Chapter 61

Ji Tang boarded the lion-head carriage and called out from behind the beaded curtain, "Young City Lord is looking for me?"

There was a slight creaking of a chair inside, followed by the lazy voice of the Young City Lord: "Come in."

Jitang looked at Xun Jinzhi, and when he nodded, she pulled open the bead curtain and went in.

The interior was laid out like a small house, complete with tables, benches, and chairs. The long-pile carpet beneath my feet was soft and warm. Though the space wasn't large, it held a wealth of decorations, making it just as luxurious as the exterior.

As soon as Jitang entered, she felt warmth enveloping her whole body. She looked at the bright red magic weapon on the table. She didn't know what it was, but the source of the heat should be it.

"It's just a little gadget. If you like it, take it."

Only then did Ji Tang look at the young city lord of Dengtian City.

The young city lord leaned back in his chair, looking at her lazily with his chin supported.

He was wearing a dark red robe with the tail of the robe draped messily over the edge of the chair. A thick white velvet cloak was placed on the back of the chair. At his feet lay a lion cub, which looked like it had been born not long ago.

Jitang looked back.

Aren’t there two male lions pulling the lion-head cart?

"Like lions?"

"Ah, no," Jitang waved his hand, "What does the Young City Lord want to see me about?"

The young city lord sat up slightly, raised his chin and gestured to the round stool in front of him, "Sit down."

Ji Tang was still standing at the door, the beaded curtain behind her. She didn't move, only saying, "My shoes are dirty, so I'll just stand here." Last night, Senior Sister had been staying here with the Young City Lord, so she felt awkward sitting anywhere.

The young city lord smiled and said, "Then stand there."

Xun Jinzhi walked in and Jitang moved aside again.

"Why are you so reserved?" Xun Jinzhi asked her as he sat on the round stool. "Don't you want to sit down?"

Jitang: "I won't sit anymore."

The young city lord then said slowly, "She thought we slept together last night."

Jitang: “…”

Xun Jinzhi: "What?"

Ji Tang then betrayed Wei Shaoxin, "It was Senior Brother Shaoxin who misled me!"

Xuan Jinzhi gritted his teeth and said, "I'll settle the score with him later."

Jitang laughed dryly and said, "I'm sorry, Brother Shaoxin, you can only wish you good luck."

Xuan Jinzhi acted like a senior sister: "Come here and sit here."

Jitang sat down immediately.

Xuan Jinzhi then smiled and said, "Why not sleep in a good place? It's warm and soft here, just right for resting. Look, I slept there yesterday," she pointed to the carpet, "This is the pillow." She pointed to the lion cub.

Ji Tang: "It's indeed a good place." Under the harsh conditions of Xuegui Shuanghan Ridge, it is rare to have such a comfortable environment. Only the young city lord of Dengtian City can do it.

The young city lord called her, "Jitang."

Ji Tang: "Do you know me?" She looked at her senior sister.

Xuan Jinzhi shook his head: "I didn't say that. I was surprised when he mentioned you. Oh, you don't have to call him Young City Lord, Young City Lord. Chu Jinhuai is his name."

Chu Jinhuai patted the chair, and the lion cub nimbly jumped onto it and lay down beside his hand. He touched the lion and said, "Chief of the Nightmare Clan, I know you."

Ji Tang was slightly startled and lowered his head, "I'm not the clan leader."

"Are you willing to let those Nightmare Clan members with impure bloodlines become the clan leaders?"

"It's not about being willing or unwilling. I'm not interested in this, and I never wanted to be the clan leader."

"That's not your ambition?" Chu Jinhuai smiled. "Or is it difficult to handle such a big responsibility?"

Ji Tang frowned, "Young City Lord called me in just to talk about this?"

Chu Jinhuai: "Of course not." He paused from touching the lion's hand and took out something from the storage box next to him. "I brought this thing to Snow Returns to Frost Ridge twice. Now that I've met the rightful owner, I can finally hand it over. But I hesitated."

Ji Tang looked at the thing floating in his hand, his eyes suddenly changed, "Nightmare Card!"

Chu Jinhuai confirmed: "Nightmare card."

Ji Tang immediately looked at him, "How come you have something left behind by my parents?"

"The two elders gave the Nightmare Token to my father for safekeeping. My father has been in seclusion for many years, so he gave it to me and asked me to wait for its master to arrive." Chu Jinhuai sighed, "The master finally arrived, but it was not interesting at all."

