Chapter 260: Martial Gathering Invitation

[You have approached Luo Sheng's unfulfilled wish.]

Here it was again.

Yan Jing recalled the previous times this prompt had appeared.

It had appeared when Wei Nantian died.

It had appeared when the Old Man came to chat with him after Lin Changgui died.

It had appeared when Bai Qiu died.

And now, it was back.

He had originally thought Luo Sheng's unfulfilled wish was to become the county magistrate, but that wasn't it. He then assumed it had to do with Bai Qiu's live human trafficking, which was also wrong. He even suspected the wish was to avenge the Luo Family, but that had proven incorrect as well.

This made him recall the Cameraman's unfulfilled wish.

Back then, the Cameraman had voluntarily discarded his memories. A mimic had disguised itself as Number Zero to kill him. Unable to recognize the fake, the Cameraman only knew that someone who looked like Number Zero had murdered him, so his final wish was to kill Number Zero.

Perhaps an "unfulfilled wish" could be understood another way: it was the victim's final obsession right before death, the very last thought on their mind.

What they truly wanted.

So, for Eldest Young Master Luo, sitting in that rickshaw with his eyes closed—what was it he wanted most after the theater troupe slit his throat...?

Yan Jing stared blankly, feeling as though he had just grasped an invisible, intangible thread of truth.

There was a contradiction here.

Because the theater troupe had used drugs, Eldest Young Master Luo should have been completely unconscious.

If he hadn't even realized he was dying, there shouldn't be an unfulfilled wish at all.

But if the pain had woken him up, why hadn't he done anything?

At the very least, judging from the rickshaw puller's reaction when Yan Jing took over his body, the puller hadn't noticed a thing. Meanwhile, the train continued to clatter forward.

They soon passed Moon Gazing Studio and Red Stone Bridge. One was a gathering hub for Scholar Cultivators, and the other was renowned for its strength cultivators.

When the people from those two places boarded, they were equally shocked by the changed temperaments of the Bianliu County residents. Taking the hint from the Bricklayer Village crowd, they obediently took their seats. Yan Jing approached them just as he had with Bricklayer Village, striking up conversations with the leaders of both groups.

Before long, they had all become well acquainted.

The process played out much like it had with Bricklayer Village.

"Strictly speaking, I can be considered half a member of Moon Gazing Studio," he said to the schoolteacher leading the Moon Gazing Studio group.

"Now that I think about it, I'm actually half a member of Red Stone Bridge."

He smiled as he said this to the elderly helmsman of Red Stone Bridge.

The crucial part was that his claims were verified every single time.

In the Moon Gazing Studio group, for example, someone recognized "Luo Sheng." This person had once suffered from consumption and was cured by "Luo Sheng" on a train back to Bianliu County.

A boat tracker from Red Stone Bridge also recognized "Luo Sheng." Back when he had injured his leg and lost his job, not knowing what to do, it was Fei Yu—one of "Luo Sheng's" subordinates—who had set the bone for him.

Added to the previous incident with Mo Dayuan, once the news spread, everyone was stunned.

Wasn't this County Magistrate Luo a little too kindhearted?!

Through these repeated conversations, Yan Jing gradually recovered more of the memories hidden in Luo Sheng's mind.

Compared to the Cameraman's pitifully sparse social experience, Eldest Young Master Luo was the ultimate socialite.

It wasn't that Eldest Young Master Luo actively sought out social interactions; rather, he would use his drawings to record anything he found interesting.

Take that boat tracker, for instance. After injuring his leg, he had limped around the train, asking the attendants for water.

Eldest Young Master Luo had noticed the calluses on the man's fingertips and figured he was a strength cultivator. A strength cultivator with a broken leg intrigued him, so he approached the man and offered to draw his portrait.

While drawing, he asked a few questions and learned that the tracker used to pull boats in the Sixth Lake Prefecture. One day, he saw a little girl about to fall from a dike and recklessly jumped off the four-to-five-meter drop to catch her, which was how he broke his right leg.

"That little girl looked just like my newborn baby at home."

The strength cultivator smiled. "I thought it might be one of my coworkers bringing their kid along. Tell me, if a child took a fall like that, wouldn't it break their parents' hearts?"

"So I didn't think too much about it at the time."

"Later, it turned out she really was the daughter of the boat tracker next door."

"Then what will you do about your leg?" Young Master Luo asked.

"I'll just head home and rest. The girl's father gave me some money."

The strength cultivator pursed his lips. "If it doesn't heal right, I'll just stay home, watch the kids, and farm the land."

After that, Eldest Young Master Luo had Fei Yu step in, and he even brought out his family's special ointment to apply to the strength cultivator's leg.

