Reaching his destination, Yang Ze stopped for a moment. In front of him was the entrance to the big manor that was visible up in the distance. On the entrance, a wooden sign was placed upon which a few words were grafted.
"Hua Family."
The name was written without any fancy decorations on it, yet it was giving off a natural feeling as if it was always the part of that piece of wood.
"How can I help you?"
Sitting in the shade near the entrance was a middle-aged man who was wearing loose clothes. Though the hairs on the temple of his head were grey, his overall figure was filled with radiant energy.
"Hi, I am here for the quest."
Taking out the badge, Yang Ze handed it to him.
"I see."
The man nodded for a moment before looking at him again.
"Can you show me your strength?"
"Huh?"
Yang Ze was silent for a moment. He could show his black tiger art, but this was his hidden card, he couldn't just show it to a random person on the street. The difference between Qi Condensing and Qi Guiding is immense, yet he doesn't know any way to show off his strength.
Should he punch? Or should he jump?
"Hahahaha."
Looking at Yang Ze who was still in confusion, the man laughed for a moment, before speaking with a smile.
"Just guide the Qi inside your body. Any person with Qi will be able to feel it."
"Oh!"
With a brief nod, Yang Ze started circulating the Qi inside his body. After a few minutes, he stopped and looked at the man in front of him.
The man still had a smile on his face. Playing with the token in his hand, he looked at Yang Ze with a smile and spoke in a low voice.
"So! Which family's young master are you?"
"HUH?"
The first thought Yang Ze had was that his identity was somewhat exposed, or his mask had come off. After a brief thought, the first possibility was thrown out of his mind. As for the matter of the mask, it was still on his face.
Perhaps feeling the confusion of the person in front of him, the man smiled again.
"Well, your hesitation and panic just confirmed my suspicion."
"Sigh... How did you know?"
Yang Ze didn't bother to waste any more time guessing, so he directly asked the question.
"Well, for starters, your voice. You may have hidden your face, but you didn't change your voice. And as for how I guessed you to be the young master of a big family? I mean, a person with no background who stepped on Qi Guiding at such a young age? Hehe."
Yang Ze was silent for a long time. It was such an obvious yet unnoticeable flaw. He didn't expect the random person he met would be able to observe this much.
While Yang Ze was still deciding whether to continue his quest or not, he was suddenly interrupted by the voice of the man in front of him.
"Well, you are right on time. Every week, a group of carriages will travel from here to the northern mountains. If you would have accepted this quest an hour or so later, you would have had to wait for another week for the next group of carriage."
"Follow me."
With a signal, the man stood up lazily before signalling Yang Ze to follow him.
Walking through the garden, both of them slowly made their way towards the place where more than ten carriages were standing.
"Here's a small tip. Next time you speak, try to infuse Qi in your throat."
After hearing him, Yang Ze slowly circulated the Qi in his throat before speaking.
"tHaNk YOu."
Compared to his original voice, this tone was filled with hoarseness, completely different from his own.
"Well, consider it as the first meeting gift from a senior to a junior."
With a smile, the man shook his head before continuing his way towards the group of carriage.
...
"Elder. You are here."
While Yang Ze and the man were making their way towards the nearest carriage, the figure of a young woman rushed towards them with a gentle smile on her face. Behind her were the figures of five more people who all took a breath of relief upon noticing their arrival, though a few cast curious glances towards the mysterious man in a mask.
"He is?"
Looking at Yang Ze the woman asked with furrowed brows. Because he was the only one wearing a mask, he stood out like a sore thumb.
"Well, he is Meng Hao. He will be joining us on the journey to the mountains."
After introducing him, the man threw the identity token back to Yang Ze before walking forward.
"I see."
"So, where did you find him, elder? You were gone for the entire morning."
"Ahem." Clearing his throat, the man suddenly became serious before talking.
"You wouldn't believe me. The moment I saw that we were missing a few people I started roaming the entire city in hopes of finding a new person." The elder spoke with a smug face.
"Yeah. If not for the annual festival after one month, we wouldn't have to worry about the backup. Almost all of our personal forces are now busy there."
The moment the woman finished speaking, Yang Ze in the distance was suddenly enlightened. He had a lingering doubt from the start. These five families that occupied the city and established the martial academy should have some personal force. Now it seemed like the strength of the family right now was divided elsewhere. To people like him, it was the lucky time of year.
"Well, anyway. Even after roaming for a long time, I was unable to find anyone. It was then I saw a group of people from the Xu family harassing this man."
"Seeing a lone man being bullied by this many people, I jumped straight in the middle of the conflict and trashed them."
"Pfffttt.."
On the side, Yang Ze almost fell down. He had seen some liars, but this guy was a league above.
Ignoring this subtle reaction of him, the elder continued.
"It was not until they cried for their mother and apologized that I left them. This poor person has his face beaten up black and blue, that's why he is wearing a mask."
'Really? Right in front of my fucking face?'
Looking at the man lying so confidently in front of him, Yang Ze didn't know whether to laugh or to cry at the moment. Initially, he wanted to say a few words, but after this, he just let out a chuckle. For a moment he was even tempted to expose him on the spot. But when he looked at the man and noticed his pleading eyes, a smile formed on his lips. Shaking his head, he was about to let out a laugh when he saw the man open his mouth and speak by just moving his lips, without any sound.
Even though Yang Ze couldn't hear him, he was able to read his lips.
'FOUR SPIRIT STONES'
As soon as he heard that, he immediately nodded in response. For a moment, he even patted his chest while looking at the woman as if confirming his words.
Looking at Yang Ze who was nodding in agreement, the woman clenched her fist for a moment.
"How dare the people from the Xu family do something like this?"
Even though her words were filled with anger, her eyes were filled with worship while looking at the elder.
The elder was enjoying the gazes of awe and respect with a smug face. Before he could say anything further, he saw a group of people that had over twenty people making their way toward them.
"You all are here."
Looking at the people that were carrying various bags, the elder nodded for a moment before signalling them.
"Let's go. It is almost time."
Without the slightest delay, everyone started getting into the carriage. The peaceful area was suddenly engulfed in noise.
"Meng Hao. Come, ride this carriage with me."
While Yang Ze was still looking for a place to sit, he was suddenly called out by the elder.
Looking at the man whose face was filled with a wretched smile, Yang Ze sighed for a moment before sitting next to him.
To him, this was going to be a long and atrocious journey that was just in its infant state.