Ji Tang was dissatisfied. "Because I have no intention of taking over the Nightmare Clan? Young City Lord, this is something my parents left me. I am very grateful to you for keeping it with you. I will repay this kindness. But in what capacity do you ask me this? And in what capacity do you want to withhold the Nightmare Token?"

Seeing that the atmosphere was not right, Xun Jinzhi hurried out to smooth things over, "Jitang, he is like this, he speaks and acts carelessly, don't be angry with him. Chu Jinhuai, since you have taken Jitang's things, why are you still wasting time? Give it to her quickly!"

Chu Jinhuai threw the nightmare card casually, and it landed in front of Jitang.

Ji Tang took the Nightmare Card back into her sea of consciousness. She had never expected it to be so easy to obtain. She looked at him with a complicated expression, "What is your purpose in wanting me to take over the Nightmare Clan?"

Chu Jinhuai smiled and said, "Are you asking so directly?"

Ji Tang: "So the Young City Lord likes to beat around the bush."

"Alright, you don't have to be so sarcastic here. I just said one extra word and gave you the Nightmare Token a little later. Why do you have to hold such a grudge against me?"

Ji Tang restrained himself slightly. "Then it would be better for the Young City Lord to be straightforward."

Chu Jinhuai patted the lion cub on the back, and it immediately jumped off the chair. He then sat up straighter, one leg on the ground and the other bent on the chair. "I value the Nightmare Clan's abilities very much, and I really want to form an alliance with them."

Ji Tang: "This huge Dengtian City is still not enough to satisfy the ambitions of the Young City Lord?"

Chu Jinhuai didn't answer her, only saying, "I'm not the city lord now, and you're not the Nightmare Clan leader. There's no rush to form an alliance. I just wanted to see your reaction." He didn't sit up straight for a moment, then leaned back like a boneless person. "But seeing that you're not interested in these things, there's nothing more to say if we don't agree."

Ji Tang stood up and bowed to him, "Young City Lord, thank you very much for the Nightmare Token. If you need me in the future, just message me." She separated a wisp of spiritual power and floated it on the table. If Chu Jin wanted to, she could put this wisp of spiritual power into the communication stone, and the two of them could communicate through the communication stone in the future.

Ji Tang turned around and was about to leave when he heard Chu Jinhuai lazily say behind him: "Let's not talk about the alliance for now, I have something else to ask you."

Ji Tang glanced sideways and said in a hard tone, "Don't you have nothing to say?"

Chu Jinhuai raised his chin and said, "Sit down."

Ji Tang sat back down, feeling frustrated. "Young City Lord, what else do you want to ask?"

Chu Jinhuai gave Xun Jinzhi a look, and Xun Jinzhi understood. He smiled at Jitang and turned to leave.

Ji Tang: "Why do you have to avoid Senior Sister?"

Chu Jinhuai restrained his careless smile and looked serious, "Have the black-clothed believers come to you?"

Ji Tang was puzzled: "What black-clad believers?"

Chu Jinhuai: "It seems that I haven't looked for you, but you know about the senior sturgeon shark king beast."

"Are the black-clothed believers related to Senior Wang Shou?" Ji Tang leaned forward and asked solemnly, "Does the Young City Lord know about Senior Wang Shou?"

"I know a thing or two."

Ji Tang asked anxiously, "Who murdered Senior Wang Shou? Was it the black-clothed believers you mentioned?"

Chu Jinhuai signaled her to calm down. "The black-clothed believers must be related to Senior Wang Shou, but I'm not sure whether they were the ones who did it directly. With Senior Wang Shou's cultivation level, can those people really force him to the brink of death?"

Ji Tang grasped the key point, "They? The black-clothed believer isn't alone?"

"No, there are many." Chu Jinhuai said, "I suspect there are even more powerful people behind the black-clothed believers. From the few black-clothed believers I have come into contact with, they all have a common goal. But after investigating for a long time, I haven't found any clues about the person behind them. This is very strange."

Ji Tang was a little confused. "Where did these black-clad believers come from? How can you be sure that they have a mastermind behind the scenes?"

"That's what's so strange. I've been searching, but I can't find out which sect or school they come from. Aside from those common spells, I can't tell what their methods are or what their lineage is. I just suspect there's someone behind them, but I'm not completely certain. The fact that we haven't found the person behind the scenes suggests either they don't exist, or they're hiding it too well. But I'm more inclined to the latter. I've fought against the black-clothed believers before, and with their level of cultivation, it would be difficult for them to force Senior Wang Beast to this point."

Ji Tang: "What if they join forces, is it possible?"

