Gou Zai Wu Dao Chao Shi Xing Nian Da Gong

Cuiping Town is only a hundred miles away from Tianjuan Prefecture, the capital city, and can be reached in a day by following the official road.

A horse-drawn carriage drove out of the town, driven by a father and son who looked honest and simple.

Inside the carriage, Zhou Fugan was dressed in a dark brocade robe, wearing a rich man's hat and a jade thumb ring. He looked like a master of a wealthy family, completely different from his usual self. Even his family members would not recognize him.

This was his new attire, which he had just purchased in town. He also rented this carriage and hired a coachman and his son to work with him.

His goal remained unchanged: to travel to the prefectural city and find his son. To avoid unnecessary trouble, he couldn't meet with Zhou Sheng openly this time, but could only contact him secretly. Therefore, he disguised himself as a wealthy gentleman, which would make things easier for him on the road.

As for how to explain it when he gets home? It's simple: just say he fell into the water, luckily made it to shore, and ran back home. Who would pay attention to an old man like him then?

Zhou Fugan was fiddling with a leather case in his hand, inside which were hidden clasps holding various concealed weapons, including throwing knives, needles, nails, and caltrops. He had ordered it from the blacksmith's shop in town, paying extra for express delivery.

During his two-day journey, he practiced the Hundred Skills Hands, a martial art of concealed weapons. It also includes techniques for making and using various concealed weapons.

He easily mastered the Hundred Skills technique to perfection, becoming extremely proficient in all kinds of hidden weapons, far surpassing Tian Wenchang in skill level.

This set of hidden weapons was specially made for this purpose.

Quack quack~~

A strange cry came from a cage covered with a black cloth at my feet.

Zhou Fugan tied the leather harness around his waist, covered it with his robe, and reached out to lift the black cloth covering the cage, revealing the flying dragon nestled inside. The dragon was in poor condition, with tears streaming from its eyes and mouth, and trembling slightly, as if it were enduring some kind of pain.

He casually took out a Flying Poppy Beast Feeding Pill and tossed it to Flying Dragon, who excitedly swallowed it in one gulp, instantly recovering his condition.

"Sigh! This little thing is useless! It's becoming more and more dependent."

Zhou Fugan sighed.

This dragon had been fed by Li Chong for an unknown amount of time, and its lifespan was almost exhausted.

......

Tianjuan Prefecture was an important place on the southwestern border of the Great Yin Dynasty. It governed thirteen counties, bordered by the Qingtian Mountains to the west, and the Blackwater River ran through the entire territory. It was rich in resources, had well-developed water and land transportation, and was very prosperous.

At the western dock of the city, a large ship slowly approached the shore. Many of the bodyguards and guards on board were wrapped in bandages, their wounds bleeding. Anyone with a discerning eye could tell that the ship had encountered river pirates and had only managed to escape after a fierce battle.

Soon, apart from leaving a few people to watch the ship, the rest of the crew unloaded several cartloads of goods and headed towards the city.

These people were none other than the Wang family and the Weiyuan Escort Agency. They easily found their way to the Fuyun Inn near the dock and settled in. Due to the large number of people, the ordinary escorts and the Wang family's servants shared rooms. Zhou Sheng and Liu Cheng, both martial artists of the Skin Membrane Pass, received much better treatment and stayed in single rooms.

Zhou Sheng entered the house, put down his things, and lay down on the bed. The long journey by boat, coupled with a fierce battle, had left him exhausted, and all he wanted was to get a good night's sleep.

Just as he was drifting off to sleep, a knock on the door woke him up.

"Who is it?" Zhou Sheng asked, getting up.

A strange voice came from behind, "Master Zhou, I am Wang Cheng, the bodyguard of Young Master Wang. The young master requests your presence."

"Could it be related to my father?"

Zhou Sheng's heart skipped a beat. He quickly got up, tidied his appearance, and went out.

