After seeing off the ten characters he had summoned, eight going with Lu Fan and two heading out of town, Hong Wei, now left alone with Shan Mei, didn't return to his house immediately. Instead, he remained standing in place, drifting in thought.
When would he summon a supporting character?
That was the question lingering in his mind.
He wasn't asking for a high-tier character… he wasn't dreaming of someone from the Divine, Transcendent, or even Eternal tiers. What he wanted was just a supporting character, with a decent tier. That would already be enough.
After all, Hong Wei, who had been receiving massages from Shan Mei for forty days now, could already feel how effective they were.
Without those massages, his progress in martial arts would've dropped by more than half!
Shan Mei, who was technically a combat-type character but happened to know massage techniques, was already helping him this much.
Then what about purely support-type characters?
Wouldn't they be able to help him even more?
That's why Hong Wei couldn't help but wonder when someone like that would appear. So far, all the characters he had pulled were either fighting specialized ones or mortals. But then again… perhaps it was only natural. After all, he had only summoned five cultivators so far.
In the end, Hong Wei knew there was no point in fussing over a problem that had no immediate solution. The only thing he could do was be patient. With time, he would eventually get everything he needed.
Just like how he already had three cultivation techniques now.
So, Hong Wei shook his head, brushing away the idle thoughts, and finally decided to return home.
…
Time started passing once again, and Hong Wei gradually returned to his rhythm of accumulating free draws.
In the meantime, aside from immersing himself in martial arts training, he also began venturing into the forest to fight wild beasts.
He specifically asked for the guidance of Wei Jin, the uncommon-ranked hunter, whose experience in the wild could be of great help. And as for Shan Mei, he clearly instructed her not to intervene unless he was truly in a life-or-death situation.
And just like that, his training in real combat began.
This kind of life, of steadily advancing, was quite fulfilling, and he found himself genuinely satisfied with the progress he was making.
However, a few days after he had pulled the ten draws, he noticed something strange.
Lu Fan hadn't asked for any money when settling the eight characters into the town.
At first, Hong Wei frowned, wondering if Lu Fan had been neglecting his duties, or slacking in the handling of the group. And so, he questioned him directly.
But then, after hearing his explanation and looking deeper into the situation, he realized that wasn't the case at all.
Rather, it turned out that his subordinates had already become self-sufficient. They no longer relied on him for support… and didn't even need his money anymore!
Naturally, Hong Wei was pleased to hear that. He even felt relieved.
After all, when he first summoned them, he was concerned that the fortune he confiscated from the Black Dog Gang would be quickly drained just to sustain them.
But now, it seemed he didn't need to worry about that any longer.
And not just money to help them, even the herbs, materials, and other small necessities he used to pay for whenever he took them, they had quietly stopped accepting from him as well.
When he tried to insist and force them to accept the usual payments?
They knelt down and began begging him not to.
In the end, Hong Wei saw that their lives were already well established. Their offerings to him didn't affect their lifestyle or stability in the slightest. So, he finally chose to accept them, without feeling burdened.
Even so, he couldn't help but feel a bit complicated inside.
Is this what it means to have competent subordinates?
He couldn't help but wonder.
And in that moment of reflection, another thought quietly surfaced in his mind, perhaps even the mortal characters he had pulled, those who weren't cultivators, weren't entirely without use.
Even if their assistance was still confined to the mortal realm, and when it came to matters related to cultivation they remained limited in what they could offer.
However, since he didn't yet have the time to properly handle their situation, he decided to delay his plans for them until later.
…
While Hong Wei was still being troubled by the competent common and uncommon characters he had pulled, in another place, deep within Fenghua County, Shen Feiyu, the rare character, finally decided to make his move.
He, who was a rogue cultivator, had caution engraved deep into his bones. And now, after receiving a direct command from his lord, one that emphasized returning safely as his top priority, he had become even more vigilant than before.
That was why he didn't rush. Instead, he took his time with the investigation he was conducting across Fenghua County.
Fenghua County, unlike Willow Shade Town, where cultivators were extremely rare, was a more active region. Traveling cultivators could still be seen passing through from time to time, and there were even some who had settled down as local residents.
After all, while the spiritual Qi within the town was still sparse, it was denser than that of Willow Shade Town, making it more suitable for cultivation.
Shen Feiyu secretly concealed his identity as a cultivator and carefully carried out his investigations. He looked into the internal workings of the Xia Dynasty, as well as the local powers and foreign influences that hovered around this area like hidden currents.
He had already made ample discoveries in these areas. But when it came to natural treasures that could help increase a cultivator's innate Qi affinity, or even rare pills that could boost cultivation potential, he had found nothing of value.
So, with nothing more to gain, he prepared to give up and return to his lord to report his findings and ask for further instruction.
But just then, right as he was about to leave, he stumbled upon a clue from a most unexpected direction.
It happened while he was still covertly investigating the Red Dog Gang, the stronger gang that stood behind the now-eradicated Black Dog Gang. That was when he caught in the conversation between two of its member, that the Red Dog Gang now possess a map… one that supposedly led to the tomb of a high-ranking cultivator.
At first, Shen Feiyu's immediate thought was that this might be a trap, an intentional deception meant to lure someone like him into action. But soon, he realized that this wasn't the case.
In fact, Shen Feiyu had already sensed something strange earlier, specifically when the Red Dog Gang, despite losing one of its subordinate gang, suddenly chose not to retaliate or pursue revenge.
It was suspicious.
But because the Red Dog Gang also had a backing, with the White Dog Gang above it, and even more dog ones, he had initially decided not to get involved.
After all, tangling with a powerful group didn't seem to align with his lord's original instructions.
But now, things had changed.
A map that pointed to the tomb of a high-ranking cultivator?
If the Red Dog Gang truly had such a thing in their possession, then that changed everything!