Cradling the lingering glow of the setting sun in his sleeves, Wang Yuan once again set foot in Daling Village, where he had grown up.
But the person from the past posed no threat to the clan members, being only the "Fool" Wang Yuan.
Now, however, he was the River and Sea Bandit known for "never leaving a job unfinished," "fond of empty fame," "playing the saint in front of others," and "righteousness and generosity"—"Thief Cat" Cui Tong.
He managed to leap out of the quagmire temporarily, and he had achieved gains beyond his imagination.
Observing the familiar people he once knew, the expressions of warmth, caution, or disregard they showed upon seeing him now, Wang Yuan, hidden behind his mask, found it exceedingly amusing.
Yet his good mood did not last long.
"That Fool hasn't returned for three days; he must be dead!"
"The five acres of land allotted to my family have finally fallen into my hands for certain today."
"Absolutely, the Fool's death is a good riddance!"
"May our ancestors bless us! We're having dumplings today."
The idle chatter from the streets made veins pop on Wang Yuan's forehead.
What's more, by the smell, in this disastrous year, every household was making dumplings and stewing meat – they were even eating better than during New Year's.
Wang Yuan cursed inwardly, 'If the ancestors of the Wang Family really knew, they would be the first to cleave you thankless descendants!'
Meanwhile, he casually felt the piece of "Rashamon Bone" tucked in his sleeve pocket.
A dangerous thought burst forth, impossible to contain.
At this moment, the person accompanying Wang Yuan, entirely unaware of his hazardous intent, enthusiastically introduced the local circumstances to his "good friend" Cui Tong:
"Brother Cui, you almost missed tonight's welcome banquet.
Friends who came to support Master Ge have been arriving in the past two days, and everyone else arrived early this morning except for you.
I went to the Slanted Wind Pass early in the morning to wait for you. If Brother Cui hadn't shown up, I would have thought you'd met with an accident on Beimang Mountain just like Wild Dog Daoist."
The person walking beside Wang Yuan was a thin dwarf mounted on a wolf's back, with emaciated malformed limbs, utterly incapable of moving on his own.
From a distance, it almost looked like a wolf from the mountains was carrying a bandit to harm people.
"Thank you for your concern, Brother Lang. Who is this Wild Dog Daoist? Is he a hero from the Green Forest as well?"
Wang Yuan naturally assumed the role of "Thief Cat" and had never seen the generous Wild Dog Daoist, nor did he know any of his background.
"Alas, it's a pity. They say he is another dog lover.
Wolves and dogs are relatives, after all. I wanted to befriend him, but the day before we were to gather, he went on an errand into Beimang Mountain by Master Ge's order and never made it back out.
The local Tomb Guardians have been searching for days, and until now, not even his remains have been found," lamented the dwarf.
Despite his deformity, the dwarf was quite a conversationalist.
His real name was Lang Qi, nicknamed "Strategist Bei," and he was an old acquaintance of "Thief Cat" Cui Tong.
Invited to Beimang Mountain to support Master Ge this time, the two had exchanged messages, agreeing to watch each other's backs and to secure additional benefits from Master Ge, who was adept in the art of elixirs.
In Cui Tong's memory, this man was born with deformed limbs and heartlessly abandoned in the mountains by his parents.
But he was fortunate enough to be adopted by a she-wolf and raised on wolf's milk, ranking as the seventh among the wolf pups. As he grew up, he simply named himself Lang Qi.
As he grew older, he became the wolves' "Strategist Bei" through his outstanding intelligence, leading them to victory in every battle.
Moreover, he came across a "Three Lives Bird Calculation Book" in the wolves' den by chance, a tome with only pictures and no words, making him extremely skilled in divination.
Though practicing the art of divination required one to be deprived of one of "Five Flaws" or "Three Deficiencies"—the Five Flaws being "widower, widow, orphan, solitary, and disabled," and the Three Deficiencies being "wealth, life, and power."
Yet he was born embodying the word "orphan" and "disabled."
Fatherless from a young age and physically handicapped.
On some level, though exceedingly unfortunate, he could also be considered a natural-born genius in the art of divination.
Only after the she-wolf and his wolf brothers had died of old age did he leave the forest to join a band of Green Forest mountain bandits, continuing his role as "Strategist Bei."
Over time, his reputation spread far and wide, and his circle of friends grew.
Chatting and catching up along the way, they arrived at the entrance of a grand mansion in the village before nightfall.
It was once the imposing ancestral home of Wang Yuan's main branch lineage, but now it had become the residence of the current Clan Leader, Wang Yunhu.
Wang Yuan kept his expression unchanged as if it was his first time here, closely following "Strategist Bei" Lang Qi.
The two passed through the meticulously maintained garden and water pavilion, entering a spacious hall in a side courtyard.
