This was Ji Qing's first time in Anyang City. The reason he had made the long journey to "settle" Ji Yao here was simple: Yunniang was originally from Anyang. In other words, Anyang City was Yunniang's maiden home. Naturally, settling Ji Yao with Yunniang's maternal family was the most suitable arrangement.
However, Ji Qing did not know much about Yunniang's family. He only knew that she came from the Anyang Zhao Clan. Beyond that, Ji Qing knew absolutely nothing.
Ji Qing took a stroll around Anyang City. Taking the time to slowly ask around about the Anyang Zhao Clan would take too long, and it wasn't guaranteed he would find any useful information.
He took out a Token from his chest pocket, engraved with the words "Wind Listening". This was the Wind Listening Order. With this Token in hand, one could go to the Wind Listening Tower to purchase any intelligence or information. And Anyang City just happened to have a Wind Listening Tower.
Ji Qing walked straight into the Wind Listening Tower. Since it was still morning, the building was quite deserted. On the surface, this Wind Listening Tower was just a teahouse, but in reality, it harbored a hidden Qiankun.
"Sir, what kind of tea would you like to drink?" the waiter greeted Ji Qing attentively.
Without hesitation, Ji Qing directly pulled out the Wind Listening Order.
Upon seeing the Token, the waiter's expression turned serious. "Sir, please follow me."
The waiter led Ji Qing to the back, passing through layer after layer of mechanisms, before finally entering an underground secret room. The room was lit by candles, and a woman with an alluring figure but a veiled face sat inside.
"Does our valued guest wish to buy or sell intelligence?" the woman asked.
"I want to buy intelligence on the Anyang Zhao Clan. A simple overview of their general situation will do."
"The Anyang Zhao Clan? Ten taels of silver," the woman quoted a price.
"That cheap?" Ji Qing was somewhat surprised.
"The situation of the Anyang Zhao Clan is known to almost everyone, and since you are only purchasing basic intelligence, the price is naturally cheap. However, if you wish to know more in-depth information after hearing this, that will be a different price."
Ji Qing nodded, taking out ten taels of silver and tossing it onto the table.
The woman smoothly collected the silver without batting an eye, then took out a piece of paper and handed it to Ji Qing.
"Please take a look. This contains intelligence regarding the Anyang Zhao Clan. If there is anything you don't quite understand, you may ask me. As long as it falls within the scope of the intelligence you purchased, I will answer it for free."
Ji Qing examined it carefully. It listed many figures of the Anyang Zhao Clan. For example, who the clan head was, what branch families existed, and which clan members held influence. Everything was listed clearly, making it easy to understand at a glance.
However, Ji Qing did not find Yunniang's name on it. Perhaps because she was a married woman, she wasn't listed on the report.
Thus, Ji Qing asked, "I want to know about Zhao Yunniang, who married into Liang City a few years ago. Which specific branch of the Zhao Clan is she from? And who exactly are the members of Zhao Yunniang's branch?"
"Zhao Yunniang..." The woman pondered for a moment, then lowered her head and rummaged through a pile of documents. "Fifty taels of silver."
This was the price for the new intelligence.
Without the slightest hesitation, Ji Qing threw out fifty taels of silver.
The woman handed over a sheet of paper detailing the figures of Zhao Yunniang's lineage and their current general situation. Ji Qing indeed found Zhao Yunniang's name. It turned out that Zhao Yunniang's branch was merely a side branch of the Anyang Zhao Clan, belonging to a minor lineage. Her branch was involved in business; they were a merchant family in Anyang City and possessed considerable wealth.
However, Zhao Yunniang's parents were no longer acting as Stewards; they were enjoying a peaceful retirement at home, spending their twilight years playing with their grandchildren. The business and family affairs had basically all been handed over to their eldest son, Zhao Yungui.
This Zhao Yungui was Ji Yao's maternal uncle.
"A merchant family..." Ji Qing muttered, quite satisfied.
Merchants meant money. Once Ji Yao returned to the Zhao Clan, there would be no need to worry about her living expenses. As for whether Zhao Yungui would be willing to take Ji Yao in, that wouldn't be up to Zhao Yungui himself to decide.
"The Wind Listening Tower truly lives up to its reputation," Ji Qing said, highly satisfied as he stood up to leave. Aside from being expensive, this Wind Listening Tower had almost no flaws.
