Jian Dan and Jian Jing followed Tan Songyu, leaving Jian Jun's courtyard behind. They stepped directly into a short-range teleportation array and arrived at Tan Songyu's estate.
As soon as Tan Songyu entered his own courtyard, guards approached and forcefully escorted the two into a separate residence. No one was assigned to watch them.
"Junior Sister, looks like we're being detained. What a loss, not only did we hand over the immortal pill, we ended up giving ourselves away too."
"Since we're already here, let's just go along with it."
"Do you think that Fairy Tan Song really intends to plant that so-called clan mark on Jian Jun?"
"She wouldn't have before. But now that her injuries are healed, she's got no excuse to keep her around or control her. Naturally, she'll choose whatever benefits her most. To people from the Immortal Realm, we cultivators from the lower realms are nothing but ants."
Jian Dan and Jian Jing sat across from each other, speaking bluntly without bothering to hide anything.
"Hah! Isn't that a bit too domineering?"
"This is the difference between immortals and mortals. At least Fairy Tan Song values Senior Sister's talent enough to train her as a guard. As for us, it looks like we've got potential to serve as furnace cauldrons."
Jian Jing pressed her lips into a smile. She knew perfectly well that her Junior Sister was saying this for whoever was listening in, to lull them into lowering their guard. So she played along, saying,
"Then that means we've got a chance to reach the Immortal Realm too. Better than staying in the continent where we can't ascend, right?"
"Exactly. So we should perform well and try to convince Young Master Tan Song to keep us here. Right now, we're still mortal bodies, not yet fit to be immortal cauldrons. They'll probably have to remake us first. That's our opportunity."
"Junior Sister's right. Then let's just wait."
With that, both fell silent, closed their eyes, and meditated. Their conversation, however, was heard clearly by Tan Songyu. He found them rather sensible and even insightful.
They knew he wouldn't make a move against them immediately, but Tan Songyu still felt uneasy. He thought it best to plant the clan mark on them early to secure control.
Just as they'd guessed, both had good potential. Their bone age was under a thousand years, and with some forced assistance their cultivation could be pushed up to Dixian. With a little more training, they'd be excellent furnace cauldrons for his family's younger generation.
Since they were willing enough, there was no need for him to act rashly. He planned to brand them with the clan mark later and set the matter aside for now. Just then, his subordinate returned with a report.
"Young Master, the day I lost him, I kept searching the inner district. He never appeared again. In the past three days, I've confirmed that Hou San's been staying at Madam Mao's little shop. Should I—"
"Go. Handle it quietly and cleanly. Don't let anyone notice."
"Yes."
The shadowy figure slipped out of the hall to make arrangements.
—
At the Guesthouse
Madam Mao had run her business here for years. When people came asking about Hou San, she immediately knew that the team from Guyu Cottage had been targeted. Fearing the power of Immortal Tan Song's family, she gave away Hou San's location, though she kept something back.
After the men left, Madam Mao hurried straight to Guyu Cottage. Meeting with Jian Mao, she wasted no time.
"Boss Jian Mao, someone came asking about Hou San. It was people from the Tan Song family."=
You understand, I do business here on their turf. Since they came to ask, they must've had confidence already. I could only tell them where Hou San was staying. I didn't reveal much else about your group. I only said Hou San came along with two others."
Jian Mao frowned. He felt it was a misstep. If he'd left Kuang Dao behind instead, an unfamiliar face would've been harder to trace. But there was no point in regretting it now.
"Thanks for telling us, Madam Mao. We'll leave today."
He clasped his hands in salute, showing no extra courtesy. Madam Mao clearly wanted to win their favor but also didn't dare offend immortals. There was no need to flatter her.
"This…"
"Just pretend you don't know anything. As for the jade key, we won't be returning it. If anyone asks, say we realized something was wrong and left on our own without telling you."
Madam Mao nodded and left the courtyard.
"Today's the last day we agreed on. Jian Lu and the others will surely act. Let's leave now."
Hou San looked conflicted and frustrated. He hadn't expected to be the one dragging everyone down.
"Don't blame yourself. No matter who went for the deal that day, the Tan Song family would've marked them. We were carrying too many goods. You just happened to be easier to recognize."
Jian Chun laughed as he spoke.
The eleven of them quickly packed up. The Bai sisters handled cleanup, erasing every trace of their presence. They slipped out the back door and blended into the crowd of cultivators. By the time Tan Songyu's men arrived, the group was long gone.
Madam Mao's face turned pale with anger. She complained about the unpaid room fees and pretended to send her own men to pursue them, even promising to report any news to Immortal Tan Song's family.
Tan Songyu's subordinates were frustrated. Finding Hou San's group again would be no easy task, but they still sent people to investigate.
—
Meanwhile, Jian Dan and Jian Jing had gone quiet after their earlier talk, keeping their eyes closed as if meditating.
Only when the divine sense withdrew did Jian Dan open a thread of secret transmission with Liu Chuan, making plans.
"Chuan, can you lure the Black Whip Eel over here?"
"I can. I'll spread the ground-up 'Springwood Powder' around the foundation of Tan Songyu's estate."
"It won't get detected, right? He's an immortal, his divine sense can pick it up."
===
Chapter 800!! Can you believe it? (ﾉ>ω<)ﾉ :｡･::･ﾟ'★,｡･::･ﾟ'☆
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