"Guard Wang, what does Young Master Wang want with me?" Zhou Sheng asked.

"I don't know either," Wang Cheng shook his head.

The two quickly arrived outside a luxurious room on the third floor. Wang Chengping reported, "Young master, Attendant Zhou has arrived."

"Please let him in!"

Zhou Sheng then pushed open the door and went in, only to see Wang Jin sitting upright in the room, seemingly waiting for him.

When Wang Jin saw him, he smiled and said, "Please sit down, Attendant Zhou."

"Thank you, Young Master Wang." Zhou Sheng sat down, his heart filled with anticipation.

"Haha, I called you here because of your bravery in the face of the river bandits, and I'm going to reward you."

Wang Jin laughed heartily and explained the reason for summoning him.

"A reward?"

Zhou Sheng was slightly taken aback, feeling a little disappointed. He had thought there was news about his father.

"That's right. This time, you single-handedly killed eight bandits, including the leader of the bandit group at Pimo Pass. You even rallied a team to stabilize the situation. Your contribution is considerable. As a retainer of the Wang family, I must show my appreciation. Tell me, what reward do you want?"

Wang Jin spoke with a face full of admiration.

Actually, he didn't take Zhou Sheng seriously at first. If it weren't for the fact that Zhou Sheng had a close relationship with his younger brother Wang Teng, he wouldn't even know who he was.

However, after the Battle of Fishbone Bay, when he saw the results, he realized that Zhou Sheng was a talented individual. Not only was his personal combat ability amazing, but more importantly, he also had strong command skills, managing to gather a group of people and stabilize the situation in the midst of a chaotic battle where the enemy outnumbered them.

He has always valued talent. That's why we met today.

Without hesitation, Zhou Sheng replied, "You flatter me, sir. I have only one request: please help me find my father."

"Your dad?"

Wang Jin paused for a moment before remembering that his younger brother, Wang Teng, had specifically spoken to him about this matter before he arrived. He had almost forgotten about it.

He nodded immediately and said, "I know that. By the way, tell me more about your father's situation."

Zhou Sheng then recounted what he knew.

"This is easy to arrange. I'll go to the Prince's residence tomorrow to hand over the goods and have someone ask you about it."

Wang Jin readily agreed, and then said, "This is something I promised you long ago, so it's not really a reward. How about this, from now on, when you're promoted to intermediate-level retainer, you'll receive ten taels of silver per month."

"Thank you, young master!"

Zhou Sheng exclaimed in delight.

......

As the sun set, a carriage drove into the city.

"Mr. Chen, where are we going?"

"I can't wait to ask," the driver, Old Huang, asked respectfully.

"Go to Fuyun Inn! It's near the West Wharf."

Zhou Fugan gave the order in a calm tone.

Zhou Sheng had previously told him that Fuyun Inn was the Weiyuan Escort Agency's base in the prefectural city, and they would stay there almost every time they escorted goods to this location.

"Alright!"

Old Huang waved the reins, and the carriage headed towards the dock. Before long, they found their destination.

Just as Lao Huang was about to stop the carriage, he heard Zhou Fugan instruct, "We're not staying here. Let's go to the Yunlai Restaurant up ahead." So he drove the carriage to the restaurant not far away.

Zhou Fugan peeked through the curtains to carefully observe the Fuyun Inn. He quickly spotted the Weiyuan Escort Agency members among the diners in the lobby and breathed a sigh of relief. If they had changed their lodgings, the city was so large that finding them would have been difficult.

After settling in, Zhou Fugan asked for paper and pen, wrote a small note, crumpled it up, and put it away.

Then, he left the restaurant and went to the teahouse opposite the Fortune Inn. He ordered a pot of tea and waited patiently.

Not long after, a tall figure walked out of the Fortune Inn and stood at the door looking around, seemingly admiring the night view of the street.

Zhou Fugan finished his tea in one gulp, put down a stack of copper coins, got up and left the teahouse.