Chapter 119: Unexpected News

"I can make an exception and act once, making the leaders and ringleaders of those two gangs disappear, but this is limited to one of the two gangs. Because if the two great hegemons ran into trouble at the same time, it would be far too easy to attract the attention of interested parties, and the risk would multiply — it's not worth my taking such a strange risk. And beyond these two paths, I will not yield a single inch further!" After Han Li finished speaking, he set his face hard and said nothing more, coldly waiting for the women's reply.

Hearing the second option Han Li mentioned, Yan shi and the others could not hide the pleasant surprise on their faces, but after exchanging a glance, they still did not decide on the spot.

"Might we sisters discuss it among ourselves before giving Young Master our answer? After all, this matter is no small thing — we should think it through carefully!" Yan shi said cautiously.

"Of course. I'm not an unreasonable person. But at the latest by tomorrow morning, I want an answer. I'm leaving you a full day — that should be enough to talk it over." After saying this, Han Li paid the women no further attention and drifted away.

Han Li went down the small tower and did not return to his side chambers. Instead, under the strange gaze of the big man at the gate, he swaggered out of the Mo residence. After confirming along the way that no one was following him, Han Li finally returned to the inn where he was staying.

The moment he stepped through the inn's gate, Sun Ergou hurried forward to greet him.

"Whatever it is, wait until we're inside my room!" Before Sun Ergou could speak, Han Li said flatly.

"Yes, Young Master!" Sun Ergou followed respectfully behind Han Li.

Once inside the room, Han Li sat down by the bed, stretched lazily, then said offhandedly, "Seeing you in such a panic — is there something urgent you need to tell me?"

"Young Master, there really is some extraordinary big news I need to report to you, sir." Sun Ergou leaned half a step closer and said mysteriously.

"If you have something to say, say it straight — stop being so jumpy." Han Li shot Sun Ergou a sidelong glance.

"Hehe! It's not that I'm putting on an act — something incredible really did happen! I got solid word that a large batch of immortals are going to gather near Jiayuan City for some kind of 'Immortals' Assembly.' I heard that anyone who can attend will instantly become an immortal and join the ranks of the immortal folk." Sun Ergou spoke, spittle flying.

"Immortals?" Han Li was slightly taken aback.

"Yes, real ones — people have seen them with their own eyes, the kind who can ride the clouds, summon lightning and spit fire! Think about it, Young Master — if they weren't people of great fortune, how could immortals be seen so casually?" Sun Ergou said with a touch of envy, looking as though he wished every mortal who'd ever glimpsed an immortal could be replaced by himself.

By now Han Li understood: the "immortals" Sun Ergou spoke of were cultivation practitioners. But how could members of their gang have learned of a gathering of cultivators? Han Li was somewhat startled.

"How did you come by this? Do many people know?" Han Li was now interested.

"The news is absolutely reliable — one of our gang's brothers heard it with his own ears. But because the gang leader feared the immortals' wrath, he issued a gag order, so only the upper ranks of our 'Siping Gang' know. I got it from a drunk senior member. I figured a man of stature like Young Master would surely be interested, so I rushed over and waited until you returned." Sun Ergou eagerly took credit.

"Oh! I won't forget your hard work! But first, tell me in detail how that gang member managed to evade the immortals' notice and overhear this." Han Li's expression sobered as he pressed the matter seriously — this concerned the news's credibility, so he dared not be careless in the slightest.

"I heard it from that drunk senior too. Here's what happened…" Sun Ergou dared not embellish and honestly relayed the story he'd heard.

It turned out the gang member who'd gotten the news was also a minor boss of the Siping Gang. A few days earlier, he'd gone to the western suburbs to pull off a big deal, but the intelligence was wrong — the other side was too tough, and his group was cut to pieces and fled in disarray.

To escape pursuit, he hid inside a tree hollow in a nearby patch of Lin Zi, waiting for the enemy to pass. But before the pursuers even arrived, an enormous two-headed monstrous eagle suddenly swooped down from the sky, and the eagle's terrifying appearance scared the gang member out of his wits.

In his moment of peril, the man was clever enough to come up with a wild idea: he used the jianghu's widely circulated "Gui Xi Gong," lowering his breath and heartbeat to the extreme, preparing to enter a state of feigned death to evade the eagle's detection.

Just as he was about to lose consciousness, a conversation between a young man and woman drifted down from the eagle's back. It turned out the giant eagle was actually carrying people — but the eagle's body was so huge and he had been in such a panic that he hadn't noticed the riders in time.

Thus, in his half-dazed state, he overheard the talk of the so-called Immortals' Assembly. Only then did he realize the pair were immortals — but by then the Gui Xi Gong had taken full effect, and he lost consciousness in his regret.

When he woke again, it was the next morning. The young couple and the monstrous eagle were long gone, so after a bout of stamping and chest-beating, he trudged back to the gang in low spirits.

The moment he returned, his big mouth got the better of him and he couldn't help telling his superior, who in turn dared not hide it and reported it to the gang leader "Yuan Bi" Shen Zhongshan — and that was how the gag order came about.

After hearing Sun Ergou's account, Han Li's face showed no change, but inwardly he was so stirred he could hardly contain himself.

A gathering of a large number of cultivators! This was truly a once-in-a-century opportunity. If he could attend, he could truly make contact with the world of cultivators, instead of groping about in the dark like a blind man, stumbling blindly along the path of cultivation.

Han Li forcibly suppressed his excitement, thought for a moment, then asked with forced composure:

"Did that man hear when and where the young immortal couple said the gathering would be held?"

網