The welcome banquet had not yet started, but many guests were already seated at their tables.
Most of them had rough and villainous appearances, clearly of the bandit sort. Some were arm-wrestling, some gambling, some indulging in debauchery while holding forth...
Two red-eyed fellows were even arguing over whether women's flesh or children's flesh tasted better—utterly steeped in miasma.
Upon hearing the sound of footsteps, they all looked toward the newcomers.
Having arrived two days earlier, "Strategist Bei" Lang Qi was clearly well-known among those present.
"Brother Lang, please have a seat quickly. It's just right, not all our friends have arrived yet. Clan Leader Wang has prepared some Luoyang Dukang Wine that has been cellared for ten years, and it's truly not to be missed."
"Thanks to Brother Lang's guidance this morning, I took a stroll in Luoyang City and won twenty taels of silver. I'll be the host next time."
"....."
After some pleasantries, someone finally asked about the Wang Yuan following him.
"Brother Lang, may I know the distinguished name of this brother? Do you need to personally receive him?"
"Haha, let me introduce him to everyone. This is the renowned 'Thief Cat' Cui Tong, Mr. Cui from the Green Forest.
'Thief Cat' needs no introduction from me, right?"
Wang Yuan stepped forward with a cupped fist salute in a timely manner.
"So it's Brother Cui who graces us with his presence. I've long admired you."
"To steal the beam and replace the pillar, to follow like a shadow—it's actually Brother Cui in person, how rude of me."
"..."
Just by relying on "Thief Cat" Cui Tong and his three character tags—"enjoys an undeserved reputation," "likes to manifest only before good people," and "prides himself on righteousness and generosity"—one could tell how well-known he was.
As a "thief" who fundamentally couldn't be seen in public, there might not be many who had met him, but there were certainly plenty who had heard of him.
"Such a modest reputation is hardly worth mentioning."
The so-called Jianghu is just another venal world, where all the famed experts have not popped out of cracks in the rocks.
Everybody uplifts the palanquin; you support me and I'll support you. The crowd soon became friendly with one another.
Wang Yuan committed all these Jianghu people to his memory.
There were hardly any minor characters present, not so-called heroes, then noted bandits and giant bandits, with bounties no less than five hundred taels on the wanted lists.
And most were from Junzhou where Luoyang is located, with many being independent operatives.
'A disorderly mob above the law.'"
Wang Yuan defined these people in his mind, then couldn't help but take extra care.
Given what he knew of Master Ge and Wang Yunhu, it would be truly strange if they didn't use some tactics to fully subjugate these unruly evil men to their use.
Everyone likes good people because even bad guys like to team up with them.
The moral baseline is to show loyalty.
Self-serving evil men who disregard the bigger picture can only cause harm, especially when facing a Weird opponent!
As the sun gradually set,
The servants lit lamps in the pavilion and delivered a variety of fine wines and seasonal delicacies ahead of time.
The number of guests in the pavilion also continued to grow.
And among the more than thirty people who had already arrived in batches, Wang Yuan had tagged four as dangerous.
The first was "Strategist Bei" Lang Qi, who was sitting beside him and feeding raw meat to a wolf.
Although his combat power was not great, the number of people he had indirectly caused the death of was likely greater than all those present combined.
Using the "Three Lives Bird Calculation Book" to predict his own fortune and misfortune, he had a terrifying premonition like a cicada sensing the wind before it blows.
Sitting at the higher seats in the pavilion, emitting bursts of corpse odor, were the Ma Brothers, and sitting alone in a corner, with a strong scent of earth emanating from him, was the "Pangolin" Fan Zhang.
After all, these were Master Ge's called-upon hands, and each of them was a potential enemy!
However,
The more people arrived, the noisier and more chaotic the pavilion became. Although it had not come to blows, there were continuous verbal confrontations, as if even these invited fists were not quite harmonious amongst themselves.
There were even some who had already started challenging others to fights.
There were a few among them who were old acquaintances who had dealings with "Cui Tong."
Wang Yuan immediately realized sharply that a person like Cui Tong, with a character so different from his own, was probably a trouble magnet.
Although he seemed popular, he certainly had his share of problems, and there was no telling when he might suddenly capsize in the gutter.
Even though the real Cui Tong had already capsized, leaving nothing behind but his skin.
But he himself must stay low-profile and cautious, only observing and never stirring up trouble, making sure not to let this unlucky ghost drag him down.
However, Wang Yuan had just solemnly reminded himself,
When suddenly a shout erupted from outside the door:
"Cui Tong? You cur, return my brother's life!"
"Imperial Decree! The directive, roaring thunderbolt, celestial stars, boiling transformation, capture!"
Wang Yuan: ....??!