Chapter 24: The Treacherous White Cloud City

"Any news from the outside lately?" Su Tan chatted with Village Chief Chen during their meal.

Su Tan didn't particularly like eating with strangers. Village Chief Chen was one of the few in the village who could sit down, watch him eat, and casually chat with him.

Su Tan had no intention of going out and participating in various struggles, but that didn't mean he turned a deaf ear to everything. He made a habit of knowing what major events were happening outside so he could roughly gauge the direction of the wind. This habit was beneficial whether he decided to venture out or not. If there were any rustlings in the grass outside, Village Chief Chen was also happy to tell Su Tan about it. It helped alleviate Su Tan's loneliness and broadened his horizons, letting him know what the outside world was like.

"Recently... there hasn't been much going on... The White Wolf mysteriously disappeared. And in the various towns and villages, those Demon Beasts that previously accompanied the White Wolf have also vanished overnight. There really isn't anything else," Village Chief Chen said.

Su Tan subconsciously pet the little wolfhound in his arms. Everyone was saying that the White Wolf's disappearance meant it must have returned to the depths of the Primitive Forest; otherwise, it couldn't have just vanished. However... only Su Tan knew where that thing had gone. Well, wasn't it the very one in his arms?

That's right. The White Wolf that had recently appeared across the towns and villages, the Demon Beast that had caused such widespread panic, was the little puppy in his arms. Who could have imagined that? As for the other Demon Beasts that had hurt people, they were all the White Wolf's subordinates. They had only taken action to eliminate the humans who entered the forest to hunt the White Wolf to keep it from being harmed.

Su Tan didn't want to judge the matter. It was all just to survive. As for those who died... it was unfortunate, but there was nothing to be done. However, there wouldn't be any more incidents of the White Wolf's subordinates hurting people, because of Su Tan. The White Wolf was no longer under threat from humans, and Su Tan wouldn't let the Demon Beasts slaughter villagers indiscriminately.

"It's good that it went back!" Su Tan said. He could only play along.

"Aside from the White Wolf incident, there's only the matter of Old Master Xu," Village Chief Chen continued. "Sigh... The Xu Family has always treated their tenants well. I truly hope he will be safe and sound."

From Village Chief Chen's words, Su Tan could tell that the Xu Family had indeed won the hearts of the people in this area. Even though some of the Xu Family's domestic servants weren't friendly, it didn't affect everyone's overall opinion of the family. From this, it could be seen that the Xu Family was indeed not wicked.

"But it's really strange. Logically speaking... with Old Master Xu's health taking a serious turn for the worse... the Xu Family should be guarding the secret with their lives. How did it become known to everyone?" Village Chief Chen wondered aloud.

"Oh? What's the catch?" Su Tan asked.

"White Cloud City and a neighboring city aren't just home to one major power like the Xu Family. You could say that as long as factions are adjacent to each other—whether they are families or sects—there is competition both openly and in secret. To put it nicely, it's competition. To put it bluntly, they are essentially enemies. After all, the resources within one's jurisdiction are limited. Who wouldn't want to take a bigger bite?" Village Chief Chen spoke with assurance.

"Since they are enemies, it naturally means that knowing you're doing well gives me sleepless nights, but knowing you're doing poorly puts me at ease..." Su Tan said. This was actually quite similar to certain cutthroat business competitions. Su Tan wasn't some naive novice who had never experienced scheming and intrigue.

"Yes, exactly!" Village Chief Chen agreed, then continued, "You summed it up perfectly. That's exactly how it is. If other factions learned that something was wrong with Old Master Xu, they absolutely wouldn't offer their care and regards. Nor would they help find a famous doctor to save his life. Instead... they would seize the opportunity to swallow up the resources and interests the Xu Family occupies! Kicking an enemy while they're down is a delightful endeavor, after all!

"Therefore, this matter with Old Master Xu is highly problematic!" Village Chief Chen stated. "Perhaps... it's a conspiracy!"