He cured the man's leg.

As he encountered more and more people he had previously known, the others in the VIP carriage noticed that Yan Jing was spending increasing amounts of time staring blankly at the ceiling.

"Are you exhausting yourself?"

Fei Yu looked at Yan Jing with concern.

"It's nothing. Your young master is just thinking."

Yan Jing replied absently.

Night soon fell. Everyone returned to their respective rooms to sleep, and it stayed quiet until the next day.

Early the next morning, an attendant ran over to knock on each door, informing them they were arriving at Nanyu County.

This was the largest county situated along the small Nanyu River. Its area was roughly equal to Bianliu County and the other six surrounding Domains combined, far superior to the backwater towns they had stopped at previously.

The county magistrate of Nanyu County was a genuine Fifth Tier expert, an official personally appointed by the East Lake Prefecture.

The population here was a complex mix without any real dominant figurehead, and Yan Jing had no intention of trying to win anyone over.

However, three new passengers entered the VIP carriage.

One wore red and white robes and was instantly recognizable as a colleague of Liu Ye.

Another wore a plaid vest over a dress shirt, paired with suit trousers and a beret. He carried a large bag and appeared to be a reporter cultivator.

The last wore a black suit, held a cigar, and sported a small mustache.

None of the three had ordinary backgrounds; otherwise, they wouldn't have been allowed into the VIP carriage. Seeing that there were already six people inside, the other two—aside from Liu Ye's colleague—looked somewhat surprised.

Only that inspection envoy smiled upon seeing Liu Ye. He cupped his hands in greeting:

"Lord Liu!"

His smile carried a hint of flattery. "Congratulations, congratulations! Congratulations on your promotion to section chief, my lord. You've finally made it."

Liu Ye also stood up and cupped his hands in return.

"Lord Huang, it's been a while!"

In truth, both men were just spouting bureaucratic pleasantries. Liu Ye had only been at the Inspection Bureau for a total of a year—hardly long enough to "finally make it," nor had it been "a while" since they last met.

But the necessary courtesies had to be observed. After a round of idle chatter, the man finally got to the point:

"The higher-ups gave me something for you to pass on to someone else."

"What is it?"

Liu Ye raised an eyebrow in confusion.

The man brought out a piece of yellow paper that looked like a notice and shoved it into Liu Ye's hands.

"It's a Martial Gathering Invitation. They want you to give it to the newly appointed magistrate of Bianliu County to invite a master by his side to participate."

"..."

Staring at the invitation in his hands, Liu Ye couldn't help but turn his head to look at the Old Man.

Lord Huang immediately understood and quickly looked over at Yan Jing.

"This must be the newly appointed County Magistrate Luo of Bianliu County, then?"

"That's me."

Yan Jing smiled and stood up, cupping his hands. "Greetings, Lord Huang!"

"No need for that, no need for that."

Lord Huang hurriedly waved his hands.

Judging from the thousands of Ancient Relics and the reports Liu Ye had brought back, this County Magistrate Luo was absolutely a ruthless character.

He chuckled and said, "I just received notice from above that Lord Liu was on this train. I didn't expect it to be this coincidental. Since that's the case, my task here is done."

With that, he shook out his sleeves, pulled back his hands, and prepared to leave.

"Is Lord Huang not traveling with us?"

Liu Ye asked.

"No, no, I have urgent matters to attend to."

The man waved his hand dismissively, unwilling to get too involved with this County Magistrate Luo.

A man who had killed Bai Qiu.

How could he be someone to trifle with?

Before leaving, however, he still wanted to leave Yan Jing with a good impression, so he turned back and said, "Young Master Luo, the higher-ups said this was just delivering an invitation, but from what I can tell, you have no choice but to accept it. You're taking it whether you want to or not."

"Meaning we have to participate?"

Yan Jing asked.

"That's the idea."

Lord Huang nodded. "Otherwise, they'll definitely send more people after you. I'm afraid it would lead to endless trouble."

"That is all I have to say. Farewell, everyone. If you have time in Nanyu County, drinks are on me."

Having said his piece, he got straight off the train.

Yan Jing looked toward Liu Ye and Bi Jie.

Bi Jie nodded.

"That's just how the higher-ups operate. First, they dress it up with some clever excuse. Then, if you don't comply, you'll be refusing a toast only to drink a forfeit."

"It's just..."

He frowned. "This invitation... it shouldn't have happened..."

He had never wanted the Old Man to come into contact with anyone from the Third Lake Prefecture in the first place, fearing that the incident from back then would be exposed. Now that this had happened, the ominous premonition in his heart grew even heavier.

"It's an invitation for Master Liu."

