The Blood Raven flew northward.
A flock of crows scattered lazily behind it in sporadic formation.
Tang Wen intended to intercept General Zhao.
Then, he planned to leave the city and meet with him first.
To avoid any unnecessary misunderstandings.
One Blood Raven and hundreds of crows.
They could cover a range of a hundred miles.
There was no way they would miss General Zhao.
Thinking this, Tang Wen nodded slightly to himself and went to the Beast Taming Garden with ease of mind. He casually picked up half a dried flatbread and fed the carp in the Stone Fish Pond.
A doubt arose in his mind: How had that female Transcendent determined that the safe house was still secure?
Did she have informants here?
Unlikely.
He, Wu Hao, and the others had chosen this location after investigating the area and had relocated all nearby residents.
The walls of the Beast Taming Garden were high, and there were no buildings taller than it in the vicinity.
There was no possibility of being observed from above.
Then, was it a Mutated Beast?
That didn't seem right either.
Under Tang Wen's mental surveillance.
Both the sky and the ground were completely still.
Moreover, the Superior Exotic Beast, the Brown-tailed Crow, was monitoring the surroundings.
Tang Wen had long since familiarized himself with every household nearby.
Unless it was an Extraordinary Beast skilled in invisibility or capable of shielding itself from mental detection.
Otherwise, nothing could escape Tang Wen's mental senses or the Brown-tailed Crow's watch.
It was rather strange.
The crows had not spotted anyone entering or leaving the courtyard where the female Transcendent had last appeared.
One crow landed in the yard, pecked open the paper sealing a window, and peered inside.
It found that the room had clearly been uninhabited for a long time.
A thick layer of dust had settled.
Not a single footprint could be seen on the floor.
Yet that day, the crow had clearly witnessed the female Transcendent enter the house.
If she had gone in and then used Light Body Skill to ensure she left no traces.
That could only mean one thing.
This house was not her hideout.
Therefore, she had to continue covering her tracks.
Oddly enough, the room had only one door and two windows, all on the same side.
The other three walls were solid and intact, made of stone.
Neither the crows nor the Brown-tailed Crow had seen her leave the house.
In other words—
The female Transcendent had vanished after entering that room.
And that room.
Unless there was a secret tunnel, it was essentially a sealed chamber.
Tang Wen's eyes gleamed with excitement, but his heart remained wary.
If his deductions were correct.
That female Transcendent had likely already realized she was being watched.
And had probably narrowed the suspicion down to him.
This wasn't hard to infer.
Suppose she used this courtyard to disappear after each nightly excursion.
But for over a month, no one had been seen here.
Could she really have not acted for an entire month?
Highly unlikely.
Tang Wen preferred to believe she had discovered she'd been exposed.
A single visit to the Beast Taming Garden had given her away.
Near the Beast Taming Garden, the only one capable of detecting her was him—the Blackwater Gang's "Seventh Young Master."
Or rather, the Transcendent expert backing him.
It had a bit of that "dark forest" vibe to it.
He stood by the fish pond for a long while.
A subordinate nearby tactfully suggested:
"Young Master, we feed these fish every day. A few of them look plump enough to eat now. How about we grill some today?"
"Hmm, good. Hire a renowned chef to make a fish head tofu soup as well."
"I'll arrange it right away! The head chef from Delicacy House is off duty today. I'll bring him here."
Then, Tang Wen approached the Sand Wolf Den, took out medicinal herbs, and began compounding pills.
"Awooo~"
The Sand Wolf howled excitedly.
Who could understand its suffering?
Although there were many horse-type Mutated Beasts in the yard,
the Sand Wolf remained the top stud in the breeding business.
"Alright, here's something to nourish you."
Under the Sand Wolf's eager gaze, Tang Wen prepared thirty pounds of medicinal supplements for it in one go.
Once the pills were ready,
he fed it several on the spot.
The medicine was too potent, and its body reacted immediately.
The joy in the Sand Wolf's eyes faded, replaced by a dumbfounded look like that of a husky, staring at its master:
Wasn't this supposed to be a tonic?
Wouldn't this just drain me even more?
As one of the more intelligent Mid-level Exotic Beasts,
its expression perfectly conveyed its thoughts.
Tang Wen's face flushed with embarrassment. "Ah, my mistake. This medicine is very potent. What you're experiencing is just a side effect. Yes, it's perfectly normal."
Whimpering, the Sand Wolf retreated to its den, leaving only its rear end exposed.
Tang Wen played his trump card: "Next time, next month, I'll help you evolve."
With that, he turned to leave.
Suddenly, he sensed something and glanced toward the pond.
Everything seemed normal.
Was he just being paranoid?
Tang Wen wasn't convinced.
He approached and scrutinized every inch of the area.
No anomalies were found.
Maybe he really was overthinking it?
After a moment's hesitation, he quietly extended his psychic energy,
sweeping over the vicinity, including the underground safe house.
This technique of projecting psychic energy
was something he had developed after his recent seclusion, inspired by the principles of Darkness Ability projection.
According to the sect's records, this method could effectively detect underground enemies or Mutated Beasts,
even piercing through the invisibility of Dark Abilities.
After triple-checking and confirming no one was there,
Tang Wen finally relaxed.
Returning to the front courtyard, he joined the barbecue.
Dinner was lively.
Wu Hao and the others raised their glasses repeatedly, toasting Tang Wen.
Their current lifestyle was the envy of many.
As the Seventh Young Master's personal guards,
not only had their original resources and salaries doubled,
but the Beast Taming Garden's business was also thriving.
Double pay, extra income,
and no need for routine duties—
their lives couldn't be more blissful.
It was like having a dream job with a 10-to-4 schedule, guaranteed income, thirty-six paychecks a year, and all expenses covered!
As the moon climbed high,
a well-fed Tang Wen boarded his carriage, ready to return to the Seven Kill Hall.
Originally, he had planned to stay the night at home.
But since a female Transcendent might be watching this place,
why linger?
As the carriage rolled away,
in a shadowy corner beyond the raven's line of sight, the air rippled slightly.
Like a mirage,
a slender woman materialized.
She panted softly, massaging her temples.
Beads of sweat dripped from her forehead, dampening the ground.
Without making a sound, she murmured to herself:
"How peculiar. This Seventh Young Master Tang is actually a Transcendent."
"And yet, he has no other Transcendent guards around him."
After waiting silently for several minutes,
with no unusual activity,
the woman's surprise deepened. "This Seventh Young Master seems worth investigating further."
"Perhaps there'll be unexpected gains."
The sound of a bird's wings flapping reached her ears.
She swiftly pulled up her hood.
In an instant,
as if performing a magic trick,
she vanished.
The raven flew overhead, its gaze sweeping the area—nothing was there.
The clatter of hooves on cobblestones echoed.
Inside the carriage, Tang Wen held a crossbow, a Signal Arrow nocked and ready.
The journey was uneventful until he stepped into Seven Kill Hall, yet nothing happened.
Had he been overthinking it?
No.
Impossible.
His gaze grew solemn.
At night, the Blood Raven and a flock of crows flew over the wilderness, heading toward Four Seas Camp.
Meanwhile, outside the southern gate of Four Seas Camp, two black-robed figures on horseback paid the entrance fee.
Their attention was drawn to a notice board by the roadside.
[Major Event]
[Tang Wen of Mountain Chasing City's outer district has been appointed as the Seventh Young Master by the Blackwater Gang. Portrait as follows:]
Upon seeing the name, the two froze.
Then, upon seeing the portrait, they were utterly stunned.
(End of Chapter)