Chapter 20

"Grigri, the jade pendant appraisal is done!"

"My tattoo is done!"

"The fake identity plate is also done!"

Tang Zheng was walking back to East Street, constantly counting the gains from his trip to the Treasure Gathering Pavilion. Although the real identity plate still needed three months to be delivered, which made Tang Zheng slightly dissatisfied, he also unexpectedly received an unknown pill as a gift, which was a decent compensation.

"Hmm, it’s still acceptable." Tang Zheng nodded.

After returning to Tang Family Castle, he had two things to do.

The first was, of course, the promise he made to Tian Meng, to properly... educate the young members of Tang Family Castle!

The second was to quickly cultivate Star Power and expand the spatial passage of the purple-gold belt. Not to mention the distant future, he had to pay the deposit to the Treasure Gathering Pavilion within a month. He couldn’t possibly waste his precious time every day being a 'purple-gold cutter,' right?

He had to get the identity plate.

Only by obtaining the identity plate would he truly become a part of the Starlight Continent!

"Wait a moment, the price I just negotiated is... five hundred taels of purple gold?" As Tang Zheng counted, he suddenly realized there was something to consider.

The value of five hundred taels of purple gold wasn't a problem for him, but the weight of five hundred taels...

Three months later, if he carried a fifty-pound gold brick and walked proudly down West Street, he couldn't even imagine how he would be brutally killed after such a 'show of wealth'!

Before he could think it through...

His ears suddenly perked up.

Then, he quickly darted into a side alley.

At the same time, a group of twelve Blue Family servants just arrived on the street he had just left!

A light rain had just fallen in Wulong Town.

West Street was lined with one- or two-story shops. The quiet street, under the night breeze, felt even colder.

Leading the group of Blue Family servants was a Two-Star Warrior. He looked at the empty street, rubbed his hands, and said, "This sudden spring cold came unexpectedly. Today, we'll split into pairs and search. Let's finish the inspection task as soon as possible and go back early."

The group of Blue Family servants felt as if they had been granted a reprieve.

The sudden spring cold was almost as harsh as half a winter. If they followed the usual inspection method, it would take them an hour, but splitting up would be much faster. Anyway, it was late at night, and they probably wouldn't find anything. Once the routine task was completed, they could go drink and enjoy themselves.

However, the two at the back of the group exchanged glances.

They were different from the other servants—they were from Fengmen Village, Lan Shaoye's trusted men!

Because Lan Shaoye had misled the Hidden Blue Manor to misinterpret some information, only his trusted men knew that they weren't looking for a Two-Star Warrior or higher, but a One-Star Warrior and a civilian who couldn't even light up a star pattern!

"Lan Shaoye has lost his patience! He's killed several people in the past few days. If we can't find those two who are courting death... Xiao Gui, we probably won't live much longer..." the older of the two, Old Ding, said nervously.

Lan Shaoye had been living a life worse than death for the past ten days.

Accustomed to being high and mighty, he had to act low-key for the past ten days. Not only had his power been significantly reduced, but he also had to endure the ridicule of his siblings. Although he didn't show it on the surface, he was already determined to find and tear apart the person who had put him in this situation.

Lan Shaoye had given his trusted men a death order—if they couldn't find them, they should bring their heads to him!

"Old Ding, be more alert! Think positively, maybe we'll run into those two rats tonight? Not only will we gain favor with Lan Shaoye, but the reward will be enough for us to live comfortably for ten years!" Xiao Gui patted Old Ding's shoulder and laughed.

"Is there such a good thing as a pie falling from the sky? Besides, one of them is a One-Star Warrior..."

"Starvation kills the timid, and overeating kills the bold. If we really run into them, we'll adapt!"

"What... what do you mean?"

"If we can handle them, we'll take the credit alone. If we can't, " Xiao Gui patted the whistle at his waist, "we can always call for help, right?"

"You're quite clever, Xiao Gui!" Old Ding shook his head, but suddenly stopped walking, his eyes wide, "Damn, Xiao Gui..."

"What is it?"

"Looks like we really hit a stroke of luck today!"

A figure appeared at the exit of a small alley ahead!