Yan Jing glanced at the invitation and handed it to the Old Man.

"Old Man, it seems your performance in Bianliu County has brought some trouble to our door."

Bi Jie had already mentioned that the people backing him said the higher-ups could see some footage from within the game. This invitation had likely ended up in the Old Man's hands for that exact reason.

However, to everyone's surprise, Old Master Liu was visibly thrilled as he stared at the invitation. He stroked it over and over, completely unable to put it down.

He didn't look the least bit worried.

Bi Jie let out a long sigh.

He knew it. Participating in a martial gathering had been Old Liu's dream since childhood. Now that the invitation had landed in his hands, how could the old man possibly refuse?

Sure enough, a few seconds later...

"I accept!"

The Old Man announced, utterly exhilarated.

"County Magistrate Luo, please try to talk some sense into Old Liu,"

Bi Jie pleaded, hoping Yan Jing could convince the Old Man to think of another way.

After all, anyone in their right mind knew this Martial Gathering Invitation wasn't as simple as it looked.

"It's fine. If Master Liu wants to accept it, then we accept!"

Yan Jing replied.

Their original purpose for going to Luohe was to drop off Tiger. Now that the Old Man was participating in the martial gathering, they might as well kill two birds with one stone.

"Sigh..."

Bi Jie let out another drawn-out sigh.

What kind of mess was this?

Looking over at Fei Yu, who also seemed highly excited, he finally understood.

This whole family was crazy.

"I actually think it's a good idea, too,"

Liu Ye chimed in. "After all, with Master Liu's skills, winning the martial gathering shouldn't be difficult."

Seeing that even Liu Ye supported it, Bi Jie knew they had passed the point of no return.

Just then, the reporter cultivator who had recently boarded walked over, holding a newspaper.

"Are you all discussing the martial gathering?"

The man asked.

"We are."

Yan Jing nodded. "And you are?"

"Ah, well, I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but I accidentally overheard that you received a Martial Gathering Invitation. I was intrigued and wanted to have a chat. My name is Que Deyuan. I'm the chief editor of the Nanyu News Agency."

As he spoke, Que Deyuan enthusiastically handed out copies of his newspaper.

"This is the newspaper I run personally, the Nanyu Post. It's the most authoritative paper in Nanyu County."

"I used to work in the Third Lake Prefecture and built my career by reporting on the local Martial Guild's news."

"So with the martial gathering taking place, I decided to go in person to gather some stories."

Hearing that Que Deyuan was a reporter cultivator had already stirred ripples in Bi Jie's heart, but hearing he used to work in the Third Lake Prefecture made his eyes widen. He instantly recognized the man. Ripping off his sunglasses, he glared at Que Deyuan.

"It's you!!"

Upon seeing Bi Jie, Que Deyuan jumped in shock. Before he could even open his mouth, Bi Jie grabbed him by the collar and dragged him to the side.

"Come here. Let's have a chat!"

Under the confused gazes of the others, Bi Jie hauled the man away.

"Don't hit the face!"

This was the first thing Kan Deyuan said to Bi Jie.

"Hit up top, not down below!"

This was the second thing Que Deyuan said to Bi Jie.

Because he had been beaten by Bi Jie in both of those places before.

"You still have the fucking nerve to speak?!"

Bi Jie spat. "Didn't I tell you to get the hell out of the Third Lake Prefecture back then?!"

"I did get out!"

Que Deyuan threw up his hands to show he had never returned. "But you're asking about the martial gathering again, which means you still want to go back!" Bi Jie snapped.

Bi Jie's eyes were practically shooting fire.

The grudge between the two ran deep.

It was all because back when the Old Man was chased out of the Third Lake Prefecture, several news reports had publicly humiliated him for days. Then, when Xu Chengyi took over and Thirty-Seventh Martial Arts Gym found its footing, it was this exact same reporter cultivator who wrote several pieces praising Xu Chengyi to the high heavens. His phrasing constantly belittled one side to elevate the other, framing the Old Man as an ignorant, incompetent outsider who had brought shame to his sect.

Later, after Bi Jie was promoted, he uncovered the truth, tracked this man down, and discovered that Xu Chengyi had been secretly bribing him all along.

"Speak! Did Xu Chengyi send you?!"

Bi Jie seethed with murderous intent.

"Well..."

Kan Deyuan's eyes darted around evasively.

It wasn't until Bi Jie raised a fist that he finally shrieked in terror.

"Yes, yes, yes!!"

"I'm warning you, don't you touch me! Gym Leader Xu is already at the Fifth Tier! You can't afford to mess with him! I'm warning you!!! He's on his way to Luohe County right now!!!"