Su Tan remained silent, listening quietly. The Otherworld... was dangerous indeed. He hadn't even stepped out of this small courtyard, yet he could already smell the scent of conspiracy permeating everywhere. He currently didn't want to leave the courtyard. First, being blind made it genuinely inconvenient. Second, his knowledge of this world was too limited, and he had no experience in handling the strange occurrences of the Otherworld. He couldn't just do whatever he wanted just because he had the White Wolf and the system.

The White Wolf's cultivation was indeed quite powerful, but that was only limited to a nation like Celestial Fragrance. If he went out... and dominated Celestial Fragrance, then what? Would he be able to handle greater enemies? No! Who knew how many powerful monsters existed outside Celestial Fragrance? Right now, he only had to deal with the trivialities of daily life. Those stronger enemies would naturally be handled by Celestial Fragrance... or the factions protecting Celestial Fragrance. His days were leisurely and peaceful. Wasn't that nice?

As for the system... Su Tan certainly didn't believe that possessing a system made him invincible. According to the basic plot progressions of the novels he had read in his past life, whenever the protagonist reached a certain tier of strength, only corresponding enemies—at most, slightly higher in tier—would appear to "play" with them. Such a thing was actually highly unreasonable. Even in video games, Bronze-tier players could run into Grandmasters. Why was it that in reality, every protagonist would neatly encounter appropriately leveled super experts? What about powerhouses who could instantly kill the protagonist? For example, when the protagonist was still a cocky little cultivator, why didn't a Great Emperor come over and slap them to death? Why did they have to wait until the protagonist had grown stronger before coming to PK?

Su Tan possessed the Infinite Equipment System. This was merely an auxiliary tool, not an absolute guarantee of immortality. If he encountered a true powerhouse, he could still be killed. Rather than going out to take risks, it was better to stay within his own one-third of an acre, lay low, and wait until he truly felt qualified to venture out. It wouldn't be too late then. Anyway, as long as he didn't leave Celestial Fragrance, the White Wolf could guarantee his safety.

"It's certainly unusual. My guess is... there must be a mole within the Xu Family who spread this matter. Otherwise, it's impossible for the Xu Family to expose Old Master Xu's condition themselves," Village Chief Chen mused. "Even if they were searching high and low for miracle workers and extraordinary remedies, they could have kept it hidden. They could have easily covered it up with an excuse—like claiming a certain important figure in the Xu Family fell ill and needed a cure. As long as they didn't explicitly name the Old Master, it would have been fine!"

For Village Chief Chen to be able to say such things, he was clearly not lacking in worldly experience. Su Tan could sense this during their conversations.

"Sigh... I can feel it," Village Chief Chen continued. "Something major is going to happen to the Xu Family this time. If they don't handle it in time... I'm afraid the sky over White Cloud City is going to change hands!"

Su Tan fell into deep thought. He didn't voice his opinion, and Village Chief Chen had no idea what he was thinking.

"The Xu Family has always been quite good to us tenants," Village Chief Chen said worriedly. "If something really does happen to the Xu Family... who knows if the next faction to take over White Cloud City will treat us the same way? To be honest, I still hope the Xu Family pulls through."

The Celestial Fragrance Empire had an unspoken rule: it implicitly allowed the factions within the empire to compete and replace one another's positions. Although Su Tan didn't understand the purpose of such a bizarre form of competition or whether it was reasonable... it genuinely existed.

Hearing the village chief's concerns, Su Tan smiled. "Don't worry, Village Chief. Even if the sky over White Cloud City changes, it will be fine. Our Chen Family Village will remain exactly as it is!"

Village Chief Chen didn't take Su Tan's words seriously. He simply smiled and said nothing, assuming it was just a comforting remark.

"Alright, you go ahead and finish eating... I'll be heading back first," Village Chief Chen said.

"Take care on your way back, Village Chief!"