Although Old Ding and Xiao Gui hadn't been taken into the house by the vipers, hadn't formally confronted Tang Zheng and Tian Meng, and hadn't seen Tang Zheng up close, they still had a vague impression of his height and walking style.

"Old Ding, is it really him? Are we dreaming?" Xiao Gui asked, suppressing his excitement.

"Can't see clearly, but it looks like him."

"Follow him! Better to kill a thousand innocents than to let one guilty one escape!"

"But..."

"No buts. If it's really him, we're in luck today!"

...

The night was bleak, and West Street was quiet.

Tang Zheng noticed their presence almost as soon as they started following him.

"Wow, not bad." Tang Zheng chuckled inwardly, "Stragglers?"

Tang Zheng rubbed his ears.

Could the two people following him not talk? Not talking while tailing someone and using hand signals should be basic common sense, right?

Could they be more professional and sincere in their tracking?

"Old Ding, it's him! The one who can't even light up a star pattern!" Xiao Gui's voice was low but still clearly heard by Tang Zheng.

"Is... is he alone?"

"Yes! Do you want the One-Star Warrior to be with him?"

"O... of course not..." Old Ding's voice was filled with the joy of hitting a stroke of luck, which Tang Zheng could clearly hear.

The street was almost empty.

Tang Zheng could hear the two people behind him quicken their pace, slowly closing in on him.

Tang Zheng smiled, put away the items in his inner pocket, tightened the pocket, and suddenly sped up, running forward!

Tang Zheng heard a low exclamation behind him, followed by the sound of footsteps chasing after him.

The two people, who had been keeping their steps light, now hurried a bit.

It was as if they were afraid the cooked duck would fly away, their steps filled with surprise, anger, and urgency.

Tang Zheng was unhappy.

Anyone being treated like a cooked duck would probably be unhappy.

Actually, if he ran about four or five hundred meters more, he could leave West Street.

Once he entered East Street, the people from Hidden Blue Manor wouldn't dare to chase him so boldly.

But Tang Zheng didn't leave!

He suddenly stopped, turned around, and ran back toward the two servants from Fengmen Village!

Surprised!

Both were surprised!

Swish...

Swish...

Two star patterns of spotted leopards suddenly rose from behind Old Ding and Xiao Gui.

However, just as their star patterns rose, they felt Tang Zheng suddenly collide with them and then run through the gap between them!

"Eh?" Xiao Gui stood still for a moment, then pulled Old Ding, "It's him! I'm sure I saw him clearly! It's him!"

"But why didn't he run out of West Street..."

"West Street is complex," Xiao Gui assessed the situation and eagerly chased after Tang Zheng, "He must be trying to escape. No more talk, chase, chase, chase!"

For Xiao Gui and Old Ding, Tang Zheng had become their sure thing!

This was a great opportunity to change their entire lives!

What better opportunity could there be?

Night, West Street, the enemy alone.

"A heaven-sent opportunity, we can't afford to miss it!" Xiao Gui directly used his Star Power to chase after him.

If two people who could summon star patterns couldn't catch a weakling without a star pattern, they would regret it for the rest of their lives!

West Street was indeed complex.

Tang Zheng ran left and right, turning through alleys as if there was no end.

The two chased until they were out of breath, but Tang Zheng's pace didn't slow down at all. Xiao Gui's eyes became anxious, "He's running fast. If we keep chasing, we might let someone else take the credit!"

Old Ding's face also turned anxious.

However, they soon realized that their luck was really good today. Xiao Gui's face lit up, "He... the one who turned into... the dead end!"

Old Ding almost shouted, "A dead end! It's sealed off, it's a dead end!"

"Brother, we should go pray at a land temple tomorrow!" Xiao Gui gripped Old Ding's shoulder, his eyes gleaming with greed and ferocity, "Old Ding! We agreed, you attack the upper body, I attack the lower body! Cut his tendons, and see if he can still run!"

"Heh, he can't run!" Old Ding was also delighted.

They never expected that the person they thought they had lost would turn into a dead end on his own.

Since it was a dead end, he had no way to escape!

---

The power outage made me frustrated. I wrote this chapter in three different places over ten hours, and I'm not sure if it's even readable...

The second chapter will be a bit late, as I need to adjust my mood.