Chapter 359: Meeting Kunpengzi Upon Entering the City

Gongliang City! Zhou You was revisiting an old haunt, this time wearing the mask of "Lu Zhigang," and it felt like a lifetime ago.

Outside the city, the land had been laid bare; trees were felled, weeds were dug up by the roots, and wind-blown sand was visible everywhere.

Near the city walls, traces of the initial siege still remained, and the soil mixed with dried blood had yet to fade in color.

The city gates were covered in scars, telling the tale of the brutal battles that had once taken place.

Surprisingly, there were still martial artists guarding the entrance, just as there had been before.

"..."

Well, it was merely a formality; the sole purpose of these martial artists guarding the gate was to collect a toll.

Zhou You paid the price of half a bag of grain, and without even being searched or having his identity checked, he entered the city without obstruction.

Unlike the hell on earth he had imagined, after the rebel army occupied Gongliang City, they had instead rapidly established a new order.

They confiscated the wealth of the noble families, occupied the luxurious residences throughout the city, and quickly seized the high-ranking positions in this city.

Without exception, those who profited the most in this feast of division were the martial masters who wielded powerful force.

The most famous were the Five Birds, namely Ying Da, Sun Er, Ou San, Bailao Si, and the fifth, Xiao Gu.

The individual strength of the Five Birds was peerless among Primary Martial Masters, and as sworn siblings, their strength was formidable once they banded together, leaving no one daring to provoke them.

They occupied the mansions of two major noble families, restoring them to serve as their own private palaces.

Other martial masters dared not compete with them and took the opportunity to seize other lucrative spots.

Although Gongliang City had endured disasters and was no longer what it once was, it still hid massive amounts of wealth.

Take the population, for instance; although plagues, wars, and lurking charms had repeatedly wiped out lives, people were like wild grass, drilling through cracks to survive, and the number of survivors was surprisingly high.

After the rebel army entered the city, these survivors emerged, and both sides reached a tacit understanding, continuing a relationship of provider and dependent.

A few shops on both sides of the street had opened sporadically, and occasionally, refugees would come to make purchases, yet there were no incidents of robbery or violence.

What was this, order after chaos? Zhou You shook his head, surprised to see a calligraphy and painting stall by the street, with quite a few customers.

An old man at the stall was hunched over, squinting as he wrote furiously; it was clear that he had studied too hard in his youth, ruining his eyes, and now that he was old, they were no longer reliable.

The customers patronizing the stall were mostly there to have funeral orations or epitaphs written.

Too many people had died in Gongliang City, and survivors burying their kin needed written records of their lives to entrust their grief; the demand for this was high.

The old man's business was good; aside from grinding ink and changing paper, his brush never stopped.

Zhou You thought to himself that with his own fine calligraphy, if he were ever destitute in the future, he could emulate this and start his own business.

The cost was low, too—just a stall and the Four Treasures of the Study.

"..."

The old man finally sent off his last customer and was drinking tea to soothe his throat when he suddenly saw someone sit down.

The uninvited guest was none other than Zhou You, who examined the goods hanging at the stall—everything from rubbings and paintings to hand-copied scriptures—though no one was buying.

"Feel free to look around, customer!"

The old man could tell that Zhou You was not there to write a funeral oration, and he enjoyed the rare moment of peace.

"These few rubbings are quite interesting!"

Zhou You looked for a moment and said with a smile.

The old man perked up, "You also understand Jinshi Writing? I have heard there is a Ceng Fuzi in this city; it is a pity I have had no chance to meet him and seek his knowledge on writing."

"I have dabbled in it a little. Old man, you seem obsessed with Tripod Script; these rubbings don't even have a single epitaph!"

The old man smiled, "There is no help for it; Tripod Script is vast and profound, and just one branch is enough to benefit from endlessly, leaving me no time to be distracted. Customer, if you have any high-quality Tripod Script, I am willing to pay a high price for it!"