"Please wait a moment, valued guest. We have intelligence regarding the eighth rank on the Evil People List, the Scholar of Liang City, Ji Qing. I wonder if you might be interested?" the woman suddenly asked.
"Oh?" Ji Qing's expression turned cold.
"Please do not mind me. Our Wind Listening Tower only deals in the business of intelligence; we care about nothing else."
"Is that so? Does that mean your Wind Listening Tower can also sell intelligence about my presence in Anyang City?"
"Theoretically, yes, as long as someone can afford the silver."
"Then how much silver are my latest whereabouts worth?"
"At least five hundred taels of silver! After all, the Government bounty alone is one thousand taels."
Ji Qing narrowed his eyes slightly. He hadn't expected his own intelligence to be worth so much.
"And if I were to kill all of you..."
"Please don't do that. Everyone's intelligence is sent out of the Wind Listening Tower at the first opportunity. From the moment you stepped into our Wind Listening Tower, intelligence about you had already been sent out. Even if you killed everyone in the entire Wind Listening Tower, it would not help.
"Furthermore, if you truly did such a thing, the Wind Listening Tower would no longer do business with you. What's more, our Wind Listening Tower would dispatch Experts to hunt you down."
Ji Qing knew the woman was right. If the Wind Listening Tower didn't have such methods, it would have been wiped out countless times already. How else could it have grown and expanded to its current scale?
Ji Qing gave the woman a deep look. He indeed still needed the Wind Listening Tower. In the future, if he wanted to track down traces of demons, he would undoubtedly need the Wind Listening Tower's intelligence support. A falling out with the Wind Listening Tower would do him no good.
In the end, Ji Qing did not purchase his "own" intelligence. Five hundred taels? He would have to be crazy to buy it.
However, his experience at the Wind Listening Tower also put Ji Qing on high alert. He needed to settle Ji Yao as quickly as possible. Otherwise, once his whereabouts were exposed, someone might take a desperate risk for the bounty.
Ji Qing quickly found out where Zhao Yungui's family lived. He staked out right outside the Zhao Residence.
Barely fifteen minutes had passed before Ji Qing saw a sedan chair come to a halt. A rather portly middle-aged man stepped out of it.
Ji Qing immediately strode over.
"Zhao Yungui?" Ji Qing called out.
"Hmm? Who's calling me?" The middle-aged man turned around and saw Ji Qing, but since he didn't recognize him, a hint of confusion appeared on his face.
"Careful, Mr. Zhao. This man has a saber on him; he might be someone from the Martial World..." The two nearby guards hurriedly moved closer to Zhao Yungui.
SWISH.
Ji Qing was actually still twenty or thirty feet away from Zhao Yungui. But at this moment, Ji Qing executed the Cao Shangfei, instantly crossing the distance and arriving right in front of Zhao Yungui.
"Protect Mr. Zhao!"
The guards immediately stepped forward, preparing to shield Zhao Yungui. Unfortunately, they were too late.
CLANG.
With a crisp, ringing sound, Ji Qing drew his saber. His saber had only one characteristic: it was fast! When a saber reached the absolute limit of speed, it possessed a kind of dazzling beauty. In everyone's field of vision, it seemed as though only this brilliant Blade Light remained.
Only Zhao Yungui shuddered violently, feeling a freezing chill against his neck.
The Blade Light vanished. A sharp, long saber was already resting against Zhao Yungui's neck. The edge had even sliced through a sliver of skin, leaving behind a shallow, bloody line.
"However much silver you want, I'll give it! Spare my life, Hero!" Zhao Yungui's voice was trembling.
As for the two guards he had hired at a heavy price, they were completely useless trash. They even claimed to be renowned Experts in the Martial World. And the result? The two of them hadn't even managed to see the Blade Light clearly before the long saber was pressed against his neck.
"Who exactly are you? Anyone with such a Saber Technique in the Martial World is definitely not a nameless nobody!" The expressions of the two guards were incredibly grave.
Amateurs watched for the spectacle, but experts looked for the technique. With that single strike from Ji Qing just now, they hadn't even been able to track the Blade Light. If the attack had been aimed at them, they feared a single slash would have been enough to kill them both.
Ji Qing ignored the two guards, letting his gaze fall upon Zhao Yungui instead.
"Perhaps, I should call you Uncle Yungui."
As soon as the words left his mouth, the expression on Zhao Yungui's face changed drastically!