so soon. I still have to cover a few places before returning, but I'll make sure to return as soon as I can," Sir Fu answered. "Farewell, Village Chief Meng."
"Farewell. See you soon!"
From the way they bade farewell to Sir Fu, it was clear that both Village Chief Meng Qin and the rest of the villagers had a great impression of him.
"Farewell, Sir Fu," Zhao Yunxiao clasped his fists towards Sir Fu.
The latter casually returned the gesture before boarding his horse wagon and driving off into the distance.
"Well then, why don't we arrange a place to stay for our new friends here for a start?" Village Chief Meng Qin looked at one of the younger villagers. "Old Axe's place should do fine."
"Understood, Village Chief!" the young lady nodded before turning to Gu Qiansi. "Please follow me, Young Lady."
"...Thank you."
The group thanked Village Chief Meng Qin before following the young lady to their temporary lodging.
It was a large wooden house with five separate bedrooms, making it much larger than most of the other houses around. Judging from the furnishing, it was clearly somebody's house instead of a designated lodging for travellers.
However, there was also a layer of dust covering the furniture within, indicating that the house had not seen any occupants for a while now. In fact, the door had not even been locked, so the young lady who brought them here had simply pushed open the door to enter.
"This place might be a little dusty, but it is also one of the largest places we have. I hope you don't mind," the young lady said. "And don't worry about locking the door. None of the villagers will enter while you are out."
"It's fine. We are used to cleaning up for our young mistress," Zhao Yunxiao patted his chest assuringly.
Gu Qiansi: "..."
"Haha, that's good to hear," the young lady laughed. "In that case, I shall leave you to yourselves for now. My name is Ah Yan – if there is anything you need, please feel free to let me know."
"We would have to trouble you during our stay then," Zhao Yunxiao nodded with a smile.
"Thank you for your help, Ah Yan!" Lu Zhiying chimed in.
With Ah Yan's departure, the four of them were finally left alone for the first time since entering the village. And Lu Zhiying wasted no time before asking the question that had been on everyone's mind.
"So, we are just going to let that so-called Sir Fu leave like that? Didn't we agree that he is the key to the investigation?"
Zhao Yunxiao glanced at Lu Zhiying's confused expression, then at Gu Qiansi and Nie Hanchang who were also looking at him, waiting for an answer.
At that point, he could not help but let out a helpless sigh.
"That's Fu Liren," Zhao Yunxiao said solemnly. "One of the star inner disciples of the Flying Swords Hall!"
Be it Gu Qiansi, Nie Hanchang, or Lu Zhiying, all of them widened their eyes in shock as they heard Zhao Yunxiao's words.
Flying Swords Hall.
That was one of the main subordinate factions under the Black Tortoise Sect!