Shu’s Report
“Master, as you ordered, I sought ways to not only maintain Linfeng in an area for a lengthy period of time, so as to ease the resources spent on monitoring him. Additionally, by creating a clear incentive for him to stay in this place, I ensured that he would be distracted by something of our own creation, as you instructed”
Shu was using both a blackboard and a corkboard to make her presentation. She had clearly been preparing for this seriously, explaining everything without stumbling over her words.
“I believe that it would be a good occasion to kill more than a single bird with only one stone. I used my contacts with information brokers to locate who the various bandit groups were getting their intel from the black market, and then once I found that out, I contacted these people and made them lie by speaking of a miraculous healing herb”
“Such herbs are not only extremely valuable, but they are also incredibly easy to sell quickly. It is the perfect money-maker for criminals like all of those highwaymen. As such, I gathered nearly all of the major and medium bandit groups in one place, which in turn only enticed Linfeng to spend time in the forest where everything was going on”
“This allowed for my spies to collect information on the way he fights, his cultivation level, and the allies he made during that time… As you can see here, Master… Linfeng sympathised with a twink bandit. I suspect that the system you deduced he possesses told him something, as it didn’t make much sense for him to keep that one alive”
“In any case, as you can see from these images captured using a special kind of refined tool. Linfeng had been getting quite ‘busy’ with this twink, having carnal relations daily. Albeit, the lack of diversity in the positions and the overall attitude of the bandit seem to imply that their relationship–At least at the time these images were captured–Was mostly transactional rather than due to a deeper affection”
Shu went over several specific bandits whom Linfeng had slain over the course of his exploration of the woods. These men were wretches compared to actual cultivators, but they had been big names in the area of banditry–And for someone who had only begun cultivating recently, defeating them with the ease Linfeng had demonstrated was impressive.
“The spies I hired to check the flow of his inner energies all ended up giving the same response: At this time, Linfeng is cultivating two body cultivation techniques. Their flow indicates that one focuses on the lower body, while the other focuses on the upper body, with both of them joining together in the middle”
“At this time, we haven’t been able to establish any strong guess as to which techniques they might be, so it is assumed that they are specifically made for his usage”
“It is likely the case that his system certainly produced them for him. Keep going”
Shu flipped through a few of her papers.
“Quickly after the operation began, and Linfeng began slaying bandits, we noticed that corpses were vanishing. I contacted the Sect Of The Old Decay to know if any group of disciples or corpse collectors were nearby, but it wasn’t the case… This led to the discovery that the spot I had picked housed a secluded cultivator specialised in plants and the like”
“...Take a look, Master”
Shu handed Edrick an image of the plant cultivator. She was certainly an unusual-looking woman, and in the image, she was seen accompanying Linfeng and the twink bandit out of the forest. It seemed like they had allied together into a trio.
‘Mmh… Looks like Linfeng is more efficient at gathering a harem than Xiao was’
“Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to figure out the identity of this woman. Either she was in seclusion for a very long time, or she was a rogue cultivator who went unnoticed until now–Perhaps both”
Edrick leaned back in his seat.
“What about now that your ploy has come to an end? Do you know where Linfeng is headed?”
“I don’t know the precise location, but he is being actively followed by several of my contacts. His intentions should not remain unknown for long”
“I see. Tell me now... What about the bandit extermination side of this whole ordeal? How did it go?”
Shu smiled brightly.
“It was a grand success, Master! This operation nearly wiped out all notable bandit forces in Leynlornd. Due to larger groups often having influence over smaller ones, it could be said that we have reduced bandits to a critically endangered species. Some foreign bandits were even swept into it. All of the bandits who weren’t killed by Linfeng or the mysterious cultivator were intercepted and slain, with their corpses being sent to the Sect Of The Old Decay, as per your instructions”
“Master, do you desire for me to make this achievement public? I took precautions to avoid any accidents due to the concentrated presence of those bandits. As such, nothing that could be held against you occurred in the making of this extermination of pests”
Anoteros tapped his foot against the ground.
“Hold it for now, let’s try to see if anyone feels like taking credit once people realise bandit-infested zones have been cleared… Also, make sure to closely monitor any remaining bandits. Now that the hustle of banditism has been greatly reduced, some will certainly attempt to fill in the empty space. Make sure that it isn’t allowed to happen”
“Your will is my command, Master!”
The patriarch raised his hand slightly.
“Was nothing else of note noticed about Linfeng by your spies apart from his two techniques?”
“I am afraid that is all they were able to decipher, but they are rogue or destitute disciples. It is most probable that they wouldn’t have been able to notice anything finer”
“I understand. Go and rest, Shu”
The maid bowed her head and cleared the office before quickly leaving.
Anoteros was left by himself inside his office. He smiled and glanced at a corner of the room.
“You are quite sneaky. I barely noticed when you entered through the open window behind me… You must be someone accompanying a guest of our Elt clan. Is it really wise to sneak away like this? You won’t go unnoticed for long”
A figure draped in black stepped out of a shadow that was definitely far too small to have concealed their entire body.
The intruder was wearing a mask of some kind. They didn’t say a thing, and instead merely handed over a piece of paper. Edrick noticed that their hand was shaking in a curious manner...
The instant Anoteros grabbed the paper, the shadowy figure collapsed into a cloud of what he believed was a specific kind of energy, known as ‘Ki’.
From just this, he already had a pretty good guess as to where this piece of paper was from.