Zhou You waved his hand, "I truly do not. Top-grade rubbings are priceless and rare; I once saw one at the Fucheng Doujichang, but it was taken away by a noble family the moment it appeared, and it never made it into circulation."

"True, the noble families monopolize resources; it is difficult to acquire any valuable Tripod Script from the outside."

The old man smacked his lips and cupped his hands in a salute, "May I ask the customer's name?"

"A nobody named Lu Zhigang. Practicing fist techniques is my main profession, and researching Seal Script is my hobby."

Zhou You returned the salute and asked, "How should I address you, old man?"

"Kunpengzi!"

Zhou You blinked, surprised by his own calmness, "Apologies, I have never heard of you."

The mastermind Kunpengzi—shouldn't he be hiding in a dark, gloomy cave, wearing a black robe and brewing conspiracies? Why was he starting a business on the street, writing funeral orations for a living? Could he be experiencing life? Zhou You thought about it, and it didn't seem fake, because the results of his previous analysis indicated that Kunpengzi was of the Yuan Ding Sect.

This sect's research style was to exhaust every means to excavate Nine Tripod ruins, attempting to restore the most orthodox Seal Script.

The rubbings on the stall were all Tripod Script, and combined with the old man's obsession with researching it, it fit the style of the Yuan Ding Sect perfectly.

Furthermore, the characters from the old man's brush carried an ethereal quality, as if they were about to spread their wings and fly; there was no need to ask—it was definitely the style of the Cloud Bird Seal Script.

Zhou You had not expected to run into Kunpengzi the moment he entered the city, and he hadn't prepared for anything.

The old man was truly bold, reporting his real name directly; Zhou You only dared to use a mask.

A thought surfaced in his mind: he was separated from Kunpengzi by only a desk. If he struck with all his might from this distance, couldn't he kill the other party on the spot?

Hmm, the feasibility was low! As soon as this thought rose in Zhou You's mind, the panel gave a notification: "Trial Project (Six-Star): Kill Kunpengzi."

A six-star difficulty was not something that could be achieved by just reaching out a hand; acting rashly would very likely get him killed.

He suppressed the impulse in his heart, and a plan quickly took shape in his mind.

"Old man, to tell you the truth, I have connections in Fucheng and know that an extremely precious piece of Tripod Script is about to appear in the world."

"Oh?"

Kunpengzi became interested, grabbing Zhou You's sleeve, "Tell me more!"

"It is not very convenient."

Zhou You chuckled, "I won't hide it from you; I entered the city this time to cut the weeds and dig up the roots."

"I previously killed Jin Heshan, and I heard that the Five Birds in the city are their sworn siblings and will be coming for revenge soon."

"I must strike first to gain the advantage; I intend to wipe out these bird-people before they can act, to eliminate any future trouble."

He told the truth, and Kunpengzi's gaze flickered slightly; you really have no reservations, aren't you afraid I'll turn around and report you? Compared to the fate of the Five Birds, he was more concerned about the tripod script mentioned by the other party.

"The whereabouts of the tripod script?"

"Once I have eliminated the Five Birds, I will go and find the tripod script to study it with you; old man, wait for my good news."

After Zhou You finished speaking, he drew a stroke in the sand on the ground.

When Kunpengzi saw it, his pupils contracted a few times; this stroke was an authentic Nine Tripod Character stroke, and the other party had definitely seen it with his own eyes.

Countless thoughts flashed through his mind, and finally he chuckled, "I wish you success."

Zhou You knew this matter was settled; using the Nine Tripod Characters as bait, Kunpengzi would not interfere before he dealt with the Five Birds, and might even intentionally create convenience for him.

This scheme was built on the foundation of an extreme understanding of Kunpengzi, as well as Zhou You's rich store of Seal Script.

Kunpengzi did not even know that his identity had been exposed and that he had already fallen into Zhou You's calculations.

(End of this chapter)