Chu Jinhuai was silent for a moment, "I can't say for sure."

Ji Tang: "How much does the Young City Lord know about the Black-Cloaked Believers?"

Chu Jinhuai: "All I know now is that they are wandering around the world of cultivation, searching for top experts. They want to gather all of these experts together, and Senior Wang Shou is one of their targets."

"I suspect the black-clothed followers had tried to persuade Senior Wang Beast before his soul was controlled and the poison entered his marrow. However, Senior Wang Beast was too upright to be swayed by them, so they couldn't subdue him. That's when they resorted to devious methods, using Senior Wang Beast to wreak havoc on the sea. Ultimately, Senior Wang Beast realized he couldn't escape his restraints, so he chose to self-destruct while he was still conscious."

"It's still unclear who controlled Senior King Beast and what poison he was poisoned by, but it's definitely related to them."

Ji Tang took a deep breath and asked, "Do you know everything about Senior Wang Shou?"

Allen Chu raised his eyebrows, "Don't underestimate Dengtian City."

Ji Tang: "I dare not. Then what does the Young City Lord mean by asking me about the black-clothed believers? Will they come looking for me?"

"The inheritance site of Senior Wang Shou is also their target. Qiu Runfang, you've fought with her before. She's one of the Black-Cloaked Followers."

Jitang was not surprised that Chu Jinhuai knew this. Since he knew the whole story of Senior Wang Shou's self-explosion, her fight with Qiu Runfang must be within his scope of investigation.

She was simply amazed at the network of relationships in Dengtian City, which was so vast.

Ji Tang: "Have they chosen the next Sturgeon Shark Clan leader?"

Chu Jinhuai tapped the armrests of the chairs with his fingers. "Rather than the next clan leader, I think they want the secret of the sturgeon shark bloodline that allows for rapid advancement in cultivation. Shark Qi would be a good research subject. It's a pity that he died."

"The people I sent have been staying on the island in the inheritance land. The black-clothed believers have not been to the inheritance land again. This means that Senior Wangshou's seal is still effective, and they haven't found a way to break through it by force."

Ji Tang didn't mention the Shark Qi sleeping in her sea of consciousness. She was still wary of Chu Jinhuai. "So I'm the key for the black-clad believers to enter the inheritance land."

Chu Jinhuai: "You can think so. But once they see your potential, you will also change from a key to a potential target for recruitment."

He looked at Ji Tang and said, "You are the core of the Nightmare Clan, the legitimate patriarch of the Nightmare Clan, and the inheritor of the Nightmare Clan's heritage land. As long as you are given time to grow, you will also reach the realm of Senior King Beast."

"The rightful leader of the Nightmare Clan is my father, not me." Ji Tang always believed that her parents were still alive. "Young City Lord, you are exaggerating. I believe that before me, many powerful cultivators have entered the Mahayana realm."

Chu Jinhuai seemed to have heard something funny. "There's never a shortage of people in this world who work harder than you, but the best resources are still in the hands of a few, and only a few are born with spiritual roots. Jitang, this is the advantage."

"Of course, because of this, we are more likely to become targets. You could have reached this level later, but your key is the key for the black believers to enter the inheritance land. It's only a matter of time before they investigate you and come looking for you."

Jitang's brows have never been relaxed since Chu Jinhuai started talking about the black-clad believers.

She was like walking into a chess game and becoming a piece on the board that was beyond her control.

Chu Jinhuai: "I'm still investigating the matter of Senior Wang Shou, and I've also been sending people to monitor the inheritance site. If the black-clothed believers come looking for you, you can let me know."

Jitang: "Got it."

Chu Jinhuai looked outside the bead curtain, "Your senior brother has been waiting for you for a long time. It seems that you have a good relationship. Do you plan to tell him?"

Ji Tang: "Young City Lord, are you even investigating the people around me?"

Chu Jinhuai smiled and said, "Does this require investigation? Just ask your senior sister and you'll know."

Ji Tang knew that she was being too sensitive. She stood up and said, "There's no need to tell him about these things. Since the key is mine, there's no need to involve irrelevant people."

When Chu Jinhuai saw her lift the bead curtain, his voice returned to a lazy tone: "My alliance is still valid, but I will not ally with the weak." So grow up quickly.

Jitang got out of the car without looking back.

Chu Jinhuai yawned. He looked at the swaying bead curtain for a while, and his eyes fell through the curtain on Ji Tang who was walking towards Su Jinzhou.

Insignificant?

Chu Jinhuai retracted his gaze and smiled playfully.